Croeso! Bore da! Welcome to you all.
Please do make yourself known to me if you are popping in or if I can help in any way.
+Yn enw'r Tad, a'r Mab, a'r Ysbryd Glan. Amen
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
Our opening hymn is: Tell out my soul,
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
On Mothering Sunday, many of us thank God for the women who have had the greatest impact on our lives, and celebrate their unconditional love and sacrifice.
For others, however, Mothering Sunday brings mixed emotions, and it can take real tenacity and trust in the Holy Spirit to give love and to feel loved.
So, in this service we remember before God families of all kinds, as they navigate the joys and challenges of family life, and ask for his blessing upon them.
Prayer of confession
Wherever we are, we live in God's family. When our families are broken by circumstance and pain, He reaches out to hold us in His arms, piece by piece He makes us whole again, and in His love-filled hands we are transformed.
Let us humbly confess our sins to almighty God.
Lord God, Father of all, we confess that we have not always followed your commandments. We have failed to honour parents; we have not encouraged children; we have not submitted to one another out of reverence for Christ. Lord forgive and heal us, we pray and help us to love unconditionally those we live with, as you have loved us, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Absolution
May the Lord who wills us all to live together in harmony, forgive all our sins, and bind us together in unity and love. For the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord, open our lips, and our mouth shall proclaim your praise
We sing to you, O Lord, and bless your name:
And tell of your salvation from day to day.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
Worship the Lord.
All praise to his name.
The Song of Anselm of Canterbury
Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you;
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
Often you weep over our sins and our pride, tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, in sickness you nurse us, and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life; by your anguish and labour we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness; through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
our warmth gives life to the dead, your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us; in your love and tenderness remake us.
In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness, for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
The Ministry of the Word
Psalm 34:11-20 NRSV
11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. 20 He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
The Gospel of Christ according to St John
Glory to you. O Lord.
St John 19:25-27 NRSV
And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
Homily
As we have been writing the blog together we have thought much about what makes our home, a home, our comfortable and safe place. We have considered the Danish movement of hygge which emphasises use of time, space and natural things to enhance your home, candles, a fire, books etc. We have thought about meals when they are prepared at home with care and equally, are a form of hygge, which not only feeds the body but also the mind and spirit. What sort of things do you hold dear in your homes?
Our homes are our safe places in which we can take those invisible masks off that we all wear in different situations. But what makes our home a home? For some it will be the way it feels with furnishings and soft furnishings, and for others it will be about who lives there. It might be the smell of home-made dishes or baking from the kitchen or scents of perfume, polish, bleach, coffee and aftershave which hang in the air. Home is where you don’t have to speak, where you can be grumpy, inefficient or just tired.
Home to us all, is important and in the same way Jesus' home was special. It was the people who made up his home who loved him and cared about his needs. In a similar way, it is for us the memories about home, Mum, Dad, cooking smells, which speak of love and warmth for many of us. As I break up my father's home, it is a sad task not only because now both my parents are dead, but also because it is the destroying of that safe and special place for me - my go to spot when things felt challenging. My married homes have all been to some degree transient as we were always moving as you do in the Church and on the go. I think James, our son, had 12 different homes before he was three!
In the Gospel from St John we find Jesus already upon the cross and the soldiers having shared out Jesus’ clothing and cast lots for his seamless robe. This was Roman law. A victim of crucifixion’s clothing were the benefits of the job for his executioners. Here we find a dying Jesus, a mother, her heart utterly breaking, and a dear friend, helpless in what he can do. It appears that Jesus has made preparation for his mother to be cared for in the beloved disciple’s home. It could well be that this indeed was the home of a relative, but there is no talk of Jesus’ siblings who indeed might have taken on the role of care for Mary. However, to our minds, it does seem natural that Jesus might have wanted Mary to live in a place which she could call home, where she could be herself and feel safe and cared for.
Today we are marking the fourth Sunday of Lent and it is of course Refreshment Sunday, a tiny break in the Lenten practices and disciplines to enable the rest of the Lenten journey to take place. It is Mothering Sunday, as distinct from the highly commercial American Mother’s day. It might involve under normal conditions visiting our Mother’s in person or their graves, it could also be visiting our Mother Church for worship and of course it is about recognising the need to mother. We all need to be affirmed, whoever we are and whatever reason. It is important for our own sense of well-being and health, that we make time to return to our roots, our homes, our formational church and with the people who can encourage us offer stability, nurture and above all love.
It is a time when we can reflect on home, whether our physical homes and families, our mother church home or indeed our spiritual home with God. They are all places where we can be relaxed, throw off our shoes, so to speak, and be comfortable. However, we also need to recall that for many people the notion of home being a place of love, safety and nurture is alien. The qualities of mothering though, are beyond the home, beyond just physical parents. Mothering is allowing individuals to flourish, to be the best they can possibly be through the sacrificial care of others and the love of God for each of his children. It is where we as individuals can be mothered too, in our own sadness and vulnerability; it is where we mother others. This is home, this is safety and love, this is growing in faith daily, because we are held by God who loves us every step of the journey. So today, Mothering Sunday, refreshment Sunday and in mid-Lent let us return thanks to Almighty God for all those who have mothered us in our journeys, and above all, give thanks for that place we call home, where ever it is and whatever it is.
The Affirmation of Faith
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
God of celebration, who rejoices with those who rejoice,
we pray for those for whom Mothering Sunday is a time of thanksgiving and joy
God of love: Hear our prayer
God of compassion, who weeps with those who weep,
we pray for those for whom Mothering Sunday is a time of heartache and pain.
God of love: Hear our prayer
God of community, who calls the children to come to him, we thank you that your love abounds for families of every kind.
God of love: Hear our prayer
God of comfort, who gathers us as a hen gather its chicks, we thank you that your love surrounds the disappointed and hurt.
God of love: Hear our prayer
Generous God who knows all his children's pain we pray for all who are ill, those who care for them and their loved ones.
God of love: Hear our prayer.
God of love, who surrounds the dying with peace and supports those who mourn. May they rest in peace and rise in glory.
God of love:Hear our prayer.
God of every circumstance, we bring our thanks and praise that we belong to your family as your beloved children. Amen
As our Saviour taught us, we boldly pray:
Our Father
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect for Mothering Sunday.
God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Our closing hymn: Bind us together Lord
May the love of the Father fill our hearts; May the love of the Lord Jesus fill our homes; And may the grace of the Holy Spirit bind us together in love in our families and communities.
The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and ever more. AMEN
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Ewch mewn tangnefedd i garu a gwasanaethu'r Arglwydd.
If you would like to donate £5 to the overall work of the 12 churches in the parish, please carefully text: GIVE5 to 70970. Thank you, diolch yn fawr.
