Service September 27, 2020 Leighmoor Uniting Church
-Rev Barbara Allen
Suggested hymns:
TIS 693: Come as you are
TIS 256: From heaven you came, helpless babe
TIS 640: Kneels at the feet of his friends
TIS 692: Sometimes a healing word is comfort
TIS 609: May the mind of Christ my Saviour
TIS 613: Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession
Glorious God, we thank you for the gift of life.
After sleep, we awake, to a new day, a day of possibilities, coloured with hope.
Even though for most of the day we are confined to our homes, there are plenty of blessings around us.
We thank you for magpie choruses that herald the dawn.
After the more subdued hues of winter, we delight in the vibrancy of spring, finding new blooms and plants we did not know were embedded deep within the earth.
We thank you for the plenty of harvests, for the variety of food items we can purchase from the supermarkets and food shops. If we are short of prayer, let us pause in the produce aisle, marvelling at your creativity, your variety.
We thank you for the sounds of children, out on their bikes, playing with friends and family.
-for their chalk drawings on footpaths, for their laughter and ability to remain in the present.
Help us to hold on to our own child-like spirit and nature, so we may delight in the present, and be excited by what we see and experience.
Help us to ask similar questions: how big is the moon? How does a cake rise? Who invented writing?
Keep us interested, keep us from the virus of boredom, save us from a lack lustre faith.
And yet, most wonderful God, at times we become so caught up in the greyness of the world, the hard things going on, that we neglect to notice the good.
Forgive us.
Help us to acknowledge the goodness of people, their willingness to look out for their neighbour, following your teachings, even if they do not know it.
Forgive us when we have been too quick to judge, too quick to point the finger, rather than acknowledging that we all make mistakes.
Forgive us when we focus on what we can’t do, rather than on what we can do.
In a time of silence, we remember other things for which we seek forgiveness.
(silence)
God is love,
Through Christ our sins are forgiven.
(thanks be to God)
Take hold of this forgiveness and live your life as forgiven people, the power and love of the Spirit.
Amen.
Bible Readings:
Exodus 17: 1-7
Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2: 1-13
Matthew 21: 23-32
Sermon
French priest and writer, the late Michel Quoist, wrote: ‘Before giving the floor to ‘thinkers’ at meetings, let’s give it to the ‘doers.’ Yes…but the problem is they’re not present- they’re out working.’
-a bit harsh!
C.S. Lewis said, “A person cannot remain just ‘a good egg’ forever. Either one must hatch, or rot.”
-either one must hatch or rot.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is accosted in the Temple, while he is teaching.
The chief priests and elders interrupt to question the source of his authority.
Jesus is not just a good teacher-he is an excellent teacher.
It was common practice for rabbis or teachers, to answer a question with a question.
In today’s classrooms (face-to-face or via the internet in lockdown mode) this is still seen as sound teaching:
“What do you think?” means the student has to bring forth information or evidence.
The perceptive teacher can detect gaps in the child’s knowledge etc.
This technique is not confined to class rooms-it is found at dinner tables, work places, social clubs, board rooms, and most sermons have questions for the ‘hearers’ to answer in their lives-how they carry out their daily living
-their moral choices.
And here, the chief priests and elders are in a ‘no-win’ situation!
Listen to the debate:
“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, “we do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
Regardless of how they reply to Jesus-they’re caught.
They are unable to answer the question concerning authority.
What does Jesus do now? He enlarges his class size-
In vs 28: ‘What do you think? A man had to sons…’
By introducing a story, and the question ‘What do you think?’
WE are now part of the class!
The story is a simple one.
There was a father who had two sons. The father asks them to go out and work in the vineyard.
He asks for help.
One of the sons refuses- ‘he answered, “I will not.”
A little later, the father looks up from what he’s doing and there is his son, in the vineyard. He has changed his mind and does what his father asked him to do.
(this may have happened to your children when they were young-perhaps asked to help set the table-a little protest-then they come back and do the task).
His other son, who had answered politely “I go, sir” meaning ‘nothing would please me more than to go out and work in the vineyard for you.”-but he doesn’t follow through.
-I bet that has happened at home too! The sound of the garbage truck, trundling down the street-the teenager whose job it is to put out the bins…didn’t.
Now, think hard, says Jesus, which son do you think pleased the father more? The one who sad ‘no’ but then went into action, or the one who politely said ‘yes’ but then did nothing?
There are two themes or messages which jump out of today’s readings.
They’re interlinked in a way.
The first is the message of
1.Choice.
-as humans- we are free to make choices, to choose.
Life is full of change
-it’s one of the joys of life and it can also be one of the tensions of life, for we are involved in many decisions each day (though fewer now we are in lockdown-and THAT is one of the causes of tension/stress-what are we going to do today in lockdown, is a very different day from one out of lockdown!)
Daily decisions-sometimes minor, such as choosing a shampoo from the many varieties on the shelf, to major choices, such as career option, moving, aged care packages.
In the reading from Exodus, the Israelites have reached Rephidim-and have discovered that there is no water there. They choose to blame Moses, rather than to turn to God for help.
Moses chooses to turn to God in prayer and God chooses to respond with compassion for this grumbling people.
In the reading from Philippians, Paul asks his listeners to respond/or to choose humility- to care about others, rather than themselves.
-to remember Christ’s humility and choose to follow Christ’s example in their dealings with others.
In today’s story in Matthew, the first son, recognized the error of his ways and chose to change his attitude and actions.
-he was willing to change
-to choose differently.
