Sunday service for 5 March 2023, second Sunday in Lent
Sunday 5 March 2023, NL1-32, 2nd Sunday in Lent
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: Come in, come in, there’s room for us all.
All: Lifelong members and first time visitors, we come.
One: Wherever you have been, and whatever you’ve been doing, come.
All: We come, some who have a lifetime of service and some who are eager to begin.
One: Come in to God’s kingdom where there is enough for everyone.
All: First and last, last and first, we come.
Sanctuary Hymn: We Rejoice to Be God’s Chosen
Prayer
We do not understand the politics of your kingdom, O God,
other than to understand you are the One whose will is done.
You hold the power to do what is right,
and you call us to trust your goodness and generosity,
then to do as you do
and so make your kingdom visible on earth as in heaven.
Show us how to value the right things
and to put those values into action.
Loving God, you are endlessly generous, giving to all according to your love.
We confess that we are envious of your generosity
because we want you to follow our understanding of what is fair
even if it clashes with your vision of what is right,
and so we begrudge others the daily bread we think they did not earn.
We confess that we see people in terms of what they can contribute,
or what value their work has to us,
rather than seeing them as made in your image and beloved, our equals.
And we admit that we worry that new people and new ideas
will eclipse the hard work we have done for years, leaving us behind,
and so in our fear we disparage the newcomers as unworthy,
insisting our traditions should have pride of place.
Forgive us, O God,
and let your forgiveness turn us around, change our hearts and minds,
to recognise the gifts of those who join us in your work,
and to see that the presence of different gifts doesn’t mean ours have been in vain.
Your love extends to all —
may your forgiveness make us as generous as you are.
We ask in the name of Jesus who truly saw people,
and gives us eyes to see as well.
Amen.
Sanctuary: Tell Me A Story about seeing God at your work (Alison Ralston)
Online Hymn: We Rejoice to Be God’s Chosen (words: John L Bell; tune: Nettleton)
We rejoice to be God’s chosen
not through virtue, work or skill,
but because God’s love is generous,
unconformed to human will.
and because God’s love is restless
like the surging of the sea,
we are pulled by heaven’s dynamic
to become, not just to be.
We rejoice to be God’s chosen,
to be gathered to God’s side,
not to build a pious ghetto
or be steeped in selfish pride;
but to celebrate the goodness
of the One who sets us free
from the smallness of our vision
to become, not just to be.
We rejoice to be God’s chosen,
to align with heaven’s intent,
to await where we are summoned
and accept where we are sent.
We rejoice to be God’s chosen
and, amidst all that we see,
to anticipate with wonder
that the best is yet to be.
Sanctuary Children’s Time
Reading: Matthew 20:1-16 (New Revised Standard Version)
‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’
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: Keep Going Out
Whenever I tell this story to school children, they start out gasping in horror at the unfairness of it. And if we’re honest, we probably do too. Like the story of the prodigal, where in all honesty we are often more like the older brother who is annoyed that the younger brother seems to have just gotten away with everything, here we often sympathise with the workers who worked diligently the whole day only to find that those who were hired late in the day were paid the same. And when the landowner says “are you envious because I am generous?” our answer is “yes, yes we are.”
Because the parable seems to go against our sense of fairness or else to be either complicated enough to set aside or to spiritualise entirely, it seems a good opportunity to explore the ways a parable is not the same as an allegory, where each element of the story equates to something else in a sort of secret code.
One way this story has often been explained is as an allegory where the landowner is God, and the vineyard is Christian life, the workers are people, and the wages are heavenly reward. God goes out and gets more and more people, and no matter what time God brings calls them into faithful living, they get the same heavenly reward. So it might be interpreted to mean that if God called you to faith in Christ when you were a baby and you spent your whole life in the church, or if God called you to confess Christ on your deathbed after a lifetime of apparently doing nothing for him, you get the same heavenly reward. Or it could be interpreted to say that those who followed Jesus first, like the first twelve disciples, and those of us who come thousands of years later, receive the same heavenly reward.
That’s certainly one way of looking at it, and it has some appeal…but it also has some issues. For one thing, it makes the whole story about something that happens after we die, whereas Matthew’s gospel has been about the kingdom of heaven coming on earth. And for another, why are we jealous of people who God calls to faith later than us? Of course the version where it’s reassuring us as latecomers, historically speaking, is attractive because it allows us to be welcomed without challenging us by association with the people who complain. In this interpretation of the story, who is the manager? Is it that God is the landowner, and Jesus is the manager, paying everyone? Or is Jesus the landowner going out to get people, and God is the manager paying people’s rewards? How would it work if one member of the Trinity was giving instructions to another? And if that’s the case, how come they don’t just gather everyone in at the same time? Why are there workers left standing in the marketplace until later on? Why not just call everyone together and thus avoid all this drama? Was God the landowner not paying attention and just…missed some people the first time, and the second time, and the third…? Could Jesus not see them standing there? Were they left there on purpose to see if they would wait or if they would go off to some other field? And so we begin to see how parable and allegory don’t fit easily together!
