大象传媒

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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 from Continuity:
大象传媒 Radio 4. At ten past eight it鈥檚 time for Sunday Worship, live from St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. The theme this Passion Sunday is an invitation to trust. The preacher is the Coptic Archbishop of London, His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos. The service is led by the Vicar, the Revd Dr Sam Wells, and begins with a verse from the Passion Chorale.

MUSIC 1: O Sacred Head sore wounded (verse 1)

SAM:
Welcome to St Martin-in-the-Fields. The first four weeks of Lent are about the wilderness, about the place where we give up the baggage of life and strive to depend on God alone, disciplining our bodies and training our souls. But as we enter these last two weeks of Lent, our attention turns to the city, and one city in particular 鈥� Jerusalem. We recognise what it meant for Jesus to realise he had to go to Jerusalem, and face the rejection and betrayal and agony and sacrifice that awaited him there. In many traditions this day is called Passion Sunday. Passion, in this sense, means suffering. One way to characterise the time of Christ鈥檚 passion is to say that all through the gospels we see Jesus leading, speaking, instructing, healing; but in his last hours we see him on the receiving end of other people鈥檚 taunts, accusations, mockery, and beating. Passion Sunday marks the transition from the active God who shapes our life to the more passive God who saves us through becoming subject to our sins. On this day of the church鈥檚 year we recognise, we are God鈥檚 passion; and we ask ourselves, is God ours?

Let us pray.
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen.

MUSIC 1 continued: O Sacred Head sore wounded (verse 3)

BRONWYN:
A reading from Psalm 31.1鈥�5.

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

鈥�
SAM
In Luke鈥檚 gospel, the dying Jesus on the cross quotes these words from Psalm 31, 鈥業nto your hands O Lord I commit my spirit.鈥� The writer Krish Kandiah, in his Lent reflections, points out that this same psalm begins with the words, 鈥業n you, Lord, I have taken refuge鈥�. Kandiah suggests we can hear Jesus鈥� prayer from the cross as a request for asylum under the protection of God. Jesus 鈥� in agony, stripped of all his worldly goods, facing the hostility of the authorities and the crowds, seeks sanctuary with his Father. It means that everyone seeking asylum can identify with Christ in his agony on the cross. And whenever we call on God as our only help in trouble, we can identify with Christ鈥檚 words in his dying breath.
In 1925 John Ireland found a forgotten hymn by the seventeenth-century Puritan, Samuel Crossman, written in the style of George Herbert. Ireland scribbled down a tune in 15 minutes, and so gave us one of the best-loved Passiontide hymns: My song is love unknown.

MUSIC 2 鈥� My Song is Love Unknown听 听Samuel Crossman (1624-1684NS)

SAM:
Guli Francis-Dehqani was born in Isfahan, Iran in 1966. Her father Hassan Dehqani-Tafti was Bishop of Iran. Her life was transformed by the Iranian Revolution of 1979. That October her parents were subject to an assassination attempt; Guli鈥檚 mother was wounded. Seven months later in May 1980, Guli鈥檚 25-year-old brother, Bahram, was murdered on the orders of the Iranian government. The family was forced to leave the country, and they came to live in England.

CLIP: Guli Francis-Dehqani
In:听 Within two weeks we鈥檇 had his funeral service鈥�
Out: 鈥�acknowledges their dignity as human beings

MUSIC 3 鈥� Precious Lord, take my hand 鈥� words and music Thomas Dorsey听 (arr Sheldon Curry 鈥� Alfred Publishing Co inc)

SAM:
The Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote this prayer about his struggle to trust in the midst of solitude.

SUSANNE:
Prayer of Thomas Merton

SAM:
In Luke鈥檚 account of Jesus鈥� crucifixion, there are four dramas going on at the same time. Most important there is the relationship of Jesus and his heavenly Father. At his death Jesus hands his spirit over to his Father in an act of complete obedience, submission, and trust. Then there is Jesus鈥� relationship with the Roman and Jewish authorities. The centurion at the foot of the cross recognises that Jesus is an innocent, holy, righteous man. Third there is Jesus鈥� relation to the crowds, who sometimes cheer and sometimes mock him. At his death the crowds realise their mistake. Finally there is the drama of Jesus and those closest to him. They are overwhelmed, and torn between fear and awe.

BRONWYN:
A reading from Luke 23.44鈥�49.
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, 鈥楩ather, into your hands I commit my spirit.鈥� When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, 鈥楽urely this was a righteous man.鈥� When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

MUSIC 4 鈥� Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

SAM:
Our preacher is the Coptic Archbishop of London, His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos.

SERMON:
The Cross has been a source of confusion for non-Christians, and even many Christians, for millennia. Why would we use a symbol of apparent defeat to represent our Faith? Surely, if a person is going to represent his or her Faith, he or she would use an obvious symbol of victory or defiance to do so. What we as Christians trust however, as a result of belief in the glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ, is that the Cross does symbolise victory over death, and is a gateway, a point of movement, from our physical and temporal life to another which is eternal and everlasting.

Psalm 31, as we heard earlier, begins with: 鈥淚n You, O Lord, I put my trust鈥� and ends with 鈥淏e of good courage鈥�He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord鈥�. Trust, hope and courage often go hand in hand. The Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ was undoubtedly an act of incredible cruelty and brutality, but on His part, it was an act of incredible love, trust, courage and faithfulness. Because of His selfless actions, billions over thousands of years have hope that there is a bright future ahead, as the Resurrection promises new beginnings and everlasting joy.

One of my favourite messages in Scripture can be found in the book of Jeremiah Chapter 29, verse 11: 鈥淔or I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.鈥� This verse is a reminder that while we will inevitably face difficulties in life, some seemingly insurmountable, we also know that God, our heavenly Father, will always support us to overcome, and, in the words of St Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians, will always leave 鈥渁 means of escape that we can bear it鈥�. This is so powerfully depicted when we observe Christ, crucified and apparently defeated, raising His eyes to heaven and proclaiming 鈥淔ather, into Your hands, I commit my spirit鈥�; a very clear message and lesson to us that, at times of greatest vulnerability, there is no place safer and more comforting than the hands of our heavenly Father. Furthermore, Saint Athanasius the Apostolic writes 鈥淲hen Christ said on the Cross Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit, He commends us all to the Father, to be, by Him and through Him, restored to life.鈥�

The Coptic Orthodox Church has, over the past 2000 years lived through serious challenges, and demonstrated immense courage, resilience and faithfulness through them. There have been many examples of this extraordinary witness, one in particular that was recently enacted before the whole world, and one you may know less about.
The first is that of 21 faithful men, 20 Coptic Christians and their Ghanaian friend, who were filmed being executed on a beach in Libya. Their masked persecutors shouted threats directly into the camera, attempting to instil fear in the hearts of Christians around the world, and attempting to humiliate their captives by showing their apparent weakness; but what actually transpired would change the world. Their prayers and calm composure as they awaited a terrifying end, was such a visible sign of victory in apparent defeat.
The response of the kneeling men to this harrowing ordeal transformed them from being 21 simple labourers who worked in Libya to support their families in Egypt, to 21 courageous witnesses, for just as, at the point of His death on the Cross, our Lord prayed to the Father, these brave men were heard proclaiming the name of Christ, quite literally, till their final breath.

In May 2017, 5 year old Monica was travelling with her family on a pilgrimage to a monastery in Upper Egypt. As they journeyed, their bus was stopped, armed assailants boarded and they commenced asking each pilgrim to deny his or her Christian Faith. All those who would not deny their Faith were shot and killed where they sat. Monica鈥檚 brother wanted to protect her so he covered her with his body. The gunmen asked him to deny his Christianity, and when he refused they shot him as he shielded her. When police arrived and Monica was taken out of the bus alive, she was incredibly defiant. When asked, she said that she was sad that her brother had died, and that when she heard the gunmen asking people about their Faith, she had raised her hand and tried to show them the tiny cross that was tattooed on her wrist, like so many Coptic Christians, to proclaim that she was a Christian. In a conversation following the incident she said in frustration, 鈥榯hey didn鈥檛 hear me鈥�. This was the way that Monica, her brother, and all those on the bus said 鈥淔ather into Your hands I commit my spirit鈥� as they witnessed bravely. The survivors of these terrifying ordeals, do not, surprisingly, live in defeat, but continue to joyfully express their Christian Faith and hope in the God Who they believe embraces them in their struggles.
鈥�
As we reflect on our current political and social instability across our Nations, or the struggle of so many around the world at a more existential level, we do so with the knowledge and confidence that we have an omniscient God Who not only loved us enough to take flesh and dwell among us, but in doing so also ascended to the Cross, rose and raised us with Him. In that we can confidently say, 鈥業nto Your faithful hands we commit ourselves鈥�.
听
MUSIC 5 鈥� It is a thing most wonderful (Chilcott)听 William Walsham How (1823-1897) (OUP)

SAM:
Bob Chilcott鈥檚 setting of William Walsham How鈥檚 鈥業t is a thing most wonderful.鈥櫶� Now for our prayers.

鈥�
SUSANNE:
God of glory, you entrusted your chosen people to Abraham and Moses, you entrusted the birth of Christ to Mary, you entrusted the church to us: give us grace to cherish those things and those people we bear in our own hands today. Be close to any who have experienced a breach of trust, and who struggle to trust again after betrayal and deception. Bless those whose work it is to restore trust through listening, mediating, conciliating and resolving. And make us people who can be trusted.

Chant:
Behold the Lamb of God, he takes away the sin of the world (John Bell)

BRONWYN:
God of hope, in Christ you called on your disciples to be not afraid, and through him you sent your Holy Spirit to be our guide and comforter. Bring wisdom, patience, courage and perseverance to all in political life today. Give our leaders insight to listen, resolve to act, and trust to walk in your ways. Transform the experience of those who have nowhere to turn, who wander without a home, who live with regret and bitterness, or who plot the destruction of others. Show each one of us how to be hospitable as you are hospitable to us.

Chant:
Behold the Lamb of God, he takes away the sin of the world (John Bell) (Wild Goose)

SUSANNE:
God of truth, in Christ you wept at the tomb of Lazarus and in the garden you shed tears like great drops of blood; walk with any who today fear for their own health or dwell in the valley of the shadow of death. Comfort the bereaved and make yourself known to those who grieve. Inspire those new to faith and those whose faith is weak, that all who wait upon you may be borne up on wings like eagles, may run and not weary, may walk and not faint. And give us the joy of your salvation. We pray for the coming of your kingdom.

Chant:
Behold the Lamb of God, he takes away the sin of the world (John Bell)

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.

SAM:
In our final hymn, Cecil Frances Alexander sums up the traditional Christian view of the atonement in the words, He died that we might be forgiven, he died to make us good, that we might go at last to heaven, saved by his precious blood. But perhaps closer to the heart of Victorian spirituality is the final verse, O dearly, dearly has he loved! And we must love him too, and trust in his redeeming blood, and try his works to do. There is a green hill.
MUSIC 6 鈥� There is a green hill far away听 Cecil Frances Alexander (n茅e Humphreys) (1818-1895)

SAM:
Christ crucified draw you to himself, to find in him a sure ground for faith, a firm support for hope, and the assurance of sins forgiven; and the blessing of God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen

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