Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Ubi Caritas

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

And also with you.

Hymn: An upper room did our Lord prepare

Played and sung by Adrian Boynton, Director of Music (recorded before the church building was closed)

An Upper Room did our Lord prepare
for those he loved until the end:
and his disciples still gather there,
to celebrate their Risen Friend.

A lasting gift Jesus gave his own,
to share the bread, his loving cup.
Whatever burdens may bow us down,
he by his Cross shall lift us up.

And after Supper he washed their feet,
for service, too, is sacrament.
In him our joy shall be made complete
sent out to serve, as he was sent.

No end there is! We depart in peace,
He loves beyond our uttermost:
in every room in our Father’s house
he will be there, as Lord and host.

Words: F. Pratt Green (1903–2000); music: English traditional melody ‘O Waly Waly’

Prayers of Penitence

Our Lord Jesus Christ says:

If you love me, keep my commandments.

Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.

Let us confess to almighty God our sins against his love, and ask him to cleanse us.

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

Kyrie Eleison

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

Prayer

Most merciful God, we your Church confess that often our spirit has not been that of Christ.
Where we have failed to love one another as he loves us,
where we have pledged loyalty to him with our lips and then betrayed, deserted, or denied him;
we humbly ask you to forgive us.
And by your Spirit make us faithful especially during these very trying times;
through his overcoming name we pray.

Amen

First reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 23–25

Read by Kate Abrahams

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’

NIV®

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gradual: Psalm 116

Played and sung by Adrian Boynton, Director of Music (recorded before the church building was closed)

Response: The cup of blessing which we bless; is it not a sharing of the blood of Christ?

Gospel Reading: Matthew 26: 26–29

Read by Katherine Wheldon

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’

²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’

NIV®

The gift of hand-washing

Jesus said, Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
we invite you to come forward,
that we may recall whose servants we are and remember his teaching,
that what is done for us is also to be done for others.

Love of God, poured out for the world:
let this water be for us a source of life;
as we share in this gift of kindness,
wash away our fear, revive our faith,
let your love shine through.

Amen

In Christ’s name we invite you to receive the gift of hand-washing and wash your hands.

Reflection by Revd George Mwaura

 

God on the knees!

Lord speak to us during these testing times by the power of your Spirit and bring consolation and hope in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Picture for a moment the scene is the upper room: Jesus and his twelve close followers are gathered for the last time. Only two of them know that fact. The meal begins. Small talk flows, but then the volume and intensity of feelings rise. John tells us that a dispute broke out among the disciples. Who is the greatest disciple? they asked. All claimed to be the greatest. Each extolled their virtues. Each, except one.

Slowly and silently Jesus stands to his feet. His face shows the pain he feels that even now the disciples do not understand. He deliberately steps away from the table. He loosens the belt which holds his robe and lays it aside. He picks up the towel lying there and wraps it around himself. He no longer looks like the Messiah; now, he looks like a slave. Perhaps it is Andrew who first notices what is happening, and he grows strangely quiet. One by one, each disciple is captured by quiet. Silence is all that can be heard. Each man hears his own heavy breathing caused by the electric-like awe which engulfs the room. The splashing of the water being poured in the basin sounds like a great rushing river. It is so quiet. Each disciple swallows hard and tries to get hold of himself. Jesus now comes to John and begins to wash his feet. John sits in a coma-like trance. This cannot be happening, he thinks to himself. But it is. And so it is on to Thomas, and Simon, and Philip. The reaction is always the same. Still no one can say a word. Now it’s Judas Iscariot’s turn. Jesus knows who Judas really is; he is not fooled. Maybe, just maybe, the die wasn’t cast yet.

Maybe Jesus could still reach through the false layer of shallow commitment and lay hold of that part of every person that longs to believe. Jesus kneels and begins to pour the water over the feet of Judas. With tender compassion, he bathes the feet of one set to destroy him. I was wrong about this man; Judas thinks to himself. He almost had me convinced that he was the Son of God, the Messiah: humph! But look at him! He looks like any slave which can be bought for 50 shekels down at the market place. Can this be the Son of God? Does the great God of the universe come down in such a humbled form as this, a foot washer? No! So, Judas sits there feeling good that he has finally seen through this act which Jesus has been putting on.

Judas is very much like most of us. We do not feel down deep that God really does do everything he can to win us, even if it means getting down on his knees. Jesus was not concerned with hygiene as much as with showing, in a dramatic but humble way, that God has always gone to the greatest length to save his people. Having loved his own who were in the world, Jesus now showed them the outer limits of his love.  You see, the hardest thing for us to accept is our acceptability before God. We might believe that God loves the great saints of the world, but deep inside, where belief really matters, we have not come to grips with the fact that God loves and accepts us just as we are- warts and all. But ours is a God who gets down on his knees before us to say in the most dynamic way he can: you are acceptable to me.

