Songs of thankfulness and praise,
Jesu, Lord, to thee we raise,
Manifested by the star
To the sages from afar;
Branch of royal David’s stem
In thy birth at Bethlehem;
Anthems be to thee addrest,
God in Man made manifest.

Manifest at Jordan’ stream,
Prophet, Priest and King supreme,
And at Cana, wedding-guest
In thy Godhead manifest;
Manifest in power divine,
Changing water into wine;
Anthems be to thee addrest,
God in Man made manifest.

Grant us grace to see thee, Lord,
Mirrored in thy holy word,
May we imitate thee now,
And be pure, as pure art thou;
That we like to thee may be
At thy great Epiphany,
And may praise thee, ever blest
God in man made manifest.

♫♫ 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!

Through the Good news God called us

to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

The Holy Gospel according to John 2:1-11

✝✝✝

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, we encounter Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry.  Jesus has been recently baptized and recognized as Lamb of God, Messiah, Son of God, and bearer of the Holy Spirit by his cousin John the Baptist, the leader of a popular renewal movement.  People have come to the banks of the Jordan from far and wide, to be baptized, cleansed, purified in living water, to counter the corruption and stagnation of the established temple worship in Jerusalem.  Jesus may have been a follower of John the Baptist; certainly, he came all the way from Galilee to be baptizedby him.  Jesus would support John’s message about refreshing worship practice; he frequently found himself at odds with the temple authorities.

But that is jumping ahead.  Jesus knows, John the Evangelist knows, and we know what is to come, but the folks on the ground, Jesus’ family, friends, and followers are still at the beginning of the story.

Jesus and his first followers, drawn from among the followers of John, have returned to Galilee, where they are the guests at a wedding. Jesus’ mother clearly is aware of her son’s special gifts, and when the wine runs low, she asks him to do something about it. Jesus responds with the words, “My hour has not yet come.”

The season of Epiphany, in the northernhemisphere, coincides with the season of growing light.   After the winter solstice in December, it takes some time to feel the new light, but at last, in January, we begin to notice a new strength, a growing life, in the light.  John the Evangelist has proclaimed that Jesus, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world”. Like the January light of Epiphany, that true light takes time to emerge and grow, to increase in strength.

In the reading from his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of spiritual gifts, gifts of wisdom, healing, working miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits. In the story of the wedding at Cana, we see Jesus growing into his spiritual gifts.

The central claim of the Gospel of John, John’s thesis, so to speak, is that Jesus is Son of God, the source of eternal life.  The purpose of John’s book is to help his readers, members of John’s first-century community of Jewish followers of Jesus, to truly believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the bearer of new and eternal life for those who follow him.  John lays it out, with John the Baptist setting the stage for Jesus, the one who is greater than he.  Both Johns proclaim that Jesus is the true light, the Messiah. Then the evidence is presented in the form of signs and miracles.  Jesus, of course, knows who he is, and his mission, like John the Evangelist’s, is to make others believe, so that they may have eternal life in the Kingdom of God.  So, growing into his mission and spiritual gifts, Jesus performs his first sign at the wedding.  He transforms water into wine – good wine.  From living water, the water of baptism, Jesus creates new life.

Wine, for the friends and followers of Jesus at the wedding, even before the Last Supper and the Eucharistic table, was a powerful symbol of sustenance and life.  Wine carries a message of transformation – grapes transformed by fermentation into wine – a message of re-creation and refreshment, of new life.  Today’s reading from Isaiah speaks of God’s promise of fertility and abundance, using the image of marriage: “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your landshall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married”.

The wedding at Cana embodies the image of fertility and new life prophesied in Isaiah, while the miracle of transforming water into wine expands the idea of new life to imagine a life in Christ, a life infused with the Holy Spirit. For Jesus’ followers, the miracle at Cana is the first sign on the road to a new way of being, a revelation of the Kingdom of God.

