Hymn – Thou, Whose Almighty Word
- Lord, your almighty Word
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight;
Hear us, we humbly pray,
And where the gospel day
Sheds not its glorious ray,
Let there be light!
- Saviour, you came to give
Those who in darkness live
Healing and sight,
Health to the sick in mind,
Sight to the inly blind,
Now to all humankind
Let there be light!
- Spirit of truth and love,
Life giving, holy dove,
Speed forth your flight!
Move on the water’s face
Bearing the lamp of grace,
And in earth’s darkest place
Let there be light!
- Holy and blessed three,
Glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, love, might;
Boundless as ocean’s tide,
Rolling in fullest pride,
Through the world far and wide,
Let there be light! (by John Marriott, 1813)
The Greeting
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
All: And also with you
The Peace
We are the body of Christ.
In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body
Let us then pursue all that makes for peace
and builds up our common life.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
(Please turn to those around you, offering your hand, and say
‘The peace of the Lord be with you’)
Prayer of Preparation
All: Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer of Penitence
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our Cod is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your Cod with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ
to save us from our sins,
to be our advocate in heaven,
and to bring us to eternal life.
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: Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour,
in what we have thought,
in what we have said and done,
through ignorance, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We have wounded your love
and marred your image in us.
We are sorry and ashamed
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and lead us out from darkness
to walk as children of light.
Amen.
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.
All: Amen.
Collect for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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.
Our First Reading is – Romans Chap: 14
1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions.
2 Some people’s faith allows them to eat anything, but the person who is weak in the faith eats only vegetables.
3 The person who will eat anything is not to despise the one who doesn’t; while the one who eats only vegetables is not to pass judgment on the one who will eat anything; for God has accepted that person.
4 Who are you to judge the servants of someone else? It is their own Master who will decide whether they succeed or fail. And they will succeed, because the Lord is able to make them succeed.
5 Some people think that a certain day is more important than other days, while others think that all days are the same. We each should firmly make up our own minds.
6 Those who think highly of a certain day do so in honor of the Lord; those who will eat anything do so in honor of the Lord, because they give thanks to God for the food. Those who refuse to eat certain things do so in honor of the Lord, and they give thanks to God.
7 We do not live for ourselves only, and we do not die for ourselves only.
8 If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9 For Christ died and rose to life in order to be the Lord of the living and of the dead.
10 You then, who eat only vegetables – why do you pass judgment on others? And you who eat anything – why do you despise other believers? All of us will stand before God to be judged by him.
11 For the scripture says, “As surely as I am the living God, says the Lord, everyone will kneel before me, and everyone will confess that I am God.”
12 Every one of us, then, will have to give an account to God.
This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn – Through The Night Of Doubt and Sorrow
- Through the night of doubt and sorrow
onward goes the pilgrim band,
singing songs of expectation,
marching to the promised land.
- Clear before us through the darkness
gleams and burns the guiding light;
pilgrim clasps the hand of pilgrim,
stepping fearless through the night.
- One the light of God’s own presence
o’er his ransomed people shed,
chasing far the gloom and terror,
brightening all the path we tread:
- One the object of our journey,
one the faith which never tires,
one the earnest looking forward,
one the hope our God inspires:
- One the strain that lips of thousands
lift as from the heart of one;
one the conflict, one the peril,
one the march in God begun:
- One the gladness of rejoicing
on the far eternal shore,
where the one almighty Father
reigns in love for evermore.
- Onward, therefore, Christian pilgrims,
onward with the cross our aid;
bear its shame, and fight its battle,
till we rest beneath its shade.
- Soon shall come the great awaking,
soon the rending of the tomb;
then the scattering of all shadows,
and the end of toil and gloom.(by Bernhard Severin Ingemann – 1789 – 1862)
Here the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew Chap: 18
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,
23 because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts.
24 He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.
25 The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt.
26 The servant fell on his knees before the king. “Be patient with me,’ he begged, “and I will pay you everything!’
27 The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.
28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and started choking him. “Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.
29 His fellow servant fell down and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’
30 But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything.
32 So he called the servant in. “You worthless slave!’ he said. “I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to.
33 You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.’
34 The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.”
35 And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Loving God, open our ears, our eyes and our hearts,
that we may hear and receive your word.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
THE SERMON
As you know the theme of this year’s festival is numbers in the Bible. And what a wonderful imaginative response we see around us from the three figures of the Trinity to the feeding of the 5000 mention any others that strike you.
I had such a wide and interesting range of scripture to choose from for today’s sermon.
Now I have to admit that if I was still in my former life as a secondary maths teacher I would have jumped at the challenge of interpreting the strangely accurate number of 153 fish caught when Jesus met the disciples on the shore of lake Galilee in his third post resurrection appearance.
For those of you who enjoy numbers – did you know that 153 is the 17th triangle number – which means the sum of the counting numbers 1+2+3+4+5 ….+17 =153.
