Sunday service for 21 November 2021, Christ the King Sunday
21 November 2021, Christ the King Sunday, Uncovered 9 //
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: In ages past, God was at work,
All: revealing the grace and wonder of the word.
One: In these days, God is at work,
All: empowering us to create communities of justice and peace.
One: In the time still to come, God will be at work,
All: making things right and good, just as in the beginning.
One: Through the gloom, we see light,
All: and the light of our Sovereign God reveals all.
One: So let us come into the light, to worship in spirit and in truth.
Prayer
We stumble along, uncertain and unsteady in these unsettled days,
reaching out for something familiar,
worrying what might be around the next bend.
We cannot see the whole story, Lord.
Yet we trust that you are present in the darkness,
and that your dawn will reveal your work,
bringing your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Let the zeal of your living word enlighten our way,
that we may live toward your future, even now.
For your counsel is wonderful, O God.
You guide us in your way of loving-kindness with your everlasting care,
and choose to use your power in service of peace.
We confess that we love to talk about peace, but our lives rarely reflect it.
Forgive our tendency toward destructive power.
We confess that we pray for your light to shine,
even as we prefer to keep some things in the shadows.
Forgive our part in obscuring the light of your truth.
We confess that we long for freedom from injustice,
but we are not willing to give up the burden of authority just yet.
Forgive our stubborn insistence that everyone must be like us.
Shed your light on our lives and hearts, our church and nation, this day,
that all that is hidden may be revealed, and so be healed.
Then turn us again to rejoice in your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask in the name of Christ our King. Amen.
Music
Online: Hymn 455: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art (tune: Toulon)
In Person: organ by Philip
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7
Last week we heard from the prophet Amos, who worked in the northern kingdom of Israel in the mid-700s BCE. Today we will hear from the 1st prophet called Isaiah, who worked in the southern kingdom of Judah, mainly in the city of Jerusalem, a few years after Amos. Isaiah was speaking to people who were weathering attacks from the northern kingdom and other surrounding tribes, and were tempted to make political alliances with bigger empires to protect themselves, and Isaiah was insistent that they should rely on God and God’s promise. While the kings in Jerusalem were mostly as corrupt as the northern kings were, there were two who weren’t terrible and who made an effort to turn the people back to God’s way so that they would be able to live faithfully in God’s promise. One of those was Hezekiah, who became king sometime around the time that Isaiah wrote the words we hear today, from chapter 9. I am reading from Robert Alter’s translation.
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light.
Those dwelling in the land of death’s shadow—
light has beamed on them.
You have made great the nation,
and heightened its joy.
They rejoiced before You
as the joy in the harvest,
as people exalt when they share out the spoils.
For its burdensome yoke,
and the rod on its shoulders,
the club of its oppressor,
You smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot pounding loudly
and every cloak soaked in blood
is consigned to burning, consumed by fire.
For a child has been born to us,
a son has been given to us;
and leadership is on his shoulders.
And his name is called wondrous councillor,
divine warrior, eternal father, prince of peace,
making leadership abound and peace without end
on the throne of David and over his kingdom
to make it firm-founded and stay it up
in justice and righteousness, forever more.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.
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: Light Changes Us
Sometimes there’s a word or phrase in a reading that just stops me in my tracks, calling to mind all sorts of connections or questions that draw me down deep rabbit holes…though at least they are rabbit holes through scripture so even if they don’t lead anywhere in the end, they’re always still worthwhile to explore! After all, spending time with God’s word is never wasted time, whether or not it’s productive.
For the past several weeks as I’ve been working on this reading, I’ve been pondering the word “zeal” from the very last line. You may know that I love the word “zeal” so much — it’s slightly old fashioned but conveys something passionate. Reading that word conjured up memories of the ordination questions we’re asked, about zeal for the glory of God being our chief inducement to take up a ministry. And it also drew me back to the story from a couple of weeks ago, about Elijah on the mountain with God. In that story Elijah described himself as “very zealous for the Lord”…so zealous, in fact, that after God had revealed power that the false gods didn’t have, Elijah had taken the opportunity to kill all the false prophets. That’s certainly one kind of zeal. Perhaps it’s even the kind of zeal we are used to thinking about — passion that finds its outlet in really dramatic ways, often loud and flashy and forward…and maybe violent.
So I had that violent zeal called to mind when I read that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. But when looking at exactly what the zeal of the Lord will do, it’s a pretty different picture than Elijah’s zeal. Isaiah tells us of endless peace, founded on justice and righteousness, and all the accoutrements of attack — the soldiers’ boots and bloody uniforms — will be burned up. It feels very different to think of being zealous for peace, almost a contradiction in terms. And yet there it is, that’s what God’s zeal is directed towards: peace founded on justice, not on military might, not on oppression of subjects.
It’s hard to imagine, honestly.
It’s the kind of thing we consign to the future, like the afterlife future, or even after the end-of-days. We are so used to a form of leadership that comes from power-over, putting others down to lift ourselves up, conquering and fighting our way to the top. The idea of a leader who breaks the yoke and allows everyone to stand tall, who sets fire to the military supplies because they won’t be needed anymore, who bears the full weight of leadership that does justice, and so leads us in the way of endless peace…it sounds impossible. Which might be why we have made the prophet be talking about Jesus, 700 years before he was born — because it is absolutely true we see this fulfilled in Jesus, but also because it lets human leaders off the hook a bit. If this is only about God’s work in Christ, then it means it doesn’t have to be about God’s work in us, in our systems and structures, in our nation, in our time, in our lives.
But of course prophets give messages that have meanings for their own time and for future times…Isaiah was likely originally speaking about a very human king of his own time, one of the few who did more right than wrong. And we see that his words shone new light when God took on flesh and lived among us, and bore himself the weight of the world that we are not able to carry. And also we are the Body of Christ in the world today, so this poetry, this prophecy, must also be for us.
It’s certainly not unusual to still feel we are walking in darkness. Remember that before electric light, and in many ways still today, to be out in the darkness highlights our vulnerability. When we can’t see what, or who, is around us, we walk differently. Perhaps we walk more hesitantly, feeling our way. Perhaps we walk only on known routes so we can be a bit more confident even when we can’t see. Perhaps we even walk aggressively, determined that anything or anyone we run into we’ll just push past or bowl over. Whatever the case, when it’s dark, we move differently than when the light shines and we can see the way ahead — even though, of course, the light doesn’t actually change the obstacles and the path and the people around us, it only changes us.
The second line, the poetic parallel that intensifies the meaning of the first line, gives us the second rabbit hole of my week:
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.
Those dwelling in the land of death’s shadow—light has beamed on them.
Dwelling in the land of death’s shadow.
That’s not exactly the same as walking in darkness, is it? It feels different — more like the darkness is inside rather than surrounding us. It can be any time of day, any state of sun or moon or even artificial light, and we can still feel the gloom of the shadow of death, almost as if it infuses our very being. It makes our inner landscape feel more threatening and more vulnerable — we never know what feelings or thoughts or memories are going to pop up without warning and cause us to stumble. So it often does feel like the shadow of death is a place we dwell, rather than walk through — it becomes a place we live, a new normal when any old normal feels like a lifetime ago.
And, of course, it’s a phrase that pulls us to new depths of meaning, as it calls to mind the 23rd psalm.
Remember what it says in that line?
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Even when we can’t see, God is there, with all the tools of shepherding that will guide us in the right way.
Some of you will have heard me say about the 23rd psalm that this moment is when the writer changes from talking about God to talking to God, recognising that God is not just far off and theoretical, but close at hand. God is with us, not just as eternal father or prince of peace but also as a counsellor, a guide.
Think how differently we would walk through the world, how differently we would travel this journey of life, if the beam of light cut through the shadow of death and revealed this truth: that God is with us, carrying the load that has burdened us, destroying the weapons of war, calling us to be zealous for peace. Not just for days long ago, but still today.
Today is Christ the King Sunday, which is a feast day that was established in 1925 — when across Europe, fascism and nationalism were on the rise. In the midst of calls to give our allegiance to a nation or a leader, to define our identity by our ethnicity or our language or the place where we were born, and to build structures and systems that would burden most while privileging the few, the Church declared that our primary allegiance is to Christ and his kingdom, not to any of our earthly kingdoms or political leaders or parties. In the dark days of staggering wealth inequality, political turmoil, division, and post-pandemic exhaustion, we were called to turn our attention to the light of Christ, calling us forward. The lay of the land was still the same — the light doesn’t change that — but followers of Christ had a new way of seeing, because the light changes us.
And when we see differently, we can move differently. Whether we feel like we’re groping about in a blind darkness, taking halting steps or aggressively pushing through, fearful of what obstacles or dangers might be out there…or whether we’ve set up camp in the shadow of death, unable to move because our inner landscape is so confusing it’s safer to dig in and stay put in the comfort of the familiar…the true light of the world changes us. In the light we see that we are not alone. Because God is with us, leading us in paths of righteousness and preparing tables that bring enemies and friends together at the feast and putting endless peace into motion, then regardless of what obstacles the world puts in the path, we can move confidently toward Christ’s kingdom. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 543: Longing for Light, we wait in darkness
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You are the God who provides in every place,
bringing us through the difficult days into your gift of plenty,
and we are thankful.
We give you thanks,
and we pray for your strength for those who are vulnerable or afraid.
We give you thanks,
and we pray for your liberation for those who are burdened by an oppressive load.
We give you thanks,
and we pray for your peace for those whose nights are disturbed by the sounds of violence.
We lift up to you our community —
your church, this parish, this town, this nation —
and pray that your light would shine,
revealing the way forward through the obstacles we face.
For our neighbours who are suffering,
whose lives are marked by pain, addiction, grief, or poverty,
and for those who are tasked with leadership,
with helping others,
with serving the good of all,
we ask for your presence to be tangible,
your compassion to overflow,
your justice to be made real.
You are Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We ask this day for your clarity to meet our obscurity,
that we may know your way and follow it.
We ask for your joy to meet our despair,
that we may trust your constancy.
We ask for your promise to meet our fear,
that we may be empowered to live in your kingdom.
We pray these and all things in the name of Jesus the Christ,
on whose shoulders all authority rests,
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.
In-Person Hymn 455: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art (verses 2-5) (tune: Toulon)
Benediction
Friends, may the light shine, changing you and the way you live and move in Christ’s kingdom among us now. 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
* 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 Teri. Log on at 6:58pm to join in.
* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!
* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!
* During the Harvest season (continuing in Ordinary Time until Advent begins at the end of November), the theme for worship is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* Greenock Rotary – Smalls for All 2021 Appeal: The club is appealing for people to buy a pack or single pair of pants for a woman or child. These will be given to vulnerable women, girls and boys in Africa where there is a severe lack of ‘smalls’. Women and girls with no underwear are very vulnerable, it is a health and hygiene problem as well as a matter of human dignity for those affected. Ladies briefs in UK size range 8 to 16 and for children aged from 3 to 15 years will be gratefully accepted. You can place your donation in the box placed in the front vestibule during November.
* Volunteers needed for Bubblegum & Fluff on Monday, 29 November and Friday 3 December. Bubblegum & Fluff happens in the Old Gourock and Ashton church hall, and the time commitment is roughly 9-12. Volunteers will need to be able to sit down (probably on the floor though some choose a chair with the children on the floor) and to stand at a table to help facilitate activities with groups of around 6 children. No public speaking is required, and all instructions will be given to you on the day. All adults must wear masks in the building, but children will not be required to do so. If you are willing to come and help out with P5s learning the Christmas story, please let Teri know.
Sunday service for 14 November 2021, Remembrance Sunday
14 November 2021, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 8 // Remembrance Sunday
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk
To hear the audio recording of this service, please phone 01475 270037. It’s a local landline number so minutes should be included in your phone plan.
In person Prelude Music
in person Processional: Hope For the World’s Despair (video)
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
One: God does not call us to this one hour,
All: God calls us to a life of worship in spirit and truth.
One: Worship is not the songs we sing and the prayers we pray,
All: worship is the justice we practice and the goodness we create.
One: We belong to God,
All: and we belong to each other,
so in this time together we come to be nourished for the work ahead.
One: Let us worship God, in word and deed, in this hour and every hour.
Prayer
Liberator God, you are the creator of justice and peace.
This day we come to seek your presence in the midst of grief, and honour, and memory.
We look back, and we confess that sometimes we forget to look forward
to the future you still have in mind for us.
