St Clement Church Community Sunday Service
Good morning to you all as we celebrate our 5th Sunday of Lent Service, the beginning of Passiontide. This Service of the Word is for you to read at home if you’re unable to join us for the Eucharist service on Sunday.
May Christ’s love sustain you always.
Much love to you all,
Rev Di and family x
Let us pray;
Gracious Father, you gave up your Son out of love for the world; lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion, that we may know eternal peace through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn; ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’
Our prayers of Penitence
The first commandment is:
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Amen. Lord have mercy.
Let us confess to God our failure to keep his commandments:
Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly, love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God.
Amen.
Let us pray our Collect for today
Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross we may triumph in the power of his victory,
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever . Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 37.1-14
New Testament Reading: Romans 8.6-11
Hymn; ‘There is a Green Hill Far Away’
Gospel: John 11.1-45
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
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 wept. 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.
(This is the Gospel of the Lord. Response: ‘Praise to you, O, Christ’)
Reflection
Today is Passion Sunday, the final Sunday before Holy Week, and the readings all lead us to begin to think of the Easter message, of re-creation, resurrection and new life. Our gospel tells of the raising of Lazarus, a new life story indeed, but I was struck instead by another two aspects of the text –– the waiting and weeping.
First, the waiting;
The story begins with the message, "Lord, he whom you love is ill" But what happens next is hard to understand. Jesus waits. He doesn't seem to be worried that his good friend is ill and waits for two days before going to Bethany.
We don’t know why he waited, but we certainly know that the sisters of Lazarus didn't appreciate it. They were looking for Jesus to be the kind of friend who drops everything to come and help, even if just to stand with them in their pain and suffering, and they took him to task for his delay, both saying; “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died."
I can certainly identify with the waiting of Martha and Mary. Can't you? How many times have we waited just like they did? Thinking "Why doesn't God hurry up and do something?" or; ”Where were you, Jesus?"
We know their pain, and we share it because in too many of our homes Lazarus has died. For some it is not the literal death of a loved one. It may be the death of a dream, an ideal, or the death of hope.
We've prayed, but no answers have come. We've pleaded, but God has delayed. We've waited, but he hasn't arrived. We've held the funeral, but he didn't attend. Or so it seemed.
We don't know why Jesus waits, and we don't know why God waits, and no amount of explaining can satisfy us while we wait. And wait we do.
My only conclusion is that something critically important happens to us while we are waiting. Faith is proved and hope is tested.
Mary and Martha were not the last to wait for Jesus, and neither will we be.
And now comes the weeping;
When Mary broke down in tears before him, Jesus asked; "Where have you laid him?" And when he stood in front of the tomb, according to the King James translation of the Bible, "Jesus wept." Those who saw it were moved to say, "See how he loved him!"
We know why Martha and Mary were weeping, their brother was dead, theirs were tears of grief, tears we all understand. But what about that shortest verse in the Bible – "Jesus wept." Why did he cry? Here are three reasons offered by various theologians:
1) Some argued that Jesus was crying for the crowd because they didn’t believe in him. He looked deep into their hearts and realised that they didn’t understand him or his mission, or that he had the power to bring Lazarus back to life.
2) Some say Jesus was weeping because he hated to bring Lazarus back from such a beautiful place as heaven.
3) Many say that Jesus was weeping for himself, in anticipation of his own death on the cross. He knew that the miracle he was about to perform would inflame the situation in Jerusalem and turn the Pharisees against him.
Certainly, any of these could be why Jesus cried. But I’d like you to notice that all of these suggestions rely heavily on the divine nature of Jesus. They all assume that Jesus had special knowledge of the future, of heaven, or of the innermost thoughts of the crowd.
Personally, I don’t go much on any of them; because no human being would ever cry for any of those reasons, and if that’s why Jesus was crying, then none of us mere mortals could ever hope to identify with him.
For instance, we will never cry because we can see the future, or understand all about heaven,
or because we can read other people's thoughts. If that's why Jesus was crying, then he is far from being like us.
Do you picture Jesus as human like us or divine like God? A bit of both? Or fully human and fully divine? We try to understand both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, but it’s not easy, is it?
I prefer to think of Jesus' humanity, because I want to believe that Jesus experienced this life as much like us as possible.
And I rely heavily on Philippians 2 for my Christology. There Paul writes of; “Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn't consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men"
That's why I believe Jesus cried; because he cared. He cried for the same reason that we cry at funerals, he grieved with Mary and Martha that Lazarus had died, he identified with their pain and tears. That's what friends do, they cry when we cry.
And I can take great comfort in this reason for his tears, it tells me that God identifies with people who are hurting.
When we cry, God cries too.
There's a story of a little girl who came home late from school one day, her mother was furious and gave her a good telling off before finally asking "Why were you late anyway?"
To which the girl replied, "I was helping another girl in trouble."
"What did you do for her?" asked the mother.
"Oh, I just sat down beside her and helped her cry."
I believe that the simple words; "Jesus wept," reveal as much about Jesus as anything else ever said about him. He weeps for all who pray for God to come, and nothing happens. He weeps for all who face the tragic experiences of this life and cry their painful, "Why?" toward heaven.
Here is not a picture of a god who is unemotional or uninvolved. Here is the Lord of the universe with tears in his eyes.
For me, it’s important to believe that Jesus understands what life is like for us, he knows our temptations, he knows our suffering, our disappointments, problems and questions. And more importantly, he not only knows, he understands, because he has literally walked in our shoes. And because Jesus knows and cares, then we know that God does too. Suffering has a way of isolating us, we cannot help but think that we’re the only ones to ever experience such pain, and we feel alone.
But the tears of Jesus tell us that we can lean on him for strength, wisdom and comfort, and while we wait, he waits with us and holds us in our sorrow.
In America, opposite the Federal Building in Oklahoma that was bombed by a terrorist in 1995, there’s a statue of Jesus as a memorial to the 168 people who died, 19 of whom were children.
But this statue isn’t of Jesus with arms out wide like of that in Brazil, this one is a statue of Jesus with his face in his hands, turned slightly away from where the terror took place, with a plaque that reads, "Jesus Wept." For thousands of mourners and survivors that image of Jesus has brought comfort, hope and new life. What does God do for us? He sits down beside us and helps us cry, and sometimes that's all we need. Amen.
Hymn; ‘My Song is Love Unknown’
Affirmation of our faith
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist.
We believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again.
We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world.
This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Our Intercessions are written by Liz Davies
Holy God, before raising Lazarus, Jesus gave you thanks. Following his example, we now give you thanks for hearing our prayers even before we pray them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for Jesus’ presence here with each of us today in St Clement Church and those worshipping with us in their homes as we all raise our hearts and voices in worship, praise, and thanksgiving.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father, we pray for your Church world-wide … may its members work for the good of their communities. May it celebrate the
Creator God, once again the shadow of fear is in our troubled world with war continuing in Ukraine and across the Middle East as well as other parts of the world. We pray that there may be a cessation to all fighting; that the leaders of countries and factions will talk and find more peaceful ways of settling differences.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God, in his dealing with Mary, Martha and Lazarus Jesus showed his love for those friends who had become like family to him. We thank you for our friends and for the rich diversity that they bring to our lives. Help us to return that gift to them whenever we meet and to keep in touch with those we see less frequently.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God, touch, heal and restore all who are ill. We particularly ask your blessing on the students and people of Canterbury where there is a major meningitis outbreak. Be with those in hospital … open their hearts and minds to welcome your restoring power so that sickness ends and your healing begins. Be with all who are lonely, sad, afraid, homeless, or in any kind of need. May they all know that they are never alone and that you will walk with them whatever they may have to face. We especially bring before you: Reverend Diane, Ken, Brian, May, Susan, Tony, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger and Helen, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Mary, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and
Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Coral and Paul, Barbara, Simone, Felicity, Dinah, Daphne and David, David and Jeanette, Laurie, Catherine and those who have no one to pray for them.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Merciful God, the death of a family member or a friend is one of life’s most difficult situations to cope with… we remember those who have died from meningitis; those whose lives have cruelly been cut short in any kind of warfare or violence … especially thinking of so many innocent children … be with their families and friends as they grieve their passing. Help us through Jesus’ example to recognise that our tears are natural and bring healing.
Help us also to see that through his sacrifice that first Good Friday death is no longer such a final thing and that we shall meet again in God’s good time.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Everlasting God, we thank you for having heard us and, confident that all is safely in your hands, wherever we may be or go, we know that we are surrounded by your love and care in all that we do in the coming week.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Allen, St Andrew, and all Christian people to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father, accept our prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as Jesus taught us; Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hymn; ‘Christ is the World’s True Light’
The Peace
Once we were far off, but now in union with Christ Jesus we have been brought near through the shedding of Christ’s blood, for he is our peace.
May the peace of our Lord be with us always.
Amen.
Blessing
May Christ crucified draw us to himself, to find in him a sure ground for faith, a firm support for hope, and the assurance of sins forgiven; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us, those whom we love, and remain with us always. Amen.