大象传媒

Please note:

This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

Opening announcement: 大象传媒 Radio 4. Time for Sunday Worship which this morning comes live from the 2nd of this year鈥檚 Choral Courses at Eton College.听 As the Church of England鈥檚 General Synod prepares to vote on legislation for women bishops, the service explores the different ways seeds of faith are sown and grow.听 The preacher is the Archdeacon of Canterbury, the Very Reverend Sheila Watson and the service is led by the Reverend La Stacey.听

Welcome & Introduction:
MINISTER: 听Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
ALL:听 And also with you
MINISTER: 听This is the day that the Lord has made
ALL: 听Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

MUSIC: 听HYMN 鈥� Oh Worship the King (Hanover)

MINISTER:听 听Welcome to 鈥榯he Chapel of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor鈥� 鈥� a place that has echoed with praise of God for well over five hundred years and has witnessed to God unchanging and ever creating.听 The Chapel lies at the heart of Eton College, both physically and symbolically.听 Its grandeur reflects the significance of worship in the life of the college.听

This morning the (sun)light is flooding through the deep colours of the East window, itself a masterpiece of post-war art with its reds and blues, greens and gold:听 Christ on the cross and the last supper.
The ordinary school term ended a few weeks ago and now a new community of young people from all over the globe has taken up residence in the college:听 and this week choristers from the Eton Choral course.听 They are here with friends and family and with congregations from the local communities of Eton Wick and Dorney.

MINISTER: 听We have come together in the name of Christ
To offer our praise and thanksgiving,
To hear and receive God鈥檚 holy word,
To pray for the needs of the world,
and to seek his forgiveness of our sins,
That in the power of the Holy Spirit
We may give ourselves to the service of God.
听

We turn our thoughts to God with a prayer by the founder of Eton, Henry VI.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast created and redeemed me and hast foreordained me unto that which now I am; thou knowest what thou wouldst do with me; do with me according to thy will, in thy mercy. Amen

CHOIR : 听Domine, Jesu Christe, qui me creasti, redemisti, et preordinasti ad hoc quod sum; tu scis qu忙 de me facere vis; fac de me secundum voluntatem tuam cum misericordia. Amen.
(Music: Henry Ley)

Confession and Absolution

MINISTER: 听Coming into the presence of God in worship, we are reminded of his call to us to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
Let us pray:
Lord God, our maker and our redeemer
This is your world and we are your people:
Come among us and save us听

We have wilfully misused your gifts of creation;
Lord, be merciful
ALL: 听Forgive us our sin

MINISTER: 听We have seen the ill-treatment of others
And have not gone to their aid;
Lord, be merciful
ALL: 听Forgive us our sin

MINISTER: 听We have condoned evil and dishonesty
And failed to strive for justice;
Lord, be merciful
ALL: 听Forgive us our sin

MINISTER: 听We have heard the good news of Christ
But have failed to tell others;
Lord, be merciful
ALL: 听Forgive us our sin

MINISTER:听We have not loved you with all our heart
Nor our neighbours as ourselves;
Lord, be merciful
ALL: 听Forgive us our sin

MINISTER: 听The Almighty and merciful Lord
Grant you pardon and forgiveness of all your sins,
Time for amendment of life,
And the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit
ALL: 听Amen
听
MINISTER: 听O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
Without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
Increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
That with you as our ruler and guide
We may so pass through things temporal
That we lose not our hold in things eternal;
Grant this, heavenly Father;
For our Lord Jesus Christ鈥檚 sake,
Who is alive and reigns with you,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever
ALL: 听Amen

MUSIC: 听CHOIR
Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety.听听

(SS Wesley 1810-1876)

The Word

MINISTER:听The poets of the Old Testament looked for ways of describing a God who offers abundant life:听 in the natural world and in the transformation of human lives.听听 鈥︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�︹�� is taking part in the Choral course and reads.

First reading:
A Reading from the Book of Isaiah:
10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
(Isaiah 55:10-13)

MINISTER:听Ralph Vaughan Williams鈥� setting of George Herbert鈥檚 poem - 鈥楾he Call鈥� is a prayer that we may be touched by that vision of beauty and peace.
听听
MUSIC:听CHOIR听 'The Call'

MINISTER:听Our gospel reading tells a story of an eager farmer hoping for a rich harvest:

Second reading:听Robin Blackburn:
A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew:
13That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: 鈥淟isten! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!鈥� 18鈥淗ear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.鈥�
(Matthew 13:1-9,18-23)

Response to the Word

MINISTER:听We welcome, the Archdeacon of Canterbury, the Venerable Dr Sheila Watson, our preacher this morning.

