Sunday service for 14 November 2021, Remembrance Sunday

14 November 2021, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 8 // Remembrance Sunday
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143 
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

To hear the audio recording of this service, please phone 01475 270037. It’s a local landline number so minutes should be included in your phone plan.

In person Prelude Music

in person Processional: Hope For the World’s Despair (video)

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship
One: God does not call us to this one hour,
All: God calls us to a life of worship in spirit and truth.
One: Worship is not the songs we sing and the prayers we pray,
All: worship is the justice we practice and the goodness we create.
One: We belong to God,
All: and we belong to each other,
so in this time together we come to be nourished for the work ahead.
One: Let us worship God, in word and deed, in this hour and every hour.

Prayer
Liberator God, you are the creator of justice and peace.
This day we come to seek your presence in the midst of grief, and honour, and memory.
We look back, and we confess that sometimes we forget to look forward
to the future you still have in mind for us.
Give us the gift this day of building on memory,
that we may be faithful as your people, our ancestors, have been faithful.

God you are the giver of every good gift.
We remember the gifts of courage, devotion to duty, and self-sacrifice
of the men and women in our armed forces—
who serve their country and the world with honour,
throughout these many years.
We especially pray this day for
those who have been wounded in body or soul,
who bear the scars of war,
and for the families of those who fell in battle,
especially those who were never returned home.
We also remember the toil, endurance and suffering of those not in uniform,
those who lost their lives or homes in air raids,
who served in hospitals and homes,
or care for family members who will never be the same.
We remember the support of those who sent us help from afar,
or came and stood by our side in our time of need.

Creator God, you make all people in your image,
and so we also remember those who were our enemies,
whose homes and hearts are as bereft as ours,
whose dead also lie in a living tomb of everlasting remembrance,
and we pray for the grace to be able to pray for our enemies,
as you taught us to do.

As we remember, O God, let us also be re-membered;
put back together again as members of your body.
As hatred and war tear us apart,
may our remembrance this day be a step toward healing,
as we pray for your grace to knit us back together,
as we seek peace and unity with all who share this planet with us.
Re-member us into a common purpose to glorify you,
to follow your call to live in community,
to resist the urge to dehumanise others or to use them for our own advantage.

In the midst of our remembrance,
we pause to pray for those young people among us,
and their families.
We pray that they would never need to see the cruelty and suffering of war,
at home or abroad.
Grant that this generation may be given the chance
to use their gifts for the creation of justice and generosity,
for building this world into your kingdom where all are welcome and valued,
where violence and hate have no place,
where your people live together in peace.

We also remember your world still at war, O God,
or on the brink of it.
We beg you would not let us forget the people of Yemen,
starving for bread and for hope;
or the people of Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia, and more,
living each day with the sound of gunfire and bomb;
or the people of Honduras and Mexico and Venezuela,
desperate for relief from gangs and drugs.
Your creation cries out, O God,
bearing the weight of our desires and groaning for relief.
Your people cry out, O God,
longing for justice and righteousness.
Give us ears to hear.
Give us hearts to care.
Give us the will to do something,
to practice what we preach,
to put your word into action.
And if we do not have those,
we pray you would silence us until we can hear and are prepared to act.

In our remembrance, make us mindful of those still suffering,
and that when one member of your body suffers,
all suffer together with it.
There can be no peace unless all of us seek it together,
for each other,
and so we pray for your Spirit of challenge to provoke us to action.
Make us an answer to the prayers of others,
until your whole creation sings.

Strengthen our faint hearts and our faltering hands,
that we may seek your peace and justice rather than our own power.
Give us courage to stand up for lives still to be lived
rather than simply allowing more names to be added to our memorials.

We call to mind your grace, Lord,
for your love holds all of us in life and in death.
We ask your blessing on those who have offered themselves,
and on us, that we may honour their memory
by continually seeking your way of justice, mercy, and love.
Amen.

