Lectionary Worship Resources from Sacredise » Ordinary Time

Proper 8A / Ordinary 13A / Pentecost +2A

Sacredise — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:39:01 +0000

So now we move, finally, into Ordinary Time. When I think of worship as intimacy with God, I think of the three movements of intimacy – listening (your story), sharing (my story) and time (history). The first half of the Church Year can be thought of as the "listening" movement – God’s Story. Now, this second half is the "sharing" movement – Our Story – where we focus on how to live out what we have encountered through the first half. As we do this year after year, we build a History with God, which takes us ever deeper into intimacy with God. What a privilege this journey is, and, as we focus on hospitality this week, what a wonderful way to start this new movement in the year.

Note: While I am aware that the Lectionary makes provision for two sets of Old Testament readings (a "continuous" selection and a "related" selection), I find it helpful to explore all of the readings to find connections and draw out a single shared theme. I recognise that not all Lectionary practitioners subscribe to this way of using the Lectionary, but I find it opens up the readings in the best way for me to offer resources that can be used and applied irrespective of which readings may be used in the local context. I hope you find this helpful, but I am happy to hear any suggestions or feedback that may make this blog even more useful for you.

May our worship lead us into deeper connection with God, and into greater Christ-likeness in our daily living.

READINGS:
Genesis 22:1-14: Abraham takes his son Isaac out to sacrifice him to the Lord, but God stops him and provides a ram for the offering instead.
OR Jeremiah 28:5-9: Jeremiah challenges Hananiah (who has claimed to be a prophet and has prophesied the end of the Babylonian captivity), saying that he will only be known to be a true prophet if his predictions come to pass.

Psalm 13: A psalm of lament in which the psalmist cries out to God, but also affirms his trust in God’s goodness and love.
OR Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18: A psalm of praise for God’s unfailing love, and of celebration for those who, in worship, enjoy God’s presence and protection.

Romans 6:12-23: Paul encourages the Roman Christians to turn from sinful living and to obey God in order to find life and righteousness, and he reminds them that, while sin leads to death, God’s gift in Christ is life.

Matthew 10:40-42: Jesus teaches that those who receive prophets and righteous people will be rewarded, as will those who care for the followers of Christ.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This is a curious set of readings to begin ‘Kingdom Time’ in Year A. There are so many seemingly disparate themes that emerge – the role and test of a prophet (and the reward for receiving a prophet), the sacrifice of Isaac, the call of Paul to turn from evil and embrace righteousness and the psalmist’s celebration of God’s unfailing love. What seems to emerge as a common thread, however, is God’s care, presence and protection that is always available to God’s people. In Genesis, Isaac is saved from sacrifice by God’s provision of another sacrifice. In Jeremiah, a simple test of the prophet is given – whether his words reflect God’s (gracious, saving) activity or not, as seen by whether what is prophesied actually happens. In Paul’s letter followers of Christ are called to embrace the life that is found in righteousness, and this is further clarified by Jesus’ teaching that receiving, welcoming, and providing hospitality for even the least is how ‘righteousness’ is lived and expressed. In the light of this both psalms – one of celebration and one of lament – reflect a trust in God’s goodness, and the life and goodness that God brings to those who trust and follow God. Ultimately, then, the word ‘hospitality’ may be a simple summary of this week’s theme – God’s hospitality for us, and ours for one another in God’s name, which is the ‘definition’ of righteousness.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: On a global scale, hospitality hardly makes sense. In what ways can hospitality be exercised across borders, or to whole nations? Yet, the readings this week offer some fascinating insights that can help us to live as globally hospitable Christ-followers. First, there is the challenge of intervening on behalf of those who, like Isaac, are sacrificed on the altars of ignorance, legalism and fear-based religion. People of faith have allowed too much rhetoric which denounces other religions on the basis of a few extremists. This applies to all of the major religions. Secondly, there is the call to speak truth to those who would proclaim that the world as it is is fine, and we will all be fine with no need for change. It is a tough hospitality to call attention to the realities that threaten us and that seek to make the poor and marginalised part of the conversation. Like Jeremiah, we may indeed find ourselves at odds with those who claim to be prophets, but who avoid the tough realities we must face for justice and peace to come. Finally, there is the simple hospitality of receiving – accepting, serving and including – all people. While we may never meet some of those we are called to receive, by refusing to stereotype, to pre-judge and to reject others in our words and attitudes, we offer hospitality. By refusing to harbour any belief in our own exceptionalism, or to embrace any sense of being better than others, we offer hospitality. By always being willing to listen, understand and welcome the stranger, we offer hospitality. When each of does this in our attitudes toward people in other countries, other religions, and other race groups, the righteousness (right-standing) of us with one another, and with God is fostered, and the holiness of hospitality is spread across the earth. In the end, this hospitality will offer us both healing and connection, and will enable us to know the life that God longs for us all to share in Christ.

LOCAL APPLICATION: On a local level, hospitality is both easy to understand and difficult to implement. Opening our homes to ‘receive’ prophets and righteous people seems easy – we can trust them, and there is always some blessing or ‘reward’ that we experience. But opening our homes and our lives to the ‘least’ can be a different story. They may seem untrustworthy or threatening. There is no benefit from showing hospitality to these – only cost. Yet, if we are to recognise that hospitality is, as Matthew Fox suggests, a synonym for holiness, we cannot avoid the call to hospitality. This can, however take many forms. We may be called to stand alongside one who is being ‘sacrificed’ on the altar of discrimination or prejudice. We may be called to stand against those who, while claiming to speak in God’s name, proclaim things that contradict the grace and love of Christ. We may be called to grieve with those who feel abandoned by God and join in their lament. We may be called to celebrate with those who feel close to God and who enjoy a sense of blessedness. We may be called to change how we live – to reject the sins of pride, self-protection and rejection – to which we are enslaved and which hurt others, and to embrace righteousness – the love and grace of Christ – which makes others feel welcomed and included. As an individual Christ-follower and as a community of faith, we do well to ask ourselves how we can become more hospitable – how we can reject the selfish, self-protective sin that so easily enslaves us, and how we can embrace the righteousness of receiving prophets and the least equally in Christ’s name.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Jesus In Disguise
Good News By Degrees
Extending The Invitation
A Place For Us

Hymn Suggestions:
I Know Whom I Have Believed
Come Sinners To the Gospel Feast
There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy
Saviour, Like A Shepherd Lead Us
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life
You Are: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download
Everyone Belongs: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Link to Amazon Mp3 Store)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)
Glory Of It All (Link to YouTube video)
Mighty To Save (Link to YouTube video)
People Come Together (Scroll down for link to preview & pdf of music. If you’re looking for something completely different from your usual hymnody, Tracy Wispelwey is always a great resource)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking of Bread

Video Suggestions:
Little Ones Welcomed
Lord Is Her Father (From Les Miserables courtesy of WingClips.com)

Proper 9A / Ordinary 14A / Pentecost +3A

Sacredise — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:05:06 +0000

Following on from last week’s focus on hospitality, the Lectionary shifts this week to Christ’s invitation, and our role in taking that invitation to the world. The challenge is that what is often thought of in terms of words and ‘evangelism’, is, from the perspective of the Lectionary, more about action and inclusion.

May we find a welcome again in Christ, and the wisdom and courage to take that welcome out into our lives as we worship this week.

READINGS:
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67: Isaac’s servant goes back to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife for him. He meets Rebekah, who responds according the sign he had asked of God, and so he brings her back to Isaac who marries her.
OR Zechariah 9:9-12: A prophecy of the King who will come to God’s people bringing peace, justice and freedom.

Psalm 45:10-17: A psalm celebrating a royal wedding and the beauty of the bride as she is led to the king.
OR Song of Solomon 2:8-13: A love song in which the Lover invites the Beloved to come away and enjoy the world which is bursting with the life of Spring.
OR Psalm 145:8-14: Praise for God’s grace, mercy and faithfulness to God’s promises.

