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Saturday, October 24. 2020
Saturday, October 24. 2020
Text for URC audio service for Sunday 25th October 2020
Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Church
for Sunday 25th October 2020
The Rev’d Jayne Taylor
Introduction
Hello, my name is Jayne and until recently I was minister to three churches in the Cotswolds. At present I’m on Sabbatical and speaking from my home in Cirencester.
Call to Worship
The wisdom of God calls to us, from the heights, along the paths, and at the crossroads. Come into God’s presence to worship, sing, and pray.
From our scattered places we come. Let us worship God.
Gather Us In
Marty Haugen 1982 © GIA Publications
Here in this place, new light is streaming,
now is the darkness vanished away.
See, in this space, our fears and our dreamings,
brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in the lost & forsaken,
gather us in the blind & the lame.
Call to us now, and we shall awaken,
we shall arise at the sound of our name.
2: We are the young our lives are a mystery,
we are the old who yearn for your face.
We have been sung throughout all of history,
called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in the rich and the haughty,
gather us in the proud and the strong.
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly,
give us the courage to enter the song.
3: Here we will take the wine and the water,
here we will take the bread of new birth.
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters,
call us anew to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion,
give us to eat the bread that is you.
Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
lives that are holy and hearts that are true.
4: Not in the dark of buildings confining,
not in some heaven, light years away,
but here in this place, the new light is shining;
now is the Kingdom, now is the day.
Gather us in and hold us forever,
gather us in & make us your own.
Gather us in all peoples together,
fire of love in our flesh and our bone.
Prayers of Confession and Forgiveness
Loving Gracious God. You are the one true God, there is no other, almighty Creator, merciful Christ, everlasting Comforter. You alone are worth our worship. Everything we have, everything we experience, everyone we know comes from you.
Yet Lord, we acknowledge our ungratefulness and confess that we all fall short of your purposes for us. If we say we are without fault, we deceive ourselves and, we deceive you. And Lord we accept responsibility for the consequences of sin in this world, for all the pain and the suffering, for all the injustice.
We admit that we have hurt others, sometimes deliberately, and by doing so, have hurt you. We have also contributed to the pain and suffering of others by our silence and our inaction.
Lord, we cry out to you for forgiveness. And even though we don't deserve your love and your forgiveness, you give it to us. Help us to accept your forgiveness, your gift of grace given freely to us. We thank you and praise you because at the very heart of your character is love.
And that love was shown to us by and through your son, Jesus Christ, and as he taught us, so we now pray…
Our Father…
Readings
Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
The LORD said to Moses, speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly.
'Do not go about spreading slander among your people.' Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour's life. I am the LORD.
'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbour frankly so that you will not share in his guilt.
‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.
St Matthew 22:34-46
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’”?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You
Richard Gillard (b 1953) © Integrity Music Inc
Brother, sister,
let me serve you;
let me be as
Christ to you;
pray that I may
have the grace
to let you be
my servant too.
2. We are pilgrims
on a journey,
and companions
on the road;
we are here to
help each other
walk the mile
and bear the load.
3. I will hold
the Christlight for you
in the night time
of your fear;
I will hold my
hand out to you,
speak the peace
you long to hear.
4. I will weep
when you are weeping;
when you laugh
I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy
and sorrow,
till we've seen this
journey through.
5. When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony.
Sermon
I guess we all have our own image of what Jesus is like. To many, he’s white, European looking with shoulder length brown hair and piercing blue eyes. I guess all of us see Jesus as we think he ought to look.
I remember spending time in India a few years ago, and on one occasion I ventured into a Hindu Temple. The first thing my eyes laid upon was a picture of Jesus. It was the Sacred Heart painting, if you know what I mean. Here was a very Western-looking Jesus surrounded by very Indian imagery. It was quite a shock.
Today I hope I can challenge some of our assumptions about Jesus; his mission and his character.
To put the Matthew reading in its context, we should really start in the previous chapter. Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, on a donkey, crowds cheering, palms waving. And what’s the first thing he does? He confronts the moneychangers in the temple courts, overturns their tables and tells them to get out.
Surely not gentle Jesus, meek and mild, as the hymn goes…
He starts healing and preaching and the chief priests and elders confront him. “"By what authority are you doing these things?” they ask. In other words, “Just who do you think you are?”
Jesus responds with three parables that directly attack their leadership. He tells them to their faces that the Kingdom of heaven will be taken away from people like them and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild…
The Pharisees try to trap Jesus by asking him if it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. If he says it is right to pay taxes, then they will accuse him of betraying his people by agreeing to finance the Roman oppression. If he says it is wrong to pay taxes, he will be charged with tax evasion and sedition. What does he do? He asks them to show him a Roman coin and asks them whose face is on it. They have a coin, Jesus doesn’t.
The coin bears Caesar’s image, of course, probably Tiberius, and the inscription would have read: "son of the divine Augustus" They are immediately undone by showing him that they are carrying around an idol, dedicated to a son of a god. Jesus tells them to render, literally to pay back to Caesar what is his and to render to God what is rightfully his. What is Caesar’s, his taxes, what is God’s, everything, our whole lives.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild…
Next, the Sadducees try to trap him with a question about resurrection and the afterlife, they didn’t believe in it, and he silences them.
Then the Pharisees have one more go at him, that’s where we come in. You can see a pattern emerging here, I hope?
They ask him, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Sounds like a reasonable question to ask you might think? But we know that they’re trying to trap him, so what are they playing at?
In order to understand that, we have to think about just who the Pharisees were. They were a Jewish group who believed passionately in the Law, or Torah, and its application in every circumstance. In this respect, Jesus could easily have been part of that group. But they sometimes took this to extremes, and applied the Law as legal requirement, rather than as a gift of love from God.
Remember in John’s gospel, it was the Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus asking him whether she should be stoned. Their response would, no doubt, have been at odds with Jesus’.
So, if you had to pick one Law which was the greatest, then loving God seems like a pretty safe bet, doesn’t it?
It comes from Deuteronomy and is commonly called the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might". Every Jewish person would memorise the Shema as a child.
The Pharisees were obviously expecting this answer, so why was it a trap? I believe they were ready with a reply. I think they were going to say something like, “we love God by obeying all his commandments – why don’t you? Why do you challenge us? Do you not love God?”
But before they have the chance, Jesus tells them what the second greatest commandment is. It is to “love your neighbour as yourself”, which comes from our Leviticus reading.
Jesus goes on to say that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. In other words, without love for others as well as love for God, adherence to all the other laws was futile. In their endless arguments over which law took precedent over another in particular situations, they had left out the most important – love. And in the words of Peter, “love covers a multitude of sins”. It was a stinging attack on them.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild…
As if that wasn’t enough, Jesus then asks them a question. Now this is bad news, for them at least. Whenever Jesus asks someone a question, you know that he is going to challenge their worldview.
He asks what seems to be a straightforward question, “whose son is the Messiah”. They reply that he is the son of David. Their assumption is that the Messiah would be like a warrior king, another David, who would lead them in battle against the Romans to free them from oppression.
Jesus then gives a reply, which gets a little lost in translation but bear with me.
Jesus quotes Psalm 110, a Psalm attributed to David, as saying “the Lord said to my Lord”.
The point is that the first of the two Lords is God. But if the first Lord is God, then who is the second Lord in this verse? It cannot be a second god, because the Hebrew Bible makes it clear that there is only one God. It cannot be David's son, because David would never refer to his own son as Lord. The only possibility, then, is that the second Lord of Psalm 110 is the Messiah of God, who is not David's son but David's Lord, someone greater than David.
Therefore, the Pharisees, these highly trained religious experts who tried to embarrass Jesus, are wrong when they answer that the Messiah is David's son.
This all sounds very technical and dry to us, but to the Pharisees it would have been an absolute bombshell. Could they be wrong about Messiah? It’s no wonder that from that day on, we are told, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild…
The story doesn’t end there. If you read the next chapter of Matthew there is a section which is often described as the seven woes, because it’s a withering attack on the Pharisees in which seven times Jesus starts, “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees”. In six of these outbursts, the next word is hypocrites! His charge is that they say one thing and do another, that their faith is skin deep, in other words.
You see, if we are to love God, then that love has to be real. And if that love is real, then it will naturally overflow into a love for our neighbour. In Luke’s account of this scripture, Jesus is asked “Who is my neighbour”, and goes on to give the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our neighbour is not only the person who lives next door to us or even those people we like. Anyone who is in need is our neighbour and is to be loved.
I believe there are Pharisee-like people, as Jesus saw them, in the Church today. These are the people who delight in declaring who is in and who is out of the kingdom of God. People who will sing ‘all are welcome’ in the church, when they mean ‘people like us’ are welcome in the church.
It’s important, I think, that we see people as God sees people, and we need to see God in others; those from all the corners of this earth, those who society looks down upon, and sees as being ‘less’. Only when we can do that can we say that we truly love the lord our God with all of our heart, our soul and our mind.
Lord of Creation
Jack Copley Winslow (1882-1974)
Lord of creation, to you be all praise!
Most mighty your working, most wondrous your ways!
Your glory and might are beyond us to tell,
and yet in the heart of the humble you dwell.
2: Lord of all power, I give you my will,
in joyful obedience your tasks to fulfill.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song;
and, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.
3: Lord of all wisdom, I give you my mind,
rich truth that surpasses our knowledge to find.
What eye has not seen and what ear has not heard
is taught by your Spirit and shines from your Word.
Affirmation of Faith
Do you believe in the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects, and cares for the Church through Word and Spirit. This God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end. We do
Do you believe that God is the One who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people. We do.
Do you believe that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor, and the wronged? We do.
This is the faith of the Church! We are proud to confess it in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Offertory
Loving God we thank you for the many blessings you give us. We owe you everything we have. Help us to in turn to give back a token of your love for us in the giving of our time, our efforts and also in our offering, as we seek to love our neighbour as we do ourselves. May our money be used wisely, we ask, in Jesus’ name. Amen
Intercessory Prayers
Gracious God,
as your Jesus reached out to those on the margins,
so now in our prayers we do likewise:
We pray for all who have little love in their lives
those who are lonely and isolated,
those who are addicted and feel trapped,
those who grieve and mourn,
those whose relationships have been shattered.
Loving God,
We pray for those who love things which are unhelpful
those who worship their wealth or possessions, and where greed has taken over,
those who find love only in the approval of others, in flattery, or in power,
those who can only love themselves
those for whom bitterness and hatred reign
Compassionate God,
We pray for those who give totally of themselves for the sake of others
those who are persecuted or outcast
those who face prejudice because of the colour of their skin,
those who face discrimination because of their gender
those who face harassment for their sexuality
Merciful God,
help us to strive to see others as you see us,
help us to reach out in love to our neighbour
help us to live as Christ would have us live
help us to walk the way of Jesus
As we ask these things in his name, Amen.
When I needed a Neighbour
Sydney Carter © 1965 Stainer & Bell,
When I needed a neighbour,
were you there, were you there? (repeat)
And the creed and the colour
and the name won't matter,
Were you there?
2: I was hungry and thirsty,
were you there, were you there?
3: I was cold, I was naked,
Were you there, were you there?
4: When I needed a shelter
Were you there, were you there?
5: When I needed a healer,
Were you there, were you there?
6: Wherever you travel, I'll be there, I'll be there.
Wherever you travel, I'll be there.
And the creed and the colour And the name won't matter,
I'll be there.
Blessing
May the God in whose image we are made,
Strengthen us in our struggle,
Embrace us in our weakness,
And inspire us with hope for a different future:
As we work, separately and together
For the freedom of the whole creation.
Amen
Sources, Copyright and Thanks
Sources
Call To Worship from Worship Aids for the Revised Common Lectionary from the Presbyterian Church of the USA
Affirmation of Faith from selected sections of the Belhar Confession of Faith.
Blessing from Encircled in Prayer by Jan Berry
All other prayers by Jayne Taylor
Copyright and Performance
Here in This Place by Marty Haugen (b1950) © 1982 GIA Publications sung by the composer.
