4th Sunday in Lent – Mothering Sunday
This short act of worship has been prepared for you. I invite you to share in a few moments with God, knowing that other people within Paulton, Trinity and Chew Stoke Methodist Churches are sharing this act of worship with you.
Revd Martin Slocombe
Lord, open our thoughts
To share the experience of our lives in your presence.
God be with us: God be with us
Lord, open our minds
To listen and see your presence in one another.
God be with us: God be with us
Lord, open our hearts
To know your grace and love at work in our lives.
God be with us: God be with us
Hymn – New every morning is the love www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZn-4ZyGJI
1 New every morning is the love
our wakening and uprising prove;
through sleep and darkness safely brought,
restored to life, and power, and thought.
2 New mercies, each returning day
hover around us while we pray;
new perils past, new sins forgiven,
new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.
3 If on our daily course our mind
be set to hallow all we find,
new treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
4 Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,
as more of heaven in each we see;
some softening gleam of love and prayer
shall dawn on every cross and care.
5 The trivial round, the common task,
will furnish all we ought to ask;
room to deny ourselves, a road
to bring us daily nearer God.
6 Prepare us, Lord, in your dear love
for perfect rest with you above;
and help us, this and every day,
to live more nearly as we pray.
John Keble (1792–1866)
Prayer of adoration and confession
God of the street, and of the estate; God of the village and of the town; God of the nation and God of the world – we come before you this morning each in our different homes, united with Christians from all places in your created world, bringing with us our joy and our praise, our thankfulness and gratitude, our worries and concerns, our questions and our doubts.
We each come, united with our friends in our various churches this morning, and with all those throughout the world who have heard your call to respond to your love, wherever they are throughout the world.
Gracious God, on this special day of thanksgiving, we catch a glimpse, through a mother’s love for her child, of how you love each of us; your care, dedication and devotion. Lord God, we come to worship you this morning, for you are the God of all peoples, as much our mother as our father.
In humble adoration, we offer you this time of worship, and with your blessing, may all that we do and say, sing and hear be worthy of your presence with us now.
We confess that we are not always good at being the people you want us to be. We easily take a mother’s love for granted, failing to express our thanks and slow to demonstrate our appreciation. Despite our best intentions, we easily forget to acknowledge your love in our lives, we close our eyes to you in what we see around us, and we fail to hear your word when you speak to us.
Through your loving mercy, may we seek your forgiveness and your strength to start each day anew with you by our side, influencing our thoughts and actions.
Amen
And we share an alternative version of the Lord’s Prayer this morning …
Heavenly Father, heavenly Mother,
Holy and blessed is your true name.
We pray for your reign of peace to come,
We pray that your good will be done,
Let heaven and earth become one.
Give us this day the bread we need,
Give it to those who have none.
Let forgiveness flow like a river between us,
From each one to each one.
Lead us to holy innocence
Beyond the evil of our days.
Come swiftly Mother, Father, come.
For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:
Forever your name is All in One.
Amen
Reading – Exodus 6:2-13
God also spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the Lord. 3I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name “The Lord” I did not make myself known to them. 4I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. 5I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6Say therefore to the Israelites, “I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement. 7I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” ’ 9Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.
10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11‘Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.’ 12But Moses spoke to the Lord, ‘The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?’ 13Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, charging them to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.
Reading – John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’
Hymn – May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-_4Gay-1b0
May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place. (Men)
May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place. (Women)
May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place. (Men)
Lovely fragrance of Jesus, (Women)
Rising from the sacrifice (All)
Of lives laid down in adoration.
May the glory of Jesus fill His church. (Men)
May the glory of Jesus fill His church. (Women)
May the glory of Jesus fill His church. (Men)
Radiant glory of Jesus, (Women)
Shining from our faces (All)
As we gaze in adoration.
May the beauty of Jesus fill my life. (Men)
May the beauty of Jesus fill my life. (Women)
May the beauty of Jesus fill my life. (Men)
Perfect beauty of Jesus, (Women)
Fill my thoughts, my words, my deeds, (All)
My all I give in adoration.
Graham Kendrick
Copyright © 1986 Thankyou Music
Reflection
Mothering Sunday is the day when we traditionally give presents to our mothers to acknowledge all that they do for us, that we might take for granted the rest of the year. As well as give presents we give them some of our time, and take the opportunity to share the day with them, social distancing and Covid-restrictions allowing!. This is perhaps the most important thing, to give to those we love whilst we have the chance.
Our gospel story finds Mary giving lavishly and abundantly to Jesus the very expensive perfume, whilst Martha is busy with the practical matters of preparing the meal. Which is more important?
