Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Lent 2 – 25 February 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: “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,
a light which cannot be held back by distance,
nor blown out by the raging wind.
May this light continue to illuminate our way
and be a beacon which challenges us to step out
and guides us to calm waters when the storms assail.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we meet today,
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri 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.
I pray that our eyes will be opened to see the love of God.
Call to Worship:
God welcomes the dreamers and the doubters,
the courageous and the fearful,
the hungry and the hopeful,
the impatient and the reserved.
God welcomes the young and the old,
the poets and the prophets,
the faithful and the tired,
the curious and the convicted.
Wherever you are on your journey,
wherever your boat is at sea,
there is room for all to gather here.
This is God’s house.
Let us worship the one whom even the seas obey.
Opening Prayer:
Holy God,
as a community we gather,
this second Sunday of Lent,
to worship you.
In the quiet we gather our thoughts,
we pause to pray, and
we still our hearts to hear your Word.
Abundant God,
you have blessed us with so many things
and we are in awe of your generosity to us.
Gracious God,
we are grateful to be in your family of faith,
and to be held in the promise of eternal love.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
We Sing: “Here in this place” – (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 Confession:
In our scripture passage for today, Peter is out on a boat with the disciples when a storm hits. Instead of cowering in fear, Peter spots Jesus on the water and bravely crawls out of the boat to move closer to Christ.
Friends, I think the prayer of confession is one way that we do the same; it’s one way that we can crawl out of our boats. And here’s what I mean: in the prayer of confession, we are honest about the storms that rage within and around us. In this prayer, we speak with honesty in an effort to move closer to God.
This is our moment to crawl out of the boat.
So friends, let’s be like Peter.
Join me in being courageous.
Join me in truth-telling.
Join me in prayer.
It’s time to get our feet wet.
Let us pray.
Prayer of Confession:
I invite you to pray this prayer with me.
Gracious God,
There are days that threaten to swallow us,
days when the storms of life feel too big.
In those moments, we often cling to the sides of our ships in fear,
spending more energy hiding from storms than looking for you.
Forgive us for doubting ourselves.
Forgive us for doubting you.
Rescue us from the storms of today and from the fears that trap us.
With hope in our hearts we pray,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Family of faith,
You could get out of the boat and walk on water like Peter,
or fall to your knees and stay in one place.
No matter what you do, Christ’s love for you is unchanging.
Fearful or brave, faithful or doubting,
Christ is always walking toward you.
So hear and believe this good news:
God’s love is stronger than any storms.
On our best days, and on our worst days,
we are seen, forgiven and loved.
God is always walking toward you.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
The Peace
May the Peace of God dwell with you:
and also with you.
A Time for All:
Let me share a story with you. It’s called Waddle Giggle Gargle! and it’s written by Pamela Allen. It’s a story about Jonathan, his Grandpa and Grandma, who live together in a little blue house at one end of the street. At the other end of the street is a tall gum tree, and in the tree is a black and white magpie who shouts ‘Waddle giggle gargle paddle poodle’.
Grandpa passes the tree each day on his way to work, Grandma passes the tree each day when she goes to the library and Jonathan passes the tree each day on his way to school. ‘Waggle giggle gargle paddle poodle’ the magpie shouts. In spring the magpie built a nest and laid three eggs. ‘Waggle giggle gargle paddle poodle.’ The next time Grandpa passed that week there was silence and then the magpie swooped and Grandpa fell. The next time Grandma passed the tree the magpie swooped and Grandma fell. The next time Jonathan passed the tree the magpie swooped again and Jonathan ran. So what were they to do? Grandpa, Grandma and Jonathan end up creating a magpie scarer with balloons, a drum, an umbrella, bright streamers and a clacker … with a little bit of help they can be brave and that means they can get to work, the library and school. The magpie was being brave too, swooping to protect her eggs.
At times in our lives we all need to be brave. Maybe it’s so we can do the things that we need to do, or maybe it to do the things that we want to do. There are also times that we need to be brave to do the things that our faith call us to do – the things that Jesus asks of us. It can take bravery to step out of the places where we feel comfortable. It can take bravery to say ‘hello’ to someone you don’t know. It can take bravery to admit when you are wrong and say ‘sorry’. It can take bravery to go against the crowd. It can take bravery to call out injustice when we see it.
When Grandpa, Grandma and Jonathan worked together it was easier to be brave. It’s like that for us. When we remember that God is always with us, that can help us be brave too. So, when we are scared, let’s remember that God loves us and is always there.
