Welcome to our Worship on Trinity Sunday. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and Revd Lyn Woodall will be preaching and presiding. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is "Firmly I Believe And Truly"
Today's Gospel
John 3 v. 1-17
“Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish Ruling Council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him”
Jesus replied,” Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.
“How can someone be born when they are old?”, Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be”? Nicodemus asked.
“You are Israel‘s teacher, said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Reflection
The third Chapter of John’s Gospel could be entitled The New Birth. This Chapter from this Gospel is the explanation of the Christian Faith. It explains the reason Christ came to this world: that mankind would know the nature and character of God but more importantly for the human race, it explains how we can find God, how we can be forgiven and how we can obtain eternal life with God in Heaven.
“If we were asked to read to a dying man who did not know the gospel, we should probably select this chapter as the most suitable one for such an occasion; and what is good for dying men is good for us all, for that is what we are; and how soon we may be actually at the gates of death, none of us can tell.” (Charles Spurgeon: Theologian)
Nicodemus was someone who had been impressed by Jesus’ signs and miracles. He was a Member of the ruling Sanhedrin, a Group of Jewish Religious Leaders. Not a great deal is known about him but he is mentioned three times in John’s Gospel. Nicodemus is a Greek name, and although Jewish, he would have been well educated to a high standard: undoubtedly fluent in Greek and Latin. A pillar of Jewish Society and a Pharisee. So, Nicodemus felt it necessary to come to Jesus by night either so that he would not be recognised or to ensure that he had uninterrupted time with Jesus. We hear of Nicodemus a 2nd time in Jn.7:50 and a final time, John 19:38-42, along with Joseph of Arimathea, both of whom ensured that Christ’s body had spices, perfumes and burial cloths after the Crucifixion, when Christ was placed in Joseph of Arimathea’s Tomb. It is extremely unusual for such high-ranking Jewish males to concern themselves with the burial of a Jewish Carpenter. Both their lives were clearly influenced by Christ and his Teachings.
Nicodemus immediately declares that Jesus’ teaching comes directly from God (v2). However, Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus shattered his Jewish assumption that their racial identity assured them a place in God's Kingdom. Jesus made it quite plain that a man's birth does not assure him of the Kingdom of God; only being born again gives this assurance. Jesus answers make plain that it is not learning but living the right life that is wanted and in Messiah’s Kingdom life must begin by rebirth, or as theologians would say regeneration.
Jesus made it plain that this is not something that we can do to ourselves. If Jesus had said, unless you are washed you cannot see the Kingdom of God, then we might think; I can wash myself. Well, a person might wash himself but he could never birth himself.
Of course, Nicodemus answers, how can this be! It must have seemed like nonsense to him! “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Now, Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you. no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again...”
We must be born of water and the Spirit he said. This water may be a physical human birth where we come from a sack of water. It may also mean being born again by the Word of God. In other passages of scripture, water represents the Word, as we are washed by the water of the Word….
There are many ways to interpret this teaching….
One thing is clear, though, Nicodemus was a religious leader a Pharisee, an educated man, and an earnest man. By all outward appearances, he was already transformed, yet he was not! But no amount of solemn words get you to Heaven! Jesus wanted Nicodemus to know that he didn't have to understand everything about the new birth before he experienced it.
We can sometimes get caught up in all these words. Just as Nicodemus did. But just look for the kernel, the nugget…. Don't worry about the iota, the dotted i, the crossed t…. Look unto the Jesus of compassion . Jesus wants us to find him. Jesus wants us to receive the Holy Spirit. We don't have to understand all of it to attain that.
Salvation is not due to following rules. Salvation is a free gift from a generous God. All that is required is faith. It says in Romans 10:9&13, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…Everybody who calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved.”
In verse 13 of John 3, Jesus states, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from Heaven - the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Jesus’ reference to being lifted up is to show the importance of being lifted up on his cross. Because that is the exchange that enables us to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
Jesus went to the cross with all our sins upon his shoulders, with all the world’s wrongdoings upon him. With the ignominy of all evil resting upon him and he took them to the cross once and for all, so that we may be free. Free from sin. Free from judgement. Free from hell.