Give us the gift this day of building on memory,
that we may be faithful as your people, our ancestors, have been faithful.
God you are the giver of every good gift.
We remember the gifts of courage, devotion to duty, and self-sacrifice
of the men and women in our armed forces—
who serve their country and the world with honour,
throughout these many years.
We especially pray this day for
those who have been wounded in body or soul,
who bear the scars of war,
and for the families of those who fell in battle,
especially those who were never returned home.
We also remember the toil, endurance and suffering of those not in uniform,
those who lost their lives or homes in air raids,
who served in hospitals and homes,
or care for family members who will never be the same.
We remember the support of those who sent us help from afar,
or came and stood by our side in our time of need.
Creator God, you make all people in your image,
and so we also remember those who were our enemies,
whose homes and hearts are as bereft as ours,
whose dead also lie in a living tomb of everlasting remembrance,
and we pray for the grace to be able to pray for our enemies,
as you taught us to do.
As we remember, O God, let us also be re-membered;
put back together again as members of your body.
As hatred and war tear us apart,
may our remembrance this day be a step toward healing,
as we pray for your grace to knit us back together,
as we seek peace and unity with all who share this planet with us.
Re-member us into a common purpose to glorify you,
to follow your call to live in community,
to resist the urge to dehumanise others or to use them for our own advantage.
In the midst of our remembrance,
we pause to pray for those young people among us,
and their families.
We pray that they would never need to see the cruelty and suffering of war,
at home or abroad.
Grant that this generation may be given the chance
to use their gifts for the creation of justice and generosity,
for building this world into your kingdom where all are welcome and valued,
where violence and hate have no place,
where your people live together in peace.
We also remember your world still at war, O God,
or on the brink of it.
We beg you would not let us forget the people of Yemen,
starving for bread and for hope;
or the people of Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia, and more,
living each day with the sound of gunfire and bomb;
or the people of Honduras and Mexico and Venezuela,
desperate for relief from gangs and drugs.
Your creation cries out, O God,
bearing the weight of our desires and groaning for relief.
Your people cry out, O God,
longing for justice and righteousness.
Give us ears to hear.
Give us hearts to care.
Give us the will to do something,
to practice what we preach,
to put your word into action.
And if we do not have those,
we pray you would silence us until we can hear and are prepared to act.
In our remembrance, make us mindful of those still suffering,
and that when one member of your body suffers,
all suffer together with it.
There can be no peace unless all of us seek it together,
for each other,
and so we pray for your Spirit of challenge to provoke us to action.
Make us an answer to the prayers of others,
until your whole creation sings.
Strengthen our faint hearts and our faltering hands,
that we may seek your peace and justice rather than our own power.
Give us courage to stand up for lives still to be lived
rather than simply allowing more names to be added to our memorials.
We call to mind your grace, Lord,
for your love holds all of us in life and in death.
We ask your blessing on those who have offered themselves,
and on us, that we may honour their memory
by continually seeking your way of justice, mercy, and love.
Amen.
Call to Remembrance / The Tryst
Today we remember the colourful, frail human lives
cut down in time of War
especially those known to us
and loved by us.
Let us ask for God’s blessings
that we might work for peace,
pray in Hope
and be the reconciling presence
which this world
and every home and community
so desperately needs.
With one minute we look back
in sorrow and gratitude
and with the second we look forward
dedicating ourselves to God’s future of peace,
and in so doing we hallow this space
to remember and to give thanks
and to honour those whose ultimate price
contributed to the freedoms we claim as ours today.
“They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them.”
Last Post
11.00: Two Minutes Silence
Reveille
Music
Online: O Day of Peace (tune: Jerusalem)
In Person: organ by Lynda
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: Amos 1.1-2, 5.14-15, 21-24
Last week we heard about the prophet Elijah, who worked in the northern kingdom of Israel attempting to bring the king, and therefore the nation, back to God’s way. When God spoke to him in the silence on the mountain, God told him to go back to anoint a new king in Syria, and then a new king in Israel, and finally a new prophet to pick up his mantle and carry on God’s work. Elijah did that, and passed his mantle to Elisha, who became a strong and famous prophet who spoke truth the community needed to hear and also performed miracles. But the kings persisted in their unfaithful ways despite the prophets’ work. Today we hear from the prophet Amos, who also worked in the northern kingdom, about a hundred years after Elijah, and is one of the first prophets to write down the word of the Lord. These prophets often wrote in poetry, as they sought to reach the hearts of kings and elites who thrived on injustice and corruption while ordinary people suffered. We read today from the book of the prophet Amos, verses from chapters 1 and 5. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
And he said:
The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds wither,
and the top of Carmel dries up.
Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said.
Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Lip Service
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
It’s some of the most evocative and beautiful language in the Bible, a phrase we know and sing and pray to be true — that God’s justice would be free flowing, splashing down and washing clean and watering the earth so that it can grow and bear fruit and be beautiful. It’s even more potent poetry when we read the beginning of Amos, where it says that the pastures have dried up and the most fertile productive land has withered and turned to dust — imagine how it would feel to live in the midst of that drought and hear the prophet speaking of the rolling stream and mighty waters thundering through the landscape. It’s an image that would make a thirsty people long for God’s justice, deep in their very bones.
But sometimes we forget that rolling waters and ever-flowing streams carry things away, too. The rolling waters of God’s justice will wash away the injustice that has caused the fertile land to dry up. The ever-flowing stream won’t be able to be dammed up to serve the interests of the few at the expense of the many. All those things we’ve buried, hoping no one will notice, will come to light as the cover-ups are washed away. Water can be disruptive to the status quo…much like God’s justice, which turns the ways of this world upside down.
Knowing that, do we still long for it?
In Amos’s time, the problem was that people said yes with their voices — they prayed and made offerings and went to worship singing songs of God’s justice. But their actions said no. The leaders of the day went home from worship each week and continued policies that widened inequality, that left some starving while others lounged about in the lap of luxury — Amos actually calls them lazy cows in chapter 4! They worshipped God for an hour and then worshipped power and money and violence the rest of the week. They talked about peace but they pursued conflict and war. They liked to be seen making a show of the ceremonies and the symbols and then after that publicity was out and no one was looking, they served themselves and their own comfort and power without caring what happened to everyone else.
And God says that their worship, therefore, is worse than useless. God hates their songs and prayers and offerings because they mean nothing. Worship that doesn’t spill over into our lives is not just meaningless, it is offensive to God. Worship that doesn’t transform us into a community of justice and mercy is not actually worship at all.
That can be a hard thing to hear on a day like today, when we’re here for a solemn assembly and there’s a lot of ceremony that many of us find really meaningful and important. We have remembered and given thanks for those who put it all on the line, their lives and livelihoods, their physical and mental health, their families and friends, giving themselves for the good of the nation and the world. Whether they were abroad with the military or whether they were at home working for peace behind the scenes, the people we remember and honour today put their beliefs into action, standing up for what they thought was right and risking themselves in the process.
And, when we hear words like the prophet Amos, we would do well to be honest enough to remember that some of those throughout history who gave their all for the cause were sent by leaders who were not always engaging in honourable or just conflicts, and who would not have sent their own sons. Even thousands of years ago, and more recently within our own living memories, there have been unscrupulous or power-hungry leaders who used other people as if they were expendable pawns on the international stage, even while they paid lip service to the ideas of honour and duty and peace and supporting the troops.
It is this lip service that God decries. Covering up unjust behaviour by using a religious service or a symbol or a soundbite to make it look like we’re faithful or doing good is, according to Amos, worse than saying nothing. And it’s the leaders of the day who were doing exactly that — their policy decisions hurt people, created inequity, and provoked conflict, and then they sent others to fight their battles…all while they made sure to be seen praying for peace and making offerings of well-being.
That’s bad enough, but then the people went along with it all.
Maybe they believed what they were being told, and didn’t know the truth behind the facade.
Maybe they saw but it didn’t affect them personally, so they decided to ignore and live their lives.
Maybe they saw but felt helpless, didn’t know what to do when the powerful people were corrupt and they were just normal everyday people without access to the education or networks or money it took to be heard, so they decided to focus on everyday life and then just use a bit of witty sarcasm when having a moan with friends now and then.
Maybe they saw but they were so exhausted from just trying to scrape by, or perhaps exhausted from advocating but getting nowhere, that they just went along because it was easier and they didn’t have the energy for anything else.
Maybe they saw and actually the corruption benefitted them, it improved their stock value and earned more profit on their goods and services if they played the game, so they decided to ride the wave as long as they could.
Maybe they thought that faith ought to be a personal and private matter, and decided to let everything else, from business to politics, be its own thing.
Whether they embraced the ethos of the nation’s leaders or sat back and said “I’m not political” or were too tired or too uninformed, the reality is that the people did not hold their leaders accountable to the way that God had laid out before them. And that went on for generations. For whatever reason, they went along, thinking that as long as they got their worship and prayer right, the rest didn’t matter, it would sort itself out.
Through the prophet, God says the opposite is actually true.
Seek good and not evil, says the Lord — which sounds fairly obvious! Surely the people Amos was speaking to knew that good was better than evil, just like we do today. For him to say something so obvious — and to say it twice, like they didn’t get it the first time — implies that they actually thought they were doing okay. The prophet is speaking to people who had become so used to the way things are, they couldn’t actually see the problem. Or anytime they got a glimpse of the problem, they couldn’t imagine a solution so they just slipped back into what they saw as normal.
But God says to seek good and not evil, “and establish justice in the gate.” This is a weird phrase to us now, because we no longer live in walled cities with gates that served as meeting places for everything from the market to the court. But in biblical times, the city gate was where important things happened — it was where contracts were made, where trials happened and judges gave rulings, and where major transactions like the sale of property or a marriage agreement took place. It was a public place and people were always on hand to witness what was going on. There would be scribes, and legal experts, and merchants, and interested onlookers there basically all the time.
Establish justice in the gate. In the most public place, where the important stuff of life happens, in the legal system and the economic system and the family system, establish justice. Challenge the powerful people who are leading the community astray.
Not just in the little things, but in the big things. Not just behind closed doors with like-minded people, but in public. Not just where it’s safe but where it’s risky. Change the system of…well… everything! so that it is just. And then you will experience God’s graciousness.
On the day we remember and honour those who have given themselves to the cause of justice and peace around the world, this feels like an important reminder — that there is more to paying our respects than just this hour. After all, the first world war was meant to be the last — the war to end all wars. And yet our leaders have continued for a hundred years to say one thing while doing another. Injustice persists, and the earth withers even while we are so entrenched in what we think is normal that we can’t see any other way. But the call echoing through the long-lost voices of those who have gone on ahead is as clear as ever — to pursue justice and peace so that no one else is sacrificed. To let justice roll down like waters, washing away all that harms abundant life. To tear down the dam that has held back God’s living waters for ourselves and let them flow to all creation. To establish justice in the gate, in every aspect of our public life, and to seek peace and pursue it.
When we do that, our ceremonies and solemn assemblies and offerings and songs and symbols will mean something. They will bear fruit that nourishes the whole world…which will look ever more and more like the kingdom of God, coming on earth as it is in heaven.
May it be so. Amen.
Online Hymn: As We Gather (Resound Worship)
In Person Hymn 521: Children of God, reach out to one another (Tune: Lord of the Years)
Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
God of power and love, we bless you this day
for your gift of freedom, your gift of community,
your gift of hope, your gift of memory.
We give you thanks for the privileges we enjoy,
and for those whose lives have been dedicated to making them possible.
We celebrate the tearing down of dividing walls of hostility,
and we pray that our lives might be worthy of the gift passed down to us,
as we seek to be faithful to your call.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those whose lands have dried up,
whose crops have failed, whose weather patterns have changed,
who face a season of hunger and anxiety ahead.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those whose homes have been swept away by floods,
who find themselves in the path of storms never before seen in their lands,
who look at rising sea levels with fear and dread.
And also hear our prayer for the political will to change our ways
that all may know the abundance of your creation.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those exploited for their labour to preserve low prices for others,
whose rights and dignity are trampled for the sake of profit,
whose families must split apart in search of a better life.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those who have no place to lay their head, no food to put on their tables,
who must rely on the sporadic generosity of others,
who exist at the margins of society’s attention and care.
And also hear our prayer that we might be more generous,
as well as more willing to work for change
that all may know the abundance you provide.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those living with illness,
and for those facing their last days,
and all those who care for them.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those whose limited energy must be spent negotiating for care,
phoning for appointments,
filling in paperwork to prove they’re unwell.
