Welcome to Koonung Heights Uniting Church

Koonung Heights Uniting Church

You may like to light a candle during your time of worship.
Feel free to text the Peace to other members of the congregation.

Introit: Gloria, Gloria – (TiS 773)

Gloria, gloria, in excelsis Deo! 
Gloria, gloria, alleluia, alleluia!

Glory to God, glory to God, Glory in the highest!
Glory to God, glory to God, alleluia, alleluia!

Lighting the Christ Candle:
As we gather for worship today,
  we light this candle as a symbol of the light of Christ,
  the light that guides our steps and shows us the path to travel.

Acknowledgement of Country:
This land is God’s land and God’s Spirit dwells here.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung Peoples of the Kulin nation,
  traditional custodians of this land under God.
I commit myself again to working for justice in this land.

Call to Worship:
If you need good news,
  settle into this space.
We have good news to share.

If you need a word of hope,
  then trust us when we say,
  there is hope enough to go around.

If you need a glimmer of joy,
  then you’re in luck!
We have resilient joy abounding.

If you need to feel God’s presence in your midst,
  then know that this is God’s house.

This is the good news of the gospel.
God is here.  Love is real.  Joy is on the move.
Let us worship our with-us God!

We Sing: Joyful, joyful – (TiS 152)

Joyful, joyful, we adore you, God of glory, God of love;
  hearts unfold like flowers before you opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away;
  giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All your works with joy surround you, earth and heav’n reflect your rays,
  stars and angels sing around you, centre of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
  singing bird and flowing fountain call to praise you joyfully.

You are giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
  well-spring of the joy of living, ocean-depth of happy rest.
You our Father, Christ our brother, all are yours who live in love;
  teach us how to love each other, lift us to your joy above.

Call to Prayer:
Friends,
  we have so much to be thankful for that sometimes we don’t know where to start.
At the same time, when problems seem insurmountable
  we wonder how we can ever make a difference.
The day that Jesus fed 5000,
  his disciples could not imagine a solution to the crowd’s hunger,
  so they told Jesus to send the crowds away.
Like the disciples, we often do the same.
We try to follow Jesus around, but when we run into issues, we quietly give in.
That’s why we need to come in prayer – so we remember that we can make a difference.
So friends, let us pray …

Forgive our small-minded ways.
Forgive us for doubting that change could ever come.
But even more so, forgive us when we refuse to be a part of it.
With hope for a better tomorrow we pray,
Amen.

Words of Assurance:
Family of faith,
  no matter how many mistakes the disciples made,
  Jesus still washed their feet.  Jesus still fed them.  Jesus still called them beloved.
The same is true for you and me, so hear and believe this good news:
  today is a new day, and once again, we belong to God.
We are forgiven.  We are called.  We are not alone.
What good, good news.
Amen!

The Peace:
Most weeks during worship we pause at this time and share the Peace together.  To say ‘peace be with you’ is not to say hello, nor is it simply Christians welcoming each other, but is in fact a practice of prayer.  From the beginning Christians have exercised this practice, using words Jesus used when greeting his disciples.  As we extend our hand to another, we identify with Jesus, who extended his life to the point of death to make peace with humanity.  In passing the peace, we are symbolising our unity in Christ, despite our differences.  So let us share the peace today …

May the Peace of the Christ, the Prince of Peace,
  dwell with you and also with you.

Prayer for Peace:
As an extension of passing the peace, let us now share in a prayer for peace.  This prayer has been written by Rev Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church.  Following this prayer we will sing together and you may wish to light a candle.

God of Abraham and Sarah, God of Hagar and Ishmael,
  God of Isaac and Rebekah, God revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
We bring before you the lands where our faith was born,
  now shaken by escalating violence and deep uncertainty.

We pray for the people of Iran, for the people of Israel,
  and for all across the region living tonight with fear.
We pray for children woken by sirens, for families seeking safety,
  for those carrying grief, anger and anxiety.

Prince of Peace,
  interrupt the cycle of violence.
Protect civilian life on every side.
Grant leaders wisdom and restraint.
Turn hearts from further destruction toward dialogue and de-escalation.
Call all nations to act with responsibility, with care for human life,
  and with respect for the obligations of international law.

Spirit of the Living God,
  comfort those in Australia whose loved ones are in harm’s way.
Strengthen Jewish, Muslim, Iranian, Arab and Christian communities
  who may feel vulnerable or unsettled.
Guard us from antisemitism, from Islamophobia,
  and from every form of hatred that rises in times of conflict.
Make your Church a place of safety, compassion and steady hope.

