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: Let all the world in every corner sing
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 Third Sunday of Lent
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AMEN
Psalm 19
1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament[a] proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice[b] goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens[c] he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;[d] do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
The Gospel of Christ according to St John
Glory to you. O Lord.
John 2:13-22
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
Homily
Anger is an emotion that every human being has and has to learn to cope with. It can be positive at times and equally negative too. It isn't always a good emotion and can be very destructive and self damming. How do you deal with your anger and what do you do?
Young children who cannot cope well with their emotions will often burst into tears, stamp their feet, stomp away or even throw things and try and hurt others. I recall dealing with a bright and lively five year old who was used to getting his own way at home, having had a major angry meltdown, things were not going his way, sobbing into my jumper and telling me" I know I am wrong, but I don't know what to do with myself." He recognised he couldn't handle his anger, but didn't know what he should do about his feelings. How many of us as adults equally haven't learned how to control these overwhelming emotions that swamp our beings at times, when we often feel we are right, feel principled etc. If we are in control we might remain silent and walk away from the situation but, so many will shout, scream, throw things, swear and even throw a few punches etc. The worse scenario might be even killing and maiming.
In our Gospel reading we hear again that familiar of passages, Jesus’ anger at the goings on in the Temple. Now of course he would have known about the goings on at the Temple, this would not have been the first time he was angry, but why show it in this very public way at this time? Jesus was a Jew, he knew all too well about the needs of sacrificial worship, the oxen and sheep and how important that was for the Jews, in a Roman occupied land especially. The money changers were necessary in order to change the money from all the visitors, the pilgrims to the Temple into Jewish currency and thus also pay the necessary temple tax. Only the Jews were allowed into most of the Temple and those who weren’t Jews were allotted an outer court where they could come, purchase a sacrificial offering, pay the Temple tax and then depart. Perhaps a bit like when you pay an entry to a grand house, you come in and just see the beginnings of what might be on offer, but can’t go further because you are not family! Jesus was cross and spoke out about things both physically showing his presence through action and by words.
Not all anger is negative and destructive. It is not all selfish and here Jesus displays that yes He is cross, He is indeed very angry, but he is not wrapped up in selfishness. He isn’t bearing a grudge, but rather this is righteous anger. Sometimes we have righteous anger when we see the wrong in a situation, which prompts us to speak out and become involved. Some saw this in the Black Lives matter campaigns as they recognised the various injustices to people of colour. Equally though, was it right because of anger, to cause violence and destruction of public property even though the cause itself may have caused such righteous anger? We cannot just hide behind actions and words unless we like Our Lord are behaving in an unselfish manner. We as human beings are selfish we want and need to protect ourselves, our own, our existence. It has been said by “humans are always motivated by self-interest and selfishness, even in what seem to be acts of altruism.” As humans we need, we need companionship, we need to be valued, wanted and loved. Jesus himself knew the power of those about him who cared and loved him, not as a Messiah figure but, the human side of his divinity.
So we acknowledge that we will have to face up to our emotions including our own anger and righteous anger. A little anger doesn’t hurt if it means we think beyond our own threshold and demonstrate love to others. It also keeps us aware that we are human and are not perfect! Our anger is a personal problem and if it leads to outbursts, aggression, physical decline, and we do need to reach for help. But it also can be channelled into positivity into serving Christ, into recognising how we exclude others and how we neglect showing love for others. Jesus’ love was total, as was demonstrated upon the cross. It was not selfish or misguided - it was complete. Can we learn through managing our emotions, to love for Christ and embrace righteous anger when we should, forgiving others their selfish moments too?
Prayers of intercession and the Lord's Prayer
Faithful God we pray for the church throughout the world and especially for our
Ministry Are and all the Clergy and Reader team and for Alison who guides the team.
Lord in our mercy: Hear our prayer
Creator God, we pray for the governments of the world, that they may always seek for peaceful solutions in their dealings with other nations and rule their own countries with compassion and justice. We pray for the Government of the UK and of Wales as they try best to deal with the issues of the pandemic.
Lord in your mercy:Hear our prayer.
Generous God, we thank you for our families, friends and neighbours and for the people with whom we work or share our daily lives. We pray for those who are lonely, those isolated because of Coronavirus and those who find it difficult to make friends or be accepted.
Lord in your mercy:Hear our Prayer
Gracious God, we pray for all who are in pain or are suffering at this time . In a moment of quietness we pray for them, and any we know who are in any kind of need at this time. We remember those who care for the poorly, the carers medical staff, friends and families.
Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.
Merciful God, we pray for those we love but see no longer. Grant them your peace, let light perpetual shine upon them, May they rest in peace and rise in glory. We remember before God those who have recently died especially those whom we know and love. We pray to for those who mourn this day and for all who have their anniversaries at this time.
Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.
Faithful God, as we turn from our worship into our daily lives in your world, we thank you for the help you give us to resist the temptations that we know are all about us.
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 closing hymn is: Inspired by love and anger. This is a new one for me, but its lyrics are powerful and tune lilting.
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.
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