Following Christ – especially in the work of justice and living out the values of God’s reign – can sometimes get in the way of true relationship with Christ, but without a lived experience of intimacy with God, we lack the empowerment and resources to be a positive influence on the world. This week, the Lectionary calls us, no matter what struggles or challenges we may, or what work we may be called to do, to nurture a strong and vibrant relationship with God. Ultimately this the work of our worship – and it then empowers everything else we do as followers of Christ.

In the light of this, you may want to consider reading The Hour That Changes Everything – How worship forms us into the people God calls us to be, if you haven’t already. This book, that is designed as a 50 day journey for individuals, small groups and congregations, is a journey into a deeper, more empowering relationship with God that flows from a vibrant and committed discipline of worship. More details can be found here.

May we be drawn into a deeper and more vibrant relationship with God as we worship this week.

READINGS:
Isaiah 9:1-4: Isaiah prophesies a reversal of fortune for the people of God who are occupied by Assyria – though they are in darkness, light will break in, and they will be freed from their oppression.

Psalm 27:1, 4-9: David’s Psalm celebrating God’s protection and the security he finds in God’s presence and in God’s sanctuary.

1 Corinthians 1:10-18: Paul confronts the Corinthians about the divisions and factions among them, reminding them that it is only the message of the cross that is important and that offers God’s power for salvation.

Matthew 4:12-23: Jesus begins his ministry and is seen by Matthew to be fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of the light shining in the darkness. He preaches the nearness of God’s reign, calls his first disciples and heals those who are afflicted with disease.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
In times of oppression and distress – Assyria’s occupation of Israel, David’s fear of attack by surrounding enemies, internal strife and divisions in the Corinthian church, John the Baptist’s arrest and imprisonment – we need light to guide our feet, to give us sight and to warm and protect us. We need a sense of God’s enfolding presence, of dwelling secure in God’s house, of being saved by God and claimed by God’s love. All of these passages reflect this need, and all of them offer a vision of God’s faithful response in the promise of salvation, in God’s presence in our pain, and in the healing and strength that God provides. It is this sense of the reality of God’s presence and action on our behalf, this lived experience of God’s help and grace, that makes faith real. Without it, our faith is nothing more than an intellectual exercise, cold and powerless – having the form of godliness but lacking the power. And so as, with the disciples, we seek to answer Jesus’ call to follow, as we seek to experience the reign of God that Jesus proclaims, as we seek to live out the message that Jesus preached and embody the healing and liberation that Jesus demonstrated, we can ask for, and expect, a real, vibrant and strengthening relationship with the Living God. Only in this way can we hope to know life, and to truly know and share the blessing of God’s reign.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: As we work within the systems of this world to bring about justice it is tempting to get caught into the factionalism and calls for loyalty of the systems we challenge. We may find ourselves subtly becoming more devoted to our causes than to Christ. We may discover that we are seeking to build a kingdom according to our dreams and ideas, rather than according to the values of God’s reign. Any time that we, as followers of Christ, allow our place in political parties, advocacy groups or even religious affiliations to become more important than God’s truth and grace, we have lost our way. As we face the threats to our world’s wholeness – violence and war, poverty and greed, consumption and environmental degradation, exclusion and discrimination – we can only do so in the security and strength of a strong and vibrant lived relationship with God, and an inspiring and challenging vision of the reign of God that Jesus preached and enacted. And, as we allow this relationship with God to be our primary loyalty, we will find ourselves welcoming even those we oppose and disagree with. We will find ourselves challenging the injustices within our own organisations and groups as much as we challenge those we are not part of. We will find ourselves called to stand in places of vulnerable mediation, in-between-ness, and love without partisan loyalty. It may feel like it is only through the system that real change can happen, but in reality it is only as more and more of us are prepared to opt out of the systems as much as we can, and embrace the new way of God’s reign, that the kingdoms of this world can truly become the kingdoms of our Lord and of God’s Christ.

LOCAL APPLICATION: There are two responses that must be made to the readings this week. The first is to remember, as we seek to serve the most vulnerable in our communities, that meeting their physical and justice needs is only part of the work. If we do not also invite them into an experience of God’s reign themselves, if we do not allow them to discover, or deepen, a relationship with the Living God, we are little more than a social service organisation. The poverty of soul, the violence of feeling abandoned by God, the oppression of being at the mercy of this world’s systems with no awareness of another reality – these are also justice issues to address. And the Gospel addresses them powerfully in the teachings, the example and the sacrifice of Christ. The second response is for each Christ follower to ensure that we, personally and collectively, nurture our own relationship with God. Without a constant, vibrant and empowering experience of God’s grace and presence, we all too easily grow despondent, cynical and even destructive. The power to live from the reality of God’s reign, to work to change the world and bring justice, flows from knowing God’s light and presence. Ultimately our first calling is simply to follow Christ and invite others to do the same. Changing the world, then, is not our task – it is God’s. We simply get to participate sometimes.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
The Simple Logic Of Light
God Of Presence And Light