The exchange was made.
In verses 16 and 17, we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
And so the Saviour who took the sin of the world upon him delivers God’s forgiveness, through that act.
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. As we mark the day, let us ponder the Hypostatic Union of Christ: perfectly Divine, perfectly Human, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit: our Triune God! Thus producing a perfect combination: for we have a Great High Priest who is able to understand and empathise with our weakness.
We have a High Priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin: our Jesus, beautifully divine, graciously human; the only begotten Son of the Father, who came down from Heaven to deliver his people; to be beset with the pain of Calvary's Cross. And the glorious and triumphant exchange wrought on that Cross by the exchange of Sin for Glory united by the Holy Spirit.
Prayer –
Lord God, we come to you, the Father, through Jesus the Son and we ask you, blessed Holy Spirit, to enable us to negotiate our route.
Triune God, we give you all the glory, for you alone are worthy of praise.
Thank you for Salvation. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for the joy of knowing you. We love you and adore you.
We pray in the mighty name of Jesus and by the power of your Holy Spirit to the only God our Saviour, glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more!
Amen.
Our final hymn today is "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty"
Welcome to our Worship on Pentecost Sunday. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and Revd Christine Steel will be preaching and presiding. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is "Breathe On Me Breath Of God"
Gospel – John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 - The work of the Holy Spirit
Jesus said to his disciples,” When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
Reflection
For the second year we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot hold our normal celebration of Pentecost - our act of unified witness with our friends and fellow Christians from Churches Together in Lees and District. There is almost a profound sense of something missing, some not quite right in our lives.
Of course, we miss the sense of occasion and tradition. The gathering of our children’s groups; the scouts, beavers, brownies, rainbows and Sunday Schools, not to mention the Rose Queens, and Harvest Queens with their retinues decked out in their finest regalia. We miss the brass bands marching proudly to traditional Whitsuntide tunes like Slaidburn adorned their smart uniforms and brass buttoned blazers. I suspect some of us even miss the rain.
But for me I miss that sense of togetherness and unity which is re-iterated as we listen to the reading from Act 2 v 1-21 which reminds us of the coming of the Holy Spirit filling the people of many different nations and backgrounds. The act of God fulfilling the prophesy that he will pour out his spirit upon all flesh. There is the sense of reality that as we gather together in our joint service that God is doing this all over again and continues to do this, time after time.
If you read the alternative lesson for Pentecost, (Ezekiel 37:1-14) – we are also reminded that God is capable and willing to breathe life into dry bones and bring them to life and of course there is the greatest example of all when God’s power reached into the tomb and raised our Lord from the dead.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus once again tells his disciples that he will leave them and that this time he will return to the Father. Having already lost Jesus once on the cross, his disciples are naturally saddened by this and so Jesus seeks to comfort and reassure them. He tells them that it is necessary to leave in order for him to send the Advocate, the Spirit of the Father to testify on his behalf.
More significantly, he instructs them that they shall also testify on his behalf and that the Spirit of the truth will guide them and will declare to them the things that are to come. He is directing them to share the word of the Lord and glorify the Father. He is directing them to preach the message that through the gift of the Holy Spirit God is constantly with us and ready to breathe life into us. That rather than punish us when we have sinned, he wants to forgive us if we will only allow him to breathe the Spirit into us.
Whilst there is a downside that we cannot meet together for Pentecost; one of the upsides is that lots more people have taken to walking in our magnificent countryside. When we first went into lock-down and there were few cars and lorries on the road it was common for folk to comment on how good it was to hear the sound of birds in our gardens and in the woods. Whilst I was walking in some local woods yesterday listening to the wildlife, one of the thoughts that popped into my head was how amazing it would be if we could understand what each animal was singing, howling or squeaking about - if like Dr Doolittle we could understand them all.
