The sinless one to Jordan came
To share our fallen nature’s blame;
God’s righteousness he thus fulfilled
And chose the path his Father willed.

Uprising from the waters there,
The voice from heaven did witness bear
That he, the Son of God, had come
To lead his scattered people home.

Above him see the heavenly Dove,
The sign of God the Father’s love,
Now by the Holy Spirit shed
Upon the Son’s anointed head.

On you shall all your people feed
And know you are the Bread indeed,
Who gives eternal life to those
That with you died, and with you rose.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ✝

And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen

From Easter to Pentecost:

Allelulia. Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia

In Lent and other penitential occasions:

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;

His mercy endures for ever.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts be open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

This prayer is omitted during Lent and Advent:

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.  Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.  Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

 Holy God, holy and mighty ✝, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

A Reading from the book of:

Thanks be to God

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Someone is coming, said John, someone greater than I.

He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

The Holy Gospel according to Luke 3:15-17, 21-22:

✝✝✝

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

We have just listened to the story of the baptism of Jesus from the Gospel of St Luke. In the Church’s ancient tradition, this feast is always closely linked to the feast of the Epiphany, which we celebrated last week, and with the miracle at Cana, where Jesus changes water into wine, which we will be thinking about next week. In each of these three stories, the central message is that the true meaning of the life and mission of Jesus is being made known.

In many ways, the story of the baptism of Jesus is a strange one, and I am sure that many of us are as puzzled by it today as John the Baptist and the people gathered by the bank of the River Jordan must have been at the time. Today’s gospel points out that before Jesus presented Himself for baptism, John had already spoken of Him as the one who would baptize others, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit and with fire. As one of the other gospel writers tells us, John in fact questioned Jesus, saying that he, John, needed baptism from Jesus rather than the other way around. And yet Jesus replied that, difficult though it was, John had to accept that this was something that, in God’s plan, simply had to take place in order to confirm the essential fact that Jesus was indeed truly human.

Because we know that Christian baptism is so closely linked to the idea of forgiveness of sin, we too might wonder why Jesus had to be baptized. After all, he had no sin that needed forgiveness, and he had no need to turn back to God or open his life to God as he was already, and always, fully in communion with God his Father. So what, we might ask, is the real meaning of the baptism of Jesus?

Part of the explanation, I believe, lies in what happens next in the story. As Jesus comes up out of the water the clouds part, the Spirit of God descends on Jesus, and the voice of God the Father is heard: “You are my son, the beloved. My favour, my seal of approval, rests on you”. And as the other gospel accounts of this event make clear, this voice was heard not just by Jesus alone, but by those who were also present with Him.

What is happening at the baptism of Jesus is the proclamation by God that this Jesus, seemingly a man like everyone else, though an extraordinarily good man, is in reality so closely at one with God that God calls Him his beloved Son, and reveals the presence of the Holy Spirit, who is always with Him. Just as Jesus is proclaimed as the saviour of all people, and not just the Jews, when the wise men, non-Jews, come from far away to worship Him in Bethlehem, and just as Jesus is revealed as the bringer of life and joy into people’s lives at the Wedding Feast of Cana, so today Jesus is revealed in all His glory as the only Son of God, and the bearer of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of Jesus is the confirmation of what St Luke’s Gospel has already told us: that Jesus is not just another, though especially good, man – Jesus is the presence of God among us.

A proclamation like this calls for a response. It called for a response from those who were there at his baptism, and from those who would encounter Him during his life – and it calls for a response from us as well. Our faith is not meant to be a set of dry, academic teachings. It is meant to be a sincere, enthusiastic and ongoing response to the incredible truth that God, who is the creator and sustainer of everything that exists, has come among us as one of us in Jesus, so that in Jesus we might see the face of God, hear His voice, experience His love and mercy, and respond to Him in faith.

The words which we hear at the baptism of Jesus find an echo in another incident much later in Jesus’ ministry. It is the event we know as the Transfiguration. On that occasion too, those who are with Jesus see Him as he really is, transfigured, and standing in the presence of Moses and Elijah. In the man Jesus, they see the glory and presence of God, and just as at the baptism, so here too they hear the Father’s voice. This time, however, something that is only implicit at the baptism becomes very explicit. As well as the Father’s voice proclaiming, “This is my son, my beloved. He enjoys my favour“, the disciples also hear the words which follow immediately: “Listen to Him”.

This of course is the response which God is asking of us as well. As Christians, it is not enough for us to hold some truths just in an intellectual way. Our faith must engage all of us, not just our minds. It must, we might say, also engage our hearts if it is to be real. And this perhaps is the question today’s celebration puts before us: in my day to day life, with all its challenges and its possibilities, are the eyes of both my mind and my heart fixed on Jesus? If he really is God’s Son, as today’s gospel proclaims Him to be, isn’t this precisely where my life should be centred? Am I really listening to his voice each day? And this leads to an even more challenging question: what am I doing to respond to this voice, to this call of the Lord in my life?

