May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Generous God, you give us gifts and make them grow: though our faith is small as mustard seed, make it grow to your glory and the flourishing of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
Let us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.
Have mercy upon us, Lord, as we have hoped in you. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Bring in your justice, and break in us the power of evil. Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Hear our prayer, and answer us in your righteousness. Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May God our Father deliver us from our sins, heal our hearts, and kindle within them the flame of his love, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
God’s Word - Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 11 to the end :-
Remember then your former condition, Gentiles as you are by birth, ‘the uncircumcised’ as you are called by those who call themselves ‘the circumcised’ because of a physical rite. You were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the community of Israel, strangers to God’s covenants and the promise that goes with them. Yours was a world without hope and without God. Once you were far off, but now in union with Christ Jesus you have been brought near through the shedding of Christ’s blood. For he is himself our peace. Gentiles and Jews, he has made the two one, and in his own body of flesh and blood has broken down the barrier of enmity which separated them; for he annulled the law with its rules and regulations, so as to create out of the two a single new humanity in himself, thereby making peace. This was his purpose, to reconcile the two in a single body to God through the cross, by which he killed the enmity.
So he came and proclaimed the good news: peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near; for through him we both alike have access to the Father in the one Spirit. Thus you are no longer aliens in a foreign land, but fellow-citizens with God’s people, members of God’s household. You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the corner-stone. In him the whole building is bonded together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built with all the others into a spiritual dwelling for God.
Mark, chapter 6 verses 30 to 34 and 53 to the end :-
The apostles rejoined Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come with me, by yourselves, to some remote place and rest a little.’ With many coming and going they had no time even to eat. So they set off by boat privately for a remote place. But many saw them leave and recognized them, and people from all the towns hurried round on foot and arrived there first. When he came ashore and saw a large crowd, his heart went out to them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
So they completed the crossing and landed at Gennesaret, where they made fast. When they came ashore, he was recognized at once; and the people scoured the whole countryside and brought the sick on their beds to any place where he was reported to be. Wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid the sick in the market-place and begged him to let them simply touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched him were healed.
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection on the Reading (a shorter version of the sermon given in church):
Paul writes in our first reading: “You are no longer aliens in a foreign land, but fellow citizens with God’s people.” He was writing to people who weren’t Jews. Maybe they’d been interested in what those who were Jews did and believed, and they may have been among the people recognised as “God-fearers” - yet, for all their interest in the faith, they remained aliens in a foreign land, and not numbered among God’s people. But Jesus has changed all that, Paul now writes to them. Salvation comes from the Jews, but it’s what God wants for everybody. No single race, colour, kind of person. There’s a new unity in Christ, and what counts is your inward faith, not any outward sign. All are welcomed in, and all are given a new status as citizens of God’s kingdom.
Religion can often be a means of exclusion. If you’re not “one of us” then you don’t count. And that can mean not only “You don’t count with us” but “You don’t count with God.” I remember some years ago walking through a very strongly Orthodox Jewish district of Jerusalem, and feeling very much like an alien in a foreign land. Everyone was wearing clothes that announced clearly their religious identity. No-one was in any way threatening or hostile, yet I felt both exposed and excluded.
Paul was writing to people who’d been impressed by the way the Jews they met were devoted to their one God, and had wanted to know more. But they were excluded from membership, partly by birth but also because they felt they couldn’t cross the cultural boundary between Gentile and Jew. Circumcision was part of this - to anyone brought up in the Greek culture that region, body image was important, and circumcision seemed like mutilation. So the faith that so attracted them was also excluding them. So was God excluding them too? Jewish people inherited the covenant promises made by God to Abraham and Moses and David. But Gentiles, non-Jews, could take no share in that.
But now Paul says, “You who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood.” You who were once far off: not just because they’d been excluded by the otherness of their Jewish neighbours, but also because they’d excluded themselves. To be “far off” and “aliens in a foreign land” is also in part about where you’ve chosen to stand. We can exclude ourselves by choosing our own way or the world’s way over the way of the Lord.
I can see ways in which I’ve done that. Sometimes I’ve made big and obvious mistakes that I’ve done my best to turn round and repair (or to repent of, to use the religious terminology). But what about all the little things I don’t really notice? Times when I haven’t thought or noticed, or been too easily led, or too easily angered; and times when I’ve just been lazy. It’s been rightly said that the opposite of love isn’t so much hate as laziness and apathy: when we can’t be bothered.
For whenever what I do excludes others, I am also excluding myself from God - because God is inclusive, and his love is for everyone, his arms are open wide. And so I do find that God never gives up on me. Jesus died on the cross to bring me and you back, despite ourselves, into a union with God in which the bonds of love which we easily discard and break are remade through his grace. What I should be is an alien in a foreign land, an outcast, a person who doesn’t count, and a waste of God's time. But instead, God offers to make me a citizen of heaven, and he offers the same to you, and he was offering the same to all those Ephesians to whom Paul wrote his letter. Left to our own devices, we’re lost, like sheep without a shepherd. We can even use religion to keep ourselves lost, for when it excludes others it also excludes God. We all need a shepherd. So thank God that we have one.
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 truly Christ-centred, and that churches may be welcoming, inclusive and affirming. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for all who plan and lead new forms of worship, reaching out to families and the wider community..
Pray for world leaders, for clear vision, an ear for the voices of those least able to speak for themselves, and a genuine desire for peace, justice and understanding. May they govern with wisdom and integrity, and may nations act decisively and with compassion in the face of the various tensions and crises of the moment, including Covid 19.
Pray for all who are ill or in any kind of need: for those in hospitals and other places of care, and for those who may be struggling or anxious. Pray for all infected by Covid 19 as cases increase, and that the present fairly low level of hospital admissions continues.
Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray that local events like fetes and garden parties may happen safely; pray too for those who continue to isolate. Pray for children moving on from their present schools at the end of the academic year. 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 peace of God surround and sustain us in all that we do in his name; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us and with all those we love, today and always. Amen.
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