Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
WORDS FOR THE BEGINNING – We can’t go alone
Advent 1 – 8 December 2024 – 10am or whenever possible
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: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” – (Words © Susan Wickham 2021 – Tune TiS 265)
O come, O light of Christ, so bright and clear
and lift our spirits by your advent here.
In all who gather, show us your face,
that we may know the warmth of your embrace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.
Lighting the Christ Candle:
We light the Christ candle today,
reminding us that Christ is the light
that the darkness cannot extinguish.
May this light guide our paths
as we walk the path of life together.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we gather for worship today,
I acknowledge the traditional custodians
of these unceded lands and waters,
the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin nation.
I pay my respects to elders, past and present,
and to all future leaders and generations.
As First and Second Peoples walking together,
may we commit ourselves to be people of the covenant,
listening, truth telling and seeking justice for all.
Call to Worship:
In a world that is lonely,
we will save a seat for you.
In a world that is anxious,
we will light candles against the gloom.
In a world that is weary,
we will sing songs of joy and truth.
I am not alone.
We are not alone.
Here in this place, God is weaving us together.
So sing for joy, for we are a three-cord strand, not easily broken.
Advent Candle:
In a weary and worn world, how do we begin again?
Where do we start?
Let us begin together.
Let us begin arm in arm.
Let us begin by holding each other up,
instead of tearing each other down.
Let us begin with words of peace.
Yes, let us begin with peace.
Today we light the candles of hope and peace.
May these lights remind us of what could be.
May these lights mark a new beginning.
May peace flow like a river,
and may it start with us.
Arm in arm, hand in hand, side by side.
May we begin again. Amen.
We Sing: “Gather Us In” – (TiS 474)
Here in this place new light is streaming,
now is the darkness vanished away,
see, in this space,
our fears and our dreamings,
brought here to you in the light of this day.
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken;
gather us in, the blind and the lame;
call to us now, and we shall awaken,
we shall arise at the sound of our name.
We are the young, our lives are a mystery;
we are the old, who yearn for your face;
we have been sung throughout all of history,
called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty; gather us in, the proud and the strong;
give us a heart so meek and so lowly, give us the courage to enter the song.
Not in the dark of buildings confining,
not in some heaven light years away,
but here in this space, the new light is shining,
now is the kingdom, now is the day.
Gather us in, and hold us forever; gather us in, and make us your own;
gather us in, all peoples together, fire of love in our flesh and our bone.
Call to Prayer:
Family of faith,
one of the beautiful things about prayer is that we sometimes pray together.
Of course there are times when we close our eyes, bow our heads,
and exchange private words with our Creator,
but there are other times when praying out loud as a community
allows us to make right our relationship with God and with one another as well.
This is one of those moments.
So as a community, let us pray,
firstly a prayer of praise and secondly a prayer of confession,
begun in spoken word and completed by the choir.
So let us speak the truth of our lives and practice grace together.
Let us pray …
Prayer of Praise and Confession:
Loving God,
we come before you this morning with gratitude and praise,
as we thank you for the gift of this new day, a fresh start.
Help us to see the beauty of each moment,
and to recognise all the blessings that you have given,
including the example of Christ in whose steps we try and walk.
You continue to bestow abundant blessings on us,
blessings that remind us of your continued presence.
We are reminded of your presence in the world around us,
a place of beauty and diversity, of glory and wonder,
and if we open our eyes and look hard enough,
we can see you in the faces of those around us.
Yet despite all this, there are times we turn away,
times when we decide we don’t need you,
and times we just think we can do better on our own.
Forgive us for the times we forget we need your help,
for the times we forget that you are near,
and for the times we know you are there but turn away regardless.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Beloved, be reminded of this everlasting truth:
You are not alone.
Where you go, God goes.
You are held in grace so trust in this good news.
Thanks be to God!
We remember! We believe!
Alleluia! Amen.
The Peace:
Jesus said, “I am bring you peace,
not the kind of peace the world would give to you.
My peace I give to you, now and forever.”
Be at peace. Know God’s love is given for you
and also for you.
Amen.
A Time for All:
Act for Peace – the international humanitarian agency of the National Council of Churches – has brought people together to create a more just and peaceful world. As an expression of the life of churches in Australia, inspiration is drawn from Jesus who demonstrated solidarity with those who were marginalised and oppressed.
This year marks 75 years of the Act for Peace Christmas Bowl appeal. To find out more click on the following link …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69y2VJrA-sI
Let us pray:
Loving God,
we thank you for Act for Peace and the work done to care for those who are displaced.