In the Gospel of John, there are three simultaneous audiences for the message of salvation, of new life in Christ.  Jesus’ audience is his family, friends, and followers.  Jesus offers signs that he is the Messiah, the light and saviour of the world, so that they may believe and be transformedto new life.  John tells the tale to his first-century community, presenting and explaining those same signs, so that they will believe and be transformed, like water into wine.  John further addresses his futureaudience, the contemporary reader in eachera to come, leading to us, here and now.  John, with Jesus, offers us the evidence that the Kingdom of God awaits us, a new life, a way of being that is hospitable, abundant, generous.  A life where each one of us contributes from our abundant gifts, activated by the Holy Spirit.

On this second Sunday after the Epiphany, in the new and growing light of Christ, scripture asks us to trust the signs, to believe that life in Christ is creative, and renewal is possible.  Transformation, like the growing light of Epiphany, is gradual.  May we allow ourgifts of the spirit to emerge and grow, as the Spirit chooses, with God’s help.

Let us pray: Gracious God, your glory is revealed in the miracles of Jesus.  Help us to believe. Help us to trust in our spiritual gifts, given by your Holy Spirit.  Help us to remember that transformation is a process; that your call is planted and grows in us, like the growing light of Epiphany. Help us to be steadfast in the certainty of rebirth into eternal life.  In Christ’s name we pray.  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.

Second Sunday Of Epiphany  – Year C

We pray for the welfare of your church here on earth; guide and govern it by your Spirit, so that all Christians may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in the unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in the righteousness of life.

We ask your blessing on +Vsevolod our Bishop, on this, our parish of St. George – for its work, its worship and its witness. We pray particularly for Fr. David in his ministry to us, and for all members of our congregation, be they near or far.

1 Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

d) We pray that in our families we may so live that we know you are always among us….Bless all in our community who are recently married or soon to marry, that they may hold together in love and loyalty all their lives.

We pray for the leaders of all the nations of the world, most particularly for the King and Government of Thailand at this time of unrest, and also in the countries from which we come. We remember also all the people in countries that have had problems of any kind during this past week, particularly the situation in the Ukraine, and the aftermath of the tsunami in Tonga.

Grant wisdom to those in authority in every land, and give to all people a desire for righteousness and peace, the will to work together in trust, to seek the common good, and to share with justice and equity the limited resources of the earth.

2 Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

e) Have mercy on those who suffer in unhappy marriages, and those who are separated or divorced…Bring healing and reconciliation where marriages are in danger, that love may be restored and promises fulfilled.

We pray for all who are prevented from, or persecuted for practising their faith, wherever they may be. We pray for our fellow Christians, both here in Thailand, and also in our own home countries.

3 Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

We pray for all those who suffer in body, mind and spirit;  the sick; the poor; the depressed; the lonely;  the afraid, the unloved; the persecuted; the unemployed and those who care for them.  Those who grieve; and those who have nobody to pray for them.

4 Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

We remember all those who have been touched by the COVID 19 pandemic; particularly here in Pattai-Ya. We give thanks that Thailand has now reopened to visitors from abroad, as the outbreak is showing gradual signs of decline, and for the progress which continues to be made with the vaccination programme.

Amongst the sick we remember:

Fr. Tom, Fr. Theo, Terry, Mick, Brian, Kyoko, Colin, Mavis, Patricia, Eric, Kent, Elizabeth, Griselda, Jun, Martyn, Dave, Carole, Emilia, John, Jean-Pierre, and any others, known personally to each and every one of us…

5 Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

f) As we pray for the departed, we remember with thanks what they gave to the life of this world. Grant them joy in the everlasting marriage feast of heaven.

We bring to you all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, especially the millions who have perished in the COVID pandemic, for  David …………, Jack, and for all whose anniversaries occur at this time, and for any known personally to us, collectively or individually…

6 Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer.

[DAVID] – g. We pray in the Name of Christ, the mystical bridegroom of his church.

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.

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,
Great David’s greater Son;
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

Kings shall fall down before him,
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore him,
His praise all people sing;
To him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.

O’er every foe victorious,
He on his throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blest:
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand for ever;
That name to us is love.

♫♫ 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.