You see, God had concluded that the prophets and priests he had sent before could not get through to his people. So, he came in person. This very act of coming was so shockingly humble that many people missed it. As the world struggles with the corona pandemic, many will again miss seeing God in our suffering. Everywhere you turn, people in the secular world are  asking the same question: how could God allow this? Let me make it as clear as I can: God is not punishing us with Corona! COVID-19 is simply a manifestation of the evils of this world like cancer, AIDS, Ebola, and dementia. But God is active in the life of his people helping any which way he can. Some of us are too shocked to see God in action and we will miss him all together. But if you really cared to look you’ll see God in the actions of the doctors, the nurses, the pharmaceutical companies,  the virtual church and prayer groups, the first responders, the neighbourhood groups organising food distributions and millions of others working flat out to meet the needs of God’s people in this crisis!

It may sound strange, but many of us have the wrong perception of God. This perception says that God could not really love me, well at least not as I am! On the other hand, we have too low of a view of ourselves. We think I’m so messed up God could not love and accept me! Yet, here is God on his knees, saying: Yes, I do accept you – can you accept me? It is a wonderful thing for us at Cornerstone when we realise we do not have to clean up our lives before God accepts us. The Gospel comes to us as if God sent an invitation to each of us with the inscription; come as you are!

God has never been the old man upstairs ready to lash out at those who displease him with a dose of corona or Ebola. Oh, no! He is, instead, that great loving compassionate being who invites us to call him Father. Many of you hearing these words now are beginning to feel the truth of God’s love break in upon you. Having faith in God is primarily trusting in the trustworthiness of our Lord. He has done all that he can do to say: come and be mine. Can you refuse an invitation from a God who gets on his knees to show that he cares? Jesus now turns to his eleven disciples and commands them that they must love each other as he loves them. Already Judas had left and refused Jesus’ love. But Jesus’ love is an inclusive love. Skin colour, gender or nationality were not important. He loves everyone without discrimination, and this is the command he gives his disciples on this day when he instituted the Lord’s Meal: Love one another!

If you put a piece of iron in the presence of an electric field, that piece of iron itself will become electrified. And in the presence of that electrical field, it is changed into a magnet. If it remains in contact with that field of power, it will continue to attract other pieces to itself. We, my sisters and brothers, are like that piece of iron. In the presence of Christ, we experience his love and take on his likeness. We are changed, electrified by the Holy Spirit, to attract others to the same love of God that we experience. So, our task is simple: to be co-workers in Christ, loving as he loves and accepting those whom he accepts. It must be this way. If we say and claim that we love the Lord, then we must love others as he has loved us – that is a commandment.

Shalom!

Amen!

Intercessions

We pray for the world:

…

Lord, in your mercy

hear our prayer.

We pray for our church and the church around the world:

…

Lord, in your mercy

hear our prayer.

We pray for ourselves and one another:

…

Lord, in your mercy

hear our prayer.

Holy Communion

Hold the bread in your hand.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God for ever.

Hold the wine in your hands.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.

Blessed be God for ever.

The Lord be with you,

and also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all creation; in your love you made us for yourself. When we turned away you did not reject us, but came to meet us in your Son.

You embraced us as your children and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.

In Christ you shared our life that we might live in him and he in us.

He opened his arms of love upon the cross and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.

On the night he was betrayed, at supper with his friends, he took bread, and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to them, saying:

Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

Father, we do this in remembrance of him: his body is the bread of life.

At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks, and said:

Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins; do this in remembrance of me.

Father, we do this in remembrance of him: his blood is shed for all.

As we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory, send your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.

As we eat and drink these holy gifts make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.

With your whole Church throughout the world we offer you this sacrifice of praise and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

The Lord’s Prayer

‘Our Father’ from Taizé

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

Breaking of the Bread

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

Invitation

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Blessed are those who are called to his supper.

Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed.

Amen

We take the bread in our hand.

The body of Christ, broken for you.

Amen

We eat the bread.

We take the wine in our hand.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

We drink the wine.

Prayer after Communion

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank you that in this wonderful sacrament you have given us the memorial of your passion:
grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries of your body and blood
that we may know within ourselves and show forth in our lives the fruit of your redemption,
for you are alive and reign, now and for ever.

Amen

Stay with me

The Watch

You are encouraged to keep the Watch in silence until 10.00 pm.