Then I thought it must have been an equally incredible experience when the Holy Spirit descended on people from all nations and all the people who were present could understand each other’s language. Bear in mind there was no Google in those days and few if any understood a foreign language. Many of us think of Pentecost as ‘the’ coming of Holy Spirit onto God’s people. But, like some of the examples above, the bible reveals many more instances of God the Holy Spirit breathing life into us right from the story of the creation and the Garden of Eden.
Just like the bird song – it was always there always will be, it just needs us to tune in. Just like at Pentecost the real miracle is that God breathes and his extraordinary power fills and works in common ordinary people in common ordinary ways, transforming life. God is doing this all over again and continues to do this, time after time.
Our Prayers
Almighty Father,
Fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit
and direct us to do your will here on earth.
Give us the confidence to trust in you
And proclaim your Holy word to all.
Merciful Father,
Hear our prayer for those who like your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ
are hated and persecuted for their faith.
Also for those who are imprisoned for spreading your word.
We give thanks for their steadfast belief
For the strength of the Holy Spirit to sustain them
And for their knowledge and trust in your Love.
Amen
Our final hymn for today is "Spirit Of God, Unseen As The Wind"
Welcome to our Worship on the Sunday after Ascension Day. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and Revd Richard Hawkins will be preaching and presiding. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is "Be Still For The Presence Of The Lord"
Today's Gospel
John 17: 6-19
Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
Reflection
Anyone who cleans brasses in church knows that getting them to sparkle is hard work. For some of us the experience is cleaning brasses on military uniform! Brass tarnishes as oxygen reacts with the metal, making it dull and unattractive. To get its shine back, you have to use a cleaning agent and rub fast and hard with a soft cloth. Often the cleaning agent makes the metal muckier before the golden shine starts to show through afresh.
It has to be done repeatedly, as no sooner is the job done than the oxidation process starts again. Yet anyone visiting a church — or seeing candlesticks on a mantelpiece at home — just sees the sparkle; the hard work that has got the brass to this state is invisible.
Jesus has spent the three years of his ministry teaching his disciples. Now he knows he is about to leave them. The disciples will be left to shine God’s light in the world. Jesus has trained them for this moment and it has been hard work. Jesus completes his ministry to them with final teachings, and then prays for himself, for his disciples, which is today’s Gospel, and then for all believers.
Jesus asks several things for the disciples. First, that the disciples are at one with each other, as Jesus and the Father are one. Second, that they will have his joy within them — the joy of doing God’s will. He knows that the message of the Gospel is not welcomed in the world and so asks for their protection from the evil one. Finally, he asks God to “sanctify them in the truth”. For these all-too-human disciples, Jesus prays for oneness, joy, protection and holiness. Note: all this is not to take the disciples out of the world, but so they can shine out the love of God in the world.
Think back to cleaning the grubby brasses. This is like the job Jesus has done with the disciples, and now we need to shine the love of God out into the world. How do we become holy enough to do this? Jesus prays to his Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” We can learn so much by steeping ourselves in the scriptures — God’s word.
One of the optional readings for today is a passage from Ezekiel in which Ezekiel describes God’s great love for the people, even though they have strayed so far from God’s ways. He vividly describes how God will cleanse the people by sprinkling clean water on them, and so give them a new heart and a new spirit. He describes a renewal of the relationship between God and the people: “you shall be my people, and I will be your God”. Hearing this, we can understand God’s willingness to forgive, depth of love, and longing to be one with us — and be inspired and encouraged anew.
Listening to today’s reading from Acts, we are able to learn from the disciples the place of opening up our hearts in prayer when we are making decisions. Jesus too is the Word by which we are sanctified. John begins his Gospel by declaring, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... And the Word became flesh and lived among us...” To be sanctified, we need to steep ourselves in Jesus’ life, to think about how he lived, who he kept company with, who he challenged, how he managed to keep going — retreating to quiet places to pray and having good friends around him, for example.
We need to contemplate how Christ constantly surprised people with his offer of love and mercy instead of judgement. Pondering his parables alone is a lifetime’s work — and joy. Joy, as we find God-like ways of living in this world, which God so loves. Joy, for, as we begin to live like this, other people catch glimpses of God’s love - like the sparkle off the brasses - and together we transform the world into a place where all live as one.
Our Prayers
Gracious and caring Lord
We ask that you sanctify us with your truth.
That we may make time to study your word
To read and enrich our lives with your scriptures.
Forgiving Lord, cleanse us
Encourage us to steep our lives in the teachings of our Lord Jesus
That we may share his mercy with those around us
And may our hearts shine radiantly with the love of God.
We ask this in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Our final hymn today is "Thou Whose Almighty Word"
Our service for Ascension Day is at 7.30 pm at St Thomas' Church. If you're not able to join us in person there are some readings and a sermon below.
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my wit¬nesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ Acts 1:4–11
The Collect for Ascension Day
Let us pray that our risen and ascended Lord will lead us to eternal life.
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ
to have ascended into the heavens,
so we in heart and mind may also ascend
and with him continually dwell;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Gospel reading
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Jesus said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24:44–end
Sermon
In days of yore, it used to be the tradition that, on Ascension day, the Pascal candle (lit to memorialise Jesus’ glorious resurrection on the first Easter morning) would be snuffed out. It perhaps signalled one interpretation of the events of that day: that the Light of the World, Jesus, has returned to His Heavenly Father and He has left us.
The scene laid out for us at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles is of the disciples gazing skywards at their Master disappearing in a cloud. They thought, mistakenly, that they had lost Him after His death on the cross … but now He has really gone for good, and they know they will see Him no more.
The experience of those first disciples chimes with what we are going through today. At first they were in fear for their lives; hiding behind closed doors and afraid to step outside. When they saw the risen Christ ascending to heaven, they had to begin to adjust to life without His physical presence … a sort of ‘new normal’.
In John’s gospel, Jesus has already told them that his going away (and the arrival of the Holy Spirit) will be better for them ‘It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.’ (John 16:7)
The disciples had, so far, been living in the full light of Jesus’ presence, He was the light of their world. As Jesus left the physical world, the light was not extinguished, but they had to learn to live in, and with, the light in a different way. Just as they did, we also have to learn the same lesson. Without His physical presence in our lives, we have to stand on our own feet, with the mess and muddle and mistakes of the world around us and in our own hearts, but always in, and by, His light … a spiritual journey of discovery.
The direction of that journey is clear in Jesus’ last words to his disciples and to us. ‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8b). In other words, His risen presence is no longer to be confined to Jerusalem and to just a small number of people there. His presence is about to become available to all people and to all time … and we are the means by which His light can continue to reach the dark corners of society and the wider world.
Jesus is saying…you are now my eyes and ears and hands … it is for you to love the world as I have loved you … to share the good news of God’s saving grace by the example of the way you live your lives among others…you are now the bearers of the light (remember Matthew 5:16?)
At this troubled time when many of us are living restricted lives, we must still remember that we are charged to live life in all its fullness, and that even though doors may be closed, we can still open our hearts to the light of Christ. We can still be ‘out there’ in prayer for those who are suffering, and being generous in responding, as we are able, to those in need.
Jesus’ promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit reminds us that our true life is not a life of fear. We live in the light of Christ, so it is a life of fullness, a life of joy, a life of witness … of service … of faithfulness … and most importantly of all, a life of love. The flame of Easter still burns on!
Amen.
Bible readings from NRSV translation
Sermon by Revd Jane Hyde
Please also find below a recorded reflection for Ascension Day by Bishop Mark Ashcroft -
Welcome to our Worship on the sixth Sunday of Easter. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and Revd John Faraday will be preaching and presiding. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is "New Every Morning is the Love"
Reading 1. Acts 10:44-end.
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those Gentiles who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Reading 2. John 15:9-17.
Jesus said: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
Reflection
For this reflection I have chosen two of today’s readings rather than concentrate on one. The second was an earlier time before the crucifixion of Jesus. He was preparing the disciples for their future after He had returned to His heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit had been given. The second was about an important point in the growth of the early Church as they were putting that teaching into practice.
I love football. I love fish and chips. I love my wife. I love God. I love the Church. I love people. I love my family.
In each of these sentences the word ‘love’ means something different, so what did Jesus mean when he talked about ‘love’ in the reading from John’s Gospel? The language used was New-Testament Greek, and it had several words for love. John’s Gospel used the Greek word pronounced ‘Agapay’, which was hardly used except by Christians for Christian love, so it’s meaning must be very special.
When we look at the way Jesus used the word we can see why that word was used, and when we look at the work of Jesus and the work of His Church we can begin to see why. The whole life of Jesus was showing this love for His Father and for the world, and it was showing the world a new kind of love altogether!
When you see my list of ‘loves’ (football, fish and chips etc.) you can see that I gain tremendously from each of these loves. That is largely why I love the people and things I mentioned. There is a selfish side to even the best worldly love story!
The love of Jesus, however, adds an extra dimension! He died for the love of those who did not love Him! He loves all who want to follow Him, and there is no limit to that love. He loves those who choose not to follow Him and He proved that love by dying for us and opening the gate of Heaven for us. The sinless one died for sinners.
That should make every Christian have a tremendous warm glow when we see how God loved us and how Jesus demonstrated that love. However, there is a challenge for us. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” But a little bit later He said, “Love one another as I have loved you… You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Do we reflect that amazing love of Christ?
So how should we reflect that love? We can see it happening in the reading we had first. This was an event that happened a while after Jesus had spoken to the disciples and Peter was leading the Church.
The Jewish people distrusted non-Jewish people. Initially all the Christians were Jews but some Samaritans had been accepted into the Church. (The Samaritans were a branch of the Jewish race who had compromised the faith in earlier times.) Jewish Christians were reluctant to accept Samaritans but when Peter was preaching to Gentiles they would have been insulted even more. Then something wonderful happened! We read, ‘The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.’
For Peter and the other Christians something very radical was happening. People who they would never had dreamed of becoming Christians had done just that! God’s Agapay-type love had made all the difference! It is because of that change in the Church that we are able to be Christians today, otherwise the Church would have remained exclusively Jewish.
When we are tempted to look down on people for any reason we should think about these readings. Our divisions may be based on race, class, manners, achievements or many other reasons. Sometimes it is not easy to accept particular people, but we must still persevere and try to treat people in the way that Jesus would. This is a very difficult thing to do, but we need to realise that we need God’s Holy Spirit to make us into truly loving people. Normal human love can go part of the way but Agapay-love, inspired by the Holy Spirit makes it possible. It is love for the unlovable, just like God’s amazing love for us.
The Collect Prayer
God our redeemer,
You have delivered us from the power of darkness
& brought us into the Kingdom of Your Son:
Grant, that as by His death He has recalled us to life,
so by His continual presence in us
He may raise us to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ You Son our Lord,
who is alive & reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Our final hymn today is "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
Christian Aid week is almost upon us and we celebrate 75 years of the valuable work this wonderful charity has done raising essential funds for those in need, campaigning vigorously against oppressive regimes across the world and also challenging wealthier countries to forgive debts.
In just over a month’s time the leaders of the G7 countries will meet in Cornwall for a summit meeting which will include topics such as climate change, debt and COVID 19 impacts across the world. This will be followed in November by the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
Now more than ever, Christian Aid is doing its part in campaigning hard to ensure that the impact of climate change is at the forefront of everyone’s agenda. But much more than that, Christian Aid is delivering real and tangible support to those countries whose eco-systems have already been massively impacted by changes in climate and weather patterns causing both droughts and floods which in turn are devastating their ability to farm and provide food.
