5th Sunday in Lent
Sunday, 06/04/2025
OPENING SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE –
The Lord has done great things for us; and we are glad indeed (Psalm 126)
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.
Kyrie sung by Sue Turner
COLLECT
Merciful God,
look upon your family as we travel to the foot of the cross:
and, by your great goodness, guide us in body;
that, by your protection,
we may also be preserved in heart and mind;
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: Isaiah 43.16–21 Read by Annette Beagrie
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16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. ✝ 20 The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
SILENCE
SECOND READING Philippians 3.4b–14, read by Kay Solaja
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4 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, 9 not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL READING – John 12.1–8 , read by The Rev Dr James Clark-Maxwell.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John, Chapter 12, beginning at verse 1.
Glory to Christ our Saviour
1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three
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hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
It’s not been a very good time for the people of Birmingham recently I don’t know if you noticed this, but just two days ago the Birmingham City Council declared a major incident over their bin strike. Refuse collectors in the city have been on strike for the last several weeks, and there seems to be no end to the dispute. Reports from the city are grim. Refuse litters the city streets and this has brought out the attention of rats in large numbers. As often in these situations, it’s the poorest areas that come off the worst. In these parts of the city people don’t tend to have cars, and the rubbish just piles up. In the more affluent areas, people with vehicles have organized themselves to take their binbags to the council tips, and you wouldn’t know (I got this from a BBC
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radio reporter) that around these properties there was even a strike on.
It’s the problem of rubbish which is at the heart of Birmingham’s problems at present, and this is something also which played on the mind of Saint Paul as we can see from the second eucharistic reading today. In his letter to the Philippians, he writes, “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ…” The English translation to the Greek is “rubbish, but as I seem to remember from my New Testament scholarship days, the closer word to the Greek meaning is the word, “dung”.
Saint Paul had every religious advantage you could think of, and he sets these out at the beginning of today’s reading. He was circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel. He tells us he was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, zealous for the law as a Pharisee. The problem was that all these things that should have placed Paul in a good relationship with God resulted in filling his mind with such hatred that he had become a persecutor of the Christian Church. I doubt whether Saint Paul ever reconciled himself to the paradox that, whilst the law was good and holy, his obsession with keeping it as a way to find righteousness in God’s sight had led him to do the cruel things he had done before his conversion.
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There are two lessons we can learn from what Saint Paul shares with us in his letter to the Philippians today.
The first is his reference to the rubbish in his life. Lent offers us the choice to do some stock taking – to clear out, with God’s grace, what may be harmful to us spiritually.
The second lesson is to recognize, as Saint Paul did, that good works, in themselves, can never earn our salvation. It doesn’t work in that way. It’s not like our good and bad deeds are recorded on a slate, and if our good deeds exceed our bad ones by only one point, we get into heaven. No! Salvation comes from the grace of God alone, as Saint Paul discovered after his Damascus Road conversion.
One final aside to Saint Paul. During the limited time I was a schoolteacher I tutored a group of sixth form girls who were studying Religious Education. One of these, a bright girl called Carol, had been to a university interview at a theology department, and had been asked, “What is the most radical statement that Saint Paul makes in his letter to the Galatians?” How tough a question was that, both for her, and for myself, as I had to think on my feet when she relayed this question to me. Then it came to me, it is Saint Paul’s statement, “I live, yet not I, it is Christ who lives in me.” All of us would do well to take this as our text to reflect on, and to pray over, as we prepare to engage with the events of Holy Week and Easter again this year.
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
Let us pray for the church and for the world.
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Heavenly Father, we come before you to offer up our prayers
In Your great love, You sent your son to redeem us and bring hope to all creation. As we gather in worship, we lift our prayers to You with gratitude and expectation, trusting in Your mercy and faithfulness.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord, we pray for Your Church throughout the world during this season of Lent.
Strengthen us in faith, deepen our commitment to prayer, fasting, and service,
And help us to be faithful witnesses of Your love.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
We pray for our primus +Mark, our bishop elect Nick, Jim as interim priest in charge and all assisting clergy and laity that they be strong in faith to help us to be united in truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world
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We pray for all in positions of power that they refrain from abusing those who they govern.
We pray for peace in countries that are torn by conflict and long for a ceasefire.
We pray for war zones, terrorist acts of violence and areas of unrest.
Praying for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Berlin and many more parts of our world.
Strengthen us to be a beacon of hope and comfort in every place of darkness.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
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Lord, at this time we pray for the lives lost and impacted in the recent disasters across the world
in the midst of destruction, be our peace.
In the face of loss, be our hope.
And as communities rebuild, may Your presence guide them with courage and resilience.
We entrust all who suffer into Your loving hands,and we pray for Your mercy and grace to shine upon them.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Our Mighty God, who reigns with power and authority over all creation.
Help us to trust in Your strength even in the face of trials.
May Your justice and righteousness prevail in the hearts of all people.
We pray the Scottish Episcopal church, the Methodist church in Scotland and the Anglican Communion that we continue to work together in union, even when we may have differing views.
Though We are many we are one body for we all share one bread
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
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We pray for all Christians regardless of their denomination,
many of which are persecuted for their faith.
We pray for those who, unlike us, cannot celebrate the birth of your son but live in fear.
Let them know they are not alone even in the darkest of times.
Loving father, when there is darkness, help us find the light.
Let us be lights in your world and let your love shine.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Loving God, we bring before you the young people of our church and this community.
Grant them the courage to face the challenges of life with hope and faith.
Help them discover their gifts and talents, and to use them for the good of others. May they always know your presence in their lives.
We pray for the Provincial youth committee as they continue to work for youth representation in our church, to be seen in their congregations and their voices to be heard at all levels of our church.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
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Lord God, we pray now for those in need of your healing touch in our congregation and throughout the world.
We pray for all who suffer in body, mind and spirit.
Comfort those in pain and take away their fears.
Eternal God, our Everlasting Father, who holds us in His eternal love. Bless families and communities this day, bringing reconciliation where there is division, and unity where there is unrest. Comfort those who are lonely or grieving, and surround them with Your peace.
We remember before you all those who have died these past days.
Grant them rest and peace,
comfort to those who mourn.
We thank you for their lives and for the ways in which they have touched our own.
We also remember those whose anniversary is at this time
We pray that according to your promises they may rest in your eternal kingdom.
We pray now for the family and friends of
Agnes Laurie
Jean Brown
May they rest in peace and rise in glory
In your mercy hear our prayer
Heavenly Father,
God of Light and hope,
Look upon us with love,
And fill us with your spirit
You loved this world so much that you gave your only begotten son,
So That we might be saved.
Let us walk beside you out of the darkness into the light
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
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