We do, of course, need to train ourselves to listen – and in our noisy and busy lives, this is not always easy. Apart from the obvious fact that when we come to the Eucharist we have the scriptures read and explained for us, one of the reasons why the Church is so insistent on the need to come to worship each week is because it provides us with such a precious opportunity to step aside from our normal activities, and enter into a different space where everything is designed to help us enter into a time of communion with God.

Today then, let us allow the gospel to challenge us, not in an accusing way, but with a precious invitation: in Jesus we encounter the Beloved Son of God, and come to know God, and His love for us, in a new and powerful way: why would we not want to listen to Him, and then respond to Him with love and in faith?   Amen

Please stand for the Nicene Creed.

Let us together affirm the faith of the Church. ✝

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

✝ and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

Intercessions for the Baptism of the Lord

Almighty and eternal God, we give you thanks for this new day, and as we gather to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, let us recall our own Baptism, and our calling as Christians. May we be filled with joy because we believe in you, so that our hearts overflow with love for you, for all whom we meet along life’s journey, and help us to understand the mystery of the baptism of your beloved Son. May we walk in your way, live our lives for you, and be mindful of your presence, both now, and always.

We pray for your Church throughout the world, remembering especially all who are persecuted for their faith. We remember fellow Christians here in Thailand – we ask for your blessing upon +Vsevolod our Bishop, on this, our Parish of St. George, for its work, its worship and its witness.  We pray especially for Fr. David in his ministry to us, and for all members of our congregation, be they near or far.

Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

Creator God, we remember all those places where there is war, conflict or unrest, both social and political, and pray that you will look mercifully upon the sufferings of the people caught up in it.

We pray for the King and Government of Thailand, in our own home countries, and for all the leaders of nations throughout the world. Quicken their consciences, and give them the courage to make wise decisions, righting wrongs and meeting the needs of all who suffer, especially as the Pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide, with renewed intensity and contagion.

Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us

Father God, we pray today for our friends, our families and our Christian community, that united by our common baptism, we may always welcome the newcomer, the stranger, and all who are vulnerable, as unemployment deprives increasing numbers of the means to support either themselves of their families.

We also remember today all involved in education, as they wrestle with the problems of distance learning whilst schools remain closed.  Help the young not to be unfairly disadvantaged by a situation which is no fault of their own, praying that their efforts will be justly rewarded, and that they will still in fact be able to achieve their full potential.

Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

Loving God, we pray for those who face difficulties in their personal lives.  We bring before you all who are sick, the bereaved, those with problems in their families, in their relationships, in their neighbourhoods or in their workplace, and those who have asked particularly for our prayers…… Fr. Tom, Fr. Theo,  Brian, Kyoko, Colin, Mavis, Patricia, Eric, Kent, Elizabeth, Conrad, Griselda, Jun, Martyn, Dave, Carole, Emilia, John, and any others, known personally to each and every one of us…

Give them patience in their troubles, and the knowledge that you share all their suffering with them.

Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

Mighty God, Lord of unending being, we pray for those whose earthly lives are drawing to a close, or have ended. We remember those all who have passed away recently, and in particular Francis……………..

and those whose anniversary of death falls at this time …………….

May they rest in peace and rise in glory!  We give thanks for lives well-lived and for happy memories. May they find peace in the eternal joy of heaven, and let all who mourn their passing find comfort and consolation.

Lord hear us – Lord graciously hear us.

Faithful God, we thank you for making us your children, for feeding us with the spiritual food of your body and blood, which satisfies all our longings, and for the promise that you listen to our supplications and will answer our requests as may be best for us.

Almighty God, who has promised to hear our prayers, Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

Amen

THE CONFESSION:

God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy, welcoming sinners and inviting them to the Lord’s table.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God’s forgiveness.

Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, and in what we have failed to do: we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves; we repent and are sorry ✊ for all ✊ our sins ✊, Father forgive us, strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

**(Note: all are encouraged to strike their breast 3 times following the lead of Fr. David as he utters the words: ‘sorry for all our sins’)**

Almighty God, who has promised forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith, pardon you ✝ and set you free from all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

THE PEACE:

The congregation stands.

We are the Body of Christ.

His Spirit is with us.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please greet each other with a sign of peace.

The race that long in darkness pined
Have seen a glorious light;
The people dwell in day, who dwelt
In death’s surrounding night.

To us a Child of hope is born,
To us a Son is given;
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him all the hosts of heaven.

His name shall be the Prince of peace,
For evermore adored;
The Wonderful, the Counsellor,
The great and mighty Lord.

His power increasing still shall spread;
His reign no end shall know;
Justice shall guard his throne above,
And peace abound below.

♫♫ Scroll to the bottom of the page for the media player where you can hear the music and practice your singing. ♫♫

THE OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.

Blessed be God forever.

 Let us pray

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.  We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  Amen.