From the Rector

Dear Friends,

The theme of this season which the Church calls Epiphany is ‘revelation’. Our readings for this Sunday (links below) and for the remainder of January will allow us to discover more and more about God and what he has done for us through his Son Jesus.

That loving relationship between God the Father and God the Son is exposed in our Gospel for this week. After Jesus is baptised in the River Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist, heaven opened, God the Holy Spirit descended like and dove and God the Father spoke words of confirmation over God the Son: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’. Think for a moment about what Scripture is describing here: the complexity of what we call the Holy Trinity—one God in three persons—being revealed to us in for the form of simple, loving relationship. A proud father who is pleased with his son.

It’s important to remember that this moment occurs before the start of Jesus’ ministry. Until this point Jesus has been living an unremarkable life as a carpenter in Nazareth. There have been no miracles, no healings, no suffering, death nor Resurrection. Yet God loves Jesus not for what he has done, but for who he is. In that relationship we glimpse something of the enormity of God’s grace: that he loves us not for our achievements, merits or successes, but for who we are.

This same relationship is the theme of this week’s curious little passage from Acts chapter 8. Peter and John—apostles of the risen Jesus and gifted evangelists—travel to Samaria where believers were only being ‘baptised’ in the name of Jesus. What Peter and John bring to this church is the gift of the knowledge that Jesus’ ministry was not about himself, but the work of the Father who sent him. Likewise, it is the Holy Spirit that makes what God has achieved through Jesus a present reality in their lives.

Christian Baptism, then, is about becoming part of the loving, living relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christian lives are lived in response to the knowledge that God speaks those same words to us as he did to his Son: ‘you are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased’.

Yours in Christ,

Ian

Worship this Sunday

Sunday 12th January 2025

The Baptism of Christ

NEMPNETT THRUBWELL St Mary

9.30am Eucharist

STOWEY St Nicholas & St Mary

10.30am A Service for Plough Sunday

FELTON St Katharine

11.00am Eucharist

Next Sunday: Sunday 19th January 2025

The Second Sunday of Epiphany

8.30am Holy Communion – BCP (Regil); 10.30am Eucharist (Bishop Sutton);

6.30pm Evensong (Chew Stoke)

Readings & Collect

Isaiah 43: 1-7

Acts 8: 14-17

Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

Eternal Father,

who at the baptism of Jesus

revealed him to be your Son,

anointing him with the Holy Spirit:

grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,

that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

For your prayers

We pray for our WORLD … for the people of Los Angeles, especially those responding to the unfolding catastrophe across so many communities there … for the bereaved, injured, homeless and displaced … for the people of Ukraine and Russia and for the Middle East … for the life of our own nation … that God will give wisdom and integrity to all who lead that their service will promote justice, peace and loving relationship;

… for the CHURCH throughout the world and especially for these parishes … for all who are called to exercise Christian ministry in the name of the Holy Trinity … for our clergy and lay ministers … for those preparing for Holy Baptism in these parishes in the coming months, especially Barney, Charles, Jake, Sophie and Margot;

… for those in SPECIAL NEED … especially those who are ill at home, in hospital or in hospices … for those undergoing treatment or awaiting test results … and for the Faithful Departed, among them Ian and Margaret.