May fear give way to understanding.
May violence give way to courage for peace.
May justice and mercy meet.
In the name of Christ, who is our peace.
Amen.

We Sing: O Lord, hear my prayer – (TiS 741)

³⁶ send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.”  ³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”  They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”  ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves have you?  Go and see.”  When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”  ³⁹ Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass.  ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.  ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all.  ⁴² And all ate and were filled, ⁴³ and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.  ⁴⁴ Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:20-21
²⁰ Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Reflection:
It happened on a Friday afternoon twelve years ago.  I remember this Friday particularly well.  It was just before my father-in-law passed away.  I was at my desk at work when the phone call came, finishing off the final tasks for the end of the week, and hoping to have time to get a little ahead before I left for the day, just in case I didn’t make it into the office on Monday.

My head was in a completely different space when the phone rang.  ‘Hi honey, it’s me.  Everyone’s been here to see Dad, and Mum’s decided we should all gather for dinner at our place.  Everyone is heading there now.  I’ll get Elizabeth and I’ll see you when you get home.’  ‘Who is everyone?’, I asked, ‘where are we going to fit them all?, and what are we going to do about dinner?’  Though I don’t think I asked about chairs, I do remember mentally counting through the chairs we had in the house and wondering if there were enough.

Gathering together … it’s what families do when there’s a crisis … at least it’s what my family does.  They gather together because it’s a way of supporting one another and, I think, because it’s easier than being alone.  People had travelled to see Lloyd, some driving from just over the border, so it made sense to eat together before people began to make their plans and decisions about going home.  I knew that it made sense, but I’d promised Elizabeth a mummy-daughter sleep-over that night and suddenly the house was going to be full.  All I could see was a problem that it seemed impossible to deal with.

When I got home the house was already full.  The table was being set and chairs being found.  The boys were taking drink orders and filling glasses.  Someone was at the sink peeling potatoes, another was putting the finishing touches to a garden salad, there was soup gently heating on the stove, and someone was carving roast chickens.  In a few minutes homemade soup was served and we found space at the table together.  We shared food and conversation.  We passed the bread basket and left crumbs on the table, tiny reminders that in that holy space of connection, we had somehow engaged in communion together.

When I had taken the phone call earlier that afternoon, all I could think of was that hosting an extra 15 people without any notice would be impossible.  All I could see was the problem.  We can all be a little like that, seeing the problem and thinking that it’s too big, that it is impossible for us to make a difference.  It’s understandable in the world that we are living in, that we too easily forget that miracles can become possible through the power of community.  Jesus models a way to be in community, by coming together and sharing what we have, and dispelling perceived impossibilities, in today’s reading from Mark’s gospel.

As Jesus and his disciples head to a deserted place, perhaps seeking peace and quiet following their learning about the death of John the Baptist.  Despite their plans, many from the surrounding towns follow them.  Instead of turning them away, Jesus expresses compassion for them and begins an impromptu teaching session.  You can imagine with such a crowd that the words he spoke would have been passed around from one to the other.  As the day goes on, the disciples have logistics in mind and urge Jesus to send the people back into the villages so they can feed themselves.  These are pretty reasonable requests.  Instead, Jesus presents them with an impossible task: ‘You give them something to eat.’  Dumbfounded, the disciples can only fathom the limitations and financial constraints of Jesus’ suggestion.  Yet when they ‘go and see’, their meagre provisions multiply so that thousands are fed.  As the food is passed from one to another there ends up being more than enough for everyone.  Abundance grows from apparent scarcity.

It is easy to think of this story as a miracle, and that because of Jesus’ divine intervention many were fed.  Yet Jesus did not feed the crowds alone.  He asked the disciples to offer what they had, and they responded with what might have seemed a little, yet those small gifts were enough.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul affirms that God has the power to act far beyond human requests, thoughts or imagination, using the Holy Spirit within believers.  Through this lens, if Jesus asked us today what we have to give, what might our answer be?  It could be ‘We have the power you have given us to do the impossible.’  The same power that turned five loaves and two fish into a feast for thousands – with leftovers – empowers us ‘to accomplish far more abundantly than all we can ask or imagine.’  I wonder whether we allow this truth to settle into our bodies and animate our actions?

In light of today’s world this passage, and the challenge it gives, feel overly optimistic.  We know that people still go hungry, wars still rage, the earth continues to groan under our misuse.  Yet if we reimagine the systems we created, studies show that it is possible for every human being to have what they need.  This would require massive restructuring, international cooperation, and the reallocation of resources – but not more than what we already possess.  We don’t need a miracle of multiplication, we simply need to use generously what we have already been given.

