Koonung Heights – Surrey Hills Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Lent 3 – 23 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: “Sing Amen” – (TiS 704)
Sing Amen: Amen, we praise your name, O Lord.
Sing Amen: Amen, we praise your name, O Lord.
Sing Amen: Amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, we praise your name, O Lord.
Candle Lighting:
As we gather for worship today,
we light this candle as a symbol of the light of Christ:
light which cannot be held back by distance or diminished by darkness,
light which shines before us and shows us the way,
light which shines in each one of us, no matter where we are.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we meet today,
I acknowledge the Tradition 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 peoples walking together,
may we commit ourselves to be people of the covenant,
listening, truth telling and seeking justice for all.
Welcome:
Welcome to the first worship service of the Koonung Heights – Surrey Hills Uniting Church. As we gather today we will be thinking about what it is to rest and to grow, and how we can find ourselves in seasons of both. Click on the link below to hear the gospel passage for today as created by Coen …
Call to Worship:
Worship is a place to rest:
We breathe deeply here.
We still our aching bones.
We sit in the quiet.
We surround ourselves with music.
Worship is a place to rest.
Worship is a place to grow.
We listen for God’s word.
We invite it to challenge us.
We lean in with curiosity.
We ask questions.
Worship is a place to grow.
So come into this space.
Come rest and grow here.
For where two or more are gathered,
God is always there.
Let us worship our gracious God.
Opening Prayer:
God of love,
as we worship together this morning,
we praise and thank you that you are always with us,
journeying with us and inviting us to new beginnings with you.
We thank you that we are your people,
that we are planted and continue to grow by your grace.
Thank you, loving God, for your care,
not just for us but all people, all plants and animals
and the earth, universe and beyond.
We sit amazed by all creation,
the intricacy and exactness in your work so that living things,
including ourselves, grow and develop and have all we need.
We praise you for who you are,
and thank you for your blessings to us.
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:
Friends, we carve out time for confession in worship because it is not enough
to hear about God’s grace once. We need that reminder again, and again, and again.
So join me in speaking the truth of our lives, and join me in receiving God’s grace again.
Prayer of Confession:
Holy God,
there are days when we fail to rest.
We stretch ourselves too thin.
We say “yes” to every invitation.
We run a million miles a minute.
We ignore your command to rest.
There are also days when we fail to act.
We wait for someone else.
We take the easy road.
We find excuses and justify our inaction.
God, forgive our imbalance.
Remind us that birds rest, and they also fly.
Show us how to do the same.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Family of faith, I have good news!
Our God does not keep score. Our God does not hold grudges.
Our God does not assume the worst about us.
No, our God offers grace, and endless second chances, and boundless love.
So we proclaim the good news of the gospel:
God’s grace is deeper than the ocean.
God’s love is wider than the sky.
We are seen. We are claimed. We are forgiven.
May this realisation change and inspire us.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
The Peace
May the Peace of God dwell with you:
and also with you.
Time for All:
I wonder if you can remember back to Advent and Christmas, when our worship series Words for the Beginning: Advent reminders for new seasons, invited us to hear again words of encouragement and blessing that are important reminders for us. Each week a patchwork square was sewn, an image to serve as a reminder of some of these words. I wonder, can you remember any?
These squares have now been brought together in a banner which is hanging for the first time today. I wonder what might come to mind as you look at these pictures? Does anyone want to have a guess at what the pictures are and what they might remind us of?
1. Angel – you are a blessing: Gabriel told Mary she was blessed among women.
2. Log cabin pathway – you can’t go alone: that together we can hold one another up.
3. Cross – do the good that is yours to do: from the cross which is our centre we reach out to use our individual gifts and talents.
4. Birds – hope is worth the risk: when we take a risk in God we can end up flying.
5. Heart – love knows your name: the love of God is always reaching out to embrace us.
6. Tulips – don’t forget to laugh: don’t forget the joy there is in rejoicing, after all even ‘the earth laughs in flowers’ (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
7. Triangles – the road isn’t straight: there are multiple directions and the path isn’t always clear, but the Spirit lights our way.
