Sunday, November 19, 2017

Forgiveness And Reconciliation

Text of the Week: Let us not become tired fo doing good: for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.  Galatians 6:9

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. It’s Sunday Special today – that means that any children and young people are invited to go through to the café space where there’s some breakfast and lots of activities to enjoy. Thank to our Explore Group who have put together the first part of our service today and to Hy-Tec and Hy-Tide who have put together the last part of our Service. This morning’s service follows on from Remembrance Sunday last week and takes us back to the occasion when David Waters, who spent a gap year with us twenty years ago, joined our panel at the 40th anniversary of Richard’s ordination. David gave us a fore-taste of the Songs of Praise programme he had recently worked on. It was broadcast last Sunday afternoon to mark the 30th anniversary of the Enniskillen bombing. It tells a moving story of forgiveness and reconciliation. This evening’s service ties in with this week’s readings from Matthew’s gospel in Fresh from the Word. Rachel Jacques has copies of the new edition of Fresh from the Word ready for 2018. If you haven’t before, do join those who have been using Fresh from the Word. It gives us the opportunity to read the Bible together as a Church family not only in our Sunday services but through the week as well.


Welcome and Call to Worship

After the welcome invite people to be quiet and in the stillness sense the presence of God with us.

Jesus said,
For where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there among them.

Please remain seated to sing as a prayer …

38 As we are gathered, Jesus is here

            As we are gathered, Jesus is here,
            one with each other, Jesus is here;
            joined by the Spirit, washed in his Blood,
            part of the Body, the Church of God.
            As we are gathered, Jesus is here,
            one with each other, Jesus is here.

John Daniels (born c.1954)
Copyright © 1979 Authentic Publishing/Adm. by kingswaysongs.com

And so with the presence of Jesus with us
it is good to join with all God’s people wherever they may be
to sing our praises to God.

Then I saw the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fall before the Lamb,
and sing a new song:

Then I looked,
and I heard the voice of many angels
surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders;
they numbered myriads of myriads
and thousands of thousands,
singing with full voice,

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and in the sea,
and all that is in them, singing,

‘To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honour and glory and might
for ever and ever!’

And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’
And the elders fell down and worshipped.

Let’s stand as we are able to join in singing

173  Sing to God new songs of worship-
all his deeds are marvellous;

1          Sing to God new songs of worship-
            all his deeds are marvellous;
            he has brought salvation to us
            with his hand and holy arm.
            He has shown to all the nations
            righteousness and saving power;
            he recalled his truth and mercy
            to his people Israel.

2          Sing to God new songs of worship-
            earth has seen his victory;
            let the lands of earth be joyful
            praising him with thankfulness.
            Sound upon the harp his praises,
            play to him with melody;
            let the trumpets sound his triumph,
            show your joy to God the King!


3          Sing to God new songs of worship-
            let the sea now make a noise;
            all on earth and in the waters,
            sound your praises to the Lord.
            Let the hills rejoice together,
            let the rivers clap their hands,
            for with righteousness and justice
            he will come to judge the earth.

After Psalm 98, Michael Baughen (born 1930)
© Michael Baughen/Jubilate Hymns

It is wonderful to join in with all God’s people wherever they may be and of every generation in singing the praises of God.

Let’s share together in saying the words of Psalm 145 in our praise of God.

I will extol you, my God and King,
   and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
   and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall laud your works to another,
   and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
   and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
   and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
   and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

I will extol you, my God and King,
   and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
   and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   his greatness is unsearchable.


How good it is to sing the praises of God.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

And sometimes it makes us feel very small, all too conscious of our inadequacies, our frailty, our sinfulness.

We know what we should do … and yet so often we don’t do as we should.

We know what we should say … and yet so often we don’t say it

We know what should be in our hearts … and yet so often it’s not there!

But that’s the whole point of the faith we share in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The God he opens up for us to sing our praises to is the God who is full of compassion, who sees us as we are and touches us with a deep-down love that forgives.

Let’s go back to that wonderful vision of God’s glory Iain began our service with …

Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slain,

And grasping the secret of life in all its fullness

Then it was that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, sang  a new song:

‘You are worthy to open up the secret of life in all its fullness
for you were slain and by your blood you set your people free for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation;
you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,
   and they will reign on earth.’

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice,

‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honour and glory and blessing!’

Let’s look to Jesus and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and in the knowledge of that wonderful love of God let’s say together more words of that Psalm.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

I will extol you, my God and King,
   and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
   and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   his greatness is unsearchable.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
   and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

On Tuesday evening we met together at Explore to put this morning’s service together. We’ve celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Richard’s Ordination as Roy Jenkins, David Waters and Yvonne Campbell shared their vision for the church with us. We have celebrated the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and the wonderful insight it has given us that God’s grace in all its love reaches out to each of us before we have done anything to deserve it.

We have reflected on dying, death and what is beyond in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. In  our Remembrance Service we have committed ourselves once again to work for that peace which those who died in war longed to see.

Where can we turn next?

Reconciliation was, we sensed, the theme we should share today.

Reconciliation begins with forgiveness.

Where better is that story told than in the book of Genesis? Many of its stories set the scene for the whole story of salvation the Bible contains.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation are at the heart of those stories in Genesis and at the heart of the whole story of salvation in the Bible.

When Jacob cheats Esau of his rightful inheritance the two brothers become enemies. The story unfolds focusing on Jacob until towards the end Jacob sees Esau approaching him with 400 hundred men and he is convinced he is bent on revenge and destruction. Gathering all his family together, Jacob goes on ahead to meet his brother and he bowed down to the ground seven times. It is not in a spirit of enmity that Esau has come. He has come in a spirit of friendship.

Jacob reaches out to Esau and says, most movingly, “To see your face is for me like seeing the face of God, now that you have been friendly to me.”

As Jacob’s story comes to an end it leads on to the story of Joseph and his Brothers. And it is a story of forgiveness and reconciliation.

There’s a most moving moment in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor dreamcoat when Joseph is at his lowest – he has fallen out with his brothers, they have fallen out with him. He finds himself in the deepest of dark places. And it is there that he finds the presence of God.

Close every door to me.

I love Joseph and the Amazing Tecnicolor Dreamcoat – but at the very end it somehow misses the point. It comes to a climax with the slushiest of messages – Any dream will do!

No, any dream will not do, I always feel like shouting out in the theatre  but I restrain myself and get carried away with the exuberance of the m music – which I could sing … but I won’t!

The Bible story actually comes to an end on a much more challenging and a much more powerful note.

At the very end of the story in Genesis the tension mounts one last time. Their father, Jacob, has now died. And the brothers are convinced that Joseph will turn to hatred and wreak revenge.

Genesis 50:15-21

After the death of their father, Joseph's brothers said,

“What if Joseph still hates us
and plans to pay us back for all the harm we did to him?”

So they sent a message to Joseph:

“Before our father died, he told us to ask you,

‘Please forgive the crime your brothers committed
when they wronged you.’

Now please forgive us the wrong that we,
the servants of your father's God, have done.”

Joseph cried when he received this message.

Then his brothers themselves came and bowed down before him.

“Here we are before you as your slaves,” they said.

But Joseph said to them,

“Don't be afraid; I can't put myself in the place of God.

You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good,
in order to preserve the lives of many people
who are alive today because of what happened.

You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.”

So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.

Forgiveness leads on to reconciliation.

Verse 20 is one of the most powerful in the Bible …

You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good,

That’s the God I believe in.

And then comes an even more wonderful moment … as Joseph reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.

Let’s come back to those words of Psalm 145

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
   he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
  
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
   and all will bless his holy name for ever and ever.

187 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy

1          There's a wideness in God's mercy,
            like the wideness of the sea;
            there's a kindness in his justice,
            which is more than liberty.

2          There is no place where earth's sorrows
            are more felt than in God's heaven:
            there is no place where earth's failings
            have such kindly judgement given.

3          For the love of God is broader
            than the grasp of mortal mind;
            and the heart of the Eternal
            is most wonderfully kind.

4          If our love were but more simple,
            we would take him at his word;
            and our lives be filled with glory
            from the glory of the Lord.

Frederick William Faber (1814-1863)

Forgiveness gives rise to reconciliation. And that makes a world of difference.  It can make a difference in our lives not because of any strength we can muster but because of that strength we can draw on from beyond ourselves in the unseen, yet very real power of the Holy Spirit.

But the Spirit produces
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
humility, and self-control.

There is no law against such things as these.

Reading: Galatians 5:22-26 & 6:7-10

And those who belong to Christ Jesus
have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.

The Spirit has given us life;
he must also control our lives.

