May our repentance and honesty lead us to life as we worship this day.

READINGS:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17: A proclamation that the Day of the Lord has arrived, with a call for repentance, and a plea for God’s mercy.
OR Isaiah 58:1-12: True fasting requires repentance and justice, not just going through the motions.

Psalm 51:1-17: David’s plea for God to cleanse him after his adultery with Bathsheba is exposed by Nathan the prophet.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10: Paul explains the suffering he and other apostles have endured in order to proclaim God’s appeal for repentance, and God’s offer of salvation.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21: The most authentic way to give, fast and pray – Jesus explains the true practice of the Lenten disciplines.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The Ash Wednesday theme is easy to identify – Our lives, like David’s, are on a trajectory of self-destruction and harm to others. God calls us to hear his warning and convicting voice, and to turn back to the ways of mercy, justice and humble service. The way God offers is not an easy or comfortable way, but it is the way of life. And so, while Ash Wednesday is a day of solemnity and repentance, recognising that we are “sinners in need of a Saviour”, it is also a day of celebration, because what is offered to us is a path that leads to life. And so, as we begin the metaphorical  journey of following Jesus through the wilderness, we are given, already now – right at the beginning – a glimpse of the resurrection that awaits.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION:  It seems to have become a normal practice to deny responsibility or to avoid acknowledging when our actions are destructive or harmful. Little true repentance has followed the economic crisis, a lot of work is being done to deny human responsibility for climate change, and the broken systems that burden developing countries with debt that outweighs whatever aid they receive are not easily acknowledged in the corridors of power. Yet, before we can possibly begin to create the world we long for, we must admit our sin – our greed, our carelessness, our ignorance, our self-centredness, our idolatry, our consumption. And to do this work of repentance effectively, we need a global spiritual revival, for only in the light of God’s reign can we see our need, and get a vision for what we, as a species, can become.

LOCAL APPLICATION: While David’s repentance after the Bathsheba incident is famous, it’s always bothered me that it took a confrontation by Nathan the prophet to bring out this repentance. What would repentance look like if we made it a habit that we practiced without confrontation? Ash Wednesday offers us a doorway into developing the discipline of confession and repentance, which not only builds our spiritual connection with God, but which also strengthens our relationships, gives us a clearer and more humble perspective on ourselves, and which leads us to live well in the world, bringing life, rather than bringing pain. Where in our communities and churches could we use a more consistent practice of repentance?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
The Wisdom of Ash
Dust

Hymn Suggestions:
Blow Ye The Trumpet, Blow
Jesus, Priceless Treasure
Just As I Am
No Sack Cloth
Lord Have Mercy (Link to YouTube video)
Change My Heart, O God (Link to YouTube video)
Show Us The Ancient Paths (Link to YouTube video)
In Your Mercy, Lord (From my CD Songs for the Road. Chord Chart here. Preview it here)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Ash Wednesday

Video Suggestions:
Lenten Reflection
Psalm 51

Additional Resources:
The Sacredise Lent Page
GBOD Lent Resources

May our worship today empower us to do the work of becoming more Christ-like.

READINGS:
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7: God warns the man and woman in Eden not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they are tempted by the serpent, and eat some of the fruit, at which point they realise their nakedness and cover themselves with fig leaves.

Psalm 32:  A Psalm of David celebrating God’s forgiveness which is given so freely to those who confess their sin and do not try to hide it, and also an acknowledgement of God’s invitation to guide God’s people and lead them to life.

Romans 5:12-19: Through one person sin entered the world, and all people have likewise sinned against God, but in Christ, God has given the free gift of forgiveness and right relationship with God.

Matthew 4:1-11: Jesus is tempted by the devil in the wilderness, but overcomes the temptation to satisfy his appetites by turning stone into bread, to gain power and influence by the miraculous act of throwing himself off the temple, and to gain the world’s wealth by worshiping the devil.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
It is a simple and basic message that the Lectionary offers this week. We are all tempted to go our own way, to ignore God’s guidance and direction and to hide our sin and brokenness when we fail. But, God’s gracious and extravagant offer is forgiveness and right relationship with God, guidance and a pathway to life, if we will only confess our shortcomings and receive God’s restoration, and then follow God’s ways. The three sins which have always afflicted human beings – greed for wealth, lust for power and unlimited satisfaction of our appetites (money, power & sex) -  also afflicted Christ, and in his overcoming, we find inspiration and guidance for our own lives. The challenge, in today’s world of unconditional acceptance, is to have the courage and integrity to acknowledge our brokenness and destructiveness, and admit that we need both forgiveness and empowerment to become creative, contributing human beings who embody God’s reign.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION:  The world – both the planet itself, and the people who live on it – suffer because of humanity’s inability to control our basic sinfulness. Our appetites have grown addictive and demand immediate satisfaction, leading to world of exploitation, human trafficking and epidemics of obesity and sexual brokenness. Our greed for wealth and all that it brings has become immense and widespread, leading to a shortage of resources for some, unhealthy dependence on fossil fuels, climate change and devastation of natural resources and many species, while also leaving many people with desperate need as they are paid unfairly, or subject to unjust trade restrictions. Our desire for power and fame has lead to a world of celebrity voyeurism, dissatisfaction with quiet and gentle living, and an increasing sense of powerlessness among those who are unable to reach the heights of fame that our world seems to demand. The call of the wilderness, and of Jesus’ example of facing temptation and overcoming it, is a challenging lesson for our world. Justice can only be done as we learn to live lives of discipline and simplicity, of consideration and sharing, of prayer and service. Global movements that call us to a different way of living are deserving of our support, and it is up to us, through our participation in political process and law-making, and through our own work of advocacy, ethical consumption and Christ-like living, to make a contribution to changing the core values by which our world operates. This will be a wilderness for sure – in many ways life will get more painful and sacrificial before it gets healthier and more comfortable.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Christianity has, unfortunately, become a religion of excess in many ways. Prosperity preaching, alignment with political parties or the arms of government, and spiritualising of our appetites, our greeds and our celebrity culture all dd to the brokenness and injustice of our communities, our churches and our families. We desperately need to learn simplicity and generosity – the sharing of our resources, and the reduction of our wants and ‘needs’ to create an equitable and sustainable world, and reduce disparities in our corner of the planet. We desperately need to learn servanthood and humility – the respect of other, especially those we disagree with or who follow different religions to create a world of peace and to bring the true meaning of the word ‘community’ back into lived reality in our neighbourhoods. We desperately need to learn self-discipline, moderation and fidelity – the right channeling of our appetites toward creativity and life-bringing, not exploitation and destruction, if we are to restore health, real relationships and human dignity in our societies. The disciplines of Christ in the wilderness, and of the Lenten season, are just the gift we need to address our own brokenness and addictions, and to make a contribution to healing in our families, our churches and our communities. Acting locally in lives of daily discipline and quiet Christ-likeness can have a communal, and even global, impact. The challenge is to make the sacrifices necessary to live such a life.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Darkness And Light
Overcoming Temptation

Hymn Suggestions:
I Know Whom I Have Believed
I Cannot Tell Why He Whom Angels Worship
Be Thou My Vision
Saviour, Like A Shepherd Lead Us
Heart Word
How Long? Chord Chart; Mp3 Download
Thy Word (Link to YouTube video)
Blessed Be Your Name (Link to YouTube video)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)
Mighty To Save (Link to YouTube video)
Change My Heart, O God (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Celebration of Sacrifice

Video Suggestions:
Tempted By The Devil
Temptation
Shine Your Flashlight

We come to worship in faith this week. May we leave empowered to put that faith into action in our daily lives.

READINGS:
Genesis 12:1-4a: God calls Abram to leave his home country, and promises that he will be blessed and will be a blessing to others, and Abram obeys.

Psalm 121: A song affirming God’s help, attention and care.

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17: Paul holds Abraham up as an example of faith and relationship with God, and points out that it was not so much Abraham’s obedience as Abraham’s relationship with God through faith that ensured that God’s promise would be fulfilled through him.