Call to Remembrance / The Tryst
Today we remember the colourful, frail human lives
cut down in time of War
especially those known to us
and loved by us.
Let us ask for God’s blessings
that we might work for peace,
pray in Hope
and be the reconciling presence
which this world
and every home and community
so desperately needs.
With one minute we look back
in sorrow and gratitude
and with the second we look forward
dedicating ourselves to God’s future of peace,
and in so doing we hallow this space
to remember and to give thanks
and to honour those whose ultimate price
contributed to the freedoms we claim as ours today.

“They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them.”

Last Post

11.00: Two Minutes Silence

Reveille

Music
Online: O Day of Peace (tune: Jerusalem)
In Person: organ by Lynda

Children’s Time (in person only)

Reading: Amos 1.1-2, 5.14-15, 21-24
Last week we heard about the prophet Elijah, who worked in the northern kingdom of Israel attempting to bring the king, and therefore the nation, back to God’s way. When God spoke to him in the silence on the mountain, God told him to go back to anoint a new king in Syria, and then a new king in Israel, and finally a new prophet to pick up his mantle and carry on God’s work. Elijah did that, and passed his mantle to Elisha, who became a strong and famous prophet who spoke truth the community needed to hear and also performed miracles. But the kings persisted in their unfaithful ways despite the prophets’ work. Today we hear from the prophet Amos, who also worked in the northern kingdom, about a hundred years after Elijah, and is one of the first prophets to write down the word of the Lord. These prophets often wrote in poetry, as they sought to reach the hearts of kings and elites who thrived on injustice and corruption while ordinary people suffered. We read today from the book of the prophet Amos, verses from chapters 1 and 5. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

And he said:
The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds wither,
and the top of Carmel dries up.

Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said.
Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Lip Service
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

It’s some of the most evocative and beautiful language in the Bible, a phrase we know and sing and pray to be true — that God’s justice would be free flowing, splashing down and washing clean and watering the earth so that it can grow and bear fruit and be beautiful. It’s even more potent poetry when we read the beginning of Amos, where it says that the pastures have dried up and the most fertile productive land has withered and turned to dust — imagine how it would feel to live in the midst of that drought and hear the prophet speaking of the rolling stream and mighty waters thundering through the landscape. It’s an image that would make a thirsty people long for God’s justice, deep in their very bones.

But sometimes we forget that rolling waters and ever-flowing streams carry things away, too. The rolling waters of God’s justice will wash away the injustice that has caused the fertile land to dry up. The ever-flowing stream won’t be able to be dammed up to serve the interests of the few at the expense of the many. All those things we’ve buried, hoping no one will notice, will come to light as the cover-ups are washed away. Water can be disruptive to the status quo…much like God’s justice, which turns the ways of this world upside down.

Knowing that, do we still long for it?

In Amos’s time, the problem was that people said yes with their voices — they prayed and made offerings and went to worship singing songs of God’s justice. But their actions said no. The leaders of the day went home from worship each week and continued policies that widened inequality, that left some starving while others lounged about in the lap of luxury — Amos actually calls them lazy cows in chapter 4! They worshipped God for an hour and then worshipped power and money and violence the rest of the week. They talked about peace but they pursued conflict and war. They liked to be seen making a show of the ceremonies and the symbols and then after that publicity was out and no one was looking, they served themselves and their own comfort and power without caring what happened to everyone else.

And God says that their worship, therefore, is worse than useless. God hates their songs and prayers and offerings because they mean nothing. Worship that doesn’t spill over into our lives is not just meaningless, it is offensive to God. Worship that doesn’t transform us into a community of justice and mercy is not actually worship at all.

That can be a hard thing to hear on a day like today, when we’re here for a solemn assembly and there’s a lot of ceremony that many of us find really meaningful and important. We have remembered and given thanks for those who put it all on the line, their lives and livelihoods, their physical and mental health, their families and friends, giving themselves for the good of the nation and the world. Whether they were abroad with the military or whether they were at home working for peace behind the scenes, the people we remember and honour today put their beliefs into action, standing up for what they thought was right and risking themselves in the process.

And, when we hear words like the prophet Amos, we would do well to be honest enough to remember that some of those throughout history who gave their all for the cause were sent by leaders who were not always engaging in honourable or just conflicts, and who would not have sent their own sons. Even thousands of years ago, and more recently within our own living memories, there have been unscrupulous or power-hungry leaders who used other people as if they were expendable pawns on the international stage, even while they paid lip service to the ideas of honour and duty and peace and supporting the troops.

