Lectionary Worship Resources from Sacredise » Revised Common Lectionary

Epiphany 5B

Sacredise — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

05 February 2012

There is both comfort and challenge in the Lectionary for this week. On one hand there is the assurance of God’s care, and the particularity of grace as God meets each person at their point of need. On the other hand there is the call to extend a similar adaptive particularity to one another – willingly becoming what others need from us – in order to carry the Gospel’s grace and restoration to the world.

May we find the grace we need, and learn to become the grace others need as we worship this week.

READINGS:

Isaiah 40:21-31: To whom can God be compared? God created the earth and human rulers are short lived. Why should God’s people complain that God has forgotten them? Those who wait on God will be renewed.

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c: An exhortation to praise God for the way God restores those who have been exiled and broken, for the way God provides for God’s people and for the creatures of earth, and for the way God treasures those who honour God.

1 Corinthians 9:16-23: In his preaching of the Gospel, Paul explains how he becomes all things to all people in order to win them for Christ.

Mark 1:29-39: Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law and then many sick and demonised people come to be healed. After that Jesus goes off alone to pray, but Simon and others track him down. Then Jesus leads them off to other towns to preach and heal.
For a more detailed commentary on this passage, see this blog post.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This week the Lectionary offers us a message of great comfort and reassurance. All of the readings speak about God’s compassion and grace in healing, restoring and strengthening God’s people – those who wait on and honour God. In each reading there is a clear indication of the way God meets us at our point of need in order to transform and save us. In the famous song of Isaiah 40, God’s saving power is praised and the weary exiles are reminded that God will restore and strengthen them if they will just turn to God in hope. In the Psalm, God’s gracious restoration and provision for God’s people, and for all of creation, is praised. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he explains how he strives to meet every person where they are in order to bring them to Christ, becoming as they are so that he can share the Gospel with them. Finally, in one of those wonderful moments of particular care, Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law. But, then, immediately the Gospel moves to a wider focus, as Jesus heals and restores the many who come to him, and then, seeks to travel throughout Galilee to preach and heal. The amazing grace of the God who comes to us at our point of need and restores and calls us makes this week a truly celebratory one.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: Over the last few decades the emphasis of human development teachers and spiritual gurus has moved away from self-sacrifice and towards self-actualisation. This quest to "be true to yourself", while it has brought some measure of healing and growth to some, has also been used to justify all kinds of destructive behaviour, from the breaking of marriages and committed relationships in favour of "my needs", to the militant and violent defence of materialistic and consumerist "ways of life" in wealthy nations. The cult of selfishness is the exact opposite of both God’s Reign and of the God who comes to us in Christ. The Scriptures offer us a startling vision of a God who is willing to go out of God’s way to meet us where we are – a God who would be incarnated and suffer death in order to draw humanity into God’s Reign. The Reign of God which is established by the self-sacrificial Christ, also calls its citizens to follow in this sacrificial life by "becoming all things to all people" in order that they too may know God’s grace. This revelation of God’s gracious glory is a challenge to every human system at work in our world – from the careless consumption of planetary resources, to the power games played in national and international government, from the self-interest of big business and political and religious lobby groups to the violence that all too easily erupts between factions, ethnic groups and countries who refuse to share. How different might our world be if leaders sought to be "all things to all people" and if they, like Christ, were willing to meet people at their point of need, and spread the good they do as far and wide as possible? How different might our world be if Christ followers, rather than trying to manipulate the world’s systems according to their own agendas, were more willing to serve and restore others irrespective of differences in belief, conviction, morality and association? In what ways can we commit this week to being true followers of Christ, sacrificing our own interests and agendas in favour of the greater good of God’s Reign?

LOCAL APPLICATION: It is both shocking and disturbing that, in many segments of society, Christianity has been used as an excuse for an attitude of entitlement. The way the Gospel has been presented has left many outside of the Church feeling coerced and manipulated and rejected. It’s like we’re saying that, rather than us meet others where they are, they must change to become like us. Rather than touch and heal the sick and demonised, we have told them that they have no place among us, while we have refused to acknowledge our own demons. Rather than become "all things to all people" we have tried to make all people become like us. Rather than inviting people to be restored and saved by God’s grace, we have used the Bible as a club to break people down when they believe or live differently from us. In this way God’s glory has been hidden from the world, rather being reflected through us. In this way Christ has become for many a false prophet rather than a true reflection of the glory and grace of God. This week, while we can celebrate that God meets us where we are and offers us healing and restoration, we must also acknowledge that we need to repent and change to become those who sacrifice ourselves – our own needs, our own desires, beliefs and agendas – in favour of the wholeness, justice and goodness of others. If we are to embody the Reign of God which Jesus preached and demonstrated we need to release our self-interest and begin to step into the shoes, and the world’s of those who need to experience God’s love. This will mean letting go of our need to be right, and our need to be comfortable and our need to control the world. But, it will also lead us even deeper into God’s grace and love as we experience God working in us and through us even more.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:

The Mystery Of Your Love
Extending The Invitation
Serving All
Ripping Off The Labels

Hymn Suggestions:
Jesus, Lover Of My Soul
Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Just As I Am
Lord, Speak To Me That I May Speak
Proclamation
Everlasting God (Link to YouTube video)
Everyone Belongs
The Power Of Your Love (Link to YouTube video)
Jesus, You Are My Healer (Link to YouTube video)
Healing Hands

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking of Bread

Video Suggestions:
A Solitary Place

Drama Suggestion:
You’re Not Like Me

Epiphany 6B

Sacredise — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:50:00 +0000

12 February 2012

The healing narratives continue this week – with a twist! The connection between the healing of the man with the skin disease on Mark’s Gospel and the healing of Naaman in the Old Testament is clear, but things get very interesting – and a little uncomfortable – when the Epistle reading about discipline and focus is added to the mix. Could it be that the nature and extent of the healing we receive differs according to our willingness to submit to Christ? This is the disturbing but life-giving question that the Lectionary asks this week.

I pray that our worship may lead us into a deeper commitment to the ways of God’s Reign this Sunday.

READINGS:
2 Kings 5:1-14: Naaman, the general of the king of Aram, suffers from a skin disease, but an Israeli slave girl informs him of the prophet Elisha who she believes can heal him. So Naaman sets out to Elisha, who, through a messenger, tells the general to wash in the Jordan seven times. At first Naaman is indignant, but then, after some pleading by his servants, he obeys and is healed.