Brother Sister Let Me Serve you by Richard Gillard (b 1953) © Integrity Music Inc, sung on the BBC’s Songs of Praise.
Lord of Creation by Jack Copley Winslow performed by Song leaders from Granite Bay and Sacramento Central Seventh-Day Adventist Churches
When I needed a Neighbour by Sydney Carter sung by Dominic Kelly and the St Martins Church Choir on the BBC’s Songs of Praise.
Where words are copyright reproduced under the terms of Barrhead URC’s CCLI licence number 1064776
Thanks To…
Jonnie Hill and Adam Scott, Ruth and Kingsley Browning, Phil, Lythan and Carys Nevard for recording the Call to Worship and Affirmation of Faith, and to John Young, Kathleen Haynes, Carol Tubbs, Anne Hewling, and John Wilcox for recording other spoken parts of the service.
Opening Organ Piece Prelude in E Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
(organ of The Spire Church, Farnham – 2020)Closing: Trumpet Voluntary in D by John Baston (organ of Basilica Santo Spirito, Florence, Italy – 2016) Both played by Brian Cotterill. http://briancotterill.webs.com
Where words are copyright reproduced under the terms of Barrhead URC’s CCLI licence number 1064776,
Some material reprinted, and streamed, with permission under ONE LICENSE A-734713 All rights reserved.
PRS Limited Online Music Licence LE-0019762
Saturday, October 24. 2020
As we are not able to have our usual Pastorate Memorial service this year, you may find this helpful
From darkness to light
Saturday, October 24. 2020
The text for tomorrow's service below
For those able to join us on Zoom tomorrow, the joining arrangements are:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3540351038?pwd=Z0tsK0huTWNrUm9XL0U0NU9FM01TUT09
Meeting ID: 354 035 1038
Passcode: 5iqXr8
Sunday 25th October 2020
Welcome and Call to worship
HYMN: Abba, Father
Abba Father, let me be,
yours and yours alone
May my will forever be
evermore your own
Never let my heart go cold,
Never let me go
Abba Father, let me be
Yours and Yours alone
Abba Father, let me be,
yours and yours alone
May my will forever be
evermore your own
Never let my heart go cold,
Never let me go
Abba Father, let me be
Yours and Yours alone
Dave Bilbrough © Thankyou Music 1977
Prayers
Our God and Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning to praise you and adore you.
How awesome is your power, that You can allow the waters to rise and the mountains to crumble, yet keep the most helpless among us safe and alive because it is not part of Your design for any to perish and die.
How great is your wisdom, that You can lead us and guide us, close a door and open another, give us trials as well as blessings, and shepherd us all our lives until we are safe and finally home.
How deep is your love and how boundless your mercy, that no matter how grave our problems, how terrible our mistakes, how shameful our secrets, and how often we stumble and fall, we can pray to You for forgiveness, we can find in You waiting with unconditional love.
We confess that sometimes we are lazy: we lie back and let things slide, we neglect what we should care for.
We confess that sometimes we are in bad shape: we give in to harmful urges, we lash out and hurt our loved ones because we are not all right.
We confess that sometimes we are weak; we go for what is meaningless and flashy, we become a little crooked because it is easy.
We confess that sometimes we are greedy; we buy things we do not need, we grab for more of what we have enough of.
We confess that sometimes we are self-righteous: we call others insensitive or uncaring, we deny that we are guilty of exactly the same faults.
And we confess that sometimes we forget You: we wander around in the darkness, we do not seek and move towards You.
Forgive us dear Father, for our sins and our shortcomings. May your peace and loving presence occupy our hearts right now, throughout this day that you have made, and always.
As we pray, we join our voices in the prayer that Jesus gave to us through the first disciples… Our Father/Ein Tad…
Readings: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
Matthew 22:34-46 The Greatest Commandment
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Reflections on the readings
Who is Jesus? That might seem like a huge question, but it is one which I think resonates through each gospel and is as important a question for each of us as ever it was for the first followers of Jesus.
In the section of Matthew we’ve had in the lectionary over the last few weeks there have been questions to Jesus – some from the Sadducees, some from the Pharisees: there have been questions on divorce, authority, taxes, resurrection and now the law.
Matthew states that these questions are put to ‘test’ or to ‘trap’ Jesus, but perhaps there was also a genuine desire to find out whose side Jesus was on, what he stands for, who should rally to his cause. Who is Jesus? Or perhaps whose is Jesus? But Jesus shows no interest in claiming support from one faction rather than another.
We know that at the time of Jesus there were factions amongst God’s people.
The Pharisees were the strictest in terms of law – they were highly moral, deeply suspicious of the Romans and concerned for moral purity. They also had a belief in the resurrection. The Sadducees were more concerned with the continuation of temple worship and were content to collaborate with the Roman powers. They didn’t believe in the resurrection and if you want an easy way to remember that, I always think that’s why they were sadd u cee! The Essenes were more radical and exclusive, and were expecting God to overthrow the Roman powers but without a Messiah figure. They had taken themselves off to the desert, which is probably why we don’t hear of them interacting with Jesus.
But for the Pharisees and Sadducees the question of whether Jesus was the Messiah and if so what sort of Messiah he was, and therefore whose side he was on, was of real importance.
But what about the commandment to love? It’s a long time since I read the Lord of the Rings, many years before the film was made I have to admit that I don’t remember the book and slept through most of the film when it was shown at college! but there is a part in the film, where the wizard Gandalf is addressing the ageing hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo, despite all the friendship, wisdom and council that Gandalf has offered him over many years, is becoming suspicious of the wizard’s motives and believes he is trying to manipulate him.
Gandalf, finally fed up with the hobbit, bursts out, ‘Bilbo Baggins, do not take me as a conjuror of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you...I’m trying to help you!’
It is a turning moment in the conversation, and Bilbo recognises something of his stupidity in mistrusting his old friend.
Perhaps this scene is well known to you, or perhaps not – but I expect you could recall a version of it from your own life or experience. So often, we find ourselves, like Bilbo, believing the worst even in people who only have our best interests at heart. Unlike Bilbo, we don’t have the excuse that our judgement is being clouded by the presence of an evil magic ring...but perhaps we can relate to him.
Gandalf loves Bilbo and is trying to give him advice that probably saves his life. Yet, even after all the respect Bilbo has for his mentor and friend, he momentarily mistakes his loving advice for a cheap trick, or even a malicious attempt to rob him. Have you ever done something like this: mistaken well-intentioned love or advice for manipulation? Or momentarily lost your trust in a friend you ought to have kept your faith in? Perhaps others have done it to you?
In many ways, it’s not surprising that we behave like that. Yes, we might not be influenced by an evil magic ring, but we are affected by the way we have been treated in the past, and by the society we live in. Sadly, many of us will have been manipulated by someone who professed to love us, or fallen for a scam or con that began by appealing to our better nature. Sadly, not everyone who uses the word ‘love’, or even demonstrates a loving attitude towards us has our best interests at heart.
This seems to be exactly the attitude that Paul is warning against in today’s reading – he is persuading the Thessalonians that his love for them and his desire to share God’s love with them is not a clever trick. To put this verse into Gandalf’s phrase, we might hear Paul saying: ‘I’m not trying to trick you, I’m trying to love you.’
Love is at the beating heart of the Christian gospel. As we seek to follow Jesus and learn more about God’s plans for our lives, we have to come to accept that we are loved, and learn how to love others. For some of us, this is difficult, as we wrestle with the imperfect models of love by which we have been affected. Despite all this, despite the hurt we carry, despite the broken nature of human-love, we strive to know more of God’s love – this ‘love divine, all loves excelling’. And we hear that clearly in Jesus’ word’s today. In wrestling with the question of what is the ‘greatest commandment’, or the ‘most important life advice’, Jesus returns to two instructions, both of which centre on love.
Firstly, he echoes what his Jewish listeners would recognise from the Hebrew scriptures, this ancient instruction which Jews would have committed to memory and say regularly – ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind’. It is this instruction to love God that helps us see beyond the way the world loves. It helps us move beyond the stories we have that compare with Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings, where we are suspicious of love. In loving God, we come to see more of God’s nature, God’s love for us.
How do we express that love, or show that love? I believe that prayer is the starting point. And I don’t necessarily mean lots of flowery words. Mother Teresa famously said when questioned about what she said when she prayed: ‘I mostly listen’. And when the response came, what does God say to you in prayer, she replied: ‘God mostly listens.’ Perhaps it is this divine listening, this holy listening, this deep listening that we need to practice in order to come to know God more, to show our love for the divine. I can really resonate that we can sit with God, not using language but just be still and know that feeling of being surrounded by God’s very self. After all aren’t the most comfortable earthly relationships, those which can be filled with companionable silence?
And if we show this love for God then, as Jesus reminds us, we will come to love our neighbours as ourselves. We will discover that this big love, this divine love, wants to be shared, wants to touch other people’s lives, wants to help heal the world.
It won’t be easy. Love is rarely easy. When you offer love, some people will think you are manipulating them, or out to rob them, or have other, worldly intentions in mind. It is important that we don’t, loving others is not about converting, building membership or anything else – that’s God’s work. Ours is to keep loving, to keep seeking to heal the world. And, when you are feeling tired, or burnt out, come back to the first commandment, come back to listening, come back to your loving relationship with your creator. Draw strength from that – strength for the next neighbour who needs your love.
It’s worth ending with an aside that regularly accompanies interpretations of this passage. When Jesus says ‘neighbour’, we sometimes translate it in our minds to mean the person who lives either side of me, those in my street or – at most – my local community. But Jesus’ vision of neighbourliness is much bigger and broader than that. Of course we are to show love to our actual, literal neighbour – but the call doesn’t end there. This is an invitation into a global neighbourhood, where we recognise all people and indeed all of creation as part of God’s big village. Can we love across borders? Across the boundaries of race, wealth, class, gender, language, background, sexuality and religion? That, truly, is a love divine, all loves excelling.
To love is a really risky business, it is to get hurt, to get bruised. We will feel people’s pain with them, and we will feel pain when they reject us, let us down, or seek to manipulate our love for their own ends. But we will dust ourselves off. We will nurse our wounds. And we go again.
Our world is crying out for more love, for a better kind of love. As the church of Jesus Christ, let’s show them what the word means. Amen.
HYMN: The love of God is broad like beach and meadow
1. The love of God is broad like beach and meadow
Wide as the wind and an eternal home
God leaves us free to seek him or reject him
He gives us room to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’
The love of God is broad like beach and meadow
Wide as the wind and an eternal home
2. We long for freedom where our truest being
is given hope and courage to unfold.
We seek in freedom space and scope for dreaming
and look for ground where trees and plants can grow
The love of God is broad like beach and meadow
Wide as the wind and an eternal home
3. But there are walls that keep us all divided
we fence each other in with hate and war.
Fear is the bricks and mortar of our prison,
our pride of self the prison coat we wear.
The love of God is broad like beach and meadow
Wide as the wind and an eternal home
4. O judge us, Lord, and in your judgement free us,
and set our feet in freedom’s open space;
take us as far as your compassion wanders
among the children of the human race
The love of God is broad like beach and meadow
Wide as the wind and an eternal home
Anders Frostenson translated by Fred Kaan © Stainer & Bell
Prayers of intercession
Living God, we come to you, the church of 2020 gathered yet scattered. We come to invite you to show us how to be your people today. In a world that regards the church as irrelevant or outdated,
Show us how to love, guide us by your Spirit.
Living God, we hear the cry of injustice all around us: poverty, disease, the various impacts of Covid-19, homelessness, illness, pain and suffering affect so many.
In a deeply unequal, unfair world,
Show us how to love, guide us by your Spirit.
Living God, show us how to be a church that responds to the issues of our time. So often we can be seen as detached, aloof or out of touch with the fast-paced world around us. As we continue to show Your love in the twenty-first century,
Show us how to love, guide us by your Spirit.