We can grow in faith-by looking at our choices-and discerning whether we need to make changes in our relationship with God, and in our relationships with others.
There is always the chance and the choice-to change
-to be willing to change.
By God’s power we are able to change bad habits, no matter how longstanding they are.
-by God’s power we are open to change
-to make ‘right’ choices
-to live differently.
That’s the first message or theme-
Choices.
2.The second is words and deeds
-words and deeds.
Now think hard, says Jesus, which son do you think pleased the father more? The one who said ‘no’ but then went into action, or the one who politely said ‘yes’ but then did nothing?
There are some things in life, often the most important things, which we cannot know except by doing them.
You can’t really know the dance, just by hearing a lecture, even a good lecture, on dance. You must join the dance, feel the moves, let the rhythm take over.
It’s hard to understand the mystery of bread making-its soothing, calming properties-unless you knead the dough, relaxing and being part of its rhythm.
Theory vs practice. Ken Gire wrote:
‘Theology, which is the study of God, is largely a bookish endeavor, undertaken from the sequestered safety of a study. It is not an adventure. It is an analysis of the adventures of others.
It is one thing to study Mt. Everest.
It is another thing to experience it.’*
It’s like studying a play. You can read it, dissect it, analyse it- but it is, ultimately, meant to be acted out, performed.
As a Minister of the Word, I’m involved in the world of words. I love words. At times, they have a life of their own, but as I preach, I am also aware of things that words cannot do.
If I described the grand final-but if you had never seen football played, then I doubt you would grasp my explanation of the game. Even the most gifted sports commentator is dependent upon the listeners having seen the game performed-or it is meaningless.
The Christian faith is like that.
We’ve seen books about ‘Major Christian Beliefs!’ We have had people ask “What do Christians like you believe?” When that is all that people focus on-then there is a real danger of Christianity being a kind of philosophy of life, a set of intellectual propositions.
Jesus was not a philosopher, setting out a new system of disembodied beliefs. Jesus was a teacher whose life taught what he preached.
We love and follow Jesus not simply because of the way he lived, died and was resurrected.
Jesus did not ask us to agree with him-BUT to FOLLOW him!
He takes us on a journey-not just towards Jerusalem, but towards truth, towards a kingdom we would not have entered without his invitation “Follow Me.”(Mark 1:17)
I wonder if we mislead each other by the way we worship.
Most of our worship is sitting and listening.
Do we sometimes give people the wrong impression-that the Christian faith is a passive, rather than an active, faith?
But the Christian faith is only known in its performance
– but the Christian faith is only known in its performance.
The book of James is strong on this point:
‘But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers…For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and on going away, immediately forget what they were like.’(James 1: 22-24)
Words …into deeds.
Words must be transformed into deeds.
Hearers (if able, we do have to take into account age, illness…and circumstances, such as lockdown. I always say that praying is ‘doing’) must become performers.
The faith which is affirmed in church (at this time via Youtube/Facebook/tv) must be performed in the world, when we are able.
Words DO matter.
What we say DOES count.
But saying and doing
Word and action/deed
And the proper relationship between the two, are important issues for human life.
‘Practice what you preach.’
‘Actions speak louder than words.’
Jesus tells this story for a number of reasons, I think.
-he reproaches the religious leaders for not recognizing that they are like the second son-they announce their faithfulness but do not change their behaviour.
Tax collectors and prostitutes are more faithful because they believed.
-for Matthew ‘believed’= action, changing one’s behaviour as a result.
-perhaps repentance, change.
Words must be transformed into deeds, or our beliefs become only theory
-they gather dust.
I am a Minister of the Word,
We worship the Word made flesh,
We worship a living, active Word
‘In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of the world.’(John 1: 1-4)
Active, life-giving-Jesus as the Word:
v. 14 ‘and the Word became flesh and lived among us…’
we must act upon what we believe and affirm, because, as C. S. Lewis said:
‘either one must hatch, or rot.’
To live, to be life changers…we have to HATCH!
Amen.
*(Ken Gire, Life as we would want it…Life as we are given it, p.49)
Prayers of the People
Loving, compassionate One,
we pray for the world, the world you entrusted to our care, in partnership with you.
Help us to be faithful stewards, to choose some areas of concern and to act on them, and/or to pray about them.
We pray for all charities, out-reach centres, and op shops, who are doing it tough at this time.
As we sort and put aside items from our homes, help us to know the mess they create before they can be donated, is not a big imposition on us.
We are fortunate that we can give from our plenty, to those who have little.
We pray for the homeless, the ones fleeing domestic violence, and those who would rely on daily workers passing by, to help supplement their food or cash for the day.
Help us to not forget those in the shadows, those who survive on the edge.
May our hearts beat with an urge to help others.
We pray for the sick, for those we know in our church family as well as those in our own families.
We pray for those who are dying. We ask that a loved one is at their bedside during their final hours. Give them the peace they need for their final journey, and hope for their grief stricken loved ones.
In a time of silence, we remember other matters and concerns that are weighing on our hearts and minds, that need our prayers.
(silence).
In the words our Saviour taught us, we are confident when we pray to say,
‘Our Father…’
Amen
Blessing
May the Lord Jesus Christ
who walks on wounded feet,
walk with you to the end of the road.
May the Lord Jesus,
who serves with wounded hands,
help you to serve each other.
May the Lord Jesus
who loves with wounded heart,
be your love forever.
Bless God wherever you go,
and may you see the face of Christ
in everyone you meet.
Amen
(Bishop Matthew’s blessing).
