大象传媒

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.
Radio 4 Opening Announcement: 聽大象传媒 Radio 4. 聽It鈥檚 ten past eight 鈥� time to go live to the Chapel of Rugby School for this week鈥檚 Sunday Worship. 聽It鈥檚 led by the Assistant Chaplain, Lisa Greatwood, and by members of the school. 聽The preacher is the Chaplain, the Reverend Richard Horner, and the Head Master, Peter Green, will give a welcome after the opening piece of music from the school choir: 鈥楥antate Domino鈥� 鈥� 聽鈥楽ing to the Lord a new song.鈥�

CHOIR: Cantate Domino (Monteverdi)

HEAD MASTER:Good morning and welcome to Rugby School. 聽Here among the glorious high Victorian architecture of the School Chapel, with its stained glass and striped brickwork, the 800 boys and girls of our school regularly gather to pray, to sing, and to reflect upon life鈥檚 biggest questions.聽聽Our opening anthem invited us to 鈥楽ing to the Lord a new song.鈥� 聽The words come from the Psalms. 聽The composer, Monteverdi, was born in 1567, the very year of our school鈥檚 foundation.聽聽This year we鈥檙e celebrating our 450th anniversary with a year-long series of special events. 聽Founded in the reign of Elizabeth the First, Rugby School has grown and changed with the years, and now in the time of the second Queen Elizabeth, with a confident eye on the future, we look back with gratitude for all that has led us to this point.聽From our very beginning the Christian faith has been the guiding principle of our school. 聽Our Latin motto 鈥淥rando Laborando鈥� is translated: 鈥渂y work and by prayer鈥�. 聽Work doesn鈥檛 just happen in the classroom, but in every endeavour of human life. 聽Prayer, too, doesn鈥檛 only happen in chapel, but in our willingness to see God in all things and to serve God in all things. 聽聽By prayer and by work, and only by those two together, do you become a whole person. 聽That wholeness is God鈥檚 desire for us, and only by his grace can we achieve it. 聽It鈥檚 what we aim for in our school life, and we sum it up in our contemporary tag-line 鈥� 鈥淲hole person, whole point鈥�.
ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:The theme of this morning鈥檚 service is Grace. 聽God鈥檚 grace is the undeserved favour he shows to his people. 聽We see example after example of that grace at work as we look back over the life of our school 鈥� and as we look at our own lives as well.
Our first hymn sings of that grace which 鈥榣ike the Lord, the giver, never fails from age to age鈥�. 聽鈥楪lorious things of thee are spoken鈥�.聽聽CHOIR, CONGREGATION, ORGAN + BRASS: Glorious things of thee are spoken (Austria)

ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:Christ the light of the world has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. 聽In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins.聽Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have failed you as your apostles did, and we ask for your mercy and help.When we put selfish gain before right action; 聽 聽Christ, have mercy:All 聽 聽 聽 聽 Lord, forgive us and help us.聽When we fail to stand beside those who are in need or in pain; 聽 聽Christ, have mercy;All 聽 聽 聽 聽 Lord, forgive us and help us.聽When we allow our interest in material things to overshadow our spiritual life; 聽 聽Christ, have mercy:All 聽 聽 聽 聽 Lord, forgive us and help us.聽When we fail to offer our lives in service to others, as you offered yourself for us; 聽 聽Christ, have mercy:All 聽 聽 聽 聽 Lord, forgive us and help us. 聽Cleanse us from our sins by聽your precious blood, and graciously restore us to your service, for your praise and glory, Amen.聽聽ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:Almighty God, Father of mercies, you have reconciled the world to yourselfthrough the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ,in your grace not counting our sins against us.By the power of your Holy Spirit,Forgive what is past and guide what shall be,That we may live and serveIn your strength alone,this day and ever more.Amen.
聽READER 1:Our first Bible reading comes from the period when the Israelites were travelling from slavery in Egypt to their new home in their promised land. 聽In this Old Testament example of Grace, God鈥檚 justice demands that he punish the people who rebel against him, but at the same time he gives them a way to escape that punishment. 聽The people are spared, and they don鈥檛 even have to do anything 鈥� just turn towards the sign God gives them, and look upon the source of their forgiveness. 聽Many years later, Jesus would refer to this account when he described his own death on the cross; the ultimate gift of Grace which this story foreshadows. 聽The reading is from the book of Numbers.聽聽聽READER 2:They travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go round Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, 鈥榃hy have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!鈥橳hen the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 聽 The people came to Moses and said, 鈥榃e sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.鈥� So Moses prayed for the people.
The Lord said to Moses, 鈥楳ake a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.鈥� 聽 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.聽ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:As the Israelites lifted their eyes to the bronze snake, so in later years they would sing of lifting their eyes to the hills and seeking the help of God. 聽Centuries later, Mendelssohn set their song to music . . . .

CHOIR: Lift thine eyes (Mendelssohn)

聽READER 3:Our second Bible reading is another story of grace. 聽Jesus preached using parables, and this one is part of a series in which he explains to his hearers what the kingdom of God is like. 聽The parable of the labourers in the vineyard makes the point that our idea of what we are worth - what we deserve - may not fit in with the economy of God鈥檚 kingdom. 聽It is, after all, a kingdom of grace, where blessing is given to those who don鈥檛 deserve it. 聽Its message is not particularly hard to understand, but it can be hard to accept 鈥� for us, hearing it 2000 years later, just as for its first hearers. 聽The reading comes from Matthew鈥檚 Gospel:聽READER 4:Jesus said, 鈥楾he kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 聽He agreed to pay them one denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.鈥楢bout nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the market-place doing nothing. 聽He told them, 鈥淵ou also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.鈥� 聽So they went.鈥楬e went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 聽About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 鈥淲hy have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?鈥濃�樷�淏ecause no one has hired us,鈥� they answered.鈥楬e said to them, 鈥淵ou also go and work in my vineyard.鈥濃�榃hen evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 鈥淐all the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.鈥濃�楾he workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received one denarius. 聽So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. 聽But each one of them also received one denarius. 聽When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 聽鈥淭hese who were hired last worked only one hour,鈥� they said, 鈥渁nd you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.鈥濃�楤ut he answered one of them, 鈥淚 am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn鈥檛 you agree to work for a denarius? 聽Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 聽Don鈥檛 I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?鈥濃�楽o the last will be first, and the first will be last.鈥櫬�

CHOIR, ORGAN + BRASS: Jubilate (Simon Johnson)聽聽SERMON 鈥� CHAPLAIN:That was Simon Johnson鈥檚 setting of Psalm 100 鈥� Jubilate Deo 鈥� specially written for our School Choir.
One day, not long ago, I went to the pub 鈥� and when I got there, quite late in the evening, I discovered that it was quiz night. 聽I also discovered at a table in the corner a little group of my dear colleagues crouched over their answer sheets competing in the pub quiz with the same fervour and perfectionism that they bring to the marking of essays and the writing of reports. 聽They spotted me and very kindly asked me to join them. 聽They even generously implied that I might be of some help in their efforts. 聽Well, it was late in the evening, nine of the ten rounds of the quiz had already been completed, and the teachers were in the lead going into the last round. 聽I sat down ready to do my very best to aid them to victory. 聽聽The quizmaster stood up and announced that the last round would be on the subject of . . . penguins. 聽I鈥檓 afraid I was of practically no use at all in that particular field. 聽I contributed one answer, based on a vague childhood memory from London Zoo. 聽But the combined brilliance of my colleagues carried the team over the line in first place. 聽And do you know what those lovely people did? 聽They gave to me, who had turned up for the last round and made almost no contribution whatsoever - the late arriving labourer in the vineyard - an equal share of the prize. 聽 I tried half-heartedly to protest that this wasn鈥檛 fair 鈥� but they insisted.I don鈥檛 think they realised how they were acting out a Bible parable, nor how the immediate scribbled note in my little red book meant that before long their act of grace would be recounted to you this morning.聽Our theme this morning is Grace. 聽Which sounds very nice. 聽It makes us think perhaps of a dancer or a gymnast; or of the prayer we say at mealtimes - other meanings of the same word.聽But Grace in the Bible, if we really understand it, might not at first delight, but rather, shock us. 聽For there is something about the Christian religion that some people find very hard to accept, and that something is grace. 聽The Bible reading we heard today goes right to the heart of it. 聽聽聽Jesus told the story of the vineyard, and said: the kingdom of heaven is like this. 聽In other words, here鈥檚 a picture about how God wants our life and relationships to be ordered.聽One morning the vineyard鈥檚 owner went down to the market place at daybreak to hire some casual labourers for the day. 聽They agreed to work, and he agreed to pay one Denarius for the day鈥檚 labour. 聽At mid-morning he went and got a few more workers. 聽And again at lunch time. 聽And again at five-o-clock in the afternoon. 聽Then at the end of the day they all lined up to get paid.聽聽The people who had just arrived and done an hour鈥檚 work got given one Denarius, which was frankly pretty generous. 聽So the people who had done the full eight hours were expecting quite a serious pay cheque. 聽But when their turn came, they also got given one Denarius. 聽And the cry went up, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not fair!鈥澛燱hat鈥檚 not fair? asked the owner of the vineyard. 聽You agreed to do a day鈥檚 work for one denarius didn鈥檛 you? 聽What鈥檚 the problem? 聽Well the problem, of course, was the apparent huge injustice of people who had worked hard all day long under the hot sun getting exactly the same reward as those who just rocked up at the end of the day.聽聽And the problem for us who read this story today is that Jesus is saying - yup, that is exactly what God is like. 聽And we don鈥檛 like it.聽Grace is undeserved favour. 聽And Jesus鈥� story of the labourers in the vineyard, that parable of grace, goes to the heart of why some people don鈥檛 like the Christian faith. 聽It鈥檚 not surprising. 聽It runs against the grain of one our most cherished and deeply held values 鈥� the value of hard work and fair reward. 聽It tells us that when it comes to our relationship with God, different rules apply from those that guide our relationships with our employers, with our teachers, with all that we learnt at our mother鈥檚 knee, even our relationship with the law of the land.聽It tells us, to use theological terms, that salvation cannot be earned.It punctures that most widespread misunderstanding 鈥� that Christianity is about doing good.聽It blows out of the water the idea that anyone can earn God鈥檚 favour.聽No wonder people don鈥檛 like this parable or the message for which it stands 鈥� especially people like us, good people, well brought up people, people who understand the value of behaving well and doing the right thing. 聽It turns our respectability upside down, and says that the uneducated criminal alcoholic dirty homeless tramp might be closer to God than we are. 聽Which is perhaps why Jesus ended his story by saying 鈥淭he first shall be last, and the last first.鈥澛燘ecause Christianity is not about being good. 聽It鈥檚 not for people who think they are good. 聽It鈥檚 for people who know that they are bad, who know that what matters is not to be better but to be forgiven. 聽To be on the receiving end of the sort of forgiving grace that says, I don鈥檛 care whether you laboured all day - or whether you just turned up at five-o-clock with your empty hands held out to receive in trust whatever I have to give.聽聽Such grace can be hard to accept 鈥� both by those who feel that they have spent their whole lives labouring to earn God鈥檚 favour, and also by those who feel unworthy to turn up late and receive identical generosity. 聽Maybe that鈥檚 you.聽聽But if you like the idea that this parable illustrates, if there鈥檚 part of you saying . . . . 鈥淚 wish it were true . . . . how wonderful if it could be true鈥� . . . . well, all you can do is hold out your empty hands to the master of the vineyard and trust him to reward you; not because you are good, but because he is good. 聽Not because of your merit, but because of his grace. 聽You will not come away empty-handed.


聽CHOIR, CONGREGATION, ORGAN: 聽Jesu, lover of my soul 聽 (Aberystwyth) 聽聽



ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:聽In Jesus, the human face of God, we find one who is close enough for us turn to for comfort in sorrow, for protection in trouble, and for forgiveness and love when we have done wrong. 聽This too is a gift of God鈥檚 鈥減lenteous grace鈥� as Charles Wesley put it in the hymn we have just sung. 聽With that gift in our minds, we turn to prayer, bringing our concerns and the needs of the world to him.聽


PRAYERS:聽READER 1:聽Gracious God, we bring our thanks for the gift of life, with its joys and responsibilities, its opportunities and challenges. 聽We bless you for our health and daily food, for shelter and care, the love of family and the loyalty of friends. 聽For work well done, for games well played, for truth learned and goodness shared. 聽In your loving grace you give us more than we deserve; help us to respond by offering our lives in service of you and of our neighbour, not because we hope thereby to win your favour, but in joyful thanksgiving for the love, acceptance and forgiveness which you pour out upon us.God of all grace;ALL: 聽 Hear our prayer


READER 2:God of all creation, you have given the rules by which the world turns and the flowers grow, the wonders of science and nature that humankind will spend millennia discovering and exploring. And you have taught men and women how to live together in this world that you have made. 聽Forgive the disobedience which makes us put our own desires above your commandments. 聽Hear our prayer for our rulers: for the Queen and her ministers, for those who are campaigning and for all who will be voting in the current general election, that we may be wisely and righteously led.聽God of all grace; ALL: 聽 Hear our prayerREADER 1:God of peace, we pray for the world with all its troubles. 聽For all whose lives are affected by violence and unrest; for those who live with the tension caused by the threat of war; and for those in places of power. 聽For those who have been driven from their homes, and those who feel that they have no choice but to leave their home to seek a better life elsewhere. 聽We pray for the homeless and for refugees; for people living in lands where famine and drought have taken the lives of many; and for all who are persecuted for their beliefs. 聽Comfort your people in their times of trial, and strengthen those who are working for justice and the freedom of all.Almighty God, have mercy on all who, by hurting and harming one another, insult you, who created us in your image. 聽God of all grace; ALL: 聽 Hear our prayer
READER 2:God of all comfort, we pray for those who are suffering today. 聽We remember those among our own friends and family who are unwell, and we think of people we know who are going through difficult times; the bereaved and the lonely, the lost and the confused. 聽We pray for those who are in hospital, for the medical staff who care for them, and for those who anxiously watch beside them.As the season of examinations begins, give purpose and peace to all who study. 聽We ask not that you do for us that which we ought to have done for ourselves, but that with clear minds and patient preparation we may give of our very best.God of all grace; ALL: 聽 Hear our prayer聽CHOIR, ORGAN + OBOE: The Lord鈥檚 my shepherd (Rutter)聽ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:We join our prayers with the unspoken prayers of our hearts, and with the prayers of God鈥檚 people throughout the world, as we say together:聽ALL: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

ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN:The final hymn is a favourite of ours here at Rugby. 聽It鈥檚 a prayer that God would guide and sustain us in the challenges of our life and bring us safely through to the other side. 聽In this and thousands of other schools, for the next few weeks exams will be at the front of our thoughts; for those joining us on the radio, perhaps other concerns lie ahead. 聽Whatever the challenges may be, the God of Grace will be our guide. 聽This morning鈥檚 service began with the invitation to 鈥楽ing to the Lord a new song鈥�. 聽 It concludes with songs of praises that never end.聽CHOIR, CONGREGATION, ORGAN + BRASS: Guide me O thou great Redeemer (Cwm Rhondda)聽聽CHAPLAIN:聽May God your strong delivererredeem you by his graceLead you with his loveAnd ever be your strength and shield;And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon you now and for ever more. 聽Amen聽聽ORGAN: PLAYOUT聽