Romans 7:15-25a: Paul laments his struggle to do the good that he wants to do, while the sin nature within him leads him to do what he doesn’t want to do, but he celebrates Christ who provides freedom from this struggle.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30: Jesus laments the resistance and misunderstanding of those who judged both John and him, and gives thanks that God reveals wisdom only to the childlike. Then he invites those who are burdened to come to him and receive rest.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The invitation of God, through Christ, to find intimacy, rest and liberation speaks through all of this week’s readings. In the continuous readings of the Old Testament, there is the theme of bride and groom finding love and comfort with each other, and the picture this offers of God’s love and welcome for God’s people. In the related readings, the prophet’s message of the King who comes to bring peace and justice is proclaimed, along with the Psalmist’s celebration of God’s mercy and faithfulness. In the New Testament, Paul, while recognising the human problem of slavery to sin, recognises that Jesus is the one who brings relief and liberation. Finally, Jesus, while lamenting that some people will not or cannot receive him and his message, nevertheless invite any who are burdened to come to him. All of this makes it very clear that God longs for connection with us, and God is always available and accessible to those who need and want God. In addition, in this world where the effects of sin – injustice, slavery of all kinds, conflict and judgement – are widespread and bring devastation to so many, Christ comes as the one who seeks to bring relief – liberation, justice, peace and mercy. All of which leaves us with a choice: Will we accept Christ’s invitation and come to him to find life, or will we question the effectiveness of Christ’s message and presence, and seek to go our own way? Will we live in faith and communion with God, or will we live as functional atheists? It’s an important choice that every follower of Christ must make daily.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: We don’t have to look far to see the effects of human brokenness on our world. The tyranny of sin has left its mark everywhere, from dire poverty and unjust economic and power relations between rich and poor, to the slavery of human trafficking; from expedient exploitation of the planet’s resources, to corruption in business and government across the world; from wars between nations, to conflict between factions, families and individuals. In the face of all this the invitation of Christ may seem ineffectual and faith in Christ’s liberating reign may seem naive. But, we have also discovered that human capacity alone cannot address the burdens and struggles we face. It is increasingly important that people of faith resist the temptation of cynicism and pessimism, and allow themselves to be empowered and inspired by the Christ we follow. It is increasingly necessary for us to live our faith in the daily choices that impact the realities of our world, and in extending Christ’s invitation to others. This doesn’t necessarily mean preaching or seeking to convert others. It is more likely to mean working alongside the least to ease their burdens and to stand against the unjust people and institutions that oppress and enslave. It means allowing our faith and hope to inspire how we choose to buy, eat, dress, drive and vote. It means praying, thinking and learning globally, while acting and contributing locally. At it’s heart, receiving Christ’s invitation is more than just a personal experience of peace and rest. It is a call to be those who seek to draw others into Christ’s rest along with us, and to spread Christ’s peace and mercy as far as we can, in whatever way we can.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The broken and weary ones of the world are with us in every family, every community and every neighbourhood. The broken and weary ones are us, and those we live with. This is why Christ’s invitation is such a wonderful, life-giving promise. We need only believe that rest can truly be found in a Christ-following life. We need only be committed enough to Christ’s invitation that we will not keep it to ourselves, but seek to share it with those around us. It is when we open our arms and the doors of our churches to all – whoever they may be or however we may disagree with them – that we offer rest, instead of the burden of judgement and guilt. It is when we live simply and generously, resisting the temptation to hoard, accumulate and consume more than we need that we bring rest to those who struggle to survive each day. It is when we work within our community to bring change to unjust laws, to take notice of the hurting and vulnerable ones, and to welcome those with whom we would normally not associate that we bring rest to others. These actions make no sense to those who benefit from and buy into the world’s systems, but they are the only ones that bring life and grace and liberation to all – both those who do them and those who benefit from them. Perhaps it’s time that the Church stopped trying to be wise in the world’s eyes (or even wiser than the world but on the world’s terms), and embraced a childlike naivety and a gracious, inclusive openness that can offer an alternative way of being in this often burdensome world.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Working To Rest
Your Welcome Invitation

Hymn Suggestions:
Just As I Am
Come Let Us Sing Of A Wonderful Love
In Heavenly Love Abiding
Jesus Calls Us O’er The Tumult
O Jesus I Have Promised
Blessed Be Your Name (Link to YouTube video)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)
Everyone Under The Sun (Link to Yahoo Music preview)
What I Have Vowed (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For The Sacrament

Video Suggestions:
Come To Me
Come To Me

Proper 10A / Ordinary 15A / Pentecost +4A

Sacredise — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:53:45 +0000

The word of God, unfortunately, is a battle-ground in the Church at times. As a result, Christians are perceived to fall into two camps – those who take the word literally, and exalt the word almost to the level of an idol, and those who seem to almost ignore the word completely. This caricature misses the great variety and richness of the various approaches to and understandings of God’s word that we have in the Church, though, and so I hope we can avoid the stereotypes altogther.

My prayer for this week is that, as we explore these Lectionary readings about God’s word, we will find a life-giving and liberating way to honour the Word in our worship.

READINGS:
Genesis 25:19-34: Rebekah gives birth to twins, who wrestle with each other from the womb. Then, Esau, the older twin, sell his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew.
OR Isaiah 55:10-13: As the rain and snow water the earth and let it bring forth food, so God’s word accomplishes that which it is sent out to do – liberation and restoration for God’s people.

Psalm 119:105-112: The psalmist celebrates God’s word, committing to obeying God’s commands even when life is difficult and enemies threaten.
OR Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13: A psalm of praise for God’s grace and forgiveness, God’s answers to prayer and God’s ordering of the world so that it bursts with life and provides abundance.

Romans 8:1-11: In Jesus we have access to God’s life-giving Spirit who frees us from the power of sin that brings death.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23: Jesus sits in a boat and teaches the crowds through parables – in this instance, the parable of the seed that falls on different kinds of ground and produces different results.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
Two ideas that come together in this week’s readings are God’s Word and God’s Life – both of which are experienced through God’s Spirit. In Isaiah, God’s Word is proclaimed as reliable and able to accomplish its purpose, which is also celebrated in Psalm 119. In Genesis, God’s word about the wrestling twins is seen to be true as their relationship works itself out as the two boys grow into men. In Psalm 65, although the word is not specifically mentioned as such, the effectiveness of God’s word is seen in similar ways to Isaiah’s prophesy – the abundance that the earth brings forth. In Romans, God’s life is experienced through God’s Spirit who is available to us through Christ – the Word of God. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the word of God as seed that is scattered and that fails to produce in various soils that are not optimal, but that, in good soil, provides abundance. At its heart, the Lectionary seeks to invite us this week to open our hearts to God’s Spirit, to receive God’s word and to embrace the abundant life that God seeks to give us.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It is tempting, in the face of this week’s readings, to view the world in simplistic terms – if we just listen to God’s word, abundance will come, and life will be ours and all will be ok. In one sense there is truth in this – if we allow the wisdom of God’s word to guide us, we will care for the world, and ensure that it’s ability to provide food is not jeopardised by our foolishness and greed, while also ensuring that food is distributed equitably; if we allow God’s word to guide us, we will avoid the destructiveness of our human brokenness and sin, and enjoy the life-giving benefits of living with justice mercy and grace. If we allow God’s word to guide us we will open ourselves to God’s presence and enjoy relationship with God that inspires and empowers us, while enabling us to bring life to others. However, life is also far more complex. Sometimes we face lack and suffering through no fault of our own. Sometimes the call of justice is not as clear as having one right way to go, but leaves us to make difficult choices between alternatives that may have different pros and cons. But, it is important that the two extremes – of blind, literalistic application of God’s word, and of complete disregard for God’s word – are avoided, and that, in working with God for the healing and rescue of our world and ourselves, we allow God’s word to guide us, while also taking account of the wisdom that science, reason and common sense can give – all of which can also be thought of, in some sense, as a word of God. Christ’s call for us to be good soil means that we need seek to be those who study and receive God’s word responsibly, thoughtfully and prayerfully, and then allow it to direct us as we interact with others, work for justice and seek to bring life as God’s Spirit empowers and guides us. This is the opposite of being "Bible-bashers", and is the gracious, sensitive, compassionate attitude of those who have been both convicted and challenged by the life and message of Christ. It is these sensitive but strong servants and prophets that our world so desperately needs.