Reading from Exodus, Moses is being instructed by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery to the land which he promised to Abraham, but it’s not that easy. The people don’t listen to Moses, and so God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask him to release Israel from its slavery. Moses can imagine how well that will go down with Pharaoh, and lacks the courage to go and do what God has commanded him. Moses certainly has his work cut out for him, not only in speaking to his own people, but also to the one who is holding them in slavery. It is important for the people of Israel to be in God’s promised land, to spend time in his presence, and they can’t do that whilst they are still being held in slavery in Egypt. Moses is tasked with making this happen.
Martha, also has domestic problems of her own. She is so busy preparing the house for Jesus and cooking a meal that she wants to be perfect, that she is confined to the kitchen, but in being so busy serving her guest, she is kept from his presence.
The pandemic has forced us to put down all the things in church that we are usually busy with, and it should therefore, have freed up much more time to just be in his presence, but does it feel that way? Or have other things expanded to fill that time. Many of us are eager to resume worship together, but perhaps some of us are dreading the business which comes with that. This time in the wilderness should have helped us to consider the balance we have in our lives between being busy for God, and just being with God. We can be so busy rushing around helping with the various activities going on in the church, are we in danger of losing sight of our need to rest in the presence of God? To give abundantly to God as Mary does, as well as to give practically as Martha does.
That’s not an excuse for not volunteering to help where we can, but we need to get the balance right. It is commendable and appropriate that we want things to be right and well organised, the microphones have to be checked, the organist needs to know what hymns are to be sung, the words need to be printed, the preacher needs to be comfortable. Of course it has to be right, and we are very grateful to those who volunteer to run activities and to be stewards for their hard work so that things do run smoothly. But it can be very easy to be so busy that we lose sight of what is important.
Mary gives generously to Jesus without a care in the world, she sits down, laughing and chatting with Jesus, just relaxing and enjoying being with him, not rushing around or getting hot and flustered, but enjoying the moment. And then she takes the jar of expensive perfume and anoints Jesus’ feet. Not only is she generous with her time, but also with her possessions. She may not have another chance, and so now is the time to give abundantly while Jesus is with her, even though the money could perhaps have been used better elsewhere. The point is that she had the opportunity to do something special for Jesus, and took that opportunity when she had the chance.
But perhaps Mary is the one who has got it right. To be sat in the presence of the Lord, to take time out from our busy lives to share some time with him is important. We might be grateful to our mothers for the practical things they do for us, but the most important thing is the time and love they share with us, and we with them. Jesus says, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about the poor, but just for this moment it is more important to take advantage of the opportunity to share this time, to give what she could, before going back to her other chores.
And that can be true for us also. Our other obligations will still be there when we resume worshipping together, but just for now, in this period of enforced rest, we need to give ourselves some time to be with God, to be in his presence, to get to know him again.
Like the Hebrews, we are travelling through the wilderness, there is no going back, only forwards. Are we certain of what the new land will be like? No, we are not. So let us take this opportunity to listen to God as he tries to show us the way, and may we trust and believe in his promises to us.
Amen
Prayers of intercession
In the quiet of this time, we thank you Lord for the chance to be in your presence, to leave the distractions of our lives behind, and just be with you.
May we be like Mary, and extravagantly share the most precious things in our lives with you, our time and our love.
Help us never to be so busy that we can’t find time for you, never to be so worried about life that we cannot turn to you, never to be so distracted that we cannot thank you for just being there for us.
Lord, in your mercy … Hear our prayer.
We pray for all in their time of need.
For those who have no time to spare as they balance jobs, caring for their children, looking after elderly parents, home schooling, the challenges of lockdown and the need for company and stimulation.
For those who have too much time, and nobody to share it with. The lonely, the outcast and the dispossessed.
For those who have nobody to care for, and nobody to care for them. Those who are marginalised, rejected, the different and the challenging.
Lord, in your mercy … Hear our prayer.
We pray for our families and friends, and for all those in need at this present time.
Lord, in your mercy … Hear our prayer.
Lord, we offer all we have, our time and our possessions, as we seek your will, and to serve you as mothers to the lost.
Amen
Hymn – Take my life, and let it be www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf11rReeWIs
1 Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love;
take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will, and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine;
take my heart — it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store;
take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879)
Blessing
May the Lord who brought us to birth by his Spirit,
strengthen us for the Christian life.
May the Lord who provides for all our needs
sustain us day by day.
May the Lord whose steadfast love is constant as a mother's care,
send us out to live and work for others.
And the blessing of God Almighty.
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be with you and remain with you always. Amen.
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