And also hear our prayer that we might have the strength to stand up and demand a better way,
that all may get the care they need and deserve as human beings made in your image.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those in positions of power,
whose attention is captured by re-election and the desire to maintain power,
whose responsibility is to serve the common good.
O Lord, hear our prayer for those who serve in other ways,
whose ideals are rarely upheld by their superiors,
yet who persist doing what is right.
And hear our prayer that we might hold leaders to account,
and create a world where all have options for a life of purpose and joy.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.
O Lord, hear our prayers for those who serve their country so honourably,
who seek to make the world a better place for others,
not only for themselves.
O Lord, hear our gratitude for the ways in which they seek peace,
and our prayers for the grace and courage to do the same—
to hold one another accountable for peacemaking,
and to grow together as your Church into a sign of hope to this world.
Grant that we may be found faithful in days to come,
and worthy of the gift of time and freedom we have been given.
Make us ready to act on our compassion by creating justice.
Move our prayers into action, Holy One. We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace, who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Benediction
Go into your week to seek peace and pursue it, to do justice and love kindness and walk humbly with your God. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.
Recessional: Highland Cathedral (in person)
Postlude Music
Announcements
* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in person, subject to the usual protocols for distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing. We can now welcome up to 85-100 people for worship with 1m distancing between households. No booking is required. Masks are required at all times inside the building, including while singing. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door.
* Tonight we will gather with Christians across the nation for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page, led tonight by Karen. Log on at 6:58pm to join in.
* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!
* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!
* During the Harvest season (continuing in Ordinary Time until Advent begins at the end of November), the theme for worship is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* Greenock Rotary – Smalls for All 2021 Appeal: The club is appealing for people to buy a pack or single pair of pants for a woman or child. These will be given to vulnerable women, girls and boys in Africa where there is a severe lack of ‘smalls’. Women and girls with no underwear are very vulnerable, it is a health and hygiene problem as well as a matter of human dignity for those affected. Ladies briefs in UK size range 8 to 16 and for children aged from 3 to 15 years will be gratefully accepted. You can place your donation in the box placed in the front vestibule during November.
* Volunteers needed for Bubblegum & Fluff on Monday, 29 November and Friday 3 December. Bubblegum & Fluff happens in the Old Gourock and Ashton church hall, and the time commitment is roughly 9-12. Volunteers will need to be able to sit down (probably on the floor though some choose a chair with the children on the floor) and to stand at a table to help facilitate activities with groups of around 6 children. No public speaking is required, and all instructions will be given to you on the day. All adults must wear masks in the building, but children will not be required to do so. If you are willing to come and help out with P5s learning the Christmas story, please let Teri know.
Sunday Service for 7 November 2021, All Saints Sunday
7 November 2021, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time // All Saints Sunday, Uncovered 7
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: Wherever we find ourselves,
All: God is there, ahead of us, providing:
1: Food and water in the wilderness,
2: rest for the weary, support for the journey,
1: a tangible sense of God’s presence,
2: a call to the next task of the kingdom.
One: Wherever we find ourselves,
in grief and in joy, in plenty and in want,
All: God is there, ahead of us, providing.
Prayer
You are a God of endless capacity, for you will be who you will be.
We confess that we like you to be who we want you to be, O God.
We want you to match our passion, or our simplicity, or our rigidity,
and yet you continually expand our experience of you,
even as you define the limits of faithful zeal.
We admit that we rarely expect to encounter you
in the opposite of our preferences and desires,
preferring to believe that we worship and pray and serve in the correct way.
Forgive us for making you in our image, for narrowing your freedom.
And forgive us, too, for the assumptions we make
about those who know a different side of you. Remind us once again that you are not only
beyond our comprehension but beyond our control.
So in the quiet of this place, speak again, O God.
To our successes and our failures,
our zeal and our apathy,
our one-sided vision and our hope,
speak.
For we are here to renew our relationship with you,
to enliven our connection to the cloud of witnesses,
and to strengthen our foundation on your word.
So we stand on this holy ground,
awaiting your voice,
whether thundering or silent.
~quiet~
Amen.
Music
Online: You Are A Refuge (Resound Worship)
In Person: organ by Philip
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: 1 Kings 19.1-16
After King David came Solomon, who was renowned for his wisdom and wealth and for building the Temple in Jerusalem. Unfortunately the conscripted labour for the Temple, Solomon’s political alliances through multiple marriages, and the inequality between the palace and the people meant that after Solomon’s 40 year reign ended, the succession was in a bit of disarray, and split into the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Today’s story takes place during the reign of Ahab, who was the seventh king of the northern kingdom. Ahab did not follow God’s word. In addition, he married a princess from a foreign nation, who brought with her the religious, cultural, political, and economic traditions of her own upbringing. Her name was Jezebel. The prophet Elijah, in an attempt to bring Ahab and Jezebel to faithfulness, declared there would be no rain in Israel until they repented and returned to God’s way. He then went to stay with a foreign widow and her son, promising that her jar of flour and oil would never run out, and even healing her son when he fell ill. In the third year of this drought, Elijah had a standoff with the royal court prophets. They and Elijah each set up a sacrifice on top of Mount Carmel, with the wood and the animal ready, and then called on their respective gods to send the fire. Baal did not answer, but God did, in a spectacular way, and everyone declared “the Lord is God.” Elijah, however, took that as an opportunity to have all the court prophets killed. We pick up the story that night in the royal palace, as the king reports to the queen all that happened on the mountain, in 1 Kings chapter 19. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
~~~~
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’
He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
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: After
I love this story, and I often refer to it as “Elijah’s earth wind and fire concert” — although he doesn’t get much “Boogie Wonderland” on the mountain!
It’s a fascinating story, because of course Elijah was a famous and successful prophet. Just the chapter before this, he not only presided over one of the most astounding displays of God’s power that anyone had ever seen, causing everyone to proclaim the one true God, he also dispatched the false prophets and ended the three year drought. He was used to God showing up in big ways, and he trusted that God would do what God promised. Yet when the political powers proved immune to God’s persuasion — as they often had, throughout history, remember Pharaoh’s hardened heart? — Elijah’s courage faltered a bit. He went off to be by himself in the wilderness and wished for the end. And when the end didn’t come, he went instead to the very mountain where Moses — who had faced down Pharaoh and won — met God in such dramatic ways.
The way things used to be on the mountain, God spoke to Moses in the cloud, and in thunder that shook everything, and in fire that rose from the top of the mountain. The Israelites had seen God in the pillar of fire and cloud, they heard God’s voice rumbling the air around them and the ground beneath their feet.
Today on the mountain, Elijah heard and felt the wind, and the earthquake, and the fire, just as Moses had done. But unlike Moses, he didn’t hear God there this time. Elijah was very zealous, full of certainty about who God is and what God does, and he’d been a part of showing God’s power in fire and water…but this time, it was different.
This time, God knew, Elijah needed to see another side of God. He was so wrapped up in what he thought God was supposed to be like, he’d forgotten there was more. And so came the sound of sheer silence, or sometimes it’s translated a still small voice, a barely audible whisper. It was then that Elijah got a glimpse of God on the mountain — not the way he expected, not the way he was used to, not the way it used to be, but what God knew he needed.
After all that, God asked Elijah the same question as when he’d first arrived at the mountain: what are you doing here?
Why did you come to this mountain?
I wonder if, when he heard that question, Elijah thought for even a moment about how God had been with him in places other than the mountain. After all, in the wilderness when he was feeling so lost and alone, it was God’s messenger who brought his picnic lunch. It was God’s creation that put forth the tree in whose shade he had slept. It was the strength of the breakfast the messenger provided that allowed him to walk 40 days to the mountain. He already had experiences of God being quieter, closer, more intimate, and more practical — why did he need to go to the mountain?
Perhaps he went there because he wanted to recapture the tradition, to do what his people used to do. Or perhaps he went there because he wanted to reconnect with his faith and he thought that if he was going to talk to God, he needed to be in that particular holy place. Perhaps he wanted to be strengthened by the cloud of witnesses — to feel what Moses felt, and so be strengthened to have the courage Moses had in the face of the powers.
What are you doing here, Elijah?
The beauty of this story, to me, is that God was with Elijah the entire time, even when he couldn’t see or recognise God’s presence. Even when Elijah was feeling alone, abandoned, afraid, tired, and hungry. Even when he was looking so desperately for a sign in the usual places and experiences. Even when the tried-and-true earth, wind, and fire didn’t work. And yet it was after all of that—after the disaster, after the rushing, after the earth-shaking life changes, after the doorbell and phone stop ringing, after the flowers fade, when he was left alone with himself and the gaping silence of life *after* — that’s where Elijah finally knew God.
God was there all along. And God was supporting the journey, even though it wasn’t a journey God required — it was a journey Elijah needed to make. And when it didn’t turn out the way he expected, God was there.
And then, only then, does God turn Elijah’s eyes forward. Elijah had been so caught up in what he thought God wanted, in what he thought God was supposed to do, in how alone he felt in following that God…and God had listened and carried him through all of that. And then, into the sheer silence, God whispered…I have work for you to do. It won’t be easy. It isn’t what you thought you’d be doing, and it doesn’t involve the people you’re used to. But it’s what I need. And just as I was with you every day up to now — in the royal courts, in the villages of Syria, on Mount Carmel, in the wilderness of Horeb, and on this mountain — I will be with you then too. You are not alone, I’ll surround you with people who will support and encourage and challenge you, who will help you see me in all those places you couldn’t see me before. Now get up and go into the future I have planned for you.
May it be so. Amen.
Online Hymn 740: For All The Saints
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
for today’s prayers, you may wish to have a piece of paper (just regular A4 paper) cut into the shape of a cloud, and a pen or something to write with.
One of the reasons I think Elijah went to Mt Sinai when he was feeling stressed, exhausted, and alone is to be connected to the cloud of witnesses, to stand where people of faith had stood and hopefully experience God’s presence as they had done. To be encouraged by their witness and to find the strength to carry on in his part in the story God is still writing.
We can use that encouragement ourselves. So I invite you to find the white rounded paper that should be near your chair, and a pen or pencil or crayon. Take a moment to think of those people in your life — they could be living or dead, they could be people you know personally or people you have only experienced from afar but have had an impact on your life —
*those people who have offered you nourishment when you needed it. People who have fed you, whether literally or spiritually. Write their names on your cloud.
*Take a moment now to think of those people who have been a breath of fresh air in your life — perhaps they even blew in on the wind and out again, or perhaps they were like a wind that rushed in and up-ended things that needed changing, or perhaps they’re people who have helped you stand firm in a storm. Write their names on your cloud.
*Take a moment to think of those people who have shaken things up and helped you find new footing during times of change or difficulty or transition. Who has helped you figure things out when you didn’t know what to do? Write their names on your cloud.
*Take a moment to think of those people who have brought light and heat into your life, purifying and clarifying your thoughts, challenging you to let go of old ways and grow into something new, warming your heart or mind or home with their presence. Write their names on your cloud.
*Take a moment to think of those people who have listened when you’ve needed a shoulder to cry on, or when you needed to moan or rage, or when you just had to tell a story. Those who have heard you, and held your confidences, and allowed you to just…be. Write their names on your cloud.
*Take a moment to think of those people who have shown you the way, taught you, been examples of faith and life, helped prepare you for your own journey. Write their names on your cloud.
We give thanks for all these people who have revealed God’s presence with us, even if we can only see it looking back…and we offer our gratitude for the ways our paths have crossed and shone more light into the world.
God of every time and place,
you create us in your image and hold us in your care.
You appear to each person as we need to know you,
balancing our narrow understanding with your fullness.
We give you thanks for your faithful people who have taught us your grace —
for those whose zeal inspires us,
and for those whose quiet strength shines through,
and for those who have worked faithfully day in and day out behind the scenes.
We are grateful for those among your creation who have made sure all are fed,
and those who have encouraged us to rest,
and those who have supported our journey even when we weren’t sure where we were going.
Today as we remember those who have gone ahead of us,
…especially within our St. John’s Community we remember:
(We name those dear to us who have died in the past 18 months)
…
…
We remember those who have gone ahead of us,
those who are in this great cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
and today as we remember
we are particularly grateful for your constant presence in every place.
When we find ourselves in the wilderness of grief, you are there.
When our lives are in chaos, you are there.
