A Morning Service for the Third Sunday of Lent 2022

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March 20, 2022

Rarely have events in the world been so coincidently related to the Gospel reading appointed for the day – or so horrific. Rather than the cruelty of a tyrant like Pilate or the random destructiveness of a tower of Siloam, we have the bombardment of cities full of children and the elderly. We have the work of evil, and just as they did 2,000 years ago, people ask ‘Why?’ ‘Why? What did they do to deserve this aggression?’

A Morning Service for the Third Sunday of Lent 2022

HYMN – O for a closer walk with God NEH 414/AMR 326 – Strachathro

1 O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame;

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

2 Return, O holy Dove, return,

Sweet messenger of rest;

I hate the sins that made thee mourn,

And drove thee from my breast.

3 The dearest idol I have known,

Whate’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from thy throne,

And worship only thee.

4 So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

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 God,whose most dear Son

went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,

and entered not into glory before he was crucified:

mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,

may find it none other than the way of life and peace;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen

FIRST READING – Isaiah 55.1-9

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

HYMN – How sweet the name of Jesus sounds NEH 374/AMR 192 – St Peter

1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

In a believer’s ear!

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,

And drives away his fear.

2 It makes the wounded spirit whole,

And calms the troubled breast;

‘Tis manna to the hungry soul,

And to the weary rest.

3 Dear name! the rock on which I build,

My shield and hiding-place,

My never-failing treasury filled

With boundless stores of grace.

4 Jesus! my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,

My Prophet, Priest, and King,

My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,

Accept the praise I bring.

5 Weak is the effort of my heart,

and cold my warmest thought;

but when I see thee as thou art,

I’ll praise thee as I ought.

6 Till then I would thy love proclaim

With every fleeting breath;

And may the music of thy name

Refresh my soul in death.

GOSPEL – Luke 13.1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

SERMON

Rarely have events in the world been so coincidently related to the Gospel reading appointed for the day – or so horrific.

Rather than the cruelty of a tyrant like Pilate or the random destructiveness of a tower of Siloam, we have the bombardment of cities full of children and the elderly. We have the work of evil, and just as they did 2,000 years ago, people ask ‘Why?’ ‘Why? What did they do to deserve this aggression?’

What sort of world have these children of Mariupol, been born into? How can they be protected, how can they be made safe from bomb or the evil intent of others?

Of course the answer is that they simply can’t. This world is not a safe place – it was never designed to be so. Will it help if they are good people; even religious people, if they repent of their sins and go to church? No, we know it won’t, the life of faith does not give you preferential treatment in the lottery of life, a mystic force field to keep you from harm. If anything the life of faith opens you to greater risk and challenge, on occasion even driving you to take risks not for you own good but someone else’s. Life lived with God exposes you to more of life, not less – at least it should.

The life of faith is not an easier life, protected by some personal plan of God, but a life lived with a new dimension, a life with a new resource and a new challenge – to live with the realisation of the presence of God; to live with an idea of a God who wants us to relate to him, and who will in turn relate to us; of a God who will accompany us in our distress and rejoice in our happiness; of a God who keeps saying to us… forever, I am, you are, for ever; of a God who, whatever we do, could not love us more, who, whatever we do, could not love us less; of a God who just yearns for us to let him be our God, to let him into our life. This is no guarantee of safety but a new perspective on reality. And a new set of resources with which to face this dangerous world, if we will learn them.

“But where is the evidence for this God?” you may ask. In the people all about you, in the hands outstretched for the body of Christ, in the prayers said since time out of mind; when the first human being said “I cannot do this on my own”, and found that he didn’t have to. In the experience of life lived alone compared to life lived with God. It is not safety, not against bombs and disease, but it is security.

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 – Faithful shepherd feed me NEH 282/AMR 415 – Pastor pastorum

1 Faithful Shepherd, feed me

In the pastures green;

Faithful Shepherd, lead me

Where thy steps are seen.

2 Hold me fast, and guide me

In the narrow way;

So, with thee beside me,

I shall never stray.

3 Daily bring me nearer

To the heavenly shore;

May my faith grow clearer,

May I love thee more.

4 Hallow every pleasure,

Every gift and pain;

Be thyself my treasure,

Though none else I gain.

5 Day by day prepare me

As thou seest best,

Then let angels bear me

To thy promised rest.

INTERCESSIONS – Kristin Tridimas

Lord, as we move further on our journey towards Easter, we pray for Your grace, mercy and love.

At this time of Lent, as we aim to give up one thing in our privileged lives, we think especially of those who have lost everything. The millions of refugees and bombed out citizens of Ukraine; the Syrian and other refugees from earlier conflicts; the homeless on our streets. Lord, send them relief in their troubles, peace to their countries and hope for the future. Thank you, Lord, for all those who’re helping them to survive.