May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Confession
Let us make confession of our sin to almighty God.
God our heavenly Father, before the cross of Christ we confess our sins; we have done what is wrong in your sight, and have failed to do what is right. Meet us in our sorrow, Lord: wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us, and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen.
God’s Word - Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 31 to 34 :-
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt - a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
John, chapter 12, verses 20 to 33 :-
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say - 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection [This is a shortened version of the address given on YouTube / Zoom]
What exactly happened on the cross? The facts are straightforward – a man died – well, several men died, but arguably there was one of them who did not deserve that fate. The Romans made their point about who was in charge, and what would happen to anyone who opposed them. Those among his own people who wanted rid of Jesus got their way, and the Roman governor did what he reckoned he had to, to keep the peace at the turbulent time of Passover.
But none of that, of course, explains why the cross is the symbol of our faith, and a focus for our prayer and worship. The cross is where the saving love of God is displayed in all its glory, and it is the place of atonement.
When I was training at theological college I recall there were various theories of atonement, the work of scholars through the centuries who reflected on what the cross actually means. There was a price which had to be paid, said Anselm; the cross is the place of ultimate confrontation between good and evil, said Gustav Aulen; the cross is where God’s love draws us forward to kneel before him and offer ourselves, said Peter Abelard.
All of these theories have something to say; and all of them have some way in which they fall short, and fail to say enough. After all, if you try to see the cross in terms of a mechanism to achieve atonement, you’ll miss the central point.
And that central point has to do with the remaking of relationship: a relationship we have broken and cannot repair. We saw in our first reading this morning how God earnestly desires to be in relationship with his people. Jeremiah the prophet is given this vision of a future in which God won’t be a subject people need to learn about, but an ever joyful presence in their hearts. “I will plant my Law in their hearts” is in fact the same thing as “I will plant myself in their hearts.”
“There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin” wrote Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander in the hymn “There is a green hill far away.” The goodness of Jesus, who we find hailed in the Letter to the Hebrews as at once both perfect priest to make the offering, and perfect sacrifice to be offered – that goodness has to do with his complete humanity. Jesus is not God playing at being crucified, but the man from Nazareth crying out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” He is divine, but he cannot know himself to be.
I suppose that out of the three theories of the atonement we were taught about at college, Anselm, Aulen and Abelard, it’s Abelard’s vision that strikes the strongest chord in me – the cross is where God’s love is displayed in all its wonder and beauty, even in this terrible instrument of death, and it’s a love the draws me and challenges me. “When I am raised up,” says Jesus in our reading this morning – and by being raised up he means lifted on the cross – “When I am raised up I will draw all to myself.” I am drawn, but I am also challenged to recognise my own sin, for which the cross is the only remedy, and to recognise that the battle between good and evil is fought within me, as well as across our world, and it’s a battle I myself can never win – but the cross is the place of victory.
On the eve of Good Friday our readings will remind us of the terror Jesus faced – and overcame – in the garden of Gethsemane, as he prayed that, even at this late hour, the cup might be taken from him. His closest and most trusted companions could hardly keep their eyes open – and later they would all run and desert him – but he prayed on, with the sweat on his brow like great drops of blood.
Two weeks ago in our readings we found Paul telling his readers in Corinth that, though it was foolishness to the Greeks and a scandal to his own people the Jews, he could only preach Christ, nailed to the cross. At the end of his Letter to the Galatians he writes, “God forbid that I should boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world is crucified to me and I to the world!” Those words helped inspire that great Passiontide hymn “When I survey the wondrous cross.” The cross should be an offence and a scandal; it should blame us, convict us and condemn us, not save us. But instead, what we have broken is remade, what we have lost is returned to us: it truly is wondrous.
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.
Prayer Pointers - Pray that as we are drawn to the cross, we may be inspired to take to heart its message of saving and sacrificial love. In the world Church today we pray for Christians in England, and for the Church of England. Pray for our own diocese and for Richard our Bishop; and today we pray especially for the churches and communities of the Kington and Weobley Deanery.
Today is Down Syndrome Day - pray for all who have this condition, and for their integration into society and right to participate. On the International Day of Forests, pray we may protect our wild spaces, and recognise the vital importance of forests to the health of our world. Tomorrow is World Water Day – pray for all in our world who still lack access to clean water.
Pray for all who are ill, in pain, anxious or fearful. Pray for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of those who are ill, and that those who care for them may do so safely. Pray for all who continue to suffer from the Covid virus, and that we continue to take seriously the need to act in ways that protect ourselves and others. Pray too for all in our world who suffer from TB, and for their treatment.
Pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. Pray for our local schools and colleges – for teachers and other staff, for children, young people and for parents and families. Pray that we may be enabled to look out for each other, and may be kept 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 Christ crucified draw us to himself, to find in him a sure ground for faith, a firm support for hope, and the assurance of sins forgiven; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.
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