SERMON
My eye was caught the other day by a tee shirt with the words 鈥業 hear you but I am not listening鈥�.听 Jesus challenges us today to listen 鈥� to hear and understand and bear fruit 鈥� to do something with our lives.

Hear what?听 The danger with the parables is that they have lost their punch.听 Their edge is blunted by familiarity or overlain with interpretations:听 like the emphasis, in our parable of the sower on the hazards in the way of a good harvest.听 The tendency to concentrate on the stumbling blocks is fair.
We need the hard-headedness to own that we do get distracted, led on false trails, like the birds of the air snatching away the seed.听 We can prefer to live superficially, like the seed on stony ground, not wanting to tangle with deeper issues or questions.听 Or the sheer busyness and demands of everyday can choke us like thorns, leaving us blind to what鈥檚 happening to even our nearest and dearest.

The temptation is to get hooked on the problems.听 Despair is often easier to handle than hope.听 Stuck in a traffic jam, the other day wondering whether I would make an appointment, I was tantalised by hope.听 Despair was more bearable.听 Every time we moved forward, we came to a halt again.听 As I looked ahead, Woody Allan seemed right 鈥� 鈥榯he future is much like the present only longer鈥�.听 It was not the despair.听 I could cope with the despair, it was the hope I couldn鈥檛 bear.

But, if we look at Jesus鈥� story of the sower, where is the emphasis?听 Jesus has certainly been drawing the crowds.听 So much so that he takes to a boat to talk to everyone gathered on the seashore.听 But how many stayed the course?听 The crowds were encouraging but results were disappointing.听 So the small team of disciples are asking Jesus, why are you doing it like this?听 He explains that as the sower scatters the seed some of it is lost because of the birds or the rocks or the thorns;听 but the harvest is a hundredfold.听 Now where鈥檚 the emphasis?听

Yes, some things have gone wrong, but there鈥檚 a bonanza at the end.听 Despite everything the harvest will be a rich one.听 There is realism that things go wrong but the balance is with hope.

The sower challenges us to hope even amidst life鈥檚 worst.听 Anne Frank, hiding in her attic during听 WW2 knew this.听 Ever realistic about the nightmare around her, she remained full of hope, as she wrote in her diary;听 鈥業 see the world being slowly turned into a wilderness.听 I hear the approaching thunder that one day will destroy us too.听 And yet when I look at the sky, I feel everything will change for the better.听 Whenever you feel lonely or sad 鈥� try going up to the loft on a beautiful day and look at the sky.听 As long as you can look fearlessly, you will know that you are pure within.鈥�

The disciples struggled with this challenge right to the end.听 Like most of us they wanted less of a gap between the vision and making it happen;听 between the seed being planted and the harvest ready to reap.听 They wanted Jesus to offer a way of changing the world and breaking new ground painlessly and quickly.听 God鈥檚 more realistic and more patient.听 Breaking new ground, coming to maturity is painstaking and costly.听 Enacting the Christian message of loving one another, takes time.听 Discovering what belonging together, unity, amidst all the richness of our differences and diversity is a continuing journey.

It should not surprise us.听 Andy Murray did not effortlessly become a tennis star.听 It needs dedication and devotion and the capacity to deal with the rocky ground.听 Our young singers here today, providing such inspiring music for our worship are having an exhilarating time 鈥� but it involves intense practise to achieve such harmony.听 The Church of England this weekend is debating the final stages of the Women in the Episcopate legislation.听 The final vote on whether to permit women to be Bishops is tomorrow morning.听 It has been an achingly and frustratingly slow process for some and a worrying and challenging one for others.听 Amidst it all is the issue of belonging together amidst difference; a challenge that goes wider than the church.

Breaking new ground is exciting and tough.听 Whenever diverse groups gather together we see the wondrous abundance of the sower鈥檚 harvest in the joy of learning from one another 鈥� our musicians today - or the students from all over the Anglican communion with us recently in Canterbury for prayer and study.听 One student from Africa commented, 鈥榃e have learned that we have far more in common than the things that divide us, and we are determined to stay together.鈥櫶� But the early pioneers, whether in business or Parliament or the Church, like the first shoots breaking through the ground, are often vulnerable to how others cope with change.听

Penny Jamieson, the first woman Bishop in the Anglican communion, said of her own ordination as a Bishop, 鈥楾he ordinal (questions asked at ordination) is quite terrifying in the expectations it gives rise to 鈥� but she continued,鈥櫶� these paled into insignificance compared with the expectations other people had of me.听 I scarcely knew who or what I was.鈥�1

1 (This month as we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the first black bishop in West Africa, Samuel Ajayi听 Crowther, we also repented of the dishonour done to him at the end of his ministry.)

