Epiphany 3 / Conversion of St Paul
SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you (Psalm 67
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
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.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA
sung by Sue St Joseph
COLLECT
Almighty God,
who by the preaching of your blessed apostle Paul
caused the light of the gospel to shine among the nations:
grant that we, who celebrate his wonderful conversion,
may be united with him in bearing witness to your truth;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING
Acts 26, 9-23,
read by Margaret Morton
9 “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. 11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme, and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.12 “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 when at midday along the road, Your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’ 15 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’19 “After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: 23 that the Messiah must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the gentiles.”
SECOND READING
Galatians 1, 11-24,
read by Peter Boreham
11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin, 12 for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when the one who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace was pleased 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with any human, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterward I returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days, 19 but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord’s brother. 20 In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, 22 and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; 23 they only heard it said, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.”
24 And they glorified God because of me.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL
Matthew 10, 16-22:
read by Rev Chris Wren
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, Chapter 10, beginning at verse 16
Glory to Christ our Saviour
16 “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 2
1 Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord
SERMON
The Conversion of Saint Paul is one of the most dramatic events in Christian history. Saul’s persecution energy was transformed by the one whose followers he most hated, not just to acknowledge Christianity as a faith, but to turn all that energy of hostility into energy of mission. His meeting with the Jesus (in a blinding flash) on the Damascus Road is an allegory of turning the blindness he had to God’s work in Christ, into a brilliant and dramatic work to undergird the work of God in Jesus, and develop a deep and living theology, which we still rely on today through his letters.
The people he most despised became the people he was to work with and develop their faith response.
His deep unseeing about followers and effect of Jesus resurrection, through the healing hands of Ananias was totally reversed. It can’t have been an easy time for the Christian community as they started to work with Saul, now Paul, or for that matter for Paul to use his deep theological insights of the Jewish scriptures to transform into teaching about the meaning of the Resurrection and its relevance to the life of the times.
God uses Paul’s restlessness, theological acumen and prowess and turns them to humble service for building up the Christian communities of Asia. Paul sees the God he has served over the years, now in a totally new light, the light of Christ. His conversion shows a God who is totally compassionate, forgiving and loving. The God who even enables his persecutor, to work for the growth of The Kingdom. Now, through his letters, Paul shows us a man who wrestles with the implications of God’s self-giving love, showing that Jesus the Christ actually abolishes old boundaries (Saul’s old faith) creating a totally new opportunity for humanity.
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
To the bidding “Lord, hear us”, please respond “Lord, graciously hear us”
Let us pray
Almighty God we give you thanks that you called Paul to be an apostle and to obey your command to “make disciples of all nations”, teaching the Gentles, establishing churches and leaving us his teaching. Hear our prayer for those who today by preaching or practical care are taking knowledge of you to those who have had no opportunity to hear of your love; for those who are translating the Bible into languages which as yet have no written record of your redeeming love and for all who are called to be ministers of your word
Lord, hear us………….
Almighty God, we give you thanks for Ananias, for his faithfulness, for his belief and trust in you so that he obeyed Jesus’ command to meet his persecutor and give your grace and healing. Hear our prayer for all who witness faithfully for you, not counting the cost but trusting in you for strength and protection
Lord, hear us……………
Almighty God, the church has expanded beyond the world known to Paul and the early disciples. Hear our prayer for the worldwide church. Jesus prayed that we might be one as he and you are one. Teach us what that means for the church. Grant that in necessary things we may find unity, in doubtful things freedom and in all things charity
Lord, hear us…………
Almighty God, the churches Paul founded came under persecution. Hear our prayer for those churches today which are persecuted for their faith in you. May they know your strength and that they are supported by our prayers
Lord, hear us……………………
Almighty God, the angels sang of peace on earth at Jesus’ birth. Hear our prayer that peace with justice may prevail for all people. In our hearts we remember the nations and people where there is no peace. We pray for children who have never known what it is to live in a time of peace. Hear our prayers for the leaders of the world that they will put aside any ideas of personal gain in reputation or the increase of their territory and be motivated solely by the well-being of all people
Lord, hear us……………..
Almighty God, hear our prayers for all for whom life is difficult because of illness, long term disability, loneliness, addiction, dementia or the loss of someone they have loved. All will be mourning the loss of the life they once enjoyed and we pray that they will know the truth of your promise that those who mourn will be comforted
Lord, hear us…………….
Almighty God, hear our prayers for ourselves. Be with us this week and help us to show your love to all we meet
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
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.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God 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 among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN –
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