Fundraising for Christian Aid week will again be very challenging with many events such as house to house collections and Big Brekkie not being able to take place due to COVID restrictions. We will have donation envelopes available in both churches, and you will also be able to donate on-line through our own Churches Together in Lees and District Christian Aid appeal - christian-aid/lees-district-council-of-churches-christian-aid-week-2021
To show our support and give a kick start to this year’s campaign, Paul Dent has volunteered to step out and take the 300,000 step challenge on our behalf throughout May. We’ll keep you informed about his progress, and you can sponsor him either by making a donation in church or by clicking on this link - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/churchestogther-leesdistrict
Welcome to our Worship on the fifth Sunday of Easter. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and our own Revd David Halford will be preaching and presiding. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is ""We Come As Guests Invited"
Today's Gospel
John 15: v 1-8
Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Reflection
Jesus said, "I am the vine, and you are the branches,"
The garden was in a dreadful state after years of neglect. Even in winter, enormous weeds choked the smaller shrubs and plants. The gardener's assistant was about to uproot a climbing plant which had overgrown. "I might as well get rid of this," he suggested. It's just like a load of old string climbing along the fence." "No, No! protested the gardener: That's a beautiful Clematis. If it is carefully pruned and nurtured it will produce the most beautiful flowers next Spring and Summer."
As most gardeners know, may plants appear to be dead in the winter but with care and pruning they can produce spectacular flowers and fruit. The newly pruned plant is given strength as the weaker parts of the plant receive nourishment from the stronger central stem. Pruning can seem a very drastic thing to do, and the nervous gardener may not have the confidence to cut back as much as is needed. It is hard to cut off all the old growth but it is essential to do so if the plant is to continue to be fruitful and beautiful.
In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks of himself as the living, growing vine, with us as his branches. Living and growing - in more than just a physical way. We are shaped and pruned by the Word of God as spoken to us by Jesus; in this way we will bear more fruit. The shaping and the pruning may sometimes be painful and difficult. It may involve the loss of things that have become precious to us. It always involves trusting in the wisdom of the Gardener - trusting God enough with our lives to let him shape and mould us in the ways that enable us to become the people we were created to be.
Jesus wants his disciples to be a living, vibrant fruitful presence in the world. For the followers of Jesus fruitfulness relies on their dependence on the vine. We are the branches; we cannot bear fruit by ourselves - we have to rely on Jesus; listening to the words of the Gospel, putting them into practice in our daily lives. We also have to rely on each other - vine branches are all interconnected, part of each other, feeding off the same stem, out of the same soil, but growing in different and unique directions. We share a common life, and within that we become our own unique, distinctive selves.
But if the words of Jesus do not remain the lives of his followers, like dead branches they are useless; fit only to be cut off and thrown on the fire. Now there is a worrying prospect for those who turn away from the Gospel.
Jesus invites his followers to make their home in Him - to trust in Him; to rely on Him and to draw nourishment from Him in the way the branches are nourished from the central vine. With such dependence and trust we are invited to "ask what you will and you shall get it". A deep trust and faith in the person of Jesus will bear fruit in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We will be empowered to bring consolation and confidence to those who are weak and in need.
In a world where independence and self- reliance are extolled as necessary values, it may be difficult to recognise the importance of depending on others and also allowing others to depend on us. Jesus calls us to depend on Him - we are also called to depend on one another. The image of the Vine is startling in its simplicity: if a branch becomes detached from the Vine, it will die. It cannot live on its own. And we can't either. Often, we rush about, following our own chosen path of life and trying to do good for those around us. We may forget about depending on Jesus, on one another. And we may, as it were, be dead inside, and feel lonely and isolated. As well as doing good for others it is Important to allow others to be good to us. If we are willing to be open and honest about our frailties then we allow Jesus into our lives. If our love is real and active, if we rely on Him and make our home in Him, the words of Jesus will truly bear fruit in our lives and in the world in which we live.
Our Prayers
Risen Lord,
you are the true vine and we are the branches.
By your Spirit,
produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, and patience in us for others to taste and enjoy.
Keep us from hanging on to love for ourselves.
Prune all selfishness from us and fill us with your love.
Give us the wisdom to realise that we are interdependent on one another;
Help us to willing give help to our neighbours;
And make us willing to receive help when it is offered to us
For in doing so it will, we know it will also enrich their lives.
Creator Lord,
We ask you to mould and shape us according to your will.
Nourish us with gift of the Holy Spirit’
And sustain us with your Holy word.
Amen
Our final hymn is "You Are The Vine, We Are The Branches"