LOCAL APPLICATION: As preachers and leaders in communities of faith, it is tempting to use God’s word as a way to control others so they respond and behave as we want them to, or as we believe they should. It is tempting to go the easy route of surface, literalistic reading of Scripture, because of the busyness of our lives and ministries, and it is tempting to encourage our people to read the Bible in this way as well, so as to avoid difficult questions and the possible struggles of different interpretations and opinions creating dissension or confusion. But to do this fails both us and our people in two ways. In the first instance it reduces God’s word to a book alone, and robs us of the richness of experiencing God’s word primarily as the person – Jesus. In the second instance, it robs us of the surprising and life-giving discoveries that come when we celebrate questions and diversity. And for those who come to our churches God’s Word can be the source of comfort, healing and invitation, if we will allow it be. Unfortunately, the church has too often been seen as a place that robs people of life rather than giving life, of judgment and condemnation, based on God’s Word, rather than on the grace and mercy that that same Word offers. It’s not that we ignore the tough challenges of following God’s word, but that we embrace them for ourselves – the call to follow Christ into compassionate and sacrificial living, and the call to be life-givers for others – rather than using them to control or judge others. And, as we do this, we draw others into the joy, challenge and blessing that comes from living in alignment with the word that was taught and lived by Christ – the final word of God.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Wayward Seed
The Seed Of Your Kingdom

Hymn Suggestions:
O Word Of God Incarnate
Almighty God, Thy Word Is Cast
Lord, We Hear Your Word With Gladness
Lord, Thy Word Abideth
Thy Word (Link to YouTube video)
Your Word: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Link to Amazon Mp3 Download Store)
Breathe (Link to YouTube video)
I, The Lord Of Sea And Sky (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Celebration of Sacrifice
A Liturgy For The Sacrament

Video Suggestions:
The Sower
The Seed and the Soil

Image Suggestion:
Flower Field

Proper 11A / Ordinary 16A / Pentecost +5A

Sacredise — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:52:37 +0000

This week’s readings may appear at first glance to be rather judgmental and possibly triumphalist, but I believe this is a misreading. Rather, what we find is a celebration of the God who is moving the universe toward a good purpose, and who, in the meantime, strengthens us with hope and invites us to include all – allowing whatever judgement that may come to be in God’s hands, not ours.

My we find renewed hope, and a new commitment to welcoming all, as we worship this week.

READINGS:
Genesis 28:10-19a: Jacob dreams of angels ascending and descending on a ladder and receives God’s promise that the land will be given to him and his descendants. Then he calls that place Bethel (House of God).
OR Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19: God is powerful and just and shows people how to be merciful and full of hope.
OR Isaiah 44:6-8: God alone is God, the first and the last and the defender of God’s people.

Psalm 139:1-12,23-24: God knows us inside and out, and is always with us. There is nowhere we can go that God is not with us.
OR Psalm 86:11-17: A psalm of lament and thanksgiving, remembering God’s mercy and comfort and pleading for God’s vindication and protection from enemies.

Romans 8:12-25: We do not have to live according to the desires of our corrupt nature, but we have received God’s Spirit who assures us that we are God’s children, not just for our sakes, but for all of creation that yearns for God’s children to be revealed.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43: Jesus tells a parable in which weeds are planted by an enemy in a man’s field. He instructs his workers not to pull up the weeds, but to let them grow with the wheat until the harvest comes, when the wheat and weeds will be separated and the weeds burned, while the wheat is taken into the barn. At the disciples’ request, Jesus explains the parable to refer to the work of the evil one and those who follow evil living alongside his followers until the harvest time when judgement will happen.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This week the Lectionary calls us to faithfulness and to hope. The message of all of the readings is that our world is not random, but is following a divine purpose, and that God will finally bring an end to evil and rescue God’s people – and all of creation – from brokenness and darkness. In Jacob’s dream God’s promise of a land, a home, for God’s people is given, while in Isaiah, God is portrayed as the only one who knows future and past – the trajectory of the universe – and who defends God’s people. Similarly, in the Wisdom of Solomon reading, God’s power is praised, and the assurance of God’s hope is remembered. Psalms 139 expresses confidence in God’s presence, knowledge and care for God’s people, while Psalm 86 remembers this care being expressed in practical situations, while praying for God’s protection to continue. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminds his readers of the gift of God’s Spirit, and the hope that this gift brings, while teaching them that the freedom from sin and death that they hope for is not just for them but for all creation. Finally, in Jesus’ parable he explains why good and evil exists side by side, and describes metaphorically the reality of a world where evil does not seem to be dealt with. He also offers the hope that the time will come when evil is finally done away with, and only goodness remains.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It may seem naïve to speak of good finally overcoming evil. In the face of corruption, poverty, climate change, war and gross inequity, it may appear that the opposite outcome is far more likely. However, as people of faith, we do not have the luxury of pessimism, cynicism and despair. If we truly believe that God is alive and active in our world, then we must trust that our world is not random, but is moving purposefully forward in what Jeremy Rifkin called a "trajectory of compassion". This means that, while we may not see the fulfilment of our hopes and dreams for justice, peace and compassion to guide our world, we cannot stop working toward this hope in every way we can. We are called to proclaim and enact the hope of God’s protection for the most vulnerable and poorest among us, by defending their rights and seeking to protect them in God’s name – working for homes, health care, food, education and sanitation through our actions, our votes and our voices. We are called to work for the hope of peace by refusing to engage in hate-speech, or aggressive and divisive rhetoric, and by seeking to understand those we would call enemies and make them friends. We are called to provide hope to our world by living simply and responsibly in order to care for our planet, while demonstrating an alternative way of living that rejects consumerism, exclusivism and exceptionalism. What it all comes down to is allowing the vision of God’s reign – our hope – to fill our hearts such that we become proclaimers of hope who begin to live what we long for even in the midst of the struggles and injustices of our time. This is both challenging and prophetic. It is not easy or comfortable, but it is joyful, healthy and inviting, while, in small daily acts, helping to change the ways in which our current way of being is dysfunctional.

LOCAL APPLICATION: For many people the Church has not been seen as a place of hope. Rather it has been seen as a place which offers hope only to a select few, while condemning the rest of the world to hell. The list of reasons and causes that Christians offer for why others are not acceptable to God is long, and seems to grow constantly. However, the Lectionary offers an alternative narrative this week. While Jesus does speak about weeds and wheat, he does not allow the weeds to be pulled up, because they may not be recognised, and some wheat may appear to be weeds. Only God, when the time comes, has the ability and the right to make this distinction. In our time, we are called to live together – "wheat" and "weeds" together – trusting in the hope that the time will come when evil and injustice are removed from our world. What this means is that we cannot judge anyone as "weeds" or "wheat", because be might be seeing wrongly and missing what God knows about the heart. All that is left for us, then, is to embrace our hope and make it available to all. This means that we can welcome those we might be tempted to exclude, we can support and defend those who are vulnerable and marginalised, we can support those who are in need, and we can live – in our communities and our homes – the inclusive, gracious, merciful and generous hope that God offers us. The question this raises for us is this: in what ways can our worship this week proclaim God’s hope and help us to live it through the week? In what ways can we, as a community called by the name of Christ, demonstrate the hope of God’s reign in our worship and our mission? And, in what ways can we hold out this hope for others, inviting them to share it with us, without seeking to make judgements prematurely?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
We Celebrate Your Life
Overwhelming The Weeds

Hymn Suggestions:
Just As I Am
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Sing We The King
There’s A Light Upon the Mountains
A Charge To Keep I Have
In Your Mercy, Lord: Chord Chart; Mp3 Preview
There’s A Light (Upon The Mountains): Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Link to Amazon Mp3 Download Store)
How Great Is Our God (Link to YouTube video)
God Of This City (Link to YouTube video)
Hosanna (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For The Foretaste Of The Heavenly Banquet

Video Suggestions:
Wait With Patience (Based on the Romans reading)
The Harvest (A graphic telling of the parable of the wheat and the weeds. The music is a bit over dramatic and I didn’t like the ending, but otherwise it could work well)

Image Suggestion:
Flower Field

Proper 12A / Ordinary 17A / Pentecost +6A

Sacredise — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:32:18 +0000

Obedience is not a popular word these days. It can feel rather authoritarian, conservative and legalistic. But, the readings this week invite us to explore this word in a different way. As a creative and loving response to God’s love and grace. And that is what God’s Kingdom is all about.

May our worship lead us deeper into God’s love this week, and lead us out into lives that embrace God’s ways.

READINGS:
Genesis 29:15-28: Jacob agrees to work for Laban for seven years in order to receive Rachel as his wife, but then Laban tricks him and gives him Leah instead. So Jacob agrees to work another seven years for Rachel.
OR 1 Kings 3:5-12: At the start of his reign, Solomon asks God to give him wisdom so that he can govern God’s people well, and God, who is pleased with his request, agrees to grant what he asks for.

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b: A psalm of praise for God’s mighty deeds on behalf of God’s people, for God’s faithfulness to God’s covenant, and for God’s justice and greatness, all of which are intended to draw God’s people into obedience.
OR Psalm 119:129-136: The psalmist celebrates God’s law and prays for God’s mercy so that he can obey it, while grieving those who do not obey.

Romans 8:26-39: Paul reminds his readers that God’s Spirit prays for them, and that God works all things together for their good. He reassures them that God is for them, and that nothing can separate them from God’s love.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52: Jesus describes the Kingdom of God by use of parables: it is like the tiny mustard seed, growing into a large tree, like the tiny bit of yeast that permeates the dough in baking, like the treasure hidden in a field and like a very valuable pearl, and it is like a fishing net in which many fish are caught – the good ones kept and the bad ones thrown out.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
If we were tempted to think that being part of God’s reign required nothing of us, we will be deeply challenged by this week’s readings because the idea of "obedience" flows through all of them. Jacob’s love for Rachel is a wonderful metaphor for how obedience works. He was willing to work long years in obedience to Laban because he loved Rachel so much that the years flew by like days. Solomon, as a new king, recognised how important it was that he led his people well, and in obedience to God, that he prayed for the wisdom to be a good king. In Psalm 105 God’s gracious and mighty works on behalf of God’s people are celebrated, with the clear understanding that this should result in loving obedience in return, and in Psalm 119 the psalmist, recognising the value of obedience to God’s law, prays for mercy so that he can remain faithful in his obedience. Paul does not specifically mention obedience in the passage from Romans, but he does indicate that God’s Spirit prays for us and works in us so that God’s purposes can be fulfilled in our lives – which is what obedience is about – and again, God’s initiative in loving us is shown to be the catalyst that leads us into lives of following and serving Christ. Finally, Jesus reveals what the Kingdom of God is like by telling stories of it’s subversive influence – the small things that have big influence – and the people who are willing to sacrifice greatly in order to attain it. Finally, he drives the point home when he indicates that not all will recognise or receive the kingdom, and these will ultimately miss out on the life it brings. Obedience, which is so often seen as religious legalism, or a dry and rigid compliance with the letter of the law, takes on a new vibrancy and attractiveness in the light of these readings. What the Lectionary is seeking to do here is to invite us into the kind of relationship with God where God’s loving action in our lives is recognised and celebrated, and in which, because of our love, we seek to do what God would want of us, and to open ourselves to the life that God seeks to give us. Perhaps St. Augustine’s words would be appropriate here: "Love God, and do what you like."

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It’s an interesting thought to try and connect the idea of obedience with what is going on in the world, especially since we have tended to think of obedience in individualistic terms. But, when we think of the context in which obedience is asked of us, and the impact our choices have on the world, we begin to see the connections far more strongly. Obedience does not refer just to not doing certain things that we would think of as ‘sinful’ – usually related to sexual behaviour, the use of certain substances and whether we give our assent to certain doctrines or ideas.Rather, the world is created in such a way that certain things help it to grow, live and expand, while other things result in diminishing, death and contraction. Obedience, then, would to co-operate with anything that gives life (what Matthew Fox refers to as "biophilia") and the resistance of anything that would bring death ("necrophilia" in Fox’s scheme). It is when we recognise God’s presence, grace and love seeking to bring life, freedom and equity to our world, and when we experience a taste of this divine blessing for ourselves, that we find ourselves drawn to work with God and co-operate with God’s life-giving work. This is obedience in its most basic and most effective form. It is, first, the attitude of humility and openness that submits to God’s ways because they are what bring life. Then it is the act of giving ourselves to nurture life in whatever ways and in whatever places we can. For some this may mean getting involved in social, political or economic leadership and seeking to build systems that are increasingly just and liberating. For some it may mean doing the work of activism and standing publicly against injustice and oppression. For most communities of faith, though, it must mean seeking to embody God’s hidden kingdom, making the sacrifices to attain the treasure or buy the pearl of great price; trusting in the small daily kingdom acts that expand and grow into vast trees of grace and compassion; and reaching out in whatever ways we can as fishers of people to enable them to enjoy the benefits of God’s reign with us – teaching friends and companions the obedience that brings life not through argument, sermon or criticism, but through living Christ’s way and allowing them to see and experience the joy and life it brings through us. What small, sacrificial act of obedience might God be calling your community to make that has global impact and relevance this week?

LOCAL APPLICATION: In every life and community obedience takes the form of embracing Christ’s attitudes and actions in our daily interactions, our values, our ethics and our decisions. We obey God, and experience the hidden kingdom, when we resist the urge to take out our anger and frustrations (which are often directed at ourselves) on others. We obey God when we give of ourselves, our time and our resources to others sacrificially and joyfully. We obey God when we go out of our way to make others feel included, accepted, loved and served. We obey God when we refuse to do violence to, or ignore the rights of, other people. We obey God when we turn away from materialism and consumerism and live a simple lifestyle. We obey God when we spend prayerfully, and use what we have fully, wisely and with care and appreciation. We obey God when we refuse to enjoy benefits that others can’t or that are won on the back of others’ suffering. And, we obey God when we live in such a way that others are attracted to the Christ they see in us. The essential call, then, is to live with wisdom (as Solomon requested), with integrity and faithfulness, with commitment (like Jacob) and with an awareness of the rhythms and movements of the kingdom which are at work around us all the time. Then, out of this mindfulness, we choose, moment by moment, to engage the world – and the people and creatures in it – from a Christlike framework. This means that obedience is not so much about ticking laws off a list. Rather, it is a Christlike, creative, moment-by-moment response to the people and situations we find ourselves in. It is searching for the movement and presence of God’s love in each interaction, and then obeying the promptings that this gives us. It is opening ourselves to the ever-present love of God, and allowing that love to drive us into acts of love that point others to God, and that bring healing, restoration and hope to those who most need it. Obedience is surprising, unpredictable and transforming, if we will only embrace the adventure of it.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:

This Hidden Kingdom
Your Kingdom Come

Hymn Suggestions:
Be Thou My Vision
Take My Life And Let It Be
Trust And Obey
O Loving Lord Who Art Forever Seeking
Priceless Vision: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download
I Give You My Heart
Lord, Reign In Me
May The Words Of My Mouth

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Celebration of Sacrifice

Video Suggestions:
Mustard Seed
Obedience
Hillbilly Obedience

Proper 13A / Ordinary 18A / Pentecost +7A

Sacredise — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:09:32 +0000

Feasting and covenants. These two ideas are always linked in Scripture and they signify God’s commitment to us and God’s invitation for us to be included in God’s family. While this is certainly Good News for us, it is also a huge challenge when we face the truth that we are to become agents of God’s covenant and carriers of God’s invitation. This means both proclaiming and living out the inclusivity of the Kingdom and facing issues of hunger and poverty in our world and our communities.

