Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Baptism of Jesus – 12 January 2025 – 10am or whenever possible
You may like to light a candle during your time of worship,
and have a small bowl of water available.
Feel free to text the Peace to other members of the congregation.
Introit: “As the deer pants” – (TiS 703)
As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.
You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you.
You alone are my strength, my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.
Lighting the Christ Candle / Pouring the Baptismal Water:
As we gather this day we remember your promises
in the lighting of a candle, and in the pouring of water.
For in the light of Christ that shines on our path,
in the light of your love that enfolds us,
and in the light that the darkness cannot extinguish,
we know Christ is with us.
For in the water that is life,
in the water that quenches our thirst,
and in the water that directs us to the Spirit,
we are called to life in you.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we come to worship,
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians
of these unceded lands and waters,
the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin nations.
I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present,
and to all future leaders and generations.
As First and Second People’s walking together,
may we commit ourselves to be people of the covenant,
listening, truth telling and seeking justice for all.
Call to Worship:
God makes God-self known.
We recognise ourselves
as the humanity loved by God.
God’s voice is heard.
We hear that all humanity is loved by God.
God’s care of all is promised.
We take on responsibility for loving everyone.
God is deserving of our praise and our loyalty.
We worship God together.
We Sing: “Lord, your almighty word” – (TiS 447)
Lord, your almighty word chaos and darkness heard, and took their flight:
hear us, we humbly pray, and where the gospel day
sheds not its glorious ray, let there be light.
Saviour, who came to give those who in darkness live healing and sight,
health to the sick in mind, sight to the inly blind,
now to all humankind let there be light.
Spirit of truth and love, life-giving holy dove, speed forth your flight;
move on the water’s face, bearing the lamp of grace,
and in earth’s darkest place let there be light.
Holy and blessed Three, glorious Trinity, Wisdom, Love, Might,
boundless as ocean’s tide rolling in fullest pride,
through the earth far and wide, let there be light.
Prayer of Praise and Confession:
Loving God,
God of water, God of life, God of calm,
we thank you for bringing us together.
God of hope and light,
we thank you for offering your light to us.
Open our hearts this day and remind us,
that you have marked us as people of hope and light.
God of the ancient and the modern,
the wondrous and the mundane,
the known and unknown,
we enter your presence today with expectation:
to know you better,
to learn with our friends and family,
and to experience your presence.
May we feel the assurance
that in your hands all shall be well.
We come with questions in our minds,
pondering thoughts in our hearts.
Speak to us, so that we might hear your clearly
and act on your calling of us.
Guiding God,
we have failed to follow you
and live out our baptism as we ought.
We have not always reached out to our neighbours
with the selfless love you have shown to us.
We have caused harm to others and creation
by our actions.
Forgive us, God of creation,
and let your Spirit move in our lives,
bringing us fresh perspectives
and the desire to the people
with whom you are well pleased.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
People of God, you are known and loved by the Creator.
You are marked as God’s chosen ones to bring hope and peace to others.
Be at peace and live in hope.
Amen.
The Peace:
The peace of Christ has been given to us,
not as a gift of the world which will pass away
but as a gift from heaven which is eternal.
The Peace of Christ be with you … and also with you.
We Sing: “God sends us his Spirit” – (TiS 412)
God sends us his Spirit to befriend and help us,
recreate and guide us, Spirit friend:
Spirit who enlivens, sanctifies, enlightens,
sets us free, is now our Spirit friend.
Spirit of our Father, Spirit friend,
Spirit of our Jesus, Spirit friend,
Spirit of God’s people, Spirit friend.
Now we are God’s people, bonded by his presence,
agents of her purpose, Spirit friend:
lead us forward ever, slipping backward never,
to your remade world, our Spirit friend.
Spirit of Creator, Spirit friend,
Spirit of our Jesus, Spirit friend,
Spirit of God’s people, Spirit friend.
Time for All:
In worship today we are thinking about what God reveals for us. To demonstrate this in our time for all, and at the table for the children, this week we use oil pastels and water colour paints. The encouragement is that we all think about what God reveals to us, and what rituals or practices we might invoke to stay close to God.
We Sing: “This little light of mine” – (Listener Kids)
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine (x3)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine (x3)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Jesu is the Light, I’m gonna let Him shine (x3)
Let Him shine, let Him shine, let Him shine.
I will stomp my feet, and I will clap my hands and shout! Shout!
I will run around, I’ll jump off the ground and shout! Shout!