Living God, help us to turn to you to find our strength. Help us to see in the life, death and resurrection stories of Christ an opportunity to transform the way we live and rebuild our society founded in love.
Show us how to love, guide us by your Spirit.
Living God, we have no mission but to love you – we recognise our calling in your invitation to love one another. May we be the answers to prayers around this community and this world in the days and weeks to come. As we seek to be sharers of liberation,
Show us how to love, guide us by your Spirit. Amen.
HYMN: Love divine
1 Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav'n to earth come down:
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown:
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter ev'ry trembling heart.
3 Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
4 Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be:
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
'til in heav'n we take our place,
'til we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Charles Wesley
Blessing
Wednesday, October 21. 2020
The Meeting of the National Synod of Wales happened via Zoom on Saturday 17th October 2020. As always (and yes even via Zoom) I appreciate being at Synod meetings. It helps me to remember that we are part of something so much bigger than our individual chapels or even the Brecon Beacons Pastorate. It also allows us to maintain friendships and build new relationships across the Synod. There is so much that we can learn from the experiences that our fellow Christians have with the living God, we may even have something to share with them too!
On Saturday we were enabled to go into small groups via breakout rooms and have discussions about various issues. The following is just one of them -
What have we learned through the pandemic?
Breakout groups discussed this question and subsequently fed back to the
plenary meeting. The following points were made:
• The resilience of fellowships to work in new ways, particularly in terms of pastoral support and togetherness.
• The vulnerability of small fellowships and congregations, and the need to support them through Regional Pastoral Committees
• Zoom had brought pastorates together and phone call ministry had brought churches together, which had joined people together more than before.
• Synod group gatherings had been supportive. A session could be arranged to explore how we cope with, and respond to, all the media and information we are being exposed to.
• Communication from the Synod Office with support and advice in the light of changing government guidelines had been really helpful and appreciated.
• Will carbon reduction be prominent in the life of the Synod, specifically with regard to Synod meetings?
• Today’s experience in the breakout groups enabled people to talk with people they might not otherwise have spoken to at a Synod Meeting. It offers real democratisation.
• People can log on to Zoom services happening elsewhere, and be less precious about services having to happen in one particular place.
• The church building isn’t important, the community is. There are parallels with the early church’s experience, in that the pandemic has reignited a sense of belonging and a yearning to be part of something.
Anyone is allowed to attend Synod meetings, if you would like to experience one, the next one will also be via Zoom on March 6th 2021. Joining details available later.
Julie
Wednesday, October 21. 2020
Wednesday Wonderings for 21st October 2020
What’s on my mind? Actually, the answer is nothing. In this morning’s newspaper, there was an article on niksen, the Dutch art of doing nothing in your leisure time. ‘What leisure time?’ you may immediately scoff because every time you look around you can always find something else to do. Part of the issue, and it’s the same for parts of the Netherlands as well, is that we have inherited the Protestant work ethic which suggests that we should always be doing something useful.
The concept of being still and knowing our place in the world is a very Biblical one and has been around for many years. One of the most famous expositions of it was by a Welsh poet, William Henry Davies who wrote
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
The sheep returned to the field behind the Manse this morning and are currently standing and staring (when they’re not munching grass). I wonder how our lives might change for the better is our busyness was leavened by opportunities to stand and stare at God’s creation and perhaps recognise our place within it rather than apart from it.
I
Saturday, October 17. 2020
URC audio service
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Saturday, October 17. 2020
Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Church
for Sunday 18th October 2020
The Rev’d Angela Rigby
Introduction
Hello Church! My name is Rev Angela Rigby, and I’m currently serving at Christ Church URC in Tonbridge and St Johns Hill URC in Sevenoaks. These two towns are in the home county called Kent, also known as the Garden of England. In some ways, where I am now is very different from St Helens in Merseyside, where I lived for twenty years prior to moving to Tonbridge. However in some ways, Tonbridge and St Helens are very similar. God is still God. And I am blessed to be part of the body of Christ, co-labouring with others for God’s kingdom community in this part of England.
As you may hear from my accent, I am originally from Tennessee in the United States, and in my sermon, I will be drawing from my culture and history a little bit. Hopefully I will do this in a way that helps you consider God’s word and how you might apply it in your life, wherever you find yourself today. Now let us approach God together in worship as we share in our Call to Worship.
Call to Worship
The wisdom of God calls to us, from the heights, along the paths, and at the crossroads. Come into God’s presence to worship, sing, and pray.
From our scattered places we come. Let us worship God.
Be Thou My Vision
Irish Traditional
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
be all else but naught to me, save that Thou art
be Thou my best thought, in the day and the night;
both waking and sleeping, Thy presence my light.
2: Be Thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word;
Be Thou ever with thee and I with thee, Lord.
be Thou my great Father; and I Thy true child,
be Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one.
3: Be Thou my breastplate my sword for the fight
be Thou my whole armour be Thou my true might
be Thou my storm’s shelter be Thou my strong tower.
O raise thou me heavenward great Power of my power.
4: High king of heaven, thou Heaven’s bright sun!
O grant me its joys after victory is won
great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Prayers of Approach, Confession and Forgiveness
Holy God, this world is Your creation: Let the nations take note
You created people to help each other and to share what You had created: Let the nations take note
In Your kindness God, You created places to make homes, food to eat, and people to share them with: God we thank You.
In Your righteousness, You created justice and peace and laid plans for how we should live together in community. God we thank You.
In your holiness, You created the world in an ordered way, yet we have polluted Your world. God we are sorry
We polluted Your world with violence and war. We polluted Your world with racism and nationalism. We polluted Your world with economic greed and injustice.
God we are sorry. God help us to live together in community, so that when people look at us, they see You. Amen.
“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah… No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:8, 11-12 NIV
Prayer of illumination
God, as we listen to today’s Bible reading, by Your Spirit, speak to us we pray. Help us to receive your word and to respond in a way that honours You and helps build Your Kingdom community on earth as in heaven. Amen.
Reading: Matthew 22:15-22 (NIV UK)
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the poll-tax to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Adapted from an old African American Spiritual by Alilce Wine in 1956.
Paul and Silas bound in jail had no money for to go their bail.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on. Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on
Paul and Silas began to shout. Jail door opened and they walked out
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on.
I got my hand on the gospel plough;
wouldn't take nothing for my journey now
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on.
Well the only thing we did wrong –
stayed in the wilderness a day too long
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on.
The only thing that we did right was the day we started to fight.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on
We met jail and violence too but God's love will see us through.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on
Only chain that we can stand is the chain o' hand to hand.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on
Sermon
In the United States during the 1950’s and 1960’s, the song “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” became the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The song is an evolution of the hymn “Gospel Plough.” Both the hymn and the song are about staying focussed on the goal.
When times get tough – and times will get tough when you start to get resistance to change – and there will be resistance to change.
Stay focussed. Remember why you are there. Don’t let whoever or whatever knock you off course.
Staying focussed was important, especially in a movement of nonviolent resistance such as the one Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr led.
It was the 1950s and 1960s, and in the Southern states especially, there was a lot of resistance to change from legal authorities – police, state troopers, local mayors, city councils, and state governors. Many white people in power wanted African-Americans to “stay in their place,” and they wanted to be the ones to define where that place was. That is after all the heart of segregation and the lie of “separate but equal.”
Most police officers are different now, but back then in the Southern states, the police officer or state trooper that showed up at any nonviolent protest most likely had two thoughts in mind. Either, the protesting African-American needed to submit to the legal authorities and go back to “his or her place”, or the protesting African-American needed to lose their temper. In my opinion, the tactics by the legal authorities were to elicit one response or another. If the African-American lost their temper, then the police or state trooper would have felt justified in beating, arresting or even killing the protestor.
To sing a song like “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” when you are face to face with state troopers, Alsatians, and water cannons is to be reminded to stay focussed. The nonviolent resistance movement only works if it stays nonviolent. Once the protestors become violent, they’ve lost. So – “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.” Stay focussed on the goal. The goal isn’t being better than the state troopers in front of you. The goal is freedom for an entire people, which for that generation started with voting rights and the end to segregation.
I was reminded of this song and the American Civil Rights movement as I read today’s passage.
In His response to the question being asked by the Pharisees via the Herodians, Jesus demonstrates that He remains focussed on His goal – the kingdom community of God.
The first line of our reading today was: “Then, the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Jesus in his words.”
This whole conversation was a lie. The Pharisees really didn’t care what Jesus’ thoughts on the Poll Tax were. They laid a trap to stop Jesus. “Let’s see if we can get Jesus to say something that will get him in trouble with the Roman Empire,” they thought. “Or, even better, let’s see if he will say something that will cause him to lose favour with the people following him around.”
The Pharisees hated Roman rule and would have hated the Poll Tax, along with most of the people to be fair. The Herodians on the other hand worked with the Roman Empire in support of King Herod. Their obedience in regards to taxes helped them preserve what little power and status Rome allowed them to have. The two were unlikely friends. So for the Pharisees to ask the Herodians to ask this question was part of the trap.
It was a simple enough question: “Is it right to pay the poll-tax to Caesar or not? Yes or no, Jesus?” Either answer would have had signalled something to someone.
“Yes” would have signalled to the Jewish people that Jesus was out of touch with them. You can almost hear the comments. “Jesus is sympathetic to the Roman Empire? How on earth can he possibly be the Messiah then? Everybody hates the Poll Tax! Surely if Jesus is our Messiah, he would too?”
The answer “no” would have signalled to the Herodians and to the Roman Empire that Jesus was leading a rebellion. “He is inciting the people against Caesar,” they would think as they arrested him.
Either answer would have landed Jesus into a mess. But Jesus isn’t phased by the question. His hand is on the gospel plough. His eyes are on the prize.
He ponders the question and gives a witty answer. An answer that is neither yes nor no. An answer that neatly sits on the fence, but could come down on either side quite easily depending on who was listening.
A fellow Jew would hear, “Too right, Jesus. Give to God what is God’s, and it is all God’s.”
A listening Roman soldier would hear, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and since it is all Caesar’s that works out well for the Empire.”
I suppose a good preacher would point out the civic lesson here: we do have a responsibility to live responsibly. Obey the laws. Pay our taxes. Etcetera, etcetera…
But for me today – this whole Q&A session isn’t the point. This whole conversation is a lie. It’s a trap. It’s a state trooper with an Alsatian and a water cannon.
I want to focus on how Jesus dealt with this trap.
Clearly, he saw it coming. But rather than get entangled in their word trap, Jesus refocuses the conversation back to what Jesus is interested in – the Kingdom community of God. That’s His prize. And for Jesus, the Kingdom community of God is not limited to some place and somewhere else in time. It isn’t some celestial parallel world.
For Jesus, the Kingdom community of God was “at hand” and “among you”. It was both to come and yet breaking forth right now wherever they were. It was to be a lived experience now (at least in part), as well as an experience to be fully realised one day.
I admire Jesus’ focus. Jesus knows what he is about. Jesus doesn’t get entangled in the political jostling of the day, but He doesn’t ignore it either. In His answer, He rose above it.
In 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama famously said, “When they go low, we go high.” In her speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2020, she said that many people have asked her if going high still works when so many people are going low and using inhumane tactics. She responded by saying, “Going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanising others, we just become part of the ugly noise that is drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves and we degrade the very causes for which we fight…going high means taking the harder path…standing fierce against hatred…going high means unblocking the shackles of lies and mistrust…”
It’s the same with the Kingdom community of God. A community that is to reflect the character of God needs to be formed of people who also reflect the character of God. Jeremiah 9:24 tells us that God’s character is just, righteous and kind. We know from Galatians 5:22-23 that if the Spirit of God is at work among us, we will see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How we co-labour with Christ matters.
Every day the trap is set – by tweets, arguments on social media, or something a politician or presenter says on a talk show. It’s up to us to stay focussed on the kingdom community of God. To stand up for the character and qualities that drew each of us to God in the first place. It’s up to us to advocate for those in the places we find ourselves every day.