And in the silence after the storm,
when the flowers fade and the cards stop and the phone no longer rings,
when we feel completely alone, you are there.
As we glimpse the great cloud of witnesses this day,
we pray too for a sure sense of your companionship on this way,
that we may be found faithful to the last,
whatever you ask of us.
We ask through the power of your Spirit and 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.
In-Person Hymn 740: For All the Saints (verses 1-2, 4-5, 7-8)
Benediction
Friends, go into your week knowing that God is with you. In the chaos and the storm, in the silence and the “after”, you are not alone. All around you, God is present in other people and in this creation God called good. So 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
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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 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!
Sunday Service for 17 October 2021
17 October 2021, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 6
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.
***Please note Teri is off from 20 October – 3 November. Please contact Cameron with any pastoral care needs. Check the church Facebook page for online worship. In person worship continues at 11am, and all are welcome.
~~~~~
Prelude Music
Welcome/Announcements
Call to Worship
One: God calls each of us —
1: understanding or confused,
2: powerful or trembling,
1: fully focused on the spiritual life or busy with other things,
2: even those usually overlooked or left out,
All: every single one of us is called, invited, and needed
for God’s purpose to be fulfilled.
Prayer
Take hold of us today, O God.
May your Spirit so grip our hearts, and our attention,
that we cannot help but fix our eyes on you.
Wherever you are at work among us this day,
whether it makes sense to us or not,
whether it fits into our understanding of you or not,
make us ready to receive your new word, and act on it.
For you look on the heart, O God,
and yet we confess that we continue to look mainly on what we can see…
and though we proclaim “judge not”
we admit we are still prone to judging based on our first impressions.
We say “beauty is on the inside”
while with our next breath we hold one another to standards created for profit.
We avert our eyes or lock our doors when we encounter “them”
and we give leadership roles to those who “look the part.”
Forgive us, O God, for saying one thing and doing another,
especially when our comfort takes precedence over your call
Forgive us when we assume your call is only for some,
and when we insist that power can reside only in particular kinds of bodies.
Forgive us when our rigid traditions make us too fragile
to be reshaped as clay in the hands of the potter.
Give us instead a willing spirit, and bring us to the joy of life with you.
Forgive us, and create in us a clean heart, that we may learn and teach your way.
Amen.
Music
online: Hymn 623: Gather Us In
in-person: ____
Children’s time (in person only)
Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Last week we heard God calling to the child Samuel. Samuel grew up to be a trustworthy prophet who revealed God’s word to the people, and so the people began to recognise that they needed a more formal leader. They asked for a king. Samuel reminded them that God was their king, and a human king would inevitably go wrong, but they insisted, and God agreed, anointing Saul as the first king of Israel. Saul was head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the country, and he was handsome and charismatic. Unfortunately, he also chose political expediency over faithfulness to God’s way, and when waiting for God and Samuel to give their blessing in the midst of a military situation became too difficult, he took matters into his own hands. As a result, Samuel told him that God would choose another king to take his place. We pick up the story today in 1st Samuel chapter 16, when Saul is still on the throne but has just heard from God that his days as king are numbered. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
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The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
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: Missing Ingredient
This week on Bake-Off, one of the bakers made a very big mistake in the technical challenge. When reading the recipe, she didn’t notice that one line of the ingredient list went onto a second page, and so when making sticky toffee pudding, she left out……flour.
As you can imagine, this was a disaster in the oven.
You might be thinking “how can you just forget about flour when making a cake?” Or perhaps “why didn’t she look at the second page before starting?” Good questions.
We might ask the same question of Jesse! Samuel invited Jesse and all his sons to the ritual sacrifice and feast, and Jesse brought seven sons with him. Seven was, of course, the perfect number, the number that symbolised completion. And his seven sons were tall and handsome and just great in every way. The eldest in particular seemed to have everything it takes to be just what Samuel was looking for. As the firstborn he was well positioned to inherit, and people would listen to him. Plus, of course, Saul was very tall and handsome, so clearly whoever God would choose to replace him must also be at least as good looking, right?
God’s answer to Samuel demonstrates that Samuel isn’t great at seeing with God’s eyes. Most of us aren’t, to be fair. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
It always makes me wonder just what God was looking for, in the hearts of these young men who were being paraded in front of Samuel while the whole town looked on. It was like the great Bethlehem pageant or something, with seven contestants who look great but don’t have that special something that puts them over the top.
At which point, Samuel looked at Jesse and said “are you sure this is all your sons?”
As if he could possibly forget one — of course it’s all of them…oh, turn the page, there’s one more line on this list…David is out in the fields. But he’s the last, the youngest, and therefore the least important, right? No big deal to just miss out the one ingredient, just power on through even though this recipe looks all wrong…
Can you imagine that moment? When everyone else has been through the process of being sanctified for the ritual — we don’t know exactly what that means, but it was likely a day of fasting, bathing, and praying — and then they’d been through the whole beauty pageant, only to find that one person had been forgotten? And then for Samuel to insist that the ritual and its attendant feast couldn’t go ahead until someone went out into the fields outside of town, located Jesse’s flocks, got David to round them all up and bring them in, and come to the gathering…it would take a long time. And David wouldn’t even be sanctified when he arrived, he likely came in straight from shepherding, still looking (and smelling) like a young boy who’d been sleeping on the ground and wrangling sheep.
And yet, he’s the one God is calling.
The one who came after the perfect complete family of 7. The one who was not sanctified. The one who was so forgettable and run-of-the-mill that he didn’t even count in the list of ingredients. He was the one God insisted could not be left out, the one without whom nothing could go ahead.
We don’t know what God saw in David’s un-sanctified heart that was different from what was in his brothers’ hearts. But we do know that God had chosen to call someone who fit zero of the criteria for what people thought was important, and not just that — anointed him to be the king of the nation, to lead the people through the trials and triumphs that were to come. So the Holy Spirit took hold of David that day, filling him and directing him and refusing to let go. He would become the one whose word carried weight in the community, whose choices everyone looked to, and whose fashions they imitated. They would trust him to be their guide and to do the things that needed to happen to make their nation safe and prosperous and faithful.
And he had been the extra line that went onto the second page, easily overlooked.
This month we have been watching some films together on Sunday afternoons — films made by and about people who are living with the everyday effects of climate change. We saw one about a Kenyan farmer and his community’s struggle with the changing pattern of rainy and dry seasons, leading to droughts and then floods, ruining crops, meaning they cannot afford to send children to school or take them to a doctor. And another film was about a family in Kiribati, where changing weather patterns have brought floods and hurricanes they never experienced before, so the family has had to split up and emigrate one parent at a time because they can no longer make a living as the sea rises and claims their islands. Both the Kenyan farmer and the president of Kiribati went to Paris to speak to world leaders about climate change, and both left disappointed that the deal everyone was praising fell so far short of anything that would actually tangibly help their people. This afternoon we’ll be watching a film about seven people from different communities around the world, trying to figure out how to make people care about our neighbours who live on the other side of the world.
All three of these films are about those people who are the line that goes onto the second page of the recipe…out of sight, out of mind. Most of us couldn’t place Kiribati on a map. I only learned how to pronounce it when we were watching the film last week. When we’re asked about bringing everyone to the table, they are the ones left out until someone asks specifically if there’s anyone else, and then we turn the page and say “oh yeah, that other one. But they’re small and insignificant and poor and no one will notice if they’re not here.”
God notices that they’re not here. And that we’re not only not listening, but actively ignoring them, choosing not to care about our neighbours who live on the other side of the world.
And it’s out there — beyond the boundaries of what we think of as whole and complete, on the forgotten second page of the list of people we have decided are the ones who count and whose opinions matter — out there that God has seen and provided a leader for the people.
Maybe they don’t have the experience we think they should, and maybe they don’t look the part of a world leader *to us*, and maybe they’re not sanctified like everyone else coming to the feast, but the truth is that we cannot proceed until everyone is here, because they’re the ones God is calling to lead, and we’re the ones God is calling to listen and follow.
Without flour, the sticky toffee pudding is just a burned pile of smushed dates, butter, and sugar. Without the 8th-born child shepherd David, even the powerful and rich will wait in fear and expectation because the ritual cannot go on until the future king arrives. Without the people of those nations we have overlooked, we cannot move forward on climate justice and we will miss the future God has planned.
God may well be working outside the systems we set up, and calling into leadership people whose bodies or histories or locations are outside what we think is the “norm,” and God is definitely calling us to take notice of those we have long thought didn’t count, didn’t need or deserve or earn a seat at the table, those we didn’t even remember they existed let alone mattered.
The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Whatever God is uncovering in our own hearts, and in the hearts of others, it’s time to look and to listen and to follow faithfully.
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 609: Come, Living God, When Least Expected
Prayer
We lift our hearts to you, O God,
bringing our whole selves before you in praise and in prayer.
We are grateful for your vision, your imagination, and your persistence.
You continue to look out for your people,
to call us to turn away from the old ways and toward your new life.
We thank you for seeing past the borders and traditions and rules we create,
and calling us together from beyond the edges of business-as-usual.
Holy One, you long to be first in our hearts.
You call us to listen first to you, rather than to what is expedient.
We pray this day for minds open to your call, and for courage to follow.
We ask this for ourselves, and for our leaders —
that they may be guided by your justice and compassion,
rather than their own power or greed.
We ask, too, for those who have been left out, shunted aside, and passed over,
that they may know themselves loved,
even when this world declares them expendable or forgettable.
Create us again as a community that cares,
ensuring all are welcomed, fed, and housed…
and also that all have lives of joy and purpose.
Teach us your ways, God,
that we may see as you see and love as you love.
We ask these and all things in the name of your anointed One, Jesus the Christ,
who taught us to pray together…
Benediction
Friends, go into your week looking for those who have been left out. Invite them to take a place at the table and share their stories. Be willing to be led by those who we never considered before, for they may well be the one God has called for such a time as this. 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
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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!
* We are participating in the Church of Scotland’s National Day of Giving — this month our special gift offerings will be divided between Mind Mosaic Child and Family services and Belville Community Garden, both of which are local charities that have been doing and continue to do incredible work during the pandemic, helping families and young people and older people with mental health, food support, combatting social isolation, and more. Please give generously to support the work of these two groups!
* Connect is hosting a film festival leading up to COP26. The first film, “Thank You For The Rain,” was a beautiful documentary by a Kenyan farmer whose life and livelihood has been affected by climate change, and followed his work trying to change his neighbours’ farming techniques as well as speaking to world leaders at a UN summit. The second was “Anote’s Ark,” the story of a woman who lives in a coastal town in a south pacific paradise, considering emigrating due to increasingly severe weather making life nearly impossible in her family’s homeland. This Sunday at 3pm at St John’s we’ll be watching “Not Without Us,” the personal stories of seven grassroots campaigners for climate justice; and on the 24th at the Lyle Kirk (Union Street) we’ll see “Guardians of the Earth” which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the clash of forces which shape our future: national self-interest against destruction of whole countries, rich versus poor, victims against profiteers. All these film screenings are free of charge, and we look forward to watching them together! You can find more information and even pre-register your attendance (not required but helpful for track and trace) by visiting our Eventbrite Page.
Sunday service for 10 October 2021
10 October 2021, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 5
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/Announcements
Call to Worship
1: In the evening and in the morning,
2: when we are comfortable and when we are anxious,
All: to young and old, God speaks.
1: Some of us may not yet know what God’s voice sounds like,
2: and some of us may have forgotten.
All: Together we say “speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Prayer
You are a God who calls, and calls, and calls again.
You have things to say, Lord, and we pray you would give us fresh ears to hear.
Maybe even more than ears,
we pray for hearts and minds to receive and wills to speak and act.
We thank you, O God, for your persistence,
for we confess that we are not usually listening for your voice,
and we aren’t sure we would recognise it.
We admit that we didn’t think you were speaking
to or through the young people and their naive protests and questions,
especially not the ones who don’t even go to Sunday School.
Yet here you are, asking us to not only mentor but to listen as they bear your message to us.
We confess we don’t really want to hear it, though,
because we’re comfortable as we are,
hiding behind our belief that there’s nothing we can do about those big problems.
Forgive us for overlooking wrongdoing, believing it was out of our control.
Forgive us, God, for complacency has blurred our vision.
Forgive us for ignoring your word because it comes from an unexpected voice.
Forgive us, and bring us to your kingdom of truth and love, even now.
Your word brings all things into being, and makes a new world possible.
