Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Lent 1 – 22 February, 2026
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: Bless the Lord, my soul – (TiS 706)
Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
Lighting the Christ Candle:
We come in need of God’s light to shine amongst our shadows.
As we begin the season of Lent we remember –
Christ is our light.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we gather to worship today,
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land,
the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung Peoples of the Kulin Nation.
I pay my respects to their elders, past and present,
and to all future generations.
As First and Second Peoples walking together,
may each one of us commit ourselves
to be people of the covenant,
listening, truth telling and seeking justice for all.
Call to Worship:
The good news of the gospel is:
manna in the desert,
water turned into wine,
love after loss,
forgiveness after pain.
The good news of the gospel is:
release for the captive,
hope for the hopeless,
mourning turned to dancing,
and strangers turned to friends.
So come on in.
There’s no time to waste!
This surprising good news is here for you.
Let us worship this good-news God.
Prayer of Approach:
Our loving Creator God,
at the beginning of time you created the universe
and you called it good.
Our night sky gives us just a glimpse
of the beauty and majesty of your universe.
The good things which sustain life on our planet
are all gifts from you and speak of your care for us:
air and water, food and nourishment
You give us companions to share with:
friends and families and communities,
and in each of these we glimpse your image.
For all of this, and for so much more,
we can but come in worship.
Amen.
We Sing: Praise with joy the world’s Creator – (TiS 179)
Praise with joy the world’s Creator, God of justice, love and peace,
source and end of human knowledge, force of greatness without cease.
Celebrate the Maker’s glory, power to rescue and release.
Praise the Son who feeds the hungry, frees the captive, finds the lost,
heals the sick, upsets religion, fearless both of fate and cost.
Celebrate Christ’s constant presence – Friend and Stranger, Guest and Host.
Praise the Spirit sent among us, liberating truth from pride,
forging bonds where race or gender, age or nation dare divide.
Celebrate the Spirit’s treasure – foolishness none dare deride.
Praise the Maker, Son and Spirit, one God in community,
calling Christians to embody oneness and diversity.
Thus the world shall yet believe, when shown Christ’s vibrant unity.
Call to Confession:
You may have heard, ‘All is fair in love and war,’
or ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
But God says, ‘Forgive seventy times seven.’
God says, ‘I am slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love.’
God says, ‘Turn the other cheek.’
God’s mercy catches us by surprise.
So with wonder and gratitude,
let us come before God in prayer.
Let us be surprised by God’s grace all over again.
Friends, let us pray.
Prayer of Confession:
Loving God,
somewhere along the way we picked up the message that
in order to be faithful, we have to be serious.
We have to pray on our knees without ceasing.
We have to be sombre in worship and quiet in our studies.
We have to check our wiggles and our questions at the door.
But then you say the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed
—unruly and untamed.
You turn water into wine — surprising and extravagant.
And all of a sudden, we wonder:
Can we be like that mustard seed?
Can we be faithful and unruly?
Can we be playful and curious?
Can we be messy and still be yours?
We know the answer already.
The Spirit whispers: of course, of course, of course.
Forgive our doubt.
Pull us closer into your embrace.
With faith like a mustard seed, we pray.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
God’s grace is wild and unruly.
God’s mercy is abundant and surprising.
God’s love is expansive and unending,
so if you ask, ‘Holy One, am I forgiven?’
the answer is and always will be:
of course, of course, of course.
This is the good news of the gospel.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
The Peace:
The Peace of Christ be with you
and also with you.
We Sing: In Cana at a Wedding Feast – (Tune TiS 453)
In Cana at a wedding feast, Christ worked his first great sign.
There Jesus’ mother told her son, ‘They don’t have any wine!’
He called for six stone water jars; they filled them to the brim;
through water changed to wine that day, his friends believed in him.
O Lord, we see your wondrous signs and know through faith-filled eyes:
you are new wine that brings us joy, true bread that satisfies.
You give clear vision to your church, you give us back our sight.
Through deeds of power, deeds of love, Christ filled our world with light.
Bible Reading: Matthew 13:31-32
– The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
Bible Reading: John 2:1-11
– The Wedding at Cana
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the person in charge of the banquet.” So they took it.
9 When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), that person called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Reflection:
For seven weeks we will be journeying through the Season of Lent. As we travel the path to the cross, our guiding theme will be ‘Tell me something good’ which invites us to ground ourselves in the good news of Lent. Each week we will be invited to discover something about the good news Jesus shared with us through his life and ministry. We will be encouraged to remember that the good news really is good news! It is joyful, like fine wine saved for celebration. It grows like a mustard seed and smells like perfume poured out from an alabaster jar. It tastes like bread passed endlessly through a hungry crowd. It sounds like laughter and feels like mercy. If we look around, we might even see that this good news is alive in the world.
So what is the good news? When I was in high school I remember learning a song at youth group. I’m not sure I remember the tune, but the words go like this …
Good news, good news, Christ died for me. Good news, good news, if I believe.
Good news, good news, I’m saved eternally. That’s wonderful, extra good news!
The words of this song never sat particularly comfortably with me. Death, trying to believe enough and being saved for eternity didn’t actually sound that appealing. The fact someone had died for me certainly wasn’t good for them and seemed silly when I hadn’t asked for it. The reality that it could all be for nothing if I didn’t believe enough felt like a great weight of pressure, particularly after their sacrifice, and what was I being saved eternally for? None of it seemed to make much sense.
Of course, I now think I understand what the song was trying to get at, and why our youth group leaders had us learn it, but I think we have to be careful when we talk about the good news. Good news is a term that has, too often, been weaponised or co-opted. It is synonymous with a particular type of Bible and is sometimes slapped onto Christian commercial enterprises. So then, how might we describe the good news, how might we define it?
For me it is helpful to look at Jesus – who he was and how he lived. The essence of Jesus’ ministry was truly meant to be good, as in, beneficial, joyful and delightful. What was seen so often in Jesus’ life and ministry were things like radical welcome, love for neighbour, care of the vulnerable, nourishment for the hungry and non-violence in the face of injustice. At the heart of Jesus’ teachings we find liberation, love, mercy and grace – all of these are meant to be very good news for us all.
In our readings this week, we discover something of the subversive and playful nature of the good news. John’s Gospel doesn’t begin with a temptation story (unlike the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke) but instead opens Jesus’ ministry with a wedding miracle. It might feel a bit lavish to start the season of Lent with a wedding banquet, but the good news is joyful. The Parable of the Mustard Seed, from Matthew, reminds us that the good news is so unexpected that it should catch up by surprise!
Loose mustard seeds are impossible to contain. They drift and scatter with the slightest breeze and while some consider them a weed, they are cultivated for their healing and nourishment others. In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the seed likely referred to is black mustard, the tallest of mustard plants in Judea, which can grow up to six feet tall. It is surprising that one of the smallest seeds grows into a large tree-like shrub. While we might not expect it to flourish, it does. Not only does it flourish, but its growth enables it to become beneficial to other creatures, fostering a ecosystem of symbiotic relationship with the birds who nest within its branches. How might our flourishing become a safe space for others?
Jesus’ behaviour at the wedding also catches us by surprise. We don’t often imagine that Jesus, the One called Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor and Mighty God, enjoys a good party. Yet Jesus is at the wedding in Cana, and the party is at the tipping point. Things are about to heat up – shoes will be kicked off and the dance floor will be crowded – but instead something terrible happens. The host has run out of wine. The servants know it and, for some reason, Mary knows it too.
In John’s gospel this is how we meet Mary, as a woman who knows the secret about to ruin the party – the fact there is no more wine. Mary is also the woman who knows exactly who can fix the problem, so she goes to find her son. Maybe he’s enjoying the party from the sidelines, or maybe he’s in the thick of the dancing, but either way Mary interrupts and a conversation ensues. I can almost see Mary standing there, unblinking at Jesus’ insistence that his hour has not yet come. She turns to the crowd of befuddled waitstaff and tells them to ‘do whatever he tells you.’ She has complete trust in the miracle that is to come, and when the stone water jars (each holding over 90 litres) are filled and the water turns to wine, the party goes from good to unforgettable.
Jesus debut act of ministry is not a healing or an exorcism or turning tables for justice. His first act of ministry is to help ensure a party becomes the best party possible. It is a total surprise to those gathered, and to us, but it is not a surprise to God. In fact, it is who Jesus’ is, the God-One through whom God’s goodness will always overflow.
They kicked off their sandals when the dancing began.
Everyone flooded the floor.
He was there, head thrown back, laughing at the stars.
Everyone could see it was joy and hope in the air,
the kind of love that makes it impossible not to dance.
So the whole community spun and twirled, jumped and clapped,
pushing back the pain of the world for a night.
Revelling in the fact that two people could stand
to build something beautiful in this fractured world.
But before long, a tug on his sleeve.
I wonder if Jesus stopped dancing
when he heard the news.
I wonder if he looked out
over the crowd of happy people.
I wonder if he could see
their joy poking through their frailty.
And I wonder if he knew, in that moment,
that joy was holy,
that joy would sustain them,
that joy was a form of resurrection,
so he turned water into wine
and the dancing did not stop.
This Lent, may the good news be impossible to contain, continue to catch us by surprise and have us dancing.
Amen.
We Sing: Jesus put this song into our hearts – (TiS 670)
Jesus put this song into our hearts, Jesus put this song into our hearts,
it’s a song of joy no-one can take away: Jesus put this song into our hearts.
Jesus taught us how to live in harmony, Jesus taught us how to live in harmony;
different faces, different races, he made us one:
Jesus taught us how to live in harmony.
Jesus taught us how to be a family, Jesus taught us how to be a family,
loving one another with the love that he gives: Jesus taught us how to be a family.
Jesus turned our sorrow in dancing, Jesus turned our sorrow into dancing,
changed our tears of sadness into rivers of joy:
Jesus turned our sorrow into a dance.
Prayer for Others:
Joy-spreading God,
we love to imagine you at a wedding,
your throat hoarse from laughter,
feet tired from dancing,
brow damp from the warmth of the day.
We love to imagine you turning water into wine,
people passing glasses, quenching their thirst,
delighting in every joy-filled, holy moment.
We love to imagine that this
is how your ministry began –
with celebration and joy,
with banquet tables and laughter –
because we crave more of those moments.
We live in a world that seems to run out of joy.
The news is a rotating blur of heartache.
Our hearts carry fear and grief, anxiety and loss, and so we bring you our prayers for others.
We remember those caught in war torn areas, or refugee camps.
We remember those spending their days in a hospital room, or feeling isolated,
We remember those who struggle with addiction, or find it hard to face the day.
We remember those who are unemployed or under-employed.
We remember those who struggle to put enough food on the table for their family.
We particularly remember those who are on our hearts, and we bring them before you now in a moment of silence …
(moment of silence)
Holy God,
when hope flickers, remind us that you hear our prayers,
and when the weight of the world feels too heavy,
remind us that the heart of the gospel really is good news.
We bring these prayers to you through your Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray:
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: Love will be our Lenten calling – (TiS 684)
Love will be our Lenten calling, love to shake and shatter sin,
waking every closed, cold spirit, stirring new life deep within,
till the quickened heart remembers what our Easter birth can mean.
Peace will be our Lenten living as we turn for home again,
longing for the words of pardon, stripping off old grief and pain,
till we stand, restored and joyful, with the Church on Easter day.
Truth will be our Lenten learning: hear the Crucified One call!
Shadowed by the Saviour’s passion, images and idols fall,
and, in Easter’s holy splendour, God alone is all in all.
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, One in Three, Three in One,
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).
Poem by Rev Sarah Speed.