Joining in the work of 鈥榯hy kingdom come鈥� needs patience, realism and courage.听 Above all it needs hope in God the sower who promises an abundant harvest no matter how many thorns we encounter on the way.听 鈥榃henever you feel lonely or sad 鈥� [like Anne Frank] try going up to the loft on a beautiful day and look at the sky听 and even say with her, 鈥楢s long as you can look fearlessly, you will know that you are pure within.鈥�

MINISTER : 听And so with the strength given by hope we affirm the faith we hold in common:

We believe in God the Father,
Who created all things:
ALL: 听For by his will they were created
And have their being

MINISTER:听We believe in God the Son,
Who was slain:
ALL: 听For by his blood
He purchased us for God,
From every tribe and language,
From every people and nation.

MINISTER:听We believe in God the Holy Spirit:
ALL: 听The Spirit and the Bride say, 鈥楥ome!鈥�
Even so come, Lord Jesus!
Amen

MINISTER:听So we offer all of our life to God in hope, trusting in his abundant love.

MUSIC: 听HYMN - Lord of all power, I give You my will
J. C. Winslow (1882 鈥� 1974)
听
MINISTER:听Gathered together as the people of God, and attentive to his will, let us pray

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession:
Mary Baker and choir member
Lord of all power,
Give to your Church the grace to receive the word of faith in obedience
and to bring forth good fruit for the salvation of many.
May your word take root in our hearts
and grow to rich maturity.
May we hear your will for us and act upon it听听
May we take seriously our responsibility
to encourage and nurture one another in faith
at every age and every stage
Take from us all that hinders our witness
So that all may share in your ministry
and work for the harvest that is yet to come.

Lord in your mercy,
ALL:听hear our prayer听

Lord of all bounty,
come with mercy to all who are hungry for the word
but are held back by the cares of living,
for all who have unrewarding work to do,
for all who are choked by the riches of this world .
We remember all who have lost hope of growing or achieving anything

Lord in your mercy,
ALL: 听hear our prayer听

Lord of all wisdom,
听we come with sorrow
for all who have been denied freedom or peace
We pray for places
where there is abuse of power
Where there is selfish exploitation of the weak
Where there is hostility and war between nations
Where communities have been destroyed
and families divided or separated
Holy Father, bring healing and a new spirit,
so that all may live in harmony, rooted in love.
Bless all who seek to heal that which divides听听听听

Lord in your mercy,
ALL: 听hear our prayer听
Lord of all being, as we share our lives with others who are close to us
Help us to live as those who have heard and received the word
that we may be bearers of good news and doers of good work
May our homes be places where love, joy and peace abound
May we nurture the young in the ways of truth and goodness
And may our communities be places blessed by you.听 `

Lord in your mercy,
ALL: 听hear our prayer听

Lord of all hope,
deal tenderly with all for whom life is full of struggle
Give them strength and patience in their suffering
We remember before you all who are ill at home or in hospital
We pray for the poor, the outcasts and all prisoners
We ask your blessing on all who will find this a difficult week
We commend to your safe keeping those known to us
who are in need or ill at this time
We pray for them now aloud or in the silence of our hearts

Father may your grace bring hope may your love bring healing听听

Lord in your mercy,
ALL: 听hear our prayer听

Lord of all life and love,
We thank you for all the saints
For those who spread your word and witnessed to your love
We remember our loved ones who are departed from us
and pray that they may rejoice in the fullness of your kingdom/
May all who miss their physical presence be comforted

Merciful Father,
ALL:听accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen

MINISTER:听The choir sings the prayer our saviour taught us to a setting by Ben Parry
CHOIR:听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.听听
听

The Blessing:
MINISTER:听Now may the blessing of God the Father,
Who made from one every nation that occupies the earth;
Of God the Son who bought us for God
From every tribe and language and people and nations;
And of God the Spirit who brings us together in unity,
Be with you and remain with you always.
ALL: 听Amen.
听
MINISTER:听Our worship ends with praise in the words of Henry Baker鈥檚 hymn set to a tune by an English composer, educated at Eton, Hubert Parry.
听
MUSIC: 听HYMN O Praise ye the Lord
(Henry Williams Baker, 1875)
听
ORGAN VOLUNTARY听 Vierne, Carillon (from 24 pi猫ces en style libre)