This little light of mine, l’m gonna let it shine (x3)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7
– Restoration and Protection Promised
1 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
and through the rivers,
they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my sight and honoured and I love you,
I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south,
“Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth –
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
Bible Reading: Luke 3:15-18, 21-22
15 As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Reflection:
Some of you know me quite well, others not so well, but as you get to know me you will soon discover that I love to travel. Travel has been quite a significant thing for me and has impacted my life in ways I would have never imaged. I have worked and played overseas; I have discovered family history and found myself strangely belonging in a place I had never visited before. I even met my husband overseas. The first time I visited the UK was in 1995. During November I spent three weeks driving around with a couple of friends. Wanting to make the most of the daylight hours, we would often end up arriving at our accommodation sometime after dark. As it was coming on to winter, it would get dark early, and so you couldn’t really see the countryside you were driving through. I used to love getting up the next morning to see our surrounds and what was revealed when the sun rose. I wonder if the revelation of God is a little like that.
Last week we celebrated Epiphany, when the Magi follow the star and come face to face with God revealed in the birth of a human child. Technically ‘Epiphany’ is the revelation of God, or God revealing God-self. We don’t always know when God will reveal something of God-self, but at times I find God seems that bit closer, even in unexpected places, and we discover something new. I have sensed God being close in the African savanna, the Australian outback, the ruins of an English church and in this community, some unexpected places and some not so much. But maybe it’s not that God is closer, but that in some way I am ready to sense God better.
In both of our readings for this week we see something of God revealed, and in these revelations of God, we also learn something about ourselves and how God responds to us. In the passage from Isaiah, God is revealed as the One who creates, calls and remains close, even in the times of hardship. This language of protection and redemption is deeply comforting.
The story of Jesus’ baptism is recounted in each of the gospels, and Luke’s narrative is the shortest. Prior to this, we hear John the Baptiser, telling the people that there is One to come. Jesus comes, as part of the crowd, and participates as one of many. After his baptism and time spent in prayer, God is revealed and Jesus is declared to be ‘my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Let’s spend some time exploring these readings, what they might reveal about God and ourselves.
God’s speech is put in the first person in the passage from Isaiah – ‘I have redeemed you’, ‘I have called you’, ‘I will be with you’. To a community in exile, who are trying to reconstruct their identity, these words would have been both deeply comforting and transformative. In this passage we hear the language of creator, fashioner, community, regathering and redemption. These are not acts of God that happen only once, but ongoing traits of the Creator God who loves the people. The prophet proclaims that the people have been created by God, redeemed by God, named by God and claimed by God, and in doing so the prophet reminds them of who they are. They are beloved and precious in God’s sight. There is also language in this passage that we might find troubling. The statement ‘I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life’ might have us wondering about who is chosen and who isn’t. Yet in the context of the first readers of this text it would have made perfect sense, for the head of the family was the one who was called to protect their own. The reminder here is that the people’s identity, and ours, is in the family of God, and that God, as the fashioner of that family, will always be there for us.
In Luke’s gospel we find John the Baptiser being questioned by the gathered crowd as to whether he is the Messiah? John is not confused by their questions, knows the role that he is called to play. John explains that he baptises with water, a common washing practice which extended to ritual cleaning, but that the Messiah will baptise with the holy spirit.
When Jesus comes to receive baptism he is part of the throng, and is not identified as standing out from the crowd. We are not even sure whether it is John who baptises Jesus, though tradition and the other gospels would have us think this. In Luke’s telling, however, John has already been imprisoned by Herod, possibly why the lectionary misses out a couple of verses.
In Lukes gospel, things happen once Jesus prays – the heaven’s open, the Holy Spirit appears in visible, bodily form, and a voice from heaven is heard. In this passage Jesus is revealed as the ‘beloved’ Son of God, and God reveals that he is ‘well-pleased’ with Jesus. Again something of God is revealed, and something of God’s care of us. Jesus is the proclaimed as the God-one who has come to live a human life with us, and this act of God says something about how beloved humanity is.
All of this has me wondering a couple of things? Firstly, how might we prepare ourselves to be open to God’s ongoing revelation in our lives, and secondly, do we hear God call us beloved?
I began this reflection wondering whether the times I sense that God is closer, have move to do with my openness than God’s presence. When talking about her faith journey, Denise Anderson, Minister in the Presbyterian Church and Co-ordinator for Racial and Intercultural Justice with the US Presbyterian Mission Agency, states ‘It was God who found me, and kept finding me … whether I was observant or indifferent, God was always close by.’ So if God is always close by, and I believe God is, then what practices do we engage in to keep ourself attuned to God. Do we, like Jesus, spend time in prayer? Is it through gathering together for worship, the shared communion meal or time spent in the beauty of creation? Is it in time of solitude and quiet, or with those we care for deeply, or in the words of scripture?