Instead of getting distracted by words, let’s keep our hands on the gospel plough and our eyes on the prize.
Siblings in Christ, hold on.
Jesus be the Centre
Michael Frye © Vineyard
Jesus, be the centre; be my source, be my light, Jesus.
Jesus, be the centre; be my hope, be my song, Jesus.
Be the fire in my heart. Be the wind in these sails.
Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus.
Jesus, be my vision, be my path, be my guide, Jesus,
Affirmation of Faith
Do you believe in the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects, and cares for the Church through Word and Spirit. This God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end. We do
Do you believe that God is the One who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people. We do.
Do you believe that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor, and the wronged? We do.
This is the faith of the Church! We are proud to confess it in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Offertory
The offertory is an important part of our tradition of worship. And although we won’t be passing an offertory plate at your home – or even in church buildings these days! – you might want to take this moment to put some cash into your freewill offering envelope and put it somewhere safe until it can be collected by your local church. You might also want to remember any local charities that are special to you. Many are struggling as the events where they raised money or collected donations in 2020 were cancelled. Many of them find themselves with less money, more work and fewer workers to do that work. You might want to think about how you might reach out to them with some support.
Prayer
Loving God, you give to us beyond measure, you give to us without counting the cost. Accept whatever giving I can offer and use it that life may flourish and your Kingdom community come. Amen.
Intercessions
God, we bring to You our prayers.
We pray for those who are feeling lonely or isolated. God, comfort them with Your presence. May people reach out to them in Covid safe ways. Help us to create community, safe spaces of comfort in these difficult times.
We pray for those who are anxious. God, comfort them with Your peace. May they hear words of calm and not chaos. May they hear words of gentleness and not confusion.
We pray for those who mourn. God, comfort them with Your love. May memories comfort and console.
We pray for those who celebrate love. We thank You for those able to finally begin married life together. May these couples have strong loving marriages with You at the centre.
And in this moment of quiet, we bring to You our own concerns and prayers…
God of justice, righteousness, and kindness, we pray together the words of Amos 5:24:
“May justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream”
Amen
Let us we pray together the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray.
Our Father
How Can I keep from Singing
(adapted from an American Shaker Hymn)
My life goes on in endless song
above earth's lamentation.
I hear the real,
though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.
No storm can shake my inmost calm,
while to that Rock, I’m clinging.
Since Love prevails in heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?
2: While though the tempest
round me roars,
I know the Truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness
round me close,
songs in the night it giveth.
3: I lift my eyes.
The cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it.
And day by day,
this pathway smooths,
since first I learned to love it.
No storm can shake my inmost calm, I hear the music ringing.
It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?
Blessing
Go now – back to your home, school, university or workplace.
Go – back to family, friends, and colleagues.
Take God’s spirit with you and share the word you heard God speak to you today.
Let us share the words of the Grace together.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen
Sources and Thanks
Call To Worship from Worship Aids for the Revised Common Lectionary from the Presbyterian Church of the USA
Affirmation of Faith from selected sections of the Belhar Confession of Faith.
Offertory adapted from the Rev’d Phil Nevard’s used on 29 March 2020 with permission.
All other prayers by Angela Rigby
Be Thou My Vision from BBC’s Songs of Praise
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize, sung by Sweet Honey in the Rock
Jesus Be the Centre Ingrid DuMosch, The London Fox Singers, Shout! - Top 100 Praise & Worship Songs Volume 1
How Can I Keep From Singing by the New York City Virtual Choir.
Opening Organ Piece Ach Gott Von Himmel Sieh Darein (“O God from heaven see this”) by Johann Pachelbel (organ of The Spire Church, Farnham – 2020). Closing: Toccata in Seven by John Rutter (organ of All Saints’, Odiham – 2020) Both played by Brian Cotterill. http://briancotterill.webs.com
Where words are copyright reproduced under the terms of Barrhead URC’s CCLI licence number 1064776
Thanks to Jonnie Hill and Adam Scott, Ruth and Kingsley Browning, Phil, Lythan and Carys Nevard for recording the Call to Worship and Affirmation of Faith, and to David and Christine Shimmin, Marion Thomas, Anne Hewling, Lorraine Webb, and John Young for reading and recording other spoken parts of the service.
Where words are copyright reproduced under the terms of Barrhead URC’s CCLI licence number 1064776,
Some material reprinted, and streamed, with permission under ONE LICENSE A-734713 All rights reserved.
PRS Limited Online Music Licence LE-0019762
Saturday, October 17. 2020
Tomorrow’s Order of Service is below..
For those able to join us via Zoom the details are:
Ian and Julie Kirby are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Ian and Julie’s Zoom service
Join Zoom Meeting
Zoom Servicehttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/3540351038...
Meeting ID: 354 035 1038
Passcode: 5iqXr8
Welcome & Notices
Call to worship
HYMN: How great Thou art…
1 O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
Refrain
3 And when I think that God His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die-I scarce can take it in.
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:
Refrain
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home-what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!
Refrain
Stuart K Hine (1899-1989)
© 1953 Stuart K Hine/The Stuart Hine Trust/Published by kingswaysongs.com. www.kingswaysongs.com. Worldwide (excl. North & South America). Used by permission.
Prayers
God our Creator, your love is at work in all you have made
Son of God, in your likeness we are made new.
Holy Spirit, you touch our lives with hope.
Receive our worship, claim us for your service, set us free to honour you today.
Holy God, giver of life and grace, we confess that we have sinned against you and against our fellow men and women, through ignorance, through weakness and through our own deliberate fault.
We have belittled your love and betrayed your trust.
We are sorry, we are ashamed, and we repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for us,
forgive us all that is past,
and lead us out of darkness to walk as children of light.
(silence)
Jesus died and rose again for us. In humble penitence, may we accept his pardon and receive his peace.
As God’s forgiven and beloved people, let us join together in the Lord’s Prayer in whichever language is natural for us… Ein Tad/Our Father…
Readings
Psalm 24
24 The earth and everything on it
belong to the Lord.
The world and its people
belong to him.
2 The Lord placed it all
on the oceans and rivers.
3 Who may climb the Lord’s hill[a]
or stand in his holy temple?
4 Only those who do right
for the right reasons,
and don’t worship idols
or tell lies under oath.
5 The Lord God, who saves them,
will bless and reward them,
6 because they worship and serve
the God of Jacob.[b]
7 Open the ancient gates,
so that the glorious king
may come in.
8 Who is this glorious king?
He is our Lord, a strong
and mighty warrior.
9 Open the ancient gates,
so that the glorious king
may come in.
10 Who is this glorious king?
He is our Lord,
the All-Powerful!
Matthew 22 v 15-22
15 The Pharisees got together and planned how they could trick Jesus into saying something wrong. 16 They sent some of their followers and some of Herod’s followers[a] to say to him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. 17 Tell us what you think! Should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”
18 Jesus knew their evil thoughts and said, “Why are you trying to test me? You show-offs! 19 Let me see one of the coins used for paying taxes.” They brought him a silver coin, 20 and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
21 “The Emperor’s,” they answered.
Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” 22 His answer surprised them so much that they walked away.
No-one likes paying taxes. The submission of the annual tax return is never a pleasurable experience (and there will be two to do this year) although it never turns out to be quite so bad once you actually start it! Yet taxes are an essential means of sustaining our common life together.
Even so, the taxes paid to the Emperor were not popular and this is before we remember that tax collectors would take their own ‘commission’ in addition and for Jews, the financial burden was only added to by the Temple Tax, paid for the upkeep of the Temple and its staff. This is not the issue here, though. This is a trap concealed in flattery and a seemingly innocent question. Say ‘yes’ and Jesus can be denounced as a collaborator with the hated Romans. If Jesus declares Roman taxes to be unlawful, he risks arrest as a danger to Rome. Jesus neatly sidesteps the question by asking for a coin, enquiring whose image was on it and then giving us the phrase ‘Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and render unto God what belongs to God’.
This phrase has been widely used down the years but what does it mean for us today? It can be seen as an encouragement to separate spiritual and secular, but I don’t think it’s quite as simple as that. Perhaps we need to look a little deeper and see what lies beneath the words used. it’s helpful to see it as a clash of two cultures – the Jewish faith and the Roman administration. Alternatively, you could see it as a clash between the empire of Caesar and the kingdom of God.
On the face of it, empire sounds attractive. For many people it suggests certainty and stability. In many ways, empire can be a force for good. Delve below the surface, though, and a different picture emerges. To maintain a sizable empire, there has to be a structure of power and administration and the temptation to abuse this is greater as the rewards get bigger. History reminds us that the longer an empire goes on, the more decay and complacency set in until a threat from outside arises which cannot be resisted. The empire’s interest is maintaining the empire and force, violence and oppression are all tools to be used for this greater good.
The kingdom, on the other hand, is more subversive. Jesus describes it as like a mustard tree which grows from a tiny seed, or yeast which works its way through the whole loaf. It works through small acts of love, cups of cold water given in the name of Christ, the hungry fed, the sick and prisoners visited and the homeless given shelter. At its best, it works under the radar, transforming lives and transforming society.
We might say at this point that the differences seem so distinct that the two could not combine. Sadly, history has shown that they can, and this is because empire and the Kingdom of God on earth are both reliant on humans – fallible, sinful humans who give in to temptation. We shall reflect on the church’s story here as that is what we are most familiar with. Examination of its story, down the years there have been times when the empire has tried to incorporate the church to suit its purposes and there have been times when the church has sought to build its own empire. The boundaries are not as clear cut as we might first imagine.
Of course, we all need some sort of structure to organize ourselves. Even independent churches need some way of managing its affairs, and probably some loose network for support from outside. It’s more difficult when you’re dealing with a larger more organised group that we could call a denomination, especially when you suspect that the structure was designed for better days. In the way in which we organise ourselves, we have elements of empire within it which holds us back.
This is not an attack on the URC nationally or Synods because there are good people trying to make the system work for God’s glory. I do wonder, however, whether the situation that we find ourselves is one where God is reminding us to recommence a journey even though it might mean us having to leave places and structures that have been our home for many years, where we feel safe and secure. They may have served us well in the past but now new thinking is needed to meet the challenges of today’s generation.
One of the major differences between empire and kingdom is that the kingdom has the presence of the Holy Spirit, alive and active in the world today. The Spirit is dynamic, seeking to move us on and prevent us from becoming stale and stationary. God has always called us to be pilgrim people on a journey and the church is at its best when it remembers this. We are beginning to see signs of new ways of doing things and while there will be things from our history that are still needed on this journey other things will hinder us. We need the help of the Spirit to discern which is which and while the passage of time will resolve some matters for us, other matters will need prayerful and careful consideration.
I suggest that when we hear Jesus saying the phrase, “render unto Caesar...”, he is inviting us to cease building our empires with all the conservatism and stagnation that this ultimately leads to. Rather he invites us to seek the things of God that the Spirit will guide us into. This does not mean that we can retreat from the world to reorganise ourselves because Psalm 24 reminds us that the earth belongs to God and everything in it. perhaps the meaning of the phrase is that Caesar is entitled to his take because we are citizens of earth but that ultimately everyone including Caesar and every aspect of empire is ultimately answerable to God. Our task is to assist God in the transformation of the earth which includes empire.
Of course, the empire will not take kindly to this. The empire’s view of faith is that it functions best as something private and personal, where individual acts of kindness can reach the places empire doesn’t want to go. Start asking the questions as to why people need help in the first place, and the empire will complain that religion and politics shouldn’t mix, and we should know our place. They may even suggest we render unto Caesar….
All structures are human and fallible. The answer is not to retreat into some safe religious ghetto but to seek to let God shine the divine light through the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that one day “The earth may be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea”. In the meantime, while we are citizens of earth and subject to empire, let us also remember that we are part of the kingdom of heaven and that claims our greater allegiance.