Give us the boldness of youth, the experience of age, and a teachable spirit
that we may faithfully live your vision.
Amen.
Hymn: We Rejoice to be God’s Chosen (John L Bell, tune Nettleton)
Reading: 1 Samuel 3.1-21, New Revised Standard Version
Last week we read about the Israelites at the beginning of their wilderness journey, learning how to trust God and live in God’s kingdom ways. After forty years, they stood on the banks of the Jordan river and crossed into the land God promised them. It took some time to settle down and there were many conflicts and mistakes along the way. There was no leader or king, and each person did what they wanted or felt was right for themselves, and the situation deteriorated as over time the people forgot what they had learned about being God’s people. God raised up judges to be leaders who reminded people of God’s ways, but they had only limited success. By the time we get to today’s story, the people had built a shrine to house the ark of the covenant that they brought from their wilderness years, and there was a seer there — not exactly a judge, not exactly a prophet, but someone who could help conduct worship and interpret God’s word to the people. His name was Eli. He had become something of a foster-parent and mentor to a child, Samuel, because his mother Hannah had promised him to the service of God at this shrine.
We pick up the story in 1st Samuel chapter 3, and I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
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Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called to Samuel and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.’
Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’
As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
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: Hineni
When I arrived at my first church as a brand new minister, I discovered that one of the things the church had been putting off doing until the new minister arrived was a confirmation class. They had 20 teenagers waiting, and no plan. Among my first tasks, therefore, was to recruit several teachers and at least 20 mentors who would work with these young people one-on-one.
In making what felt like a hundred phone calls, I lost count of the number of adults who told me they were afraid to talk to children.
Afraid of what, I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps afraid that the teens would only know how to talk about mobile phones and video games? Worried that they didn’t know how to have a conversation without a script or curriculum? Or maybe afraid that the kids would have questions about God that, even after a lifetime in church, they didn’t know how to answer?
I wonder how Eli felt when Hannah dropped off Samuel at the temple, saying “this is the child I prayed for that day we last spoke—here, he’s dedicated to God, so take him in and teach him.” I wonder if he was afraid he wouldn’t have anything in common with a four year old, and wouldn’t be able to relate to him. Did he worry about how to talk about the God that Hannah had promised Samuel to serve?
Scripture doesn’t tell us much about people’s feelings or inner thought processes, but in this case I think it’s possible that Eli felt ill prepared for this task. His own grown sons were now corrupt priests and he didn’t know how to set them right. And here, a few years after Hannah had left Samuel in the temple, we discover that in spite of his religious duties and his presence beside the ark of the covenant day and night, Samuel does not yet know the Lord, and God’s word has not been revealed to him.
It’s easy to do, isn’t it? To get so caught up in the tasks of the church that we never get around to knowing the Lord. And it’s easy to pass that on, too, as we inadvertently communicate that church or faith is an obligation grown ups bear, rather than a body, a relationship, a way of living, or a family where all are valued. Yet it is to Samuel that God speaks. Even though he doesn’t have the right education or credentials or anywhere near enough years of sitting in the pew or serving on a committee…even though he hasn’t yet been taught, even though to him God is more like a piece of furniture than a living Word…Samuel is still known, by name. God knows where to find him, and how to call him, and God waits patiently while Samuel learns how to be in this new relationship he didn’t even know to expect.
Eli had lost his sight—which, granted, was never particularly good in the first place. When he first met Hannah at prayer, what he saw was a drunken woman, rather than a person pouring out her heart to God. When Samuel appeared at his bedside at night it took three tries before reality broke through. Perhaps Eli thought Samuel was too young, or too inexperienced, or too ignorant of God’s ways, or maybe just adorably naive. I suspect many of us have thought the same when a young person has spoken up. Perhaps Eli was so used to doing things on his own without God that it didn’t occur to him that the Spirit’s voice could still speak. Maybe he was just tired—after all, his own sons were grown, so why did he now have to deal with teaching another round of Sunday School? Whatever the case, he was blinded, whether by his assumptions, his fear, his arrogance, or his apathy.
Once Eli began to see, though, he became the mentor Samuel needed. He passed on what he knew of prayer, and Samuel heeded his advice and ran back to his bed, probably practicing his lines as he made his way through the dark temple. When God stood at the foot of the bed, Samuel was ready—or as ready as any of us ever can be. He responded to the voice calling his name, and listened carefully for what the Lord had to say.
What God has to say at this moment is actually a message for Eli. Perhaps Eli’s blindness extended to his ability to hear for himself. Now, through the collaboration of mentor and student, elder and child, the word of the Lord was becoming known once again. Remember at the beginning of the story we heard that the Lord’s word was rare at the time…and by the end, God is appearing again and again and all the people are hearing the word. That’s only possible because the elder both teaches and learns from the younger.
Eli’s response to the message that God gives through Samuel is fascinating. It’s a message of destruction, of punishment for not doing more to stop his corrupt sons from taking advantage of people and abusing their power as priests. It’s the sons who have done wrong, yet Eli bears the responsibility because he did not stop them. Instead he had just halfheartedly said “it is what it is” — which is exactly what he says again when he hears that the consequences are coming. It is what it is. There’s nothing to be done. That’s just the way things have always been.
Perhaps it is this apathetic complacency that made it impossible for Eli to hear the word of the Lord and do his job passing it on to the people. Or perhaps this apathetic complacency has actually solidified into opposition to hearing God’s word, because it might require something of us, calling for change that we do not want. After all, saying “this is just the way it is” makes a nice cover or excuse for all sorts of mischief and wrongdoing, and at the same time lets us off the hook for things we find uncomfortable anyway.
Often when the word of the Lord shows up in a community, it’s the young people who hear and take it seriously, who then say “things need to change if we’re going to be faithful in this new situation.” Young people hear with fresh ears, and they believe what we teach — that we are striving for the kingdom of God, and God’s vision is an alternative way to what this world offers and demands. And they believe it’s possible! Rather than simply accepting the way things are because it’s easier, young people, like Samuel, often insist that we take seriously the word of the Lord.
It’s hard, though, for older people to listen. Like Eli, our vision grows dim and we are tired and we are comfortable with how things are. We like that our religious institutions are set up to serve us. And, if we’re willing to be super honest, we don’t want to admit that the way we’ve always done things has produced the results we now have, where whole generations of young people realised we didn’t actually intend to change our lives based on what we taught… so they left the church to find causes or groups that put into practice the words they spoke.
Samuel’s answer when he’s called is “here I am” — that Hebrew word Hineni that we’ve heard all autumn. It’s more than just “here,” it means I’m fully present and committed, ready to do whatever you ask. That’s what he says to Eli, over and over and over: hineni. I’m committed, I’m all-in.
That’s what our young people are saying to us. Hineni! They trust that we, the people who have promised to bring them up to know and love Christ and his church, to pray for them and teach them, to walk alongside them on this journey of faith — they trust that we are also saying Hineni to them. That we are fulfilling our promise to be fully present, committed, all in. To say “here I am” to each other across the generations is to commit ourselves to a relationship — both of teaching and learning, listening and speaking.
Young people want to know if what we say we believe, what we teach them to believe, actually matters to us and how we live. They want to know if our faith makes a difference in our choices, our business practice, how we spend our money, how we share our resources, how we vote, how we get around, who we care about. They want to know if the Christianity we teach them gets put into practice when we see things in the world that are wrong, unjust, harming people…or if, like Eli, we simply say “it is what it is” and go on in our comfortable ways that look no different than anyone else. To say Hineni to one another, not just youngster to elder but elder to younger as well, and all of us together to God, is to promise that we will believe together in the possibility God is setting out before us, AND that we will walk hand in hand on this road even when it takes us away from the safe place and into unknown territory. When we say Hineni, Here I Am, we commit to following God’s lead together, even if it means that we have to stop saying “that’s just the way things are.”
In the whole story, Eli never once said Hineni. Not to Samuel, and not to God. In fact what he teaches Samuel to say to God is not “here I am” either — he teaches Samuel to say “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Which is an important lesson — if we aren’t listening, we can’t commit. But Samuel shows us how to commit to whatever God is going to ask…and how to follow through, even when the task is difficult, like delivering bad news to his mentor and foster parent.
It often feels like the word of the Lord is rare in our days, just as it was when Samuel was a child. But perhaps if we are willing to offer our commitment, not just in words but in actions, our commitment to God and to each other, we might just uncover the promise and calling that God has been speaking all along.
May it be so. Amen.
Mission Focus: Gift Day (for Mind Mosaic child and family services and Belville Community Gardens)
Please send your offerings for the Gift Day in an envelope marked for National Gift Day– you can send them to our treasurer Peter, drop them in the manse, or contact your elder to make arrangements for collection.
Please also take this opportunity in the Harvest season to count your blessings and take stock of your regular practice of giving to God’s mission at St. John’s. This is a good time of year to review standing orders and to consider how our generosity reflects God’s gifts to us. If you would like to make a one-time donation you can do so online here or you can send cheques to the church or you can drop off envelopes at the church or manse to be forwarded to Peter (please label these clearly so we know what they are for!). If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter. If you require free-will-offering envelopes, please contact the office and we will make arrangements for you.
Prayer
Our prayer today begins with a musical meditation on Hineni composed and sung by Gayanne Geurin
Holy One,
make us as comfortable in your house as Samuel,
and as ready to listen.
Make us as accepting of your word as Eli,
and as ready to empower the next generation.
We thank you for your word that creates and redeems and sustains.
Hearing your desire for justice,
we lift our prayers for those who have been taken advantage of,
who have been manipulated or oppressed by people they trusted,
who bear the weight of others’ greed.
May they know the gift of possibility through your beloved community.
Hearing your desire for righteousness,
we lift our prayers for those who see wrong and do nothing to stop it,
who are caught in apathy or in the race for status or wealth,
who do not understand or use their power to change the world for good.
May they know the gift of possibility by practicing courage.
Hearing your desire for truth paired with love,
we lift our prayers for those who cannot see past the worst others have done,
those who have been pushed away for not being good enough,
and those who have revelled in another’s downfall.
May they know the gift of possibility that is your grace.
Hearing your desire for all to know your word,
we lift our prayers for young people and all learning to listen and finding their voice,
for our neighbours who have been hurt by your Church,
and for all of us as bearers of your good news.
May they know the gift of possibility in being part of your story.
Hearing your desire for wholeness and abundant life,
we lift our prayers for those left out or left behind,
those suffering with poverty, illness, addiction, loneliness, or grief,
those who hunger for bread and for belonging.
May they know the gift of possibility through a helping hand.
We offer these and all the prayers of our hearts to you, O God,
as we rest our hearts in your sanctuary and listen for your presence beside us.
Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening.
Here we are, committed to living your way.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray together…
Hymn 251: Here I Am, Lord
Benediction
Friends, go from this place with “hineni” ringing in your voice and your heart — to be committed, fully present, all-in on what God asks you to do, and the people God asks you to love even across the generations, to put faith into action. 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
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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!
* We are participating in the Church of Scotland’s National Day of Giving — both 3 and 10 October will have special gift offerings, which will be divided between Mind Mosaic Child and Family services and Belville Community Garden, both of which are local charities that have been doing and continue to do incredible work during the pandemic, helping families and young people and older people with mental health, food support, combatting social isolation, and more. Please give generously to support the work of these two groups!
* Connect is hosting a film festival leading up to COP26. The first film, “Thank You For The Rain,” was a beautiful documentary by a Kenyan farmer whose life and livelihood has been affected by climate change, and followed his work trying to change his neighbours’ farming techniques as well as speaking to world leaders at a UN summit. The next three films will be shown on Sunday afternoons at 3pm, this weekend is “Anote’s Ark” at OGA, the story of a woman who lives in a coastal town in a south pacific paradise, considering emigrating due to increasingly severe weather making life nearly impossible in her family’s homeland; then on the 17th at St John’s we’ll be watching “Not Without Us,” the personal stories of seven grassroots campaigners for climate justice; and on the 24th at the Lyle Kirk (Union Street) we’ll see “Guardians of the Earth” which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the clash of forces which shape our future: national self-interest against destruction of whole countries, rich versus poor, victims against profiteers. All these film screenings are free of charge, and we look forward to watching them together! You can find more information and even pre-register your attendance (not required but helpful for track and trace) by visiting our Eventbrite Page.
