Last week the Lectionary challenged us to bring life to others through following Christ’s example of love. This week, that love gets practical as the readings call us to embody God’s hospitality. If anything expresses the life that is unleashed through the Easter event, it is when we learn to see Christ in the stranger, and welcome them into our lives and hearts.

May your worship be a home for you and for the strangers among you this week.

READINGS:
Acts 16:9-15: In response to Paul’s vision, he and his companions go to Macedonia, where they preach to a group of women in Philippi. Lydia, from Thyatira (thus, a foreigner) is one of those who receive the Gospel message, and she immediately offers hospitality to Paul and his friends.

Psalm 67: An invitational psalm encouraging all the nations to praise God, to enjoy God’s mercy and receive God’s provision.

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5: John’s vision of the New Jerusalem, where the gates are never closed, but no evil can enter. God’s security and hospitality are offered to the nations.

John 14:23-29: Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit – God making God’s home within those who love God.
OR John 5:1-9: Jesus heals the sick man at the pool of Bethesda.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
Taking last week’s vision of inclusivity even further, the Scriptures this week offer us a vision of hospitality as the model of God’s work in those who love God, and of the life which flows from it. In Acts, Lydia, the new convert, immediately understands that a life of following Christ is a life of hospitality – and offers hospitality to Paul and friends. In Psalm 67, all nations are invited into God’s mercy, security and provision – a vision of adoration for God’s hospitality. In Revelation, the vision of the New Jerusalem is one of God’s hopsitality offered to all nations, providing security, healing and food. In the Gospel, the vision is beautifully reversed – God, by God’s Spirit, seek to enjoy the hospitality of the human heart, coming to indwell us, and then lead us into lives of obedient love. In the alternative Gospel reading, the outworking of this love or hospitality of God is dramatically revealed in the healing of the sick man – who has, perhaps, become too “at home” with his illness.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: A vision of a hospitable world is a vision of hope, and also a challenge to the ways in which we fall short of this ideal. In so many ways, our world has developed a culture of suspicion and inhospitality. But, arguably the primary characteristic of Jesus’ first followers as they sought to live out the Gospel was hospitality, reflected in feeding the hungry (current equivalent: global debt relief and removal of unjust trade restrictions?), inviting strangers into their homes (current equivalent: humane and just immigration laws?), and serving and praying for the sick, the widow and the orphan (current equivalent: equitable health care and social care and upliftment systems?). For those of us who seek to follow Christ, our vote, and our voice in public dialogue, on these key issues are a significant influence in creating a more hospitable world.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Hospitality is the essential challenge of the Gospel. Matthew Fox, in his book Original Blessing, suggest that the true meaning of “holiness” is hospitality. Hospitality is, essentially, the offer of safety, comfort, nourishment and friendship to both friend and stranger. The Scriptures show that this is a high ideal in God’s purposes. What this means for us is, initially, an opening of our hearts to welcome the stranger and friend, offering safety, comfort and love. Then, this must overflow into practical hospitality, opening our ‘homes’ – our communities, our churches, our neighbourhoods and, yes, even our literal homes, to those who need shelter, safety, nourishment, acceptance and friendship. How, in your church and its worship, can you become more welcoming and more hospitable to those who are homeless and friendless?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
A Way Home
The Amazing Invitation
A Place For Us

Hymn Suggestions:
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
Jesus, United By Thy Grace
All Who Are Thirsty (Link to YouTube video)
Always Forever (Link to YouTube video)
Creator King (Link to YouTube video)
Jesus My Desire (Link to Sacredise music page. Scroll down for mp3, chord chart & lead sheet)
Majesty and Mystery (Awesome God) (Link to YouTube video)
You Are (Link to Every god-Beloved Life CD page. Preview and link to free download in the left column)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking Of Bread

Video Suggestions:
Psalm 67
Hospitality & Salvation
Hospitality

The power of Easter lies not just in the life it offers us, but also in the way we are recruited to be life-bringers. This week, the role of love in leading us to life – and enabling us to bring life to others – stands out in the Lectionary. Love is never easy, it is always messy, unpredictable and scandalously inclusive. But, if we seek to follow Christ, we cannot avoid the privilege and the responsibility we have to be people of love.

May your worship lead into this love of Christ, and into his life, a little more this week.

READINGS:
Acts 11:1-18: Peter explains to the believers in Jerusalem how the Holy Spirit was received by Gentiles in Caesaria.

Psalm 148: A psalm exhorting all of creation and all peoples to praise God.

Revelation 21:1-6: John sees a vision of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, and a voice that proclaims that God’s dwelling place is now among people on earth.