It may seem faint hope amid the shock of what is going on, but there is good news in this. If God is in all things, God is with us in our present struggle and sadness. We may not be able to function as we have but God is still present and still has work for us to do, It is right, natural and healthy that we grieve for what is gone, but we serve a God of resurrection who can bring new life out of death and lead us into the future. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
(Silence for reflection)
HYMN: O Lord, all the world belongs to you
1 O Lord, all the world belongs to you
and you are always making all things new.
What is wrong you forgive,
and the new life you give
is what's turning the world upside-down.
2 The world's only loving to its friends,
but your way of loving never ends,
loving enemies too;
and this loving with you
is what's turning the world upside-down.
3 The world lives divided and apart,
you draw us together, and we start
in our friendship to see
that in harmony we
can be turning the world upside-down.
4 The world wants the wealth to live in state,
but you show a new way to be great:
like a servant you came,
and if we do the same,
we'll be turning the world upside-down.
5 O Lord, all the world belongs to you
and you are always making all things new.
What is wrong you forgive,
and the new life you give
is what's turning the world upside-down.
Patrick Robert Norman Appleford (1925-2018)
© Josef Weinberger Ltd
Prayers
Gracious God, we rejoice in your blessings and trust in your loving care for all. Because of this, we can bring you our prayers for your world in confidence.
We pray for the created world: for those who rebuild where things have been destroyed: for those who fight hunger, poverty and disease; for those who have power to bring change for the better and bring hope.
In the life of our world
Your kingdom come, Lord, your will be done
We pray for our nation: for the Queen and her family: for those who frame our laws in Westminster and Cardiff and shape our common life: for those who keep the peace and administer justice: for those who teach, those who heal and care, and all who serve our community.
In the life of our land
Your kingdom come, Lord, your will be done
We pray for people in need: those for whom life is a bitter struggle: those whose lives are clouded by death or loss, by illness, pain or disability, by discouragement or fear or by shame or rejection.
In the life of our those in need
Your kingdom come, Lord, your will be done
We pray for those in the circle of friendship and love around us: children and parents: sisters and brothers: friends and neighbours and those especially in our thoughts and minds today.
In the life of those we love
Your kingdom come, Lord, your will be done
We pray for the Church as it seeks to stand with the poor: as it shows love to the outcast and ashamed: as it serves the sick and neglected and as it proclaims the Gospel in this land, in these places and in these strange times.
In the life of your Church
Your kingdom come, Lord, your will be done
Eternal God, thank you for the great community of faith into which you have brought us: for those who have treasured Scripture, gathered our songs, built our sanctuaries and taught us to know and trust you. May we be able to live as they did, recognising the changing times and the need to continue the journey until you bring us with all your beloved people made in your image into the completeness of your eternal joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all praise and glory forever.
Amen.
HYMN: Lord, for the years…
1 Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided,
urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way,
sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided,
Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.
2 Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us,
speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze,
teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us,
Lord of the word, receive your people's praise.
3 Lord, for our land, in this our generation,
spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care;
for young and old, for commonwealth and nation,
Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.
4 Lord, for our world; when we disown and doubt him,
loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain;
hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him,
Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.
5 Lord, for ourselves; in living power remake us,
self on the cross and Christ upon the throne;
past put behind us, for the future take us,
Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.
Timothy Dudley-Smith (born 1926)
© administered by Oxford University Press in Europe (including UK and Ireland) and Africa, and by Hope Publishing Company in all other territories (including USA)
Blessing and dismissal
Hymn words copied with permission. CCL Licence 634229
Worship streamed under CCL Licence 138598 & PRS Licence LE0021369
Wednesday, October 14. 2020
Wednesday wondering 14th October 2020
One of my favourite Christian writers is Nadia Bolz-Weber. The first book of hers that I read is called ‘Cranky, beautiful, faith.’ It is the account of how God called her into ministry.
I’ve been reminded of her recently as a good friend of mine wrote a reflection about another of her books ~~called ‘Accidental saints’. She writes honestly and from the heart, not sparing her use of language! It is in this book that she asks the question
‘What is the difference between Peter and Judas?’
Nadia’s suggestion is - Judas died before the resurrection and didn’t live to hear the loving words of forgiveness that Peter did.
I have always wondered about the reasoning of Judas and the betrayal. Was he trying to force Jesus into a corner where he could declare his heavenly power, did he think he was going to save the situation single handed or was he really all bad? Or was the horror and guilt of what he did so abhorrent to him that he could no longer live with himself, let alone others?
I wonder what are your reactions to such a suggestion, -shock, - disbelief, - disgust, - agreement?
Saturday, October 10. 2020
Saturday, October 10. 2020
Order of Service
Below you will find the Order of Service, prayers, hymns and sermon for today's service. You can either simply read this or you can
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Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Church
for Sunday 11th October 2020
The Rev’d John Grundy
Introduction
Good morning and welcome to worship and out time together today. My name is John Grundy and I am delighted to serve as the Minister of St. Andrew’s Brockley and St. Michael’s in the Milton Court Estate in New Cross, both of which are in South East London. St. Michael’s is an Ecumenical Partnership with the Church of England.
Most of today’s service I will be leading from the sanctuary at St. Andrew’s but for the Communion portion of our service, we will be in St. Michael’s. If you would like to see our churches to get a better sense of where I am speaking from, please do have a look at our website: www.standrewsbrockley.com.
Today we will be sharing in Holy Communion together and the invitation is for all of us to share this. I invite you to have some bread and wine, or whatever suitable alternative you have, ready for that part of the service.
With people we know, with people we will likely never meet, as the gathered people of Jesus together, let’s pause and prepare to worship.
Call To Worship
The wisdom of God calls to us, from the heights, along the paths, and at the crossroads. Come into God’s presence to worship, sing, and pray.
From our scattered places we come. Let us worship God.
Jesus Calls Us Here to Meet Him
John Bell and Graham Moule © Wild Goose Resource Worship Group
Jesus calls us here to meet him
as through word & song & prayer
we affirm God’s promised presence
where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise;
praise the Son who calls us friends;
praise the Spirit who, among us,
to our hopes and fears attends.
2: Jesus calls us to confess him
Word of Life and Lord of All,
sharer of our flesh and frailness
saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story;
tell his tales that all may hear;
tell the world that Christ in glory
came to earth to meet us here.
3: Jesus calls us to each other:
found in him are no divides.
Race and class and sex and language -
such are barriers he derides.
Join the hand of friend and stranger;
join the hands of age and youth;
join the faithful and the doubter
in their common search for truth.
Prayers Of Approach
God of the journey, we gather together, from wherever we are to worship and praise you. We realise that we can’t know what will come next or what the future holds but we thank you for inviting us to walk with you. When life becomes challenging, we thank you for being there, for wanting to journey with us, for offering hope when hope seems fleeting and peace when peace is hard to see.
Loving God, sometimes life feels overwhelming and we forget where to place our faith, at times we get pulled by distractions and brighter lights. We forget you, we disregard to care for other people and their feelings, we neglect ourselves, our own wellbeing, our own hopes and dreams.
We bring all of those things we aren’t proud of, the things we didn’t do, the things we did, what we said, when we avoided ‘that’ person… and we lay it all down before you.
(pause)
Forgiving God, we thank you for renewing us for forgiving us and for breathing your love into us. We continue in prayer as we share the words of The Lord’s Prayer together:
Our Father…
Reading: St Matthew 22: 1-14
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Thy Hand O God Has Guided
Edward Hayes Plumptre (1821-1891)
Thy hand, O God, has guided
thy flock, from age to age;
the wondrous tale is written,
full clear on every page;
our fathers owned thy goodness,
and we their deeds record;
and both of this bear witness:
one Church, one Faith, one Lord.
2: Thy heralds brought glad tidings
to greatest as to least;
they bade folk rise and hasten
to share the great King’s feast;
and this was all their teaching
in every deed and word;
to all alike proclaiming:
one Church, one Faith, one Lord.
3: Thy mercy will not fail us,
nor leave thy work undone;
with thy right hand to help us,
the victory shall be won;
and then, by all creation
thy name shall be adored,
and this shall be their anthem:
one Church, one Faith, one Lord.
Prayer of illumination:
Will you pray with me?
Loving God, take the smallness of the words I share and use them to speak as you need them to be heard. Open our hearts to respond to your calling; open our minds to consider your love at work within us, around us and despite us. Amen
Sermon:
I remember, many years ago, I led worship at my sending church dressed, not in the usual shirt and tie I would wear, but wearing Jeans and a hoody. Somewhere in the dim corners of my brain I remember there was a really good reason for this, I might have been going straight from church to somewhere else, but that detail is escaping me.
Of course, no one commented on the fact I wasn’t wearing a suit and tie but, in my head, I could very loudly hear a disapproving tut from my Grandmother.
She was a remarkable person in many ways, as were all of my Grandparents, but Grandma was the one, as children, that we sat with in church. She did teach me a lot… but somehow never taught me to not fidget! Grandma came from that almost indestructible generation that lived through the blitz and was, like many people we would see on Sunday’s mornings in the North of Liverpool, someone who always wore a hat and gloves and her Sunday coat to go to church in.
What you wore for church mattered not because someone else might judge you, but it was much more because you wore your best clothes as an outward sign of the honour you were paying to God.
I see this still in the members of the churches I was called to serve here in South East London. Our church family at both of our churches come from across the world, bringing different traditions, experiences and stories… but for all of us, how we honour the Lord’s Day remains important.
This parable that Jesus shared is of course about much more than making sure you show up in hats and gloves or a jacket and tie.
In some ways, this story could be read as a story of outrageous hospitality.
Jesus tells us about a King, a proud father, a proud father who is giving a banquet in honour of his son’s wedding. Jesus doesn’t tell us which one of his sons this is, but there’s a fairly strong chance that in this parable, Jesus wants us to think about the oldest, the heir to the kingdom. This could easily be the wedding of this country’s next king.
Like with all of those royal weddings we’ve seen on the television, we can imagine that the list of guests would be packed with the great and the good, the allies, those with power, those the King really wants to show the son off to. So, the king sends the slaves out to get them to come… and all that comes back are insults and refusals. None of the people with position want to be there.
You can see why the king is really angry, any of us might be if we had been insulted, maybe humiliated. At this point in the story, it pauses. We get this interesting gap which allows the kings rage to happen. The troops are called together, they go out, the invited guests are murdered, their cities destroyed. The banquet is paused for the bloodshed to happen and then the king starts to prepare again.
This time though, anyone the slaves can find get brought into the banqueting hall, anyone at all – good, bad, a bit of both – all are called to come and join the party.
I like to imagine the face of the never-mentioned bride at this point – by now she will have realised that she has married the son of a really angry king, but all of the guests at her big day have been dragged in off the streets to make the place look fuller than it was.
I don’t imagine that’s what any bride would put on her wish-list as she dreams of her special day, but in this parable that is definitely what this poor girl has got.
Perhaps she thought the grumpiness of her new Father in law was sort of over with now… but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead of celebrating a job done, a wonderful day sorted, his son and daughter-in-law happily married… the king spots someone not dressed in the way he expected and loses his temper yet again.
We have another affront to the already fragile ego of our insulted king – a guest not wearing the correct robes for this occasion.
And the guest is thrown from the building, hands and feet bound, thrown into the darkness where there will be gnashing of teeth and weeping!
And that’s where Jesus ends this story but really this is a story of reactions, overreactions, and it is overly absurd on purpose.
But what this story is though is a bit disturbing.
In many ways Jesus sharing a parable which lays out what disobedience and retribution looks like in the much bigger scripture story. This story in Matthew 22 forms part of the story of the last week of Jesus’s life. Immediately before it in Matthew 21, we read “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet”. Our passage began, “once more Jesus spoke to them in parables”. This parable is almost Jesus saying - whoa! hang on, I’ve more to say to you… I’m not finished yet.
This is another story of insult, and another story of those who should know better not giving due recognition and the honour that they should. And again, it is those people who should be more aware of what God is doing among them that are at risk of being left behind in the future that Jesus’s parables explore.
