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PAT 鈥� Introduction

Good morning and welcome to St Mary鈥檚 Cathedral for this second Sunday in Lent.
Today is also International Women鈥檚 Day and the creativity of women will colour and texture our worship this morning - particularly through its music.

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Looking out into the body of this beautiful building I am immediately conscious of two things - a multitude of faces 鈥� and a multiplicity of spaces.

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Those spaces though are not empty seats or vacant pews but the spaces full of potential which are created whenever people meet.

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This morning we鈥檒l be hearing about just such a space - one which came into being when Jesus - tired and thirsty - asked an ordinary but phenomenal woman for a drink of water鈥μ�听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

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KELVIN
Many of the images that people take into Lent are of a dry and arid desert experience.
But the grace of God isn鈥檛 dry or dusty or absent. Rather, God is the well-spring of life, whose abundant grace can satisfy even those most thirsty for love, justice and compassion.
That experience, of Jesus offering life-giving water, is reflected in our opening hymn, I Heard The Voice of Jesus Say.

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OPENING HYMN: I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY (Tune:听 Kingsfold)

1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"Come unto me and rest;

lay down, O weary one, lay down

thy head upon my breast."

I came to Jesus as I was,

weary and worn and sad;

I found in him a resting place,

and he has made me glad.

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2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"Behold, I freely give

the living water; thirsty one,

stoop down and drink, and live."

I came to Jesus, and I drank

of that life-giving stream;

my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

and now I live in him.

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3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"I am this dark world's Light;

look unto me, thy morn shall rise,

and all thy days be bright."

I looked to Jesus and I found

in him my Star, my Sun;

and in that light of life I'll walk,

'til trav'ling days are done.

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KELVIN - COLLECT

Let us pray,

Jesus,

giver of living water,

you also knew what it was to be thirsty

and how to ask for refreshment yourself.

Grant us the wisdom to know what we lack,

the humility to ask for what we need

and the generosity to share what we have been given,

that we and the world in which we live

may be recharged and remade,

and you might once again be refreshed.

ALL: Amen听听听听听听听听

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PAT

Not far from the cathedral, the River Kelvin flows under Great Western Road on its journey down to the Clyde. Looking over the parapet of the bridge, you can see smooth shallow pools where a heron often stands patiently waiting.听 But there is also a weir over which the river cascades with noisy vigour.

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Sunday Worship during Lent is reflecting the Church of England鈥檚 resources called Care for God鈥檚 Creation, and today the theme is 鈥楲iving water鈥�.听

Horatius Bonar鈥檚 beautiful and familiar words in our first hymn have offered us one image of this as a gift which refreshes and revives; but, just as with the River Kelvin, there is also another side to living water, one connected with action and justice, as we are about to hear.听

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DEBBIE - 1ST READING: Is 58:9-11

A reading from the book of Isaiah.

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If you remove the yoke from among you,

听听听听the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

听if you offer your food to the hungry

听听听听and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

then your light shall rise in the darkness

听听听听and your gloom be like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you continually,

听听听 and satisfy your needs in parched places,

听听听 and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

听听听 like a spring of water,

听听听 whose waters never fail.

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For the Word of God in Scripture, for the word of God among us.

ALL: Thanks be to God

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ANTHEM: 听RAGE, WISDOM 鈥� F Gerald Downing / Sal McDougall

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PAT

Sal McDougall鈥檚 wonderful setting of the ancient hymn Veni Creator Spiritus reminds us that the 鈥楲iving Water鈥� of the Holy Spirit is not just a calm private pool where we slake our thirst or bathe our weary feet, but also something听 active and sometimes downright discomforting, which demands an outlet. Indeed that is the sense of the phrase - living water is moving water, something that is both quick, and quickening.

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Both of these dimensions are evident in the gospel reading which we are about to hear but the story also shows us that living water needs a space in which to rise, and from which it can then flow out - and here, that space opens up when a weary man, sitting in the noonday sun, asks a busy woman for a drink, and takes form as she listens and responds .

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KELVIN / BRIAN / LESLEY - 2ND READING: John 4

NARRATOR: Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

ALL: Glory to Christ our Saviour.

NARRATOR: Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.听Jacob鈥檚 well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,

JESUS:听 鈥楪ive me a drink鈥�.听

NARRATOR: The Samaritan woman said to him,

PHOTINI: 鈥楬ow is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?鈥� (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)听

JESUS:听 鈥業f you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 鈥淕ive me a drink鈥�, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.鈥櫶�

PHOTINI: 鈥楽ir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?听Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?鈥櫶�

JESUS: 鈥楨veryone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,听but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.鈥櫶�

PHOTINI: 鈥楽ir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.鈥�

JESUS:听 鈥楪o, call your husband, and come back.鈥櫶�

PHOTINI: 鈥業 have no husband.鈥�

JESUS: 鈥榊ou are right in saying, 鈥淚 have no husband鈥�;听for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!鈥櫶�

PHOTINI:听 鈥楽ir, I see that you are a prophet.听Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you听say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.鈥櫶�

JESUS: 鈥榃oman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.听 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.鈥櫶�

PHOTINI: 鈥業 know that Messiah is coming鈥� (who is called Christ). 鈥榃hen he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.鈥櫶�

JESUS: 鈥業 am he,听the one who is speaking to you.鈥�

NARRATOR: Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, 鈥榃hat do you want?鈥� or, 鈥榃hy are you speaking with her?鈥櫶齌hen the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,听

PHOTINI: 鈥楥ome and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah,听can he?鈥櫶�

NARRATOR:

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman鈥檚 testimony.