Let us pray,
Loving God,
Thank you that you are always with us. Helps us know that we don’t need to be scared because you are always near.
Amen.
We Sing: “Nada de turbe” – (TiS 739)
Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten;
those who seek God shall never go wanting.
Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten, God alone fills us.
Bible Reading: Psalm 22:23-31
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me
but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
Bible Reading: Matthew 14:22-33 – Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.
25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Reflection:
I’d rather not need rescue.
I’d prefer a five-step plan and a quick-fix solution.
I’d prefer stubborn insistence over honest vulnerability,
because rescue requires asking for help.
Rescue names the rising water.
Rescue sees the tired, treading feet.
Rescue feels the swell of the wind and the rain at a slant.
But when the floor falls out
and the world is on fire
and my small hands cannot fix the hurt welling in me,
the prayer that slips out is rescue
rescue , rescue me.
Global warming, terrorist attacks, wars that go on and on, financial instability, crime rates, unemployment, broken homes – is anybody scared yet? Political unrest, family breakdown, children in detention, the increased cost of living, school refusal rates, gun violence, declining numbers attending church – is anybody scared yet? Blaming the government for everything that’s wrong, blaming immigrants for everything that’s wrong, blaming different religious groups for everything that’s wrong, blaming everyone else for our insecurities – is anybody scared? I think it’s fair to say that we are scared and it’s probably understandable we are, because our world can be a scary place. As people of faith, how does Christ invite us to respond when we are afraid? What might Christ invite us to do? I think Peter’s response in today’s passage from Matthew gives us some good clues as to how we might respond to the fear that we feel.
In today’s encounter Peter is a new disciple. It might be that he wants to prove himself, which is why we see him boldly, in the middle of a storm, step out of the boat to join Jesus who is walking on top of the waves.
Peter manages this too, for a while, until he is thrown off balance, the wind shaking his trust, and he begins to sink. Many of us know what it feels like to be thrown off balance, to feel as if we’re sinking. Maybe for us this looks like doubt, unexpected change, too-busy seasons of life, devastating grief, or distance from God, but we can empathise with Peter and the desperation he feels as he cries out. In the same way we ask God to save us when we sink.
It seems to me that this is the reality of life and faith: we will inevitably face many emotional, relational, professional, physical, and global dangers. We can feel desperation when danger is imminent.
Conventional readings of this text often cast Peter as a sinful doubter, focusing on the fact that he starts to sink because he doesn’t have enough faith. While that might be part of the reality, I also think that more is happening here. I wonder how it would be if we reframed this story and instead focused our recognition on the bold courage Peter required to take a leap of faith. He stepped willingly into a storm when he is called, despite the danger, and when he stepped out onto the water Jesus extended own his hand.
The gospel writer of Matthew describes the scene in vivid detail, so it is easy to understand how frightening it was for Jesus’ friends. Jesus has made the disciples get into the boat and go off without him. After he has sent them onto the water by themselves, he sends the crowd away and then goes to a mountain to spend some time in solitude and prayer. It is evening, and the boat, which is far from land, is now being battered by the waves. The wind then gets stronger and is blowing against them so they are contending with nature at its worst. This has been going on for some time too, for it is not until morning when something astonishing happens.
The disciples have been enduring the wind and waves for several hours in the dark and so it’s quite understandable that they were exhausted and scared, and then something else is thrown into the mix. Suddenly they have to contend with a ghost – there is something or someone coming towards them across the water. It’s no wonder that the disciples were terrified and cried out in fear. In response to the disciples’ fear, Jesus says: ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27). The verb used for “take heart” means to be emboldened to show courage. This is something Jesus often says, and maybe this is what encourages Peter to respond in the way he does.
With all that’s going on, Peter still manages to catch a glimpse of the figure and realises that it is Jesus. Peter understands that Jesus is near, but rather than asking Jesus to come to him and help him, he says ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ Jesus calls to Peter and he steps out of the boat. At this moment Peter makes the effort to do what Jesus is doing and in making this choice something in him understands that the way to overcome his fear is to do what Jesus does.
To be close to Jesus means that he will be safe, and so Peter makes the move.
There are lots of storms brewing in the world, but we, too, can make a Christ-centred decision that says that storms and fear will not dictate our behaviour. We don’t need to wait for Jesus to jump into the boat, we can respond when he calls us to come.
