Sunday service for 15 January 2023, Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Sunday 15 January 2022, NL1-22-23, Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
Prelude Music
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
One: The day is here, the way is revealed —
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
One: The path is prepared and Christ leads us on —
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
One: The Spirit pulls us close to whisper God’s love and God’s call —
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
One: In our worship and in our lives, we proclaim:
All: The kingdom of heaven has come near.
Sanctuary Hymn 167: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Prayer
Holy Spirit of love,
Your blessing is always active,
calling, pushing, leading, driving,
at the riverside and in the wilderness,
in our homes and our work,
strengthening us to face the adversary
within ourselves and out in the world.
You have told us, O God, what is good.
And we confess that we have strayed from your path,
we have turned away when your way is difficult, or inconvenient, or uncomfortable.
And we also confess that it’s easy, week after week,
to admit those purposeful diversions and ask your forgiveness,
but harder to truly commit ourselves to turning back to you.
For if we are fully honest, it is inattention and apathy that draw us away.
You lived in the strength of God’s love,
the knowledge of God’s word,
and connection to God in prayer,
and stood firm through trials and triumphs.
We confess that when we cannot see your abundance, we settle for a trade-off,
believing we can separate body and spirit without consequence.
We confess that we sometimes spiritualise needs instead of feeding hungry people,
and that we sometimes forget there’s more to justice than a single meal.
Forgive us, and remind us that neither bread nor word alone will suffice,
and your promise is that we will thrive with both.
We confess that we long for proof of your love, or proof that your word is true,
and we test one line to justify ignoring the rest.
We confess that we’d love everyone to recognise that you love us best,
so they’ll come to our way, our interpretation, our tradition.
Forgive us, and remind us that you are love, and those who abide in love abide in you.
We confess that we long to have a voice in the halls of power,
and to extend our reach beyond our own circles of influence.
We confess that we sometimes believe the end justifies the means,
if we can just find an in then we’ll be the only ones to use it wisely.
Forgive us, and set us free from the trap of trading away your purpose in pursuit of our goals.
Connect us to the deep wells of your word today,
that we may draw courage and discipline, faith and love,
and so offer a vision of your kingdom and an invitation to your Way.
Re-orient us once again this day,
and strengthen our resolve to put your love into action.
We ask in the name of Jesus, who embodies your word for us. Amen.
Online Hymn 622: We Sing A Love
Sanctuary Children’s Time
Reading: Matthew 3.1 – 4.17 (New Revised Standard Version)
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ’Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ’You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptise you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ’I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’
But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’
Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptised, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered,
‘It is written,
“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you”,
and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.” ’
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
’Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.’
From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
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: Trade-Offs
I don’t know about you, but this isn’t exactly how I remember my own baptism going. You may not remember your own baptisms, if you were baptised as children, claimed for God’s family as a sign of grace. But you’ll no doubt have witnessed many a baptism since then, and been part of the community welcoming and promising to show God’s love to others. For those of us who were teens or adults when we were baptised, it may have been a memorable experience — I can tell you what I was wearing, what the weather was like, where I was sitting in the sanctuary, how cold the marble steps were, how I wondered about my hair once it got wet, even the voice of the minister and the way his hand rested on my head at the end, and the feeling of turning around and seeing the whole church looking back at me with welcoming smiles. I couldn’t tell you what hymns we sang or what the reading was or what the sermon was about….but I can say with certainty that it wasn’t “you brood of vipers, who told you to come here?” And there was no literal clouds-parting-voice-from-heaven on that particular day.
Even without all the details of the day, we hopefully recall the feeling of welcome, of grace, of belonging in the midst of God’s people. At a baptism I say that the one being baptised always has a home with us, on good days and bad days. Because of God’s love, we love one another. And though the heavens may not literally open to let God’s voice speak directly, through the voice of the Body of Christ, we nonetheless hear “you are mine, I love you, and your life brings me pleasure.”
Now normally when we read about the baptism of Jesus, we stop there and hear the rest of the story weeks later, disconnected from the baptism. But what happens next, immediately after Jesus comes out of the river, is so important for us to pay attention to, because it is also what happens to us as we go about living our baptised Christian life.
Matthew tells us Jesus came up from the water and heard God’s voice claiming him as Beloved, and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and basically sat on his shoulder…and then there’s not even time for cake afterwards before the Spirit takes Jesus from the water and ushers him out into the dry desert. From that experience of love and commitment, he is moved straight into an experience of isolation and challenge.
Isn’t that what it feels like sometimes? We have moments of deep spiritual connection, and then everything else feels lacking. We feel fed and nurtured and supported, and then wonder why sometimes praying feels difficult or worship doesn’t give us the same good feelings it used to. We hear affirmation of God’s love and then the world tells us what others think about our worthiness or competence, and we start to waver.
Immediately after his baptism, hearing God’s love and joy, being filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was out on his own having to face the temptations of the world. And so are we. Our lives are not lived standing in the river waiting for the next time the clouds part — they are lived as baptised people in the world having to face the challenges of choosing God’s way in the midst of everything.
The tempter offered Jesus three solutions to problems — solutions that we too may be tempted by.
First, the opportunity to feed himself, and maybe even to feed others too — turn these stones into bread. The world is full of stones, of course, and if this was a way forward then surely Jesus could solve hunger, his own and the world’s?
But as with any easy answer, there’s a trade off. Jesus knows we live not by bread alone, not by word alone, but both*. To take this easy answer, he’d have to separate body and spirit, choosing between bread and word. How often have we been tempted by this same trade-off? Sometimes it happens with the tangible need, and we think we can meet that and get back to God later. Sometimes it happens with the word — we think if we offer God to people, that’ll be good enough even though they’re still starving or homeless or addicted or grieving or cold. Not by bread alone, but by both bread and word. Relying on the belovedness he’d experienced at his baptism, Jesus stood strong and insisted that he would not separate body and spirit, solving one problem by creating another.
Next came the opportunity to show everyone just how beloved he was. It would be a quick way to ensure that people listened to him, since they’d all know he was that guy God rescued from falling off the Temple! And bonus, it would reinforce the idea that God was extra present in this building, too.
This quick and easy solution also comes with a trade off. Trying to prove someone’s love with tests actually leads to more insecurity, not less*. Jesus knew one test would lead to another and another, because those who need them can never be satisfied without one more. Instead he, and we, would have to trust God’s love and let our lives — the things we do and say — be the proof of God’s love, presence and care for us and for the community, in and outside the special building.
Third came the chance to accomplish his whole mission in the blink of an eye, without any of the pain or difficulty. Just one little bent knee and bowed head, and Jesus could be master of all the kingdoms — lord of all.
The biggest shortcut comes with the biggest trade off though. Jesus could have the power over all the kingdoms, but he’d have to abandon God, and his identity as God’s beloved son, to get it*. The tempter offers Jesus the opportunity to skip to the end, to reach the goal immediately. It’s an opportunity I suspect many of us would think twice about — to get all the benefits without any of the work! To have a central seat at the table in the halls of power! But to trade away our identity and purpose to gain power is…well, that’s a devil of a choice, if you will. Jesus knows he belongs to God. He knows his purpose is to embody God’s love. And knowing those two things, he also knows that there are no shortcuts. The purpose he is meant to pursue is to make the kingdom of heaven visible on earth…there’s only one means to that end, and it is for love to give itself away, not to take power over.
We know these temptations to make these trade-offs. We know the desire for the easy answer or the quick solution. The question, then, is…are we grounded in God’s love, God’s word, God’s presence with us so we can remain committed to live for God’s pleasure when faced with these challenges? Do we have at our fingertips the things we need to rely on when we’re out in the world feeling alone? Are we clear about God’s purpose for us, so we can pursue it without getting distracted by the other options on offer? Do we know ourselves as God’s people, beloved and belonging?
The grace and love and grafting into Christ’s family declared at our baptism will be the strength we need when the Spirit leads us into the wilderness — that landscape of grief, confusion, change, uncertainty, aloneness. The wilderness is uncharted territory and we are all in it, and the beacon that lights the way is the voice proclaiming “you are my child and I love you and you belong here” — a voice we hear through scripture and song and prayer, through the church’s voice, through reminders we can see and touch when we feel alone and can’t hear anything at all.
Today I invite you to hear it again: you are God’s beloved, and you belong, and when you live as if that is true, it not only makes the kingdom of heaven visible on earth, it also brings God pleasure and joy.
May it be so. Amen.