John 13:31-35: Jesus’ new commandment – to love one another.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The Easter message shifts this week from Jesus’ offer of life to us, to the way we seek to live out that life as we follow him – and it’s a startling message of inclusivity and love. Jesus’ new commandment is frequently sung and quoted, but the “one another” that Jesus’ calls us to love is often limited to Christian believers. Now, in the lectionary, as the Gospel is laid aside the other readings, we realise that this “one another” goes much further. In Acts, we discover that the previously excluded Gentiles are now included in God’s Kingdom. In the Psalm, all of creation is included in this “one another” as the entire creation is exhorted to offer praise. And in John’s Revelation vision, we discover that God so includes all, that God moves God’s dwelling place (“heaven”) into our earthly neighbourhood. There can be no greater, all-encompassing statement of love for all from God. We have no more excuses for turning the Gospel into an exclusive message!

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: One of the big questions of our generation is “who is in and who is out?”. Global economic and trade regulations are designed to favour some (who tend to be the wealthy) and disempower others (who tend to live in third world countries). Political conversations are always being drawn in partisan ways with clear lines indicating who is on which side – and woe betide those who try to cross those lines. Religious communities and power structures, equally, have tended to focus on who is with us and who is against us. From geographical to economic to political to religious to racial to sexual to generational lines, our world is built on defining who is in and who is out. The prophetic Church, the Church of the resurrection, of love, of the God who lives among us, must be a Church that blurs every line, and invites everyone into the grace and love of God – and a Church that challenges the lines that exclude and oppress.

LOCAL APPLICATION:  In recent years the worship of the Church has been strongly divided along stylistic and generational lines. More and more churches are discovering, though, that any church or service that is built on division or exclusivity is bound to fail. Increasingly we are witnessing that the most healthy, vibrant and growing communities are those that include – that bring diverse people together to worship, to learn from each other and to learn to love one another. This is not easy, but if you seek to reach people who are not part of any church, if you seek to make an impact on your wider community, then we need to demonstrate that we can live the message we preach, and that those we seek to reach will be included and loved and brought into contact with a loving and inclusive God – not judged or condemned in the hopes that the fear of hell or God’s rejection will scare them into the Kingdom.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
How You Have Loved
A Love So Strong
Where Is The Love

Hymn Suggestions:
Come Let Us Sing Of a Wonderful Love
Love Divine All Loves Excelling
Praise To The Lord, The Almighty
All Creatures Of Our God And King
Everyone Belongs (From my CD Every God-Beloved Life. Link to Amazon mp3 download page)
You Are (Also from Every God-Beloved Life. Free download from the linked page)
God Of The Moon (Link to YouTube video)
Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace
Servant Song (Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking Of Bread

Video Suggestions:
Known By Love

Drama Script:
You’re Not Like Me

The celebration of life continues, this week with a story from the early church of Tabitha being raised from death, and with Jesus proclaiming himself as the Shepherd whose sheep know his voice and who find life in him. There is comfort here for all who are wrestling with the forces of death, however big or small, in their lives.

May you continue to know the life of Easter in your worship this week.

READINGS:
Acts 9:36-43: Peter raises Tabitha of Joppa, which brings many people to faith.

Psalm 23: David’s famous Psalm of thanksgiving, praise and confidence in God for the gift of life.

Revelation 7:9-17: The hosts of heaven praise God, and the martyrs rejoice in the God who is their Shepherd.

John 10:22-30: Jesus speaks of himself as the Shepherd of his followers who are the sheep he cares for, and who know his voice.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The season of resurrection continues, and this week is brought together with the ‘Shepherd’ metaphor, which appears in three of the four readings. The two underlying messages that emerge appear to be: 1) In Christ life is to be found even in the face of death – from Peter’s raising of Tabitha, to the Psalmists confidence of travelling through the valley of the shadow of death to finally dwell in God’s house, to the heavenly gathering of those who have died as martyrs in the persecution of the church, to Jesus’ promise that his sheep receive eternal life from him, this message is clear. 2) The Shepherd is also a messianic, and a subversive, image. Where the leaders of Israel had failed to be faithful shepherds, and where the Roman Empire had slaughtered followers (sheep) of Christ, Jesus stands as the one who has died but has risen – defying the death-dealing powers that be, and winning life and security for his sheep.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The last few years have left the world reeling in shock, from the repeated impact of natural disasters, to revelations of corruption in many governments, to ongoing wars in Africa, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan, to the growing concern about climate change, to the economic crisis. In the midst of all of this bad news, the message of resurrection is both a comfort and a call to remain strong and courageous in working for a more just and peaceful world. In addition, this week’s readings speak a prophetic message to those in any kind of leadership, challenging them to be true, life-giving shepherds, and calling us to hold them accountable, while retaining our primary allegiance to Jesus as the one true Shepherd.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The dual theme of this week is an invitation to Christian communities and individuals to enter more fully, and more practically, into the Easter journey. On the one hand, we all face the threat of death – the big deaths of loss of loved ones or personal tragedy, and the small ones of broken relationships or difficult life circumstances – and we need to be reminded that life is found in the midst of death. The comfort this message offers is also a call to keep faith, to continue to strive to live in compassionate and life-giving ways, and to live our own leadership – as parents, educators, business or community leaders – as good shepherds, providing, protecting and guiding those under our care. Ultimately, when justice fails in any community, it is both a crisis of leadership and a crisis of faith. The resurrection addresses both needs, and gives us the resources we need to engage the hurting places in our world.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Invincible Life
God, You Are Enough (A Psalm 23 Paraphrase)
Where Are The Leaders?
Good Shepherd

