A Morning Service for the Sunday before Lent 2022
HYMN – Be thou my vision – NEH 339/10 Hymns for Today (Do NOT use MP) – Slane
1 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art,
Be thou my best thought in the day and the
night,
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my
light.
2 Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word
Be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord,
Be thou my great Father, and I thy true son,
Be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.
3 Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the
fight,
Be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might,
Be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tower,
O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my
power.
4 Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Be thou my inheritance now and always,
Be thou and thou only the first in my heart,
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
5 High King of heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys after victory is won,
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.
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
PRAYERS OF PENITENCE
God the Father forgives us in Christ and heals us by the Holy Spirit.
Let us therefore put away all anger and bitterness, all slander and malice,
and confess our sins to God our redeemer. cf. Ephesians 4.30,32
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour,
through our own fault,
in thought, and word, and deed,
and in what we have left undone.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For your Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.
May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen
THE COLLECT
Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
FIRST READING – Exodus 34.29-43
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
HYMN – Tis good Lord to be here, NEH178/AMR560 – Carlisle
1 ‘Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.
2 ‘Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy beauty to behold,
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Thy messengers of old.
3 Fulfiller of the past,
Promise of things to be,
We hail thy Body glorified,
And our redemption see.
4 Before we taste of death,
We see thy kingdom come;
We fain would hold the vision bright,
And make this hill our home.
5 ‘Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But since you bidst us leave the mount
Come with us to the plain.
GOSPEL – Luke 9.28-36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
SERMON
Do you remember, the Beatles sang:
Help.I need somebody
(Help) not just anybody
(Help) you know I need someone, help .
I caught an interview on he radio a little while ago – it was mental health day – and the subject was young people committing suicide. And that got me thinking. We all need help at some times in our lives, or even perhaps all the time, maybe we are all helping each other on life’s journey or failing to do so. I was having a chat with a teacher after church two weeks ago and she reminded me how much young teachers needed help. The sort of solution that came to the mental health problem from the interviewee was to add a bit more to Personal, Social and Relationships Education lessons in schools. Perhaps that is better than nothing, but surely we need to do more than that.
At their best churches have lifted people up so that they become their better selves – the special person they were meant to be. (Genesis 1.26-27) I hasten to add both then and now churches have not always fulfilled their potential in doing this, as you are no doubt aware. Once, attendance at religious worship was much larger than it is today – I have looked up the church attendance figures from 1851 when approximately 61% of the population went to a religious service on the Census Sunday, made up of 30% at the Church of England, 25% at other Protestant churches and 2% at Roman Catholic ones. Although people might have gone to a religious service for different reasons – lack of alternative entertainment or for courting – I suspect some of the (hopefully) supportive culture was there for those who attended. Today, so many miss out on this valuable resource, this source of help.
What has this to do with our gospel reading you may be asking. We are well aware that Biblical readings can have more than one meaning. The obvious meaning of the Transfiguration is that this is part of the gospel theme of the answer to the question – “Who was Jesus of Nazareth?” But it seems to me it is also telling us something else.
The three disciples, Peter and James and John were being given a vision – a vision to help to prepare them to take their part in making God’s kingdom come on earth. As usual, the disciples appear not to have got the message; elsewhere James and John asked to have positions of honour in the new kingdom (Mark 10.37); the disciples were told that it was about being the servant not about being top dog. (Matt 20.26, Mk 10.43 and Lk 22.26)
I think we all can receive “visions”, but in different ways, through art, through architecture, through music, through words, through looking at nature, for example. For me, the art and architecture work less well, but for others the feelings created by them are crucial. I think of a view over Romney Marsh from a road which is high up and passes along the edge of the marsh; I think of a hymn which reflects the effect of music which is “Sometimes a light surprises a Christian while he sings”; I remember well a moment -which will turn up in a sermon in the future – when I was training as a Lay Reader, as it was called then. Suddenly, I thought – that is it, I’ve got it, I understand, I have made sense of …And the benefit of the “vision” is not just for our own benefit, not to bring us out on top, to make us important, but for the benefit of others, for the Common Good. However, we cannot expect “visions” all the time as Peter appears to want in wanting to make three tents or even “visions” on demand as the famous American theologian turned humanist, Joseph Fletcher, seemed to think in later life. Some will see the “vision” and others will not, as the great poet and priest, George Herbert, put it in a poem/hymn:
A man that looks on glass,
on it may stay his eye;
or if he pleaseth, through it pass,
and then the heaven espy.