Sunday service for 3 October 2021
3 October 2021, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 4, Harvest Communion
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/Announcements (in person)
Call to Worship
One: In the big flashy moments and in the everyday little things,
All: God provides.
One: Whether we have done more than enough or next to nothing,
All: God provides, and God calls.
One: Day in and day out,
All: God provides, God calls, and God teaches us to trust.
One: We come to worship the One who shows us a new way.
Prayer
God of the miraculous and the mundane, we praise you for your care —
in daily bread and in liberation from all that harms.
With you there is always enough, even when we do not know how to name it.
For you are a God of manna and a God of sea-parting power; you know our needs and you act.
We have seen how you provide enough for all,
and yet we confess that we have chosen not to follow in your way.
Though we know our systems lead to death and run contrary to your kingdom vision,
we admit that we are too afraid to leave them behind,
even for your promise of consistent abundant life.
We don’t know how to do everything differently,
so we continue in the way it’s always been,
even as we cry out for justice.
Forgive us our constrained imaginations,
our attachment to nostalgia,
our tendency to hoard while others go hungry,
and forgive us when we pray for big miracles while ignoring your daily sustenance.
Help us today to practice your abundance,
that we may be good stewards of your ordinary miracles each day.
Bring us into the wilderness once again and teach us how to be your people,
living according to your way.
Amen.
Music
Online: Praise Awaits You (Resound Worship)
In-Person:
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: Exodus 16.1-18 New Revised Standard Version
Last week we heard about God calling Moses from the burning bush — telling him to go back to Egypt and convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free from slavery. Moses and Aaron went, and pharaoh was obstinate, so God sent plagues in hopes of breaking open Pharaoh’s hardened heart. Each plague caused suffering among Egyptians and their land and livestock, but did not affect the Israelites. Sadly, Pharaoh’s response was to oppress the Israelites even more. By the time of the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, the Egyptians had had enough and let the Israelites go. The whole people traveled as fast as they could to the shores of the Red Sea, where God parted the waters and brought them across on dry land and the Egyptian army was defeated. After a few days, the people began to worry about water as the only water they’d found was bitter and undrinkable, and God gave Moses a tree whose wood turned the water sweet. We pick up the story about six weeks later, in the book of Exodus, chapter 16. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
~~~~~
The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.’ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, ‘In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?’ And Moses said, ‘When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.’
Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” ’
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ’ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.
~~~~~
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 Glory of the Lord
There is no manuscript today, sorry!
Hymn 655: For Your Generous Providing
Mission Focus: Belville Community Garden (in person), National Day of Giving (online and in person)
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe,
for you reveal yourself in your world so many ways,
some we notice and others we ignore,
some we take credit for ourselves and others we fall down in awe,
some we forget about and others make an impression down the generations.
You hear us when we cry out and when we complain,
and when we bring our praise and our prayers for help.
We thank you this day for your generous providing,
for sustaining us all our days.
We thank you for the ordinary things we so easily overlook,
the changing of seasons, the produce of the earth,
simple pleasures like toast, and clean water from the tap,
gathering with friends, and worshipping together.
And we remember those who do not have these things we take for granted,
praying that your promise of “enough” for everyone will one day be reality.
We lift our voices to cry out on behalf of those in the wilderness,
begging for your guidance and your care.
For those in the wilderness of hunger or food insecurity,
thoughts consumed by wondering where their next meal will come from.
For those in the wilderness of mental illness,
unable to disentangle your truth from the anxiety, despair, and pain.
For those in literal wilderness,
fleeing their home and seeking peace and hope in a new land.
For those in the wilderness of loneliness,
longing for a friend to phone or someone to show they remember and care.
For those in the wilderness of illness,
navigating treatments and tests, unfamiliar language and cold clinical spaces.
For those in the wilderness of politics and activism,
those trying to make a change and those tempted to hold their own power.
We pray for your healing, your courage, your shining light.
We pray for your daily bread, your water from a rock, your freedom.
We pray for your caring community, sharing equally and dismantling old unjust ways.
As we gather at your table,
we join with the great cloud of witnesses in giving thanks
for your gifts of nourishment from the earth, sea, and sky,
giving thanks for your compassion that feeds our spirits,
giving thanks for your justice that nurtures our community.
We remember your greatest gift, your Son Jesus the Christ,
who ministered and taught and died and rose that we might live with you.
We pray that whenever we are at table, alone or together,
we might know you as host and provider of our daily bread,
and that each bite may be a taste of your providing grace,
that we may know your kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.
We ask these and all things 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.
(In-person Hymn: God, Our Gifts We Lay Before You (Leith Fisher, tune Nettleton (339)))
Benediction
Go into your week to live in God’s kingdom economy, even if it is different than the world around us. May the glory of the Lord be revealed as we share God’s providing grace with all. 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 (in person only)
Announcements
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season is “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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 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!
* Our Harvest Communion service in person is today, 3 October. We are also be having a special gift day as part of the Church of Scotland’s National Day of Giving — both 3 and 10 October will have special gift offerings, which will be divided between Mind Mosaic Child and Family services and Belville Community Garden, both of which are local charities that have been doing and continue to do incredible work during the pandemic, helping families and young people and older people with mental health, food support, combatting social isolation, and more. Please give generously to support the work of these two groups!
Sunday service for 26 September 2021
26 September 2021, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 3
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/Announcements
Call to Worship
One: Turn aside and see,
God is trying to get our attention!
1: God sees us as we are,
in all our faithfulness and our failure.
2: God calls us by name,
to recognise this place as holy ground.
All: And God gives us all that we need to answer: here I am.
Prayer
God of our ancestors,
God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,
God of Sarah and Hagar and Rebecca and Rachel and Leah and Bilhah and Zilpah,
you speak to unexpected people,
in the most unexpected of places,
and turn everyday places holy.
You reveal yourself to us,
yet you cannot be pinned down.
We want to get a firm grip, yet you slip through our fingers,
determined that you will be who you will be.
We confess that we find your infinite freedom too difficult,
and so we shrink you to something more manageable.
That way you cannot ask too much of us,
or lead us beyond our comfort.
For we are often unwilling to take the risks your way requires.
Forgive us, O God.
Give us ears to hear you this day,
and hear us too
as we work our way toward the courage to answer your call.
Set us free once again, and give us courage to speak your full truth,
even when our voices may falter.
We ask in the name of One who embodied your very Being, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Music
Online: Hymn 189 Be Still For the Presence of the Lord
In-Person:
Children’s Time
Reading: Exodus 2:23 – 3.15, 4:10-17 NRSV
Last week we heard about Abraham and Isaac. When Isaac grew up, he married Rebekah, and they became the parents of Esau and Jacob. After Jacob schemed his way to his brother’s birthright and his father’s blessing, he ran away and found himself employed by a distant cousin. There he met and married Leah and Rachel, as well as their maids Bilhah and Zilpah, and with these four wives he had twelve children. The eleventh of those was Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his older brothers. Enslaved in Egypt, Joseph rose to power through God’s gifts of dream interpretation and administrative skills. Joseph skilfully led Egypt through a famine, and people came from abroad to buy food, including Joseph’s brothers. The family was reunited and settled in Egypt. After many years, a new pharaoh arose over Egypt, who did not remember his history, and he was afraid and jealous of the Israelites living in their midst. He ordered them to be enslaved, then for their children to be thrown into the Nile. The pharaoh’s daughter found the infant Moses floating on the river and brought him up as her own son…but as an adult, Moses saw an Egyptian beating and Israelite and he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. When he was found out, he ran away to the Sinai to make a new life for himself. We pick up the story there today, at the end of Exodus chapter 2. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
~~~~
After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’
But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations.
(Moses made several excuses to God, and God answered them all.)
But Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.’ But he said, ‘O my Lord, please send someone else.’ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.’
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.
Meditation: Turn Aside To See
Today we will walk in the footsteps of Moses,
using our imaginations to put ourselves in God’s story.
In invite you to close your eyes.
Put your feet flat on the floor, sit up straight, and be comfortable.
Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly.
Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly.
Picture yourself doing something you do every day.
Where are you?
What is around you?
What sounds do you hear?
What do you smell?
What colors do you see?
How do you feel in this everyday place, doing your everyday task?
In the midst of the ordinary, everyday-ness of your place, glance to one side.
There is something there—you can’t quite make it out, it seems out of place.
Are you curious?
Look harder—can you see it?
Will you leave your busy-ness, your schedule, your plans to step off your beaten path?
What’s stopping you from stepping out of the rush, from turning aside to see?
Go ahead—turn aside to see.
The colors are dancing,
heat is coming off in waves,
sparks are flying,
but the bush is not burned up—it’s still there, green as ever, with berries ripe for the picking.
What are you thinking?
What are you feeling?
Are you curious?
Suddenly you hear something—faint, at first, but definitely coming out of the flames.
Listen closely, what is it saying?
names…
your name.
Will you answer?
It seems silly to talk to a bush, especially one on fire.
But the voice is compelling.
What will you say?
Moses said, and Samuel said, and Mary said, “Here I am.”
What will you say?
Again, the voice:
take off your shoes—this is holy ground.
Go ahead—if you can reach, take off your shoes and then close your eyes again.
This is holy ground.
Holy.
Ground.
Feel it—solid, cool in spite of the heat coming from the bush.
Feel it—shifting as flames speak and you know something big is coming.
Feel it—holy, sacred, made by God for this moment.
Holy Ground.
One little turn off the beaten path and we’ve ended up here, barefoot on holy ground.
The voice again:
I’m God.
Not just any god, but God—the God of your ancestors, the God who created all this, the God who called people and blessed them, the God who called people to be a blessing to others.
What will you do now?
Moses, shoeless Moses, hid his face—afraid to look at God.
What will you do now?
The burning bush is not God—it is an instrument of God.
Look into it—stare into the flames.
See the shapes, the life, the passion, the swirl of color.
You turned aside to see—now, see.
You took off your shoes to feel God’s holy ground—now, feel.
What will you do?
You can turn away.
You can hide your face.
You can go back to your daily life and keep a secret.
You can go back to your daily life with a great story.
You can put on your shoes and walk.
Or you can stand on this holy ground,
wondering
hoping,
listening.
God’s voice, yet again…
I have plans.
For you.
For my people.
For the world.
I need your help.
Your help.
What is your first thought?
What is your second thought?
How can you help God?
Why you?
What does God mean by “help” exactly?
Are you feeling a little crazy?
Wondering if you should be listening to a plant or a fire?
Looking around to see if anyone has noticed?
Hoping you’re hearing voices or that this is all a dream?
God’s voice, again…
Yes, you.
You are the one I have chosen.
You, standing here on this holy ground.
You, who turned aside to see.
You, who can do far more than you realize.
You, the one staring at your feet and thinking you aren’t good enough.
You.
And then God says:
I will go with you.
My name is I AM—and I will always be.
I’m not just a thing, not just a person, not just a verb—I AM.
I AM God.
I AM the God of your ancestors.
I AM the maker of all things.
I AM the One who called you.
I AM love.
and I WILL go with you.
Listen again—
God is telling you what you have been chosen for.
God is calling you…to what?
Your hands,
your heart,
your ears,
your eyes,
your feet…
made holy,
made for a call,
made for carrying good news.
Will you turn aside
to stand on holy ground
to hear the blessing
and to hear the challenge
and to hear the promise,
and then to go out into the world with holy bare feet?
When you are ready,
take a deep breath, let it out slowly
and look down at your feet.
Open your eyes to see the holy ground.
Then turn and see your holy neighbors,
companions on the way,
fellow workers in God’s world.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Hymn 189: Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
You are, and you will be…
You, God, cannot be contained in our language or our ideas or our structures.
We give you thanks that you are always the author and actor,
beyond our comprehension, reaching out and doing a new thing and calling your people.
You are the beginning and the end,
and here in the now we offer our gratitude for your all-encompassing love.
Trusting in your mercy that knows no bounds,
we call out on behalf of those who suffer,
who carry a weight that is more than they can bear.
For those who are oppressed and exploited,
for those who are surrounded by violence,
for those with nowhere to turn,
we lift our voices and beg you would turn your powerful attention.
Bring justice and peace and healing to your people, O God.
Trusting in your promised presence, and in your patience and loving-kindness,
we call out in our fear and our frustration,
for we know you need us to act in faith.
Give us courage to take risks for your kingdom,
to use our privilege to speak truth to the powers of our day,
in your name.
We ask through the power of your Spirit and 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.
Online Hymn: Build Your Kingdom Here
Benediction
Friends this week, may you turn aside to see what God is doing and listen for God’s call to you. 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
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season will be “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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 David. 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!
* Our Harvest Communion service will be on 3 October. We will also be having a special gift day as part of the Church of Scotland’s National Day of Giving — both 3 and 10 October will have special gift offerings, which will be divided between Mind Mosaic Child and Family services and Belville Community Gardens, both of which are local charities that have been doing and continue to do incredible work during the pandemic, helping families and young people and older people with mental health, food support, combatting social isolation, and more. Please give generously to support the work of these two groups!
Sunday Service for 19 September 2021
19 September 2021, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 2
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/Announcements
Call to Worship
One: God calls, and we answer —
All: here I am.
1: God calls us into partnership, so we come to learn how to work together.
2: God calls us into the unknown, so we come to be equipped and guided.
3: God calls us to worship, so we bring our whole selves to praise and prayer.
One: Here we are,
All: committed to God’s way.
Prayer
You are a God who keeps promises and notices details, a God who gives life and laughter and a future with hope. And You are a God who demands our allegiance above all else.
We confess that we are not always prepared to give you that.
For we have forgotten, O God, that real relationship has give and take, call and response — and you made us to live fully with you. Forgive us when we have believed that trust and loyalty must mean thoughtless abdication of our own agency as your covenant partners.
We confess that it is easier to sacrifice someone than it is to hold fast to seemingly conflicting loves, and so we turn away from one another and soothe our conscience with facile platitudes. Yet you call us into community and ask us to commit ourselves to your way of gracious blessing. Forgive us when we have sacrificed our neighbours to our own rigid understanding of your will.
You see us, Lord, in all our imperfect faithfulness.
Open us to your vision, Holy God, that we may play our part to further your kingdom’s work.
And when the story is hard, we pray you would reveal your grace
shimmering at the rough edges,
reaching out from under the broken places,
begging for our attention from the thicket.
We come with our full attention to see what you would show us today,
and to walk in oneness with you and each other on this road of faith and life.
Amen.
Music
Online: Take My Life (resound worship)
In-Person:
Children’s Time
Reading: Genesis 21.1-3, 22.1-14, Robert Alter translation
After the creation story we heard last week, the story moves quickly along through the drama of the first sibling rivalry, between Cain and Abel, to the earth’s population booming and trying to come together to become like gods and build a tower to heaven, to the flood and Noah’s family and the animals floating in the ark, to the reality that violence can never stop violence, and so God commits to another path and offers the rainbow as a sign of that promise. And then we meet Abram, whom God calls to leave his family and familiar surroundings and go out into a new-to-him land. Abraham and Sarah pack up and go, trusting God to guide them and to provide what they most want: children. It’s a long journey through foreign lands, different tribes and towns and difficulties and adventures, but through it all two things are constant: God promises to make Abraham and Sarah’s descendants more numerous than the stars, and also Abraham and Sarah have no children. Today we hear about that promise finally being fulfilled, when Sarah and Abraham were in their 90s!
A couple of years after their son Isaac is born, however, jealousy flared between Sarah and the slavegirl Hagar, who had previously borne a son to Abraham, named Ishmael. Sarah and Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, throwing them out of the house to fend for themselves in the desert. When their food and water ran out, Hagar left Ishmael alone and travelled on until she couldn’t see or hear him, so she would not have to see him die. Both of them cried out, and God heard them and opened Hagar’s eyes to see a well, providing just what they needed to go on, so that Ishmael too would carry his part of God’s promise to his father Abraham, to be a great nation.
~~~~~
The Lord singled out Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken. And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the set time that God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
…
And it happened after these things that God tested Abraham. And he said to him, “Abraham!” and he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “Take, pray, your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go forth to the land of Moriah and offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall say to you.” And Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took his two lads with him, and Isaac his son, and he split wood for the offering, and rose and went to the place that God had said to him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from afar. And Abraham said to his lads, “Sit you here with the donkey and let me and the lad walk ahead and let us worship and return to you.” And Abraham took the wood for the offering and put it on Isaac his son and he took in his hand the fire and the cleaver, and the two of them went together. And Isaac said to Abraham his father, “Father!” and he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Here is the fire and the wood but where is the sheep for the offering?” And Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for the offering, my son.” And the two of them went together. And they came to the place that God had said to him, and Abraham built there an altar and laid out the wood and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham reached out his hand and took the cleaver to slaughter his son. And the Lord’s messenger called out to him from the heavens and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” and he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not reach out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him, for now I know that you fear God and you have not held back your son, your only one, from me.” And Abraham raised his eyes and saw and, look, a ram was caught in the thicket by its horns, and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up as a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place “He sees”, as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord there is sight.”
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: What God Learned
This is a pretty terrible story.
Actually not just pretty terrible, it’s very terrible.
Abraham had just sent Ishmael and Hagar away, casting them out into the desert with only a couple days of supplies, and hoping that he could indeed trust God to provide for them — sacrificing one son to his wife’s jealousy. And now he’s being asked to sacrifice the other, this time with his own knife. And again he says nothing, just does it.
This is a man who argued with God, negotiating to ensure that no innocents were collateral damage at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham convinced God to spare the entire city if only ten people could be found doing the right thing, and when they couldn’t, God rescued the one faithful family first. Abraham laughed in God’s face at the idea he would become a father in his old age, and he talked with God about other options for his inheritance. And yet when finally the promise comes true, the one child who would carry on his name and the covenant to be a blessing to the world, Abraham was willing to let it all go without a single question. God did ask politely, saying please — which is unusual! — but still.
Though it does say he was up very early in the morning…perhaps he was having trouble sleeping. I know I would. I would be lying in my bed thinking about that phrase “Here I am”…the Hebrew word is “hineni” and it’s not just like “I’m over here” but like “I’m all in, fully committed” — it’s the word Abraham used when he heard the voice call his name. Before he actually knew what God was going to ask, he had proclaimed his commitment. I would be lying there wishing I’d used another word…and then wondering if I’m allowed to regret answering God’s call?
But we don’t know why Abraham was up so early. We don’t hear anything of his thought process or his feelings or his interior life. Since he doesn’t reply to God at all, doesn’t engage in his usual back-and-forth as he has in every previous conversation, we’re left to wonder what on earth was going on in his head. Or maybe whether he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he just went on auto-pilot.
When Isaac was finally able to break in to his father’s silent thoughts, Abraham again answered with “hineni” — he was all in, fully committed to his son, at least while they walked together. The whole story is full of notes about how they traveled as one, united in purpose — or so Isaac thought, anyway.
At the top of the mountain, it feels to me like those movie scenes where everything goes into a weird sort of slow-motion, with the edges of the screen blurred, almost like a dream sequence. Basically without looking, Abraham builds an altar, and he stacks up the wood, and he ties up Isaac, and lifts him onto this pyre, and he reaches for the cleaver…it’s all like moving through molasses, like the air is thick, and Abraham is going through the motions without really seeing anything, just moving his hands until it’s all in order. Then again, the voice calls—twice, this time, urgent, desperate to get his attention, to break through the thrall he’s caught in. And Abraham again says “hineni” — he’s all in, whatever the voice is going to ask. And finally he looks up, almost like that moment when you shake your head and see what you were doing like for the first time, and there’s a sheep standing right there. Just as God promised to provide of Ishmael in the desert and God did, though Abraham didn’t know it…just as Abraham had told Isaac that God would see to the sheep, God did, though Abraham very nearly didn’t know it, because he wasn’t looking.
The next words God says are, I think, the most disturbing in the story. God says “now I know…” — implying that God really didn’t know what Abraham would do. The story is set up as a test — not necessarily a pass-fail final exam, but a progress test that reveals how much we’ve learned and where we still need to do a bit more work. We can talk another time about the idea of God setting a test, but what I want to wonder today is just what this test revealed that God didn’t already know. What did God uncover in Abraham that maybe neither of them actually knew he had in him?
Abraham was willing to sacrifice the person most precious to him — his only legitimate son, and also all that he represented, the fulfilment of the promise that God made to him all those years ago. Remember by this point Sarah would be well into her 90s and Abraham past 100 years old. This one child is the one who will carry the covenant, because God promised that through him Abraham would become the father of many nations, with more descendants than the grains of sand or stars in the sky. And beyond even all those decades of waiting and longing for him, Abraham loved him, it says.
And he was willing to put a knife to his throat, if he thought that God was asking for that.
Here’s what I think God learned that day:
If Abraham was willing to sacrifice even his most precious beloved, and the covenant promises God had made, without even asking a single question…how much more easily would he sacrifice someone he didn’t love so closely? Someone he didn’t like at all? Someone he didn’t know? God learned that humans, even those in close relationship with God, are far more willing to sacrifice each other than we would like to admit.
I suspect that if any of us heard a calling to sacrifice a member of our family for God, we’d at least pray about it again first before deciding to reject the voice that did not align with the call to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves.
But would we do the same when asked to sacrifice someone who isn’t close to us?
What about if we don’t have to personally hold the knife…but simply put an x on a ballot paper for a person or party who believe in turning refugee boats away and sending them back to sea? Or simply to demand cheap clothes and food, even knowing that people must work for pennies in order to provide that for us? Or simply to insist on the convenience of our own private cars while the sea rises and swallows people’s homes and livelihoods? What about if all we have to do is continue to believe our economy and power and standard of living must grow indefinitely because that’s what politicians say…while in other parts of the world water sources are drying up and healthcare is a distant dream and the fires and floods and famines get worse every year? What if all we have to do is look away from the person we’re walking past on the street, or turn off the television…sacrificing our literal neighbours to poverty or drugs or mental illness for our comfort or worse, our self-righteous judgment. Or what if all we need to do is hold to one narrow understanding of God’s love, leaving everyone different than us outside it?
How easily we sacrifice each other.
That’s a reality that I think we would prefer stay hidden deep within us, but God uncovers in this terrible story — how easily we are willing to sacrifice those who are not so precious to us, despite the fact they are precious to God. Despite the fact they are made in God’s image, and carry God’s promise.
This test reveals where Abraham still has work to do…and where we still have work to do. The truth is that we can only transform what we can name — so even though it is painful and awful, bringing this story out into the open means that now we are capable of doing that work. We are capable of seeing our choices and their impact on others, and making a different choice. We are capable of seeing the pain we cause, and changing direction to be healers instead. We are capable of keeping our eyes and hearts open, of saying “hineni” and being all in and fully committed to not only those most precious to us, but those precious to God. In fact, more than being capable of this, it is our HOLY CALLING to do this. God uncovered our tendency to sacrifice each other so that we could stop doing it and learn a different way. If only we will open our eyes and look and see what God has provided — abundant life for all. On the mount of the Lord, there is vision.
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 465: Be Thou My Vision
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Early in the morning, O God, our songs and prayers rise…
songs of praise for your faithfulness, your grace, your love,
and prayers for a world that seems to rarely reflect your goodness.
Early in the morning, we see your glory in the changing light and the freshness of a new day.
Early in the morning, we worry about things — both in and outside our control.
And so we pray for those whose lives are lived in the shadows of anxiety,
for those who long to see another way yet do not have resources or energy for it.
We hold in your care those who have been sacrificed to our convenience, or apathy, or comfort.
May they be enfolded by your love, and may they experience justice…
and may our eyes be opened to our complicity and responsibility in creating a different world.
We lift up those desperately holding conflicting loves in their hearts and lives,
working for all to be welcome.
May they be strengthened by your compassion and encouraged by your Spirit of hope.
We offer our prayers for all those who are feeling trapped — in relationships, in limited understanding, in cycles of violence, in poverty.
May they know your freedom, your peace, and the spaciousness and abundance of your grace.
Early in the morning, while it is still dark, O God,
when our minds and hearts feel weighed down
and the wonders of the world are hidden from us,
still we trust you are at work,
your love cannot be resisted,
your presence goes alongside us.
So now show us how to be your faithful people,
to work alongside you for the fulfilment of your vision for all creation.
Here we are, your people, and you are our God,
and because your promise is true, we pray with boldness and hope,
in the name of your Son 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, go into your week resisting the voices calling us to sacrifice each other, and instead be fully present to God’s calling to love your neighbour as yourself, eyes open to what God is revealing in and around you. 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
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season will be “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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 Teri. 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!
