Croeso i pawb! Welcome to you all this Sunday morning. Please do make yourself known to me if you are popping in or if I can help in any way.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
Our opening hymn today is: Be still for the presence of the Lord,
Heavenly Father, all hearts are open to you.
No secrets are hidden from you.
Purify us with the love of your Holy Spirit
That we may love and worship you faithfully,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen
Lord, have mercy Lord, have Mercy
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy
Heavenly Father,
we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and have failed to do
what we ought to have done.
We are sorry and truly repent.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ
who died for us, forgive us all that is past,
and lead us in his way
to walk as children of light. AMEN
May God our Father,
who by the Lord Jesus Christ
has reconciled the world to himself
and forgives the sins of all who truly repent,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
and grant us the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
The Gloria.
Glory to God in the highest
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer,
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. AMEN
The Collect, first Sunday after Trinity.
God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Reading
Matthew 9:35-10:8 (NRSV)
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
10 Then Jesus[a] summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[b] 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’[c] 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,[d] cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
Homily
When I was very young and in hospital in The John Radcliffe, Oxford, for yet another operation, my parents used to cringe with embarrassment, as they told the story, of how when I was given some notebooks from somebody's company, scribbling sheets and pencils, pens emblazoned with their name, I took it upon myself, one weekend to rise to the challenge that I needed some money! My Mum went home, for some reason , no doubt important, to sell them to the other children in the ward. I made a good amount of money apparently and secreted it in my bedside drawer. I used it, so, I was told to buy chocolate from the daily trolley that used to do the rounds, even on thechildren' ward in those days. Lovely, I thought! However when my parents found my secret stash and asked how I had all this change, was I in big trouble. I was made to give back all the childrens' money, give my chocolate away and give them the remaining scribble pads and pens etc and of course apologise. I had thought I was on to something really good! I had risen to my own challenge and had succeeded, though it obviously wasn't ethical but calculated!
How do we respond when we think we have a challenge before us? Many of us turn our backs to it and just press on with our lives, ignoring whatever it might be. Some people leap up and respond with all of their being and simply love being involved, but for others it is with trepidation that they take on the challenge and are keen to be relieved as soon as possible.
In our Gospel reading today, we discover the writer of St Matthew, stating, Jesus is saying that His ministry will need to served by additional people. It needs more. The Apostles, those who are sent out, to proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ. They are sent out with Christ's authority, to preach, to teach and to heal. We can but guess, that St Matthew's writer, was convinced that the Apostles were the beginning of the ministry, as Christ's chosen men who would pass Christ's authority on to chosen others for the work of ministry.
And so it rolls on, there are those in every generation who are called and equipped with authority to undertake this ministry in its various and manifold forms. To serve Christ through the Church is something to which, in various parts, we are all called, all challenged. We are not just left to get on with things under our own steam, we cannot undertake it completely, in our own strength and it may not be an easy road to travel. However, knowing that, whatever we are called to do in Christ's name, we are equipped for it and enabled to carry out, however, small or great the task. It might well cost us dearly in various ways, but will bring us peace and joy too
To respond to being involved in Christ's ministry, is a personal challenge but we are not left alone and enabled in every way to be able to carry it out. In a few minutes we can sing the hymn, "Will you come and follow me?" and will we go out and be involved in that ministry?
Intercessions and Lord's Prayer
Almighty God, we ask you guide your Church especially when differences amongst us seem to threaten our very existence. We face each other, but often do not see the face. We too easily make “an other” of one another. Help us now to look again, to see Jesus in the face and to recognise hopes, aspirations and desires.
Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Creator God, we are part of the tensions and injustices of the world: heal the resentment between people, and intervene in the world’s conflicts. Help us to walk humbly with you at our side and when we come to the crossroads and have to choose which way to go lead us down the path of justice and righteousness whilst steering us away from the road that leads to selfishness and sin.
Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Father God, help us to be gentle, with others and with ourselves. Give us, we pray, the calm that makes for consideration and the respect for others that makes us courteous. Take from us hard words, aggressive actions and the cynical look. Let us be to others as we would wish them to be to us and, when we fail, forgive us and when they fail, heal us.
Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Caring God, we pray for all those who are afflicted by physical, emotional or mental illness especially the problems caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.. We remember all who are unwell at this time in whatever form and we mention them quietly now..............
Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
Holy God, your love reaches beyond the grave. At the end of our days on earth be with us and with those we love and with those whom we love and have gone before us. We pray now for those who have recently died both Coronavirus related and from other causes and for those bereaved by their passing.We bring them before you now silently....
We give thanks for all who have their anniversaries too. May all teh deceased rets in peace and rise in glory.
Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer
We pray for ourselves and responding to your calling of us to be involved in your ministry in our world. For our loved ones, families and friends that we may be responsive to your love and call to us all.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The Lord's Prayer
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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: Will you come and follow me,
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand. - Irish blessing
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.