John 3:1-17: Nicodemus comes to speak to Jesus at night, and is told that he must be born of the Spirit in order to see God’s reign, and that Christ came into the world to save through faith, not to condemn and judge.
OR Matthew 17:1-9: Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain and he is transfigured into a glowing white light, and is seen to speak with Moses and Elijah.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
[Note: The transfiguration reading appeared just two weeks ago as the focus of the last Sunday after Epiphany - sometime called Transfiguration Sunday. However, in the Roman Catholic Lectionary - and I believe sometimes in the Anglican Lectionary as well - the Transfiguration is remembered on the second Sunday of Lent. This offers us a choice - we can revisit the passage from a different angle, or choose rather to focus on the John reading - which I will do here.]
The clear focus of this week’s readings is the idea of faith or believing. Abram, believing God’s promise, sets out from his home to a new land. The Psalm expresses deep faith in the God who protects and cares for God’s people. Paul emphasises Abraham’s faith as the doorway into relationship with God, and invites believers to embrace a similar faith in Christ. And Nicodemus, coming to Jesus in the night, is invited to be born again, born from above, in order to see God’s reign, and to recognise that Jesus is the one who came to bring life – salvation – to those who believe. The call to faith is unavoidable here, but, of course, the question it raises is this: what is faith? Is it simply an intellectual agreement with certain propositions? Or is it something deeper? The key lies in the conversation with Nicodemus, where faith and the new birth are brought together by Jesus. This faith, then, is not just accepting ideas in the mind. It is an experience of new birth. It is a completely new way of being that enables us to ‘see’, to ‘know’ God’s reign and then to live out of this new birth as leaves driven by the wind. This is certainly more than just signing a pledge card, or praying a specific prayer in order to be “saved”. This believing is completely transforming, and must, therefore, like birth and the life which follows it, be a growing, developing experience that is embraced anew each day.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION:  If there is anything that our world needs today, it is faith. In the face of cynical partisan politics, divisive and cynical polarisation around issues as diverse as climate change and abortion, and faith communities that offer nothing but negative, cynical or doom-saying assessments of the world, it is both prophetic and healing to live and speak from a position of faith. As we engage the world and its struggles from a deep faith in the God who is at work to save creation, we cannot help but offer hope and connection to all we encounter – whether we agree with them or not. As we engage people with the faith that they are created in God’s image, and that God is at work in their lives, we cannot do other than embrace them in Christ’s name and call out the God-imaged glory within them. Such faith must lead to completely different responses to the challenges of our world. Greed and hoarding is a symptom of a lack of faith in God’s provision, and leads to poverty for others. War is a lack of faith in God’s protection, and leads to escalating violence and insecurity. The refusal to address issues of justice is a lack of faith in God’s resources within us to make a contribution, and leads to ongoing disparity and suspicion between “the haves” and “the have nots”, between the perpetrators and victims of injustice. If we can begin to live in faith, though, we may appear foolish or even naive, but it will make a huge impact on the big issues of our world. Just a few faithful people really can make a big difference.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In our churches it is easy to reduce faith to a system of ideas that we call our people to accept. It is easy to make salvation nothing more than praying the right prayer and signing the right card. But, if we do this, we rob our people of the true power and value of faith. A faith that is simply a set of ideas does not lead us to new birth. It does not change our very lives and give us a new way of seeing or a God’s-reign way of being – which may be why Christians are so often accused of being hypocrites. The faith of Abraham that Paul calls us to experience, the faith that leads to new birth, which Jesus offered to Nicodemus, is a transforming encounter with a God who leads us into a whole new world – the world of God’s reign, where children are the leaders, the meek inherit the earth, and the poor, the mourners and the peace makers are the recipients of God’s presence and grace. Once we have embraced this faith, we cannot help but begin to live this new life in such a way that it makes a difference in our families, our places of work and leisure, our communities and our churches. Once we have been born anew, we find ourselves recognising Christ in those we would normally shun, and we begin to care about issues that we would normally ignore. It is not our obedience that leads us to life – as Paul points out – but our faith. However, faith that does not change who we are and how we live, is not faith at all. Ultimately believing does not happen in our heads alone, but in our whole being, and in lives that in small but significant ways, touch the least with grace and compassion, and seek to make the world a more hopeful, celebratory and gracious place.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
The New Birth
Faith In Action
The Faith We Need
Faith That Carries the Cross

Hymn Suggestions:
My Faith Looks Up To Thee
Breathe On Me, Breath Of God
The God Of Abraham Praise
If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee
My Redeemer Lives (Link to YouTube video)
I Believe That God Appeared In Human Form (Link takes you to lyrics. The tune is the famous “I believe that every drop of rain that falls…” that has been sung by many famous performers.)
Give Thanks (Link to YouTube video)
Now To Live The Life (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For The Lord’s Supper

Video Suggestions:
Encounters – Nicodemus
Psalm 121

May our worship this week fill us and refresh us, even as we are sent out as “water-bearers” into the world.

READINGS:
Exodus 17:1-7: The people of Israel grumble against Moses because of their thirst and the lack of water, so God commands Moses to strike the rock, and when he does so, water gushes out.

Psalm 95: An invitation for God’s people to worship God, and not harden their hearts as Israel did at Meribah, resulting in them not entering God’s rest.

Romans 5:1-11: In Christ we have been made right with God, and have the Holy Spirit as assurance of God’s love. It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us, and now we are God’s friends.