It is this lip service that God decries. Covering up unjust behaviour by using a religious service or a symbol or a soundbite to make it look like we’re faithful or doing good is, according to Amos, worse than saying nothing. And it’s the leaders of the day who were doing exactly that — their policy decisions hurt people, created inequity, and provoked conflict, and then they sent others to fight their battles…all while they made sure to be seen praying for peace and making offerings of well-being.

That’s bad enough, but then the people went along with it all.

Maybe they believed what they were being told, and didn’t know the truth behind the facade.
Maybe they saw but it didn’t affect them personally, so they decided to ignore and live their lives.
Maybe they saw but felt helpless, didn’t know what to do when the powerful people were corrupt and they were just normal everyday people without access to the education or networks or money it took to be heard, so they decided to focus on everyday life and then just use a bit of witty sarcasm when having a moan with friends now and then.
Maybe they saw but they were so exhausted from just trying to scrape by, or perhaps exhausted from advocating but getting nowhere, that they just went along because it was easier and they didn’t have the energy for anything else.
Maybe they saw and actually the corruption benefitted them, it improved their stock value and earned more profit on their goods and services if they played the game, so they decided to ride the wave as long as they could.
Maybe they thought that faith ought to be a personal and private matter, and decided to let everything else, from business to politics, be its own thing.

Whether they embraced the ethos of the nation’s leaders or sat back and said “I’m not political” or were too tired or too uninformed, the reality is that the people did not hold their leaders accountable to the way that God had laid out before them. And that went on for generations. For whatever reason, they went along, thinking that as long as they got their worship and prayer right, the rest didn’t matter, it would sort itself out.

Through the prophet, God says the opposite is actually true.

Seek good and not evil, says the Lord — which sounds fairly obvious! Surely the people Amos was speaking to knew that good was better than evil, just like we do today. For him to say something so obvious — and to say it twice, like they didn’t get it the first time — implies that they actually thought they were doing okay. The prophet is speaking to people who had become so used to the way things are, they couldn’t actually see the problem. Or anytime they got a glimpse of the problem, they couldn’t imagine a solution so they just slipped back into what they saw as normal.

But God says to seek good and not evil, “and establish justice in the gate.” This is a weird phrase to us now, because we no longer live in walled cities with gates that served as meeting places for everything from the market to the court. But in biblical times, the city gate was where important things happened — it was where contracts were made, where trials happened and judges gave rulings, and where major transactions like the sale of property or a marriage agreement took place. It was a public place and people were always on hand to witness what was going on. There would be scribes, and legal experts, and merchants, and interested onlookers there basically all the time.

Establish justice in the gate. In the most public place, where the important stuff of life happens, in the legal system and the economic system and the family system, establish justice. Challenge the powerful people who are leading the community astray.

Not just in the little things, but in the big things. Not just behind closed doors with like-minded people, but in public. Not just where it’s safe but where it’s risky. Change the system of…well… everything! so that it is just. And then you will experience God’s graciousness.

On the day we remember and honour those who have given themselves to the cause of justice and peace around the world, this feels like an important reminder — that there is more to paying our respects than just this hour. After all, the first world war was meant to be the last — the war to end all wars. And yet our leaders have continued for a hundred years to say one thing while doing another. Injustice persists, and the earth withers even while we are so entrenched in what we think is normal that we can’t see any other way. But the call echoing through the long-lost voices of those who have gone on ahead is as clear as ever — to pursue justice and peace so that no one else is sacrificed. To let justice roll down like waters, washing away all that harms abundant life. To tear down the dam that has held back God’s living waters for ourselves and let them flow to all creation. To establish justice in the gate, in every aspect of our public life, and to seek peace and pursue it.

When we do that, our ceremonies and solemn assemblies and offerings and songs and symbols will mean something. They will bear fruit that nourishes the whole world…which will look ever more and more like the kingdom of God, coming on earth as it is in heaven.

May it be so. Amen.

Online Hymn: As We Gather (Resound Worship)
In Person Hymn 521: Children of God, reach out to one another (Tune: Lord of the Years)

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
God of power and love, we bless you this day
for your gift of freedom, your gift of community,
your gift of hope, your gift of memory.
We give you thanks for the privileges we enjoy,
and for those whose lives have been dedicated to making them possible.
We celebrate the tearing down of dividing walls of hostility,
and we pray that our lives might be worthy of the gift passed down to us,
as we seek to be faithful to your call.

O Lord, hear our prayer for those whose lands have dried up,
whose crops have failed, whose weather patterns have changed,
who face a season of hunger and anxiety ahead.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those whose homes have been swept away by floods,
who find themselves in the path of storms never before seen in their lands,
who look at rising sea levels with fear and dread.
And also hear our prayer for the political will to change our ways
that all may know the abundance of your creation.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.

O Lord, hear our prayer for those exploited for their labour to preserve low prices for others,
whose rights and dignity are trampled for the sake of profit,
whose families must split apart in search of a better life.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those who have no place to lay their head, no food to put on their tables,
who must rely on the sporadic generosity of others,
who exist at the margins of society’s attention and care.
And also hear our prayer that we might be more generous,
as well as more willing to work for change
that all may know the abundance you provide.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.

O Lord, hear our prayer for those living with illness,
and for those facing their last days,
and all those who care for them.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those whose limited energy must be spent negotiating for care,
phoning for appointments,
filling in paperwork to prove they’re unwell.
And also hear our prayer that we might have the strength to stand up and demand a better way,
that all may get the care they need and deserve as human beings made in your image.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.

O Lord, hear our prayer for those in positions of power,
whose attention is captured by re-election and the desire to maintain power,
whose responsibility is to serve the common good.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those who serve in other ways,
whose ideals are rarely upheld by their superiors,
yet who persist doing what is right.
And hear our prayer that we might hold leaders to account,
and create a world where all have options for a life of purpose and joy.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.

O Lord, hear our prayers for those who serve their country so honourably,
who seek to make the world a better place for others,
not only for themselves.
O Lord, hear our gratitude for the ways in which they seek peace,
and our prayers for the grace and courage to do the same—
to hold one another accountable for peacemaking,
and to grow together as your Church into a sign of hope to this world.
Grant that we may be found faithful in days to come,
and worthy of the gift of time and freedom we have been given.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.

Move our prayers into action, Holy One. We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace, who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction
Go into your week to seek peace and pursue it, to do justice and love kindness and walk humbly with your God. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.

Recessional: Highland Cathedral (in person)

Postlude Music

Announcements

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in person, subject to the usual protocols for distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing. We can now welcome up to 85-100 people for worship with 1m distancing between households. No booking is required. Masks are required at all times inside the building, including while singing. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door.

* Tonight we will gather with Christians across the nation for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page, led tonight by Karen. Log on at 6:58pm to join in.

* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* During the Harvest season (continuing in Ordinary Time until Advent begins at the end of November), the theme for worship is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.

* Greenock Rotary – Smalls for All 2021 Appeal:  The club is appealing for people to buy a pack or single pair of pants for a woman or child.  These will be given to vulnerable women, girls and boys in Africa where there is a severe lack of ‘smalls’.  Women and girls with no underwear are very vulnerable, it is a health and hygiene problem as well as a matter of human dignity for those affected.  Ladies briefs in UK size range 8 to 16 and for children aged from 3 to 15 years will be gratefully accepted.  You can place  your donation in the box placed in the front vestibule during November.

* Volunteers needed for Bubblegum & Fluff on Monday, 29 November and Friday 3 December. Bubblegum & Fluff happens in the Old Gourock and Ashton church hall, and the time commitment is roughly 9-12. Volunteers will need to be able to sit down (probably on the floor though some choose a chair with the children on the floor) and to stand at a table to help facilitate activities with groups of around 6 children. No public speaking is required, and all instructions will be given to you on the day. All adults must wear masks in the building, but children will not be required to do so. If you are willing to come and help out with P5s learning the Christmas story, please let Teri know.