(*thanks to the Bibleworm podcast for insights that led to this week’s sermon)
Sanctuary Hymn 622: We Sing a Love
Online Hymn: Lord Reign in Me
Offering
Sanctuary Offering Response
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God all creatures here below;
praise God, the Trinity of love,
before, beneath, around, above.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Your kingdom come, O God, we pray.
We ask yet rarely look for the answer,
consigning heaven to some other time and some other place.
Today we pause in that prayer,
asking first for the blessing of meaning what we say.
Your kingdom come on earth, O God.
For the world needs us to pray with purpose, and to listen when you answer
by calling us back to your way.
The situation is urgent, we are struggling to keep up with all the needs,
and we may finally be ready for the upheaval that will come when you break in,
disrupting our systems of domination and control and greed.
Reveal your kingdom of justice,
where your abundance is enough for everyone,
where no one starves while others gorge themselves,
where all are loved for themselves and not for how they can serve another,
where who we know or where we went to school or what people think of our names
no longer determines our station or worth.
Reveal your kingdom of peace,
where no parent needs to flee with their children,
where the air is filled with birdsong instead of sirens and guns,
where homes are safe and each person is respected,
where our words build up rather than tear down.
Reveal your kingdom of compassion,
where community cares for each other,
where we hold one another accountable with grace,
where there is space for each person to let go of what holds them back
as they grow and bear fruit you have made them to bear.
Reveal your kingdom of love,
where we can face difficult things by standing in your strength,
where we value your priorities even when they are not profitable,
where blessing flows in every direction.
Gather us in to the kingdom of heaven
and give us what we need
to step into the role you have for us.
We ask these and all things in the name of Jesus the Christ,
fully human and fully divine, tempted and resilient,
who is the way for us, and 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.
Sanctuary Hymn: Lord Reign in Me (praise band)
Benediction
Go from this place knowing you are God’s beloved, and wherever the Spirit sends you, carry your belovedness with you. As you go to live Christ’s way, may you be filled to overflowing with blessing that reveals the kingdom of heaven come near.
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.
Postlude Music
Announcements
* We worship in the sanctuary on Sundays at 11am, and all Sunday worship is also online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print). 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. If you feel unwell, please worship online, to protect both yourself and others in our community.
* The choir rehearses immediately after worship, in the sanctuary.
* Did you know that it costs us about £10,500 per month to do the ministry we currently do at St. John’s? That includes heating and lighting the building and keeping it in good repair for church and community groups, programming and pastoral care for people of all ages, our contribution to minister’s stipends, and other ministry costs. 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 be 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!
* Would you be interested in joining the readers rota in 2023? Whether you read in the sanctuary or online, or both — whether recording yourself or being recorded by Teri — we’d love to have your voice bringing God’s word to life in our community! There is a wee training to help you feel confident. Let Teri know if you’d like to join in. Even if you have previously been on the rota, please reply as this is a brand new list for the new year.
* Young Adult Bible Study meets in the manse on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 7pm for a meal and discussion of the gospel according to John. Everyone in their 20s is welcome!
* The Contact Group meets on Tuesday the 24th at 2pm.
* Smalls for All: During January and February the Contact Group is facilitating this year’s Smalls For All appeal, and everyone is invited to contribute packs of pants for ladies, girls and boys. There is a box for contributions at the Bath Street entrance to the church building. Thank you for your generosity.
* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in slightly more than a year!
* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.
Sunday service for 9 January 2022
9 January 2022
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.
Prelude Music
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
One: Come, all you who are curious,
Come, all you who wonder,
Come, if you’ve just met Jesus a few days ago, or known him all your life,
Come to the celebration!
All: We’re not sure how we got an invitation,
but we are here to see what God can do.
Prayer
Your works reveal your glory, Holy One,
right in front of our eyes and yet hidden from view.
Your abundance surprises us every time,
in the everyday sustenance
and the once-in-a-lifetime celebration
and every in-between moment,
filled to the brim with your grace when we weren’t looking.
Your kingdom unfolds before us —
give us eyes to see your signs.
God of grace and glory,
you work all things together for your good purpose,
whatever the situation.
We confess that we like a timeline, a blueprint, a schedule, a plan…
and we will wait until everything is in place, perfectly aligned,
before we take the first steps.
We admit that we sometimes use planning and preparation,
committees and studies,
as a way to put off taking the risk of following you.
