8th April 2023 7.30pm – Easter Vigil and Service of Light

Posted on April 8, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Romans 6.3-11

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 28.1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

Scripture Quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

7th April 2023 2.00pm – Good Friday

Posted on April 7, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Isaiah 52.13-53.end

See, my servant shall prosper;

he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

John 18.1-19.end

After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’ Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he’, they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.’ This was to fulfil the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.’ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’

So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, ‘I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.’ When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, ‘Is that how you answer the high priest?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?’ Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, ‘You are not also one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’ One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?’ They answered, ‘If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.’ The Jews replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death.’ (This was to fulfil what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, ‘I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ They shouted in reply, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a bandit.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’

Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.’

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, ‘Here is your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’ Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says,
‘They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.’
And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘None of his bones shall be broken.’ And again another passage of scripture says, ‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced.’

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

6th April 2023 7.30pm – Maundy Thursday Eucharist

Posted on April 6, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

1 Corinthians 11.23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

John 13.1-17, 31b-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

2nd April 2023 10.30am – Palm Sunday Eucharist

Posted on April 2, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Isaiah 50.4-9a

The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.

Matthew 26.14-27.66

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,
“I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”
But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.’ Peter said to him, ‘Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And so said all the disciples.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.’ At once he came up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, do what you are here to do.’ Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?’ At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, ‘This fellow said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.” ’ The high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, ‘I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you,
From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.’
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?’

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.’ After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’

Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You say so.’ But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?’ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’

So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’

Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, “I am God’s Son.” ’ The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’ So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

The Prayers
Prepared by Shirley

We stand with Christ in his suffering.

For forgiveness for the many times we have denied Jesus,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For grace to seek out those habits of sin which mean
spiritual death,
and by prayer and self-discipline to overcome them,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For Christian people,
that through the suffering of disunity
there may grow a rich union in Christ,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who make laws, interpret them, and administer them,
that our common life may be ordered in justice and mercy,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who still make Jerusalem a battleground,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who have the courage and honesty to work openly for justice and peace,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those in the darkness and agony of isolation,
that they may find support and encouragement,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who, weighed down with hardship, failure, or sorrow, feel that God is far from them,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who are tempted to give up the way of the cross,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

That we, with those who have died in faith,
may find mercy in the day of Christ,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

26th March 2023 10.30am – Fifth Sunday of Lent Eucharist

Posted on March 22, 2023March 26, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Ezekiel 37.1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’

John 11.1-45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

The Sermon
By Revd Dr Alan Billings

As you know, there are four gospels. Four accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Three of those accounts – Matthew, Mark and Luke – are in many respects very similar. They have many of the same stories of the things Jesus said and did, often in very similar words. That has led scholars to believe that while those who wrote them did so in different places and at different times, they nevertheless had some common written material they were all drawing on.

But the gospel reading we have just had today is taken from the fourth gospel, that according to John. And that is very different.

We can best appreciate the differences between John’s gospel and the other three if we think about the beginning and the end of their accounts. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell a very human story, speaking of things from, as it were, ground level. John seems far more theological, considering matters from an altogether loftier perspective.

Take the stories of the birth of Jesus. Luke tells us about a poor young couple, Mary and Joseph, desperately trying to find a bed for the night, but failing. And so their baby is born in a stable. We can almost feel the hot breath of the animals, the cold of the night air and the pain of childbirth. A down to earth, human story. Jesus comes into the world as a vulnerable human baby.

But John speaks of the birth quite differently. He, as it were, looks down from some high vantage point and tells us that what we have here is the Word of God, who was with God from the beginning, and indeed is God. And now that Word is made flesh and lives among us. The emphasis is on this baby as the Word of God rather than a vulnerable child.

Something similar happens at the end with the death of Jesus. Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us a harrowing story of a man being put to death in pain and agony. Not just physical pain, but the emotional and psychological pain of dying feeling unsure about what he has achieved, if anything, even feeling abandoned by God: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.’
A vulnerable man, helpless, in the power of his enemies. This is Jesus as portrayed by Matthew, Mark and Luke.

But John sees things differently. Jesus at the end, according to his account, is always in control. If he dies, it is because he chooses to give himself into his enemies’ hands and he chooses to lay down his life, it is not snatched from him. As he dies he does not cry out ‘My God, why have you forsaken me,.’ No. In John’s account Jesus dies crying out, ‘It is finished.’ It is accomplished. In other words, I have done what I came to do.

A vulnerable Jesus. A Jesus in control.

And yet for all his attempts to show the life of Jesus as the working out of a plan that he is in control of, John occasionally shows us what the other gospels also show – the vulnerable Jesus. The Jesus who is like you and me.

We have it in today’s gospel reading in a series of short comments. Jesus is on his way to the village of Bethany, to see Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, who is ill. John tells us that Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. He loved them. He speaks about Lazarus as a friend. But to love someone, to really love someone, means that you give up any attempt to control them or manipulate them. You give yourself to them. You, as it were, hand to them the capacity – yes, to return your love, which is wonderful – but also to hurt you. To love someone is to make yourself quite vulnerable.

And we finally see the depth of the love that Jesus has for Lazarus, and the extent to which he is, therefore, vulnerable, in what may be the best known and certainly the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept. When Mary says to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ Jesus wept.

As he tell the story of Jesus, John seeks all the time to draw out his true significance for all people in time and eternity. Jesus is indeed the Word of God. The Word of God come among us to show us that whatever comes our way in life or death, all things in the end are within our heavenly Father’s knowledge and control.

But in coming to show us this, the Word of God, is made flesh. He becomes one of us because it is by sharing our human emotions, that Jesus shows us what God is like.

Jesus wept. And when Jesus wept, we know that that was God weeping too.

The Prayers
Prepared by Veronica

Lord God. As we draw near to the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray for grace to observe this time with awe and reverence as we contemplate the great sacrifice he made for us in dying on the Cross for our salvation. We pray for the Church worldwide, that we may grow ever closer to each other as we observe this most solemn of times for all Christians.
Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.
We pray for the world, and for all your people experiencing war, famine, excessive heat or floods. Help us to understand their needs and do all that we can to help them, whether as individuals supporting charities, or as citizens of what remains one of the richer countries of the world. Your Son told us to love one another: inspire governments of richer countries to continue to put aside .7% of their riches to help those in dire need. We remember before you also those in our own country for whom life at present is very difficult, as everyday items get ever more expensive, and beyond their means to pay for them. Help us to help them also.
Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.
We pray for our City and local community of Walkley. As local elections approach, inspire all candidates to think of the needs of the city as a whole, and the particular needs of the area they hope to represent. We pray also for everyone involved in preparing for our own Walkley Festival, and that the two weeks will be truly memorable in bringing our community together.
Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.
We pray for all who are ill at this time, and remember Lazarus whom Jesus loved. We pray for all doctors, nurses and care-workers, both professional and family members, that they may find the will to continue their work and eventually receive the recognition they deserve in terms of pay. We pray for all known to us in special need of your healing grace at this time………
Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.
We remember before you all reaching the end of their natural life, that they may find their resting place with You, alongside all others who have already died. We remember those especially dear to us by name in a moment of silence…..
Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of Mary, Mark and John, and all your saints, we commend ourselves and all Christian people to your unfailing love.

Merciful Father,

Accept these prayers

for the sake of your Son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.

19th March 2023 10.30am – Fourth Sunday of Lent Eucharist

Posted on March 22, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

1 Samuel 16.1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

john 9.1-end

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

12th March 2023 10.30am – Third Sunday of Lent Eucharist

Posted on March 12, 2023March 14, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Exodus 17.1-7

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

John 4.5-42

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

The Sermon
By Kath B, a Reader at St. Mary's

Well here we are on the third Sunday of Lent already and if you have chosen to do anything to mark it I hope you’re finding it a meaningful experience. Traditionally Lent was perhaps more precisely and widely observed as a time for fasting from certain things such as particular foods like meat and fish, a time for prayer and focusing on Jesus’ life and work, and a time for reflection about our own sins and how, as Christians, we can live out our values better. Although all these elements still hold true today I think it would be fair to say that many of us tend to decide for ourselves how we want to observe Lent and often there is a more contemporary twist to our choices such as attending study groups or giving up or limiting use of our favourite tech items or social media if we’re into that. While for Christians the primary intention is to focus on our faith it can also be beneficial to see how our life choices are affecting us and even some non religious people use Lent as a prompt to do this because they worry about whether they are too attached or even addicted to some of the many delights so easily available in our modern world and how our part-taking of them can have implications for our nearest and dearest too. Ignoring them in favour of Facebook or Twitter or TikTok is perhaps not the most positive signal to send. One of my friends found Lent a good opportunity for “keeping the NO muscles in trim” as she put it and that’s probably a good thing to do from time to time.

However, I have to admit that I gave up “giving things up” for Lent years ago because apart from being a test of my willpower I didn’t find it did anything useful for me. I already know what I can be self disciplined about and what I’m not so good at. It’s still a work in progress and probably always will be. For a few years I went with the suggestion to “take things on” instead as a more positive approach to Lent but after a while they just became additional “things to do” when I’d already got more than enough on my plate so at times this made me feel a bit resentful which is sad because it rather defeated the initial intended purpose. Personally what I now find more meaningful is the idea of using the Lenten period as a time to look at my thoughts, beliefs and attitudes a bit more critically and to see whether they really are in line with the values my faith journey has instilled in me. It can be easy to become fixed or hardened in our attitudes if we don’t periodically examine them or allow anything to challenge them. When you think about it, if we’re unwilling to to do this how can we or anything else ever change or develop or grow? Being willing to change is not a weakness or a watering down of faith, it’s quite the reverse.

Our Gospel story this morning is, I think, a very good example of how willingness to look afresh and to break with a society’s attitudes can be so transformational. In our society the word Samaritan is associated with doing good. The organisation The Samaritans, through its volunteers who staff telephone helplines has helped and saved countless people who are in distress and feeling alone in their troubles and who may be harming themselves or even contemplating ending their lives. How could we view this work as anything but good, but in Jesus’ day Samaritans were very much looked down on by Jews who would go to great lengths, literally not travelling through Samaria, to avoid coming into contact with them. Jews and Samaritans hated each other which is why the story of the “Good Samaritan” that we’re so familiar with and Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman in our story today are so remarkable.

The question I’d like us all as individuals to consider privately is “who are our Samaritans”? By this I mean who are the people we might, for whatever reason, find it difficult to regard in a positive light. There are all sorts of issues that divide people so that they can’t or choose not to see each other positively. The USA is a prime example of how polarising this can become and how difficult it is to undo. It may be differences about politics, class, cast, ethnicity, colour, culture, gender, sexuality, education, financial status, employment status, job title, rank or privilege and of course religion that we don’t always see eye to eye on and this list, though long, is by no means comprehensive. We are all of course entitled to our opinions and attitudes and often they have grown out of very good reasons but in our modern world where we see so much intolerance, impatience, rudeness and sometimes aggression, vitriol and even violence displayed by some towards others with whom they disagree, it can be hard to resist getting drawn into this way of responding. In the face of a lowering of standards of behaviour in both public and private life it can be hard to hold onto our values and trying to live by them can sometimes feel like a losing battle. What’s the point in trying when selfishness, “me first” and shouting others down so often seem to get the best results. It can be depressing and disheartening at times.

One of the things that keeps me going when I’m feeling like this is reading or listening to the stories of inspiring people who have found ways to keep going in the face of difficulties, who have overcome the bad things that have happened to them and decided not to give in to hatred or blaming or a desire for revenge. They have found ways to look at their situations and break with the usual ways of reacting to them just as Jesus did in today’s Gospel story. He broke with the way his society expected him behave by talking with the Samaritan woman and staying with her people as their guest. Breaking rules and taboos about how to treat people was something he did a lot, not because he wanted notoriety but because those ways were wrong and he wanted people, especially people in positions of authority to look at what they were doing, to understand why they were wrong and to change their ways.

If we only see others as this or that, a particular religion or race or party or gender etc and refuse to see anything else about them we dehumanise them and in so doing we diminish our own humanity. For me, being a Christian is about having standards and values inspired by Jesus and the way he lived and I try my best to live by them rather than adhering to a set of hard and fast rules that must be obeyed to the letter. I respect that others in all sincerity think and feel differently but for me, when rules, tenets, beliefs and attitudes get in the way of humanity then they at least need to be re-examined and re-evaluated and maybe changed. Surely the ultimate yardstick by which to measure what we think and say and do should be “What would Jesus make of this”? “What would he make of me”?

The Prayers
Prepared by Oli.

Lord God, like the water that came from rock, help us to be open to witnessing and celebrating the miracles we encounter in our lives - whether that be childbirth, wild flowers blooming or
through an experience revealed only to us.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

Lord God, grant us the awareness of our neighbour in need. Help us to respond in love to those who sleep on our streets and those we see who are hungry and impoverished.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

Lord God, for the strangers, migrants, foreigners and travelers like the one encountered by the Samaritan woman at the well, help us to be welcoming. Help us to be the thirst quencher, the
warm home provider, the friend in the wilderness. In our country and within our community, may we freely open our arms to those escaping conflict who have already had to survive the most extreme of trials.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

Lord God, during our fasting and ‘giving up’ in lent, help our bodies focus on your spiritual food, allowing us to be filled with a clearer sense of our vocation or where God may be sending
us.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

Lord God, help us to appreciate what has already been sown. We thank you for your unconditional gifts that we reap and we are sorry for when we fail to gather your harvest which sits on our
doorsteps.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

We close the prayers with the words of a taize chant: Let all who are thirsty come, let all who wish receive the water of life freely, come lord Jesus.

Merciful Father,
Accept these prayers,
for the sake of your son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

5th March 2023 10.30am – Second Sunday of Lent Eucharist

Posted on March 5, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Genesis 12.1-4a

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

John 3.1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The Prayers
Prepared by David C.

With confidence and trust let us pray to the Father.

For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. For our Bishops, Pete and Sophie, for all who serve in our Mission Area.
That in faithful witness the gospel may be preached
with humility and justice.
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

For those preparing for baptism and confirmation
and for their teachers and sponsors,
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

For peace in the world. We pray for Ukraine, Turkey, Syria
that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow
among nations and peoples,
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer,
for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger;
that they may be relieved and protected,
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

For those whom we have injured or offended,
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God,
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

In communion with all those who have walked in the way of holiness,
let us pray to the Father.
Lord of compassion,
in your mercy hear us.

Merciful Father,
Accept these prayers,
for the sake of your son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

26th February 2023 10.30am – First Sunday of Lent Eucharist

Posted on February 26, 2023February 25, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Genesis 2.15-17, 3.1-7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Matthew 4.1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written,
“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you”,
and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.” ’
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

The Sermon
By Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings

One way of understanding the temptations of Jesus is this.

He goes into the wilderness on the brink of beginning his main life’s work. His days of working in the carpenter’s shop with Joseph, his father, are now behind him. He is about to become a public figure, teaching and preaching in the towns and villages of the Galilee. It’s a leadership role, and Jesus has spent time thinking hard about what sort of leader he is being called by God to be.

The gospel for today externalises what I think has been going on in the heart and mind of Jesus.

Each of the temptations is about different ways of being a leader, different ways in which you can attract and keep a following. And he’s been struggling with that: what are the wrong paths down which he must not go. So the temptations clarify for him the nature of his leadership, his mission.

Give people bread. They follow someone who meets their material needs. Jesus has to resist that because, as he says, people do not live by bread alone. He will feed the hungry; but that is not the heart of the mission which is to satisfy something that is not material but spiritual.

Give people marvels, miracles. They will follow someone who dazzles and amazes. Jesus has to resist that too because whatever divine help he can call upon, it must not be used to boost his own popularity.

And finally, forge your people into an Irresistible force who will conquer the world. Don’t be afraid of using the weapons of evil – the sword - to bring the world under your rule.

This temptation has to be resisted again at the end of his public ministry when Jesus comes to Jerusalem for the final time. The crowd want to make him just such a leader, waving their branches of palm and shouting hosanna. So he deliberately enters the city, meek and on a donkey to make the point to himself and to them: I am not that sort of leader.

So the temptations are about a struggle to understand what his leadership must be. Paths down which Jesus must not go.

And we should not suppose that they are unrealistic paths. Jesus was clearly a charismatic figure whose teaching and preaching could move people. These were all possible leadership roles which Jesus could either take or find himself in, unless they were firmly resisted.

Jesus has to reject them. People must follow him freely, out of love and devotion, or not at all. They must freely choose his way – to show kindness and gentleness and generosity and love.

I say people must follow Jesus freely. That is important. Each of the leadership roles I have outlined sooner or later are about forms of control or coercion. The leader who promises bread creates a people dependent on him. The leader who dazzles similarly creates a people who need more wonders and can never be satisfied. The conqueror will require an unquestioning obedience. Controlling and coercive leadership. How often we have seen it down the years and across the nations.

Christ’s followers must follow him freely, out of love and devotion, or not at all.

If that is what the temptations are about for Jesus, what about us? Do they say anything to us now and the way we live our lives?

I think they do.

We may not be called upon to be leaders in any big way, but we all forge relationships with others. And the temptations to be controlling or coercive are no less for us. Lent is our time in the wilderness, our chance to look at those relationships and ask ourselves a few questions. Am I controlling? Am I coercive? With my partner, my family, my friends, those with whom I work? Do I show to them the generosity, the kindness, the love that Jesus in his life showed to those around him?

One last thought on this particular Sunday in this particular year.

Listen again to the third temptation.

The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and said to him, ‘All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Begone, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’

Among those Christians who may hear this gospel today could be the President of Russia. Will any of this cause him to change his behaviour?

Will any of it cause us to change ours?

The Prayers
Prepared by Veronica

Lord God, help us as we begin this time of reflection and contemplation of your son’s temptation and passion, in order to give his life so all people might live, to mark this Lent season in prayer and consideration of our sins, and to live our lives better as a result. Forgive us for our lapses, and support us as we try to live according to your will.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We bring before you the sins of our world, the war in Ukraine, the failure of the rich countries of the world to help those in poorer countries, the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and everywhere where there is division in society and failure to share out all the riches of the world with which you have endowed us. Help us to care for your world, and to ensure that its riches are passed on fairly to future generations.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray for our city and local community, that all may work for the good of all our fellow citizens, particularly those who serve as local councillors. Guide them to work for the good of all. We give thanks for all our local organisations who help make our Walkley area a good one to live in.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray for all who are ill at this time, particularly those coming to the end of their life here on earth. We ask that all who work in the Health Service or as carers may have the strength to carry out their work under very difficult circumstances, and that they will be recognised for the valuable work they do. In a moment of quiet we remember those known to us in special need of your healing grace at this time………….

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray for all who have died, both recently and many years ago, who were family, friends and people we only knew slightly, but continue to miss. We give you thanks for all they have meant to us, and remember some of them by name now………….

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Rejoicing in the fellowship of Mary, Mark, John and all your saints, we commend ourselves and all your people to your unfailing love.

Merciful Father,

Accept these prayers

for the sake of your son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

12th February 2023 10.30am – Second Sunday Before Lent Eucharist

Posted on February 12, 2023February 12, 2023 by St Mary's

The Readings

Romans 8.18-25

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.

Matthew 6.25-end

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The Sermon
By Joe P

Today’s reading from the Gospel according to Matthew makes me take a short intake of breath and whisper ‘If only….’ In the last few of years we’ve had a pandemic, noticeable, worldwide changes to the climate, tension between the super-powers going back to a level not seen since the height of the cold war, recession, fake news…and on a personal note I’ve started getting arthritis.

And here’s Jesus…

”Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life”

OK. I’ll really try hard….

Of course, as with any of Jesus’s teachings, it isn’t quite as simple as “Don’t worry, be happy.”

The first word is ‘Therefore’ – so it behoves us to look back at what comes before. And we have to go quite a way back to the start of Jesus’s speaking that includes today’s verses – all the way back to Matthew 5:1. For our reading is part of ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ - that includes The Beatitudes - and is the first of the long sermons or discourses of Jesus that are given in Matthew.

Whether this sermon was preached all in one go, or whether Matthew assembled it from various sermons preached by Jesus is up for debate, but it is in the context of this sermon that our reading – with it’s underlying theme of ‘Don’t worry’ – needs to be taken.

The Sermon gives us a review of what it means to be a Christian. There are a series of moral and ethical admonitions – such as Do not Murder, Do not commit adultery, Love your enemies, and instructions on fasting – which would be recognisable as part of the Mosaic Law and tradition by the listeners. But Jesus questions the pure legalistic approach offered by the religious authorities of the day. He says that righteousness through works and external obedience of the Law is not enough, but that what matters is a righteousness from within, which He brings.

The verses immediately before tonight’s reading tell us:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do NOT destroy, and thieves do NOT break in and steal.”

Jesus reminds people his listeners : “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

And we’re told rather bluntly “You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Which brings us to this morning’s reading.

When we recall what has gone before, I think it’s clear that Jesus is not really talking about food, our bodily appearance and what we wear. These are Earthly things; they’re important for our survival, but they should not be the centre of our focus.

We’re reminded that food and water are important to the birds as well as to people, but they deal with them differently. They take what’s available from the bounty of God – they don’t stockpile stuff away in barns.

The lilies? They too are as beautiful as any person could be in their finest clothes – if not more so. But their beauty, provided by God, is short lived and they will end up being used for oven fuel.

These are external things, core to the overall human condition. They’re not just things that the people of God experience – even the Gentiles (or, in some translations, pagans) – will spend their time asking “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?”.

This isn’t to say that they’re not important – in Verse 32 we’re reminded that “your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.” But we’re being encouraged to look at the difference between need and want. We’re being reminded to look at what’s important to us – because those things that are important to us – our Earthly treasures, if you like – will determine where our focus is.

Some of these external things – food, drink, clothing – we need. We need them in the same way that birds and plants do. If we don’t have enough of them in our daily lives, we shall die. And at that level we are just like the other members of God’s creation. But once we start making them into fetishes or idols, when we start regarding them as having importance above and beyond the importance to us of food and clothing – then we are starting to lay up Earthly treasures which can rot, be lost, be stolen.

We then start focusing our time and efforts on stopping our Earthly reassures being taken from us. Before we know it, we’re not just spending time and energy on worrying about real issues that we can fix or resolve, but we start getting anxious about other, less relevant things.

From an understandable concern about food and water, clothing and shelter we can find ourselves buried in the more artificial anxieties and worries of our daily lives. Not so much ‘have I got clothes to wear’ but ‘I only want to wear designer brands.’

We can become attached to these worries; and if we are attached and anchored to our Earthly goods and concerns, it will be harder for us to achieve the kingdom of Heaven.

We’re not being told to ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ – we’re being told to hold our concerns appropriately. We’re being told to not allow ourselves to get so worried and anxious that we become paralysed by fear or descend in to being busy for the sake of it, or, worse still, get to be too scared to do the right thing – to focus on our Earthly desires rather than doing what’s right. And yes, it’s hard; but by striving righteously for the Kingdom, all else will follow. We can’t get the Kingdom of God by building and populating barns of Earthly wealth, but we can get what we need on Earth by focusing on righteousness. As the Rolling Stones sang “You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you might just get what you need.”

The world is a scary place. Jesus knows this; he warns us

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Each day has trouble enough for us to handle; there is no point in us making ourselves overly anxious by worrying about things that are not yet certain.

And the world is full of real threats right now – many of which are beyond our control. We’ve all found ourselves in situations where the events in our lives are such that we are forced to fall back on the basics of getting through the next 24 hours. Times when today’s trouble is indeed enough for today.

There’s an old joke that says ‘I can handle things day by day; but every so often several days gang up and come after me at once…’ When we find ourselves dealing with days like that, we need to remember that God is with us; we can pass our worries on to him to allow us to deal with today’s troubles as they come. Tomorrow will indeed have problems of it’s own – but we can’t worry them out of existence by trying to live tomorrow today.

The Prayers
Prepared by David C.

In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.

We pray for the church. That it may act with humility and justice.
We hold before you O Lord, this past week's General Synod debate, and pray for greater realisation of your love and justice within the church.
Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer.

We pray for the world. That peoples and nations may work together for benefit of all and restore the beauty of creation.
We hold before you O Lord, all those effected by natural disasters, praying especially for the peoples of Turkey and Syria,
Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer.

We pray for our local community. That it may be a place of welcome and hospitality, and a vibrant place to live and work.
Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer.

We pray for those who suffer in body, mind or spirit. The lonely, the anxious and those in pain.
Grant them knowledge of your healing presence in their lives.
Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer.

We pray for those who have died. Remembering especially those who we have known and loved and those who have died in this last night with noone to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer.

A prayer for Racial Justice Sunday:

Compassionate God,
who sent Jesus Christ
to deliver us from all manner of injustices and inequalities,
create in us new hearts and enlarged visions,
to see the image of God in every person
irrespective of background, race and ethnicity.
May we be generous in our love of others
as we work towards ending misunderstanding, racism and injustice;
creating communities of human flourishing,
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.
Lord, in your mercy.
hear our prayer.

Merciful Father,
Accept these prayers
for the sake of your son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

Author: St Mary's

8th April 2023 7.30pm – Easter Vigil and Service of Light

7th April 2023 2.00pm – Good Friday

6th April 2023 7.30pm – Maundy Thursday Eucharist

2nd April 2023 10.30am – Palm Sunday Eucharist

26th March 2023 10.30am – Fifth Sunday of Lent Eucharist

19th March 2023 10.30am – Fourth Sunday of Lent Eucharist

12th March 2023 10.30am – Third Sunday of Lent Eucharist

5th March 2023 10.30am – Second Sunday of Lent Eucharist

26th February 2023 10.30am – First Sunday of Lent Eucharist

12th February 2023 10.30am – Second Sunday Before Lent Eucharist