* Our Harvest Communion service will be on 3 October. We will also be having a special gift day as part of the Church of Scotland’s National Day of Giving — both 3 and 10 October will have special gift offerings, which will be divided between Mind Mosaic Child and Family services and Belville Community Gardens, both of which are local charities that have been doing and continue to do incredible work during the pandemic, helping families and young people and older people with mental health, food support, combatting social isolation, and more. Please give generously to support the work of these two groups!
Sunday service for 12 September 2021
12 September 2021, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Uncovered 1
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. Please let your neighbours without internet know!
Prelude Music
Welcome/Announcements
Call to Worship
1: The voice of God cuts through swirling chaos,
2: rises above the mists and shadows,
All: and calls into being something only God could see.
1: In the beginning, God brought forth good.
2: Today, in the midst of everything, God brings forth good.
All: We come to worship the One who created and is creating space for abundant life.
Prayer
Creating God, you look at the world and see deeper truths that we ignore.
You see the possibility underneath the disarray,
and we confess that we instead see problems only force can solve.
You see your creation’s capacity for continued creativity,
and we confess that we instead see something to exploit.
You see how pruning and setting boundaries make space for flourishing,
and we confess that we instead see only the loss of our comfortable old unhealthy ways.
Forgive us for turning aside from our role as your representatives on earth.
Forgive us, for we who are made in your image do not prefer your pattern of power.
Forgive us when we forget that our goodness is bound up with all the wonders created by your word, which you call good, together.
In the beginning of your story, O God,
wind rushed and waters roared
and your voice echoed
and new life began.
Renew your image within us that we may reflect your will and your way.
In this new season of our life together,
whatever is rushing and roaring,
may your voice echo in this place,
and may new life begin. Amen.
Music
Online: At Your Bidding (Resound Worship)
In-Person:
Children’s Time (in person only)
Reading: Genesis 1.1 – 2.4a, Robert Alter translation
When God began to create heaven and earth, and the earth then was welter and waste and darkness over the deep and God’s breath hovering over the waters, God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And it was evening and it was morning, first day.
And God said, “Let there be a vault in the midst of the waters, and let it divide water from water.” And God made the vault and it divided the water beneath the vault from the water above the vault, and so it was. And God called the vault Heavens,
and it was evening and it was morning, second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered in one place so that the dry land will appear,” and so it was. And God called the dry land Earth and the gathering of waters he called Seas, and God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants yielding seed of each kind and trees bearing fruit of each kind, that has its seed within it upon the earth.” And so it was. And the earth put forth grass, plants yielding seed, and trees bearing fruit of each kind, and God saw that it was good.
And it was evening and it was morning, third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and they shall be signs for the fixed times and for days and years, and they shall be lights in the vault of the heavens to light up the earth.” And so it was. And God made the two great lights, the great light for dominion of day and the small light for the dominion of night, and the stars. And God placed them in the vault of the heavens to light up the earth and to have dominion over day and night and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
And it was evening and it was morning, fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with the swarm of living creatures and let fowl fly over the earth across the vault of the heavens.” And God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that crawls, which the water had swarmed forth of each kind, and the winged fowl of each kind, and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas and let the fowl multiply in the earth.”
And it was evening and it was morning, fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of each kind, cattle and crawling things and wild beasts of each kind. And so it was. And God made wild beasts of each kind and cattle of every kind and all crawling things on the ground of each kind, and God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness, to hold sway over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the heavens and the cattle and the wild beasts and all the crawling things that crawl upon the earth.”
And God created the human in his image,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and conquer it, and hold sway over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the heavens and every beast that crawls upon the earth.” And God said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth and every tree that has fruit-bearing seed, yours they will be for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and to all the fowl of the heavens and to all that crawls on the earth, which has the breath of life within it, the green plants for food.” And so it was. And God saw all that he had done, and, look, it was very good.
And it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.
Then the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array. And God completed on the seventh day the task he had done, and he ceased on the seventh day from all the task he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, for on it he had ceased from all his task that he had created to do.
This is the tale of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
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: Boundaries
We are so used to the opening line of the Bible being “in the beginning”…but I have to admit I really love this new translation that Hebrew scholar Robert Alter worked on over the past decade. “When God began to create” — it’s a reminder that God’s creativity is not confined to this one story, but goes on throughout history even to today.
I also love the sense that there’s no beginning separate from God’s activity. It’s God’s creative energy that is, itself, the beginning. So it isn’t as if we could point to a calendar and say “this is the beginning” like we can with the school term or the new year, but rather that in the midst of chaos, God started something…and that was the beginning. When God began to create, everything was chaos and darkness, and God started something new by pulling that chaos and darkness back, revealing light and airspace and earth, which were full of potential. Particularly this year, I just find that the idea of God uncovering the potential of the earth from underneath the chaos — the welter and waste — to be really provocative and interesting.
There’s certainly plenty of welter and waste to go around, and I don’t know if it’s because of social media or having spent so much time home alone or what, but somehow the world feels more chaotic than ever, as we try to figure out what “new normal” looks like. There’s still a pandemic raging around the earth, of course. The climate change situation is dire and the consequences become more visible and more tragic with each passing day. We still live with the fallout of war-making decisions made decades ago. All of these things mean people are moving around the globe in huge numbers, seeking peace and safety, seeking clean water or refuge from drought, seeking higher ground, seeking healthcare. And many who aren’t yet desperate for those things are unwilling to accommodate those who are, so conflict intensifies.
I think there’s something instructive, then, about how God goes about creating order from chaos. Because it turns out that God could see the abundant life of creation already, in the midst of all that welter and waste…it just needed uncovering. It needed space to flourish and grow into its potential…potential that only God could see. The breath of God hovered over the dark depths — hovered like a mother bird hovers over the nest, caring for eggs and then chicks, going back and forth, one eye always on what’s happening in the nest and one eye on what else is moving in the background. And the breath of God hovered…and then God drew in that breath and sent it out in a word that literally moved heaven and earth.
The light shone, and the waters were pulled back, and earth and air and sea had space to breathe too. Another word and they were commanded to bring forth life — and the earth and sky and sea were obedient to God’s voice asking them to join in the creation. Notice it doesn’t say in this story that God created plants, it says that God told the earth to put forth grass and plants and trees. The potential was there, and God called it out of the ground. And into that environment, which God saw could continue being endlessly sustainable in re-creating itself, God called forth animals and birds and humanity. God saw what was possible, and made enough space in the chaos and darkness that possibility could become reality. God uncovered life where it looked like there was only welter and waste.
And then God asked humankind to continue the work. The word sometimes translated as “have dominion” or what Robert Alter translates as “hold sway” is a royal word, about being the royal representative…humanity is meant to be God’s image, God’s representative, amidst the creation, to take the kind of responsibility for it that God has done. And what has God done? Made space in the midst of chaos for flourishing life, uncovered potential and allowed it to do what it does best, set in motion a system that continues to create and re-create. God both creates things and enables creativity by setting boundaries — boundaries for water and sky and chaos and time — and by calling out the goodness buried beneath the depths.
How do we do that, as the people made in God’s image? How are we making space for creation to flourish, allowing it to continue its God-given creative work, and uncovering goodness?
If we’re honest, the answer is that we don’t. Instead we fill up the space with our stuff, snuffing out the creativity of the earth and sea and sky with our rubbish. We disrupt the cycles of creation so that it will serve our greed, even though it depletes the earth. We take what it produces and keep it for ourselves, believing we are somehow outside the system rather than a part of it. Rather than acting like God’s representatives in the midst of creation, we have acted like the idols we believe ourselves to be, agents of chaos rather than creativity. Rather than uncovering the goodness at the heart of God’s creation, we have laid waste to it.
But planted more deeply than all that is wrong, God’s word of goodness is still true. God can still see the potential and possibility in the midst of the welter and waste. It’s still there, and the creation is still partnering with god in creativity and flourishing. When God began creating, God didn’t then quit. But where previously it was the dark depths and the waters that needed boundaries set in order to reveal the fertile ground, now it is human greed and idolatry that needs boundaries. If we are restrained, as the seas were, as the darkness was, then there will be space for new life. God is, even now, calling forth and empowering the creative capacity of all things…and that includes us. It will take all our creative capacity as human beings if we are to find ways to restrain ourselves in order that all life might thrive.
We could begin by taking the seventh day seriously. It’s a built in time when God allows creation to do its thing without interference, as God rests…and if we were to take time out from shaping and re-shaping and micromanaging and using and abusing the environment around us, we may find that our relationship to the creation is re-set to be more like the image of God…but at this point, we can’t stop there. That is just one small boundary restraining our insatiable desire for more and the truth is that because we ignored it for so long, now we need much deeper cuts if we are to be good stewards of this gift for future generations.
In about half an hour our boys brigade will be doing a litter clean up, and that’s a good start. Of course if we restrained ourselves from littering in the first place that would be better. Restraining our use of private transport, and fossil fuels, and single use plastic, and intensive agriculture, especially animal agriculture, is also all crucial. But we are beyond the point of individual actions being enough. We need them, don’t get me wrong. We must act as individuals. But we need the whole human family, all of us who are made in God’s image and called to act in God’s likeness, to come together to set some boundaries on the relationship we have with the rest of creation. We cannot abuse it and expect it to continue to nourish us, any more than we can expect that in any other relationship. We cannot simply overrun it and expect it to live up to its potential. And we cannot uncover the good news God planted within creation if we are constantly burying it under mountains of landfill. In other words, we cannot be agents of chaos and expect creation to treat us like agents of grace.
We need to restrain ourselves, individually and corporately and politically, and we need to do it now. To live into the image of God is to create space for life to flourish, and to nurture that potential and possibility together, letting the world do what God made it to do: thrive.
May it be so. Amen.
Hymn 727: In the bulb there is a flower
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
We thank you, O God, for your light that cannot be overcome,
for the forces of chaos seem to gather round.
Push back the shadows —
of war and famine and disease,
of depression and anxiety and despair,
of our over-full yet under-nourished life.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We thank you, O God, for this earth you have given us for a home.
For the colours in the sky
and the unfathomable depths of the sea,
binding us together by common elements.
Where pollution poisons the waters above and below,
making them a trap instead of a sanctuary,
we pray for your healing.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We thank you, O God, for the generativity of the land,
for your gift of flower and fruit, for forest and flatland.
Where the earth has been stripped of its capacity,
worked to death,
buried under the weight of waste and expectation,
we pray that it may again be allowed to answer your call to create.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We thank you, O God, for the lights of day and night,
for stars that guide our way through time and space.
Where they cannot be seen through the artifice of human folly,
where disaster blots out their glow,
we pray for those who must seek other direction.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We thank you, O God, for the life teeming in ocean and sky.
For animals we have yet to see with human eye,
and those we have come to take for granted.
Where they choke on plastic or suffocate under blooms of oil or algae,
where their habitats are destroyed and fruitfulness impaired,
we pray for changed hearts and, more importantly, changed lives.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We thank you, O God, for all with whom we share this earthly life,
for wild animals and pets,
even those creeping things pollinating as they go —
and for your wisdom in creating such a complex web of interconnected life.
Where animals or people are abused,
exploited for the prosperity of others,
or abandoned for our convenience,
we pray for your compassion and justice to take root.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We thank you, O God, for building downtime into your creation,
for the space to rest and reflect.
Where there is no margin,
where we cannot see the way to new boundaries,
we pray again for you to empower our creativity,
to act like your image,
making space for abundant life for all, not only those who can afford it.
Speak again this day, and reveal the good that is so deeply planted in your world.
We pray these and all things in your holy, creating name,
through the power of your Spirit, the breath of life,
and in the name of your Son 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.
In-person Hymn 141: Oh, the life of the world is a joy and a treasure
Benediction
Go into your week to live as God’s image in the world, living within the boundaries God set that all creation may thrive. 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
* The theme for worship in this Harvest season will be “Uncovered” — we’ll be looking at things God is calling forth that we didn’t know we had in us.
* 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 will be 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, and families with children, 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!
**** Do you know how to work an iPad or other tablet? Would you be willing to help someone else, one-on-one, learn to use theirs for basic things like email, YouTube, Facebook, and Zoom? Contact Teri for more information about volunteering, even just for a few hours a month, to help combat isolation by getting people connected.
** We are looking for someone to organise the coffee rota. We hope to offer tea and coffee after the service again soon, but first we need a coordinator who will keep track of the volunteers and supplies. If you’d be interested in learning more about what’s involved, please Contact Teri, Anne L, or Rab & Eileen G (former coordinators).
