Sunday Worship 24th January 2021

Croeso! Bore da! Welcome to you all this third Sunday of Christmas 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: Immortal, invisible, God only wise

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.

The Collect for Third Sunday of Epiphany

Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; 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.

AMEN

Psalm 128 1 Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. 5 The Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

The Gospel of Christ according to St John

Glory to you. O Lord.

John 2 1-11 NRSV 2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, O Christ.

Homily - Rev David Prime

Do you like going to weddings? I have, in the past, but it has been a long time since I was either last able to do so, or since I was invited to one. As a priest, I presided at a number, though not as many as Rhian did. It was always a special privilege; two people committing themselves to one another for life and before God is very special. Everyone makes an effort when they attend a wedding; the way they dress, look, act and bring gifts. I can remember only one occasion when I was not happy to be involved in a wedding - when an army chaplain used this chance to give misogynistic advice in his address to the couple. He was very negative even though he was trying to give the impression that marriage was about being “one of the boys”. The woman’s place was just to do as she was told. Jesus was not like that, He was there to enhance and share the joy that is expressed at a wedding.

The fact that Christ was even there at the wedding at Cana was special; the family and community wanted Jesus and his Mum to be there. They had no fear that Jesus, having started his public ministry, would use the occasion for his teaching. Weddings were not only family gatherings but community ones too and Mary and Jesus would have been expected to be there as friends and members of the community.

Jesus cares about every aspect of our lives. Changing the water to wine wasn’t one of Jesus’ bigger miracles, but we mustn’t minimise the situation either. A miracle at a community wedding and a miracle of feeding the five thousand were equally important. Running out of wine was a big deal at a wedding. Scholars believed weddings could and did go on for up to a week. The wedding celebration was as much about commitment and honour as anything. We don’t understand how important honour was in Jesus’ time. It would have been a major embarrassment for the family to run out of wine, just as for us today, not having food to share at the wedding breakfast would be seen as failure to be the good hosts. Not only would it have been embarrassing for the hosts in front of the whole community and family; it would have been a horrible start for a marriage as the couple would not have provided as was expected of them.

How often do miracles happen right under our noses and we don’t know it? The joy when we see the first snowdrop or daffodil is a welcome surprise – we know they are coming but the actual seeing of them in the midst of gloom, Coronavirus and Winter, is a small miracle in itself! At the wedding in Cana the servant knew that the wine was all gone. Mary knew it too and I wonder if she said with concern that there was no wine left or rather, look Jesus there is no wine! Jesus performed the necessary, small miracle, providing more wine without making a fuss or causing a scene. Still to this day Jesus works quietly, but raising the profile of those who serve - the servants. The servants don’t raise their own profile, the servants don’t look to be honoured, but that’s the way Jesus works. He sees that the servant, one who serves, is the greatest of all.

For us today, in the middle of this great pandemic, it may be hard to remember that Christ came so that we may have life, life in all its fullness, but the wedding at Cana is a story that reminds us of this. The difficult times we are facing today are not the whole story, and although we may having a “running out of wine” time in which celebration and freedom are scarce for us, Christ tells us that we can trust him to turn our water, the ordinary, to wine. Like the steward in Cana, we may not know how or when our wine will be replenished, but we can be reassured that, if we do as requested, we will again have wine flowing, and maybe, it will be “the best saved to the last.”

Prayers of intercession and the Lord's Prayer.

Almighty God, today finds us in the midst of the Week of Prayer for Christian unity; help us to listen to your voice still calling us to unity in our diversity. We pray for church leaders everywhere that they may work together and promote unity among Christians

Creator God, we pray for all who work for justice and solidarity, and for all world leaders that they will continue to seek for an end to the suffering caused by war and violence, injustice and inequality, disease and prejudice, poverty and hopelessness and bring healing to the world. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer

Generous God, as we remember the presence of your son Jesus Christ at the Wedding at Cana we pray for all we know who are preparing for marriage and those who are beginning their married life together and at this time for those who have had to put their marriage plans on hold because of the pandemic. Also for those facing difficulties in their marriage and abuse in relationships. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer

Merciful God, we raise before you this morning those who are sick, sad or lonely and those who are brave and patient when things are going wrong. We pray for those whom we know who are suffering that they may know God's love and care.

Lord in your mercy:Hear our prayer

Father God, we pray for those who have departed this life and ask you, through your loving kindness, to have mercy on their souls. We remember those who have anniversaries of death at this time, may they rest in peace and rise in glory. We pray for those who mourn taht they may know your strength and guidance in challenging days.

Lord in your mercy:Hear our prayer.

Father God, we pray for those who have departed this life and ask you, through your loving kindness, to have mercy on their souls. Be with the bereaved in their loneliness and give them the faith to look beyond their present troubles to your Son Jesus Christ who died and rose again and who lives forevermore.

Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

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.

Our concluding hymn today is:

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.

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