As I read this passage this week, I wondered if what I needed to see this time was the call to radical and open hospitality? The king does throw the doors open and does offer this glorious banquet to everyone. He even calls the man friend… and then spoils it by throwing him into the place of tears and teeth gnashing.
I wonder if you feel sorry for that man too. How could he have got a beautiful wedding robe to wear? He was outside on the streets five minutes ago.
We should never take this parable as an excuse to evict people from our churches if they’ve not come that day in hats and gloves or suits and ties and even, I’m sorry to say it, if they have inadvertently sat in our pew…
The way people are dressed isn’t the message of this parable for me.
The man was at the banquet, he got in with everyone else – but maybe, we are supposed to think of him as someone who was there but who didn’t take the hugeness of what he was being offered seriously enough?
Sometimes it can be easy to forget just how wonderful that radical open invitation to be part of the transformative life of Jesus really is, and to be in relationship not just with God, with Jesus but with fellow pilgrims journeying together through joys, sadness’s, through challenges: this year through a pandemic?
It would be one thing to just show up. It’s another thing to be in relationship – ready to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world – that needs us to be ready, together and alone.
How wonderful would it be if the whole world stopped worrying about what ‘clothes’ we are wearing, we need to make sure that we are making sure we are clothed, and sharing, love, justice, peace, hope and compassion. Those are the gifts of God which we can all share.
And what matters more than what we wear is that we strive to live a life without pretence and take seriously the gift of grace that Jesus offers.
We are invited to be in relationship with one another, with God, with Jesus. Let’s embrace the gift. Amen.
Affirmation of Faith
Do you believe in the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects, and cares for the Church through Word and Spirit. This God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end. We do
Do you believe that God is the One who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people. We do.
Do you believe that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor, and the wronged? We do.
This is the faith of the Church! We are proud to confess it in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
For Your Generous Providing
© The Rev’d Leith Fisher
For your generous providing
which sustain us all our days,
for your Spirit here residing,
we proclaim our heartfelt praise.
Through the depths of joy and sorrow,
though the road be smooth or rough,
fearless, we can face tomorrow
for your grace will be enough.
2: Hush our world’s seductive noises
tempting us to stand alone;
save us from the siren voices
calling us to trust our own.
For those snared by earthly treasure,
lured by false security,
Jesus, true and only measure,
spring the trap to set folk free.
3: Round your table, through your giving,
show us how to live and pray
till your kingdom’s way of living
is the bread we share each day:
bread for us and for our neighbour,
bread for body, mind, and soul,
bread of heav’n and human labour –
broken bread that makes us whole.
Introduction to offertory:
We have been given so much from God: skills, opportunities, relationships and hopes. So let us together consider what we have and how we offer it to God as we pray together.
Loving God, we bring ourselves and our gifts for the wider work of your kingdom. Use who we are, what we offer; all of our experiences and our hopes. Use them to make change within us, around is and despite us,
help us to build community, to share peace and to create spaces of grace. Amen.
Prayer of Intercession:
We now approach God in prayer. This service has been recorded in advance so should there have been a huge event happen this week, please know that we are all praying for it and in the silence, I invite you to pray for it too.
Loving God, today, we pray for your world, for places and people we know, and those we don’t. We pray for places where there have been wars and disasters: help us to respond to the needs we see as we can.
We pray for people who are continuing to shield, or aren’t yet ready to leave home: be with them and support them.
We pray for people who are grieving, struggling to move on or needing peace: Loving God, we pray that you will help us to support them as best as we can, at the right time, but help us to know when to listen and not to speak and ‘be’ and not ‘do’.
We pray for ourselves, our communities and our churches: Knowing our own issues, local needs and the challenges we all face, we offer, into the silence, our own private prayers:
Gracious God, Hear our prayers
We thank you for listening to us, for hearing our concerns and needs and for knowing how we can be best held, supported and loved. Loving God, accept these, and all of our prayers, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Holy Communion
As we come to share in Holy Communion, we bring the bread and wine that we prepared earlier and pause as we prepare to share in this meal with one another.
Invitation:
In our own homes, at our own tables, we meet with Jesus. At our own tables, Jesus calls us to meet him and Jesus knows us. He welcomes us without the need for show, without the need to be what others expect us to be, without any baggage that might be weighing us down. Come, together in our own spaces you have been given a welcome.
Come and drink of the love of God, which has been poured out for each of us; Come and taste the bread – the bread which isn’t dependant on the supermarket shelf or the food bank parcel The bread which never spoils, which never grows mould Come and share, come and experience, come and see.
Narrative:
We hear again the story of that night: While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body’. Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I tell you, I will never again drink the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’ (Mark 14: 22-24)
We are the friends of Jesus today. He invites us to break bread together, to remember him and to pray that God’s Kingdom will come.
We pray together:
Thank you loving God for these gifts which we share and for the love that you give to us. We meet with you here filled with your promise of welcome and community. So, we gather here as we are, as you need us to be and as you have called. Long ago, you welcomed your people to you and made known your greatness and glory; you sought out the outcast, you welcomed the stranger, you reached outside society’s expectations, beyond tradition and though the power of empire.
Help us to be mirrors of your glory, to be the people that you need us to be so that we can shine as beacons of hope and love in your world. Transforming God, we thank you that your Holy Spirit meets with us and we pray that she will take these human made gifts and symbols: Wheat harvested, baked and prepared; Grapes picked, trodden and transformed and make them for us your body broken and shared and your blood spilt and poured out and offered. All of this we ask in Jesus’ name… Amen.
For all that we are offered here, we thank God, as we gather at our own tables, as we hear again the story, and as we consider the signs of Jesus’s love for us: the cross a sign of Jesus’ arm stretched out in love His empty tomb a declaration that God’s love is greater than human power and stronger than death.
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,
God of power and might, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full, Heaven and earth are full of your glory!
Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!
May God’s peace be with you always, with your community and the world we live in. Amen.
Sharing:
When Jesus had given thanks, he took bread and broke it and said: “Take and eat, this is my body which is broken for you”
When Jesus had given thanks, he gave his cup to those gathered there and said: “Take and drink all of you, for this is the blood of the new covenant spilt for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin”
As we follow the example of Jesus, I invite you, if you are able, to hold the bread: This is Jesus’s body broken for you – so let us take and eat.
Jesus, Lamb of God, Jesus, Lamb of God,
Jesus, Saviour, have mercy on us!
Jesus, bearing all our sin, Jesus, bearing all our sin,
Jesus, Saviour, have mercy on us!
Jesus, Redeemer of the World, Jesus, Redeemer of the World,
Jesus, Saviour, O give us your peace!
I invite you, if you are able, to hold the wine:
The blood of Jesus poured out for each one of us – take it and drink it.
Jesus, Lamb of God, Jesus, Lamb of God,
Jesus, Saviour, have mercy on us!
Jesus, bearing all our sin, Jesus, bearing all our sin,
Jesus, Savour, have mercy on us!
Jesus, Redeemer of the World, Jesus, Redeemer of the World,
Jesus, Saviour, O give us your peace!
Prayer of thanks
Loving God, You have met us here and fed us again, may our hands be prepared to work for you, may our eyes see what you show us, may our ears hear your voice speak to us and call us, may our hearts burn with the hope that you have given to us. We thank you God for all that you have offered to us here, may we respond as you need us to. May we go and tell of your love. Amen.
Hymn: We Are Marching
Siyahamb' ekukhanyeni kwenkos, Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos'.
Siyahamb' ekukhanyeni kwenkos', Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos'.
[ekukhanyeni kwenkos']
Siyahamba... ooh
[Siyahamba, hamba, Siyahamba, hamba]
Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos'.
[ekukhanyeni kwenkos']
Siyahamba... ooh
[Siyahamba, hamba, Siyahamba, hamba]
Siyahamba ekukhanyeni kwenkos'.
We are marching in the light of God. We are marching in the light of God.
We are marching in the light of God, we are marching in the light of God.
[in the light of God] We are marching... ooh
[We are marching, marching, we are marching, marching,]
We are marching in the light of God. [the light of God]
We are marching... ooh
[We are marching, marching, we are marching, marching,]
We are marching in the light of God.
Benediction
We go, strengthened to do the work of Jesus, standing in the gap, extending the invitation to the eternal banquet, rejoicing in God.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone and don’t worry about anything. The God who created you, Jesus who redeems you and the Spirit who empowers you is with you today and ever more. Amen.
Sources and Copyright
Call To Worship from Worship Aids for the Revised Common Lectionary from the Presbyterian Church of the USA
Affirmation of Faith from selected sections of the Belhar Confession of Faith.
Benediction from Standing in the Gap, written by Rev. Dr. Bob Gross, OCC, pastor at Lake Avenue United Church of Christ, Elyria, OH and posted on the United Church of Christ website.
All other prayers by John Grundy based on Rootsontheweb.com resources.
Jesus Calls Us Here to Meet Him by John Bell and Graham Moule from the BBC’s Songs of Praise
Thy Hand O God Has Guided by Edward Hayes Plumptre from the BBC’s Songs of Praise.
For Your Generous Providing by The Rev’d Leith Fisher performed by the Scottish Festival Singers, Ian McCrorie (Conductor), John Langdon (Organ) made available by the Church of Scotland.
Sanctus and Agnus Dei by Paul Inwood © Magnificat Music performed by the Choir of Brentwood Cathedral.
We are Marching from a Zulu folk song written down by Andries Van Tonder. Performed by the KwaSisabantu Mission.
Organ Voluntaries. Opening: Ein Feste Burg (“A mighty fortress”) by Max Reger (organ of Basilica Santo Spirito, Florence, Italy – 2016) Wir Glauben all’ an Einen Gott (“We all believe in one God”) by Johann Sebastian Bach (organ of St Thomas-on-The Bourne, Farnham – 2001) Brian Cotterill. http://briancotterill.webs.com
Thanks To
Jonnie Hill and Adam Scott, Ruth and Kingsley Browning, Phil, Lythan and Carys Nevard for recording the Call to Worship and Affirmation of Faith and John Young, David Shimmin, Anne Hewling, Lorraine Webb, and Carol Tubbs for recording other spoken parts of the service.
Where words are copyright reproduced under the terms of Barrhead URC’s CCLI licence number 1064776,
Some material reprinted, and streamed, with permission under ONE LICENSE A-734713 All rights reserved.
PRS Limited Online Music Licence LE-0019762
Saturday, October 10. 2020
Ian Kirby is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Ian and Julie’s Zoom service
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime
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Sunday 11th October 2020
Call to worship
HYMN: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
1 Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation;
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation:
all those who hear,
brothers and sisters draw near,
praise him in glad adoration.
3 Praise to the Lord, who shall prosper your work, and defend you!
Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you!
ponder anew
all the almighty can do.
he who with his love doth befriend thee.
4 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen
sound from his people again:
gladly we praise and adore him.
Joachim Neander (1650-1680), Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
Prayers
Gracious God,
in love You open wide the doors
and welcome us into Your presence—
saints and sinners alike.
You spread a table before us,
filled with the richest fare—
a feast of love and mercy
for the body and soul.
We come with joy to meet You here,
to celebrate Your grace and mercy in our lives.
May Your Spirit inspire our praise and thanksgiving,
our prayers and petitions
as we worship together in Your presence.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our host and Lord,
Amen.
Gracious God, we remember the times when we have been slow to respond to your loving invitation to the feast:
• When we have held back refusing to believe that we are welcome
• When we have declined because we are busy people with lives to lead and chapels to run
• When we have refused because we think that following your call is a life of drudgery rather than a celebration
• When we have believed that we can just turn up without opening our hearts to your transformation so that we may stay the same.
Lord have mercy on us
Christ have mercy on us
Lord have mercy upon us
May our Gracious, Loving God have mercy on us for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and through the Holy Spirit pardon us and grant us time to amend our lives. Amen.
As God’s forgiven and beloved people, let us join together in the Lord’s Prayer in the language which is more comfortable for us…. Ein Tad/Our Father…
Psalm 23
New Revised Standard Version
The Divine Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;[a]
3 he restores my soul.[b]
He leads me in right paths[c]
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d]
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely[e] goodness and mercy[f] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.[g]
Matthew 22:1-14
New Living Translation
Parable of the Great Feast
22 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.
7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honour. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Reflection
Just for fun, if I were to ask you if you could put yourself into the parable of the great banquet, I don’t worry, I’m not going to! Where would you see yourself? Would you be one of the guests, honoured to be invited go out and shop for a new outfit and then cry off. Would you panic and feel that perhaps the invitation was intended for someone else and file it in the dustbin right away. Perhaps you would think that it was all a bit too much bother and nobody will notice if I’m not there and don’t even bother to make excuses. There are of course no right or wrong answers but I think that sometimes it’s interesting when we look at the life of Christ, to think about how we may have reacted if we were in the group of people hearing the parables for the first time. Matthew was as Jew writing for a Jewish readership. This is a parable also told in Luke’s Gospel Luke tells the story in a gentler way almost more inclusive, that is because his audience was broader and would have included Gentiles. Matthew’s Jewish readers/hearers would have appreciated the bluntness. They needed to know what was good and what wasn’t. They had a need to understand the boundaries.
Jesus’ parable, as ever, paints an exaggerated, almost ridiculous picture.
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who invites people to a party, but they don’t come. No, more than that, they refuse to come & they murder the slaves who have come with the invitation. So the king sends troops to destroy the non-attending, murdering guests and burns down their city. I think they can consider themselves un-invited!
Then the king sends out for more guests, gathering anyone and everyone off the streets. This king goes to enormous trouble to makes sure the feast is full of guests. If you went a sense of how ridiculous all this is, imagine the gates of Buckingham Palace being thrown open to everyone for a Royal Wedding and the Queen encouraging everyone from the streets to tuck in to the wonderful food.
But, back at the parable, a man is spotted who is inappropriately dressed – so the king orders the servants to bind the guest hand & foot and throw him out.
This seems terribly harsh on the man – how could he know, when he left the house to go to the market, that his King would order him to be scooped up to fill the seats at his banquet? But presumably everyone there was in much the same boat, and yet the rest have somehow managed to find a wedding robe for the event. So what’s going on in this parable?
The problem with human nature is that we sometimes behave as though God’s love was a reward for doing good: when actually it should be the complete opposite. It is when we are touched by God’s Grace and love, that our very being is transformed and our desire is to live as citizens of the Kingdom.
Just picture the scene. It’s Saturday night and “Strictly come dancing” or whatever your favoured Saturday evening activity is, is about to start. You have on your oldest, comfiest jumper & you’ve kicked your shoes off. The snacks are just within reach on one side of you & your favourite drink is to the other hand. Then the door-bell rings: it’s a neighbour wanting you to join them for a party, right now! If you decide to accept the invitation, you’re not simply going to slop across the road as you are, are you? – you’ll quickly change into something appropriate, because unexpected though the invitation is, and much as you might prefer the evening you’d planned, if you’re going to accept the offer you need to accept it graciously and respond accordingly.
So far, this is a wonderful story about God’s generosity and the free gift of God’s love for everyone. This is good news for those who think they are not good enough for God – God comes and finds us and welcomes us into the banquet. See how generous God is – even those of us who think ourselves not fit to be God’s guests find ourselves at God’s table.
So what response does God require of us, if we are to accept the gracious invitation to be part of the kingdom? Jesus warns that although the invitation is to all, this is not cheap grace, which we can accept almost grudgingly, but requires us to appreciate that we are guests of the king and need to behave like it. God’s grace is for all – but we must change – not our clothes, of course, but our attitudes to others, our love, our purpose.
Gospel – Good news living starts with an invitation, but it cannot remain there. Once we have experienced the true generosity of God we will want others to experience it and be transformed too. We cannot give our experiences to others however, we can only invite them into a space where they can have their own experience. Just as an added extra, I’m not sure that the guest that was thrown out of the feast for being improperly dressed was completely condemned. It is for me interesting that the Psalm for this week is the well known Psalm of David – The Lord is my shepherd. The story we have in the Gospels of Jesus being the Good Shepherd is of a Lord who rejoices over the one sheep who repents (turns and is transformed) and returns to the fold! Food for thought, I’ll leave that with you.
Amen.
HYMN: The King of love my shepherd is
1 The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
and he is mine for ever.
2 Where streams of living water flow
my ransomed soul he leadeth,
and where the verdant pastures grow
with food celestial feedeth.
3 Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
but yet in love he sought me,
and on his shoulder gently laid,
and home rejoicing brought me
4 In death's dark vale I fear no ill
with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still,
thy cross before to guide me.
5 Thou spread'st a table in my sight;
thy unction grace bestoweth;
and O what transport of delight
from thy pure chalice floweth!
6 And so through all the length of days
thy goodness faileth never:
good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
within thy house for ever.
Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)
Prayers for others
God, we come into Your presence
with praise and thanksgiving for Your faithful love.
Your love never fails—not even we turn away from You:
when we ignore Your invitation,
or desert You for gods of our own making.
Even then You do not abandon us,
but reach out—again and again—
inviting us back into relationship once more.
As You welcome us, so You welcome our prayers.
We bring them to You with confidence,
knowing that You will hear and answer.
We pray for the world You created, and the people who share it with us:
- for countries caught up in war or violent conflict,
- for regions of the world struggling with increased cases of COVID-19,
- for those whose homes and lives are threatened by natural disaster;
For these and all the other areas in our world
where there is need and despair,
Lord, where there is distress,
Pour in your love and grace.
We pray for our country and for its people:
- for our government leaders, national and local,
- for our judicial system, police forces and military,
- for our cities, towns, and rural communities,
- for employers and employees, for young and old,
For all who are part of this land,
Lord, where there is distress,
Pour in your love and grace.
We pray for our local communities—the people we live amongst,
- for those who are unemployed,
- for those in prison,
- for those who are hungry,
- for those who are alone and afraid,
For all our neighbours, both known and unknown to us,
Lord, where there is distress,
Pour in your love and grace.
We pray for this congregation—our brothers and sisters in Christ,
- for those who are ill. or whose loved ones are ill,
- for those who are anxious about the future,
- for those struggling with their faith,
- for those who minister among us,
For all Your people in this place,
Lord, where there is distress,
Pour in your love and grace.
Pour out Your Spirit on us!
Fix our hearts and minds on what is true and honourable and right.
Give us the joy and peace that comes from knowing and doing Your will.
Keep us faithful to the call we have received in Christ Jesus, our Lord,
extending Your loving invitation to the world around us.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
HYMN: I will sing the wondrous story
1 I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me,
How he left the realms of glory
For the cross on Calvary:
Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me,
Sing it with his saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.
2 I was lost but Jesus found me,
Found the sheep that went astray,
Threw his loving arms around me,
Drew me back into his way.
Refrain
3 He will keep me till the river
Rolls its waters at my feet;
Then he'll bear me safely over,
Where the loved ones I shall meet:
Refrain
Francis H Rowley (1854-1952)
© HarperCollins Religious/Adm. by Song Solutions CopyCare, 14 Horsted Square, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 1QG, UK. info@songsolutions.org Used by permission.
Blessings and dismissal
Hymn words copied with permission. CCL Licence 634229
Worship streamed under CCL Licence 138598 & PRS Licence LE0021369.
Wednesday, October 7. 2020
Wednesday wonderings for 7th October 2020
As I write this, my background on the computer is the photograph site that I’m working on. At the forefront is a photograph of Abergavenny station with a Transport for Wales service to Manchester (I was there to pick up the Moderator for a Pastorate Committee meeting). Next to the train is an old-fashioned semaphore signal dating from the 1950s and behind the train are the station buildings at Abergavenny which are older still.
The railway is often a comforting mixture of traditional and new. Things may seem the same, but they are changing fast. Next time I get to photograph that unit it will be in red and grey and in a few years’ time it will be elsewhere in the country replaced by new trains. The signal and the station buildings may last longer. It’s not all changing at the same pace though. Who would have thought that diesel locomotives from the 1960s would have been hauling the High Speed Trains that replaced them to the scrapyard?
How have our chapel buildings and worship changed over the years? I suspect that there are many things our parents and grandparents would recognise although they may be shocked by the smaller congregations and shorter services. Compare all this with the way in which the world around us has changed and is changing still. My questions to you this week are –
• What is valuable from our past that we need to hold on to?
• What new things do we need to take from our ever changing world to enable us to speak God’s message to a new audience?
Sunday, October 4. 2020
Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Church
for Sunday 4th October 2020
The Rev’d Ruth Dillon
Introduction
Good morning and welcome to worship. My name is Ruth Dillon and it is my privilege to serve two United Reformed Church congregations in Wessex Synod. Today we will be thinking about one of the most striking images in Matthew’s Gospel, the strong vineyard imagery, and the challenging, threatening and violent image of the parable that Jesus shares with his disciples.
Call To Worship
The wisdom of God calls to us, from the heights, along the paths, and at the crossroads. Come into God’s presence to worship, sing, and pray.
From our scattered places we come. Let us worship God.
Beautiful City, Heavenly Salem
from a Latin 7th Century hymn translated by JM Neale (1818-66)
Blessèd city, heav’nly Salem,
vision dear of peace and love,
who of living stones upbuilded
art the joy heav’n above,
we, with all thy holy people,
glorious to thy glory move.
2: Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ the head and corner-stone,
chosen of the Lord and precious,
binding all the Church in one;
holy Zion’s help for ever,
and her confidence alone.
3: All that dedicated city,
dearly loved of God on hight,
in exultant jubilation
ours perpetual melody.
God, the One in Three, adoring
in glad hymns eternally.
4: To this temple where we call thee,
come, O Lord of Hosts, today
with thy wonted loving-kindness
hear they people as they pray;
and they fullest benediction
shed within its walls for aye.
5: Hear vouchsafe to all thy servants
what they ask of thee to gain
what they gain for thee for ever
with the blessed to retain,
and hereafter in thy glory
evermore with thee to reign.
Prayers of Approach and Confession
Leader: Come, the Holy Spirit encourages us to glorify
All the one true God,
the Almighty
the creator of heaven and earth
God of Grace in whom we live and move and have our being,
We come to you this joyful day, aware of your presence in the world.
Each new day we marvel at your touch – we feel the breeze caress our face, or a person smile when greeting one another.
We marvel at your creativity – as we ponder the fragility of butterfly wings, and the wonders of the human body.
We marvel at your fragrance of freshly baked bread and the heady rose in summer bloom.
All these things, and many more bring us to the point of saying you are a creative and awesome God. A God worthy of praise and adoration.
God of grace, you have moulded us in love. But there have been times when we have refused to acknowledge your presence in the world:
when our lack of touch has been cold and disheartening;
when our lack of creativity has been unhelpful and destructive;
when our lack of sensitivity sours our relationships;
In the silence we humbly come before you and ask your forgiveness
Silence
Prayer of Illumination
God of grace in whom we live and move and have our being.
By your grace we are restored healed and transformed.
By your grace we can bathe in your love.
You have wiped the slate clean.
Enable us to be your touch in the world,
enable us to be your fragrance in the world,
enable us to be your voice in the world.
Illuminate our whole bodies, physically, emotionally and spiritually to your goodness and open our minds to your words of forgiveness and wisdom.
You say to each one of us ‘your sins are truly forgiven’, yet you also say these words, ‘come now and follow me’.
And now let us say together the prayer that Jesus taught his friends to say.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings
Isaiah 5: 1-7 (The Message)
Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry.
Matthew 21:33-46 ( The Message)
"Here's another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits.
"The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away.
The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment.
The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. 'Surely,' he thought, 'they will respect my son.'
"But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. 'This is the heir! Let's kill him and have it all for ourselves.'
They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him.
"Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?"