Another possible explanation is that the parable is an allegory of the church. In this interpretation, the vineyard itself is the church, and the workers are those who are called into the church family. And then those who have been part of the church for a long time, volunteering and giving and keeping the place going, end up resentful of the new people who join, and believe that they are better and should get more, or have more say, than those new people. And sometimes it’s true that the church ends up preferring tradition and long-standing members and programs and ministries, the way we’ve always done it, and we get jealous of the fresh energy and new ideas that come in and seem to be given equal weight even though we have put blood, sweat, and tears into this place for so many years. And it is also true that we are meant to follow the instructions of the landowner and treat everyone equally, whether they joined the church yesterday or have been here for 100 years.
While that explanation does challenge us to look at our own church community and to consider how we work together across generations and how we value one another and the contributions we bring at different stages of our life together, it also has some issues. Who exactly are the landowner and manager in this version of the secret code of the story? And what are the wages? Is it God who brings people in at different times, and then the leaders of the church who reward everyone with…what…the same thank you in the Kirk Session minutes? It’s definitely not a perfect fit here either.
What if, instead of the parable being an allegory where each part is a code for something else, either in the afterlife or in the church, we were to take Jesus at his word: the kingdom of heaven — which remember he says is at hand, and we are supposed to be praying for it to come on earth — is like this. When the world reflects God’s vision and purpose, this is what it will be like: those with wealth and status, those who hold opportunity, will keep going out to look for more people to bring in, even when it isn’t economically practical. And every person will be afforded the dignity of being seen and called in, and every person will be paid enough for their daily needs. After all, we pray “give us this day our daily bread,” and we remember that in the wilderness the Israelites all had the same amount of manna, no matter how much they collected — isn’t that what happens here?
I always ask the children when I tell this story whether the people who waited all day looking for work have fewer needs than the people who got lucky enough to be hired first, and they always decide that everyone has the same need and expenses for food and shelter and their families. Then I ask them if there are any people in the story who are just worth less as human beings than the others. Are the ones who worked all day better than the people who waited all day to be hired? Because that’s the complaint they make: “you have made them equal to us.” And the children decide that all of them have the same value as human beings.
The landowner pays them according to their value, rather than according to the value they produce for him, which is not the same thing. The kingdom of God is like this: a world where people are valued for who they are, not for what good they can do for me.
Thinking about it this way, perhaps we are being invited to learn primarily not from the workers, but from the landowner — who never sits back and assumes everyone is in or that the work is done, but keeps going out to see who we missed the last time, until everyone is included in this community of equity and justice, where everyone has enough. And sure, at first it might feel odd and unfair to some; but the kingdom of heaven isn’t interested in our human rules of fairness, because they are not based on love but on gain. The landowner may or may not economically gain anything from those latter workers, but he does build a community based on the kind of love where everyone is called in and provided for. We may or may not “gain” anything from continually going out seeking those who have been overlooked. The ones still there at the end of the day are probably those who were overlooked for a reason — maybe they were less physically able, maybe they were less attractive or lower on the social ladder or less educated, maybe they were invisible because we thought of them as beneath us. Maybe we were moving too fast and they needed help to get up and take the step toward the vineyard, or maybe they just didn’t fit our traditional timetable for whatever reason. But the landowner goes out again and again, to make sure that even the least desirable, even the last standing, even the loneliest one left there, is brought in and valued for their worth. If we were to learn from him, we too would be so generous that no one would left behind or left out, not just spiritually but economically too.
That’s what it means to love your neighbour as yourself, to treat others as you want to be treated…and when we choose to participate in this kingdom life, that’s when we’ll see God, even in our work, here and now.
May it be so. Amen.
Online Hymn: Thrive (Casting Crowns)
Sanctuary Hymn 555: Amazing Grace
Offering (Sanctuary only)
The ministry we currently do here at St John’s costs over £10,000 per month, which is actually a bit more than our current income. But we believe God is calling us to serve this community, and we can only do that because of your generosity which helps God’s kingdom grow and flourish in this place. Your morning offering will now be received.
Sanctuary Offering Response 680 v. 4 (tune: Picardy)
May the One whose love is broader
than the measure of all space
give us words to sing the story,
move among us in this place.