Hymn Suggestions:
The People That In Darkness Sat
In Heavenly Love Abiding
Christ, Whose Glory Fills The Skies
Jesus, Hope Of Every Nation
There’s A Light Upon The Mountains
There’s A Light (Upon The Mountains): Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Amazon.com Mp3 Store)
Consuming Fire (Link to YouTube video)
Here I Am to Worship (Link to YouTube video)
Shine Jesus Shine (Link to YouTube video)
Shine (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet

Video Suggestions:
The Calling
Land Of The Living
Light Of The World

When I was studying at university, we often used to speak about how the “conservative” or “charismatic” Christians seemed to be the ones with a real, vibrant relationship with God, and the “liberal” or “activist” Christians were the ones who were concerned to make a difference in the world, but did not seem to be really interested in experience God’s presence or power. It was like relationship with God and service of God were separate and disconnected things, and you needed to choose to be either one or the other. It did not seem to occur to us that both could be experienced and embraced by a single individual. Yet, this is the call of this week’s Lectionary readings. In truth, the Scriptures seem to say to us, no real impact can be on the world without a vibrant, empowering relationship with God, and no real relationship with God can be found outside of engagement with the struggles and needs of our world.

May our worship this week lead us into true encounter with God, and lead us out in the power of God’s Spirit to serve the world that God loves.

READINGS:
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12): The people complain because God does not seem to notice when they fast and pray, but Isaiah speaks God’s word that challenges them on their injustice and exploitation – that they have the appearance of penitence without a true change of heart.

Psalm 112:1-9, (10): Those who live righteously are compassionate, just and generous, and they have confidence that God will care for them.

1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16): God’s wisdom is Christ crucified, which cannot be understood without opening our spirits to God’s Spirit. But, for we who have received God’s Spirit, we are able to know and receive the wonderful blessing God offers us in Christ.

Matthew 5:13-20: Jesus calls his followers to be as salt and light in the world – allowing our good works to be seen in order that others may praise God. Further, Jesus calls his followers to true righteousness, beyond the external legalism of the Pharisees, but embodying the true spirit of the law.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
What is authentic spirituality? In what ways do we know – and do others experience – that we have a real, vibrant relationship with God? These are the questions raised by the Lectionary this week. In Isaiah a contrast is drawn between the indulgent spirituality of the people, which leaves them disconnected from God and from God’s purposes, with the result that they feel no answer from God when they fast and pray, and true fasting and prayer which is expressed in lives of justice and compassion. In the Psalm, those who live justly and righteously are celebrated, and are assured of God’s care. In Paul’s letter, we are reminded that God is not known by the usual means that the world tries to find life and goodness, but only in Christ and Christ’s crucifixion. It is as we open to God’s Spirit that we receive God’s presence and power, and that we receive “the mind of Christ” which will inevitably lead us into lives that emulate Christ’s selfless service and sacrifice. In the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew’s Gospel, we discover that true righteousness is not that of the Pharisees – legalistic, individualistic obedience to law – but is to be light and salt in the world, fulfilling the heart of the law by bringing life and goodness to others, and drawing them into healing and saving knowledge of God. Clearly, for the Lectionary this week, true spirituality is seen in a living, vibrant relationship with God through Christ, and by God’s Spirit, which is then reflected and expressed through actions of compassion, justice and service in the world. If we live this kind of spirituality, it will inevitably draw others to this God we serve – and that’s a huge bonus for us!

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It is all too easy to allow our spirituality to become “otherworldy” and disconnected from life’s realities. It is all too easy, even for those of us who are committed to justice and compassion in our world, to become like Pharisees who focus on outward, legalistic observances – becoming social justice fundamentalists, if you will – and losing the life-giving relationship with God and the empowerment of God’s Spirit that makes us true salt and light – healing, creative, colourful, restoring influences in our world. Yet, as we engage with the systems of our world, we need to keep asking ourselves how we can be those who lead both victims and perpetrators to “give glory to God”, to find a real relationship with God for themselves. How do we work with the powerful, the connected, the wealthy, the influential in such a way that they are led into lives of justice and compassion as well? Judgement, self-righteousness, or adopting the world’s methods of control, coercion and condemnation will not bring true change to our world. Rather it is as we commit to a cross-embracing way of living, and offer ourselves in service and compassion of all people that we are able to bring something of God’s life and justice into being. It is as we commit to authentic, lived righteousness – becoming salt and light in word, action, thought, communication, participation in the systems and processes of our world, and engagement with others – that our different way of living demonstrates the power and wisdom of God, and invites others into this alternative life, while also gently bringing change where it matters.

LOCAL APPLICATION: It is very easy to allow our sense of call to be reduced to becoming the conscience, or the moral watch dogs, of our communities and neighbourhoods. It is easy to point fingers and judge, to identify evil and, like Pharisees, make our religion about separating ourselves from “others” who don’t live up to our standards. This can be true for both conservatives and liberals, for both evangelicals and social justice Christians. But, such engagement with the world seldom brings any real change. It is when we are salt and light – those who live out in our own lives what we seek to see in the world – that we make a real difference. In the early days of the apartheid struggle, a group of church leaders went to see the then Prime Minister of South Africa, to challenge him to do away with apartheid. His response was to look at the division and discrimination in the churches and to tell them to get their own house in order before trying to sort out the country. Salt and light people are those who bring flavour and colour, integrity and insight, healing and compassion into the world by the way they live, love and interact. Their influence is felt not through judgement or legalism, but through a life lived with a completely different quality, that touches others with grace and truth and compassion and calls out to the best in them, leaving them longing to live better lives themselves. This is what it means to let our good deeds be seen so that others will praise God, and it’s the only thing that really brings change into the world. As Gandhi famously said: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Light And Salt
True Fasting
A Goodness Worth Pursuing

Hymn Suggestions:
A Charge To Keep I Have
Take Time To Be Holy
Being Of Beings, God Of Love
Take My Life And Let It Be
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
Priceless Vision: Chord Chart; Mp3 Download (Amazon.com Mp3 Store)
May The Words Of My Mouth (Link to YouTube video)
Lord, Reign In Me (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy of Compassion

Video Suggestions:
Salt And Light
Light Of The World
Salt Of The Earth
Give, Fast, Pray
iFast

It is not enough to resist evil. It is not enough to not do what is destructive or harmful. It is not enough to avoid what we consider to be sin. For our world to change, for real transformation to happen, for life to be the abundant, beautiful, joyful experience that God created it to be, we must embrace, proclaim and live what is good, what is creative and what is healing. This is a central and persistent call of the Gospel, and it is the heart of this week’s readings in the Revised Common Lectionary.

May your worship lead you into paths of life, freedom and the sharing of goodness.

READINGS:
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14: Elijah is taken up to heaven and Elisha receives his cloak and his spirit.
OR 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21: Elijah anoints Elisha as prophet to succeed him. Elisha offers his oxen as sacrifice, and feeds his community with the meat, then leaves his home to follow Elijah.

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20: The Psalmist cries out to God, remembering God’s miraculous work in saving Israel through Moses and Aaron.
OR Psalm 16: Praise for the God who is a refuge to those who seek God, who provides good companions and a beautiful inheritance, and who makes known the path of life.

Galatians 5:1, 13-25: Christ gives us freedom, but not as an excuse to engage in destructive behaviour. Rather, through Christ we receive the life-giving fruit of God’s Spirit.

Luke 9:51-62: Jesus calls many people, who all have reasons to delay or decline. Jesus proclaims that God’s Reign calls us to choose now – to live it and proclaim it.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The journey into living the values of God’s Reign continues. In the last few weeks we have recognised our need for forgiveness and God’s resources, and we have confronted the ways that evil works in our world. This week the focus shifts to God’s call for us to embrace the positive power of God’s reign, and the difference it makes in the world. Elisha is called to be a prophet and follow Elijah’s ministry. The Psalmist recognises God’s saving work, and the way God leads God’s people into the ways of life and life-bringing. In Galatians, Paul contrasts the destructive ways of evil and sin with the life-giving fruit of God’s Spirit. And in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus urgently calls all people to follow him and to live and proclaim God’s reign immediately – not as some after-death hope, but as a world changing reality that we can experience and share now, right where we are.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The work of justice, of standing against evil (the via negativa) can sometimes leave us feeling cynical and can cause us to embrace expediency as we work for goodness – believing that in the face of evil, we sometimes need to use evil means to achieve good ends. This week, we are called to a higher standard, to the via positiva of affirming God’s goodness, grace, salvation and reign in our world, even in the midst of evil and suffering. This means that on a global scale, there is a need for voices that will call us all to appreciation and protection of goodness. In the corridors of power, good people need to stand for what is good – not partisan, expedient or “not bad”. In every community and every situation good people need to work to protect and proclaim what is good – natural wonders, our environment, places of hard work and great contribution to the world, places of healing and of caring for the marginalised. It is not just money that these people and organisations need. It is affirmation, support and recognition. It a celebration of the good that is being done. And it is partnerships with others who will stand together to raise up goodness and demonstrate it’s life-giving power.

LOCAL APPLICATION: As Christians we are too often known for what we stand against, for the way we label all sorts of things as sin, just because we’re afraid or we don’t understand. Too often we rage against the darkness, instead of responding to God’s call to simply shine a light where we can. In what ways have you and your community fallen into this trap? How can you begin to be those who search out goodness wherever you may find, whoever may be doing it, and celebrate it, acknowledge it, support and partner with it? How can you begin ot be know for the goodness you stand for, rather than the badness you stand against? How can you hear God’s call to be light, to live and proclaim God’s life-giving reign (the paths of life), and to raise up the power of goodness in your church and community?

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Putting Faith In Goodness
Passing It On

Hymn Suggestions:
There’s A Light Upon The Mountains
Be Thou My Vision
For The Beauty Of The Earth
Jesus Calls Us O’er The Tumult
We Shall Go Out With Hope Of Resurrection
Canticle (Link to Restoration Village site. Scroll down for preview – it’s Track 6)
Creation’s King (Link to YouTube Video)
Pass It On (It Only Takes A Spark) (Link to YouTube Video)
Shout To The North And The South (Link to YouTube Video)
God Of Wonders (Link to YouTube Video)
Shine Jesus Shine (Link to YouTube Video)
Your Word: Mp3; Chord Chart (Scroll down for the chord chart downloads)
Let Me Shine: Mp3 Preview (Scroll down for the link); Chord Chart (Scroll down to find the download for this song)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet

Video Suggestions:
Led By The Spirit

Image Suggestions:
Light In The Dark
Light Breaks Through

As we move into Lent, it is tempting to make services solemn and dark, to preach hellfire and brimstone and to focus on all the evil in the world that we must oppose. This is certainly necessary, and the first week in Lent gives much to support this approach. However, there is also a lot to inspire celebration and joy. This first week in Lent offers us an invitation to a life of abundance – found in the practice of spiritual disciplines and in the freedom of taking responsibility for our own light and darkness. And it assures us of God’s care and protection throughout. So, perhaps Lent can be a little lighter this year, and lead us into dispelling the darkness by simply lighting our little candle.

READINGS:
Deuteronomy 26:1-11: Instructions to bring the first produce from each crop as a thanksgiving offering to God, and a recognition of God’s care and provision for God’s people in the past and the pesent.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16: A psalm celebrating God’s care and protection of those who dwell in God.

Romans 10:8b-13: The message of faith in Christ that ensures that we will never be disgraced and that we are saved.

Luke 4:1-13: Jesus is tempted by the devil in the wilderness, and uses God’s Word to stand firm.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
What is interesting about the readings for this week is that the focus, rather than being on Jesus’ temptation, is on God’s care, protection and provision for God’s people. When the temptation narrative is placed in that context, our focus shifts dramatically – and importantly – away from fear of failure or succumbing to evil, and on to God’s resources that are at our disposal to keep us strong and faithful. Perhaps the great temptation of this week in the lectionary is to make it all about evil and it’s attack on us and our world. The Lectionary, however, rightly calls us to make this week about God – God’s care, God’s Word, God’s protection, God’s provision – which means that we can rest assured that whatever we may face, “the best of all is ‘God is with us’” as Wesley said.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: With little scratching of the surface, the three temptations of Jesus are no different than the ones we wrestle with in the world today – power & influence, wealth & consumption, personal appetites and greed. Are there any of the big justice issues that don’t fall into one of these general categories? But, this is where God’s care and protection is so important for us to focus on, or we can easily fall into the trap of fighting this evil on its own terms. Jesus refuses to do so. Trusting in God, and immersing himself in God’s word, Jesus simply embraces a different set of values – self-giving, humility and servanthood, fasting and self-control. Even in the big global issues, simply working to create communities of trust in God’s ways that live out these alternative values is a significant way to contribute and to push back the forces of evil. How can your community embody the values of Christ more visibly and publicly?

LOCAL APPLICATION: There are so many things at issue in this week’s readings, and similarly in our lives today: issues of identity; issues of security; issues of power; issues of appetite and consumption. It is out of these issues – and the knowledge that it is only “under the shadow of God’s wing” that we can hope to face them satisfactorily – that the three Lenten disciplines emerge – fasting (to confront our consumption and appetites); giving of time, abilities and resources (to confront our love of power and pride); prayer (to confront our self-dependence & security issues). As individuals, and as faith communities, embracing these practices – not just in Lent – is the easiest way to confront the evil within and without. As Mother Teresa famously said: “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Darkness And Light
Overcoming Temptation

Hymn Suggestions:
I Know Whom I Have Believed
I Cannot Tell Why He Whom Angels Worship
Be Thou My Vision
Saviour, Like A Shepherd Lead Us
Heart Word
How Long? (Link to Amazon.com Mp3 preview)
Thy Word (Link to YouTube video)
Blessed Be Your Name (Link to YouTube video)
Your Grace Is Enough (Link to YouTube video)
Everlasting God (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Celebation of Sacrifice

Video Suggestions:
Tempted By The Devil
Temptation
Shine Your Flashlight