On this day when we have lit the Advent candle for peace,
open our hearts and our hands to share what we can.
Help us to live generously every day as we act for peace in the world.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
We Sing: “All the sleepy should have a place to sleep” – (TiS 697)
All the sleepy should have a place to sleep.All the hungry should have a place to eat.
All the mourning should have a place to weep,
Does not every child of God deserve a home?
Make love happen by God’s grace and by God’s power.
Let God move you on this day and in this hour.
New creations will then blossom like a flower
for together we can be the hands of God,
for together we can be the hands of God.
All who suffer should have a place to heal,
and compassion to ease the pain they feel.
Talk is easy, but who will make love real?
Does not every child of God deserve some peace?
Make love happen …
The forgotten should be remembered too.
Lonely people might need a friend or two.
Who would be there if it were me or you?
Does not every child of God deserve some care?
Make love happen …
Bible Reading: Ruth 1:6-18
– Naomi and Her Moabite Daughters-in-Law
6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. 10 They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, 13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” 14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
15 So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said,
“Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people and your God my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”
18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
– The Value of a Friend
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Reflection:
Yesterday I visited an old man in the hospital.
I was not the only one. We talked on the elevator ride down –
Has he gained any weight? Will he stay in that room?
Does he like the food? Has he called?
All the man wanted to know was, ‘When will you be back?’
We ask that question in a thousand different ways every single day,
our hearts leaning over themselves,
bending to get closer to love.
We say, ‘Text me when you’re home.’
‘Call me when you’re free.”
‘One more kiss!’
‘I love you all the time.’
‘When will you be back?’
What we really mean is –
I can’t go through life alone.
Please don’t let me go through life alone.
We’ve probably all had experiences like that, haven’t we, whether during a hospital visit or somewhere else? When I made a surprise visit to my parents recently, I hadn’t been there long before my dad asked me his first question, literally within two minutes of getting to their home. ‘When are you going home?’ he wanted to know. Throughout my visit he also kept reminding me that because I had made a surprise visit for my Mum’s birthday, I would have to come back for his. I must have heard that at least ten times.
It is important that we have people to journey through life with, and I think there are times in our lives when we might need this more because of our vulnerability. That theme is picked up in the quilt square for this Sunday. This quilt square design is called a “log cabin”, and is meant to symbolise that together we can hold one another up and make something greater together than we can on our own.
One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. We were created for community and yet modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. It has been suggested that one in every two people experience social isolation. If you don’t think that’s you, then statistics say it is likely to be the person sitting next to you. In a recent American paper entitled Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, Dr Vivek H Murthy explains that ‘loneliness not only hurts us on an individual level, but negatively impacts society as a whole. Feelings of isolation hurt our mental and physical health, with research showing that loneliness can take the same toll on our bodies as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.’
Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne captures this feeling well in her song ‘I’m with you’, which she says was inspired by her own feelings of loneliness. The chorus reads like this …
‘It’s a damn cold night, trying to figure out this life
Won’t you take me by the hand? Take me somewhere new
I don’t know who you are, but I, I’m with you’
I would suggest that most of us experience feelings of loneliness at one time or another, so I wonder how the passages we have read today might speak into this? Both our focus texts for this week come from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and are commonly read during wedding ceremonies, but it’s important to note that neither of them are inherently romantic or specific to romantic partnership. Rather, they spotlight the importance of the many ties that bind us to one another; ties which go beyond marriage and blood relations.
The season of Advent whispers an ancient truth: We were never meant to journey these paths alone. In a culture that tells us we should just pull ourselves together and get on with things, choosing communal life is both radical and deeply faithful.
We see this in the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth, a Moabite woman, could have returned to her birth family after her husband’s death, following the expected path. Naomi, overcome with loss and steeped in grief, initially pushes Ruth away. When they arrive in Bethlehem she even renames herself “Mara,” meaning “bitter,” reflecting her belief that her life has been marked by divine disfavour. Yet instead of leaving, Ruth chooses a radical commitment to her mother-in-law, saying, ‘Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go.’ Ruth’s choice wasn’t merely about devotion. It was the formation of a new family built not on blood but on kinship, on the daring belief that our lives are better intertwined.
Sorrow can make us shrink into ourselves, believing that solitude is safer than the vulnerability of connection. When loneliness makes us feel forgotten and we wonder if our place in the world really matters, it’s easy to get sucked into a cascade of lies. We can begin to think that we are the only one carrying this weight of loneliness, the only one on the outside looking in, and this can snowball into other feelings of inadequacy, insecurity and insignificance.
