Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Lent 2 – 16 March 2025 – 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: “Holy, holy, holy” – (TiS 723)
Santo, santo, santo. Mi corazón te adora!
Mi corazón te sabe decir: Santo eres Señor!
Holy, holy, holy. My heart, my heart adores you!
My heart knows how to say to you: Holy are you, Lord.
Candle Lighting:
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 where to go.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we meet today,
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin nation,
and pay my respects to their elders, past and present,
and all future generations and leaders.
I also remember and acknowledge
those who have faithfully worshipped,
and shared their gifts and lives with us at Koonung Heights.
Call to Worship:
Come as you are.
If you have deep faith or your faith has run dry;
if you know every scripture or none at all;
if you have calloused hands and live your faith through good works,
or if you kneel at God’s feet with a million questions.
Come as you are for this is God’s house.
None are turned away.
All are welcome here.
Opening Prayer:
God of love,
we thank you that you are with us always,
present for all our beginnings and endings,
and a constant as we journey through life.
We thank and praise you for your Creation,
the world we live in and the place we call home,
for the gift of Jesus who showed us anew
what relationship with you meant,
and for your Spirit which inspires us,
nudging, guiding, encouraging and convicting.
As we come to worship you,
we note the significance of the day,
and ask that you will hold us in our remembering.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
We Sing: “Praise to the Lord” – (TiS 111)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation;
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation.
Come all who hear, brothers and sisters draw near, praise God in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who will prosper our work and defend us;
surely God’s goodness and mercy shall daily attend us;
ponder anew what the Almighty can do as with his love he befriends us.
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praise and rejoicing.
Let the Amen sound from God’s people again: gladly for ever adoring.
Call to Confession:
The story of Mary and Martha is often painted as a story where one does right and one does wrong. Yet we know that life is often more complicated than that.
We know that faith is embodied through being present and taking action – and everything in between.
Knowing this, like Mary and Martha, let us draw near to God. Let us be honest about our lives, our hopes, and our mistakes. For even in our messy middle, God meets us with grace.
Prayer of Confession:
Let us pray together
God of Grace,
we long to do the ‘right’ thing.
We long to make the ‘right’ choice.
We long to stand on the ‘right’ side of the dividing line.
In our earnestness, we sometimes miss the sacred right in front of us.
In our earnestness, we sometimes miss opportunities to show love.
Show us how to hold our heart’s desire for perfection loosely.
Show us how to lead with grace and love, over anything else.
For even more than our desire to be right, we desire to be close to you.
Show us the way.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Faithful friends, God knows your heart.
When you mean well and lose your way, God knows.
When you try to do the right thing and miss the point, God knows.
When you long to be close to God, and doubt your worth, God knows.
You are seen. You are loved. You are forgiven. You have been sent to serve.
This is the good news of the gospel!
Nothing can separate you from God’s love.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
The Peace
May the Peace of God dwell with you:
and also with you.
Lent … Still Relevant? (prepared by Peta Lowe)
I would like to read to you, an article from Uniting World’s latest magazine, with the interesting title: “Is Lent Still Relevant?”:
In a fast-paced world dominated by 24-hour news cycles, consumer culture and the dizzying expansion of technology, the season of Lent can feel like a relic of the past. One more tradition squeezed out by our busyness and distractions.
As Ecclesiastes reminds us, “God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” (Eccl 7:12)
But perhaps now, more than ever, Lent is a rare invitation to pause. To follow Jesus into the stillness of creation. It’s a time to give our full attention to God, to live more simply and to act generously out of love for our neighbours and this beautiful, fragile world.
Climate change is undoing decades of progress, driving poverty, food insecurity and forced migration across our world. There’s profound injustice at its heart: those who’ve contributed the least to this crisis are suffering the most, while those who’ve burned the most fossil fuels have largely insulated themselves from its effects.
What can we do? We can follow Jesus. Our world urgently needs a movement of attentive and generous discipleship. Lent can be that annual ‘spark’ that reminds us of who we are in Christ, and all the love and hope we have to offer a hurting world.
Just before Lent began, Rev. Heather told us about Uniting World’s Lenten Program, “40 for the Future”. Let’s remind ourselves of the four suggested actions that some people are taking as a Lenten Discipline:
1) FOOD 40: Not eating beef or lamb for forty days, thus cutting your food emissions in half.
2) TRANSPORT 40: Avoid using a car for forty days, instead using Public Transport, Cycling or Walking.
3) ENERGY 40: No heating or cooling in the home for forty days. An additional action would be washing clothes in cold water and line drying them, to reduce energy consumption.
4) THRIFTY 40: Avoid purchasing anything new. Instead, repair, reuse or recycle.
It is not too late to take up one of these challenges for the remainder of Lent, and feel good about making a positive difference to yourself and the planet. You could donate the money you save to the valuable work of Uniting World. Envelopes are around you in the church, and the “hands” bowl is ready to receive them any time during Lent and Easter. This is one positive way we can take Lent seriously and help our neighbours.