In a world convinced of scarcity, this is astonishingly good news.  We already have enough.  So then, what do we do with this abundance?  It is too ridiculous to dream of a world that sustains all of life?  If we believe that God’s desire for us is that we have life, and have it abundantly, then this is the work that is before us.  We can accomplish more than we might imagine through the power at work within us, through Jesus Christ.

God starts with what God has which is everything.  God also starts with what God has given us—five loaves, two fish – all that we need.  With God, all things are possible because God knows that God is always God.  It is us who break faith, it is us who listen to scarcity, it is us who fear our own hunger.  Our God is a God of abundance, so however loud the scarcity of the world grates, let us remember that God delights in feeding the hungry, and God delights in accomplishing what we dare not imagine.  Let us remember that together with God and each other, the impossible is possible.

Amen.

We Sing: Human Minds Just Can’t Imagine – (Tune TiS 93)

Human minds just can’t imagine all that God can bring to bear.
Through our small and separate beings, even when we join to share.
Still we follow where Christ leads us, many pieces of one whole
  that we might allow our dreaming to transform our broken world.

God, expand our dreams and vision when we think our gifts too small.
Help us trust your great provision and to answer when you call.
You who gave us time and talents will uphold and see us through,
  as we join together in the work you’ve given us to do.

Like the grains of wheat are gathered
  from the vast and rolling fields.
Like the grapes from viny branches
  whose small fruit the wine will yield.
We remember as one body,
  each of us a crucial part.
In the global church professing:
  we belong to God’s own heart.

Prayer for Others

We give you thanks O Lord our God that we can come before you in prayer, to offer before you the concerns of our hearts and minds for the world in which you have set us as your people.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Provoked by the outbreak of warfare in the Middle East, and the perpetuation of war in other areas of your world, we cry out for the miracle of your peace, an end to the destruction of human life and the wasting of your creation.  Convert the hearts and minds of those in positions of power to strategies of mercy and not mastery, to goals of reconciliation and not retaliation … that the darkness of death and despair might be swallowed by the morning beams of life and hope.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for your church across all its diversity of shape and character, of language and culture, of denomination and practice – for the World Council of Churches, for the Council of Orthodox Churches, for the Anglican Communion, for those of Pentecostal persuasion, for Pope Leo and the Roman Catholic Church.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for your church in troubled areas of the world – where to worship you is to invite persecution, where to witness to your gospel is dangerous, life-threatening.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for this community of your people at Koonung Heights – for Heather our Minister, for the church council, for each and everyone of us.  Inspire in us all a passion for the good news of your gospel; nurture us daily in the unfading treasures of faith, hope and love.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for all people in need … for our own families and loved ones … (silence) …

Touch the lives of your people with your life-giving spirit of compassion; bring your light into darkness, your hope into despair, your joy into tragedy and sorrow … that all who are in need might find their life in you, and you in their life.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

These and all our prayers we offer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we pray together ….
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name;
  Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins
  as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
  now and forever.  Amen.

We Sing: Community of Christ – (TiS 473)

Community of Christ, who make the Cross your own,
  live out your creed and risk your life for God alone:
  the God who wears your face, to whom all worlds belong,
  whose children are of every race and every song.

Community of Christ, look past the Church’s door
  to see the refugee, the hungry, and the poor.
Take hands with the oppressed, the jobless in your street,
  take towel and water, that you wash your neighbour’s feet.

Community of Christ, through whom the word must sound –
  cry out for justice and for peace the whole world round:
  disarm the powers that war and all that can destroy,
  turn bombs to bread, and tears of anguish into joy.

When menace melts away, so shall God’s will be done,
  the climate of the world be peace and Christ its Sun;
  our currency by love and kindliness our law,
  our food and faith be shared as one for evermore.

Blessing and Sending:
As you leave this place,
  when you meet anger, speak with love.
When you meet fear, speak with hope.
When you meet pain, speak with gentleness.
But no matter what, speak this good news.
For the good news of the gospel is love and justice for all.
It is joy that surprises, and nonviolence that transforms.
The good news of the gospel is alive in the world,
  so go forth speaking.
For if you won’t, then who will?

And the blessing of God the Father,
  God the Son and God the Spirit,
  the One God who is Mother to us all,
  go with you today and always.
Amen.

Thanks to all those who have assisted in preparation for this liturgy with encouragement, prayers and conversation.  I have also utilised the following resources:  Fig Tree Worship and Sanctified Art (Tell me something good).
Human Minds Just Can’t Imagine – Words © Anna Strickland, Music © Joseph Haydn.