Following on from last week, the Lectionary this week explores the interconnectedness of our intimacy with God and our lives lived in justice and mercy. In truth, without lived expression of our intimacy with God, our faith is little more than platitudes and dreams. But, in a challenging call this week, the Scriptures demonstrate how we find God in the poorest, the weakest and the most vulnerable among us, and how as we work for justice and mercy, we participate in God’s reign and God’s life. There is no division between justice and worship, between ministry and liturgy, in the Gospel – and so we are called to embrace a vibrant relationship with God that is manifest and experienced in a vibrant interaction with the world.

May we find God not just in our sanctuaries this week, but also in the world we enter into as we live through the week.

READINGS:
Micah 6:1-8: God challenges God’s people regarding their tiring of God, and calls them to love mercy, do justice and walk with God in humility.

Psalm 15: Those who are true worshipers, who may enter God’s presence, are the ones who live with consideration and compassion for their neighbours, and with justice and integrity.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31: God is not known through the wisdom and power of this world, but in the foolishness of the cross, which, to those who believe, is the wisdom and power of God. In this cross alone do we boast.

Matthew 5:1-12: Jesus teaches his disciples that those who are poor, mourning, pure in heart, working for peace, desperate for justice and persecuted for following Christ are the ones God blesses.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
This week we get a glimpse into God’s longings and the ‘workings’ of God’s heart. God longs for us to know God and be in intimate relationship with God – as shown by Micah’s challenge and the Psalmist’s question, by Paul’s reflection and Jesus’ teaching – all of which show us God’s longing to have us in God’s presence (Psalm 15), to bless us (Matthew), to be ‘walking with us (Micah), and to be known by us (Corinthians). But, what also stands out is that knowing and being in relationship with God is not done in ways that make sense from a human perspective – individualist spirituality, self-protection and using material gain, personal satisfaction, power and human wisdom as measures of God’s blessing. Rather, God is known and encountered in our following of Christ into different values, different interactions with others and different ways of being in the world. Sacrifice, justice, compassion and integrity – these are the doorways to God’s presence, the crosses in which we know Christ and the places in which we discover God’s presence and blessing. It’s time – these verses seem to say – that we move away from the dualistic spirituality that makes worship and social action separate, that makes God’s presence and the work of justice separate and that leaves us hoping for evacuation to another world, while this world suffers and dies. It is time that our worship leads us into lives of justice and transformation, and that it teaches us to encounter God in the least and most vulnerable in our world.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: What Brian McLaren calls “evacuation theology” – the belief that this life is just a testing ground for another, better world, and that faith is about separation from this world and its issues in order to be ready for this other world – is a deeply destructive influence in our world. In such a theology, it makes sense to hate and kill those who believe differently, because they are a threat to our purity, and therefore to our attaining this other world (even as ‘they’ seek to kill us for the same reasons). In such a theology, it makes sense to use up the planet, and care little for the impact of our consumption of its resources, because it will all be ultimately be destroyed anyway. In such a theology, the poor, the sick and the marginalised are ‘unclean’ and deserving of their disadvantaged lot in life, because we know the ‘blessing’ of God that comes from being pure and righteous and separate from sin. This theology is not the message of Jesus’ Gospel. If our world is to become more whole, and if the injustice and inequity in our world is to be addressed, we desperately need to revisit the Bible’s teaching about what God requires and what Jesus actually taught. And as we look again at the Gospel, we discover that God is found in working for justice, in caring for the least and in opposing forces of violence, destruction, materialism, greed, and power. Let us revisit the cross, and embrace again it’s call to be powerless fools in the name of Christ, bringing justice and compassion wherever we may find the opportunity.

LOCAL APPLICATION: The idea of obeying a few laws, and keeping ourselves pure, while enjoying ‘blessing’ until we get to bliss in the afterlife is deeply attractive, and a very popular spiritual creed in our word today. It demands little from us in the way of sacrifice, discomfort or even change. Rather, our collusion in the world’s corrupt systems is sanctified by our theology, and our worship becomes little more than a regular personal ‘pick-me-up’ that feels good, and gives a diluted and unreal sense of connection with God. It is no wonder that this ‘Gospel’ has grown so popular in our world. But, for those who genuinely long for a real encounter with God, and who believe that the Gospel is more than just a personal ticket to paradise in the next life, such a spirituality will always be found wanting. In fact, for any human being who risks looking within their own heart, such Christianity will always leave us longing for more – because we are wired to want true intimacy with God, and genuine connection to God’s purposes and reign. It is to this longing that this week’s readings speak. God is found when our lives are overtaken by the Gospel, and when all that we do and think and say is inspired and empowered by the cross. This will inevitably lead us to stand alongside the poor, the excluded and the hurting in our communities and churches, seeking to bring them to the top of our agendas, because it is in them that we encounter God, and it is in working for justice that heaven begins to manifest on earth. The challenge is whether we have the courage to commit to both a real and transforming relationship with God, and a life of loving sacrifice in the service of God’s reign and the poor for which it is Good News. So, in what ways does your worship connect with the work of justice in your context? And in what ways does the work of justice lead you into deeper, more real and transforming worship?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Blessed
Boasting In The Cross
What God Requires