John 4:5-42: Jesus, while resting at Jacob’s well in Samaria, meets a Samaritan woman, speaks to her about living water and reveals himself as the Messiah to her. In delight she returns to her village and brings others to meet Christ, and they too believe.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The image of water is strong this week, primarily in the Gospel and the Old Testament lesson. Moses provides water for the thirsty Israelites in the wilderness – although their grumbling and hardness of hearts remains a problem throughout their wilderness journey. Jesus offers the living water that only he can give to this outcast, Samaritan woman of dubious sexual history. In the light of these two stories, the Lectionary calls us to respond to Christ’s offer of life – in the Psalm to reject the Israelites’ hardness of heart in favour of faithful, trusting worship, and in Paul’s letter to the Romans, to embrace and enjoy God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, which is our assurance of God’s grace and presence, and which sustains us through whatever hardships life may throw at us. The living water is still given for us, and we still face the choice: to receive it with faith, thanksgiving and worship, trusting in our Messiah and the life he offers, or to complain, grumble and allow our fear, self-interest and hard-heartedness to keep us from enjoying this life.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The image of water in this week’s readings offers us two ways of approaching this week. The one is to highlight the very real issue of clean drinking water which is a massive justice issue in our world today – and which will only continue to be more of an issue in the foreseeable future (one writer even suggested that the next world war will be fought over water). The other option is to focus more broadly on living water as the symbol of God’s life brought to us in Christ, and the call for us to seek to bring life wherever it may be restricted or destroyed. Either way, we can’t help but come face to face with the poor and marginalised – because in both cases, they are the ones who suffer from desperate need. Much like the Samaritan woman who was driven to the well in the heat of the day when no one else would be there, and who clearly expected nothing good from this Jewish man she found there, the poor are the ones for whom life is a daily struggle. If there is anything that Jesus’ engagement with the Samaritan woman teaches us, it is that we need to befriend the least in our world, and seek to bring them life, both by providing physical and living water for them and by bringing them into the centre of our communities. In truth, the real living water is the relationship we develop with those who are cast out – much as in Christ, God has befriended us and brought us into relationship with Godself.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In every community, in every church, are those who are on the edges – if not completely excluded, certainly unsure of their acceptance and right to belong. In every community there are those who are ‘thirsty’, who struggle to make ends meet, who have little access to fullness of life. And in every community there are those whose lives are dry and desolate, whether from their own destructive choices, or from the effects of what others have done. In all of these cases, what people long for is a community that will embrace and include them, bringing them into a safe place of love and belonging. What they long for is a place that they can be supported and enabled to create a vibrant and meaningful life for themselves and their families. What they long for is a place where they can be healed, restored and discover fullness of life in freedom and connectedness. This ‘living water’ which we have access to as followers of Christ can easily and freely be given to the ‘Samaritan outcasts’ in our midst, and can make all the difference for them. We cannot afford to keep our life to ourselves, nor can we allow ourselves to become grumblers and complainers when the world doesn’t fit our ideas. Rather, we need to be those who lead others to the water, who soften our hearts and trust that God can and will give life to us and to those we seek to serve, and who learn to freely embrace those who need friendship with God and people, and who long for the life that can be found in such friendship. As we share this living water, so we will find, slowly but surely, that we have less need for grumbling, and that the world begins to be infused with signs of God’s reign.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Living Water
Around The Well

Hymn Suggestions:
As Pants The Hart for Cooling Streams
Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
As Water To The Thirsty
I Hunger And I Thirst
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
As The Deer (Link to YouTube video)
Only In You: Chord Chart, Lead Sheet, Free Mp3 Download
All Who Are Thirsty (Link to YouTube video)
Hungry (Link to YouTube video)
Let Your Mercy Rain (Link to YouTube video)
O Let The Son Of God Enfold You (Spirit Song) (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Communion

Video Suggestions:
A Spring Within
Woman At The Well: For All Who Are Thirsty
Fulfillment

Of course, you may not be using the Gospel reading. But even if this is the case, the focus on seeing, perception and whether we live in ‘light’ or ‘darkness’ flows throughout.

May our eyes be opened in new ways to God’s glory, God’s light and our place in God’s purposes as we worship this week.

READINGS:
1 Samuel 16:1-13: God instructs Samuel to stop mourning for Saul and to anoint a new king for Israel in Bethlehem. After examining seven of Jesse’s sons and rejecting them, Samuel finally anoints the youngest boy, David, and God’s Spirit comes upon him.

Psalm 23: David’s Psalm of praise for the God who cares for him like a shepherd, providing nurture, peace, care, protection and an eternal place of belonging.