A Time for Remembering:
As today is the last day that we are worshipping as the Koonung Heights Uniting Church, let us spend some time remembering. I’d like to invite you to sit back and watch the slideshow that has been put together. It highlights people, events and times that we have had together as a community. Before we watch, I’d like to specially thank Margaret and Gordon Patullo. Margaret has put this slideshow together with Gordon’s technical help. So let’s take a moment to remember …
Let us pray:
Loving God,
We thank you for the blessings that you have brought to our community,
the fellowship we have experienced, the friendships we have made,
and the moments of peace and strength we have found with you here.
Thank you, too, for the opportunity to take some time to remember.
At this time of change, we ask for your continued guidance and strength,
as we continue to follow your calling to serve you as a new community.
Continue to bless us, we pray, so that we are always mindful of your presence.
Amen.
We Sing: “This, this is the God we adore” – (TiS 220)
This, this is the God we adore; our faithful, unchangeable friend;
whose love is as great as his power, and neither knows measure or end.
‘Tis Jesus the first and the last whose Spirit shall guide us safe home;
we’ll praise him for all that is past, and trust him for all that’s to come.
Bible Reading: Luke 10:38-42
– Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 42 but few things are needed – indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Reading: Wildfire
I can picture it—salty sweat, accumulating in her bangs. The scent of toasted sesame seeds, crushed oregano, sumac, and cumin. Flour on her hands, painting streaks of white in her hair when she ties it back. The sweet date she samples – the way it stretches and clings to the back of her teeth, leaving the taste of honey in her mouth.
I can picture Martha in that kitchen, plating meals, eager to see their eyes close. Their heads nod. To hear the swell of approval that rises from their lips. And I can picture her sister. Brows scrunched. Fingers fidgeting, wishing for a pen, for paper, for a way to write it down. I can see her mouth part like a fish in the air, questions forming and reforming on her curious lips. I can see her lean in, knees tucked, eyes bright. I can see her imagining the world he dreamed of.
And I can picture how, for generations, this story of two brazen women in scripture, a story of two women so close to Jesus, may have felt like an untamed wildfire. I can picture the way we put these women in boxes. I can imagine how people saw their full hearts, their untamed energy, and decided to label that as good and bad, better and worse. I can imagine how Martha’s questions were interpreted as nagging, or the interruption interpreted as needy.
I can picture how it happened, but what if it was all more beautiful than that? What if these sisters discovered a ministry of cooking? What if they discovered the faithfulness of learning, the kind of friendship that allows you to ask questions, or something in between?
I can imagine it. Can you?
Reflection:
Hospitality is exceedingly important in the biblical world in general and in Luke’s Gospel in particular. Hospitality also matters in our society and will be particularly important as we amalgamate and become a new community. Hospitality starts with our welcome, but it doesn’t end there, and as we reflect on the text for this week, I have been wondering how what we have read, might speak to who we are and how we can strive to be a new community together.
Theologian Holly Hearon suggests that when we encounter this story, it is important “to hear the text not simply as a story about two women (for women), but as a story about the Christian community, directed towards all believers.” When Luke includes this story of Mary and Martha in the gospel, he is able to illustrate how people are to behave as disciples, both honouring and attending to God and one another, through careful attention to the word of God and compassionate hospitality.
When Jesus comes to Bethany, Martha demonstrates hospitality by welcoming Jesus into her home, the one she shares with her sister Mary. She then busies herself with the tasks of serving their guest, and although we are not told precisely what those tasks are, a good guess is that she began preparing a meal. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to his words. Rather than assuming the role expected of women in her culture, she takes her place at the feet of Jesus. She assumes the posture of a student learning at the feet of a rabbi, a role traditionally reserved for men.
In many translations of this text we hear Jesus saying that “Mary has chosen the better part,” which has been used to create a divide between Mary and Martha. Yet when Jesus calls Mary’s portion ‘good’, that doesn’t force a comparison with Martha’s. We are quick to make one, assuming that Martha has made a bad choice, but Jesus only comments that she is “worried and distracted by many things” (Luke 10:41). In fact, in the Greek, Martha’s tasks are called “diakonia” which means ministry or service. It is where our word “Deacon” comes from. So maybe in this text, Mary might represent our faith, our desire to know God intimately, and Martha might represent our good works, our desire to transform the world. Both are needed, and both are good.
Jesus’ concern for Martha centres around the fact that she is busy, worried and distracted. In our culture of hectic schedules, we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others. There are people within congregations who are likely to identify with Martha, people who feel anxious because they are pulled in different directions. We all recognise that those who perform tasks of hospitality and service to make the church a welcoming and well-functioning community are coming from a place of good intention, yet I wonder if this busy-ness can sometimes be to our own detriment? If all our activities leave us with no time to be still in God’s presence – no time to hear God’s word – then we are likely to end up troubled, and serving without love and joy, which can make us resentful of others. On the other hand, if we set aside time to be nourished by God’s word, just like Mary, we will have greater capacity for the ministry and service we are called to.
So what might we be able to take from this to inform who we are today and going forward? Firstly, as the Koonung Heights Community today, I think it is fair to say that we can feel encouraged as we recognise we have been faithful disciples in many ways. We have done the hard work of hospitality as we have made this community a welcoming place. We have served on committees, filled rosters, shared our gifts in worship, served tea and coffee, visited those who are sick and housebound, and found ways to share our worship with those who are unable to enter the building. We have raised funds and given our own time in support of causes that matter, joining with BCO and Rotary to assist in their community programs. We have rejoiced and grieved together, held space and prayed together. Along with that, we have listed to God’s Word through bible study, prayer, private devotions and corporate worship. We have heard the call of the Spirit which has enabled us to step into our calling.
If we acknowledge that there is merit in both action and contemplation, and recognising that both are parts of discipleship, this should serve us well as we work on becoming a new congregation together. Doing for God and being with God are both necessary, yet each one of us will naturally fall more easily into one or other space because of our personality. As we come together, we must be careful not to judge the actions of others through the lens of our own personality and natural inclination. Just because we are excited that the pool of potential do-ers has grown, we need to hold back from pushing our new members into the places we think they fit. People in both communities are tired, and we need to recognise that some will need to assume a listening, reflective posture as we come together. In fact, we need to acknowledge that just because the decision to amalgamate has been made, our listening and discernment is not finished. We are about to begin the tough stuff of daily walking together as community.
It makes me wonder whether this is what Jesus is meaning when he talks about the “better part”. When we judge the actions of others based on how we move through the world, we become distracted from the “better part.” As we come together as a new community, may we cultivate practices that shift our attention away from who is doing what, and rather wonder about the new work we can create together when we sit with each other and learn from God together.
We do know that Jesus invites all of us to sit and rest in his presence, to hear his words of grace and truth, to know that we are loved and valued as children of God, to be renewed in faith and strengthened for service. There is need of only one thing: attention to our guest, for as it turns out, our guest is also our host, with abundant gifts to give.
Amen.
We Sing: “Ministry and Presence” – (Tune TiS 103)
When Jesus passed near Martha’s home she had no hesitation
“Please treat my house like it’s your own,” she gave the invitation.
She wanted all the best to serve her honoured guest.
Her check-list grew and grew, her time was all consumed with ministry abounding.
Her sister Mary took a seat to spend time with the teacher
Intently listening at his feet, his words drew her in deeper.
But Martha took offense at Mary so content.
With all there was to do she needed Mary too, and asked for Jesus backing.
He said, “You are both gifts to me with different ways of being.
I won’t take that from Mary whose place is right here with me.
You have no need to prove so let your heart be moved.
Just one thing do I need: To feel your love in deeds of ministry and presence.”
Prayer for Others (prepared by Rhonwen Pierce)
Let us pray …
Lord God,
As we journey through Lent on our way to the cross and beyond we spend time preparing. We pray this preparedness is your wish and we serve you in all that we do. We should celebrate this our last day as KHUC and pray for SHUC for their last service. As last week we talked about our neighbour let us recognise our neighbours in the AGM to be held today and be open to the changes.
We see people in distress on news broadcasts both here and overseas. Help us to stop feeling there is just too much and shut our minds. Open us to try to be as responsive to these situations as possible by prayer, finance or letters to the appropriate agencies. You will lead us there by surprise directions.
Be with all the people we know who have health issues or other changes in their lives. Many friends try to keep a brave face unwilling to burden others – may we learn to be more and more aware of each other.
We pray for our church and the coming changes and thank you Lord that we have heard your call. May we continue to welcome all who come to our door. We pray for all the work done by presbytery, synod and assembly. We pray especially for Rev. Heather and her increased work load.
You Lord know our needs and we hold them up to you in this moment of silence. May you bless our thoughts and cares.
We will now join in an alternate Lord’s prayer …
Eternal Spirit, Father and Mother of us all, Holy is your name.
Let justice and mercy fill all creation
and let us recognise that every thought and thing belongs to you.
Feed us with the bread we need today.
Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Stand with us in trial and temptation. Free us from all that is evil.
For you alone are creating our universe now and forever.
Amen.
We Sing: “God gives us a future” – (TiS 687)
God gives us a future, daring us to go
into dreams and dangers on a path unknown.
We will face tomorrow in the Spirit’s power,
we will let God change us, for new life starts now.
We must leave behind us sins of yesterday,
for God’s new beginning is a better way.
Fear and doubt and habit must not hold us back:
God gives hope, and insight, and the strength we lack.
Holy Spirit, teach us how to read the signs,
how to meet the challenge of our troubled times.
Love us into action, stir us into prayer,
till we choose God’s life, and find our future there.
Blessing:
As you leave this place,
may you go into the next steps of your journey
knowing that you are loved and valued for who you are.
May you accept the invitation to sit in the presence of God
to be renewed for acts of service.
As we leave this congregation of Koonung Heights for the last time,
may we continue to move into the place God calls us,
and as we do so,
may you be confident that this journey will lead you
into places of abundant life and blessing.
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: Working Preacher and Sanctified Art (Everything in Between). The quote from Holly Hearon comes from an article entitled “Luke 10:38-42” found in Interpretation 58, no 4 Oct (2003): p393-395.