Services this Sunday for The Alde Sandlings Benefice
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Aldeburgh |
10.30am 6.00pm |
Holy Communion Evening Prayer |
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Aldringham |
11.00am |
Morning Prayer |
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Friston |
9.00am |
Morning Prayer |
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Knodishall |
9.00am |
Morning Praise |
Collect
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.
First Reading
Nehemiah 8.1-3, 5-6, 8-10
All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 12.12-31a
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
Gospel Reading
Luke 4.14-21
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
Post Communion
Almighty Father, whose Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is the
light of the world: may your people, illumined by your word and sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known,
worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth;
for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
Sermon preached by The Revd James Marston at Aldeburgh 16th January 2022
May I speak in the name of the living God, Father Son and Holy Spirit.
Or should I say May I speak slowly in the name of the living God, Father Son and Holy Spirit.
I have been advised on several occasions over the last two and a half years to slow down. It has been mentioned to me – and I can assure you in the Alde Sandlings benefice people are not reticent when it comes to the dispensing of advice – that my pulpit performance across the four churches can be a little on the speedy side.
No time to take in my thoughtful ideas, to short a pause to laugh uproariously at my numerous wisecracks, not enough space for everyone to take in what I’m trying to say.
Sermons, while hopefully not exactly a marathon are not meant to be a sprint either, and I need to listen, or my hard work is simply wasted as people switch off and admire the architecture or read the in-between bits in the book of common prayer.
Indeed, I have been there myself and can remember stumbling across the 39 articles of the Church of England at the back of the BCP during a particularly dull sermon by an archdeacon on the rarely lively topic of climate change.
And like my sermons, our faith is not a sprint. We don’t get there by rushing around and not listening to others, we don’t flourish in our fellowship and understanding by hurrying and hastening our way along the path, we don’t build up our prayer life and our Christian outlook overnight. In fact, it all takes a lifetime.
Today’s gospel reading, is of course, a well-known one. The wedding at cana in galilee and the turning of water into wine.
This extraordinary episode is, it seems to me, an expression of God’s overwhelming outpouring of love.
A spectacular miracle at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry that sets the scene for something amazing, something out of the ordinary and something astonishing that has not come before.
It is also interesting to reflect on what it must have been like to have been there and how those present reacted to this miracle – indeed we are told the episode revealed Jesus’ glory and his disciples believed him.
The wedding at cana is, if you like, an epiphany moment. A marker along the journey of Jesus’ story and his ministry, but also a moment which changed the lives of his disciples.
We often recognise these epiphany moments in our own lives. Those moments where we understood something or met someone, or something was revealed to us that made a situation make sense.
Often after an event, things are revealed later with almost crystal clarity. And we ask ourselves time and again why we hadn’t seen it at the time.
In our journey of faith these epiphany moments often happen via our response to scripture or teaching or prayer or worship – we see something we hadn’t seen before, and the penny drops.
These epiphany moments are, of course, also that which makes up our journeys of faith.
They are markers of recognition that inspire, encourage, and enable us to deepen our understanding, to deepen our perception, to deepen our fellowship with others – to draw us to closer and prayerful union with Jesus – to become as St Paul calls it “In Christ”.
Indeed, these epiphany moments along the way are often manifested by a greater and more profound understanding of ourselves and of others, which foreshadows a spiritual maturity and a greater capacity for love alongside a greater desire to share God’s love.
These things all happen as a result of the deepening of our faith.
The turning of water into wine is a new beginning which happens at the start of Jesus’ ministry. This is a ministry that doesn’t end with the either the crucifixion or the resurrection or even the ascension, but is, in fact, a ministry that is active and continuing today.
The presence of Jesus among us, is not limited to nor constrained by the Eucharist or even church services but is an ever present force within us and within our Christian life as a church and as individuals.
Indeed, tomorrow I am due to be signed off by the bishop, a moment at which my curacy sort of comes to an official end.
This is something of a formal rubber stamping of who I am and what I have been doing here among you. It is also a recognition of the journey I have been on alongside you all.
But, of course, this isn’t an ending. It is a beginning, a small step along the way, in which my ministry as a priest begins to develop in a new way. Dovetailing, in some ways, of course, with the new start anticipated by the benefice in the coming months.
We celebrate epiphany every year, year in year out, not least because it gives us all a chance for a new beginning as we deepen our journey of faith together.
So my challenge to you this week is firstly to remember that the journey of faith is not a speedy sprint and to look out for those epiphany moments as you take each step along the way. And secondly I urge you to pause and think about the concept of a new beginning in your own story.
What do you need to do to develop your understanding? How might you be inspired, or inspire others, to share the love of God?
How can you restart and reignite your own faith? And what can you do for and within your church community and wider community to help others do the same?
Amen
Next Week
Sunday 30th January
Fourth Sunday of Epiphany/
Presentation of Christ at the Temple
NOTICES
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✟ Church of England and Diocese Online Worship ✟ https://www.churchofengland.org/ Church of England Facebook page Church of England YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/ St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page |
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Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets. The Trussel Trust Organisation Food banks in our network have seen an increase in the number of food parcels given out over the last year due to Coronavirus, so any donations are much appreciated. You can find out which items your local food bank is most in need of by entering your postcode here – https://www.trusselltrust.org/give-food/ |
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Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week. All requests by 4pm on Thursday please |
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Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays The Pilgrims worship together every Wednesday. Saturday 5th February Pilgrim Community Breakfast and Ramble starting at the Parrot Pub at 9.30am for Breakfast. As before, a delicious breakfast bap and coffee / tea combo for £5 is on offer at the Parrot (definitely not to be missed) before we head out to explore local paths. Come just for breakfast and a catch-up with folk, come for just the ramble or come and enjoy both. (You don’t need to book in advance, you can decide on the morning.) To help with timing, if coming only to ramble then we generally head from The Parrot around 10.30am. |