Of course, “visions” have to be tested; some politicians have managed to conjure appalling “visions”, but that is another sermon.
We all need “visions” of how things can be explained and how life can be improved. We need help to see the vision, like the help that was provided to Peter, James and John at the Transfiguration. But that help, in whatever form it comes, is not for individuals alone, but for the benefit of all. We, in sharing the “vision” we can play our very small part in helping and healing. KEITH ATTON
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;
he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures;
afterwards he appeared to his followers,
and to all the apostles: this we have received,
and this we believe. Amen. 1 Corinthians 15.3-7
HYMN – Christ whose glory fills the skies NEH 234/AMR 7 – Ratisbon
1 Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Daystar, in my heart appear.
2 Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.
3 Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.
INTERCESSIONS – Jenny Walmsley
Heavenly Father, today we think of the troubled parts of the world, where there is so much suffering, where darkness prevails and where the light of the Lord seems so remote.
We pray for people whose humanity is denied by others
– for those who have fled from oppression within their own country
– for those without homes and food
– for those suffering from malnutrition, illness and disease
– for those living in fear of the barbarity of soldiers, or tanks and rockets, especially in Afghanistan and the Ukraine
We pray for all those working for peace and justice. Sustain and encourage them in their difficult work and let their focus be on helping others rather than themselves.
Lord, in your mercy – Hear our prayer.
We pray now for the whole family of the Church. When we receive the bread and wine at our communion, may we experience a sense of belonging to each other. We pray for William, our rector, and all of his team, and we give thanks that we live in a society in which we can worship without persecution.
We pray for each other, that we may respond to the challenges that life today presents to us. Help us to be able to look at ourselves, and to recognise our failings, our inadequacies and the need for your presence in our lives. Help us to treat our new freedoms with respect and care so that our country can move forward and enjoy a more stable and less anxious lifestyle.
Lord, in your mercy – Hear our prayer.
We pray for those in need, both within our own families and in the local community.
We pray for those who are ill, whether in their homes or in hospital, and we think especially of Mary Hinton who is going to hospital. Bless them – may they know your love and in doing so receive courage and strength in their time of need.
We pray for the elderly, especially those unable to leave their homes. We pray that they will feel your presence and guiding hand.
We pray for the young people coping with the influences and demands of school, of university, and of work. May they know real love and security in their lives.
We pray for marriages under stress. For children suffering from abuse or the loss of a parent and for those fighting the temptations of gambling, alcohol or drugs.
We pray for those who mourn through recent bereavement and who miss the companionship and care of loved ones. Give them peace.
Lord, in your mercy – Hear our prayer.
Christ our Guide
Stay with us on our pilgrimage through life.
When we falter, encourage us.
When we stumble, steady us.
And when we have fallen, pick us up.
Help us to become, step by step, more truly ourselves.
And remind us that you have travelled this way before us.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God perfect in you the image of his glory and gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon us and remain with us always. Amen
HYMN – At the name of Jesus – Camberwell – NEH 338/AMR 225 – Camberwell
1 At the name of Jesus
Every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess him
King of glory now;
’Tis the Father’s pleasure
We should call him Lord,
Who from the beginning
Was the mighty Word.
2 At his voice creation
Sprang at once to sight,
All the angel faces,
All the hosts of light,
Thrones and bright dominations,
Stars upon their way,
All the heavenly orders,
In their great array.
3 Humbled for a season,
To receive a name
From the lips of sinners
Unto whom he came,
Faithfully he bore it
Spotless to the last,
Brought it back victorious
When from death he passed:
4 Bore it up triumphant
With its human light,
Through all ranks of creatures,
To the central height,
To the throne of Godhead,
To the Father’s breast;
Filled it with the glory
Of that perfect rest.
5 In your hearts enthrone him;
There let him subdue
All that is not holy,
All that is not true:
He is God the Saviour,
He is Christ the Lord,
Ever to be worshipped,
Trusted, and adored.
6 *Brothers, this Lord Jesus
Shall return again,
In the Father’s glory,
With his angel train;
For all wreaths of empire
Meet upon his brow,
And our hearts confess him
King of glory now.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen