Worship & Prayers for The  Second Sunday of Lent

Opening Rite

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself. 

The Lord is here  His Spirit is with us

The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart God will not despise.

Let us come to the Lord, who is full of compassion, and acknowledge our transgressions in penitence and faith.

Prayers of Penitence

After a period of reflection

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight: Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me: Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy.                                                                       cf Psalm 51 

May almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners bring us his pardon and peace, now and for ever. Amen

The Collect

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

Almighty God, you show to those who are in error the light of your truth, that they may return to the way of righteousness: grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ,who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Genesis 12.1-4a

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’  So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Psalm 121

1: To the hills I lift my eyes; whence shall help for me arise? From the Lord comes all my aid, who the heavens and earth has made.

2: Your protector is the Lord; shade for you he will afford. Neither sun nor moon shall smite; God shall guard by day and night.

3: He will guard through dangers all, will not let you slip or fall. He who safe his people keeps never slumbers, never sleeps.  

4: He will ever keep your soul; what would harm he will control. In the home and by the way God will keep you day by day.

Romans 4.1-5,13-17

What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.  For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.  For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’) - in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

The Gospel according to John                                               Chapter 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?  ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

Jesus often talks to Jewish leaders in the Gospels. But this conversation with Nicodemus is unusual. They talk at night. They speak for others as well as themselves (vv.2,11). Jesus uses intriguing symbols. Their statements raise one question after another.  This conversation was prompted by Jesus’ signs, which suggest to Nicodemus and his people that God is working through him. Nicodemus wants to know about God’s presence in Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t give straight answers. Instead, he mixes metaphors about God’s reign with different kinds of birth and the mystery of wind.  Jesus states that, as a rabbi, Nicodemus should understand these earthly images. After all, their roots lie in the Scriptures. If he can’t grasp these, how will he understand the heavenly things that Jesus wants to discuss with him, things like the Son of Man’s heavenly ascent and descent, and Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9)?  Now we realise that Nicodemus’ conversation with Jesus is really pitched at the Gospel’s audience. They know about birth from God (1:12-13), and the Spirit (the same word as ‘wind’ in Hebrew) descending and remaining on Jesus (1:32), and they’re about to learn more about the Spirit/wind as water (4:10; 7:35-37). They recognise the talk of heavenly descent and ascent as the language of grace that brings the Son of God into the world as the Word made flesh (1:14), only to raise him to the heavenly glory of the Father’s heart through his passion (1:18, 13:1, 17:1).  Nicodemus is the role model for those who want to know more about the gracious presence of God in Jesus, and the salvation that makes the world more like God intends it to be. However hard he finds it to understand Jesus, he continues to ask his questions. And whether or not he finds the answers he is after, he stands up for Jesus later in the Gospel (7:50) and is one of the men who gives him an honourable burial after such a humiliating death (19:38-42). Nicodemus’s persistent questioning is a sign of the active faith that, at the end of this Gospel, is endorsed by Jesus’ response to the ever-questioning Thomas.

Linking the readings

This week’s readings encourage us to ask questions of God and the way we live our lives, especially when we don’t understand what God is asking of us. These are not the questions of the non-believer or the sceptic, but the curiosity of believers. The questions of Abram and Paul arise when they’re already on the journey of faith. Nicodemus and his people have faith, but it’s unclear how much they include Jesus in their vision of God’s purposes. The readings suggest that faith always seeks greater understanding and that asking questions is integral to its development.

Reproduced with permission www.rootsontheweb.com 2002-2021  

Prayers

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere. 

On the Second Sunday of Lent

Heavenly Father, your Son battled with the powers of darkness, and grew closer to you in the desert: help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer that we may witness to your saving love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                                      Climate Change

Help us to respond with wisdom and foresight to the threat of climate change. We pray for those affected by rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions. Help us, in reducing our own carbon footprint, to play our part in reducing this country’s carbon emissions. Grant us the personal and political will to make a difference. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Canterbury and the Diocese of Down and Dromore

Anglican Communion: The Nippon Sei Ko Kai Primate The Right Reverend David Eisho Uehara

Diocese of Møre: Bishop Ingeborg Midttømme

Diocese of Newcastle:  Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

pray for all medical staff and patients of the area's general practices and dental surgeries

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

For those in residential care    

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Minnie Dixon, Bill Tighe, Emily Mildred Twentyman, George Moore, Edith Robinson, Nan Lightfoot,Nichol Knox, Florance Stothard, Frank Millican, William Titley and Julie High

You might like to end your prayers with The Lord's Prayer  

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.

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Let us bless the Lord! Thanks be to God!