Hymn Suggestions:
The King Of Love My Shepherd Is
Saviour, Like A Shepherd Lead Us
The Lord’s My Shepherd
Abide With Me
Never Let My Hunger Die (Scroll down to find the links to the preview, mp3, chord chart and lead sheet)
Blessed Be Your Name (Link to YouTube video)
Always Forever (Link to YouTube video)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Simple Communion Liturgy

Video Suggestions:
Psalm 23
I Raise Dead Things

Image:
Light In The Dark

The Resurrection of Jesus is not just a historical event, or a source of praise and adoration. It is also the centre of God’s calling on each of us. As we are impacted by the life of Christ, as we commit ourselves to follow Christ, we find ourselves in a similar position to that of Peter. Like him we have failed Jesus and ourselves. Like him, we may want to forget about trying again – to just go back to our ‘normal’ lives, and not risk failing so publicly again. Like him, we may see others who we feel are more faithful, more equipped, more ‘spiritual’ and wonder why God doesn’t call them. But, like Peter, God does not let us off the hook, and calls us anyway – so that God’s grace and glory may be seen in and through us, and so that God’s life may touch others through us.

May God renew your sense of call as you prepare, and as you worship, this week.

READINGS:
Acts 9:1-6, (7-20): Saul travels to Damascus with the intention of arresting any followers of Jesus, but on the road, he is confronted with a vision of Christ that changes him into a disciple himself.

Psalm 30: The Psalmist experiences a time of great suffering, but experiences God’s deliverance, and commits to a life of praise and thanksgiving.

Revelation 5:11-14: The Lamb is worshipped by the creatures and elders around God’s throne, because he was slain, was victorious, and is worthy.

John 21:1-19: Peter is restored by Jesus at the breakfast on the beach, and then called, once again, to leadership and to follow Christ – even to death.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This week the lectionary takes us from last week’s simple, but profound, proclamation of worship, as reflected in Thomas’s encounter with the Risen Christ, to the challenge of Easter, as reflected in Peter’s restoration and calling. Calling is, perhaps, the word that most clearly reflects what the Scriptures seek to tell us this week – Saul’s conversion and call to be a follower (ultimately apostle) of Jesus, the psalmist’s rescue and commitment (calling) to live as a worshipper, the worship of the heavenly beings offered to the Lamb who faithfully fulfilled his calling to be slain and to conquer death and evil, and of course, Peter, forgiven for his denial, restored to leadership of the apostles and called to follow Christ even to his prophesied death.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: A sense of calling can be a double-edged sword on the level of global politics. From the ancient “divine right of kings” to the current sense among some nations and leaders that they are appointed by God as God’s special agents, much injustice and harm is done in the name of a divine calling. However, when the calling of Christ – to sacrificial, other-centred living – is recognised, the result is a powerful contribution to the world, and the increase of justice. Often this calling leads us into conflict with the powers-that-be and their own sense of entitlement – think of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela – and this is where the sacrifice comes in. But, as more and more followers of Christ take up their place in challenging the wrong use of power, so the world is slowly transformed. Where can you identify abuse of power in your world, nation or community? What can you do to stand for the values of Christ  and challenge this abuse?

LOCAL APPLICATION: Two struggles that plague our world, and contribute to the pain and cruelty that we inflict on each other, are a sense of meaninglessness and a focus on self-interest. The first leaves us in despair and apathy, without motivation to reach for our best – God-created – selves. The second drives us into the endless tyranny of our own appetites and addictions, and leaves us unable to connect effectively with others and with our world. The results of both are anger, aggression, and a lack of compassion. The Gospel’s clear call to a different, higher, God- and other-loving life is an antidote to these plagues, and offers us both a personal sense of purpose, and a commitment to the well being of others and to the world in general. When we hear and answer God’s call, we find ourselves connected with the universal activity of God’s reign, but we live and work it out locally in our own neighbourhood. What specific calling has God given you and your church community? How can you re-affirm that calling today?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Called
Damascus Road
Admitting My Gifts

Hymn Suggestions:
Amazing Grace
Jesus Calls Us O’er The Tumult
Dear Jesus In Whose Life I See
Take My Life And Let It Be
Let Me Shine (Track 9 from my CD Songs for the Road. Click here to listen to a preview)
Made To Worship (Link to YouTube video)
Living For Your Glory (Link to YouTube video)
May The Words Of My Mouth (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Eucharist

Video Suggestions:
Saul’s Conversion
Ignorable Calling
My Calling
I Am Called

Image:
Beach Image