Psalm 30: A psalm of celebration for God’s grace and protection, for ensuring that the psalmist’s enemies did not overcome him, and for his favour. Also a recognition of how easy it is to get comfortable in God’s presence and goodness, but how easily this sense is lost – although when this happened and the psalmist cried out to God, God responded and turned mourning to dancing.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27: The apostle encourages his readers to be disciplined and to stay focussed in their following of Christ, like runners in a race or boxers in a ring, in order to claim the prize of an eternal crown.

Mark 1:40-45: A man with a skin disease asks to Jesus to heal him and Jesus does, instructing the man not to say anything to anyone but to show himself to the priests as a witness to them. Instead the man spreads the news which makes it impossible for Jesus to enter any towns, forcing him to stay in deserted places outside the cities. But even there, people keep coming to him.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:

The main thrust of this week’s readings is clearly God’s healing power and grace. In this case, the particular affliction of skin diseases is the focus, but the wider implication is easy to see. In the reading from 2 Kings, the well-known story of Naaman, the king of Aram’s general, is related, along with the dismissive way that Elisha facilitates his healing. There are resonances here with the man who is healed by Jesus – both in the disease that is experienced, and in the response to the healer. In Elisha’s case, Naaman is initially indignant at the prophet’s instruction, almost to the point of rejecting them and the healing they promised. In Jesus’ case, the man ignores the clear instruction to tell no one but the religious leaders, with overwhelming results for Jesus. We are not told whether he ever obeyed the instruction to go the priests. These two stories also have resonances with the Psalm in which God’s rescue, God’s presence and God’s answer to prayers for help are all praised.
It is the epistle reading that seems like an odd one out this week. Paul speaks about discipline, focus and hard work as the necessary requirements for receiving the eternal crown. You may decide to leave it at this, and not seek any connection between this passage and the others, choosing to focus either here or on the Gospel. Alternatively, you may want to contrast Paul’s call for discipline with the undisciplined responses of those who came to God to be healed – both Naaman and the man Jesus healed wrestled with choosing their own agenda over God’s. In the end Naaman, submits and is healed. The man in the Gospels is healed anyway, but never submits to Jesus’ instruction – he receives the benefit, but cannot have received the relationship that comes with following Christ’s ways. He had found a healer, but not a Teacher or Master.
This may be a good angle from which to approach the theme this week. There is a difference between coming to Christ in order to receive benefit only – clinging to the hope of being saved, for example, or receiving healing, prosperity or happiness – and coming to Christ in order to become a disciple. There are all too many who choose the former, but Christ calls us to the latter. There is, of course, the benefit of the "eternal crown," of abundant life, when we become disciples of Christ, but discipleship is far more than just receiving a benefit. The benefit is simply a by-product of a life lived for Christ’s sake. The call to follow Christ and to submit to God’s ways, is, in itself, sufficient reward because there is no other way that is worthy of our full devotion.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: We don’t like to hear that God’s grace and healing is in any way conditional, but there seems to be an element of that stark reality in the readings this week. While on the one hand, the healing of the man in the Gospel story indicates that Jesus heals first, and then the instructions come – which he is free to obey or not – the Naaman story reveals that he was required to follow Elisha’s instruction before the healing could happen. Then, of course, there is Paul’s challenge that, in order to know God’s life, we need to be disciplined and "run to win". What might this mean for us in today’s world? To begin with, we need to define what the healing of the world might look like. For those who seek a "quick fix" the healing of the world would probably mean "getting things back to how they were" – which would be a world without challenges to the status quo, and free from economic crises. This can certainly be achieved, but would this be healing? I don’t believe so – since the brokenness would remain, and our political, economic and social systems would inevitably collapse again at some future time. This is where the call to obedience – to discipline – comes in. Like the man who is healed by Jesus, but fails to submit to Jesus’ Lordship, we can find ways to get the benefits without cost – and we often try to do this. But, when we do, we lose the life-giving reality of true wholeness and of God’s Reign that comes when we submit to Christ and live according to God’s ways. So, if we seek true wholeness for our world, we will discover that we must learn the discipline of the Gospel – the simplicity and restraint, the generosity and compassion, the patience and commitment, the justice and peace – that can change the systems of our world in radical and creative ways. I am not suggesting that we can create God’s Reign on earth. I am suggesting, though, that as we begin to live according to the principles of God’s Reign we begin to embody the prayer that God’s kingdom may come "on earth as it is in heaven" and that we facilitate an environment in which the work of God’s salvation, healing and justice may be manifest. However, when we fail to embrace God’s discipline – the ways of God’s Reign – we make it impossible for us, and our world, to experience the benefits that God’s Reign would bring.

LOCAL APPLICATION: It seems to me that there is a tendency in our society to believe that we can "shortcut" our way to anything. We try to fight obesity with creams and pills, without the discipline of exercise or healthy eating. We try create relationships with quick sex and none of the work of navigating our own, or the other person’s, "rough edges". We try to find wealth and fame through reality TV or lotteries with none of the "paying of dues" that is usually required for lasting influence of that magnitude. And we try to find physical and spiritual wholeness through quick routines of affirmations, prayers and thought processes that cost us nothing. Yet, by and large, we remain unhealthy, disconnected, disillusioned and unfulfilled. Somehow we just don’t want to hear that the abundant life we seek might require discipline, time and submission to something other than ourselves. We have even tried to frame the Gospel in these quick-fix terms to our own detriment. However, both healing stories and Paul’s exhortation reveal that, while we may find some benefit from our self-centred solutions, we won;t find true life – the eternal crown – without the disciplined work of learning to follow Christ and follow the ways of God’s Reign. Nor will we find the life we seek if we seek it simply for ourselves. The call of God’s Reign always involves the slow, patient work of learning, growing, discipline and walking together in community. If the man with the skin disease had thought for a moment about the consequences of his actions, he would not have subjected Jesus to the crowds that followed his story. He would also have prioritised going to the religious leaders in order to give Jesus the benefit of official recognition (which may not have happened anyway, but at least he could have tried). Instead, he used his story to gain glory for himself without thought of the impact of spreading the word against Jesus’ request. He sounds a lot like us! And we can learn from him and from Paul’s wise instructions, to find life by becoming true disciples – disciplined followers – of Jesus.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Call Of Compassion
Hope-Bringer
Counting The Cost
Healing The World
Wholeness

Hymn Suggestions:
I Cannot Tell
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Heal Us, Emmanuel, Hear Our Prayer
Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross
The Gift Of His Touch
How Long?
Hallelujah What A Saviour (Link to YouTube video)
Lord, Why Does It Seem
Jesus, You Have Called Us
Who Is This? (Miracles)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Communion Liturgy for a Healing Service

Video Suggestions:
A Man With Leprosy
Spiritual Discipline

Epiphany 7B / Transfiguration Sunday B

Sacredise — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

19 February 2012

Once again Epiphany closes with the Transfiguration of Jesus – the turning point, the final affirmation before Jesus set his sights on Jerusalem and the coming confrontation and sacrifice. The challenge of this week is for us to learn to recognise God’s glory – in Christ, but also in all people and all things. It is this capacity for glory that can make a massive change to how we live in the world, and then through us, make a change to the world itself.

May God’s glory fill our eyes, our hearts and our lives as we worship this week.

READINGS:
2 Kings 2:1-12: Elisha prepares for his time to leave the earth (since he never dies in the Scriptural account) and Elisha refuses to be separated from him. Then, when Elijah asks Elisha what he wants before he leaves, Elisha asks for twice Elijah’s spirit. Elijah tells him that he will receive it if he sees Elijah being taken away. Then, Elijah is caught up in a wind and carried away, but Elisha sees and grieves the departure of his master.

Psalm 50:1-6: God radiates and God’s voice speaks across all the earth calling God’s people to God’s self.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6: Jesus is the glorious image of God, and God has shone into our hearts the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in Christ. It is this glorious Jesus that the Apostle preaches.

Mark 9:2-9: Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain where they see Jesus transfigured into a radiant white, and Moses and Elijah appearing and talking to Jesus. Then they hear God’s voice of affirmation and then all is back to normal. Then Jesus instructs them not to tell anyone until after he is raised.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:

The Transfiguration is the obvious focus of this week, which is both exciting and challenging. The excitement comes from the wonderful celebratory possibilities that this amazing event offers. The challenge comes from having to choose how to approach this week with all the options, but also in how to ensure that our worship avoids the familiarity which so easily dulls the transforming potential of the theme. When all of the readings are placed together one strong message emerges – God allows God’s glory to be seen in order that God may communicate with human beings. In the Kings passage, Elisha seeks to see the glorious departure of Elijah in order to receive Elijah’s spirit. It also offers an opportunity (if we keep reading past the end of the set pericope) for others to recognise God’s anointing on Elisha once Elijah has gone. In the Psalm, god’s radiant glory is accompanied by God’s voice calling God’s people to God. In the letter to the Corinthians, Christ is praised as the glorious image of God – communicating the knowledge of God to whoever will receive Christ. Finally, in the Gospel reading, the glory and affirmation of God is communicated both to Jesus but also to the disciples who witness this event. It is clear that the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets (represented by Moses and Elijah) which Jesus brings is to be recognised by the disciples, and with the coming death and rising to which Jesus alludes at the end of this passage, they will need to memory of God’s glory and God’s communication to and through Christ to sustain them on the road to and through the cross.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: God’s glory and God’s communication are two ideas that may, at first glance, seem to be thoroughly theological and philosophical, with little real connection with the very real and pragmatic work of justice and peace in the world. However, it is the loss of our ability to perceive God’s glory and to hear God’s voice that has resulted in much of the injustice we encounter in the world. When we fail to see, as the Psalmist describes it, God’s glory shining over and through the created world, it becomes easy to use the earth and its resources as commodities, forgetting their sacred nature. When we fail to recognise that Jesus is the image of God, revealing God’s character and values, God’s ways and God’s purposes, it is easy to believe that God calls us to actions that contradict Christ’s sacrificial life and teaching, and to ignore Christ’s message of God’s Reign as the basis for faith and life – the peaceful, compassionate, gracious and just Jubilee-style Reign. When we fail to recognise that God’s glory is also revealed in all people – that Christ hides within them in a "distressing disguise" (as Mother Teresa put it), it becomes easy to abuse, dehumanise and exploit others. But, when we learn to recognise God’s glory in Christ, we also learn to recognise God’s glory in all things and in all people – and this changes everything. The moment our lives become flooded with glory we grow more celebratory, more compassionate, more careful of other people and of the earth, more just and more selfless. God’s glory draws us inexorably into a life that seeks to reflect that glory – which is what Paul testifies to in his letter to the Corinthians. More, when we become aware of God’s glory, and begin to reflect it, we also become those who, like Christ, call glory out of everyone we meet, inviting them to radiate as God has created them to – listening to hear the voice of God’s affirmation even as Christ did, even in the darkness journeys of our lives. How different our world would be if we could develop an international culture of awareness of glory. It’s certainly a dream worth striving for!

LOCAL APPLICATION: In homes, communities and even churches, relationships, systems and structures break down when we fail to recognise their glory. At the heart of this truth is the belief that God revealed God’s glory in Christ, and that Christ taught us to recognise God’s glory in all things and all people. When we fail to be aware of glory, we start to take one another for granted. When we fail to see glory, the "broken windows" syndrome that Malcolm Gladwell described kicks in, and our environment begins to deteriorate for lack of care. When we fail to see glory, we lose our sense of connectedness with God, and God’s voice grows silent for us – or we become blinded by the things of this world and its systems as Paul describes. It is glory, however, that stirs us to care and reverence for other people and for the world. It is an awareness of glory that reminds us that God is always with us, and that enables us to recognise what God is saying to us at any point in time. Further, when we have learned to recognise God’s glory around and within us, we, like Jesus, are inspired, strengthened and given the courage to face the darkness, knowing that, whatever we may suffer, the light will never be completely extinguished. It may sound naive, but what the world needs is people who have learned the capacity to recognise glory wherever it may be found. This is the capacity that sustains relationships, that maintains communities, that unites people and that drives us into selfless service of one another and of our world. Without a vision of God’s glory, of God’s glorious Reign, it becomes very difficult to work for true justice and healing. But, with this vision, no sacrifice is too much in the quest to let God’s Reign be manifest among us – not even the cross.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
The Simple Logic Of Light
Whole-y God
Darkness And Light
The One We Worship

Hymn Suggestions:
Crown Him With Many Crowns
At The Name Of Jesus
Christ, Whose Glory Fills The Skies
Transfigured Christ, None Comprehends
Fairest Lord Jesus
O Wondrous Sight, O Vision Fair
Voices And Choices
The Mountain
We Bow Down Before You
Now And Forever
How Great Is Our God (Link to YouTube video)
Out Of The Darkness (Link to YouTube video)
Shine Jesus Shine

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Sacrament

Video Suggestions:
Transfiguration

Image suggestions:
Skies, Clouds & Suns Collection

Ash Wednesday B

Sacredise — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

22 February 2012

Once again we move into the season of repentance, reflection and preparation for the journey to the cross and beyond. Like Advent, Lent was a season of preparation for baptismal candidates (who were baptised on Easter Sunday). For us now, although we may not be receiving baptism in a few weeks time, the disciplines of Lent remain a profound invitation to allow God’s life and values to direct our lives. As we receive the ash on our foreheads today, may it be more than just a ritual, but a reminder that all that is not rooted in God’s Reign ultimately becomes ash, but with God’s life at work within us, we are more than just dust – we are the children of God.

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 in Psalm 51, 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
Overcoming Temptation
Remembering And Returning
Skeletons

Hymn Suggestions:
Blow Ye The Trumpet, Blow
Jesus, Priceless Treasure
Just As I Am
No Sack Cloth
Lord Have Mercy
Change My Heart, O God
Show Us The Ancient Paths
In Your Mercy, Lord

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Ash Wednesday

Video Suggestions:
Lenten Reflection
Psalm 51

Lent 1B

Sacredise — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

26 February 2012

We often talk about God’s Reign in human terms – what it means for us, how it affects us. This first Sunday in Lent, though, at the start of our penitent journey of preparation for Holy Week and Easter, we are invited to expand our vision of God’s Reign and recognise that it embraces all of creation, and that it whispers of a connectedness between all things that, once we embrace it, is truly world-changing.

May our worship and our penitence open our eyes to the connectedness of all creation.

READINGS:
Genesis 9:8-17: God promises Noah that God will never again destroy all life through a flood, and God gives the rainbow as a sign of this promise.

Psalm 25:1-10: A plea for God to be merciful and to not remember the sinfulness of the psalmist’s youth, but to teach the psalmist God’s ways and deliver him from his enemies.

1 Peter 3:18-22: Jesus died for us and was raised to life, having preached to the "spirits in prison" who disobeyed in Noah’s time. And now we are given the sign of baptism to show that we are saved & cleansed within by Christ, who now rules with God in heaven.

Mark 1:9-15: Jesus is baptised by John, affirmed by God and sent into the wilderness to be tempted. Then after John is arrested he begins his ministry calling people to repent and believe in his Good News message.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
Water – in the flood and in the baptism of Jesus and of Christ’s followers – is the striking image at the heart of this first week in Lent. But, along with it comes God’s promise of restoration, of grace and of the united creation toward which God is working. In the Noah story, the promise – freely given – that God will not again destroy the earth with a flood is given, not just to Noah and the human beings, but to the whole of creation. In Peter’s letter, Christ’s work in saving both the living and the "spirits in prison" from Noah’s time, is explained, with baptism as the sign of our salvation. Importantly, though, Christ’s place as ruler of all "angels, authorities and powers" is also proclaimed here – indicating again, the unity that comes through God’s grace. In the Psalm the writer expresses trust in the God who restores and protects and who leads the psalmist in God’s ways of life. Finally, in the Gospel, we return to the account of Christ’s baptism (which we last encountered in the first week of Epiphany on Baptism of Christ Sunday), but now, the temptation narrative is included, along with the start of Jesus’ ministry. Here again, God’s affirmation of Jesus, along with the baptism experience, is a highlight, leading on to God’s sustaining of Christ in the wilderness. Here, too, a vision of a united creation is offered, as we read that Jesus was cared for by angels and wild animals.
If we are to bring all of these threads together, we find a simple, but transforming message coming through. The act of baptism, which is a sign of our welcome into God’s community of grace and salvation, embraces and includes all of creation. And, as all of creation is brought together, so we are all called to be agents of God’s grace and sustenance and life to one another. The mission of Christ, of which his baptism was the start, proclaims the Reign of God in which all creation, not just human beings, are included and restored. As we embrace the Lenten fast and the journey of repentance, it is important that the scope of God’s saving work be remembered, for ultimately our spiritual work must lead us to be better participants in this work.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: There is much that we, as global citizens, need to repent of in this Lenten season. The increasing fragmentation of our world along religious, political, economic and racial lines, and the disconnect between humanity and the rest of creation are all destructive forces that have no need to exist. Somehow we need to learn that we are all welcomed into the community of God’s grace and love, and that our wellbeing depends on us recognising our connectedness. Certainly, when we place Christ’s message of the availability of God’s Reign alongside the events of his baptism and temptation, we cannot help but recognise that his message was inclusive of all of humanity, but also of all of creation. The Lenten disciplines are all useful ways for us to re-orient our lives around God’s Reign, and live out the truth of our connectedness. Fasting teaches us to "live simply so that others may simply live" and provides a discipline of restraint that could potentially keep us from over-consumption of the world’s resources, and from the fight for resources that so often leads to war and violence. Giving – of time, abilities and resources – teaches us generosity and sharing, and grows compassion and thankfulness, which strengthen our ability to be peaceful, loving and welcoming people. Prayer teaches us that our quest for power is futile, that we cannot be our own gods, and that the most effective power is that which is shared and given away. If we will allow these disciplines, and the Lenten vision of a unified creation, shape our lives, this journey can transform us into true participants in God’s saving mission, and through us help to bring some measure of peace and healing to our communities and our world.

LOCAL APPLICATION: As local communities and as individuals we have two choices when it comes to how we will live. The first is to keep ourselves separate from those who are different from us, from our environment and from the big issues that face our world. The second is to "think globally, but act locally", recognising that what we do affects others, and what happens to others happens to us. It takes deliberate work to shift our awareness away from our own perspectives and concerns to our connectedness with all of creation, but it’s a life-giving shift to make. When we begin to live as citizens of God’s inter-connected Reign, we start to experience the healing that comes from embracing our neighbours as friends, and from caring for our world and its creatures as companion recipients of God’s grace. Once this vision has settled into our sols, we begin to recognise that the smallest of acts can have massive healing consequences. We begin to recognise that small acts of care and generosity contribute to world peace. We discover that kindness expressed in word, action – or even just a smile – makes our world safer. We start to find that caring for our corner of the earth can help to address issues of climate change, and that learning simplicity can help in reducing our over-consumption. It’s the small acts, connected and shared, that can have a huge impact – which is why Jesus preached his message to small groups, and called individuals to follow – all of which ultimately resulted in a global community numbering in the billions which could, if we choose it, make a massive difference in helping to heal our world.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Rainbows and Promises
The Baptisms We Need
That Life Would Teach Us
A Vision Of Beauty

Hymn Suggestions:
For The Beauty Of The Earth
Praise To The Lord, The Almighty
O God Our Help In Ages Past
Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
When Jesus Came To Jordan
Indescribable (Link to YouTube video)
Creation’s King (Link to YouTube video)
Creator King (Link to YouTube video)
O God Our Help (Link to YouTube video)
Your Word

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking of Bread
A Liturgy of Creation and Communion

Video Suggestions:
Genesis 9

Image Suggestion:
Rainbow

Advent 1A

Sacredise — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 13:31:03 +0000

And so the Lectionary Cycle begins again. This is always an exciting and moving time, as we prepare ourselves for the journey ahead, and begin to open our hearts to a new experience of transformation. Year A is, in a sense, a double beginning, because it starts not just a new year, but also the start of the three year cycle as well.

As is usual for this time of year, the Lectionary begins with our hope in Christ, the coming of God’s reign in Christ, and the challenge for us to live from this hope, remembering God’s comings in the past, recognising God’s comings now, and awaiting God’s comings into our future. Just this one day, if embraced mindfully and wholeheartedly, can change us forever.

This week, let’s celebrate and open ourselves to the power of God’s gift of hope in Christ.

READINGS:
Isaiah 2:1-5: A prophecy of the days when all people will seek to learn God’s ways, and God will teach them justice and peace; and an invitation to walk in God’s light.

Psalm 122: A song of celebration for Jerusalem, the place of worship, the place where God’s people are taught and led by God, and a place for which the Psalmist prays prosperity and peace.

Romans 13:11-14: Believing in the soon coming of God’s day of salvation, Paul encourages the believers to live lives of morality, peace and modesty.

Matthew 24:36-44: Because we do not know the day or time when Christ will come, Jesus encourages the believers to be ready at all times.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The first Sunday of Advent always leads us to reflect on Christ’s Second Coming, which is both problematic and exciting. The problem lies in how we deal with the issue of the Second Coming – especially with the ongoing tendency to try and predict times and dates, with the recent obsession with the Mayan calendar and 2012, and with the possibility that it creates a “pie-in-the-sky” theology for our people. The readings offer us another possibility, though – and this is where the excitement lies. In every reading, the promise of Christ’s coming is related back to how we live now – which is as it should be. Isaiah and Paul both invite us into a life lived in God’s light – a life of peace, justice and morality. The Psalmist encourages us to pray for peace, and to continue to gather for worship where God’s presence and ‘judgment’ are encountered. Finally , Jesus, encourages us to live in ‘readiness’ – always aware that Christ’s coming is immanent, and avoiding the temptation (unlike those in Noah’s day) of growing absorbed in self-interest and personal pleasure (what Paul refers to as ‘wild parties’).

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: At it’s heart, this week in the Lectionary is about hope, and living up to a higher standard. If this world is all we have, we can “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”. But, if we truly have hope in Christ, in the coming of life, and of the day when God’s reign is the norm, not the exception in our world, we must live according to this hope now. We live as people who believe enough in God’s coming reign that we will begin to practice it’s values and principles now. This means we commit ourselves to integrity, justice and peace, and invite others into this way of life – embracing Isaiah’s image of the nations streaming to God’s mountain.This means we cannot accept things as they are just because “it’s just the way it is”. Rather, we commit ourselves to working to create the world of which we dream. This means we live in peace, so far as we can, with all people. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethics and morality. We embrace a life of gentle modesty, not in the unfortunately limited sense in which that word is usually used – of dressing to cover up our bodies out of a fear of our sexuality – but in the sense that we reject ostentatious displays of wealth, wild and excessive self-pleasuring events and exercises, and over the top attention-seeking ploys. Rather we seek to demonstrate the kind of life that enriches the world and all creatures who live in it.

LOCAL APPLICATION: In too many ways the life of Christians and their churches simply reflects the values and beliefs of the societies around us. To look at us you wouldn’t know that we wait for a different world, and hold out the hope of peace and justice. If we really lived our faith in the coming of Christ, we would seek to express hope in all our interactions, we would invite others into a hope-filled way of living, and we would live the kind of life that demonstrates what we believe the world will one day be. This means we must embrace a life of simple, daily justice – reducing our personal carbon footprints through modesty and simplicity; bringing peace through the practices of forgiveness, negotiation and listening; seeking justice through serving those in need and challenging injustice wherever we find it in our communities. In addition we need to develop the habit of readiness – looking for every coming of Christ into our lives and world, and noticing and proclaiming the presence of Christ whenever we can. If we can do this, we become the fulfilment of the prophecies in this week’s readings. In what way can you seek to be a quiet, but prophetic community through this Advent season?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
An Incredible Hope
Quietly Prophetic
Your Coming

Hymn Suggestions:
There’s A Light Upon The Mountain
Sing We The King Who Is Coming To Reign
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
At The Name Of Jesus
There’s A Light (Upon The Mountains): Chord Chart; Mp3 Download
Hear Our Praises (Link to YouTube video)
Hosanna (Link to YouTube video)
Prepare The Way (Link to MySpace video – it’s not the greatest video, but it will give you a sense of the song)

Liturgy:
A Foretaste Of The Heavenly Banquet

Video Suggestions:
The Prophet’s Candle – Hope
Christ Is Coming

Advent 2A

Sacredise — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:02:02 +0000

This second week in Advent draws into the possibilities of real peace for us and our world – God’s Shalom realm. Ironically, there is so much in this time of year that works against a sense of peace – and much of it is the product of misguided faith and exclusivist religion. What would it mean if we really began to embrace the peace, the mutuality, the community and the enemy-love of the Gospel? These are the very powerful and practical challenges of the Lectionary this week.

May our worship lead us into God’s Shalom and transforms us into agents of Shalom in every moment, every situation and every interaction.

READINGS:
Isaiah 11:1-10: Isaiah proclaims the coming of the “shoot from the stump of Jesse” who, through God’s Spirit resting on him, will bring peace, justice, righteousness and equity to the earth.

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19: A prayer for the King to rule wisely and justly, protecting the weak and vulnerable and refreshing the world and the godly who live in it.

Romans 15:4-13: Paul’s prayer that God may empower the Church to live in harmony, since Christ came for both Jew and Gentile, and together they form one voice of praise to God.

Matthew 3:1-12: John the Baptist preaches in the wilderness, baptising those who repent and speaking out against the corrupt religious leaders, and challenging people to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
From the dream of the future world where God’s reign is actively and visibly manifest, the lectionary now moves to the promise of the Messiah, and the harmony and justice he will bring. Both dreams are essentially one – that God’s reign will take root among us bringing in a world in which the weak and vulnerable are cared for, in which justice prevails and in which all people live in harmony in spite of (or maybe even because of) their differences. Perhaps the word that best sums up the Messianic dream of this week, and which John proclaimed, is the word “shalom” – well-being, peace, salvation, harmony, goodness, justice are all implied in this word. Isaiah proclaims it in the image of predators living in harmony with their prey. The Psalmist uses the word ‘Shalom’ in describing the peaceful refreshed world for which he prays. Paul pictures Jew and Gentile as one celebratory voice offered to God in worship, and John the Baptist, while speaking of judgement, which may seem to be the opposite of shalom, invites people to be ready for the coming of the Messiah who wil immerse people in God’s Holy Spirit. God’s presence and power available to all, irrespective of title, position or background – this is, perhaps the ultimate Shalom!

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The dream of Shalom may seem like a fantasy in a world at war, a world in which so many issues divide us so strongly – “pro-life” or “pro-choice”, “liberal” or “conservative”, “creationist” or “evolutionist”, “capitalist” or “sociaist”, “pro-gay” or “anti-gay”, “rich” or “poor”. It’s tempting to define the world in clear terms like this, but when we do so, all we do is deepen the enmity between us, and keep us all from knowing and living God’s Shalom. Ultimately justice is not something that can be achieved by alienation and by taking sides. While there are real evils in the world that must be resisted, it is wise to remember Paul’s words that it’s not the people we fight so much as the “principalities and powers”, and as we embrace a Shalom way of being – which includes loving even those we consider to be our enemies – we reflect the light of God’s grace and love, and we begin to bring God’s Shalom into our world as a lived reality. In what ways can you opt out of the polarising habits of your society and embrace a Shalom-bringing inclusiveness that welcomes all and that seeks and celebrates common ground wherever it may be found?

LOCAL APPLICATION: In so many ways we attempt to create Shalom for ourselves. Unfortunately, though, our attempts are often the exact opposite of what God shows us is the real route to Shalom. We think we can find security by preemptive attacks on our enemies, and then we find ourselves more at risk. We think we can find peace by excluding those who challenge and disagree with us, only to find our safe community growing smaller and smaller, until we only have ourselves to agree with (and even that fails sometimes!). We think we can find joy and abundance by amassing money and stuff, only to discover scarcity growing around us, and our planet dying, and the reality of losing it all robs us of any joy we might have known. We think we can find love by turning inward and making our own needs, potential and purpose more important than relationships, or the service of others – even those closest to us – only to find that our self-absorption leaves us alone and empty. We think we can find God by ignoring the realities of our world and escaping to an other-worldly faith, while waiting for a heavenly bliss after death, only to discover that our souls remain dissatisfied and God feels distant and unattainable. If we are to know Shalom, we need to change how we do things. We must allow ourselves to be driven to the risky acts of listening, dialogue, hospitality, service, justice and compassion. Then, as we give ourselves to create shalom not just for ourselves but for others, we discover that shalom finds us, and God’s reign is truly within us.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Shalom
Preparing The Way

Hymn Suggestions:
Hail To The Lord’s Anointed
O Come, O Come, Immanuel
See How Great A Flame Aspires
I Cannot Tell Why He Whom Angels Worship
Everyone Belongs: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Amazon.com Mp3 Store)
Jesus Messiah (Link to YouTube video)
Mighty To Save (Link to YouTube video)
Consuming Fire (Link to YouTube video)
God With Us (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy for the Agape

Video Suggestions:
Child Of Hope
A Voice In The Wilderness
Kumi, Ori Sar Shalom

Image Suggestion:
Wilderness

Advent 3A

Sacredise — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:18:45 +0000

Joy is seldom recognised for the incredibly restorative, liberating force that it is. Unfortunately, even in faith communities, soberness, seriousness and even cynicism are often portrayed as the marks of true spirituality and maturity. The Lectionary this week would challenge that thinking, and would call us to consider joy as the mark of true faith, of spiritual maturity and of true justice-bringers. If our work for justice and peace, for compassion and grace brings no joy – to us or to those we serve – we do not really bring liberation. But, when we can dance and sing, and draw others into the celebration, we have truly become life-givers, and reflections of the Christ who was not only a man of sorrows, but also a man of celebration and joy.

Let’s fill our sanctuaries and our world with singing and celebration this week, and let’s rediscover the healing power of joy as we wait on the joyous incarnation event.

READINGS:
Isaiah 35:1-10: God’s promise to restore God’s people, creating a land of peace and prosperity for them, and providing a safe and sure way for them to return home, guaranteeing their arrival in God’s Zion where they will find gladness, joy and an end to their suffering.

Psalm 146:5-10: A celebration of the God who helps those in need – the poor, the blind, the prisoner, the bent over, the widow, the orphan – and who trips the wicked up.
OR
Luke 1:46b-55: Mary’s song of praise to the God who has chosen her, even though she is lowly, and who helps and sustains the weak and needy, while opposing and bringing down the rich and powerful.

James 5:7-10: James encourages the believers to be patient as they wait for God’s coming, even as the farmer waits for rain, and as the prophets of old faithfully endured their suffering with patience.

Matthew 11:2-11: John the Baptist sends his disciples to question whether Jesus is the One or if he should wait for another, and Jesus assures him with the example of his ministry of liberation, healing and proclaiming the Good News. Then he teaches about John’s role, explaining that, as great as he was, those who embrace God’s reign are greater still.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The invitation to find fullness of life in the commonwealth of God resonates through all of this week’s readings. God’s grace and love covers and protects those who seek God’s reign, and God guides them – provides a ‘way’ for their journey – bringing them joy and gladness as they enter God’s home. The journey, though, is not easy, even though it is protected. It is a journey requiring patience (James), and in which the poor, the needy, the vulnerable and the weak are to be served and protected – for these are the marks of God’s reign, both in those God ‘chooses’ (like Mary) and in the Messiah God’s people seek to follow (as in Matthew’s Gospel). Ultimately, though, those who endure and stay on the path will find an end to their suffering (and that of those they have served) and eternal joy. What an awesome vision!

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: What does the word “Joy” mean in a world of suffering, inequity, war and terrorism, and climate change? In what ways can God’s reign be seen as an invitation to joy for the weak and vulnerable of our world. Sometimes joy is seen only as a distant hope awaiting us after death, and historically this joy has been inspiring and sustaining for the exploited and poor. However, sometimes this promise of joy has also been used to excuse injustice in this world. Joy must be embraced, then, as both a goal for us to work for – the quest for ‘a home’ for all people, and for peace and equity to flood our world - and a characteristic of those who do this Christ-following work. God’s reign is seen in the way God’s people find joy in whatever circumstances they face, and it is seen as they spread joy around them through healing, uplifting, and proclaiming Good News. Our call then is to be cheerful, but firm, activists, identifying the places in our world where joy is being robbed, and challenging the unjust “killjoys” in our society, while joyfully serving those who mourn and grieve. This is the call of Jesus’ example, of Mary’s song, of Isaiah’s promise and the Psalmist’s celebration. It is also the source of patience and hope as we wait for God’s reign to be fully realised, both in this world and the next.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Where are the places of greatest grief and hopelessness in your community? What are the sources of this pain, and in what way do we, perhaps inadvertently, contribute? In what ways have you allowed a future hope to “let you off the hook” of bringing joy to those in need? As we wait, in Advent, for the coming of the One who brings joy and Good News, how can we allow this hope to inspire us and empower us to Gospel action? It may mean simply addressing areas of complacency and neglect in your community – cleaning up rubbish dumps and fixing broken windows wherever you may find them. It may mean refusing to buy into the suspicion and scepticism of the times, and committing to hope and compassion. It may mean speaking out against the politics and religion of fear and slander that so easily become the loudest voices in our world. In small ways we can become those who make this world ‘homely’ even for the most vulnerable, and we can speak prophetically against any power that would seek to control through fear, grief and corruption. In the way we live, speak and interact we can be “counter-cultural” demonstrating that joy can be known in this world without oppressing, bombing or ignoring others, and without buying into rampant consumerism and “achieveism”.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Magnificat
Seeing Glory
Joy To The World

Hymn Suggestions:
Joy To The World
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Blessed Assurance
Blessed Be Your Name (Link to YouTube video)
Give Thanks (Link to YouTube video)
Sing Sing Sing (Link to YouTube video)
You Are: Chord Chart; Free Mp3 Download

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy for the Eucharist

Video Suggestions:
Advent: Joy
Joy
Joy

Advent 4A

Sacredise — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:06:01 +0000

It seems almost trite and superfluous to say that the incarnate is the greatest statement, the greatest manifestation of love ever – but that doesn’t make it untrue. The name Immanuel – God with us – is a profound and powerful statement of God’s desire to be in intimate communion with human beings. The challenge for us is to recognise God’s presence in all situations and circumstances. We can doubt God’s love in times of grief, pain and trauma, but we find comfort, healing and strength when we are able to experience God’s “with-us-ness” even in such times. And, when we are able to help others to recognise and experience God’s presence and love in their lives – whatever they may be going through – then we have truly become Advent people.

May our worship overflow with proclamation and experience of God’s ever-present love this week.

READINGS:
Isaiah 7:10-16: God promises a sign for King Ahaz, who is looking to Assyria for assistance with the threats of neighbouring Damascus and Samaria, that a virgin will give birth and call the child “Immanuel”, and that the enemy nations will be desolate before the child knows good from evil.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19: A prayer for God to forgive and restore God’s people, and to send and empower the One God raises up to keep God’s people from turning away from God.

Romans 1:1-7: Paul celebrates Christ who is of both human and divine descent and who has called the apostles – and all of God’s people – to belong to Jesus and to spread the Good News.

Matthew 1:18-25: Mary discovers herself to be pregnant while betrothed to Joseph, but Joseph is informed in a dream that the Child is of God, and must be named Jesus. These events are proclaimed to be the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the virgin who conceives and gives birth to Immanuel.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The final Advent week before the Christmas celebration turns our attention to the significance of the name given in Isaiah’s prophecy, and ascribed to Jesus by Matthew – Immanuel. The idea that God is with us may seem commonplace to us now, since we’ve heard it so many times, but for the ancient hearers of the Gospel, it must have sounded radical, or even scandalous. Yet, it reflects the intense longing within God for intimate union with humanity. It is a testament to God’s unfailing, unconditional love, and is reinforced by all the readings this week. Isaiah speaks a prophecy which offers a sign of God’s care and willingness to protect God’s people to a king who has largely ignored God’s law. The Psalm offers a prayer in faith and expectation that God cares for God’s people and will send one who will lead and deliver them. Paul celebrates the Good News of God’s kindness and the belonging we find in God through Christ. And, in a rather moving narrative, Matthew describes Joseph’s love and care for Mary, which becomes something of a metaphor (whether intentional or not on Matthew’s part) for the love of the God who is about to step physically into human affairs and experience.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: On the scale of global issues, love may seem to be completely irrelevant. When governments negotiate, when corporations strategise, when soldiers march, or when the weak and poor struggle to survive, what place is there for love? Yet, God must know something about love that we don’t since love is the only command we have been given as followers of Christ. In truth, if love was the driving force behind our voting, our business dealings and our consumption, our dealings with friend and enemy, and our awareness and care of the most vulnerable, the world would be a far more whole place. How could a policy of love actually work out practically in the world, though? Perhaps if followers of Christ in places of influence began to embrace dialogue, collaboration and the quest to listen and understand, that would be a powerful first step. Secondly, if all followers of Christ chose to operate from love in whatever capacity we may engage in social and political structures – whether voting, volunteering, contributing, lobbying, petitioning, negotiating or communicating with leaders, this could have a transforming impact on the systems that operate in our world. Such a policy of love would inevitably impact economic realities (poverty and the gap between rich and poor) climate change, conflict, health care, immigration and xenophobia concerns, crime, exploitation and human trafficking in positive ways, because we could no longer remain uninvolved in the struggles of our world, and we could no longer choose the methods of expediency, dominance and self-service in our responses to our world’s need. The Advent challenge this week is for us to follow Christ in becoming – individually and together – Immanuel in our broken world. The incarnation continues through Christians if we take Christ’s call seriously!

LOCAL APPLICATION: It’s not hard to discern, in our churches and communities, how the call to be agents of God’s presence and love should be worked out. Within our own groups, it’s the simple acts of service, inclusion and grace that easily manifest God’s love. In this Advent season, a particular awareness of, and care for, those who have significant need is a visible reflection of God’s care. Food parcels, invitations to be part of small groups and special community building events all open us, and those in need, to God’s presence and love. Beyond the walls of the church, simple neighbourliness can be a very effective reflection of God’s care. Setting aside time to volunteer in a shelter or caring ministry, or welcoming needy or lonely people into our celebrations – making them part of our family – also offers tremendous healing and transformation. Whatever the actual actions we may choose to do, the key to experiencing Immanuel again this Advent, is to offer ourselves to be “little Immanuels” in practical ways in our own world. If we can lay aside any possible benefit we may receive – whether church growth or personal satisfaction – so much the better!

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
God With Us
Come Again
Where Is The Love?
Love In Action

Hymn Suggestions:
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
Love Came Down At Christmas
Let Earth And Heaven Combine
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
What Child Is This?
God With Us (Link to YouTube video)
Jesus Messiah (Link to YouTube video)
Born That We May Have Life
Joy Has Dawned
Light Of the World

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy for the Sacrament

Video Suggestions:
Advent: Love
God With Us
Four Words
Christ Is Coming

Christmas 1A

Sacredise — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:17:20 +0000

It’s a challenging Christmas season this year. The First Sunday after Christmas Day comes right after – the very next day! And the, to make it even tougher, the Gospel reading is the slaughter of the children under King Herod. Can you imagine anything less consistent with the “good cheer” of Christmas Day?

But perhaps this is a good thing. Perhaps we need to be reminded that great joy and great suffering exist right beside each other. Perhaps we need to be reminded that even as we celebrate, others grieve, and our celebration is empty and destructive unless we also work to create a reason for the least and most vulnerable among us to celebrate. Perhaps it’s good for us to go directly from “Peace on earth and good will to humanity” to the reality of violence, destruction and suffering, so that we can renew our commitment to the Christmas message in the light of the pain of our world, rather than in some celebratory vacuum.

May your worship and preaching today offer a real and robust reason for joy and hope in our broken and hurting world.

READINGS:
Isaiah 63:7-9: A Psalm of praise for God’s love for God’s people, and God’s deliverance and mercy which carries them.

Psalm 148: A call for creation to praise God, for God’s glory is over all, and God uplifts and strengthens God’s people.

Hebrews 2:10-18: Through Jesus, who became human, like us, and who was tempted, like us, God has brought us, as Christ’s sisters and brothers, into God’s glory.

Matthew 2:13-23: Herod slaughters all boys two years and younger after being outwitted by the wise men, but Jesus and his parents, after being warned by God, have already fled to Egypt. After Herod’s death, they return to the land of Israel and settle in Nazareth.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This is a tough day in the Lectionary, especially coming right after the Christmas celebration. While it can be tempting to avoid the obvious difficulties with today’s readings and just stay with expressions of faith and rejoicing in the coming of Christ and the promise of God’s deliverance, even from enemies who would seek to destroy God’s purposes, to do this is to do our people – and the Scriptures – a disservice. While it is good to affirm that God’s plan of salvation is worked out throughout biblical history, and in our own times and lives, the shocking image of the innocent children who are slaughtered as Christ escapes cannot be avoided. Neither can the reality of the millions of innocent children who die daily through poverty, war, curable diseases and human trafficking. To ignore this horrific story, or to focus only on Christ’s escape, is to paint God as a heartless manipulator of history, and human beings as expendable pawns. Rather, the challenge of this passage is to seek to understand the impact that Herod’s cold abuse of power had on Christ and his life. It is to recognise the grief of God in the cry of the mothers who lost their children. And it is to recognise God’s grief for the lost innocents of our world today. Then, as our hearts are broken, we cannot help but follow Christ into a life of protecting the most vulnerable, and of holding our leaders accountable to justice and integrity for the sake of the poor. The message of Christmas, then, is not just that God is with us, but that through us, God seeks to be with all people, especially those who are grieving, suffering and marginalised.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It would be wonderful to be able to say that Herods no longer exist in the halls of power in our world, but we all know this is not the case. Some of our leaders are deliberately corrupt, feeling nothing for bringing suffering and devastation on their nation and people, while they enjoy privilege, prosperity and power. Others are simply weak, unable to resist the temptations of power and greed, and unable to stand against those who lead them into corruption through promises of financial and political support. And all the while, people in poverty-stricken, debt-crippled countries suffer and die, ignored by the powerful and wealthy. In this scenario, though, there are leaders – of government, of business, of faith communities, of the arts – that stand with integrity and courage against injustice. It is important for us to identify these leaders and support them in prayer and in any other way we can. But, it is equally important for us, as followers of the ultimate leader, Christ, to speak out against any slaughters of innocents we become aware of, and to do what we can to work for the healing and restoration of those who are being harmed or ignored. Among the issues we need to be involved with, human trafficking stands out as a modern “slaughter of the innocents” which must call us to prayer and action in Christ’s name.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Preachers have a tough time this Sunday. It is quite possible that, after the Christmas joy, this Sunday’s service could feel like a wet blanket. However, it can also be a celebration of justice and a call to life if handled well. Two emphases that can help to make this happen are as follows: 1. God is at work to save and protect the innocent, the marginalised and the poor. God is also at work, in Christ, leading us, as God’s people, into the abundant life Christ promised. God hears both the cry of the most vulnerable, and our cry. This is a gift of grace and a source of tremendous hope and joy. 2. As in Christ, God came to raise up the least and to include and restore the marginalised, so God invites us to participate in this work of joy-bringing, life-giving and saving. And it is as we particpate in God’s reign – which has come to us in Christ – that we discover life, guidance and salvation for ourselves. As we embrace these two emphases, and the life they offer, we can begin to identify the grieving and hurting ones in our midst and make a commitment to speak for them, to serve them and to protect them in any way we can.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Through Our Tears
Hear Our Cry
The Sound Of Tears
It’s My Problem Too

Hymn Suggestions:
Ye Servants Of God
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
O God Our Help In Ages Past
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
There Is None Like You (Link to YouTube video)
O God Our Help (Link to YouTube video)
We Won’t Stay Silent (Link to YouTube video)
All Creation Sing (Joy To The World)
Love Came Down
You Are God: Chord Chart; Mp3 Preview (Scroll down for link)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy Of Compassion

Video Suggestions:
Where Is God?
What Would Jesus Buy?
Constance