May we feast on God’s grace as we worship, and go out to create both physical and spiritual feasts at every chance we get.

READINGS:
Genesis 32:22-31: Jacob spends the night on the banks of the Jabbok River where he wrestles with a man until dawn. In the fight, Jacob is injured, leaving him with a limp, but he is also blessed and his name is changed to Israel.
OR Isaiah 55:1-5: An invitation to God’s feast, and to enter a new covenant with God.

Psalm 17:1-7, 15: A prayer for God to listen to and rescue the psalmist, who affirms his commitment to follow God’s ways and be faithful, and to trust in God’s willingness to answer his prayer.
OR Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21: A song of praise for God’s grace, compassion and love, and for God’s care and protection of those who trust in God.

Romans 9:1-5: Paul expresses his love and concern for his Jewish brothers and sisters, and celebrates the covenants, promises, law – and the Christ – that the Israelites received from God.

Matthew 14:13-21: Jesus tries to get some time to himself after hearing of John’s death, but the crowds find him, and end up, late in the day, in a remote place and without food. Jesus instructs the disciples to feed them, but they object that they only have few resources. Jesus then feeds the crowds with the disciples’ food, after which baskets of leftovers are gathered up.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The two ideas that come together in this week’s readings are God’s covenant with God’s people, and the invitation to feast with God. Of course, these are simply two ways of expressing God’s commitment to us, and of showing the care, compassion, faithfulness, grace and salvation of God that the psalmists celebrate and rely on. In Genesis, Jacob is visited by God and, in the struggle, is both wounded and blessed – which is always the case when we are touched by God in our broken world. In Isaiah, the restorative invitation of God is proclaimed loud and clear. In Romans, Paul celebrates the Israelite people – the descendants of Jacob – to whom were given the invitation and the covenant, and expresses his longing for them to respond to God’s new invitation and new covenant in Christ. Finally, in the Gospel, the crowds who come to Jesus discover that they are welcomed, taught and fed, discovering, truly, a new Moses in Christ – one who gives them both a new law and a new manna.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It is hard to read Isaiah’s prophecy and the Gospel story of the crowd which is fed without thinking about the reality of poverty in our world. The challenge of the Scriptures becomes even more urgent when we recognise that there is enough food being produced to feed all the people in our world (according to Barbara Kingsolver, current food production can sustain world food needs even for the 8 billion people who are projected to inhabit the planet in 2030! [See Animal, Vegetable, Mineral p.18]) The problem is not with the food, it is with people not having money or opportunity to get the food they need. The story of the feeding is a prophetic word challenging us to work for ways to provide for the needs of everyone. This may mean working against unfair farming subsidies, or unjust trade laws, or it may mean ensuring that the way we buy and use our food is supportive of just practices. These are complex issues, but eating simply, minimising waste, and buying from producers and distributors that pay a fair wage and engage in just practices is a relatively easy first step. The readings from this week’s Lectionary can also be expanded beyond just this one issue, though. God’s gracious covenant with humanity is a challenge for us to recognise the dignity and humanity of all people, and to ensure that our attitudes, our ethics and our worship are free from exclusionary or diminishing language and practices, from dominance and power abuses, and from compliance with any system that unfairly oppresses or disadvantages some in favour of others. Essentially, we are called to become the people of God, welcomed at God’s table, and living as global citizens with a world-centric perspective and a God-inspired longing for healing, justice, peace and inclusion of all. It’s a dream, perhaps, but one worth striving for.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In our communities, homes and churches we all have resources that can be used to care for, to ‘feed’ others. As people of God we are recipients of God’s commitment to, God’s covenant with, us. We are those who know God’s provision and abundance – even if we aren’t financially wealthy. The call we must face, though, is to be those who can trust in God’s care for us, and lean into God’s commitment to us, and allow this to release us in generosity, in inclusivity and in service of others. Paul’s care for his Jewish brothers and sisters meant that he was willing to sacrifice and serve them wholeheartedly. And Jesus words to the disciples rign through the centuries to us: "You feed them". This means that we cannot avoid the responsibility of learning to care for and seek to serve those in our neighbourhoods, churches and even our own families. It means that we cannot hoard what we have, but must be willing to live simply and share what we have, inviting others to sit at the table with us. It means that we must be willing to become God’s provision, God’s welcome, God’s commitment and God’s service to others. Inevitably, we will find ourselves wrestling with God over these challenges, because it is never easy to be called by God. And inevitably we will find our hearts broken, our souls and bodies wounded by the grief and need we will find ourselves facing as we seek to serve others. But, in spite of this, we will also know the joy and ‘reward’ that comes when we know we are being used by God, and we are growing the community that knows and shares God’s feast.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Plenty
Shared Blessings
A Simple Choice

Hymn Suggestions:
For The Beauty Of The Earth
Here, O My Lord, I See Thee
I Hunger And I Thirst
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Break Thou The Bread Of Life
All Who Are Thirsty
You Are: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download
Never Let My Hunger Die: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download
Hungry
The Feast

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Spiritual Feast

Video Suggestions:
Fish Sandwiches
At The Table
Invitation To The Thirsty

Image Suggestion:
Communion

Proper 14A / Ordinary 19A / Pentecost +8A

Sacredise — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 19:27:47 +0000

Evangelism is not a popular word today. Many Christians shy away from sharing their faith because of all the baggage that has been accumulated over the years. But, our faith is public, not private, and as followers of Christ we are called to participate in God’s work of saving the world. This week the Lectionary invites us to explore how we might approach this challenging, but exciting call.

May our faith be strengthened as we worship, and may we be transformed that little bit more into those who reflect Christ’s life and message.

READINGS:
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28: Jacob loves his son Joseph more than his other sons, and gives a Joseph a beautiful robe. But, his brothers become jealous and sell him into slavery.
OR 1 Kings 19:9-18: Elijah takes refuge in a cave and he is visited by God. he experiences windstorm, earthquake and fire, but God is not in these dramatic events. Then he hears God speak in a gentle whisper and he receives instructions from God.

Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b: A psalm of thanksgiving and celebration of what God has done as the psalmist remembers Joseph.
OR Psalm 85:8-13: The psalmist commits to listening to God and calls God’s people to stay away from foolishness, while receiving God’s salvation, righteousness, truth and blessing.

Romans 10:5-15: Becoming right with God is not about the law’s requirements, but about recognising the nearness of God’s word and responding to it in faith – which is why it is so important that there are those who will take the message to the world.

