Sunday worship - 6th June 2021

Croeso! Bore da! Welcome to you all on this Sunday.

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: Stand up and bless the Lord

1 Stand up, and bless the Lord, ye people of His choice; stand up, and bless the Lord your God with heart, and soul, and voice.

2 Tho' high above all praise, above all blessing high, who would not fear His holy Name, and laud and magnify?

3 O for the living flame, from His own altar brought, to touch our lips, our minds inspire, and wing to heav'n our thought!

4 There, with benign regard, our hymns He deigns to hear; though unrevealed to mortal sense, the spirit feels Him near.

5 God is our strength and song, and His salvation ours; then be His love in Christ proclaimed with all our ransomed pow'rs.

6 Stand up and bless the Lord, the Lord your God adore; stand up, and bless His glorious Name henceforth for evermore.

Heavenly Father, all hearts are open to you.

No secrets are hidden from you.

Purify us with the fire 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

Collect for the week

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. AMEN

The Word of God.

Psalm 138

1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; 2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.[a] 3 On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.[b]

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth. 5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. 6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. 8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

The Gospel of Christ according to St Mark

Glory to you. O Lord.

Mark 3:20-35 NRSV

"20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. 28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” 31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters[a] are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”"

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, O Christ.

Homily

When I meet people, often in a bereavement situation I see family disagreements and sometimes these are quite nasty. In these instances people can literally be fighting over the ownership of the deceased possessions and even their desires beyond the grave. Frequently, I am privy to the worse type of behaviour. Back to my favourite tv programme of the present – Our Yorkshire Farm. There the large young family of nine children and Mum and Dad face and discuss issues together and they are bound together by cords of love, care and respect for each other. Everyone has an opinion and an opportunity to be heard, nobody is poo-pooed and Dad is exceptionally good at finding the best in everyone’s actions.

Family today in many cases means very little and such ties are overtaken by the desire to be independent and live a selfish lifestyle. This is something which I see much of - the I want, I need brigade. The complaining about one’s personal circumstances on social media when others around only wish they could be in the same position.

So to our Gospel reading, and here in Mark’s Gospel Jesus’ family and the teachers of the law are aware, and both challenging him differently. Mark 3:20 tells us that Jesus entered a house and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. We are not told the location of the house, but it is safe to guess it is likely to be close to the home of Jesus’ extended family, for they receive word of what is taking place. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” They would not have been able to travel quickly to a location unless it was nearby. Now earlier in the chapter we discover that Jesus had healed in the synagogue on a Sabbath, a man with a withered hand and the Pharisees were watching Jesus to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. He did and they managed by their no comments, to make Jesus angry and distressed. Jesus continue to preach and heal and selected the twelve special friends, Jesus called them to service. This is why it is always important to put a passage from Scripture, or even a verse or two in order, in context so we understand it properly and understand it fully. So, were Jesus’ family unhappy with what he was doing? Or maybe they felt he should as the oldest son been helping at home? Was he doing something harmful to the family or rather perhaps, putting the family name in dispute? Or did they just not understand Jesus and what he was about? They were certainly very cross with Jesus and made a show of their feelings.

On the other hand the Pharisees were quite deliberately watching Jesus to see if he would break the law on the Sabbath. They were almost rude not answering Jesus’ questions and almost creating a situation where Jesus might break the Law. When he did heal on the Sabbath and in the synagogue they were quick to join up with the Herodians and plot how they could kill Jesus. In the Gospel we hear that the teachers of the law initially said Jesus was mad, possessed by the devil, Belezebub. Jesus is naturally incensed because they have failed to understand him and his ministry.

The final insult is when Mary and Jesus’ brothers arrive and Jesus doesn’t acknowledge them as his family. Now he doesn’t mean they are not his flesh and blood, but rather the will of God should be central to any family. Jesus refers to those around him as his family. How often have we said can chose your friends but not your family! Friends can be golden, they can do more to help, support you they are there on the spot when so often family are miles away. Jesus’ friends those he had especially chosen he felt were as close as family and maybe even understood his needs and ministry better. Now many people have very close family, but equally many don’t who notice if you are not in a good place, having problems, invite you to a meal to help out or helps practically in the home or with the children.

Do we value and return thanks for our families, for their love and care, do we daily thank God for them or have we found our families where we are united with our close friends and do we thank God for them too? Do we remember that we are called as friends of Jesus Christ to follow and serve both within our own families, the community and within the family of the church – our church. Who will you thank God for today and how will you show the cords of love and care to others within our families whether birth or beyond?

Prayers of Intercession and Lord's Prayer

Almighty God we ask you to guide your people and to inspire us with the desire to put aside our differences as we seek to serve you. Help us to reach out as the Body of Christ to all.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

Creator God, we return thanks for you have given to us. may we be faithful stewards of your Creation. We pray that those who lead us and the other nations of the world, will always try to solve issues in a just and caring way, and deal with the world’s problems with forethought and common-sense.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

Generous God in today’s Gospel your son Jesus' teaching regarding families is hard for us to take on board fully, and so we ask you to help us to be gentle, with our families and friends both birth and wider. Let us be to others as we would wish them to be to us.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

Gracious God, we pray for all those who are afflicted by physical, emotional or mental illness. Be with them all, through the lonely watches of the night as well as in the daytime. We name before you silently those who are in need of prayer.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer.

Merciful God, your love reaches beyond death and so we bring before you those whose earthly life is now ended. Receive their souls , and we remember also all those who have anniversaries at this time. May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Lord in your Mercy: Hear our prayer

We pray for ourselves that we will share with joy our faith in you, with our families and friends and that together we may grow closer to you.

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 is: Bind us together

The Lord be with you

And also with 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.

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