Croeso! Bore da! 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.
+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 today is: God of mercy God of grace.
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 Arglwydd, trugarha. Arglwydd, trugarha.
Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy Crist, trugarha. Crist, trugarha
Lord have mercy Lord, have mercy. Arglwydd, trugarha. Arglwydd, trugarha.
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
Collect : Tenth Sunday after Trinity
Let your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please you; 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.
Psalm
Psalm 133
How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
Reading St Matthew 15 v 21-28 NRSV
The Gospel of Christ according to St Matthew
Glory to you. O Lord. 21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
Homily
Another week completed in this strange and topsy turvy world we are presently living in. Things for almost six months now, have brought with them a new "new". Who would have guessed this time last year, in the midst of Summer - wedding season - that the great year 2020 could have been a time of horror, a time of upset and personal disturbance, not only individually, but also community-based, country-based and internationally-based? It has been and still is for many, a time of uncertainty, a turning-on-its-head of all manner of things. Who could believe that we couldn't go to church?
Some months ago I took a funeral in St Athan and one of the family had been asked to read. She was exceptionally nervous and had never spoken publicly, but the deceased's daughter said I have faith, you can and will do the reading. I coached Sharron in the ways of reading aloud in Church and despite being so very worried she undertook the task. On the day she came to the lectern, read slowly, clearly with not so much as a quiver or hesitation, it was loud enough and Sharron's family looked at her in amazement. She didn't let Jack down and had conquered her fears and nerves. She also showed that the family was right to have faith in her - not just to read, but do such a good job of it. Jan had faith in Sharron and her abilities.
In the Gospel, the Cannanite woman, who had heard about the good works of healing that Jesus had been doing, that she had faith that the Lord would and could make her troubled daughter well again. She was not a Jew, but called him Lord, Son of David. She was persistent and kept going after Jesus knew of Jesus healing power and recognised his Davidic decent. She was also quite desperate to keep calling after Jesus. He responds to her faith. This story like last week's is another about faith.
Faith is about trust and obedience, faith in God and trust that we are not alone. The Cannanite woman knew Jesus could make her daughter well again and she had a rugged persistence in this, many might have given up, but she didn't. She was of a different faith yet kept at it, no hesitation, no doubting. She was obviously very desperate too. I wonder where we would be. Would we be as persistent in our faith - our belief in something
I don't know if you have been to Eyam, the plague village in Derbyshire. It is lovely: a beautiful stone village where graves are where the villagers fell and well worth a visit. However, back when the plague was well established, in the village the then Rector Mompasson set in place rules and guidelines to keep the plague within the village. He led his people with a faith that one day the plague would leave their community and there would be a future. Many villagers died including six from one family of seven and Mrs Mompasson, the Rector's wife, but no-one gave up hope and indeed in time the plague was beaten and normal life restored. Faith was resilient it didn't crumple but if anything, grew. The people had faith they trusted that there would be a conclusion of this terrible illness. So too, we have faith that Coronavirus will be beaten and one day we will meet again in church as we used to, no limitations placed upon numbers, no hand santisers and use of the chalice, the Eucharist, music and singing and so on. This is the sort of faith that the Cannanite woman had, her daughter would be made well by the Lord.
Today our challenge is to be persistent in faith in all circumstances, to know the hope of God in Christ and to above all, love as fully as we are able Love is not to be limited to those we like or know, but reach all, near and far away. But also to know we are not left without God's presence and guidance in all of our lives.
Intercessions and Lord's Prayer
Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.
For your whole church throughout the world. Give courage in the midst of storms and upsets in life, so that we see and hear Jesus calling: “Take heart, it is I: do not be afraid.”
May we follow Christ wherever he leads.
Lord, in your mercy, : hear our prayer.
For the well-being of your creation. May we seek to protect our waterways, forests, lands, and wildlife from exploitation and abuse.
Help the human family endeavor to sustain and be sustained by the resources of your hand. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
WE commit the nations and their leaders in our world to you. May nations in conflict know the peace that is the fruit of justice, and the justice that is the path to peace.
Lord, in your mercy, : hear our prayer.
We pray for those in need. Everyone who calls upon your name will know your power and love. We ask you to accompany all who are lonely, hear the voices of those who cry out in anguish, and support those who are frustrated in their search for an affordable place to live. We pray for those suffering this day
Lord, in your mercy, : hear our prayer.
We pray for our congregation. You have gathered us here today as your people and we thank you for this gift. We pray for those who are new to this community, for students and teachers preparing for a new school year, for those with A level results and for confusion and for those struggling with unexpected hardship.
You always generously with your grace for our life together.
Lord, in your mercy, : hear our prayer.
We give you thanks, O God, for the saints of the whole church from all times and places, and for the saints in our lives and in our community whom you have gathered to yourself. we remember Des and any who have died that we know. Also those who have their anniversaries at this time
Lord, in your mercy, : hear our prayer.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
Our final hymn this morning is: Brother, sister let me serve you
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.