Hymn Suggestions:
Blest Are The Pure In Heart
Now Thank We All Our God
I Sing The Almighty Power Of God
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
The Kingdom Of God Is Justice And Joy: Lyrics; Mp3 Backing Track
O The Wonderful Cross (Link to YouTube video.)
Mighty Is The Power Of The Cross (Link to YouTube video.)
You Have Shown Us (Link to YouTube video. Song starts at 1:24)
Blest Are They (Scroll down for link & click icon next to the title to listen)
Act Justly (Scroll down for link & click icon next to title to listen)
This Place: Chord Chart; Mp3 Preview (Scroll down for link)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Lord’s Supper

Video Suggestions:
Blessed
Disrupt With Mercy

This blog has been quiet over the last few weeks because I’ve been on leave. But, now, after a very good and much enjoyed rest, I’m back. Thank you for your patience in the silence.

In the next few weeks I will be making an announcement about a new Lent worship resource for Year A that I’m busy working on. I’ll still be posting the weekly resources on this blog, but for those who would like something with more detail, more in depth study of the main passage and more purpose-written resources, this resource will take what I offer here to a new level. It will have a small cost attached, but it will definitely be worth it. Keep watching this space for more information!

This week the Lectionary continues with the Sermon on the Mount, and with an examination of what true spirituality looks like. Here Jesus focuses on the heart as the place where true obedience and true righteousness happens, and from which a Christ-like life of grace and compassion flows.

May our worship capture and transform our hearts, so that we become true reflections of Christ in the world.

READINGS:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20: Moses offers the people a choice between life and death, challenging them to love and remain faithful to God and God’s commandments, and promising them prosperity and blessing if they do.
OR Sirach 15:15-20: Before each person are life and death, and each must choose which they will receive.

Psalm 119:1-8: Because a life of integrity is blessed, the psalmist pleads with God for the ability to live a life of obedience to God’s commands.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9: Factions among people of faith are a sign of immaturity. Paul calls the Corinthians to be mature and to recognise that those who serve God’s people are equal, and insignificant. It is God’s work in the believer to bring growth that matters.

Matthew 5:21-37: Continuing the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that righteousness is not just about following externals, but is about what happens in the heart. He challenges his hearers to true integrity, goodness and compassion with regard to dealing with anger, lust, adultery, divorce and making promises (vows).

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
Not surprisingly, there is a clear development this week from last week’s readings. The Old Testament passages, though, if looked at alone, can be misleading in the sense that they seem to indicate that obedience to God’s law is a guarantee of health, wealth and happiness. This is, of course, much the way the world was believed to work back when these passages were written, but we know that it’s a little more complex than this. It is this complexity that both Paul and Jesus try to engage in their teaching. For Paul it’s about growing into a spiritual maturity that no longer needs competitive factions to feel secure and “righteous”. Paul calls the Corinthians to recognise that all of God’s servants are just that – people doing a job for God’s reign. What is important is not aligning oneself with particular people, leaders or ideas, but following God’s constant work of growth into becoming a true Christ-follower. For Christ, faithful and true spirituality is not about ticking off a few laws in a box of obedience, but is doing the work of the heart, of checking the real impact of who we are and how this works out in what we do and in our relationships. It is embracing the quest to reflect God’s grace, God’s goodness and God’s integrity that is the heart of this week’s call. Law is easy, and does not transform. Living with a God-formed integrity of heart, speech and action is what truly saves.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: There are two ways to apply the theme this week. The first is to reflect on Paul’s ideas of factions, and Jesus’ call to reflect on how we treat each other. It takes only a few seconds to identify the many ways we separate ourselves in the world – nations war against nations; political parties slander and undermine each other; religions seek to kill one another’s followers; wealthy and poor seek to protect themselves from each other. The destruction brought about by this division is devastating. If we can begin to find our common humanity within, and begin to live, globally, from a Christ-like heart, we can begin to heal some of the damage we have done. The second is to focus the challenge on living our faith from the heart in a globally connected world. It is easy to do business in ways that are legal, but that nevertheless hurt poor farmers, factory workers or the environment. It is easy to lead nations or organisations in ways that are constitutionally and legally sanctioned, but that nevertheless serve only ourselves and leave others broken. It is easy to conduct ourselves as citizens of the world in ways that are lawful, but that bring great harm to people in other parts of the world – or even our own neighbourhood. Christ’s challenge is to refuse to allow ourselves to live only according to the low standard of law, but to go beyond it to living from the heart – serving, seeking justice, offering welcome and compassion, protecting the vulnerable and preserving our rich ecological heritage on the planet. There is no question, though, that to adopt Christ’s heart-driven life is going to be painful and difficult. It will also open the doors to life for us and others, though.