Matthew 14:22-33: Jesus walks on water to join the disciples in the boat as they struggle with the storm. Peter asks Jesus to call him to join him, but as he walks toward Jesus he fears and begins to sink. Jesus rescues him, and when they climb back into the boat, the storm dies down.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The readings this week all tell stories of rescue and salvation. In each of them, there is a person who is tasked with bringing God’s rescue to others. In Genesis it’s Joseph who, although he goes through immense suffering, will rescue Egypt (as we know from Psalm 105). In Kings, it’s Elijah who hears God’s instructions (as the Psalmist commits to do in Psalm 85) and rescues God’s people from corrupt leaders. In Romans, Paul celebrates the faith that responds to God’s word, and the ones who proclaim the word so that people can believe. Finally, in the Gospel, it’s Jesus who rescues Peter and the disciples as the storm threatens to overwhelm them, and who, in doing this, leads them to faith. Ultimately all rescuers point us to Christ and call us to respond to Christ in faith. But, at the same, the Scriptures call us to be the ones who proclaim God’s nearness, and who invite others to find salvation in Christ. It’s a challenging call, and one that has often been understood in destructive, arrogant and hurtful ways. But, when we recognise that beneath the call is God’s grace, and that, as Paul says, it is not our job to question who will "go to heaven" and who will "descend to the place of the dead", we can embrace God’s call to be those who graciously and compassionately reach out to others with a genuine concern for their sakes.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: There have tended to be two responses to the call to bring salvation to the world. On the one hand, Christ-followers have viewed this in purely spiritual terms, and related to specific beliefs and ideas. The Word is thought to be the Scriptures, and the faith that is needed is purely about Jesus forgiving sins and taking us to heaven. In this scheme, it is important to impress on people that they are sinners and that Christ is the only way to salvation. However, any earthly salvation that might be needed is largely ignored. On the other hand, salvation is seen purely in terms of social justice, in terms of overthrowing unjust systems and creating a world of justice, peace and equity. In this scheme, any need for spiritual rescue, or for consideration of eternal realities are largely ignored. However, in our world, there is a need for both rescues, and for people who are both committed enough and humble enough to proclaim it in ways that are life-giving, welcoming and practical. There is a need to recognise that we are not capable of saving ourselves, and that we need God’s Word in Christ to empower us, direct us and transform us. There is a need to recognise that God’s reign challenges and confronts unjust human systems and to work for a change in how our world is structured. And, there is a need to recognise that all people are loved by God, are made in God’s image, and are eternal creatures whom God longs to bring into loving, healing relationship with God’s self. If we are to participate in God’s saving work, then, it will mean that we need to be both people of faith and people of practical, liberating action. Both people of courageous proclamation, and people of gracious, loving welcome. And it will mean having the humility to realise that it is Christ – not Christians, or even the Church – that must ultimately be the Saviour, and that Christ can choose to do this work in any way Christ chooses – and through any means.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The reality of our world is that many people are tired of hearing the traditional evangelical presentation of the Gospel and resent the sense of judgement and exclusivity with which it is presented. It is tempting for us to see ourselves as obedient servants of Christ who do not reach people simply because they are resistant to God. However, we would do well to consider whether we may have missed what God is really calling us to do, and whether we have reduced God’s message down to only a few parts of the whole. For some of us, the idea of offering God’s salvation to others is the cause of much embarrassment and resistance because we don’t want to be associated with certain groups, preachers or ways of evangelising. But, in every community, every neighbourhood and even every family, are those who would be grateful for us to serve them as Christ did, to work on their behalf to change unjust systems, and to help them find practical ways to address their struggles. In every community are those who want to see our message being lived out in practical ways. In every situation are those who wish that the message of God’s grace and love was presented with the same grace and love it proclaims. As churches we cannot avoid the call to share the Gospel, but we can be more careful about how we respond to it. In Joseph’s case there was no blame placed on Egypt for the famine. There was just grace, love and rescue. In Elijah’s case, there was confrontation with corrupt leaders, but solidarity with the poor and oppressed, not judgement. In Paul’s letter he instructs believers to avoid getting into judgements of who is going to heaven or to hell, and just to be the "beautiful feet" that bring Christ to those who need Christ. And in the case of Christ, Peter and the disciples are invited to trust Jesus more, and learn to trust his rescue which is always available for them, while learning to recognise who he really is – the only one who can offer them God’s eternal life.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Loving Through The Storm
Quiet Proclamation
Without You
In The Face Of It All

Hymn Suggestions:
O God Our Help In Ages Past
O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee
A Charge To Keep I Have
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
We Shall Go Out In Hope Of Resurrection
O God Our Help (Link to YouTube video)
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
Call To Worship (Link to YouTube video)
How Lovely On The Mountains (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For The Sacrament

Video Suggestions:
Small Boats
The Life Of Joseph

Proper 15A / Ordinary 20A / Pentecost +9A

Sacredise — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:54:25 +0000

Mercy, blessing and salvation are three words that belong together, that are often associated with Gospel, and yet, that are sometimes viewed completely separately as we wrestle with God’s grace and justice. However, to really understand them, and to really grasp the power of God’s work in and through, these words need to be placed together and allowed to inform, define and influence each other. When that happens, we discover that God’s gift of salvation, justice and wholeness is offered to all people. Mercy is available to all. And the motivation to participate in God’s work, and the result of God’s in our lives and our world, is celebration. It is easy, when wrestling with brokenness and injustice to forget this, but the gift of celebration – blessing – is integral to the Gospel.

May we be reminded of God’s mercy, may we embrace, again, God’s salvation gift, and may we be led into a life of celebration that draws all people into it as we worship this week.

READINGS:
Genesis 45:1-15: Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers and forgives them, explaining that it was God who had sent him to Egypt to save them and others from the famine. Then he instructs them to bring his father to Egypt to be with him.
OR Isaiah 56:1, 6-8: God calls God’s people to justice and fairness because God promises to come to them and bring not just God’s people, but also the foreigners and outcasts, to worship and to be blessed by God on God’s mountain.

Psalm 133: A celebration of unity among God’s people which brings the blessing of life.
OR Psalm 67: A psalm of praise for God’s blessings and mercy, which calls all nations to join in praising God for God’s saving power.

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32: God has not abandoned Israel, but offers God’s mercy to all – both Jew and Gentile.

Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28: Jesus explains that it is not what we eat that defiles us but the evil that is in our hearts. Then he is approached by a Canaanite woman who convinces him, in spite of his initial reluctance, to heal her daughter who is being tormented by a demon.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
Three ingredients come together to create a celebratory mix in this week’s Lectionary: The first is God’s salvation (expressed in terms of justice and mercy); the second is God’s blessing given to those who are saved; and the third is the inclusion of "foreigners" and "outcasts". In Genesis, Joseph expresses his conviction that he is called by God to bring God’s salvation and blessing to the Egyptian people, and others who come to Egypt to escape the famine. In Isaiah, God promises the people that God comes to them and rescues them, but also those who are not usually considered God’s people – foreigners and outcasts. In the light of this, God calls people to lives of justice.Psalm 133 reflects on the blessings that come through the unity of God’s people, and Psalm 67 expands this even further to include all nations in the praise of God and in the blessing God gives. Paul reflects on God’s mercy emphasising that both Jews and Gentiles are included in God’s blessing. Finally Jesus, after pointing to the importance of the heart, demonstrates, in what some scholars interpret as a point of learning & growth in Jesus’ own understanding of his ministry, that even outcast Gentiles (Canaanites, who were a particularly disliked group) are included in God’s plan of salvation. The focus, then, of this week’s worship is on God’s coming to us, welcoming all people, and including all people in God’s mercy, salvation and blessing, while also calling all people to lives of justice.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The work of justice and compassion is often framed in negative and alarmist ways. Poverty is a problem because of the deaths it causes; climate change could destroy us; war brings about tremendous grief, trauma and social ills. It is right that these realities should cause us outrage. It is also good, though, to emphasise the blessings that mercy and justice offer, if we will only embrace them. Here is where the Lectionary speaks powerfully to us this week. God’s welcome – and the diverse communities that we discover as we share it – brings great gifts of creativity and growth, and so we can be inspired to be people of inclusion who welcome all people, including "foreigners and outcasts". God’s salvation – God’s gift of wholeness and mercy – does not just save us from our sin and brokenness and injustice. It also leads us into a life of vibrancy, abundance and fulfilment. If the motivation for seeking God’s reign and working for justice is only our fear and our outrage, we will easily find ourselves falling into despondency, despair and bitterness. When, however, we remember, along with our outrage, the blessing (to use the word from our readings today) that God offers through God’s salvation and justice, this dream inspires, energises and encourages in ways that can sustain us when dark times come. So, the challenge for us this week is to reflect on the world and celebrate both the blessings of God that we see and experience already, and also to celebrate the possibilities that await us as we gather all people, and together open ourselves to God’s saving work. As hard as justice and inclusivity can be, they give us many reasons to rejoice and they give us many blessings to be thankful for. Let’s take time to focus on these this week.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Two problems plague the Church when it comes to our common views of God’s mercy and salvation. The first problem is our tendency to see salvation as an exclusive work of God given only to some in which those who are "outside" of the people of God are beyond God’s interest or care. This means that in our communities live many people who feel both judged and excluded by the very people that God has called to love and serve them. And within many churches are those who do not really feel welcomed and who wonder whether, if others really knew them, they would be considered to belong among the "saved". The second problem is that we have proclaimed God’s salvation and mercy to be primarily a rescue from sin and evil. This forces our evangelism (our reaching out) to take the form of convincing people that they are sinners and then trying to get them to ‘buy’ a solution that they didn’t know they needed (and may well not want). It also means that we end up framing our ministry, our proclamation and even our liturgy in negative terms, focussing on our lack, our need and our weakness, and viewing God almost exclusively in terms of rescue, of working outside of our lives and resources, and as completely separate and "other" than us. The result of all of this is that we lose sght of the power of celebration, of acknowledging God’s image and glory within us and others, and of working with God in bringing wholeness and justice to the world. Perhaps, in our liturgy this week, we can celebrate the Christ who includes the outcast and the foreigner, and whose salvation and justice reminds us of our goodness and glory and calls us to our best selves. This is not to deny the important work of acknowledging our sin. It is simply, in what has been an overbalance on the negative, an attempt to see the Gospel as an attractive vision that calls us to God’s promise of blessing and not just as a "fire escape." Perhaps this week in our liturgy we can expand our celebration to include the "foreigner" and "outcast" – celebrating the diversity of those who look, think, speak, act, love and even believe, differently from us, without feeling the need to separate ourselves from them or cast them as ‘outsiders’.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
You Are God
Your Grace In Us
We Pray

