Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship
Introit: Hosanna – (TiS 724)
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest!
Lord, we lift up your name with hearts full of praise.
Be exalted, O Lord my God! Hosanna in the highest!
Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Lord, we lift up your name with hearts full of praise.
Be exalted, O Lord my God! Glory to the King of kings!
Candle Lighting:
As we light the Christ candle today,
we remember that represents the light of Christ –
light which shines through the hardest times,
and which faithfully lights our way ever back towards God.
Acknowledgement of Country:
This is God’s land and God’s Spirit dwells here.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung
People of the Kulin nations,
traditional custodians of this land under God.
I pay my respects to elders past and present,
and to all future leaders and generations.
Welcome:
Good morning and welcome to worship here at Koonung Heights Uniting Church. For those that don’t know me, my name is Heather Hon and I’m the Minister of the Word in this community. Whether you are joining us in the building or online (hello my online friends) I’m really pleased that you have set aside this time to be with us. A special welcome to anyone who is visiting today. However you come to be here, I hope that something in this services touches you.
Today we will think a little about the eternal life that Jesus offers and what that might mean for us.
A reminder that you are welcome to light a candle at any time during the service, for any reason.
Let us come and worship God together.
Call to Worship (from Psalm 68):
Let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
Sing to God,
sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to the Lord who rides upon the clouds:
be exultant before him!
Let us worship God!
We Sing: Morning has broken – (TiS 156)
Morning has broken like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning,
praise for them, springing fresh from the word.
Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung from completeness where his feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight; mine is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s recreation of the new day.
Prayer of Praise and Confession:
O God of life,
of life in all its diversity,
we come before you now in prayer.
We have seen over time your will being worked out
in so many places and spaces.
Stories abound of people unknown to us,
people who have been caught by your spirit
to transform themselves and their communities
into places of hope and liberation –
all inspired by you.
Generous God,
you provide us with everything that we need
to be part of your kin-dom here on earth.
We know that we can only do things that matter
when we are inspired by you, so let us listen
for the voice of reconciliation and renewal
in the world today,
and rejoice that we are blessed
to be part of the Body of Christ.
Forgiving God,
we confess that we do not always
seek to be your faithful people.
Instead we get caught up in the confusion of
competing cultures, denominations and theology,
preferencing that
which panders to our own sense of security.
We confess that when we do this
we marginalise those who have different voices
and different expectations.
Enable us to work with a spirit of truth
that transcends our differences,
knowing that your recreative power
will enable us to work together.
Bless us with your unifying Spirit.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Friends, hear again the good news:
the story of liberation is for all of us.
In Christ and through Christ, we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.
The Peace: May the Peace of God dwell with you:
and also with you.
Time for All:
I’ve got a question for you this morning. I wonder if you can think of one person who prays for you. Who is that person? Are they a family member, a friend, someone you know from church? It’s good when people pray for us, it is a way they can help us even if they aren’t close by. Prayer is just like talking to God, and some people from this church gather together each week to pray to God for different people and situations.
Today I have some Matryoshka dolls (also called Babushka dolls) with me. They are traditional Russian dolls created in 1890. They are special wooden dolls, figures of decreasing size, that live one inside the other, and sets can have just three dolls in them or range to over 50 pieces. One of the special things about them is that they symbolise family, the closeness of being together and supporting one another.
In one of our readings for today we hear Jesus praying for his followers. Jesus knows he is going away and that his followers will miss him, and so he prays for them. When he prays, Jesus asks God to protect his followers, to look after them, and to keep them united as one family.
A little bit like being one of the Matryoskha dolls, Jesus prays that we will be able to fit together and be strong as a family. God wants us to get along, to love one another and feel like one big family. When we are part of God’s family we are stronger together, knowing that God loves and protects us.
It is good to know that Jesus loves us, cares for us, and continues to watch over us, even though we can’t see him.
Let us pray:
Dear Jesus, thank you for praying for us.
Help us to feel your protection.
Help us to love each other and be one, just like you and God, the One you called Father.
Amen.
We Sing: God, we have come from our Families and Homes – (Tune TiS 547)
God, we have come from our families and homes,
seeking the things that will make us all one.
For we know now – the things that divide –
and how divisions have hurt us inside.
You sent us Jesus, who prayed for his own:
“Make them all one so your love will be known.”
Making new friends – may we understand
we are love’s bearers throughout every land.
Lord, as we worship, as we share and pray,
and as we listen to what others say –
may we be blessed in the time that we spend, and
gathered as strangers, may we leave as friends.
Bible Reading:
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of[a] James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Bible Reading: John 17:1-11
17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people,[a] to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
6 ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
Let us pray:
Loving God,
be with us as we reflect on the passages of scripture
we have heard today.
May we hear the words you would have us hear.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
Reflection:
If you were to stop and think about it, what would be the most important thing in your life? If you could only name one thing, what would it be? Would it be family, or a special relationship? Could it be a sense of personal achievement, or your career? Might it be your commitment to a cause or working towards a particular goal? Maybe the top of your list would be something else entirely. In reality, we can probably say that there are many important things in life, and the importance of things changes depending on who we are and where we are in life’s journey at any particular time.
Last week I mentioned that my friendship circles have changed as my life circumstances have. That hasn’t negated the importance of any of these friendship groups, and says more about how my needs have changed.
The same is true for the things I see as more important in life. As I have aged, it is sometimes the smaller things that have greater importance, the things that I would not have noticed when I was younger, like spider’s webs covered in dew, or wattle preparing to flower even while it is still winter, because it is in these things that I can see the brush strokes of the Creator.