And many more believed because of his word

Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel!
ALL: Praise to Christ our Lord.

ANTHEM: THE CALL - Gail Randall/George Herbert (Soloist: Morven)

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:

Such a Way, as gives us breath:

Such a Truth, as ends all strife:

Such a Life, as killeth death.

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Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:

Such a Light, as shows a feast:

Such a Feast, as mends in length:

Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

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Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:

Such a Joy, as none can move:

Such a Love, as none can part:

Such a Heart, as joyes in love

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PAT - REFLECTION Part 1

That setting of George Herbert鈥檚 poem 鈥楾he Call鈥� is included in a recently-published book called 鈥楳ultitude of Voyces鈥�, which celebrates women鈥檚 contribution to sacred and liturgical music.

One of the striking things about Herbert鈥檚 poem, and which Gail Randall鈥檚 beautiful setting intensifies, is the way in which its surface simplicity draws us into a rich and spacious interior. Herbert uses single syllable words and yet they work together to produce an ever expanding picture of God鈥檚 love.

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The net effect is to make a space which, like Dr Who鈥檚 TARDIS, is much bigger on the inside than the outside - a space in which our understanding of God can unfold and deepen.

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That same dynamic is at work in our gospel reading.听 The setting is commonplace: a woman going about her everyday chores, a thirsty person, a request for a drink鈥� it鈥檚 all very prosaic and ordinary.听 But the willingness of these two people to engage with one another, despite their different ethnic and religious narratives, opens a space for growth. And over the course of the ensuing conversation this space becomes increasingly more expansive and rich as each makes discoveries and enters new territory: it is truly 鈥榓 feast which mends in length鈥�.

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Contrary to how she is often perceived, there is nothing in the way either John or Jesus treat this woman to indicate that she鈥檚 primarily a shameful object whose chief need is for repentance and forgiveness. John shows her as observant, intelligent and quick-witted; and Jesus takes her as a serious conversational partner whose probing questions not only deserve deep answers but also provide him with a space in which to grow.

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There is something critical here about making spaces in which to see and be seen. All too often, when we engage with others, our perceptions and responses are already shaped by external narratives which we or others have imposed. That鈥檚 something which historically has particularly happened to women - and indeed has often been the case with the woman in this story! It鈥檚 no coincidence though that sight is referenced at key moments in this passage. In John鈥檚 gospel seeing is always connected with understanding and belief, so when the woman says 鈥業 see you are a prophet鈥� we immediately know that something about the preceding interaction has sharpened her intuition that here is someone who can give her answers to questions that matter to her.听

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From the condensed report John gives , we don鈥檛 know precisely what has given her that sense; but clearly somewhere along the way Jesus has made a space in which she has felt safe enough to let herself be seen, to reveal things about herself and her needs, and to realise that an understanding of what matters to her is within her reach.

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And through her 鈥榮eeing鈥� of him, Jesus too is given space for significant movement:听 firstly to step outside of his cultic tradition and assert that henceforth God will be found not in a specific place but wherever he is worshipped 鈥榠n spirit and in truth鈥�; and secondly to let himself be seen in a new way.听 It is to this woman who gives him a drink and asks him questions that the first explicit disclosure of his identity as the Messiah is made.

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So then, in opening up a space for encounter, these two people also make a space into which the living water of the spirit can flow to enrich their self-knowledge and expand their understanding of God and his purposes.

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But, as we heard earlier, that is only part of the story of living water - it doesn鈥檛 just flow in and change individuals - it also flows out and changes the world.听听

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SONG: 听HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING? 听- Sarah Quartel (Soloist: Sarah)

PAT - REFLECTION Part 2

I love the way that the energy of Sarah Quartel鈥檚 version of 鈥楬ow Can I keep from singing鈥� mirrors the feel of the second part of our story.听 Suddenly the woman is on her feet and hurrying back to urge her neighbours to come 鈥榓nd see鈥�. And Jesus too is refreshed and re-invigorated, altering his journey to spend more time听 in Samaria 鈥榗ompleting the work鈥� for which he came into the world 听- something which he perhaps now also understands in a larger way because of his conversation with this woman. The inflow of the spirit is followed by new and vigorous outflows which start to bring about change - neither of them can keep from singing!

