Hymn 52 Ratisbon

Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Christ, the true, the only Light,

Sun of Righteousness, arise,

Triumph o’er the shades of night;

Dayspring from on high, be near,

Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn

Unaccompanied by thee;

Joyless is the day’s return,

Till thy mercy’s beams I see,

Till they inward light impart,

Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,

Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;

Fill me, Radiancy divine,

Scatter all my unbelief;

More and more thyself display,

Shining to the perfect day.

We say sorry for the things we have done wrong

O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who trust in him. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

The Lord ransoms the lives of his servants and none who trust in him will be destroyed. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Come my children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

We are forgiven

May the God of love forgive us, lift our burdens from us, heal and strengthen us by his spirit; that we may journey in love to live our lives freely and lightly, through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Collect

O almighty God,

whose blessed Son called Matthew the tax-collector

to be an apostle and evangelist:

Give us grace to forsake the selfish pursuit of gain

and the possessive love of riches;

that we may follow in the way of your Son Jesus Christ,

who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Psalm 119. 65-72

65  You have dealt graciously with your servant, ♦︎

   according to your word, O Lord.

66  O teach me true understanding and knowledge, ♦︎

   for I have trusted in your commandments.

67  Before I was afflicted I went astray, ♦︎

   but now I keep your word.

68  You are gracious and do good; ♦︎

   O Lord, teach me your statutes.

69  The proud have smeared me with lies, ♦︎

   but I will keep your commandments with my whole heart.

70  Their heart has become gross with fat, ♦︎

   but my delight is in your law.

71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted, ♦︎

   that I may learn your statutes.

72  The law of your mouth is dearer to me ♦︎

   than a hoard of gold and silver.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A reading from the second epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians.

Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.                                2 Corinthians 4: 1-6

Hymn 6 St Denio

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;

thy justice, like mountains high soaring above

thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;

in all life thou livest, the true life of all;

we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;

all laud we would render, O help us to see

’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

A reading from the Gospel according to St Matthew.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.        St Matthew 9: 9-13

What do we believe? (we say together)

We believe in God the Father, the source of all life, by whom every family in heaven and earth has been created.

We believe in God the Son, our friend and brother Jesus, who lives in our hearts through faith and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with his power, and makes Jesus known in the world.

We believe and trust in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Hymn 493 Hyfrydol

Ye that know the Lord is gracious,

ye for whom a cornerstone

stands, of God elect and precious,

laid that ye may build thereon,

see that on that sure foundation

ye a living temple raise,

towers that may tell forth salvation,

walls that may re-echo praise.

Living stones, by God appointed

each to his allotted place,

kings and priests, by God anointed,

shall ye not declare his grace?

Ye, a royal generation,

tell the tidings of your birth,

tidings of a new creation

to an old and weary earth.

Tell the praise of him who called you

out of darkness into light,

broke the fetters that enthralled you,

gave you freedom, peace and sight:

tell the tale of sins forgiven,

strength renewed and hope restored,

till the earth, in tune with heaven,

praise and magnify the Lord.

We say our prayers

As brothers and sisters in one loving family, together let us pray to our heavenly Father.

Lord, we thank you this morning that we are here as your family.  We thank you for the connection we feel with each other, and with you.  We pray for any who feel on the outside, that we will welcome them in.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for people who don’t know you, or perhaps once did, but have lose their sense of your reality, lost their way.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for people who have experienced life events that have separated them from you; for those who have had relationship breakdowns, for those who have lost loved ones to death, leaving emptiness or bitterness, or uncertainty.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We thank you for the times when others have prayed for us.  We think of people who feel they cannot pray, that they will have people to pray for them; of people who don’t think they have time to pray, that they may understand how vital prayer is.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our 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.

Hymn 605 (and collection) (omit v 4) Will you come and follow me

Will you come and follow me

if I but call your name?

Will you go where you don’t know

and never be the same?

Will you let my love be shown,

will you let my name be known,

will you let my life be grown

in you and you in me?

Will you leave your self behind

if I but call your name?

Will you care for cruel and kind

and never be the same?

Will you risk the hostile stare

should your life attract or scare?

Will you let me answer prayer

in you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see

if I but call your name?

Will you set the prisoners free

and never be the same?

Will you kiss the leper clean,

and do such as this unseen,

and admit to what I mean

in you and you in me.

Lord, your summons echoes true

when you but call my name.

Let me turn and follow you

and never be the same.

In your company I’ll go

where your love and footsteps show.

Thus I’ll move and live and grow

in you and you in me?

We pray together

Be with us Lord, as we go out into the world.

May the lips that have sung your praises

always speak the truth;

may the ears that have heard your Word

listen only to what is good;

and may our lives as well as our worship

be always pleasing in your sight,

for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The Blessing

Lord, together today we have been blessed and strengthened in our connection, not only with each other but also with you: so may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. Amen.