In both our readings today we are brought face to face with events which occur at significant times for the disciples as they journey with Jesus: the first before the end of Jesus’ earthly life, and the second at the time of his Ascension. In John’s gospel we read a prayer of Jesus for his disciples: a prayer which comes at the end of a long conversation before Jesus is crucified. It is a conversation about how the disciples will cope when Jesus is gone and these words are a parting gift, as Jesus asks God to care for them.
In the reading from Acts we witness the risen Jesus take leave of his disciples and be taken up into heaven by God. Again this is a separation for the disciples, a second disruption for them as they continue the journey of life. Yet here it is the disciples who gather together and pray, supporting one another in unity as Jesus’ had prayed they might. For some reason, both these readings brought to mind the line penned by John Lennon – ‘life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’.
So then, how might we live faithfully in the time between Christ’s absence and the promise of his return?
We can worry about this, but rather than continually asking the question ‘Are we there yet?’, I think that our focus should be on embracing the eternal life that we have.
This eternal life is what Jesus offers in the gospel reading, but I wonder what we think about when we hear those words, and how our understanding might stack up with what Jesus is actually offering. We often think that eternal life has something to do with what happens when we die. We wonder whether it is an afterlife when we will be reunited with those we love, where we will fully understand God and life, and where death will be defeated and evil banished forever. I wonder though, that if we see eternal life as what happens only when we die, that we are missing the point. I think the eternal life Jesus is offering is more about our continuing relationship with God.
In fact much of what Jesus says in this farewell discourse is about relationship, relationship between the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and us. It sounds complex, and trying to explain the life of the Trinity might not actually make us any the wiser. But maybe that’s the point, for as we are drawn into the life of the Trinity, into the eternal dance of love that is the inner life of God, it’s not important that we can explain it, but that we can open ourselves to it. What matters is that each of us allow ourselves to be caught up in the dance of love and drawn into the life of God.
As Jesus prays to God, who he calls Father, he describes the nature of eternal life. ‘This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’. This, then, is the essence of life for us and it is what we are called to.
We are to immerse ourselves in the love and life of God. This is the most important thing in life. It is this relationship, and for this dance of love with the divine, that we exist. Yes we are called to reach out to the world with God’s love and mercy, but the source of that mission and the energy for it come from within the dance of love, the life of God.
So how do we find and nurture this relationship? One of the ways is by devoting ourselves to prayer together, just as the disciples and others in the gathered community were doing in Acts. We can also immerse ourselves in the Bible. The gospels offer us enduring insights and revelation into God and God’s love through the life and witness of Jesus, so this can be a good place to start. The Scriptures more broadly are a treasure trove of God’s ways in relation to the created order and the people of God. Also we should continue to meet together as the body of Christ.
The more active commitments of our faith are more life giving when they come from the place of intimate relationship with God.
God calls us to the work of mission and ministry and community building and peacemaking and justice seeking. These are part of the real stuff of relationship with God but they are not all that there is. We are created to love and be loved and be co-Creators with God.
What is the most important thing in life? To know God. To immerse ourselves in the life and love of God. We can come to know God in many ways – in relationships, in community and in creation. May we pay attention to how God is making God-self known to us as we embrace the eternal life that is offered.
Amen.
We Sing: Come, O long-expected Jesus – (TiS 272)
Come, O long-expected Jesus,
born to set your people free,
from our fears and sins release us,
you in whom our rest shall be.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope to all the earth impart;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Born your people to deliver,
born a child, and yet a king:
born to reign in us forever,
now your gracious kingdom bring.
By your own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by your all-sufficient merit
raise us to your glorious throne.
Offering Prayer:
God of glory, bless all that we offer,
gifts of food and money,
from the abundance of what you give us.
May all of who we are move towards the life you offer,
towards the renewal of all. Amen.
Prayer for Others (written by Randall Prior)
Let us come before God in prayer, let us pray.
(Response: Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.)
O Lord our God,
In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus your Son, you have displayed how precious to you is each and every human life, how immeasurable is your love for us, and for your creation.
We find ourselves lost for words in the face of your gift and promise of eternal life, fulfilled life … astonished to hear again of your immersion in our broken world, your undying commitment to bring us from darkness to light, from death to life.
Inspired by your Word, confident in your love, we bring before you now the concerns of our hearts and minds …
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for the world – for all nations and peoples – for the peace of the world, …
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for the church –
For this community of your people. For Heather our Minister and her family, for Ray our pastoral assistant, for the Church Council, for our choir and musicians, for all whom you gather into this community. For your Church Universal –
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for people in need –
For our families and friends, For all on our hearts and minds at this time … (silence) For all humankind according to their need.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We offer these and all our prayers in the Spirit of our crucified and risen Lord, who has taught us to 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: Now is eternal life – (TiS 385)
Now is eternal life
if risen with Christ we stand,
in him to life reborn,
held firm within his hand;
no more we fear death’s ancient dread
in Christ arisen from the dead.
For God, the living God,
stooped down to share our state;
by death destroying death
Christ opened wide life’s gate.
He lives, who died; he reigns on high;
who live in him shall never die.
Unfathomed love divine,
come reign within my heart;
from you no depth or height,
not life or death can part;
my life with you in God shall be,
now and through all eternity.
Blessing and Sending:
We are called to be and to do
and Jesus has shown us the way to go.
So let us immerse ourselves
in the life and love of God,
and go into the world nurtured by the Spirit.
Let us fulfil the calling of our faith,
share God’s love and live God’s grace.
May the blessing of God,
Holy One in Three and Three in One,
remain with you always.
Amen.
We Sing: May light come into your eyes
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, Spill the Beans (Issue 34), Billabong Worship Resources and laughingbird.net.au. God we have come – words by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette.