+ In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Greeting:
Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you
and also with you.
Prayer of Preparation:
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our lord. Amen.
The Gloria:
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God, the Father. Amen
The Collect – Third Sunday before Lent
Almighty God
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
give our people grace
so to love what you command
and o desire what you promise,
that, among the many changes of this world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
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
Readings:
Jeremiah 17: 5-10
5 This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
1 Corinthians 15: 12-20
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Luke 6: 17-26
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
Homily:
Our reflection today comes from “Lectionary Reflections year C” by Jane Williams who is a theologian and lecturer and also married to Rowan Williams previous Archbishop of Canterbury (but she never mentions that!) Joy is having a week off sermon writing as the Benefice service is joined with St Mary’s Watton today for a Confirmation led by Bishop Jane.
Paul’s discussion of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 has fascinated scholars and Christians alike. It shows clearly that the earliest preaching of the gospel contained the witness to the risen Christ. This, as Paul has said earlier in this chapter, something that the Corinthian Christians heard as “good news” when Paul first came to them.
Clearly, there has been some debate going on in Corinth about the nature and reality of the resurrection. From the insistent and slightly impatient tone of this chapter, you get the impression that Paul views these discussions as typical of the Corinthians’ ability to concentrate on inessentials. There is a kind of “let’s sort this out once and for all” tone about, having late night arguments about exactly what form Christ’s resurrection body took, and whether and in what order Christians will be raised, and getting themselves and others in a great state about it.
So, in the first part of the chapter, Paul reminds them – yet again, he implies – of the proofs of Jesus’ resurrection. In the section we are looking at now, he goes on to demonstrate the theological centrality of the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is not an additional extra, which can be debated as though it left the rest untouched. Paul says, in no uncertain terms, that this is about the doctrine of God, and about our salvation.
If Jesus was not raised from the dead, then everything that Paul has taught the Corinthians about the nature and purpose of God is called into question. The resurrection is not only God’s affirmation of Jesus’ life and teaching, but it is also God’s demonstration that he is “Christ-like, and in him is no unChristlikeness at all” to borrow a phrase from Michael Ramsey. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that offers us redemption and the power that made us in the first place. It is all of a piece. It cannot be a matter for idle debate and speculation, Paul insists. If it is not true, then we have no foundation on which to put our trust in God.
The picture of God that Jesus builds up, through his life and his teaching, his ministry and his death, has strong, consistent elements. They are not wholly new. Many of them can be found in the great prophets and lawmakers of the Old Testament, as you would expect, if this is all the work of God. The Beatitudes in Luke follow the pattern that this Gospel makes particularly clear for us. The themes that fill Mary’s mouth in the Magnificat and that, strikingly, Jesus chooses from Isaiah to announce the beginning of his ministry, are picked up here. Luke paints a vivid picture. Jesus is standing surrounded by people who are hungry to benefit from the power that streams from him, and he announces, both through his healings and through his words, God’s care for the poor, the hungry and the suffering. The power of God is a power that is used to comfort and renew, and it is the power that will work, through the cross and resurrection, to comfort and renew the world. But it is not a power that we instinctively recognize or trust, unless we are utterly powerless ourselves.
Unlike the Beatitudes in Matthew, Luke has woes as well as blessings. This, like 1 Corinthians 15, is a passage about where you put your trust. Those who have nothing else in life to trust in, and so have to fall back on God, are the ones who are blessed, Luke tells us. The rest of us have had our blessing from what we chose to put our trust in.
Trust in God is at the heart of Jeremiah’s message too. His people have gradually come to trust in other things, in themselves, in novel religious rituals, in wealth, in pretty well anything but God, and they are paying a terrible price. They have chosen to rely on things that are not the source of life. Jeremiah uses water as his image of God. God is as essential to life as water is, and to choose to live without him is as stupid as it would be to choose to live without water.
Choosing to trust the God of the resurrection is not without risk. But in the end it is the only thing that makes any sense.
Intercessions:
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father:
for the peace of the whole world, for the welfare of the Holy Church of God,
and for the unity of all.
We pray for all trouble spots in the world and for all those who try to overthrow governments and take power by force.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy.
For Graham, Alan and Jane our Bishops, for the leaders of our sister churches and for all clergy and people.
We pray for our Clergy Chapter in Breckland Deanery and Stephen our Rural Dean and for on-going discussions about the form and organization of the local churches.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy.
For Elizabeth our Queen, for the leaders of the nations and for all in authority. For our Prime Minister and all those involved in both national and local government.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy.
For this community, for all our villages and for all the people who live within them. For the schools in this Benefice and for Thorp House.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy.
For those who work on the land and those who work in the factories. For all our places of paid employment. For just employers and fair wages. For those who are unemployed or on furlough or struggling to keep their own businesses afloat. For our health and care workers at this time and for all those involved in the vaccination roll-out programme, giving thanks for their dedication and cheerfulness.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, have mercy.
For the sick and suffering, for prisoners and captives, for the safety, health and salvation of all. We pray for the prisoners in Wayland prison. We pray for all those who are still suffering the effects of the virus, those mourning the loss of loved ones, those suffering from anxiety and other mental health conditions brought on by almost two years of suffering.
Let us pray to the Lord,
Lord, have mercy.
Remembering all who have gone before us in faith, and in communion with all the saints, we commend ourselves, one another and our whole life to Christ our God. We pray for Barrie Cogman and all who mourn his passing.
To you, O Lord.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Peace:
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace and builds up our common life.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
And also with you.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Prayer:
Merciful father,
who gave Jesus Christ to be for us the bread of life,
that those who come to him should never hunger;
draw us to the Lord in faith and love,
that we may eat and drink with him
at his table in the kingdom,
where he is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen
The Blessing:
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you
always. Amen