Ephesians 5:8-14: Paul encourages the believers to live as people of the light, doing what pleases God.

John 9:1-41: Jesus heals a man who was born blind, and, because his was done on the Sabbath, the religious leaders start an investigation, calling in the man’s parents and ultimately throwing the man out of the synagogue. Then, Jesus teaches that he came to bring sight to the blind and to reveal the blindness of those who think they see.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
Blindness and sight, light and darkness, rejection of those in power and annointing of those who are unknown – these are the threads in the Lectionary readings of this week. The heart of the theme is this: how do we choose to see? Samuel is tempted to look at Jesse’s sons in an ordinary human way – outward strength and primacy in the family hierarchy – but God commands him to look differently, ultimately choosing the son who is the least. Paul encourages believers to walk in God’s light, avoiding the “deeds of darkness” that cause brokenness, stumbling and pain, but rather seeking to live in the light – seeing clearly and moving securely through the world because we can see. David’s famous psalm gives a picture of what this “living in the light” looks like – being shepherded by God in grace and nurture. Finally, and most importantly, the Gospel uses a dramatic story to show the difference between those who claim to see but don’t, and those who truly can see. The corruption, power-grabbing and judgmental condemnation of anything new and different is a mark of those who cannot see – although they always protest that they see clearly. On the other hand, the acceptance, healing and grace that Jesus shows – and the response in worship of those who have been made to see by Christ’s touch – is the mark of those who “live in the light”. Our choice, then, as individuals and as Church, is whether we will allow God’s light to change how we see, or whether we will go through the motions and continue to see as the rest of society does, while claiming falsely that we see as God does.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: Perception is everything. It’s not just what we see or don’t see, but how we interpret what we see that determines our actions, our responses and our beliefs. We can look at the poor and see unfortunate victims of circumstance, or lazy people who refuse to work, or dignified human beings making the most of a tough situation. We can look at climate science and see a natural cycle which has just happened to hit us now, or human actions putting our planet under pressure. We can look at issues of sexuality, consumption, energy, immigration, health care, abortion, and capital punishment and see every issue from different perspectives. Ultimately, how we determine what we see and what it means must flow from Christ’s example. How did Christ address poverty? How did Christ view the natural world, sexuality, power, violence, sickness, and human dignity? Of course, even when it comes to Christ there are problems of perspective, but if we are to follow Christ into a world of justice, we will have to wrestle with these questions and not see them as outside of the realm of faith. Of course, once we have seen, we also have the task of helping others – our leaders, our neighbours, our children – to see as well. We can do this through coercion (like the religious leaders tried with the man Jesus healed) or we can do it through simple gracious action that opens eyes, as Jesus did. Of one thing we can be certain, though, if we are to learn from this week’s readings: we do not see, in our natural human capacity, as God does, and so if we are beginning to see clearly, it will almost certainly lead us to see the world and its systems differently from the dominant view. And this seeing, will inevitably work itself out in a new way of navigating the world as well as we recognise the need and the calling for us to act on what we see.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In our daily lives we all make choices (consciously or subconsciously) about what we will see and what we won’t. It’s tempting to choose not to see the suffering and injustice in our world – to switch off the news, and to ignore reports of grief, war and trauma. It’s tempting to avoid seeing certain people and to allow them to just blend in with the landscape, removing their need and struggle from our vision. It’s tempting to avoid seeing God’s truth and grace in those we disagree with, and who we would rather see as “all bad”. It’s tempting to avoid seeing the brokenness in those we support and agree with nd to see them as “all good”. It’s tempting to avoid seeing the resources, the opportunities and the capacity we have for making a difference, and to rather believe we can do nothing. But, if we have really seen Jesus, and if we have truly seen God’s reign proclaimed and manifest in Christ, then we have to confront how we see things, and allow God’s grace and mercy, God’s truth and justice to change our seeing and shed light on our world, our relationships and our neighbourhoods. And, once again, our seeing must be informed by God’s different perspective where the greatest are the least, and where everyone – even a young shepherd boy, or a carpenter from the countryside – can make significant differences in the world.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Seeing
Seeing The Signs
God, You Are Enough (A paraphrase of Psalm 23)
New Eyes

Hymn Suggestions:
The Lord’s My Shepherd
The King Of Love My Shepherd Is
Hail To The Lord’s Anointed
Be Thou My Vision
Here I Am To Worship (Light of the world)
Open The Eyes Of My Heart, Lord
Shine Jesus Shine
Shine

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Sacrament

Video Suggestions:
The Light
Do You See The Needs