We must not be proud
or irritate one another
or be jealous of one another.

Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God.

People will reap exactly what they sow.

If they sow in the field of their natural desires,
from it they will gather the harvest of death;
if they sow in the field of the Spirit,
from the Spirit they will gather the harvest of eternal life.

So let us not become tired of doing good;
for if we do not give up,
the time will come when we will reap the harvest.

So then, as often as we have the chance,
we should do good to everyone,
and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.

Those are powerful words –

he must also control our lives.

People will reap exactly what they sow.

So let us not become tired of doing good;

So then, as often as we have the chance,
we should do good to everyone,

Forgiveness. Reconciliation.

Can that really be something practical to live your life by?

A month ago at that celebration weekend for the 40th anniversary of Richard’s ordination, David Waters spoke of his return to Songs of Praise. He had just been working on the Songs of Praise edition for Remembrance Sunday which this year marked the 30th anniversary of the Enniskillen bombing in Nortthern Ireland. David spoke of filming Joan Wilson whose husband Gordon found it within himself to forgive those who had so cruelly killed their daughter. He rcalled how everyone involved in the filming was moved – even the cameraman, moved to tears, he said.

Joan Wilson reflects on how faith gave her strength after losing her daughter in the Enniskillen bomb. And Father Brian Darcy on how Gordon Wilson’s words impacted the Peace Process.


Thursday on the Today Programme at 1 hr 30 mins

Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, himself a victim of terrorist bombing went with the Coptic Bishop Angelos to a desert monastic community north of Cairo and he spoke to a community that feels under siege.

On Tuesday we will be praying for the persecuted church – to do that with Open Doors is to be struck by the resilience of the Christians in the Middle East, their defiance in the face  and their commitment to the Gospel of Christ in all its forgiving love.

Bishop Angelos reflected on what it was about the Coptic people that impressed him.

The Copts are a resilient people who have faced persecution for 2000 years and the wonderful thing for me, the very inspiring thing for me is that I always fall back on the example of people here who face this with such forgiveness and such strength and such grace.

We don’t want to die. We love to live because life is given to us by God we are not people who look to die but we embrace it if it comes our way. I think resilience comes from a love of life in the right way and an ability to forgive even those who pursue our death and our persecution.

What would you say then, to the extremists of ISIS and others who say Christians have no place in the Middle East? Asked Frank Gardner.

My message to those who choose to persecute us, replied Bishop Angelos, is that you are loved, we forgive you.

Frank Gardner responded, How on earth can you say that you love somebody who blows up and butchers innocent people?

Because I know that it is the evil within the person acting not the person him or herself and what I want is for that person to look at every individual as a human with the sanctity of life, with a dignity and a right to live.

Then Frank  Gardner went on to meet a Coptic man whose granddaughter had been killed in the bombing of a Cathedral church last December just before Christmas when a suicide bomber had killed 25 to 30 people, nearly all women and children.

Frank Gardner asked Samir what happened that day. Speaking through an interpreter he explained what had happened.

I got back from church and turned the TV on and saw there had been an explosion at |St Mark’s and people had died. I knew my grandchildren would be there so I rushed down there to see what was going on.

I saw ambulances, police and people carrying stretchers – he saw my daughter who had seen my granddaughter had been taken to another hospital.

He found her plugged into a machine. We were praying for a miracle. We prayed to God to save her we kept on praying for her but sadly she was gone. She went to heaven 21st December

After the terrible thing that has happened has it changed you? Asked Frank Gardner. Do you feel stronger, weaker?

After the attack we are stronger. I used to go to church once a week before the attach but now I go several times a week.

Our church is called the martyrs’ church – its fruit grows with the blood of martyrs, the believers of the church.

Then came the question that made me prick my ears up even more.

Could you ever forgive the terrorists who did this?

Samir then spoke so powerfully of his Christian faith.

Our religion teaches us to forgive. It teaches us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us. And to pray for those who hurt us. Yes we will forgive them despite all the blood that was spilled. Our faith tells us to forgive.

Frank Gardner then went on to give his comment as the BBC’s security correspondent.

Well, he sighed audibly, it’s obviously an incredibly moving story. A number of things strike me about this.

One is this amazing attitude that Coptic Christians seem to have, the few that I have spoken to since I have been here of turning the other cheek. Of saying, you know, we must forgive.

Then Frank Gardner said something very, very personal.

But personally, as a victim of terrorism myself, I don’t forgive the terrorists. They’ve never apologized. I’ve never had a letter from the mum saying forgive so and so.

But they, [those Coptic Christians,] are different.

They keep telling me they want to love the terrorists, they want to say prayers for them which to me is extraordinary.

The other thing is the resilience that they have so this man that has lost his darling grand daughter and his own daughter has been horribly scarred and damaged  for ever by the explosion yet he says he goes even more to church than ever before. He is determined to resist the threats from the terrorists.

486 Forgive our sins as we forgive

1          'Forgive our sins as we forgive',
            You taught us, Lord, to pray,
            But you alone can grant us grace
            To live the words we say.

2          How can your pardon reach and bless
            The unforgiving heart
            That broods on wrongs, and will not let
            Old bitterness depart?

3          In blazing light your cross reveals
            The truth we dimly knew,
            How small the debts men owe to us,
            How great our debt to you!

4          Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls,
            And bid resentment cease;
            Then, reconciled to God and man,
            Our lives will spread your peace.

Rosamond E. Herklots (1905–1987)
© Oxford University Press


Is it really possible to seek reconciliation for real?

Hard on the heels of that piece by Frank Gardner on  Friday morning came Thought for the Day with Lucy Winkett.

She reflected on how forgiveness is so often seen as something weak, as if it involves letting people get away with something. So often it is seen as somewhere between impossibly generous and unhelpfully pious.

She was quite clear. It is not about being nice. It is not about being a doormat. Especially does that apply, she suggested, to women who have experienced domestic violence.

She reflected on the way there is a timeliness to forgiveness and for many it isn’t yet; it isn’t now.

She suggested it’s more of a process than an event.

And then she quoted Marion Partington who only discovered after 21 years that her sister, Lucy, who had gone missing had been killed by the West’s in Gloucester. The discovery set her on a path that has led to her involvement in the Forgiveness project.

Forgiveness, she suggests, is giving up hope of a better past. She knows what she is talking about.

When I embark on a process of trying to forgive you or trying to forgive myself I am taking a deep breath and turning my face towards a past that I know I can’t change. It’s not weak: it’s strong. And the hallmark of the strength of forgiveness is found in the root of the word used in the NT. To set aside. To let go. What is forgiveness then?

Listening to Samir perhaps it begins in defiance, choosing what is inevitably a costly path to freedom

It’s interesting how Lucy turns to an understanding of the NT to throw light on the emotional power of what Marion Partington had said. Lucy Winkett has written the forward to 2018’s Fresh from the Word. Rachel has got fifty copies for the New Year – and so make sure you get a copy. If you haven’t had one so far please put your name on the list, and make sure you get hold of them.

“When we read the Bible with our heart, she says, we let it touch us; we let the gospel get under our skin….

“When we read the Bible with our head, we obey the commandment to love the Lord our God with our mind as well as everything else.

“And finally, when we read the Bible with our feet, we acknowledge that this scripture is good news for our lives as they are lived now.”

Is it really possible to forgive in such a way?

Is it really possible to seek reconciliation for real?

No, it is not possible … in our own strength.

But what makes our faith the faith that makes such a difference for Samir and those Coptic Christians and for Marion Partington and those involved in the Forgiveness Project is that we have a strength from beyond ourselves that we can draw on.

The Spirit has given us life;
he must also control our lives.

People will reap exactly what they sow.

So let us not become tired of doing good;

So then, as often as we have the chance,
we should do good to everyone,

526 This is a day of new beginnings

This is the definitive version of the text. An earlier version Is this a day of new beginnings in Faith Looking Forward is given elsewhere but the definitive version should be used wherever possible.

1          This is a day of new beginnings,
            time to remember, and move on,
            time to believe what love is bringing,
            laying to rest the pain that's gone.

2          For by the life and death of Jesus,
            love's mighty Spirit, now as then,
            can make for us a world of difference
            as faith and hope are born again.

3          Then let us, with the Spirit's daring,
            step from the past, and leave behind
            our disappointment, guilt and grieving,
            seeking new paths, and sure to find.

4          In faith we'll gather round the table
            to show and share what love can do.
            This is a day of new beginnings;
            our God is making all things new.

Brian Wren (born 1936)        
© 1983, 1987 Stainer & Bell Ltd

Prayers of Concern

The Lord’s Supper led by our Children and Young People

Praise with Hy-Spirit


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