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:听Now on 大象传媒 Radio 4 it鈥檚 time for this week鈥檚 Sunday Worship, which comes live from Margam Abbey Church near Port Talbot in South Wales. The preacher is the Rt Reverend Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff.

ITEM 1 WELCOME
Good morning. May the God of grace and growth bless us all this day!听I鈥檓 Father Mark Greenaway-Robbins, priest here at Margam Abbey.听 I鈥檓 joined by Mother Ruth who is curate here, by Mary, Bishop of Llandaff and by members of the 大象传媒 National Chorus of Wales under their director Adrian Partington.

It鈥檚 our privilege to share this offering of prayer with you as we thank God for all the good that鈥檚 growing and flourishing in our lives and in the world.听
Gracious God, we come before you in prayer bringing the whole of our lives, our joys and our hopes, our fears, and our fragility. Thank you that you always hear our prayers. Open our hearts to the presence of your Holy Spirit. May your word shared in our worship be for us like seeds of wisdom. May your love take root in our lives producing a fruitful harvest of generous words and loving actions that bring hope and healing to others. We ask this in the name of Jesus our teacher and our guide. Amen

We may be helped and encouraged to pray by the beauty and wonder of creation all around us, which reminds us of the glory and wonder of the God who made us: All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice, and with us sing.
听
ITEM 2 : All creatures of our God and King

听ITEM 3: CONTEXT
We come to you live this morning from a church building and landscape that resonate with the words of praise in our hymn. The ancient Abbey is a hidden treasure in South Wales. Despite its proximity to the M4 and the outskirts of Port Talbot, it鈥檚 located in a rural, wooded landscape that is surprisingly tranquil.听听

The existing Abbey church at Margam is a small part of a much older [monastic] building. It鈥檚 like a deeply rooted plant听 that鈥檚 seeking fresh ways to grow and flourish now, aiming to resource both the local community and the many visitors who continue to be drawn here to this historic place of prayer.

The monks here believed that God did great things in this place, rewarding them for their generosity. Ancient historian Gerald of Wales, who once stayed the night here reported the whole local community were close to starvation when suddenly a crop in one of the Abbey Fields miraculously ripened a month early, sustaining everyone until the main crops were ready for harvest. The Abbey suffered much in 15th and 16th centuries and is now in ruins, with only the nave of the original building remaining intact for regular worship. But a strong commitment to hospitality continues here with an emphasis upon welcoming and feeding people physically and spiritually, resourcing them for prayer and to sustain and encourage them on their journey of life. The offering of welcome here seeks to echo the hospitality of God who we believe always provides for us. The wonder of God鈥檚 continued provision is celebrated in our hymn, 鈥淣ow my tongue the mystery telling鈥�.

ITEM 4:听 Now my tongue the mystery telling

ITEM 5: LINK
The message of thanksgiving and praise to God our creator is also found in the psalms, to which we turn now in prayer, reflecting upon words from Psalm 65.

ITEM 6a: RUTH PSALM 65 PART 1
Praise is due to you,O God, in Zion,and to you shall vows be performed,O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,you forgive our transgressions.

ITEM 6B : MARK PRAYER 1
God of mercy, we thank you that you hear us whenever we turn to you. Speak to us in ways that we can understand. We bring before you all that is broken or hurting in our lives, looking for your healing and hope. Help us to seek You each day, acknowledging our need for your wisdom and guidance. Give us the courage to receive your forgiveness and help us also to forgive.

ITEM 6C: RUTH PSALM 65 PART 2
Happy are those whom you choose and bring nearto live in your courts.We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,your holy temple.听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,O God of our salvation;you are the hope of all the ends of the earthand of the farthest seas.
听
ITEM 6d:听 MARK PRAYER 2
God of all time, we thank you for all who have gone before us in faith and those who have encouraged and helped us in our lives and our faith. We pray with thanksgiving for the lives of our loved ones departed, help us to trust them to your care. Fill our hearts with thankfulness for all the good we receive each day. Help us to notice and treasure all your gifts to us.