Forgive us when we distance ourselves from your messengers
and let opportunities pass us by because we don’t feel ready.
Forgive us, fill us to overflowing once again with your abundant life,
and empower us to work on your task,
even if we cannot see the moment of the miracle ourselves. Amen.
Online Hymn 336: Christ Is Our Light (words: Leith Fisher; tune: Highland Cathedral)
Christ is our light!
the bright and morning star
covering with radiance all from near and far. Christ be our light,
shine on, shine on we pray
into our hearts, into our world today.
Christ is our love!
baptised that we may know
the love of God among us, swooping low. Christ be our love, bring us to turn our face and see in you
the light of heaven’s embrace.
Christ is our joy!
transforming wedding guest!
Through water turned to wine the feast was blessed.
Christ be our joy; your glory let us see,
as your disciples did in Galilee.
Renewal of the Baptismal Covenant
In the waters of baptism,
we are born anew to live in God’s ongoing re-creation,
day by day growing in grace.
And we are forced to admit that we don’t understand any of it —
the mystery is always just below the surface, just behind the veil.
Yet the good news is this: That Jesus was born, and lived among us;
he taught and healed, he enabled celebration and defied shame,
he sat at table with sinners and strangers,
he poured water and wine, he broke bread,
and he spoke new things into being;
he suffered the worst the world could do,
and he broke the power of death by rising to new life…
all this he did for us, though we do not understand yet.
And so the scripture is fulfilled: we love because God first loved us.
We may not understand how miracles happen.
We may not know exactly where the sign points us to go.
We may not untangle the mysteries of life and love and faith.
But we may get a glimpse of glory, in water —
carried from one place to another,
set aside from a common to a sacred use,
transformed for a new celebration.
And we may hear Christ’s call again, in water —
to take up the task,
to set out on the path,
to be a part of something we don’t yet see or understand, a miracle in the making.
So we come to be renewed as God’s covenant people,
surrounded and upheld by the weight of God’s glory
and committing ourselves to continue in Christ’s way.
Do you renew your commitment, with God’s help,
to live before all God’s children in a kindly and Christian way,
and to share with them the knowledge and love of Christ?
If so, please say “I do” and use the water to make the sign of the cross on the palm of your hand.
All of us are called to model God’s grace in all that we do,
whether our interactions are with friends or strangers,
children or peers or elders,
church members or not.
Today we particularly promise to this young family, but the promise extends to all of us.
Will you take up this call to build up Christ’s body,
nurturing one another in faith,
upholding one another in prayer,
and encouraging one another in service?
If so, please say “I will” as you use water to make the sign of the cross on your other palm.
You belong to Christ, in whom you have been baptised, alleluia alleluia alleluia.
Reading: John 2.1-11 (New Revised Standard Version)
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
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: Because I Said So
Can I just ask: has anyone here ever used the phrase “because I said so”? My parents used to use it when I wanted to know why I had to clean my room, or get my shoes on, or watch my brother. My teachers used to use it when I wanted to know why I had to write an outline first instead of just writing the essay, or why I had to show my work rather than just getting the right answer on a maths test. And then one day, when I was teaching in Egypt, I heard myself say these words to a class of P1 girls who were just starting to learn English, and neither my Arabic nor my patience was up to the task of explaining to thirty 5 year olds why they could not run inside the library. A few years later I found myself saying it to a youth group full of cheeky suburban 13 year olds who wanted to know why they had to turn the lights out and go to bed at 1am on a retreat, as that’s hardly the time of day to try to reason with a hyper teenager.
“Because I said so” is the last resort of parents and teachers everywhere. It seems that the mother of Jesus had taken it to the next level, though — she didn’t even technically ask Jesus to do anything, yet when he resisted getting involved, she just gave him a look and said to the servants “do whatever he tells you.” It is pretty impressive to be able to say “because I said so” without even actually saying the words, and to have it work on her 30 year old son!
But far more impressive, I think, is that when Jesus instructed that over 150 gallons of water should be brought in from the well, no one batted an eye. They just all picked up their buckets and walked to the well and carried the water. Back and forth they went, until the jars were filled to the brim. No “why?”, no moaning, no questions, no excuses about how they were in the middle of a wedding and very busy serving guests who were just now realising the bar was closed…they just carried water, because Jesus said so. They had no idea what he was going to do with it, or what all this water had to do with the problem at hand. They’d filled those jars not long before, for the rituals at the start of the wedding ceremony, and now here they were doing it again and they didn’t know why, only that Jesus had told them to do it.
And somewhere along the way, a miracle happened. Scarcity was transformed into abundance, fear and shame were transformed into celebration.
The people carrying the water didn’t see exactly what happened. No one did, in fact. And all that labour: taking the buckets to the well, pulling water up, filling the buckets, carrying them back, lifting them to pour it into the jars, repeat…all of that is glossed over. It just says “Jesus said to fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim.” Depending on how far away the well was, and how many people were doing it, we’re likely talking about an hour or two or more of hard work…with growing anxiety and pressure as the guests sobered up, the gossip was flying around the party, the groom and his family were getting more and more embarrassed, and the other servants were finding it harder and harder to cover. People surely saw them scurrying about, though no one understood what was going on.
But God was at work. We don’t know when, exactly. No one does. But when the first cup was placed under the spout, those people who had spent the entire afternoon running back and forth with buckets of water knew. They knew Jesus had done something amazing, that the God was a God of abundance and goodness and celebration of love. And they knew it couldn’t have happened without them — even though no one else did, and no one thanked them or recognised their work. But though they did not know it while they were doing it, afterward they knew they had participated in a miracle.
Sometimes the Christian life feels like that, doesn’t it? Like we’re just going about these tasks, carrying bucket after bucket of water with no idea why or what it’s for, with no one really noticing, just doing what Jesus said even though it feels silly, or unproductive, or like it might not matter, or it’s just the same small thing over and over…but doing it anyway because Jesus said to…whether that’s cleaning the church every week, or moving chairs, or delivering flowers, or praying for people we don’t even know, or standing at the door as a friendly face week after week, or coming to join our hearts and voices in worship, or phoning people who never seem phone us back, or making the millionth powerpoint hymn, or adding another starter packs item to our shopping trolley, or opening packet after packet of snacks for our youngest youth organisation members, or writing yet another email to our elected officials holding them accountable to our highest ideals, or giving a little extra to the mission we do…whatever that small task, however repetitive it seems, whether you know exactly how God is using it or not…doing it faithfully simply because Jesus said so is the stuff of miracles, though we do not know it yet. When it’s filled to the brim, we will see that Jesus has done something amazing we couldn’t have imagined before.
All those small everyday prayerful acts of love and faithfulness add up. Through our lives lived in response to Jesus’ instruction, even when we do not understand it yet, God’s kingdom unfolds right in front of us, in hospitality and celebration and abundance and grace — more than enough of the best wine for everyone. Because Jesus said so.
May it be so. Amen.
Online Hymn: God of All Comfort (by Resound Worship)
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer
Loving God, your care extends to even the smallest situation,
and you know our need.
In the moments that make up our lives, you are present.
We give you thanks that when we don’t quite know how to ask,
still you answer.
And so we bring you our prayers this day,
for the needs at the forefront of our minds,
and the ones we keep hidden, ashamed even to ask for help.
We bring the prayers we don’t even have words for,
the uncertain and faltering and inarticulate hopes, fears, dreams, longings.
…
We bring ourselves, just as you invited us,
however uncertain we are of our belonging,
and offer our whole selves to the work of your unfolding kingdom.
You are the giver of every good gift.
As you ensured the celebration at Cana,
we pray too you would gladden our hearts with the abundance of your blessing,
confirm us in your way,
and strengthen our spirits to serve you as you call.
We ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
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
Friends, go into your week to carry water…to live faithfully in every action, doing as Jesus asks, knowing that in the living of each day is the stuff of miracles, though we may not know it yet. 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.
Announcements
* This winter our theme is “Seeing Jesus.” Where do you see Jesus? What is he up to in your life, and in our community’s life?
*You are invited to join in reading the Bible in a year for 2022 — immersing ourselves in God’s word throughout the year. Click here to find a reading plan that’s five days a week (leaving a couple of days for catch up each week!). Watch this space for information about a Bible study as we go through the scriptures together!
* 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 Jonathan. 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 and/or Westminster Wednesdays 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!
* Update from Venda:
We commenced with the 4th term of school on the 11th of October 2021. The lockdown level fluctuated until the 15 of September 2021, and we are now on Level 1 which means children can do some physical activities like dancing, subject to COVID-19 compliance. It has been very hard to not hug the children, although all staff members got vaccines we don’t want to risk. Children need love and we have missed hugging our children. Now children from the age of 12 years old are also getting vaccines. And there are lots of campaigns encouraging people to get vaccines as most people are still skeptical about it.
Sunday service for 10 January 2021, Baptism of the Lord Sunday
10 January 2021, Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St. John’s
email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk
Call to Worship
In a new year, with change on the horizon,
yet still carrying the year past,
we come.
Amidst all the ways we mark time—
calendar
clock
administration
liturgical colours
age
God breaks in with a new thing.
Beloved, come and see,
and allow the Spirit to re-orient us to a new way of being.
Let us worship God together.
Hymn #757: Come All You People
Let us pray.
God of Love and Justice, you reveal yourself in ways we do not expect. Just when we thought things had settled down, you come reminding us that we cannot rely only on the past to carry us into the future. We confess that we find your words hard to hear. After all the gift giving and heavy-laden holiday tables, the instruction to give away all we do not need sounds harsh in our ears. We do not like to be vulnerable, so can’t imagine having only just enough. Letting go of our extra stuff and our carefully constructed self-image at the same time feels too much to bear. Forgive us for holding on to things that offer only the illusion of security, even as you reach out to hold us in your hand. Turn our hearts and minds, and then our lives, to your way. We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, who is the Way, Truth, and Life, and 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.
Reading and Sermon: Kuleana (Luke 3.1-22)
Today’s reading may be a familiar story to some of us, but this is one of those times when our familiarity makes it easy to gloss over some of the details in the way Luke tells the story. But those details are important, because they tell us things about how God is working, who Jesus is, and what the Holy Spirit is doing in and through us as God’s people. So today, rather than reading all 22 verses at once and then talking about them, we’re going to read and discuss bit by bit. The reading today is from the gospel according to Luke, chapter 3, verses 1-22, and I’m reading from the New Revised Standard Version. We’ll begin with just verses 1-6.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’
We are familiar with this quote from Isaiah — usually we hear it during Advent, and it calls up memories of Handel’s Messiah. Isaiah wrote to people who were in exile, waiting for God to come and take them home. To hear God’s promise accompanied by the call to prepare the road on which God would travel to rescue the people meant that they should be hopeful because it would happen soon, they should get ready! Luke uses that same passage to describe what John the Baptist was doing — preparing the way of the Lord, because he was coming soon, so people should both be hopeful and get ready. Now, what John thought that would mean is unclear, we don’t know what he expected the Messiah to do or how he would act, we just know that he was preparing the way.
Usually that’s all we read for this section, but actually we really need to back up to the beginning! All those names and places seem so easy to skip over, but they are there for a reason. Luke tells us that all these things took place during a particular time and in a particular location. They didn’t have a calendar like ours where you could just say the month and year…but that isn’t he only reason he describes that time and location by referencing the important people of the day: the emperor, the governor, and the client kings, and then the high priests of the Jerusalem Temple. These are the people who defined the age, the ones who controlled the politics, economy, culture, and religion. While ordinary people would not interact with any of these leaders, the fact is that even if they didn’t think about it all the time, their lives and options were affected by those leaders’ choices and actions. Their images were on coins and buildings, their movements could ease or disrupt business, their rulings changed how people ate and worked and worshiped, and they were generally just the backdrop to life.
Against that backdrop, we have John, son of a priest, out in the wilderness — unsupervised, in other words — preaching and baptising outside the institutional and liturgical structures of the time. So after naming all the people who have power in the empire in one way or another, who define our lives, suddenly Luke changes focus, drawing our attention away from all those things that have consumed our energy and around which we have oriented our worldview. The word of God is in the wilderness. Out on the margins, away from the centre of earthly kingdom power, the kingdom of God is breaking in, and it will change the way we see. It will change the way we mark time. It will change what we think is important, and what will define our lives and actions and options.
All those imperial powers are still there, but they are no longer the star of the story or the defining characteristic of the age. Instead, we tear our eyes away from their antics and we are drawn toward something happening out at the edges, where we have the space to re-orient our worldview around God’s kingdom instead of the empire.
Unlike some other gospel writers, Luke does not tell us about John’s clothes, he only tells us about his words. He was pointed in his preaching, as we hear in verses 7-14:
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptised by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptised, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
It doesn’t seem that John is interested in winning people over with charm — it’s hard to imagine many people would love being called a brood of vipers! He wants people to realise that the fact that their name is on the roll of the chosen people is good and all, but that’s the beginning, not the end. They can’t rely only on their past to carry them into the future — how we live as God’s people matters. After all, the psalms tell us that all creation sings the glory of God in its own way — including the stones. So if all God wanted was names on the roll, the rocks would suffice. But we are meant to bear good fruit for the kingdom of God — this kingdom that is breaking through the world’s ways and drawing us out.
What then should we do? The people stand at the waters edge, dripping wet, receiving God’s grace and wondering how to live in response. How will their everyday lives reflect the change they have undergone in the river?
If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have any. That way everyone in the community has a coat.
If you have two servings of your meal, give one to someone who doesn’t have any. That way everyone in the community has enough to eat.
If you have a position of power, don’t use it to enrich yourself, but rather to serve others.
Now tax collectors, who were Jewish but also collaborated with the Roman Empire, augmented their wage by inflating the amount people owed. That way they could keep the extra and so live more comfortably themselves. And soldiers were Romans, an occupying force meant to keep the peace, but they did so by terrorising people into submission.
All of these people — those with an extra coat, those collecting taxes, even the soldiers — are normal everyday people, the middlemen of the empire. They’re not the leaders, but they’re also not the poorest of the poor. They’re people with more than enough. People like most of us. And John tells them that what they ought to do if they want to live according to the grace they have received is to take responsibility for one another.
Having two coats and giving one away might make us feel vulnerable. What if I need that coat tomorrow? But in this kind of community, that moment would be met by someone else giving their extra one to me. It’s a way of life that is both generous and dependent at the same time.
Last week I learned a new word from a friend who lives in Hawaii. The Hawaiian language has a word, kuleana, that’s hard to translate, but basically it means reciprocal responsibility. So for example, Hawaiians say they have a kuleana to the land, to care for it and respect it, and in return the land has a kuleana to us, to feed and provide. I think this word perfectly encapsulates this sense of responsibility to one another that John is preaching: I have a responsibility, as someone with more than enough, to give away that excess to those who do not have enough. And when I am in a vulnerable position, those with more than enough have a responsibility to give their excess to me. And so as a community, we depend on one another, in a constant give and take. No one is hedging against future vulnerability by storing up for themselves, like you would do in the imperial worldview, but rather by being part of a community of reciprocal responsibility. We have a kuleana to each other in the kingdom of God.
This was such a radical idea — remember that the word radical means “root”, and John said that the axe was lying at the root of the trees, changing things by going back to the very foundations, and his preaching was really bringing people back to the very beginning of how God’s creation was meant to work, in kuleana to each other from the ground to the animals to the humans made in God’s image! It drew people in and re-focused them, and they wondered…as we hear in verses 15-22.
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptise you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
Now when all the people were baptised, and when Jesus also had been baptised and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
For those who have never been to a threshing floor — chaff is the outer husk of wheat, and when the grains of wheat are agitated to loosen the chaff and then tossed into the air, the chaff separates and blows away. But it is very dangerous — even the tiniest spark of electricity can ignite that cloud of chaff and the fire can burn the whole field.
Each of us will have chaff that needs separating…and every community does too. Those practices that are dangerous and can easily ignite a fire of bad behaviour that destroys the community need to be separated and blown away. It may not be pleasant, but it is important.
Sometimes I think we forget that John said this right after giving those instructions about the kuleana of life in the kingdom of God, so we tend toward reading it as if there are bad people who are going to be burned away. And that may be one possible reading, but when we read the whole story together, it sounds to me more like the chaff is those ways of living that John was asking us to leave behind, to repent of — repentance literally means to turn around 180 degrees, to change the way of living and thinking. Chaff is a protective husk — and John has just asked us to shed our protections and entrust our welfare to the whole community of reciprocal responsibility. And chaff floating randomly in the air can be dangerous — we have to fully let it go, because grasping at those unhealthy old ways can destroy that community of care.
Perhaps that is one reason that baptism is the symbol of entering into this community — because the water washes that chaff away and we live differently in response. Isn’t it fascinating that Luke tells us that Jesus was just baptised with everybody else — he’s part of this community. Yet he’s also, of course, different: he sees the heaven opened and hears God’s voice proclaiming Love. He is one who does not need the chaff washed away himself, but he will still be in this community of kuleana, and so he shows us from the very beginning how to live in ways that bring God pleasure and delight. It will be a different way of life than the one defined by those important guys at the beginning of the chapter — we will need to turn 180 degrees and put that behind us if we are to instead focus on God’s kingdom living, here and now. This is what it means to be baptised: to live differently because we have experienced God’s grace and now can’t help but act on it.
May it be so. Amen.
Traditionally on Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we recall our own baptisms, that moment of meeting God at the water and encountering overwhelming grace that leads us to a new way of life.
Martin Luther famously repeated “I am baptised!” whenever he was in distress. In the face of all that is going on in the world and in our lives and our community, it is an important reminder that the powers that serve as the backdrop to daily life are not in fact the defining realities of life in the kingdom of God. And in the midst of a year when we have learned to wash our hands, what better than to repeat “I am baptised” as we make use of the gift of water?
Water is indeed a gift. In the beginning it flowed over creation, carving mountains and valleys. Throughout history it has nourished the earth, and so nourished life. We who are used to clean water coming from taps inside our homes find our thirst quenched, our bodies cleansed, our cooking and cleaning easy.
God brought our ancestors through the chaos of the Red Sea, and drew them to the banks of the River Jordan. Today God calls us to the water again — remembering those stories of faithfulness but not taking them for granted. God calls us to the water again that we may take our place in the story, living Christ’s way that others may count us among their cloud of witnesses. In each of our places, from near and far, the Spirit gathers us into Christ’s Body, and every drop of precious water we encounter is a reminder of this gracious summons to abundant life.
Having heard anew this call to embody God’s generous mercy, caring for our neighbour, recognising our place in community, and sharing our resources, let us re-commit ourselves to live for God’s delight.
I invite you to answer these questions, honestly in your hearts and truthfully with your lives:
*Do you reject sin,
and confess your need of God’s forgiving grace;
And, believing the Christian faith,
do you pledge yourself to glorify God
and to love your neighbour?
*At your baptism we proclaimed that you will always have a place in the family of God.
Do you commit yourself to that family,
this Christian community of reciprocal responsibility —
to depend on the grace of God,
to serve the Lord,
and to continue in the fellowship of the Church
all the days of your life?
*Do you renew your commitment to be faithful
in studying scripture,
in prayer,
in giving a proportion of your time, talents, and money
to the work of the Church in the world,
and to serving Christ in your daily work?
Let us pray.
Out at the edge of our understanding you speak, O God.
Through the voices of those pushed to the margins
we hear your call to mutual responsibility and vulnerability,
your call to be our neighbour’s keeper.
Through the voices of those beyond our controlled structures
we hear your call to a way of life that is more than
just a name on the roll.
Through the voices of those ordinary people just like us,
seeking to be faithful,
we hear your call to humility and a teachable spirit.
Out at the edge of our understanding you speak, O God.
May we turn aside to see,
and find our hearts opened and lives changed
as we remember our baptisms — your grace, both gift and call.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Hymn 336, verse 2 (tune: Highland Cathedral)
Christ is our love! baptised that we may know
the love of God among us, swooping low.
Christ be our love, bring us to turn our face
and see you in the light of heaven’s embrace.
Next time you wash your hands, sing this hymn (it takes 25 seconds!). Touch your wet fingers to your forehead and remind yourself “I am baptised!” with all that means about God’s love for you and God’s call for your life to reflect God’s kingdom. Amen.
Hymn #706: For the Healing of the Nations
Benediction
As you go to live according to the Kingdom of God even against the backdrop of the kingdoms of the world, 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.
Announcements
All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) until further notice — the building is closed during the government’s lockdown and during level 4 restrictions. We will let you know when in-person worship begins, and whether any new procedures will be in place at that time.
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. 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 by post or with a neighbour who is coming to in-person worship and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!
The theme for worship during the season of Epiphany is “Confounding Expectations.” We will be considering how Jesus and his ministry are beyond, around, beneath, outside, blowing-open, confusing, and generally…confounding, compared to what we expect!
* 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!