Cultivating a compassionate community would seem to be the antidote to this. We are better together and deep down Ruth knew it. Naomi’s grief doesn’t deter Ruth, who keeps moving towards Naomi the way that God continues to move towards us. Together they embark on a journey to a new beginning. Naomi needed Ruth, but Ruth also needed Naomi, and we see here a beautiful picture of mutuality, something that is deeply needed in our world.
Ruth and Naomi’s journey to Bethlehem, mirroring another future trek to the same town by Mary and Joseph, is a pilgrimage of faith. Both journeys hold discomfort and uncertainty, yet the travellers take it on together. This kinship echoes through the lineage of Jesus himself, as Ruth, a woman who embodied the strength of connection over isolation, is named among his ancestors.
The season of flickering candles and twinkling lights can have a shadow side filled with loneliness and grief. For many, it feels like anything but the happiest time of the year, and yet this season offers us ample opportunity for kinship and connection.
We can reach out to those who are grieving, invite the lonely into our homes and hearts, and in doing so, show that in God’s family, no one has to face their sorrows alone. I wonder what it might look like if we worked to foster deep connection this season – connections where we shared the messiness of life together?
The wisdom of Ecclesiastes reminds us that ‘Two are better than one … for if they fall, one will lift up the other’. This wisdom speaks directly to our human need for connection, no matter the relationship or the season of life that we are in. We can’t go alone, and we are not meant to.
This season, as companions together, may we find a reflection of the One who, in becoming flesh, chose to be with us, to share in our humanity and to show us that we need each other.
May the quilt of life warm us, and may the Holy Spirit help us to cultivate communities of compassion.
Amen.
We Sing: “To be known” – (Tune Waltham)
Recall the truth that we one knew: we were not made for solitude.
We need communities of faith where we can feel God’s warm embrace.
For in the garden God declared that our brief lives on earth be shared
with partners, friends and family, who hold us in our joy and grief.
In every age humanity relied on mutuality.
Our God-breathed spirits weren’t designed to be divided and confined.
Both you and I are intertwined, the warp and weft of humankind,
so please don’t try to go alone. Your human heart needs to be known.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Margaret Lord):
Let us pray.
Prayer is an act of love: love of God; love of self; love of neighbour.
We enter this time of prayer recalling and expanding our love for the world and acknowledging our need to hold each other up.
As we pray, we also recall that today we lit the Advent Candle of Peace.
Our hearts ache for the many people around the world whose lives lack peace.
We think of the horrible situations of the thousands of people living in war zones around the world. We pray for these distressed people today, and that we may not forget them tomorrow, as we busily live our lives, on a continent free of war.
Of course, even this country is not a peaceful place of refuge for all its inhabitants:
We think of the discrimination experienced in so many ways by Australia’s indigenous people. We pray for members of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria as they seek reconciliation with the wider community through truth, justice and treaty.
We pray for the many refugees who live here in very insecure and difficult situations.
For people living in situations of domestic violence, where danger lurks in the place that is supposed to be safest – their own home.
For those with nowhere safe and secure to live, whose energies are entirely spent in the daily exertion of trying to answer the question “Where will I sleep tonight?”
For those who find the lead up to Christmas a stressful time, because they can’t provide the extras that traditionally come with the season – the special food, the gifts.
Those who dread interactions in gathered families where relationships are strained.
We pray for peace in all families, that differences may be accommodated, hurt addressed and understood, and olive branches proffered and accepted.
As we pray for these situations, we are aware that there are so many other needs, great and small, held in the hearts of each of us – we offer them now silently.
(time of silence)
In our praying we see the needs of the world held within the love of God and pray that we may play a part in expressing that love where it is most needed.
As we offer these prayers let us join together in the Lord’s Prayer:
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: “Servant Song” – (TiS 650)
Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping; when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow till we’ve seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together of Christ’s love and agony.
Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
Blessing:
As you leave this place,
may you have the wisdom to lean on one other.
May you have the courage to hold onto hope,
the compassion to do the good that is yours to do,
and the confidence to trust
that God sees you as a blessing.
For in a world full of dead ends,
Advent invites us to begin again.
So start here. Start now.
Start with love and begin again.
In the name of Christ, our new beginning,
go in peace.
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: A Sanctified Art (Words for the Beginning) and MinistryMatters.com.