LOCAL APPLICATION: It is all too easy to build our lives and our churches on programs – easy sets of rules and laws that guide what we do, but that have little connection with our real, heart-felt, lives or what’s going on in the world around us. It is easy to go to church on Sunday and sing songs and pray prayers. It is easy to not steal, not kill, not commit adultery. But, simply obeying these laws do not bring life to us or to those around us. It is when we allow God to capture our hearts with the truth of the Gospel, when we allow God to continually and disturbingly challenge and grow our hearts, when we live from the inside out, ensuring that our hearts are filled with Christ’s love and are right with God and others, and allow that to guide our speech and actions – then we become those who make a healing, restoring impact on the world around us, and who both find, and bring to others, fullness of life. This living from the heart takes far more work, and far more awareness than legalism. It requires us to allow God to constantly challenge our attitudes and convictions, to constantly transform our feelings and reactions and to constantly call us to a higher standard. In this way of living we cannot rest in a future guarantee of heaven after we die. We are called to work to be citizens of heaven now, and to actively bring heaven into our world and our lives through submitting to God’s gracious transforming guidance. But one thing is sure. If we are courageous enough to embark on the journey of heart-driven living, we will discover a richness and a fullness to life, a deeper connectedness and a more gracious way of relating and living together. In this sense the Old Testament writers are correct – following God’s ways does guarantee life for us.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Inside Out
By Heart
Law And Love

Hymn Suggestions:
O For A Heart To Praise My God
Be Thou My Vision
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Jesus Calls Us! O’er The Tumult
Dear Jesus In Whose Life I See
Let Me Shine: Chord Chart; Mp3 Preview (Scroll down for links in both cases)
What Can I Do (Link to YouTube video)
Love Enough (Link to YouTube video)
With Kindness (Press the play button in the media player to hear the song)
In My Generation (I Want To Serve The Purpose) (There’s a video of someone singing this song unaccompanied on YouTube if you want to get a sense of how this song goes. Check it out here)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy of Compassion

Video Suggestions:
After The Heart
Servant’s Heart

The Gospel reading for this week continues with the Sermon on the Mount with a focus on holiness – but with a twist. In fact, pretty much all of the readings this week speak about holiness, but with a different angle than we usually think of when the word is mentioned today. Holiness, in this week’s readings, is all about social justice, non-violence and community (and, by extension, if I may be permitted to interpolate into Paul’s letter a little, hospitality).

What a wonderful opportunity to deconstruct and reconstruct what we believe about this often unpopular word in our worship and preaching this week!

READINGS:
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18: God calls the people to holiness, instructing them to treat one another with compassion, integrity, justice and fairness.

Psalm 119:33-40: A prayer for God to teach the psalmist God’s ways and to give understanding, commitment and reassurance to help in following God’s ways.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23: Christ is our foundation, and we all build our lives and community on that foundation so that we become together the temple of God’s Spirit. To do this does not require human wisdom, or following particular leaders, but recognising that God has given us all things in Christ.

Matthew 5:38-48: Jesus teaches his followers not to seek revenge or pay-back, but to treat those who oppress and harm them with grace and generosity, and to love even their enemies and persecutors.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The idea of ‘holiness’ appears in all of this week’s readings in different forms. In Leviticus the people are commanded to be holy as God is holy, and this holiness is revealed in their treatment of one another and their seeking for justice. The psalmist prays for a life that is directed by God’s ways and God’s commands, and for the strength to pursue this life faithfully. Paul challenges the church to be a holy temple for God’s Spirit by building their lives and community on the foundation of Christ. And, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches what ‘perfection’ or holiness is to be like – compassionate and non-violent, refusing to retaliate when harmed, and seeking the best even for those who consider us to be their enemies. What is clear here is that holiness is not about not doing things. It is about doing things that make a difference. It is not about avoiding so-called sinful behaviour, but about doing justice, compassion, fairness, non-violence and generosity. It is about caring for those who are vulnerable and poor, and treating all people with the same respect and dignity. Note: Interestingly, Luke’s parallel for Matthew’s “Be perfect…” is “Be compassionate…” (Luke 6:36 NLT).

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: I’m not sure when holiness became synonymous with piety, but that does not seem to be what the Bible is trying to teach us about holiness – at least not this week. Both the Old Testament lesson and the Gospel point to the link between justice and holiness, and in a world where social justice can sometimes be labeled as unChristian, this is a message we need to hear. As a Methodist, my Wesleyan heritage is a huge help here. John Wesley spoke about holiness (Christian perfection) as both perfect love and “social holiness”. Jesus of course makes this all-encompassing when he includes even enemies in those who deserve love and justice. Even Paul’s teaching for the Christian community makes the foundation of Christ the platform on which this community is built, and through which we experience God’s indwelling Spirit. But what does this mean practically for our world? It means we need a world-wide “no-enemy” campaign – a global movement of people who refuse to view anyone else as an enemy, irrespective of religion, race, sexuality, language, economic status or even action. Martin Luther King Jr. made it clear that the essence of non-violent transformation was learning to love those against whom we work. Perhaps the most profound work of justice is this work of unconditional indiscriminate love (or compassion, if we follow Luke). And just maybe this is, as Wesley suggested, the essence of what it means to “be perfect as God is perfect”. What might our world look like if we worked harder at loving our enemies than we do at killing them?

LOCAL APPLICATION: At the most simple level Christian worship has so often been the cause of hatred and injustice, setting even believers against each other as “enemies”. Throughout history Christians have warred against each other – and this has not stopped today. We may not always use physical weapons, but we certainly use the weapons of the media, of words and of rejection. We do this against people of other religions as well, but as long as we do this, we fall short of God’s holiness, and we inflict death on both our enemies and ourselves. It is when the offer of grace costs us the most that we are most reflecting the grace and character of Christ. When we refuse to hate or attack or reject even those who are the most threatening and unloving, we begin to embody the “perfection”, the holiness which Christ teaches about. This may be expressed in small ways – like learning to worship to musical styles that we do not enjoy – or in large ways – like taking the hand of someone who we believe is completely wrong in their beliefs or actions. As I explore in Chapter Three (Becoming Holy) of my book The Hour That Changes Everything, holiness comes down to wholeness (integrity and authenticity), compassion and hospitality. These three characterics are what God offers us, and what we are called, in this week’s Gospel and Old Testament readings, to extend to others – even those we most want to reject or condemn. What would it mean for your church if you measured holiness not by attendance at church or small groups, and not by what your people avoid doing, but rather by the extent to which compassion and justice were extended to others?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Whole-y God
True Whole-iness
Holy God
Fruit

Hymn Suggestions:
A Charge To Keep I Have
Saviour Thy Dying Love
It Passeth Knowledge That Dear Love Of Thine
What Shall I Do My God To Love
God Of All Power And Truth And Grace
Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace (Link to YouTube video)
You Have Shown Us (Link to YouTube video – Song starts at 1:24)
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
How Long: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Amazon Mp3 Store)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For the Celebration Of Sacrifice

Video Suggestions:
Gandhi: Eye For An Eye
Know The Word: Love Your Enemies

We’re still listening to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel reading for this week, and it’s a challenging message, especially in the light of the suffering and injustice of our world. Jesus calls us to faith, to trust in God’s care for us. There is much in the world that would make such faith seem naive, misplaced or unrealistic. But, without such faith, how can we ever engage the big issues of our time. Unless we trust in God’s care, we will find ourselves becoming cynical and pessimistic, believing that the forces of injustice are being allowed free reign by God. We cannot permit ourselves to fall into this functional atheism, and so, however hard it may be to hear it, however foolish we may feel to preach it, we must do the work of nurturing faith.

May your faith be renewed and inspired as you worship this week.

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