The journey continues – all the different ways – small but significant ways – that we participate with God in bringing God’s reign into the world and into the lives of its people. There can be no question that the work of faith, of receiving God’s grace, and of following Christ in worship and service, is a life long journey of perseverance and faithfulness. And it is because of God’s faithfulness toward us that we can even contemplate this life. But, if we will, and if we can commit to the long haul, we will see change happening in us and we will see justice coming a little more to our world.

You may have noticed that the site was down for about six hours this weekend. My hosting company had some database server issues, and it took them a while to fix it. If this inconvenienced you in your preparation in any way, I apologise. I do hope that it came back soon enough to still be useful to you.

One last note: If you’re interested in hearing more about my upcoming new book The Hour That Changes Everything – How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be, you may want to click through to the Sacredise blog for the countdown. Every day of July, in a thirty-one day countdown, I’m posting an excerpt from the book. Feel free to take a look, and please spread the word. If you’ve missed them, you may also want to see Day 31 and Day 30.

May God’s faithfulness inspire your commitment and perseverance this week.

READINGS:
Hosea 1:2-10: God instructs Hosea to marry and prostitute, and give his children names that prophesy God’s judgement on Israel, but also God’s ultimate restoration.
OR Genesis 18:20-32: Abraham bargains with God to try and avert the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and God agrees that if ten righteous people are found, God will spare the city.

Psalm 85: A song in celebration of God’s grace and forgiveness, and God’s blessing in restoring God’s people.
OR Psalm 138: A song of David praising God for God’s love, faithfulness and trustworthy promises, and pleading for God’s continued protection and care.

Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19): Paul encourages believers to sink their roots deep into Christ and find their completeness in Christ. He reminds us that in Christ our sinful nature was ‘circumcised’ and we have been raised to nee life. So we no longer need pander to legalism.

Luke 11:1-13: Jesus teaches on prayer, and on the need for persistence in prayer, reminding the disciples that God gives the Holy Spirit to all who ask.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The Gospel reading sets the tone for this week’s theme. The call to persistence is clear from Jesus, and it is directly linked with our prayer life – our relationship with God. In a similar way, Hosea’s persistent faithfulness to his unfaithful wife reflects God’s faithfulness to God’s people, and Abraham’s bargaining with God reveals both the value of persistence in our seeking God’s resources, and God’s persistence in seeking our restoration. Both Psalms offer praise and requests in the assurance of God’s faithfulness, and out of a persistent committing to God’s ways. Finally, Paul instructs the believers to stay true to the new life that they have received in Christ, and not be drawn away by legalism or by dramatic visions and stories. If we are to follow Christ and make a difference in the world then it will not be quick, dramatic or constantly changing innovations that will help, but rather – to use the name of one of Eugene Peterson’s books – “a long obedience in the same direction.” This does not mean we cannot be creativity or adopt new ideas and strategies, but that we remain faithful and committed to Christ and the Gospel proclamation of God’s reign, working consistently and persistently to fulfill God’s purposes in our world a little more each day.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: There is so much that needs to be changed in our world and the stakes are so high that we can easily be disillusioned when the work of justice changes things slowly or in less than dramatic ways. It is easy to begin to believe that it is only in expedient partnerships, or in cynical pragmatism that we can succeed fast enough. We can too eaily begin to compromise our ideals and our souls in the quest to make head way. But, ultimately a justice earned this way is no justice at all, and will end up leaveing with new battles to fight – or with us becoming the very thing we strive against. The message of this week’s Lectionary Readings is a difficult but important one – as we stay faithful to Christ and God’s reign, as we continue to pray earnestly, and work persistently, and as we celebrate the little victories along the way, remembering how far we’ve come, even as we recognise how far we still have to go, the work of justice is served, and lives are changed for the better a little more each day. So, whatever justice you pray for, whatever work you do, stay faithful, persistent and prayerful – many victories that we celebrate today we a long time in the winning (Civil Rights, abolition of slavery, equality of women etc.).

LOCAL APPLICATION: As you reflect on the ministries of your community, and the people who are involved in them, where do you detect signs of fatigue, frustration and the temptation to take short cuts? In what ways do you long to see change in your church and/or in your neighbourhood or society? Which of these changes show signs of movement, and which appear to be stalling? Are there perhaps areas of need or injustice that you have resisted getting involved with because you’re feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the issue, or because you feel pessismistic about the possibility of change? Perhaps this week’s readings can encourage and motivate you. Perhaps you can use your worship this week to pray for and encourage those who work for justice in your community, and recommit to the work you do. Perhaps you can allow for time of rest and refreshing, not to give up on the tough work of proclaiming and demonstrating God’s reign, but to gain new energy to continue a persistent, faithful, prayerful witness to God’s justice.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Relentless Love
Staying Faithful

Hymn Suggestions:
O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee
Praise My Soul, The King Of Heaven
Come Let Us Use The Grace Divine
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah (Redeemer)
The Power Of Prayer
Forever (Link to YouTube video)
Everlasting God (Link to YouTube video)
Unfailing Love (Link to YouTube video)
Always Forever (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet

Video Suggestions:
Wounded Bride
Shine Your Light
The Persistent Quarterback

There is a lovely progression in these first few weeks of Ordinary Time. Two weeks ago we faced a challenge to prioritise God’s strength and grace, and to reject the idea that mission and justice oriented faith leans only on human resources and abilities. Last week we were reminded of God’s call to be forgiven and to forgive. In the face of the world’s challenges and the work of justice, forgiveness is the Gospel response. This week the call to grace continues with a challenge to define good and evil not according to law, but in the light of God’s grace and liberation.

May we embrace a marriage of grace and justice, of inclusion and of confrontation with legalism and exclusivity as we worship this week, and may our experience of grace deepen as we do.

READINGS:
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a: God instructs Elijah to go to Mount Sinai, and comes to him there. At Elijah’s cave he experiences wind, earthquake and fire, but God’s voice is only heard in the whisper that follows. In spite of his fear at the threats against his life, God leads him back into ministry.
OR Isaiah 65:1-9: A prophecy of judgment against the wickedness of God’s people, with the promise of a remnant who will be saved.

Psalm 42 & 43: A song of lament, with a commitment to praise God in the face of persecution of suffering.
OR Psalm 22:19-28: A prayer for God’s help in the midst of persecution and a commitment to worship and stay faithful to God.

Galatians 3:23-29: Now that the way of faith in Christ has come, the law is no longer needed. Those who trust in Christ are God’s children, and we are all equal in God’s family.

Luke 8:26-39: Jesus liberates the Gerasene demonaic, who begs to go with Jesus once he has been healed. But Jesus sends him home to tell of what God did for him.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The reality of evil and the destruction it brings is brought into sharp focus in this week’s readings. The threat that the forces of darkness pose to justice and to those who work for it is shown by Elijah’s isolation in the face of Jezebel’s threat, in the cries of the psalmists facing persecution, and in the diseased mind and body of the Gerasene demoniac. The hope of God’s people, though, is that evil does not have the last word. God’s presence and help is assured for those in need, God comes to strengthen and guide Elijah, Christ frees the demonised man, and Paul assures us of our place of belonging in Christ’s family, in which there is no privilege based on gender, social status, race or anything else. In Christ the divisive tools of evil are removed, and the power of evil is neutralised. Now, we who follow Christ are called, like Elijah, as prophets who live according to a different order, a different set of values, and who invite others into the freedom that Christ offers. This is an appropriate next step after the call to trust in God’s Spirit and the invitation to forgiveness that we have explored in the last two weeks.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: As we engage, as Church, with the big issues in our world, it is disturbing to see how the “big issues” are sometimes defined. Are issues of sexuality and the exclusivity of Christ really the main issues of good and evil in our time? Or does the Gospel call us to define global evil differently – using this weeks’ readings of God’s grace, protection of the threatened, and liberation as a basis? Could it be that any economic or political policies that deprive the poor of the opportunity to support themselves is evil? Could it be that ignoring the damage that our greed and exploitation of natural resources does to our planet is evil (especially in the light of the Deepwater oil spill crisis)? Could it be that any faith that leads us to justify violent conflict with people who are different from us, or who believe differently from us, is evil? And could it be that using “the law” – whether human or ‘divine’ – to justify these evils is equally evil? How would we stand against evil if we used God’s grace, protection and liberation as the lens through which we looked at the world? What good might we celebrate and embrace if we used these lenses? What role would we seek to play in the policy-making, opinion-forming, global-crisis-addressing work that goes on in our world. In reality, it is easier to defend law, and condemn law-breakers, than it is to offer grace and stand against those who deny grace to others. But, the work of the Gospel was never about what is easy.

LOCAL APPLICATION: As we seek to resist the work of evil in our churches and communities, it is important that we  are careful in what we identify as evil. Jesus correctly recognises the forces at work within the demoniac, but does not label the person as evil. In contrast, Elijah, finds himself in confrontation with people who have given themselves over to evil purposes and actions. As Paul points out, it is tempting to use the law as the basis for deciding what is good or what is bad, and obedience to the law as the basis for deciding who is good and who isn’t. But, from the basis of grace, and of Christ’s inclusive invitation, good and evil look very different. Anything that would persecute another (as the Psalmists experienced), anything that would oppress another (like the demoniac) or anything that would deny grace to another (as Paul teaches) violates God’s grace and love, and brings division and destruction. As we seek to stand for God’s justice, it is important that we keep God’s grace and love in mind, and that we rightly choose what to oppose and what to embrace.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
The Goodness of Grace
Give Us Your Grace

Hymn Suggestions:
It Is Well With My Soul
Blessed Assurance
If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee
We’ll Understand It Better By And By
Sing Praise To God Who Reigns Above
Song We The King Who Is Coming To Reign
Above All (Link to YouTube video)
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
How Long: Mp3 Download (Amazon Mp3); Chord Chart
Hear Our Praises (Link to YouTube video)
I, The Lord Of Sea And Sky (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For The Foretaste Of The Heavenly Banquet

Video Suggestions:
Jew Nor Greek
Amazing Grace
Spoken Word – His Grace

Image Suggestions:
Cross Shadow
Love