A Service of Word and Praise for 19th July 2020
¶ Gathering
Welcome
The minister offers words of welcome, gathering us into God’s presence, and introduces the first hymn:
Hymn
Praise my soul, the King of heaven
Praise my soul, the King of heaven!
To his feet thy tribute bring;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King!
Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him still the same as ever,
slow to chide and swift to bless.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
Father-like, he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows!
Angels, help us to adore him;
ye behold him face-to-face;
sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace!
Leader: Let us worship God:
We have come together as the family of God
in our Father’s presence
to offer him praise and thanksgiving
to hear his holy word,
to bring before him the needs of the world,
to ask his forgiveness of our sins,
and to seek his grace.
Confession
Leader: Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments
and to live in love and peace with all.
All: Almighty God our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour,
in thought, word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
Forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.
Absolution
The Priest says:
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in life eternal.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Collect
(Prayer for the Day)
A minister prays:
Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding:
​​​​​​​pour into our hearts such love toward you
​​​​​​​that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
​​​​​​​may obtain your promises,
​​​​​​​which exceed all that we can desire;
​​​​​​​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.
¶ The Ministry of the Word
First Reading
Romans 8:12-25
A reading from St Paul’s letter to the Romans:
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
For the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God;
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture burst on my sight;
angels descending, bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Homily
Fr Michael Cartwright
(read by Mark Burdon)
"Let anyone with ears Listen"
An American author (Ella Willcox) wrote a poem called "The Weed" It read as follows:
"A weed is but an unloved flower!
Go dig, and prune, and guide, and wait,
Until it learns its high estate,
And glorifies some bower,
A weed is but an unloved flower!"
Possibly true, yet for most gardeners, that weed can crowd out all the vegetables and flowers that we are trying to nurture and grow. Most of us know the experience of weeding a cultivated area - whether it is a flower bed or a vegetable patch - only to find the next moment the weeds appear to have sprung back again, just as vigorous as before.
Perhaps Jesus' audience may have laughed to hear the plight of the landowner, who wakes one morning to find that the weeds have been sown amongst the wheat. On the other hand, however, if the crop was spoiled, the price of bread would go up, so the poorest workers and their families would struggle and might well go hungry.
When Jesus explains the parable, He doesn't talk about the spoiled crop, but of patience in the face of finding that weeds have been sown amongst the wheat. He foresees a time when order will be restored and justice will be done. Sorting out the weeds can't be rushed says Jesus, because that would result in too much damage to the wheat and could incur a huge loss.
If you, like me, are a gardener battling with weeds, and you rush to sort out your veg patch or flower bed using strong weed killer, or digging with an implement that is too clumsy, you run the risk that everything might get ruined. There are things you can see, such as flowers and vegetables and then there are those that aren't visible to the naked eye, such as the teeming life of the soil - this forms the delicate infrastructure which needs to nourish the plants roots and enable things to grow and flourish.
No! Rushing can't solve the problem of the weeds. Rather, it takes careful and thoughtful, prayerful and active, participation to move through our current problems and fears together.
God is firmly in the picture. We face big challenges in our world, none more so than climate change, when the delicate balance of our eco-system has been disrupted by years of clumsy husbandry. Yet amidst all of this, God's promise is to be there as we do the slow and careful work of restoration. The promise that God will hold our hand as we work at it, can be enough to give us the courage we need.
God bless you all, Fr. Michael.
Interlude
“Lead me Lord” sung by Dawn Williamson
Affirmation of Faith
Leader: Let us affirm our faith together:
All: We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and 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 of Intercession
followed by The Lord’s prayer:
Leader: Let us pray in confidence, the Prayer that Jesus himself taught us:
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.
Hymn
Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness,
O God my Father,
there is no shadow
of turning with thee;
thou changest not,
thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been
thou for ever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning
new mercies I see;
all I have needed
thy hand hath provided,
great is thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter,
and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars
in their courses above,
join with all nature
in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness,
mercy and love.
Pardon for sin
and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence
to cheer and to guide;
strength for today
and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine,
with ten thousand beside!
¶ Dismissal
Closing Prayer
Leader: God of our pilgrimage,
you have led us to the living water:
refresh and sustain us
as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Blessing & Dismissal
The Priest pronounces the Blessing:
The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be with you, and all those whom you love,
today and always.
All: Amen.
Leader: Let us go in the peace of Christ.
All: Thanks be to God.
Voluntary
The Lord bless you and keep you; John Rutter
sung by All Saints’ Bawdeswell Festival Choir
The Lord bless you and keep you:
The Lord make His face to shine upon you,
to shine upon you and be gracious, and be gracious unto you.
The Lord bless you and keep you:
the Lord make His face to shine upon you,
to shine upon you and be gracious, and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up the light
of His countenance upon you;
The Lord lift up the light
of His countenance upon you.
And give you peace,
Amen.