ITEM 6e: RUTH PSALM 65 part 3
By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.You silence the roaring of the seas,the roaring of their waves,the tumult of the peoples.Those who live at earth鈥檚 farthest bounds are awed by your signs;you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
ITEM 6f: MARK PRAYER 3God our maker, help us to recognise your presence in all that you have made. Your grace reaches out to all of us and you call us to work together for the good of all creation. Strengthen us in your service, keep us faithful and help us to live joyful, hopeful lives.
听
ITEM 6g: RUTH PSALM 65 part 4
You crown the year with your bounty;听your paths overflow with plenty.听The pastures of the wilderness overflow with goodness;听the hills gird themselves with joy;听the meadows clothe themselves with flocks;听the valleys deck themselves with grain;听they shout and sing together for joy.
听
ITEM 6h: MARK PRAYER 4
God our strong hope, creation sings your joy and praise, Bless us with courage,strengthen us in times of uncertainty; encourage us and those for whom we prayso that we may dream your dreams and catch a glimpse of your vision for the restoration of all creation.

ITEM 7: MARK LINK to Music
The joy and affirmation of God鈥檚 plans for good, told by the psalmist are echoed in the jubilant chorus from Haydn鈥檚 Creation: Achieved is the Glorious Work.

ITEM 8: Haydn:听 Achieved is the Glorious Work (from The Creation)听 听

ITEM 9: MARK INTRODUCTION TO READING
Loving God, we praise you for the wonder of creation and for all it speaks to us of the possibility of hope and renewal. We pray that we may reflect your goodness and compassion. Arouse in us we pray, such love and hope that we may be strengthened to reach out to our wounded and troubled world with words and deeds that cut through fear and isolation, and which point to your unfailing love. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Considering what鈥檚 most important and finding ways to live well in relation to God and other people is at the heart of many of the teachings of Jesus. In St Matthew鈥檚 Gospel we find some of his famous words about growth and flourishing in a story that offers us some lessons from the world of farming/gardening [and indeed 鈥榖roadcasting鈥�, in its original sense!].

ITEM 10: RUTH READING from MATTHEW
Jesus told them many things in parables, saying: 鈥淎 farmer went out to sow his seed.听 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.听 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.听 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.听 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop鈥攁 hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.鈥� 鈥�.

鈥淟isten then to what the parable鈥�means:听 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.听 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble鈥� comes鈥�,they .. fall away.听 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word...听 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.鈥澨�

ITEM 11: Reflection PART 1
Jesus seems utterly realistic about the choice and freedom we all have about engaging with learning like this: 鈥渨hoever has ears, let them hear鈥� he says. It feels like a gentle challenge, saying 鈥淟et鈥檚 look at your life: What are you like?听

And this story certainly connects with me 鈥� even though cultivating plants is definitely not in my skill set. My family have never let me forget the time I tried to look after my husband鈥檚 carefully tended lawn when he was away. I tried to cut the grass too soon after heavy rain, and it did rather look as if it鈥榙 been ploughed after my efforts! But even if I鈥檓 not a natural gardener, the idea of 鈥榮owing seeds鈥� - actions or events that produce various results resonates with other experiences in my life where small things can sometimes yield surprising outcomes:听听

I鈥檝e only recently become Bishop here, it鈥檚 a big new challenge for me, and sometimes it feels rather overwhelming. But I keep receiving small encouragements: Just this week I bumped into a woman I鈥檇 met more than twenty years ago. I鈥檇 written her a letter then in which I鈥檇 listed some of her gifts. She told me that on a number of occasions over the years when her life had been hard, she鈥檇 returned to what I wrote and said it鈥檇 helped her. Extraordinarily, she reached into her bag and pulled out my letter. It felt like a gift from the past. I鈥檇 completely forgotten about it, but it鈥檇 provided comfort to her, and now it felt like an encouragement to me also.

Jesus鈥檚 stories offer a clever way for us to reflect upon and deal with some of the complexity and mystery of life. Like the best kind of teacher or a loving parent he empowers his hearers. Rather than telling us how to live Jesus taught those who would listen to use their God-given gifts of insight, emotion, and imagination to decide for themselves about their goals and choices.

