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: O worship the King
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 : Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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
Psalm 124 NRSV
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side —let Israel now say— 2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, 3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; 4 then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; 5 then over us would have gone the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. 7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Reading St Matthew 16 13-20 NRSV
The Gospel of Christ according to St Matthew
Glory to you. O Lord.
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[a] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[b] and on this rock[c] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was[d] the Messiah.[e]
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
Homily
When David and I first met in theological college in Bristol, remembering we were Methodists back then and were at Wesley College. On about our second day of lectures we had one of those squaring exercises – you know where you meet up with someone in pairs and they discover some details about you and then they introduce your pair to another pair. Now initially the person who asked details about me was someone who inadvertently thought I was from The Vale farming stock and then introduced me to David as the daughter of a farming couple! My Dad was in fact a pharmacist, not a farmer and we had absolutely no farming genes in us! Well we roared with laughter and the inaccurate fact about me has never been forgotten. I believe it came up at our wedding!
We are many different things to many different people depending on our relationship with them and how much they know about us. I am Mrs Prime to the car insurance folk and that is how they address me. If I go to the doctors they usually call me Kathryn which is my first name and I never answer to it! I am Rev Prime when I am taking assemblies in school, at Governors meetings or at community events, I am usually Rhian in Church because that is how I want you to know me and feel it is important that I am easily approachable. If you asked my children I am Mum and to many of my friends, I am Rhi. In the same way, how well do you know me, and some will say a driver of a Nissan Note, a resident of St Athan community, others would say a mother and again some would say a priest or friend or confidante, but they may not know more personal details like what colour do I like, what music do I enjoy or what food do I love and how am I actually feeling today.
In today’s Gospel we find Jesus has slipped into the district of Caesarea Philippi. The town itself was about twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee and was a pagan town. Jesus has gone there not to teach the locals but rather to instruct the disciples, to have a quieter time with them, a time of withdrawal, and not so distracted by people and other issues. Jesus asks the disciples whom do people think the Son of Man is and they answer, John the Baptist or Elijah , or Jeremiah or one of the prophets, but then Jesus comes in with the question, “who do you say I am?”
I do love Simon Peter he is keen, eager, longing to be with the Lord, but sometimes says and does the wrong thing out of his desire to get in there! He is impetuous and unsteady. But here Peter recognises Jesus. We only find in Matthew’s Gospel, “the son of the living God”, which might just mean Messiah, but could mark out Jesus unique nature as Son of God, a relationship which binds Jesus to God.
So how do we see Jesus, in our relationship with him? Is he leader of your life, a guide, a way to the Father? Is he a friend, a person of peace? Is he the Lord or aren’t you yet sure? When we know someone well we have got to know that person on many levels over a period of time, think when you were courting first, on a first date you find out many things with the boy or girl, you listen intently to them and observe their reactions, you look at their face and what clothes, jewellery etc they wear. But you don’t know very much at all about that person really - just a little taster. With Christ too we can read in Scripture about his life and works, we can come to church to discover more, we meet with him in the Eucharist, in the community, with the poor, neglected and so on, but how much do we know about our relationship with Christ? Is it everything we can know?
I believe our knowing Jesus is a life-long journey and we are always learning, always growing closer to Him, always discovering more and more about Him. We are often a bit like Peter, jumping in, but not fully understanding, but as Jesus told Peter, when he knew who he was, so too we have eureka moments and we see things more clearly. Being a Christian takes our life’s commitment and an openness to discover, discern and draw closer to our living Lord. It takes faith, honesty and above all love of God and of his people.
Intercessions and Lord's Prayer
Everlasting God, we thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus Christ and for revealing him as Messiah and Saviour of the World. Thank you that your son gave Peter the keys to the kingdom as a reward for his lively and outspoken faith and so became the bedrock foundation of your church here on earth.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Holy God, we pray for your church and ask that it might always be a solid foundation upon which we can anchor our lives. We especially pray for Christians who pay a heavy price for their faith; who daily experience hostility, from their governments, employers and neighbours, as a result of their identification with Christ.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Creator God, you created us to be stewards of your creation but we have become reckless in our caring and allowed greed to overtake.Help us change our ways so that we can look after the world, and to make it the way that you want it to be.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Loving God, help us be reliable and honest in what we do, and friendly to all we meet in our daily lives. Help us always to give our best, to work to our fullest and never be ashamed to confess your name. In our leisure time, help us to play hard, but to play fair. Help us to win without boasting, and to lose graciously without making excuses.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, We pray for the ill, the lonely and distressed especially those tormented by fear arising from the Global Pandemic. We pray for healing and wholeness in their lives and we pray for ourselves. Help us to bring life and love, joy and hope, to those who live in despair and give help to all those treating the effects of Covid-19 and those working to find a cure.
(add names of those requesting prayer)
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Merciful God, remember the souls of your servants who have died, especially those who have died in Christ................ We give thanks for their lives and how they touched and influenced us. We remember all those who have anniversaries at this time......... May they all rest in peace and rise in glory.
And as we pray we bring before you all those who are mourning that tehy will knwo your strength, support and peace.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Faithful God, forgive us when we only turn to you when things trouble us and when we forget to thank you for your goodness. Help us to recognise all the wonderful things in your world for which we should be grateful and send us out into the coming week ready to show our gratitude in all that we do and say.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
Our final hymn this morning is: O for a thousand tongues to sing
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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