"He'll kill them - a rotten bunch, and good riddance," they answered. "Then he'll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it's time."
Jesus said, "Right - and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles: The stone the masons threw out is now the cornerstone. This is God's work; we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!
"This is the way it is with you. God's kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life.
Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed."
When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them.
They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held him to be a prophet of God.
Hymn: Inspired by Love and Anger
John L Bell and Graham Maule © Iona Community Wild Goose Resource Group
Inspired by love and anger,
disturbed by need and pain,
informed of God's own bias,
we ask Him once again:
"How long must some folk suffer?
How long can few folk mind?
How long dare vain self-interest
turn prayer and pity blind?"
2: From those forever victims
of heartless human greed,
their cruel plight composes
a litany of need:
"Where are the fruits of justice?
Where are the signs of peace?
When is the day when prisoners
and dreams find their release?"
3: From those forever shackled
to what their wealth can buy,
the fear of lost advantage
provokes the bitter cry:
"Don't query our position!
Don't criticise our wealth!
Don't mention those exploited
by politics and stealth!"
4: To God, who through the prophets
proclaimed a different age,
we offer earth's indifference,
its agony and rage:
"When will the wronged be righted?
When will the Kingdom come?
When will the world be generous
to all instead of some?"
5: God asks, "Who will go for me?
Who will extend my reach?
And who, when few will listen,
will prophesy and preach?
And who, when few bid welcome,
will offer all they know?
And who, when few dare follow,
will walk the road I show?"
6: Amused in someone's kitchen,
asleep in someone's boat,
attuned to what the ancients
exposed, proclaimed and wrote,
A saviour without safety,
a tradesman without tools
has come to tip the balance
with fishermen and fools.
Sermon… This is not a pretty parable
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts here, be acceptable to you O Lord, for you are our Rock, our Strength, and our Comforter. Amen
This is not a pretty parable.
Over recent years, violence seems to have been on the increase. From the tragic and pointless death of Stephen Lawrence in London in 1993, to the murder of Anthony Walker in Huyton in 2005, then to the recent global scene of violence in North America, Hong Kong and the Middle East, to name just a few. In fact the list is endless. These images have burrowed into my imagination relentlessly, and perhaps they have for you, too…and for many of our people.
Violence - inexplicable, seemingly random violence - is part of what is most frightening. It is becoming clear that not only is there no easy way to protect vulnerable crowds from gun violence, but also that we can discover no motive, which makes these acts of horrific violence seem even more random and harder to understand, and also makes us all feel more vulnerable.
Who next?
What next?
We think about ‘when’, not ‘if’.
We may think that random violence is a recent phenomenon, but we would be mistaken. Random violence has been immersed in our culture since Cain and Abel. Two themes are often present: power and possessiveness are traps that we can all fall into; however for some people it is a thirst for power and desire to possess everything that causes the earth to groan through the petty feuds of humankind; and the blood stained earth cries out ‘why?’
This is not a pretty parable.
It is violent and threatening, and the situation was all too familiar to Jesus’ audience. Absentee landlords were not uncommon. Someone buying a field, improving it, leasing it to tenants, and then departing to live in another region was part and parcel of the ancient world, where a very few people often held much of the land and agricultural wealth.
Nor would it have been terribly uncommon to imagine tenants resisting the landlord’s assertion of authority and demand for a return on investment. We don’t know how long the landlord had lived away. It could have been years. The tenants may have assumed by this time that the landlord had died, or forgotten about them, and may have similarly assumed the land was now theirs by right of possession and labour.
None of this is uncommon. What is uncommon is the repeated requests of the landlord. Once, is ok… but several times? More likely, a landlord wealthy enough to buy and improve land while living abroad, and who employed multiple servants - well, this kind of landlord likely would have sent not just servants but soldiers to collect his due.
There are two things that don’t make a lot of sense about this parable.
The first is the tenants’ assumption that, if they kill the heir, they will now be inheritors, an assumption that the crowds listening to Jesus’ parable intuitively contradict. It is, in short, a little far-fetched.
The second is the landlord sending his son and heir, alone and unaccompanied, to plead for a sensible response from these tenants after all this violence. It is, quite frankly, the act of a landlord so desperate to restore relationship with these wayward and wicked tenants that he is willing to try anything, do anything to repair the breach between them. Or maybe it’s the act of a desperate parent who will try anything, do anything to draw back a wayward child into a loving embrace. Or the act of a desperate God who will try anything, do anything to win back a wayward people.
This parable, violent as it seems, is about a passionate kind of love. The kind of love that makes no sense, that will listen to no counter argument, and that will never, ever give up, risking even violence, rejection, and death in order to testify to God’s commitment to these tenants…and to us. Violence was ever present in the days of Jesus and we see the culmination of that violence towards Jesus in the stark and bloodied cross, with Jesus’ arms outstretched, still desperate to find a way for God’s people to turn to the God who is Love.
Matthew tells this parable to accuse those who rejected Jesus and to assure his community that justice, in time, will be served. But I do not think this parable is only about Jesus’ opponents. I think that ultimately this parable tells the truth about how often we get caught up in our own devices and demands, to the point of absolutely rejecting God’s just claim on our devotion, and also just how far God will go to win us back.
Jesus does not shrink from the sacrifice on the cross, he does not return with vengeance, he does not kick anyone out of the kingdom of heaven. Instead, the resurrected Jesus, having taken on the worst that our violence can inflict, comes back and instructs his disciples to take the good news of the Gospel to the very ends of the earth, promising to be with them always.
And for me, reflecting on the violence in the world you and I live in, that good news means in part that violence does not, and will not, have the last word.
That the only response to violence is not more violence.
That tragedy and death and loss and hatred are, in the end, no match for love and life and forgiveness and peace.
Historians have suggested that members of Matthew’s largely Jewish community, perhaps worn down by distress and danger in the wake of the destruction of the Temple, were contemplating returning to the faith of their youth and that Matthew consequently saw the Pharisees as competitors for their loyalty.
When I keep in mind that Matthew’s community was a vulnerable religious minority of the day, I can sympathize with his plight and response. But I still regret it, because when Christianity went from a minority to a majority religion of the Roman Empire, and grew into the most powerful political and cultural force in Europe, these same verses, and others like them, helped to justify centuries of mistreatment of Jews by Christians. Violence yet again.
For while Jesus’ words, Matthew’s words, and our words all matter, Jesus’ deeds matter even more, as Jesus’ death and resurrection create more possibilities than those we can see, including the possibility of peace.
In the Gospel of John we hear the words, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid’.
In the Gospel of Matthew we hear the words, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’.
And again from Matthew’s Gospel, ‘Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’.
And finally from Romans, Paul writes, ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.’
As I said, this isn’t a pretty parable, but it is one that is steeped in the context of its day, and yes, in ours too.
This does not erase our grief or lessen our call to act to make such atrocities less likely. But it does, in the meantime, offer us hope; and hope is the birthplace of faithful action, compassion, and resolve.
Let us pray
Enter our lives, Lord, that we may understand that tragedy, death and hatred can be replaced by life, forgiveness, and peace.
Enter our lives, Lord, that we may accept the work that needs to be done in your name.
Enter our lives, Lord, that the peace that is truly beyond all human understanding will be with us this day and each day we live in your service. Amen
My Song is Love unknown
Samuel Crossman (1624 – 1683)
My song is love unknown,
my Saviour’s love to me;
love to the loveless shown,
that they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
my Lord should take
frail flesh, and die?
2 He came from His blest throne
salvation to bestow;
but folk made strange,
and none the longed-for
Christ would know:
but oh, my friend,
my friend indeed,
who at my need
His life did spend.
3 Sometimes they strew His way,
and His sweet praises sing;
resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
then “Crucify!”
is all their breath,
and for His death
they thirst and cry.
4: Why what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight.
Sweet injuries! yet they at these
themselves displease
and ‘gainst him rise.
5 They rise and needs will have
my dear Lord made away;
a murderer they save,
the Prince of life they slay.
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes,
that He His foes
from thence might free.
6 In life, no house, no home
my Lord on earth might have;
in death, no friendly tomb,
but what a stranger gave.
What may I say?
Heav’n was His home;
but mine the tomb
wherein He lay.
7 Here might I stay and sing,
no story so divine;
never was love, dear King,
never was grief like Thine.
This is my friend,
in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.
Affirmation of Faith
Do you believe in the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects, and cares for the Church through Word and Spirit. This God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end. We do
Do you believe that God is the One who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people. We do.
Do you believe that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor, and the wronged? We do.
This is the faith of the Church! We are proud to confess it in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Landowner God, you have planted and tended the vines, you have pruned us that we may continue to bear good fruit.
We pray for the world; that the world may hear your words of justice and peace and act in harmony with each other instead of competition and possessiveness…….
Silence for personal prayer
We pray for those finding life hard; for the victims of violence left with external and internal scars, who find it difficult to express emotions and feelings and to experience love and tenderness…….
Silence for personal prayer
We pray for your Church, that they may always be witnesses to unity and community and wherever conflict emerges, your Spirt of Hope and reconciliation will prevail…..
Silence for personal prayer.
Landowner God, we pray for ourselves that the fruit on your vine will always yield a bountiful harvest obedient to your word and message …….
Silence for personal prayer
God of the vines, source of all nourishment and growth, keep us always in your vineyard, tend and care for us for the Glory of Christ and the creativeness of the Holy Spirit Amen
Offertory
Lord God, we offer what we have; coins of different worth, notes of different colours. Accept these gifts for we give them gladly, for they are the work of our hands of minds; they are our faithfulness in action; they are an expression of all that you mean to us, and for our brothers and sisters throughout your world. Bless us in our giving Lord and bless us in our discipleship. In Jesus name we pray Amen
God of the Poor
Graham Kendrick © 1993 Make Way Music
Beauty for brokenness
Hope for despair
Lord, in the suffering
This is our prayer
Bread for the children
Justice, joy, peace
Sunrise to sunset
Your kingdom increase!
2: Shelter for fragile lives
Cures for their ills
Work for the craftsman
Trade for their skills
Land for the dispossessed
Rights for the weak
Voices to plead the cause
Of those who can't speak
God of the poor
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
3: Refuge from cruel wars
Havens from fear
Cities for sanctuary
Freedoms to share
Peace to the killing-fields
Scorched earth to green
Christ for the bitterness
His cross for the pain
4: Rest for the ravaged earth
Oceans and streams
Plundered and poisoned
Our future, our dreams
Lord, end our madness
Carelessness, greed
Make us content with
The things that we need
5: Lighten our darkness
breathe on this flame
Until your justice burns
brightly again
Until the nations
learn of your ways
Seek your salvation
and bring you their praise
Blessing
May the faithfulness of God keep you secure and safe
May the friendship of Jesus bring you joy and contentment
May the inspiration of the Holy Spirit enable you to break from the fears you have, and rediscover what is means to live in harmony with each other.
May you feel God’s blessing every moment of every day now and for evermore. Amen
Sources and Copyright
Call To Worship from Worship Aids for the Revised Common Lectionary from the Presbyterian Church of the USA
Affirmation of Faith from selected sections of the Belhar Confession of Faith.
All other prayers by Ruth Dillion.
Beautiful City, Heavenly Salem, Latin 7th Century translated by J M Neale performed by Vocal Ensemble Magnificat, 6th February 2016.
Inspired by Love and Anger written by John L Bell and Graham Maule of the Iona Community © WGRWG performed by Stephanie Hollenberg and Luke Concannon.
My Song is Love Unknown by Samuel Crossman sung by the Choir of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro.
God of the Poor by Graham Kendrick performed by the writer.
Biblical readings taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group
Opening voluntary: Nun Komm Der Heiden Heiland (“Now the Gentile saviour comes”) by Johann Sebastian Bach
(organ of The Spire Church, Farnham – 2020) Closing: Songs of Praise Toccata by Robert Prizeman
(organ of St Andrew’s, Farnham – 2019) played by Brian Cotterill http://briancotterill.webs.com
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