We can only answer that question ourselves, but having a practice which opens ourselves to God is vital. For it is when we are open to God, and God’s revelation to us, that we will hear again that we are ‘beloved’ and that our God is ‘pleased with us’. In preparing for worship this week I was reminded of a scene from the movie Chariots of Fire. Eric Liddell is a man of faith and his sister believes he should go straight into mission work, rather than competing in the Paris Olympics. He explains his decision to compete, saying to her, ‘I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run I feel his pleasure’.
Do we hear that we are beloved? Do we feel God’s pleasure? To quote theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber, ‘Identity. It’s always God’s first move. Before we do anything wrong and before we do anything right. God has named and claimed us as God’s own. Regardless of the things we get right and wrong, God continues to choose us, call us beloved and take pleasure in us. May we hear those reminders often, and may we help others remember that they are beloved too.
Amen.
We Sing: “In case no one ever told you” – (Tune TiS 111)
In case no one ever told you are you have forgotten,
you are a blessing and have been since you were begotten.
Fashioned from love, sent to the earth from above,
you’re nothing short of a godsend.
You are the masterpiece born of God’s imagination,
even the parts that are crying out for restoration.
All that you are, born out of stardust and scars,
reflects God’s perfect creation.
You are uniquely created for love and belonging.
Forcing yourself to be someone you’re not is exhausting.
You are a gift, there is no box you must fit,
let your belovedness blossom.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Harriet Ziegler):
During our prayers today, we will have the opportunity to pray for those situations on our own hearts by coming forward to light a taper, a beautiful custom cherished by the people of Surrey Hills. As you return to your seat, you may wish to be reminded of your own baptism and of God’s blessings for you. The font is there – feel free to dip your fingers into the water and make the sign of the cross on your own forehead or hand. I will remind you at the appropriate time.
Let us pray.
As we turn to you, loving God, we are grateful that your generous love – showered upon Jesus in his baptism – is extended more widely than we can imagine and that your love is more powerful than anything we expect. We – the people you have made – are your beloved. May your spirit come upon us.
We pray for this troubled world and its anguished peoples. Today especially, we are mindful that at the very spot where Jesus was baptised all those centuries ago, deadly conflict now rages. And that intractable conflict between Israel and Palestinians seems now to have spilled over into hatred and violence in our own country. We pray for the Jewish community in Australia, feeling fearful in their own land; for the Muslim community, feeling misunderstood and maligned. May we as Christians, In our own speech and action, show your love and grace to all, never knowing what effect our actions may have.
We pray too for all the other areas where people are suffering due to conflict and political instability, poverty and climate change. In Europe, in the Korean peninsula, in Haiti, in Africa, in South America, in the Pacific. May all leaders of every faith and every nation seek peace and justice, for peace without justice is not your peace. Move us to work for peace and justice where we can.
We pray for all those who offer themselves in leadership in nations, in faith communities, in business and industry, in health care and education. In whatever field of endeavour, may leaders strive to serve rather than be served, and may we encourage their most noble intentions. We pray especially today for our minister, Rev. Heather, and for the many lay leaders of both our congregations as we move toward amalgamation.
We remember those who are seeking justice and support in our own nation – for First Nations people, climate activists, asylum seekers, those who are homeless, short of cash or unemployed, those who are too busy and too distracted. Remind us that we all are your loved children and can rest in your love.
As ever, our hearts turn toward those closest to us – our families near and far, our friends, and our church community.
In the next minutes, we will come forward to light tapers as an act of silent prayer for others, and then remind ourselves of the great love that you have for us by dipping our fingers in the baptismal font.
Let us continue our prayers with these symbolic actions, and pray silently in our seats as others light their tapers.
(light tapers and dip fingers in water)
Holy God, may we never forget that, like Jesus, your Spirit rests on us, inspiring us to love you and serve others. And now we pray together, as you taught us:
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
and 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 neighbours 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 break 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 be love and kindliness our law,
our food and faith be shared as one for evermore.
Blessing:
Beloved and worthy!
Through the incarnation of divine love
we are among those that God loves dearly.
We know this
because of the divine gesture,
the birth of Jesus – God’s own self,
and in the setting for such revelation,
that’s God’s love is not reserved only for a few,
but is extended to all.
So let us go into this world
to offer abundant and unconditional love
to all God’s children
so they will know they, too, are beloved.
Let us go in the name of God,
Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
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), Fig Tree Worship Resources, WorkingPreacher.com and Spill the Beans (Issue 41).