It interests me that in this story about seeds falling in different places Jesus seems to dwell on failure as much as on success. I find it helpful that he appears to address some of the difficulties of life. In most of the places where the seed lands there is no lasting growth or success. This resonates for me with the reality of human experiences of failure, loss and sadness. We can feel weighed down by this 鈥� there's no shortage of pain and suffering in the world. But the story moves beyond sorrow, taking us beyond struggle and difficulty and building up to a story of hope. Three scenarios of seeds not thriving are followed by a picture of abundant growth and plenty.

The story of the seed falling upon the land could describe Jesus鈥� own story too鈥� his own life and ministry will look like failure to most of the world. He鈥檚 a man born in poverty who spends time with unlikely people, including outcastes and the sick. He doesn鈥檛 seek alliances with the powerful or wealthy of his time and he dies on a cross as a criminal. To many his crucifixion will seem to be an end, a failure. But to those who know and trust the bigger story, this is not the ending, Jesus鈥� message and his death yield the hope of a life that continues beyond the grave, a love that can overcome all evil, and a trust in the God who wants us all to flourish.

Jesus speaks elsewhere of his message as a call to abundant life 鈥� he wants us to be joyful. To help others to know that God has a bigger vision than we might perceive and offers us hope and blessing. There鈥檚 such wisdom in Jesus鈥� choice of images from nature to help us understand how God longs for us to flourish. Creation is an amazing resource with so much to teach us about hope, patience, and the possibility for new life even when this may be hidden from our sight or take time to come to fruition.

听ITEM 12: Choir/Organ For the fruits of His creation

ITEM 13: REFLECTION PART 2听
One of the things I love about the stories of Jesus is the humour that鈥檚 often just below the surface. If the story of the seed being scattered [or broadcast] was read as a farming manual, it would be considered ridiculously wasteful. Who takes seed and just scatters it anywhere? This is farming beyond what seems sensible to us, but perhaps that鈥檚 the point: Jesus is telling a story about a world seen from God鈥檚 point of view. And from a heavenly perspective perhaps possibilities of growth and nurture are far bigger than we might imagine.听

[For Jesus, life is about abundance, he鈥檚 not limited in his thinking as we tend to be. So often in our planning and thinking we focus upon a narrative of scarcity 鈥� whereby our ideas of what鈥檚 possible are restricted. We can live in ways that suggest that we are always battling against time and resources. Trapped by the idea that we don鈥檛 have enough, we can start to think that we always need more 鈥� if only there were more hours in the day, if I had greater funds in the bank. Such a way of living can leave us feeling constantly restricted and inadequate.]听

[In contrast to this, Jesus presents us with ideas of generosity, where possibilities are expansive, and there鈥檚 more than enough for all. So perhaps here, the idea of seeds scattered everywhere invites us to be broader and more imaginative in our thinking.]

And there鈥檚 wonderful help given by Jesus as he tells this story. He may have begun with a warning that we need to work to understand his message, but he doesn鈥檛 leave us to struggle on our own for meaning. Having told the story, he goes on to explain its message, helping us to understand. One of the names for Jesus in the Bible is 鈥渢he word鈥� and here we see how this clever teacher of God鈥檚 word inhabits the teaching, not only telling God鈥檚 message, but making it real in his relationship with those who listen. Jesus, the living word of God helps his followers to understand and interpret the spoken words of his teaching.听

He explains that the seed is like the message of God鈥檚 Kingdom. It鈥檚 the story he鈥檚 sharing with them, and perhaps it鈥檚 also his very self.听

The soil on which this message lands is the context of their lives. Of course, when these parables of Jesus were first heard and written down, they would have been understood according to the circumstances of the age.听 It鈥檚 easy to see how the seed scattered on the path which is snatched up and devoured by birds might represent those who suffered in times of persecution, when following Jesus might cost believers their life. The same is true of the small plants on rocky ground with shallow roots that did not survive the heat of the sun.

In our own time, the path and the rocky ground in the parable might speak to us in different ways. We might think of times in our lives when we have not had, or not accessed the help we need to grow and flourish. We know that with the inequalities of our world, provision for growth and learning is very unfairly shared, and in terms of our personalities and the seasons of our lives we may be aware of situations when our own ability to listen and to learn from God or from others has been limited or restricted.
The part of the story that strikes home with most force to me is the part about the weeds and thorns that choke the growing seed. We probably don鈥檛 feel we need Jesus鈥� help to see that this refers to material possessions and worries and anxiety which can consume so much of our attention and eat up our energy in a destructive and disheartening manner.听

But the joy of the parable comes with the alternative at the end of the story. The great harvest that comes from simply receiving and welcoming the seed.听

The good soil doesn鈥檛 have to do anything else. It simply exists to receive what is given and allow this to grow. There鈥檚 much encouragement for us here, telling us we only have to receive God鈥檚 love.

ITEM 14: MARK LINK
Creation all around us can be understood as living and echoing this same story of hope and growth. The plants and trees in our gardens and countryside tell this same message, they exist to grow and flourish. The amazing wonder and joy of the natural world with its focus upon fruitfulness is captured in an uplifting and prayerful way in John Rutter鈥檚 anthem: For the Beauty of the Earth.

ITEM 15: John Rutter: For the beauty of the earth

ITEM 16: RUTH PRAYERS
And now our prayers,听God the sower of seeds and giver of abundant growth, by your grace you lead us to life in all its fullness. Your love brings hope and healing to troubled hearts and minds. Help us to serve you with joy all our days, knowing that you always watch over us longing for us to flourish. Prepare our hearts to hear and receive your word each new day, may our spirits always respond in eagerness to your life-giving love.听

Generous God we thank you for all the blessings of our lives, for family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and听 even strangers, who nurture and encourage us. May your love be like a seed in our lives taking root and helping us to connect with and support others.We hold in our hearts this morning all leaders in our world, especially those in .... and other places where war, violence, a lack of resources or calamity limit opportunities for growth, and where flourishing seems like a distant dream.听

May they lead with strong hearts and generous spirits, with compassion and mercy, with wisdom and grace.

We hold in our prayers all who live in dangerous places, those who are worried or fearful about employment, bills, food, or the care of their loved ones. Be close to all who are anxious, touch our hearts to respond to the needs of others and to live as signs of your care.

Holy God we remember before you all who suffer from any illness or disease of mind, body, or spirit.听Be close to all who are in pain and strengthen those who care for them, gift them all with patience and hope and help them to know that they鈥檙e not alone.

God of all, Lord of the harvest, we ask you to bring peace to those who are dying, solace to those who mourn and hope to those in despair. May your grace always surround us and your strength embolden us to be signs of your care. Gift us with courage when we鈥檙e afraid, grace us with faith when we鈥檙e doubtful and help us to trust in the power of your generous love.

ITEM 17: MARK + CHOIR LORD鈥橲 PRAYER
As Jesus taught us, so we pray: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.听And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.听For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory. For ever and ever. Amen.

ITEM 18: LINK TO FINAL HYMN
As our worship draws to a close we praise God for the hope planted in each of our hearts and we pray that God will help us to grow and flourish as signs of love, hope and joy for others.

ITEM 19: CHOIR/ORGAN : King of glory (Gwalchmai)
ITEM 20: MARY BLESSING
Blessing 1: And now our blessing: May the blessing of God our Creator, bringer of life and giver of hope -听Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.
Blessing 2: Our closing blessing:May the God of life hear our prayer and bless us, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Blessing 3: (And now our blessing):听Our worship is ended, but our service continues. May the blessing of God; fount of wisdom, source of love and giver of growth, accompany us this day and always pouring his love into our hearts and filling us with grace and peace.听 (Amen).
Blessing 4: (And now our blessing)May the God in whom we live and move and have our being, direct our strength and inspire our weakness that we may be joyful bearers of love, forgiveness and hope to others听so that:The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Companionship of the Holy Spirit may be known through all our deeds and in our friendship this day and always. Amen.听听

ITEM 21: ORGAN PLAYOUT FROM JOHN CHEER
Herbert Howells: Paean

CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM RADIO 4
Organist John Cheer bringing to a close this morning鈥檚 Sunday Worship, live from Margam Abbey church, with 鈥楶aean鈥� by Herbert Howells.听 Members of the 大象传媒 National Chorus of Wales were conducted by Adrian Partington. The service was led by Reverend Mark Greenaway-Robbins, and the preacher was the Bishop of Llandaff, the Right听 Reverend Mary Stallard. The producer was Geoff Ballinger.