Doing what Jesus did makes a difference, and isn’t this the call and vocation of all us through our baptism … to do what Jesus did. For us this means, I think, that the fear in our lives will only be overcome if we are willing to draw near to Jesus. It might be that the storm won’t change, but when we draw near to Jesus and do what Jesus did, then we have changed and so has our response to the storm.
So how do we draw near to Jesus by doing what Jesus does? We forgive because that’s what Jesus did. We become more generous because that’s what Jesus did. We respect each person because that’s what Jesus did. We pray for and love our enemies because that’s what Jesus did. We trust God in everything because that’s what Jesus did. We welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, speak truth, commit to God’s way, break down barriers and open our arms wide with compassion because that’s what Jesus did. We make a difference in the world. Why? Because that’s what Jesus did.
Maybe Peter’s example might inspire us. In a moment of fear he got up and got going towards Jesus. Yes, he falters when he momentarily lost focus on Jesus, but it is then that we see Jesus extend his hand, reminding us that God is with us in each and every storm.
Amen.
Affirmation of Faith:
Let us join together affirming what we believe.
I believe in a God
who moves toward me when storms rage,
and who invites me to be brave.
I believe in a God whom the wind and waves obey
and who knows my name.
I believe in a God of love and so I am not afraid.
Amen.
We Sing: “Have faith in God” – (TiS 619)
Have faith in God, my heart, trust and be unafraid;
God will fulfill in every part each promise he has made.
Have faith in God, my mind, though oft your light burns low;
God’s mercy holds a wise plan than you can fully know.
Have faith in God, my soul, the cross forever stands,
and neither life nor death can pluck God’s children from God’s hands.
Lord Jesus, make me whole; grant me no resting place
until I rest, heart, mind and soul, the captive of your grace.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Harriet Ziegler)
As we come before God in prayer for the world and ourselves, let us use the imagery of today’s Gospel reading. When I say,
We hear you say, Take heart, please reply:
We will not be afraid.
God of the wind and wave, the calm and the quiet, we come before you seeking strength and courage for the world in which we live, and for the challenges of our own lives.
We pray for people floundering and at sea – literally and figuratively. We pray for all who brave the seas to seek refuge from war and torture and dire poverty, not knowing whether they will find shelter. We pray for those at sea in their lives – caught in a vortex of financial hardship, ill health, insecure housing, relationship troubles, lack of work. In this moment of silence, we name in our hearts those we feel are at sea, perhaps including ourselves.
(Time of silence)
May we have the courage to walk toward people at sea with outstretched hands and not sink ourselves.
We hear you say, Take heart.
We will not be afraid.
We pray for people buffeted by wind and storm. The winds of war, especially in Ukraine and Gaza, and in dozens of other places, tear apart families and lives. We pray that world leaders may not fan the winds of war but may find ways to calm them. We pray for people buffeted by wind, by rain, by fire, by lack of power, by lack of shelter. We pray that all in power – government and business and community leaders – will care for those buffeted by storm. In this moment of silence, we name in our hearts those we feel are buffeted by wind and storm, perhaps including ourselves.
(Time of silence)
May we speak over the wind, over the storm, calling out injustice and wrongdoing without fear.
We hear you say, Take heart.
We will not be afraid.
We pray for those fearing the night, knowing that we are sometimes amongst them. We pray for all who know the night of grief, of illness and infirmity, of the coming end of life. We pray for all who hold a candle in the darkness, especially for our minister, Rev. Heather, and for all the friendships and connections in our congregation. In this moment of silence, we name in our hearts those we know who fear the night.
(Time of silence)
May we step out confidently, walking into the night for others.
We hear you say, Take heart.
We will not be afraid.
God of the wind and wave, the calm and the quiet, we give thanks for your gifts of renewed strength and courage. With a calm heart we pray as you have 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 world’s 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 bread, 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 it’s Sun;
our currency be love and kindliness our law,
our foot and faith be shared as one for evermore.
Blessing:
Beloved wanderer,
as you leave this place,
may you carry your curious heart on your sleeve.
May you look for God in every face.
May you find the courage to get out of the boat,
and may you hear God’s voice deep within saying,
‘Take heart, it is I, be not afraid.’
You are called. You are blessed.
You always belong to God
so go in peace, trusting in that good news.
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: Spill the Beans (Issue 49), A Sermon for every Sunday, Working Preacher and Fig Tree Worship.