I’m going to stop there – you can research yourself if it interests you. Because the number I’ve chosen to look at is 7.
Seven is often thought of as the number of completeness or perfection. God created the world in 7 days – well 6 days and on the 7th God rested. We have seven days in a week – the seventh day is holy, the Sabbath.
In Old Testament laws every seventh year was to be a fallow year, a sabbath year – this is where we get our term sabbatical from. Every seventh fallow year the 49th year was a Jubilee year, when debts were cancelled, etc
Hopefully that gives you a flavour of how important the number seven was.
In our gospel reading Peter’s suggestion that he must forgive up to seven times is not an attempt to place a limit on forgiveness. In fact, since seven is a holy number, Peter is probably asking something like,
“Must I practice perfect forgiveness?”
To which Jesus responds,
“Not seven times, but … seventy-seven (or seventy times seven)” (Ver: 22).
While the exact number is not clear in the Greek, the point of the number is. Your forgiveness must be beyond perfect; it must be beyond counting. Forgiveness is an absolute.
Now most of us are willing to forgive someone something against us once, possibly twice, but seven times? Let along more! And I wonder what limits we put on the nature of things we are willing to forgive. The news has been full of discussion about the possibility of forgiveness in the light of the Lucy Letby case – can she be forgiven?
Is there a limit to the scope of human forgiveness even if we believe God has no limits?
Obviously this is a sensitive and complex topic. I offer you the following thoughts on the parable Jesus tells about the unforgiving servant.
I think Jesus tells the parable of the wicked servant because he knows that there’s a part of all of us that wants to place a limit on our involvement with others, to call a stop when we’ve done our bit by forgiving once or twice, or to name certain acts as unforgiveable.
In Jesus’ story the characters are larger than life, the amounts owed are either ridiculously large or petty. Jesus is using hyperbole for effect.
Clearly the wicked servant can never hope to pay back the 10,000 talents he owes, even if he works every waking hour he has left! We’re talking a sum equivalent today of 100’s of millions of pounds.
Surprisingly, the king, moved by his plea, frees him from the debt.
But within moments of being forgiven the wicked servant has a chance to return the favour, but instead demands repayment of a fellow servant of a debt of a few thousand pounds, a petty sum in comparison. He seems to have forgotten that he has just been released from a much, much, larger debt.
The king is understandably furious and revokes the mercy he has shown.
On the surface there is a seemingly simple reading of this parable, we should forgive because we have been forgiven.
Do unto others as God has done for you otherwise God will have you thrown into jail!
But that’s a crazy interpretation.
This reading suggests that the only reason we would forgive our sister or brother is because we want to remain in God’s favour, to secure our own forgiveness.
Let’s go back to the story; it all went wrong when the wicked servant was unable to forgive. I wonder if our ability to forgive is based on our experience – we are able to forgive when we know what it feels like to be forgiven.
Forgiveness comes from outside of ourselves, from the person from whom we have sought forgiveness. All we can do is to ask for forgiveness, but when we receive it, as a free gift from someone we have hurt, who has decided that restoring relationship is more important than getting even it is exhilarating.
Who would want to deprive another person of the feeling of being forgiven?
The only excuse for not forgiving another is that we have forgotten what being forgiven feels like. Once we have experienced the exhilaration of being forgiven how we could refuse to pass it on.
That’s what the king in the story was so mad about, the wicked servant didn’t get it.
Perhaps he thought he’d got away with it, got one over on the king.
The wicked servant failed to receive the forgiveness offered to him, he missed the entire experience. He thought he’d outsmarted the King and that the best way to cut his loses was to make sure the same thing didn’t happen to him, hence he misses the opportunity to forgive his fellow servant, instead throws him onto jail.
The message of this parable is not ‘do unto others or the king will punish you’
No it’s ‘Do unto others what the king has already done for you’
It’s not about earning forgiveness, or letting others off the hook so that we can be let off.
It is a matter of understanding that you have already been forgiven by someone to whom you owe everything, someone who has given and given and given to you and wants only one thing in return, to remain in relationship with you.
When someone has stopped keeping score on you, does it not feel sort of foolish to keep score on others?
Seven times, or seventy times seven times. When we understand that God loves us very, very, much and through no merit of our own has forgiven us over and over again, how can we pass up the chance to do the same for others?
This parable is about grace.
At a deeper level, the central hyperbole of the parable is the word of grace, the absurd initial grace of the king, which should engender gratitude. This grace renders obscene the actions of the unforgiving servant, who, having been forgiven an impossible debt, seizes his fellow servant by the throat and demands repayment of a minuscule one. That is the moment at which we shake our heads and say,
“Ridiculous! Impossible! How could anyone do such a thing?”
Then the parable turns on us, as it surely did on Peter. How could you ask such a question?
“How often should I forgive?”