Christ be known in all our living,
filling all with gifts of love.
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Gracious God, we give you thanks for calling us to labour for your kingdom,
for tasks great and small, difficult and simple,
all move the vineyard toward your purpose.
We are grateful that you are not a harsh taskmaster,
but rather a generous Lord who gives us all we need to thrive.
We pray this day for those whose work is difficult and dangerous,
for those who are not paid enough to meet their daily needs,
for those at the mercy of unethical employers.
May your protection and abundance surround and fill them.
And we ask that your generosity may be reflected
in the way we treat those who work for us and around us.
We pray this day for those who control resources,
that they may empathise with those who worry about their daily bread,
and that they may use their resources well for the benefit of the whole community.
May your goodness extend through their hands.
And we ask that your generosity may be reflected
in the choices we make as consumers and owners in this world.
We pray this day for those who have been overlooked,
and only recently allowed into our community,
for those who bring fresh energy and joy at being welcomed.
May your courage sustain them through the challenges of living by faith.
And we ask that your generosity may be reflected
in the way we include and respect others.
Help us, O God, to do whatever is right,
even when it is challenging.
We ask these and all things in the name of Jesus the Christ,
who turned the systems of this world upside down that the last may be first,
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: Thrive (Praise Band, song by Casting Crowns)
Benediction
Go to be generous as God is generous, sharing the blessing that has been given to you so that all may come in.
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.
Sanctuary 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 in the sanctuary immediately after the service, and finishes before 1pm. All who enjoy singing are welcome!
*We are looking for a new Property Convenor — the role mainly involves keeping track of contracts (ie utilities/works) and contacting and following up with contractors to get works done in accordance with the Kirk Session’s instructions, plans, and budget. The administrative/reporting duties have thus far been done entirely using Microsoft Word, so no particular technological skills required. If you might be interested in volunteering for this role, please speak to Cameron, Donald (the current convenor), or Teri to learn more.
* 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, events, 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.
* 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!
* Wednesday Evening Bible Study meets in the manse at 7:30pm. All are welcome as we continue reading through the Bible in somewhat more than a 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!
* Our Lent study is with all of Connect, meeting in the Lyle Kirk on Thursday evenings. We gather at 7pm for tea and coffee and then start at 7:30pm. We are studying “Another Story Must Begin” based on the musical Les Miserables. All are welcome, no experience necessary.
* The next Bowl & Blether is next TOMORROW Monday, 6 March. The doors open at 11:30 and soup & toasties are served from noon. We also have board games, tea and coffee, and friendly chat! Why not invite a neighbour or friend? The next Bowl & Blether in St Margaret’s is on Saturday 11 March, also from 11:30.
* The Contact Group meet on Tuesday, the 7th of March at 2pm, with guest speaker Isabel Lind’s topic being ‘My Holiday in Thailand’. The Group would like to thank the congregation for the excellent response to their Smalls For All appeal.
* The Stated Annual Meeting of the congregation will be held immediately after morning worship on Sunday, 19th March. The minute of last year’s meeting will be available next Sunday. You can download a copy of the Annual Report by clicking here.
* March 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the 2nd Gourock Boys’ Brigade. Tickets are available now for two anniversary events: the Reunion Dinner Saturday 18th March 6.30 for 7pm in Masonic Hall John Street — this is now sold out but there is a waiting list so please contact Alan for more information. Our anniversary Grand Charity Ball will be Saturday 9th September 6.00 for 6.30pm in Greenock Town Hall. Tickets priced £50 or £500 for a table of 10 will be available soon. The benefitting Charities have been selected and will be announced shortly. We are delighted to announce that every penny raised from ticket sales and our charity auction on the evening will go directly to our chosen charities. This event is open to all so please spread the word, book your table, put the date in your diary and look forward to what we are sure will be a Second To None evening of enjoyment and celebration.
* Free period products are available in the church toilets for anyone who might need them, thanks to Hey Girls and Inverclyde Council.
* The Stedfast Silver Band is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and is keen to contact as many former members as possible. To launch a year of festivities the Band is hosting a Birthday party at 2pm NEXT Sunday the 12th of March in Westburn Parish Church hall for all members past and present and would like as many people as possible to attend. There will be displays, photos, music and birthday cake and a chance to reminisce and catch up. If you are, or you know, any former members of the band, please let them know. For more information or to RSVP, please contact stedfastbandsecretary@outlook.com or find them on Facebook: Stedfast Silver Band: Greenock.
* Greenock Philharmonic Choir’s Spring Concert will be on Saturday 25th March in Lyle Kirk, Union Street, Greenock at 7-30pm. They will perform ‘Elijah’ by Mendelssohn. The conductor is Andrew McTaggart, and the choir will be accompanied by the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra. Soloists are Catriona Hewitson, Penelope Cousland, William Searle, and Ross Cumming. Tickets, priced £15, including refreshments, are available from Calum Harbison on 07847 250529, or by emailing info@greenockphilharmonic.co.uk.
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The Presbytery of Clyde will meet in Inchinnan Parish Church, Old Greenock Rd, Inchinnan, Renfrew PA4 9PE on Saturday 18th March 2022 at 10.a.m.
At a Special Meeting constituted for the purpose of finalising the Presbytery Mission Plan, Presbytery will discuss the draft Mission Plan proposals for the Cluster in which your congregation is located.
Your congregation sits within Cluster A and we anticipate that consideration of this cluster will commence at 2.p.m. on the 18th. March.
Your congregation is cited to attend in its interest and is entitled to respond to the report through the contribution of one person representing the congregation.
Indications of a desire to contribute to the debate should be made to the Presbytery Clerk, Rev Dr Peter McEnhill, by email at clyde@churchofscotland.org.uk prior to the meeting.
Please return a copy of this citation digitally signed indicating that it has been intimated to the congregation at public worship on Sunday 5th and 12th of March respectively. Alternatively table a signed hard copy to the table at the Presbytery meeting itself.
Rev Dr Peter McEnhill
Presbytery Clerk
Sunday Service for 13 March 2022, second Sunday in Lent
13 March 2022, second Sunday in Lent
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 (in person)
Welcome
Call to Worship
One: With mingled love and anxiety, we come to Christ, who says:
All: This is for God’s glory.
One: In hope and in grief, we come to Christ, who says:
All: I am the resurrection and the life.
One: With trust and with confusion, we come to Christ, who says:
All: Unbind him and let him go.
Prayer
Hymn 776: Ukrainian Kyrie:
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
God of life,
you overcome even the long shadow of death,
that we may live freely and fully in your way.
As Mary and Martha trusted the power of your presence,
we too call on your name and ask to see your face.
As Mary and Martha were honest about their grief and disappointment,
we too come to tell you our truth.
Walk with us to the place we have laid our grief,
and call us out into new life.
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
We proclaim you all-powerful and sovereign, O God,
and yet we confess that we want you to use your power
for the things we want, when we want them.
We know you can,
and so we can’t comprehend why sometimes it seems you won’t.
We admit that we wish we could control how you answer our prayers.
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
Forgive us when we think that your seeming silence
is the same as your indifference.
Forgive us when we leave you behind,
assuming you have left us.
Forgive us for our wavering trust
in the face of the difficulties of this world.
Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison.
Set us free from the shadows that cling so closely,
and make us ready to come out when you call our name. Amen.
Music
Online: You are a Refuge (Resound Worship)
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: John 11.1-44 (New Revised Standard Version)
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ After saying this, he told them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.’ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’
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: The Voice of Grief
Lord, if you had been here…
It’s the kind of thing that really only hits home when the funeral is over. Before that, there are too many details to attend to, things to arrange, tasks to do. But when the paperwork is finished, and everyone is paid, and the last sausage roll is eaten, and the tomb has been closed, we go home and it all suddenly becomes very real. Too real. All the feelings we’d been holding together so we could get through the days come to the surface, and we finally get a chance to say to God what we really think and feel.
The sisters knew that Jesus could have changed this. He was capable of doing something…and he didn’t do it. And when they saw him, they told him point blank: you could, but you wouldn’t. It’s hard to know exactly if they were blaming him for their grief, but it wouldn’t have been the first or the last time that God was questioned for not acting.
Some of us may have spoken to God this way before. Maybe not in exactly these words, but similar ones — where are you, God? Why do you allow these terrible things to happen? Why won’t you do something? The pain is overwhelming and unnecessary and unfair, when you could do something but you don’t.
Those feelings are perfectly normal, and God can handle it us telling the truth about them. It is okay to cry out, to give voice to the grief and frustration and anger and pain, just as we do when we are joyful or grateful or hopeful. Sometimes we may feel like praying this way about our own situations, when we’ve lost someone or gotten bad news or when we’re anxious for ourselves or a loved one. Sometimes it may be more for world events, when we feel helpless as we watch the news and we can’t understand why these terrible things are happening and why everyone seems so powerless to stop it.
Lord, if you had been here…
Martha said it first, having run down the road to meet Jesus before he could even get to the house — a house filled with flowers and food and friends who had come to mourn with them and support them. Mary and Martha weren’t alone, they had a whole community that surrounded them in this time of grief, weeping with them, sharing memories, drying their tears.
Martha didn’t wait until Jesus could join this crowd, she ran out and met him at the edge of the village. There in the middle of the road, we see that Martha is a thinking type of person. She and Jesus had a theological discussion…one which she thought was about some future time, and one which Jesus knew was about the here and now. He is offering abundant life, resurrection life, right this minute, because in him, time is fulfilled. Martha may only have understood eternal life as something that comes later, but Jesus says that with him, it starts today.
When Mary came out to meet Jesus, he hadn’t gotten any closer. He was still standing in the middle of the road. And all her community was with her — unlike Martha who came out alone, Mary was surrounded by the people holding her up in these difficult days. Mary wept as she said, “Lord, if you had been here…” Unlike her sister’s way of coping by intellectualising and anticipating a future, Mary was coping by sitting with the pain, with wave after wave of feelings. She needed her friend, and he wasn’t there. And Jesus wept with her.
He met each of them in exactly their grief place, and walked with them in it in a way they could manage in the moment — whether that was crying together or talking through the big questions. Each of them said the same words: If you had been here… but the voice of grief sounded different for each of them, and Jesus gently joined them and offered another voice — the voice of resurrection life.
And then they said to him the very words he had said to countless disciples, perhaps even words he had said to them before: come and see.
Come and see the closed door of death, the end of hope and possibility, the stone that blocks the way. Jesus followed them to see the reality of fully-human, to experience the depths and the visceral horrible decaying end.
I always wonder at what point Lazarus woke up. I was talking about this with a friend and she said “at what point did the water turn to wine?” Like that miracle, this is another one where we don’t see it happen, or know how it worked, or at exactly what moment. But what if Lazarus was awoken, in the dark, covered in a shroud, to hear the muffled voices outside…what if he too could hear the weeping of his sisters and friends, the shock and disgust at the smell his body would be giving off, the scraping of stone against stone, the rush of fresh air bringing sounds of confusion and the prayer of Jesus: “Father I thank you that you have heard me” — past tense, notice: Jesus thanks God for having heard even though we don’t yet know what he asked, or when. And only then, cutting through the voice of grief, came the voice of Jesus addressed to him, calling him by name as the shepherd calls the sheep: Lazarus, come out.
Imagine how disorienting that would be, not only for Mary and Martha and their friends and neighbours, but for Lazarus. He knew that voice — like the sheep know their shepherd. But what could he possibly be calling Lazarus to? The end was past, the grief was real, there were no more options.
With God, all things are possible. And it turns out that Jesus intends to give abundant life on both sides of the grave.
It’s easy for us to identify with Martha and Mary in this story, to see ourselves in their experience. Great grief is a sign of great love, and we know grief well. We know the helplessness and the fear and the anger. We know how to call out “where are you?” We know that God has the power…and yet we cannot understand why God doesn’t use that power the way we want him to. Why doesn’t Jesus’ offer of abundant life also offer a way to skip over suffering and pain? He takes away the power and finality of death, and changes its meaning…but the human experience still has both heights and depths, and Jesus knows them himself, just as we do.
I wonder, though, if we might imagine ourselves as Lazarus. Disoriented, hearing the grief and disgust and longing and prayers through layers of shroud and stone…catching a whiff of fresh air but totally uncertain how that can work or what to do with it…and then when we hear the voice of the shepherd rise above the voice of grief, we come out like Lazarus, walking hesitantly out of the tomb but still bound by the old reality that had been shattered, still carrying the baggage of grief, still clothed in the past.
And Jesus said: unbind him and let him go.
Unbind him.
Remove that old stuff, for the former things have passed away, and all things are made new.
Unbind him.
Take off the markers of death and walk into new life.
Unbind him.
Lay aside the old ways that muffle our sight and hearing, that hold us back and tie us down, and let go.
What kind of abundant life might we live, if we were unbound?
How might we turn out to be an answer to prayer, if we were unbound?
What other powers we think are so definitive might be shattered, if we were unbound?
The grief of this world is great and is like a thick fog shrouding everything. May the voice of the shepherd cut through it all, and set us free to live, and so to change the world.
Amen.
Online Hymn 727: In the Bulb There Is a Flower
(In person Hymn 721: We Lay Our Broken World)
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You, God, know the breadth of human life and death,
the joy and the sorrow mingling throughout this journey.
You have celebrated milestones, and laughed, and wondered.
You have felt grief, and wept alongside your friends.
We give you thanks that even now,
you walk alongside us, sharing the heights and depths,
and reminding us of your abundant life
that transcends the boundaries we think we know.
We bring our joy, for lighter nights and changing seasons, for daffodils peeking through the earth, for new life in our midst and new opportunities to love.
We bring our concern, for those dear to us who are ill, for your creation struggling to survive, for those who are struggling to pay the bills, for those caught in cycles of poverty or substance abuse or trauma, for our leaders who are meant to seek the common good.
We bring our grief, for a world at war, and those who suffer at the hands of another, for the people who must flee their homes and are met with something less than welcome, for all who grieve without the ability to say goodbye.
As your people, following your example,
we rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
In all the ups and downs of this human life, you are with us, God,
and you promise that we will know the fullness of your life,
not only on the other side of death, but even now,
so we come to ask your transforming grace to lead us ever onward.
May we be unbound this day,
set free from the trappings of death whose power you have broken,
to walk in the power of your love,
this day and all the days to come.
We pray in the name of Christ, 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.
(in person) Hymn 727: In the Bulb There Is a Flower
Benediction
Friends, whatever the challenges of the week ahead, remember they are not the end of the story: the love of God overcomes even the power of death! The Holy Spirit is even now setting you free from the old ways, and Christ himself calls you by name to come out into new life.
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.
In person Postlude Music
Announcements
* We have now entered the season of Lent, a season of preparing for Easter. During Lent we are invited to be particularly attentive to our spiritual practices, to remove things from our lives that are hindering our relationship with God, and to be diligent in pursuing faithful ways. This season is meant to get us ready to meet the risen Christ on the other side of the tomb, and to follow him wherever he will lead. The theme for worship during this Lenten season will be “Who’s Calling?” — thinking about how we incline our ear to the voice of Jesus through the cacophony of the world around us.
*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 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!
* The Kirk Session will meet next Sunday, the 20th, after worship, with a light lunch provided.
* St John’s is hosting the Easter Code for P6 pupils on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the 21st – 23rd of March, from 9-12 each day. If you would be available to help out on any or all of those mornings, please contact Teri.
* The Spring Church Notes are now available! You can read them by clicking here.
Sunday Service for 28 February 2021, Second Sunday in Lent
Service for 28 February 2021, Second Sunday in Lent
Prepared by the Rev. Teri C Peterson, Gourock St. John’s
Manse: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
To hear an audio recording of the service, including music, phone 01475 270037.
Children’s Time is on Zoom at 11, and Young Adult Bible Study is on Zoom at 1. If you or someone you know would like login details, please contact Teri.
Our Lent Study this year is online as well. Each day throughout the week we are learning about various people of faith through the ages on Lent Madness, and then on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 we will gather on Zoom to go more in depth about them and what we can learn from their faithfulness to help us on our own journeys with Christ. If you’d like to join the Zoom study, click here on Wednesday at 7:30. If you know someone who needs the details to join by audio only (by phone) please contact Teri for the details.
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Call to Recognise
Whatever stories are on your mind today,
come to hear God’s story again.
Whatever worries or excitements are making your heart beat fast today,
come to gather in the comfort of the Spirit’s wings.
Whatever the state of your spiritual or emotional life,
come to be nourished by the attention of Christ the master gardener.
Come to worship,
and let worship become your way of life.
Together, we will recognise God in our midst.
Recognise —
To see or understand something we have known before
A place we have been
A person we have met
A word we have heard
Sometimes we forget, sometimes we’ve been away for a while,
sometimes it was crowded out, sometimes we didn’t want to recall
but when the moment of recognition comes, it is just that:
Re – cognition. Knowing again.
In the beginning, God made humankind in God’s image.
In the beginning, God breathed into dust and ashes, and we came to life.
Along the way, God spoke, filling our ears with promise.
Along the way, God wrote the word on our hearts.
Yet we have forgotten, we’ve turned away for a while, we got busy, we didn’t want to recall.
We went our own way —
the way of the to-do list that can’t be set aside,
the way of easy judgmental answers that put some out while we’re in.
The whole time, You have been here.
The whole time, You have been speaking, calling to us.
In the word, in the flesh, in our neighbour, in the stranger, in our hearts, in our communities,
you have been here all along,
and we have not recognised you.
Show us your way again, Lord.
Remind us of what we have forgotten, turned away from, crowded out, ignored.
Give us hearts and minds to recognise you,
wherever you reveal yourself today.
Amen.
Hymn: Blessed Be Your Name By Matt Redman
Reading: Luke 13.1-9, 31-35 (Common English Bible)
Since the story we heard last week about Jesus telling the parable of the good neighbour, and then encountering Martha, Jesus has been teaching his disciples and the crowds who follow them throughout the countryside and towns. He has taught them directly about prayer, and he has spoken in parables about many things. He told them to let their light shine, and to look carefully at the circumstances and times they are living in for evidence of God’s work. We pick up the story in the gospel according to Luke, chapter 13. I am reading from the Common English Bible.
~~~~~
Some who were present on that occasion told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices. He replied, “Do you think the suffering of these Galileans proves that they were more sinful than all the other Galileans? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did. What about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think that they were more guilty of wrongdoing than everyone else who lives in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did.”
Jesus told this parable: “A man owned a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. He said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’ The gardener responded, ‘Lord, give it one more year, and I will dig around it and give it fertiliser. Maybe it will produce fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’”
…
At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”
Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.”
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: Lives Worth Talking About
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked “why do bad things happen to good people?” Or its cousin, “why has this bad thing happened to me?” Sometimes when we are reading the Bible we remind one another that in ancient times, before people knew about bacteria or viruses or meteorology or plate tectonics or other sciences we take for granted, people often believed that illness or calamity was a result of sin. It’s fascinating to me that we speak about that as if it’s an ancient idea that we no longer hold, and yet even now, both people of faith and people who’ve never set foot in a church can ask “am I being punished for something?” when they get a diagnosis or experience a tragedy in their family or home.
So it should not surprise us that people around Jesus wanted to bring up the Galileans — people from the same region as Jesus and his disciples — who did everything right, made their pilgrimage, were worshipping at the Temple, and yet were slaughtered by the Roman governor’s militia, literally in the middle of their worship service. What did they do wrong, that this terrible thing would happen to them? And, if it wasn’t their sinfulness, then should they be worried that Galileans are being targeted? Should Jesus and his disciples maybe stay away from Jerusalem, for safety?
Jesus is pretty clear that sinfulness has nothing to do with it. Sometimes, bad things happen. And it isn’t just Galileans — he reminds them of the Jerusalemites who happened to be walking in the wrong place at the wrong time when the tower of Siloam collapsed. They weren’t any more sinful than everyone else — as Paul would later write, “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”
Which makes our question about why bad things happen to good people interesting. Jesus, and later Paul, seem to be reminding us that actually, there are no good people. When we say “why do bad things happen to good people” we are implying that there are bad people who deserve bad things happening to them — though we usually don’t say that part out loud, it’s still there. But the truth is that all have sinned…and all receive grace. There’s no hierarchy where some people deserve tragedy or illness — no one deserves it. But they still happen.
The statement Jesus makes is confusing, then. He says, “unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did.” At first glance it sounds like he’s saying that we can avoid tragedy by repenting. But since he just said it wasn’t sinfulness that caused those deaths, that can’t be right. And we know that we can’t avoid death forever, as it’s a natural part of life.
But we can, Jesus says, live in such a way that when we die, it’s our lives people talk about. Will we be remembered for the fruit we bore for the kingdom of God, or simply for the way we were cut down?
I think that’s why he tells this particular fig tree parable to the people who ask this question. The fig tree in the vineyard looked like it had grown to maturity. It was no longer the sapling it once was…but despite its appearance, it had yet to live up to its purpose. Yet the gardener believed in the tree and its potential — he just needed time and intentional effort to change its story.
I think that’s what Jesus is getting at when he calls us to change our hearts and lives — to put intentional effort in.
That means we need to dig down around the roots, even though sometimes that’s hard work and exposes things we would rather not see. What is around our roots, tangling us up and choking off our connection to our Source?
It means we need to nourish ourselves with the things we need to grow in grace, even if it’s not what we would really prefer. Remember that fertiliser really meant manure and compost! It’s smelly and unpleasant, but it’s also the best thing to nurture the tree. What would feed our lives and help us become the people God created us to be in this world?
It means we need to prune some branches, even if it hurts. Unpruned trees waste energy that could be used for bearing fruit, instead just growing long branches with leaves that don’t produce anything. What branches in our lives or communities need pruning so that our energy can go into doing what we’re made to do, and what Jesus is looking for us to do?
The time and effort put into bringing the tree not just to look good but to do good is, I think, what Jesus is talking about when he calls us to change our hearts and lives…so that the fruit we bear is worth talking about.
Hearing this, some Pharisees come and offer Jesus a second warning — as if the story about the Galileans being killed by Pilate wasn’t enough, they want him to know that Herod is out to get him too. But Jesus is too busy going about God’s kingdom business to make time for Herod’s nonsense, and his mission to bring life in all its fullness will not be deterred by the death-dealing powers of his day.
Though the political and religious leaders hold people fast, he continues to try to gather them like a mother hen. They may not recognise him yet, while they are still in thrall to the powers around them, to the status quo and their desire to get ahead and focus on themselves and their own happiness, but the day is coming when they will recognise that the house they have built themselves is empty, while Jesus offers abundant life.
I have to confess to you that at this point, I have about five examples of our current social, political, economic, and cultural life I want to give to make an explicit connection between this biblical text and our contemporary moment. But I also don’t want to constrain your thinking — part of digging around the roots and fertilising our lives is loosening the soil enough to see the connections the Spirit is presenting to us, so that we can bear better fruit in the midst of those situations we find ourselves in every day. So I invite you to think about the world in which we live, and the systems at play in our lives — from what we value as a nation or a community, to how we express those values in our economy and politics, to the choices we make in caring for our neighbours both locally and globally. Where do you recognise Jesus gathering us like a mother hen, and where do you see us resisting his call and choosing our own ways, or the way it’s always been, instead?
And then what digging and fertilising and pruning needs to be done, in order to see Jesus more clearly and bear fruit for his kingdom — in our own lives, in the church, in our community, in our nation, in the world? How can we live in such a way that it’s our lives that are memorable, no matter how they end?
May we recognise the things that make for abundant life, and act on them. Amen.
Hymn 259: Beauty for Brokenness by Graham Kendrick
Prayers
(Today’s prayers will include four silent spaces for you to offer your own prayers, marked by **.)
Mother-Hen God,
you gather us in and cover us in your comfort and hope,
and send us out to bear your good news.
We thank you for your care for us, and for your whole creation.
We thank you for the ways you nurture us, even when we find it uncomfortable.
We thank you for your word of love and justice that fills the world and makes all things new.
And we long for that newness, for your world is in need.
So today we pray for those who are grieving,
especially those reeling from seemingly senseless loss.
We remember those who are living with illness,
and those who care for them.
**
We pray today for those who have worked hard
and can’t make ends meet,
and we remember all who put in time and effort
while others reap the fruits of their labour.
**
We pray today for our leaders,
those who work in the structures of our community, nation, world, and church.
We remember those who seek to make the world a more just place,
reflecting your call to build your kingdom here on earth.
**
We pray today for your creation, groaning under our weight,
and we remember those who are working toward new ways of stewarding the earth,
advocating and calling us to care for this gift you have given us.
**
Your goodness is beyond our understanding, O God,
and you are present in every place and every moment.
Guide us as we seek you in this life,
as we learn to love in both joy and accountability,
as we learn to live in honest community,
as we learn to bear fruit for your kingdom.
We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ,
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, as you dig around the roots, fertilise, and prune the tree of your life, making space to recognise Christ’s call and to bear fruit for his kingdom, 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 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!
* The theme for worship during the season of Lent is “Recognition” — a word which means “understanding something we previously knew/have seen before.” God has written the covenant in our hearts, and we have heard Jesus’ teaching before…where do we recognise him in our daily lives, what lessons is he reminding us about when he tells his parables, and how do we return our way to the way he has faithfully laid out for us, time and again?
* Our Lent Study this year is online as well. Each day throughout the week we are learning about various people of faith through the ages on Lent Madness, and then on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 we will gather on Zoom to go more in depth about them and what we can learn from their faithfulness to help us on our own journeys with Christ. If you’d like to join the Zoom study, click here on Wednesday at 7:30. If you know someone who needs the details to join by audio only (by phone) please contact Teri for the details.
* Each day of Lent — 40 days not including Sundays — I will be posting a video on our Facebook page about “Faith in 40 Objects” — household things that can inform our faith journey, depending on how we look at them!
So far these are the objects I’ve discussed. Perhaps you can consider what they say to you as well!
Eyeglasses (Romans 12.1-3)
Games or Toys (Mark 10.13-16)
Photographs (Deuteronomy 6.4-9)
Pen and paper/notecards (Romans 16.1-6)
Medication (Mark 8.22-26)
Pets or Plants (Genesis 2.15-19)
Donate-able Food (Deuteronomy 15.7-11)
Kettle (Luke 12.22-31)
Shoes (Isaiah 52.7)
Clock (Luke 12.54-56)
***The coffee money that we normally send on to the school in Venda has been exhausted. If you would like to contribute to keep our donations to the school going, please contact Rab & Eileen for bank details for donations, phone 634159.
* 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!
* Evening Prayer with Connect will be led by David this evening. Join us on the Connect Facebook Page at 6:58pm.