Hymn Suggestions:
O For A Thousand Tongues
And Can It Be
Jesus, United By Thy Grace
There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy
Blessed Assurance
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)
Mighty To Save (Link to YouTube video)
Everyone Under The Sun
You Are: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download; Video (Link to YouTube video)
With Kindness (Scroll down and click the player link next to the song title)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Eucharist

Video Suggestions:
Signs Of Salvation

Proper 16A / Ordinary 21A / Pentecost +10A

Sacredise — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:43:07 +0000

Following on from last week’s theme, this week offers us a new encounter with God’s salvation. "Salvation" is a word that is thrown around a lot in churches, and also in the work of evangelism. The readings this week encourage us to revisit this word, to delve deeper into its meaning and to live it out as a daily reality, rather than a future promise of evacuation.

May we encounter salvation again as we worship this week, and may we become not just recipients but also agents of salvation in the world.

READINGS:
Exodus 1:8-2:10: After a regime change in Egypt, the Israelites are made slaves and oppressed by the Egyptians. Midwives are also commanded to kill all male children but they refuse to do so, so Pharoah commands that male children be thrown into the Nile. It is into this context that the boy Moses is born, left on the river by his mother and adopted by Pharoah’s daughter.
OR Isaiah 51:1-6: God calls people to trust in God, remembering how God took Abraham and Sarah as a single couple and turned them into a great nation. In the same way, God promises that God’s justice and mercy will come to God’s people and restore them.

Psalm 124: A pilgrimage Psalm remembering how God has protected and saved God’s people and kept them safe and free from their enemies’ traps.
OR Psalm 138: A Psalm of praise for God’s unfailing love and faithfulness, and God’s commitment to keep God’s promises, to answer prayer and to protect and save God’s people.

Romans 12:1-8: Paul encourages the believers to offer themselves sacrificially to God, and to allow God to transform them by renewing their minds. He challenges them to remain humble and connected to each other, and to use their gifts in God’s service.

Matthew 16:13-20: Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is, and Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus responds by affirming that God has shown him this and that he (or his proclamation – depending on which view you prefer) will be the rock upon which Christ’s church is built, against which hell will not prevail.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This week the Scriptures offer us a theme that can be a difficult one to preach and build liturgy around, especially if we are to connect with the realities of our world. This theme is God’s salvation – God’s protection, rescue and faithfulness to God’s promises. In Exodus, we read the famous story of Moses’ rescue from death and how he was brought into the family of Pharoah. In Isaiah, God’s people are called to trust in the God who saves them. Both Psalms are songs in which God’s saving, protecting love is celebrated, and in the Gospel, after the disciples receive insight into who Jesus really is, Jesus proclaims that the Church will never be overcome by evil. (There is debate about whether Jesus’ mention of "this rock" refers to Peter or to the revelation he received. I think the significance of this has been over stated – mostly in terms of which church is the true church or not. Rather, the focus here, I believe, is on those who follow Christ, and form an alternative community in Christ’s name. The promise is that, though they may be attacked and persecuted, God will ensure that they are not overcome.) Finally, the Romans reading seems a bit out of place in amongst these other readings, but it does reflect on the community of faith, and on God’s work in and through it. Here, God’s people are called to offer themselves completely (as sacrifices) to God, and to trust in God’s transformation, God’s community and God’s gifting – all of which, it can be argued, are given by God to save, protect and empower God’s church, and through it, the world. In the end, though, we have to choose whether we will trust in God’s saving activity among us enough to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, to throw our lot in with the others who make up God’s Church, and to give ourselves and our abilities to serve God’s saving purpose in the world. It’s a challenge we cannot avoid this week.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The promise of God’s saving acts has often been interpreted in ultra-personal terms, and as a kind of "micro-managing" of the world (to use my friend Alan Storey’s expression). There can be no doubt, however, when we read the Scriptures thoroughly, that God’s salvation has global and communal implications as well. Understanding how this works, takes a much deeper and more nuanced understanding of salvation than a simple "Jesus as Superman" view. Moses was saved personally, yes. But his salvation was not for his own sake – he was saved for the sake of his people. Jesus, on the other hand, was not saved from the cross. He had to go through it, but again, it was not just for his own sake, but for the sake of others. Abraham and Sarah, as referred to in Isaiah 51, were saved from childlessness, but again, not just for their own sakes. Salvation, then, must always be understood in the light of God’s purposes in the world – the Gospel’s call for justice, equity, peace and care of creation. In this sense – and it’s here where the Romans reading is so helpful – we must see ourselves as both recipients of God’s salvation and agents of it. We are brought into relationship with God through Christ (saved) in order to offer ourselves to serve in the Church and the world according to our gifting. Salvation is not something that happens TO us, so much as it is something that happens WITH us. This means that, for us to enjoy salvation – whether we refer to a "physical" salvation from what would threaten or hurt us, or a "spiritual" salvation from evil and sin – we need to recognise what God seeks to do in the world (which is what Jesus’ parables have all been about), we need to participate with God’s purposes by becoming people of God’s reign, and we need to work for salvation by seeking to protect and empower the weak, the vulnerable, the marginalised, the threatened and the neglected around us. In this way, we will both receive God’s grace and protection and be God’s channel to bring this grace and protection to others. Only in this way – and not by using the world’s methods – can we truly know salvation. We are not saved from violence by declaring war on others. We are not saved from poverty by hoarding for ourselves. We are not saved from exploitation by exploiting others, and we are not saved from harm by ignoring those who are hurting. We find salvation and protection as we help to bring them to all people – as we acknowledge who Jesus is, as we embrace our identity as Church, and as we trust that evil – in whatever form – cannot, in the end, overcome God’s grace and God’s reign.

LOCAL APPLICATION: It is unfortunate that salvation has largely been framed in terms of "going to heaven when we die". While life eternal or abundant is certainly a promise of God’s work, salvation is not just a future hope – an evacuation from the world. The passages this week all speak about God’s saving work, but they all do so in reference to what is happening in the lives of people now. Moses was not saved by going to heaven, but by God’s activity in his earthly life. And he was called to save God’s people, the Israelites, not by giving them a guarantee of heavenly bliss, but by leading them out of slavery in Egypt. Abraham and Sarah were saved from childlessness in their earthly lives, and when Jesus spoke of the Church withstanding the gates of hell, he was responding to what was happening in the realm of human affairs, not to some eternal paradise. As Church we really need to hear this call of God, and bring our gifts and our connections (as Romans teaches) and offer them to be agents of God’s salvation for the people in our communities and families now. This means that we cannot just preach about avoiding hell and finding heaven when people die. We need to help them to discover heaven in their lives now. Our calling is to enable people in all circumstances and walks of life to find God, to find heaven, to find salvation in their daily reality – whether it is freedom from poverty or substance abuse or domestic violence; whether it is healing of a relationship, or a mind or a body; whether it is the discovery of a new dignity, or a new work opportunity or a new home. In every community the "gates of hell" are at work in people’s lives and the pain and destruction that results can be seen easily. But, if we as Church take our calling seriously, we will become known as the bringers of salvation, and lives and communities will be transformed. Then, when we begin to speak about eternity, people may be more inclined to listen.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
What Life Can Be
Who Do I Say?
Our Small Difference

Hymn Suggestions:
Hail To The Lord’s Anointed
Come Sinners, To The Gospel Feast
Christ, From Whom All Blessings Flow
God Is Working His Purpose Out
Forth In Thy Name, O Lord, I Go
Jesus Messiah (Link to YouTube video)
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
Mighty To Save (Link to YouTube video)
Thuma Mina: Chord Chart; Mp3 Preview
Everyone Belongs: Chord Chart; Mp3 Preview (Click on track 2 on the media player in the left sidebar)
Seek Justice (Scroll down to track 2 and click the media player to listen)
Life Giver / You Are The Christ (Link to YouTube video) (From the Musical "The Witness" by Jimmy & Carol Owens)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Lord’s Supper

Video Suggestions:
The Goal Of Christianity
The Day Is Near
Jesus And The Kingdom

Proper 17A / Ordinary 22A / Pentecost +11A

Sacredise — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:42:22 +0000

The journey continues and this week, following on from God’s gift of salvation, we encounter God’s call for us to be agents of God’s grace, compassion and love to the world. It’s not easy. It will ask of us great sacrifice. But it also promises life for us and for our world, if we will but take up our crosses and follow Christ.

Worship will probably not be comfortable this week. May we thank God for God’s call, and respond willingly and sacrificially, laying down our comforts, our needs, our preferences and even our lives to live as people of all-embracing love.

READINGS:

Exodus 3:1-15: Moses encounters God in a burning bush while feeding the flocks of his father-in-law, and is called to be God’s messenger to tell Pharoah to release God’s people. When Moses asks for God’s name, God tells him that he must say that "I Am" has sent him.
OR Jeremiah 15:15-21: Jeremiah pleads with God to save him from his persecutors and to end his suffering, for which he can find no reason. God replies with the assurance that he will not be overcome, and that God will save him.

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c: A song of instruction for God’s people to praise God and to remember God’s wonders when God made the Israelites greater than the Egyptians and sent Moses and Aaron to them.
OR Psalm 26:1-8: A plea for God to test the Psalmist and declare him innocent because he has not joined with the wicked and has remained faithful to God’s love and truth.

Romans 12:9-21: Paul encourages the believers to be committed to a life of love for one another and even for enemies – seeking to bless and not curse, and to conquer evil with good.

Matthew 16:21-28: Jesus tells the disciples about his coming death to which Peter responds with a rebuke. Jesus in turn corrects Peter and calls the disciples to take up their crosses, to follow Jesus (in his suffering) and to give their lives in order to save their souls.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
What does God’s call mean for us? What can we expect when we receive God’s call? These are the questions at the heart of this week’s Lectionary, and they flow beautifully out of last week’s challenge. If you are following the Moses readings, the clear progression is from Moses’ own personal salvation (last week) to his call to go back and save God’s (and his) people, in spite of his fears, uncertainties and the struggles which will come (this week). If your focus is the Gospel, the movement is from Peter declaration of who Jesus is, and, the foundations of Church in bringing Christ to the world (last week) to Jesus’ embrace of the cross and call for us to follow (this week). Jeremiah’s plea for God’s vindication echoes Jesus’ own suffering in spite of his innocence, and the Romans reading supports both the Gospel and the Moses story as it calls God’s people to live in love for one another & for enemies, giving themselves for the well-being of others in practical ways. Finally, the Psalms both express praise for God’s salvation and the plea for God to recognise the innocence of the Psalmist and God’s people – even as Jesus suffered though innocent. So, what God may be wanting us to hear this week is that we are all called to follow Christ to be liberators of others, serving and loving all people, including our enemies, and that as we respond to this call we must be willing to lay our lives down and embrace the inevitable suffering that and sacrifice that will come. Yet, even in the midst of this tough word is a light of hope. It is in this self-giving love that we find our ‘souls’ (our true, God-given selves) and we discover true, abundant life.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: In our pain-avoidant world, the idea that we should embrace sacrifice and suffering as a response to God’s call sounds ridiculous. Yet, as we seek healing and sustainability in our world, we cannot but see the wisdom in this call. We may not be a Moses or a Jesus, but as each of us embrace our "calledness", we can have global impact in our own small way – but it will require us to release our places of privilege, to turn away from our consumer, accumulation mentality, and to embrace the sacrifice of simple living, of greater financial contribution (if we are among the more wealthy – which if you’re reading this, you are, because you have access to a computer and internet connection), of greater vulnerability to global forces, and of personal relinquishing of comforts and luxuries. We may find ourselves choosing to walk more or to ride a bicycle instead of using our cars as much. We may need to reduce our meat intake. We may need to allocate more of our income to giving and support of those with less. We may have to take stands in uncomfortable ways among our friends and families over issues like inclusion of the marginalised, and loving our enemies. It may mean choosing to give our vote to a difficult and unpopular cause. We may need to learn more about a foreign culture and seek to understand people we would normally consider "enemies". It may mean giving up on certain clothes, foodstuffs or sweets in order to ensure we don’t participate in the oppression or slavery of others. One thing is certain, though: God’s call will lead us to take our global citizenship seriously and to contribute sacrificially in whatever way we can to the healing of our world and its inhabitants. And as we as individuals and groups respond to God’s call, we become part of a movement of grace, healing, love and sacrifice that has the power to really change things for the better.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The old adage, "Think Globally, Act Locally" is relevant to today’s message. The global healing that is required in our world today will come about as individuals and communities embrace the call to sacrifice and to "losing our lives" in our local settings. As we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and reconcile with our enemies, we contribute to a more compassionate, connected and whole world. As we give ourselves in small practical acts of love for one another and for those who are hurting, marginalised and different from us, we help to bring equity, connectedness and peace to our world. It is a pity, when we recognise the difference that we can make to the world, that we have reduced the call of Christ to a passive one – waiting for a heavenly evacuation when we die. It is sad that we have made Christ’s message about little more than praying a prayer and joining an exclusive group in the wait for the afterlife. There is little impact on people’s lives and little sacrifice required of us when we approach our call in this way. We would do better to look around us at the people we worship with, live with and share a neighbourhood with, and see where we can give of ourselves – be it our time, our expertise, our financial resources, our friendship, our network, our forgiveness, our open-heartedness, our commitment to peace or our willingness to learn – and make a commitment to act in small, practical, loving ways – as Paul described – to serve them and bring life to them in whatever we can, even (or especially) when it hurts us to do so.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
No Dying Today
If Not For Your Embrace Of Death
Faith That Carries The Cross

Hymn Suggestions:
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
Take My Life And Let It Be
I Surrender All
O Thou Who Camest From Above (Also works really well to the tune of "The Water Is Wide")
Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus
O, The Wonderful Cross (Link to YouTube video)
I Give You My Heart (Link to YouTube video)
Lifesong (Link to YouTube video)
In Your Crucifixion
Love: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Amazon Mp3 Store)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Celebration of Sacrifice

Video Suggestions:
Stranger
Respond

Image Suggestions:
Crucifixion
Cross Shadow
Love