10 June 2012

And so we move into Kingdomtide or Ordinary Time, and the Lectionary begins the journey of challenging us again to live out the message and mission of Jesus that we have been remembering through the events of the Church Calendar so far. This year the new season begins with a confrontational question – to what will we give our allegiance: the Reign of God or some other power?

May our worship this week and in the weeks to come empower us to give our allegiance to Christ, and the Reign of God that he lived and preached, alone.

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The doctrine of the Trinity can, at times, feel like an awkward and embarrassing Christian belief. It is also, almost certainly, a deeply misunderstood one. For this reason, Trinity Sunday may well be one of the days in the year where we are tempted to depart from the Lectionary and focus our meditations elsewhere. If, however, we can resist all these temptations, and embrace the mystery and majesty of this day, the worship we enjoy, springing from our reflections on our Trinitarian God, can be deep, transforming and deeply inspiring.

May we find new creativity and connectedness as we gather to worship the God who is revealed to us as Divine Parent, Incarnate Child and Ubiquitous Spirit.

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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.

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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.

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