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On International Women鈥檚 Day, I think it鈥檚 interesting to reflect that this mutual energising and enabling is also rooted in the equality of exchange between them: both reveal their vulnerabilities, both take each other, and the conversation seriously and both get beyond externally imposed narratives as they take time to really 鈥榮ee鈥� the other and to make a space into which the other can grow, if they wish.听 And in so doing, they provide us with a model for how to make and hold open, generous and life-enhancing spaces with each other. Spaces into which living water can flow and where understanding can deepen and action be enabled.

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One of the straplines for International Women鈥檚 Day is that 鈥榓n equal world is an enabled world鈥櫶� But across the world, there are often great disparities between the experiences of men and women听 - in education, job opportunities, economic reward, access to health care and services and so on. 听An inequality and discrimination which the UN secretary- general, Antonio Guterres, described this week as an 鈥榦verwhelming injustice across the globe - an abuse that is crying out for attention鈥�.听

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So as well as celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, International Women鈥檚 Day also calls us to take action against听 imbalances and injustices, and to work for the creation of a world in which women can flourish and fulfil their potential. And both that challenge and that vision are also surely inextricably linked with the will and work of the Holy Spirit.

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We are all called to make the spaces in which living water can rise, and to be the conduits - in prayer and action - through which it can then flow on out to change the world.听听

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DEBBIE - INTERCESSIONS

In our prayers this morning we are conscious of the anxieties caused by the spread of coronavirus and we pray for all those affected by it:

for those who are ill and those who tend them;

those working to increase our understanding of the disease;

those organising responses;

for those giving information and advice.

May the voices of calm wisdom and good sense guide us through fear and keep us caring, compassionate and connected .

Lord in your mercy 鈥� ALL:听 Hear our prayer

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On International Women's Day we give thanks for all women who make and hold spaces of care, where those who are weary can be refreshed, those who are ill tended, those who are dying held, and those who mourn comforted. And we pray for all those we know who inhabit such spaces at this time.听

Lord in your mercy 鈥� ALL:听 Hear our prayer

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We give thanks for all women whose courage in taking on systems and ideologies makes the world a safer and more equal place in which all can flourish, and we pray for their wellbeing and safety.

Lord in your mercy 鈥� ALL:听 Hear our prayer

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We give thanks for all women whose creativity makes the world a richer, more colourful and more musical place and those who work to nurture and educate girls around the globe; and we pray for all those whom they are helping to grow into their full potential.

Lord in your mercy 鈥� ALL:听 Hear our prayer

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And we pray for ourselves - that, through word and action, we too may be places through which the living waters of the Holy Spirit can flow to refresh, heal and remake the world.听听

Lord in your mercy 鈥� ALL:听 Hear our prayer

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MUSIC:听 LORD鈥橲 PRAYER 鈥� Joanna Forbes L鈥橢strange

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PAT -听 CONCLUSION

That inspiring setting of the Lord鈥檚 Prayer by Joanna Forbes L鈥橢strange carries us beautifully towards the conclusion of our service.

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I began by sketching the view of faces and spaces which I could see in front of me;
I want to end by describing something that the congregation can see behind me.

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Gwyneth Leech鈥檚 extraordinary murals are one of the treasures of St Mary鈥檚

and in the circumscribed space above the East Window, there is one which is a microcosm of all we have been thinking about.听 Once again the scene is of small, everyday life - a girl sits in a tenement flat; a book slipping from her knee; a nearby table holds a coffee pot and mug - it鈥檚 all very prosaic and ordinary -[1]听听 but once again we are also in a dynamic space of encounter as the person with whom Mary is speaking makes a request of her鈥�

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Out of the courteous hospitality with which she listens to her angelic [2]听visitor and then extends to God, a space is offered into which the living waters of the Holy Spirit can begin to flow.听 And there is more - for behind Mary we see, through the open window, a vista of the city of Glasgow and of the world beyond, and we know that what is happening in this moment won鈥檛 remain forever trapped and stagnating inside it, but will flow outwards to change the world for ever.听听

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KELVIN

Here in this cathedral we sing Mary鈥檚 own song every week. Its subversive prayer that the mighty will be toppled from their seats of power and the humble and meek be exalted is part of what forms our character and faith. Mary sings of her thirst for justice. No doubt she taught the same song to her son. We sing it now along with all who share Mary鈥檚 passion for a changed world where all wrongs are put right.

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HYMN: 听TELL OUT MY SOUL听 (Woodlands)听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

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Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of his word;
In God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
His mercy sure, from age to age to same;
His holy Name--the Lord, the Mighty One

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight
The hungry fed, the humble lifted high

Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
To children's children and for evermore!

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KELVIN and ALL

God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

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KELVIN

And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with us all forever more.

ALL: Amen

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ORGAN VOLUNTARY:听 Prelude in B flat, Op 16 No 2 鈥� Clara Schumann

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