 The Lord be with you! Welcome, Cheviot churches and also those joining us from elsewhere. This is Colin, and I hope everyone is staying well and keeping safe. Come, people of God, let us worship together on this Fifth Sunday of Lent, sometimes called Passion Sunday or, in the North East of England, Carling Sunday.
Notices:
Call to Worship We’ve come to worship God, who loved us before we were yet born, who knows us even better than we know ourselves, whose presence never leaves us, and whose love for us never ceases. This is our God. Let’s worship together! Hymn 184 – Sing to the Lord a joyful song Prayers of Adoration and Confession Creating God, With springtime sun and the promise of new life, you wake us from our slumbers. We glorify your name for you are faithful to us through every season of the year and every season of life. We are grateful for your patience and persistence, drawing near to us even through the times we cannot draw near each other. You promise us hope in Jesus Christ, drawing life out of the grip of death. Even as his cross looms on the horizon in this season of Lent, we praise you for Jesus’ courage and compassion which bring renewal to us in the midst of our challenges. We praise you for the love that never lets us go. Jesus, our friend and Saviour, As we ponder your sacrifice, we recognize the self-centred ways in which we lead our lives. You entrust us with the task of sharing your love in this world, yet we often we fall short. We get lost in our own plans and worries and neglect to show love, even to those right beside us. Forgive us, Lord Jesus. Renew a right spirit within us, so that we find the courage to go on and the compassion to reach out in your name. Jesus said, come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Friends, trust that peace and forgiveness are God’s gifts to you this day. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Jeremiah 31:31–34 John 12:20–33 Hymn 224 – The Spring has come Weekly Prayer Loving God, we ask you to put your law in our minds and write it on our hearts as we join in our worship together. Help us remember that you do infinitely more for us than we can ask or imagine. Hear our prayers for all your creation and gather us in the embrace of your abundant and life-giving Spirit. Help us to serve and follow you. Amen Reflection Having returned from living abroad for so many years, I was aware that some things in British culture had just passed me by. One of them was just how many people had tattoos. Sportspeople in particular seem to have the most wonderful designs on their arms and legs, a lot of which seems to be Maori in origin. A friend of mine in Israel, a young Palestinian, had his back tattooed with a cross; it was part of his identity as a Christian. But it was in Egypt that I became most aware of tattoos, as all the Christians were expected to have a cross tattooed onto their wrist as young children. It was a sign of identity, though it also marked them out, and they faced discrimination over education and jobs. I was very tempted to have a small cross tattooed on the base of my thumb, but it didn’t happen. In Isaiah 49, The prophet speaks of God never being able to forget us and having our names written on the palm of God’s hands. Some divine body art! But it is incredibly comforting to us. However, in Jeremiah, we read of the new covenant which would be inscribed, not on tablets of stone, but on our hearts. God had made the covenant with the people on Mount Sinai and had given them the way to live as a community of God’s people, but again and again they had broken the rules and turned their backs on the covenant. They kept saying that they would mend their ways, but their promises were hollow. But at the crisis through which Jeremiah lived, when Babylon had captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, the prophet said, ‘Enough is enough’. He said that God was making a radical new covenant, which would be written in the people’s hearts, so that living out God’s commandments would be natural. As Christians we see the fulfilment of this promise in Jesus. In our Gospel reading today from John, events are coming to a head. It is Passover time, a very spiritual, emotional time, and many pilgrims had come to Jerusalem, from within the country but also from overseas, including some Greeks. Maybe they were attracted to Judaism because of its morality and its worship of one God, maybe they were tourists. But they had heard of Jesus and wanted to meet this celebrity who had turned water into wine, healed the sick and was even reported to have brought his friend Lazarus from the dead. They approached the two disciples with Greek sounding names, Philip and Andrew, and got their entry. I don’t know what they expected, but Jesus launched into a theological discourse, saying that a seed has first to die in the ground before it can grow stronger than ever. Jesus was saying that he would need to be lifted up on the cross and die in order to be glorified, but also in order to bring new life to all. We too have to let old ways of doing things die in order to move on and progress. This Covid crisis will force us to do things differently in the future, a ‘new normal’, but that is not something to dread, but a positive, like Jeremiah at a crisis time moving the people forward with his talk of the new covenant. Like the disciples, who would have been happy keeping the status quo with Jesus for ever, but through his death and resurrection they were given the gift of the Spirit and moved on to bring the church to birth. Like the disciples we have to let go of our prejudices or even our old way of thinking, in order to be allowed to grow and be re-energised and continue the building of the kingdom. Hymn 356 – Meekness and majesty Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession God of growth and new life, with our gifts we offer you our thanks and praise for the promise of spring and the promise of resurrection in Christ Jesus. Bless our gifts and through them, accomplish more than we can ask or imagine, as they bear fruit in the world you love, through Christ, our Lord. We pray for the world and remember those who are vulnerable and frightened to leave their homes for fear of street crimes, and we pray for the time to come when violence will be no more and all will live in security and safety. Your kingdom come on earth as in heaven. We remember those who have suffered abuse at the hands of friend or stranger, and who bear the scars physical, mental and emotional, we pray for the time when all women and all men will respect each other, and where children will not fear violence or abuse. Your kingdom come on earth as in heaven. We remember those whose human rights are ignored, those used as political pawns in disputes between nations, those who live in constant fear of the bomb or the bullet, and we especially remember for the people of Myanmar and Yemen and Syria on the 10th anniversary of the start of the unrest there. We pray for the time when peace will reign throughout the world. Your kingdom come on earth as in heaven. We remember those who are alone and isolated, those who mourn, those who are ill and those who look after loved ones, and as we especially remember… we pray for the time when there will be no more pain or tears and when all will live in full community. Your kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Loving Lord, as we look upon each other may we see your image which we all share; may we love as we are loved, and may we welcome as we have been welcomed by you. In your name we pray. Amen Hymn 555 – Amazing Grace Benediction Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. With that confidence and in that hope, let us go in peace to love and to serve the Lord all the days of our lives. And so may the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always, Amen
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