May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Almighty God, send down upon your Church the riches of your Spirit, and kindle in all who minister the gospel your countless gifts of grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
Let us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.
You raise the dead to life in the Spirit: Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You bring pardon and peace to the broken in heart: Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided: Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
God’s Word - 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 2 to 10 :-
I know a Christian man who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know - God knows) was caught up as far as the third heaven. And I know that this same man (whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know - God knows) was caught up into paradise, and heard words so secret that human lips may not repeat them. About such a man I am ready to boast; but I will not boast on my own account, except of my weaknesses. If I chose to boast, it would not be the boast of a fool, for I should be speaking the truth. But I refrain, because I do not want anyone to form an estimate of me which goes beyond the evidence of his own eyes and ears. To keep me from being unduly elated by the magnificence of such revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet me; this was to save me from being unduly elated. Three times I begged the Lord to rid me of it, but his answer was: ‘My grace is all you need; power is most fully seen in weakness.’ I am therefore happy to boast of my weaknesses, because then the power of Christ will rest upon me. So I am content with a life of weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and distress, all for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Mark, chapter 6 verses 1 to 13 :-
From the lakeside, Jesus went to his home town accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue; and the large congregation who heard him asked in amazement, ‘Where does he get it from? What is this wisdom he has been given? How does he perform such miracles? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?’ So they turned against him. Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet never lacks honour except in his home town, among his relations and his own family.’ And he was unable to do any miracle there, except that he put his hands on a few sick people and healed them; and he was astonished at their want of faith.
As he went round the villages teaching, Jesus summoned the Twelve and sent them out two by two with authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a stick - no bread, no pack, no money in their belts. They might wear sandals, but not a second coat. ‘When you enter a house,’ he told them, ‘stay there until you leave that district. At any place where they will not receive you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet as you leave, as a solemn warning.’ So they set out and proclaimed the need for repentance; they drove out many demons, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
A Reflection on the Reading
[A shortened version of the full sermon available on Youtube]
Here are a few fairly random thoughts which arise out of my reading of today’s scriptures. Firstly, the importance of our own faith. Jesus, we learn, could perform few miracles in his home town . . . not because his own authority was diminished, but because it didn’t meet with faith.
Secondly, and linked to that - it’s often the case that once people think they know you, they don’t or can’t revise that opinion, whatever new information comes their way. So in Nazareth, people were saying, “We know this guy, we know his mother and his brothers, we know what he does for a living. He’s a carpenter, not a rabbi!”
Thirdly, something about how God uses broken vessels. We don’t know what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was: some commentators have suggested a recurrent disease, like malaria; some a personal defect, like, perhaps, a quick temper, that he couldn’t overcome. But whatever it was, he was never rid of it, despite all his prayers - and he came to understand that it was necessary . . . because “when I am weak, then I am strong” (strong not in his own strength, but in God’s).
Fourthly, something similar in the way Jesus sent out his disciples. As someone who habitually tries to fit the kitchen sink into my backpack even when just going away for a couple of days, I’m aghast at the thought of the Twelve carrying nothing in their packs, and not even taking a spare coat. But Jesus assures them they will have enough, and that to serve God they must trust in God.
Right at the beginning of our first reading, Paul spoke of a man who had clearly had some amazing spiritual experiences. My reading of this is that Paul is in fact speaking about himself, but choosing not to name himself, because while he wishes to speak about the experience itself, the sense of being brought into the presence of God, he doesn’t wish to (if you like) blow his own trumpet. This is about what God gives, and not about what he has attained.
If he has anything at all to boast about, then it’s about the fact that God’s grace is at work in him despite himself; despite his own weakness, despite that thorn in his flesh. But I’m reminded that the heroes, the giants that founded the Church, Paul and those Twelve, apostles, preachers, teachers - they were not really heroes and giants at all, they were just ordinary folk, folk as plagued as the rest of us by their weaknesses and flops and failures. We don’t have to prove ourselves to God; we don’t have to concoct a convincing if slightly fictitious curriculum vitae. He takes us as we are, and uses us as we are.
So what did distinguish Paul and the others? What was special about them? Paul tells us himself: when he prayed that God would take away this, whatever it was, that was laying him low, the answer he received was “My grace is all you need.” These people, weak and unsatisfactory as they were, were men of faith; and it was because they were men of faith that God was able to use them as he did. And maybe, as with the Twelve when Jesus sent them out, the less they had, the more they trusted.
Whereas it was lack of faith, and a refusal to accept any new information, that meant there was little Jesus could do in his own home town. In a previous parish I was outlining my plans for the future, when one of my PCC members replied, “We all know we haven’t got a future, so why plan for one?” She was wrong, as it happens, and that church is now thriving. Sometimes a practical assessment can be depressing: obstacles many, resources few, help mostly not forthcoming. Well, in one place Jesus said, “Don’t build unless you’re sure you’ve got enough bricks,” so we do have to be practical. But we do also have to ask, as the very first question, not “What can we manage?” or “What can we afford?” but “What does God want?” And then have faith, and trust.
Statement of faith - We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers - Pray that the Church everywhere may be faithful to the Spirit of Christ; pray for all evangelists and preachers. Pray for Christians in Papua New Guinea, and for the Anglican Church there. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and pray that we may be a praying community, founded in a serious searching for the will of God, and a ready obedience to it. Pray for those ordained priest yesterday, and as deacon today
Pray for the world, and especially for those places in our world where there is trouble and tension, and where people are unsettled, and unsure of their place, their rights or their future. Pray for those places where the resources are lacking to deal with Covid 19 and other urgent problems and threats. Pray for wise and caring leadership in our own and every nation.
Pray for all in need today: those who are grieving, lonely, worried or anxious, and all who are ill, including those in places where the Covid virus is spreading in new variants. Pray for the care, treatment and recovery of all who are ill, and for the health and safety of all who care for those who are ill. Pray for all who are isolating because of Covid contacts, among them Bishop Richard.
Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray for our village shops and for other small businesses in and around our villages. Pray for beekeepers, and for all who act to protect pollinating insects. May we all act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing - May the God of hope fill us with his Spirit of love and peace; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us now and always. Amen.
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