As the church, you should know better. For you should know how much you have already been forgiven.
Your forgiveness should be offered without limit. Seventy times seven, completeness, perfection.
This sermon was partly inspired by chapter 14 ‘Once More From the Heart’, in The Seeds of Heaven, by Barbara Brown-Taylor
Amen
Notes on the Sermon
The text for the sermon was chosen from the many 70 times 7.
When Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive his brother? He suggested 7 times.
Jesus replied 70 times 7.
Thus showing that, there should not be an end to forgiveness.
Amen
We say together
The Creed
Let us declare our faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
All: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
During the intercession this response is used:
Lord, m your mercy
All: Hear our prayer.
The response to Lord In your mercy is – Hear our Prayer
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ let us pray to the Father
We come to you our Father the one true God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You created the universe and all that is in it. You have counted all its parts as you have counted the hairs on our heads. You know all our needs before we ask.
Lord in your mercy
We thank you Lord for bringing this our 59th festival to fruition. The support, provision and guidance we have received, the joy, fellowship and community spirit enjoyed by both those doing the work and those visiting. The encouragement received from the visitors and knowing we are serving you. We offer you our thanks for the pleasure it gives to both those doing the work and those who visit each year, and we pray that the message of Your love for us is taken out into the world.
Lord in your mercy
We pray for our world the wars and unrest the droughts and floods the storms and earthquakes that cause such hardship to the peoples of the nations. We are slowly realising the need for us all to conserve the natural resources and protect the environment. Our Saviour spent 40 days in the desert. You warned Joseph of the coming famine and enabled the worst of its effects to be averted. So too may we hear Your call and heed the warnings, and all do our best to conserve and protect our fragile world.
Lord in your mercy.
Heavenly Father we come as your Church in this place, we ask that you will help us to proclaim the message of the four Gospels to those around us, that the knowledge of your saving grace will be heard by the many.
Lord in our mercy
As the young Mary, your mother heard the angel and obeyed when she had great changes in her life. Lord, we pray for the young people who are facing changes in their lives, going to a new class changing schools going to college or university or joining the world of work. We ask that you guide them and help them as they move on in their lives.
Lord in your mercy.
We think of all who are suffering in illness or bereavement at this time may they know that in their hour of need You still today help them and carry them through their troubles.
We read some of the prayers from the Prayer Jar
And in the silence we bring our own personal prayers.
Lord Jesus, you suffered and were scorned on the Cross, we ask that you be with those nearing the end of their lives and with those who are caring for them. Hear us as we remember those who have died in the faith of Christ. We commit them to your care and that in Heaven they and we (in due time) will take our place with the multitude that no man can number.
Lord in your mercy
Merciful Father,
All: Accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
you have promised through your Son Jesus Christ, that when we meet in his name, and pray according to his mind, he will be among us and hear our prayer: m your love and mercy fulfil our desires, and give us your greatest gift, which is to know you, the only true God, and your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Hymn – Be Still for the Presence of the Lord
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord is here.
All: His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts,
All: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is indeed right,
it is our duty and our joy,
at all times and in all places
to give you thanks and praise,
holy Father, heavenly King,
almighty and eternal God,
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
For he is your living Word;
through him you have created all things from the beginning, and formed us in your own image.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him you have freed us from the slavery of sin, giving him to be born of a woman and to die upon the cross;
You raised him from the dead and exalted him to your right hand on high.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him you nave sent upon us your holy and life-giving Spirit, and made us a people for your own possession.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Accept our praises, heavenly Father,
through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and as we follow his example and obey his command,
grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit
these gifts of bread and wine
may be to us his body and his blood;
who, in the same night that he was betrayed,
took bread and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Therefore, heavenly Father, we remember his offering of himself made once for all upon the cross; we proclaim his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; we look for the coming of your kingdom, and with this bread and this cup
we make the memorial of Christ your Son our Lord.
All: Christ has died: Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of thanks and praise, and as we eat and drink these holy gifts in the presence of your divine majesty, renew us by your Spirit, inspire us with your love and unite us in the body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: To you be glory and praise for ever.
Through him, and with him, and in him, m the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven, we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of everlasting praise;
All: Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
The Lord’s Prayer
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.
Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
All: Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.
All: Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world,
Grant us peace.
Giving of Communion
Draw near with faith
Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ
which he gave for you,
and his blood which he shed for you-
Eat and drink
in remembrance that he died for you,
and feed on him in your hearts
by faith with thanksgiving.
Amen
We say together the –
Post Communion
God of all mercy,
in this eucharist you have set aside our sins
and given us your healing:
grant that we who are made whole in Christ
may bring that healing to this broken world,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Blessing
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of Cod, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
All: Amen.
Hymn – In Christ Alone
Final Prayers and the Dismissal
Go in faith to love the Lord.
All: In the Name of Christ
Amen
© 702211