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: All my hope on God is founded
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 Collect for the Second Sunday of Lent
Almighty God,
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,
that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant that all who are admitted
into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, may reject those things
that are contrary to their baptism,
and follow in the way of Jesus Christ our Lord;
who is alive and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Psalm 22
You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live for ever!
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.
The Gospel of Christ according to St Mark
Glory to you. O Lord.
Mark 8. 31-38
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
Homily - Rev David Prime
This last twelve months has been a most difficult year in many ways, especially with the pandemic. Most plans, especially those that were made around Christmas time, had to be cancelled and many other ideas were put on hold while we waited and still wait for the vaccines to be given. How has that been for you? Have you had to cancel things? Have you found life problematical? Have you been disappointed?
In the time of Jesus Christ, things were not all that different. Plans were made and often things did not work out as hoped. Joseph and Mary, for example, might not have intended to have the baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. They lived in Nazareth, Joseph’s home, but the political decision was made that the census was to be taken and the people had to travel to the city of their ancestors.
Having things take a different course in life is not always a bad thing. I left school with a very definite ambition to become Chancellor of the Exchequer! With this in mind, I thought a first job in banking or accountancy would be a good move. The Midland Bank, as it was called in those days, offered me a place in Leicester at their International branch. However, I decided to take up another opportunity I was offered to join a local firm of accountants as a trainee. I had not been long in this post when I discovered that I did not like working with figures. I realised I wanted to work with people and their problems and ambitions; rather than bury my head in accountancy books, records and money. It was this realisation that led me to put much more effort in my lay preaching in the Methodist church and eventually to offer for the ministry. Disappointment in life can lead to opportunity.
The disappointment of the disciples when they heard Christ speaking in terms that did not match with their hopes must have been disturbing and upsetting. In fact, Peter was indignant and tried to rebuke Jesus for having such terrible thoughts. He did not want to hear such negativity, as he saw it, from Jesus when he spoke of dying. He had expected that Jesus would bring strength and healing, hope and joy. However Christ, with a much deeper understanding of his own mission, knew that there was another way that he must travel to fulfil God’s plan. What at first must have seemed like a failure, was just another step on the road to the cross, which eventually was to bring salvation to all.
Jesus himself did not have any sense of failure in this, for he knew that the road to the cross was the only way that he could travel. He was standing against the authorities of Rome, which he knew would ultimately bring him to his death. We can fully understand the whirlwind of emotions that comes when firmly made plans and hopes are dashed. Peter had spent many months with Christ, witnessing his strength, his passion, his ability to heal the sick, raise the dead and overcome the opposition of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but in this moment, Peter could only see weakness, loneliness and the apparent possibility that Christ would not overcome these things anymore. In that moment, his sense of disappointment must have been the overwhelming feeling.
Many people have been dealing with disappointments for various reasons and in various situations during the past year. People in Israel at the time of Christ were looking forward to new beginnings, many were hoping that Jesus would be the Christ, who when he came into the world, would bring change, political and otherwise, Jesus was to be hope for the world. It would have been just as hard a thing to hear him telling the people that he was not going to lead a revolution, as many have found it, listening to Boris Johnson announcing new restrictions and lockdowns. For Jesus, it was important that he didn’t mislead people into thinking that he would do whatever they wanted, but was prepared to disappoint people, knowing that they would be better for it in the long run. 2020 left many millions in the UK alone, feeling lost, confused, upset and disappointed. We can always find hope in the knowledge that, just as Jesus’ people struggled to face a situation they were not prepared for, there was a greater plan in motion which ultimately gave his people the promise of new life. It is important for us to remember that with every disappointment and change of plan, comes a new opportunity, a new twist in the road that can lead us on to new and better things, even if we cannot see it ahead of us at the time.
Lent is often seen as a season of giving things up, of hardship, suffering and restriction. I challenge you to continue thinking outside of the box this year. See if you can you find a way to recognise that the 40 days of Lent, which may curb our usual lifestyle and our dietary pleasures, do in fact provide the opportunity for new perspective, appreciation, and enrichment even in lockdown.
Prayers of intercession and the Lord's Prayer
Holy God, during this period of Lent, give us a new awareness of your presence in our Church here in the Glamorgan heritage Coast Ministry Area and teach us the humility to accept that all our gifts come from you, to be used in the service of your people and in the spreading of the Gospel.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Creator God the beauty and wonders of earth and sea and the sky you have given us.. We so often see too much of the evidence of poor stewardship in our surroundings and it is easy to forget that the world belongs to you. Help us to recognise your presence in our modern world, and help us to use more wisely the resources of the earth. We remember all who work for Fairtrade .
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Father God, we give you thanks for our Local and Church community here : for our neighbours, for our friends and for the people around us with whom we work and share our daily lives. We pray for those who are old and lonely, those isolated because of ill-health, and those who find it difficult to be accepted.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Gracious God, we pray for the sick and the suffering. For those suffering with Covid in its different forms, undergoing treatments and surgery; for those convalescing and those who are recovered. For all who care for the poorly whether in hospitals or homes. May Christ be experienced through the care of others and the poorly know peace and support.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Almighty God be near to all those who are grieving today over the loss of a loved one. We raise before you those who have died in the faith of Christ and for those whose belief is known only to you. We remember also all who have their anniversaries at this time - may they rest in peace and rise in glory.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our Prayer
Faithful God as we go out into the world today help us to remember that your Son was tempted, but chose faithfulness before popularity, service before fame and sacrifice before power. Give us the strength to reject temptation through our Lenten journey .
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: I cannot tell why he, whom angels worship
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.