8. Star – the guiding light that is always before us.
At this time of a new beginning these words of promise are good for us to recall, and if you think that it’s all too much to remember then just remember this … God loves you, because really it’s as simple as that!
Our children have a special blessing that reminds them how much God loves them. It is a good reminder for us too.
Children’s Blessing:
God loves me –
from the top of my head to the tips of my toes,
from my wiggly ears to the end of my nose,
from my back to my front to my fingers that wiggle,
God loves me.
We Sing: “This is a day of new beginnings” – (TiS 653)
This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember, and move on,
time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus, God’s mighty Spirit, now as then,
can make for us a world of difference as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring, step from the past and leave behind
our disappointment, guilt and grieving, seeking new paths and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.
Bible Reading: Psalm 63:1-8
– Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence
1 O God, you are my God; I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed
and meditate on you in the watches of the night,
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Bible Reading: Luke 13:6-9
– The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the man working the vineyard, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
Reflection:
There’s a vine that covers everything.
It chokes out the light.
Grows up to thirty centimetres per day.
In a matter of years, it will blanket a forest.
If you saw it from space, you’d marvel at its reach.
If you saw it from the passenger seat, you’d weep at what it covers.
Those looking for fast shade plant this invasive vine.
Who can blame them? We are all impatient.
But if it’s fruit you want –
the tart cherry,
the sticky sweet cumquat,
the soft side of a peach,
the crisp bite of an apple –
then bless the rain.
Thank the sun.
Put your hands in the dirt,
and wait.
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree that we have seen and heard this morning, is a parable that leaves us with more questions than answers. Why is a fig tree planted in a vineyard? Who planted it, and for what reason? Has anyone been caring for it? Will it ever produce fruit? We don’t know exactly why Jesus told this parable and what he intended his original audience to take away from it, though many allegories have been posited over the centuries. In the past when I have heard this passage preached, the message shared has often been about judgement for not bearing fruit, judgement for not doing the things we are called to do. The hope comes with a plea for grace which is granted for one more year as the tree is specially nurtured so that it has the opportunity to produce fruit.
The dialogue between the landowner and caretaker informs us that the landowner has planted a fig tree in his vineyard, and figures that it’s about time he can gather some figs, but when he takes a look, he discovers that the tree is barren. The landowner is a good steward of his land and crops, and so he concludes that there are two problems at hand: firstly, the tree is worthless because it is barren for the third year in a row, and secondly, it is taking up space that could otherwise be productive in the vineyard. He believes it is time to cut it down.
The caretaker assumes a different viewpoint and pleads for patience. He asks for another year when he commits to loosen the soil and add fertilizer. The caretaker believes that the tree can produce fruit and that the fruit would be good. Taking out the tree and replacing it with another would not produce fruit instantly, as the new tree would need time to mature. Fig tree seedlings take years to bear fruit, so there is good reason to give this tree another chance.
The landowner in this parable is commonly seen to represent God, who rightly expects fruit on the tree and brings down judgement when the fruit isn’t there. The caretaker is often seen to represent Jesus, who cares for the trees and brings them to fruitfulness, feeding them living water. By definition then, the tree must be us. I wonder, however, if this parable is not just about what we might produce, but also brings us the invitation to rest.
As modern readers, I would suggest that we might easily identify and sympathise with the fig tree. As individuals we may often feel as if our worth is defined and measured by what we produce. We know how difficult it can be to rest in a world that never stops sprinting and seems to be always demanding something of us. We may feel the pressure to produce outcomes without the support and resources to feasibly do so. Also, like the fig tree, many of us journey through in-between seasons: undefined and uncertain chapters when we don’t quite know if any change is – or can – take place. When we face times of uncertainty, perhaps rather than worrying about what we are not doing, we might put the gardener’s skills into practice. We might imagine that the gardener practices patience, hope, trust, discernment, resilience, and openness as he tends to the roots and soil.
I wonder if we can embody these traits as well, not only for ourselves, but for those around us? There are, no doubt, times when we all struggle and when things aren’t going well for us it’s easy to point the finger at others. ‘They should know better’, ‘I would have expected more from him’, or ‘I wish she’d just get on with things’ are all accusations we can level at others, particularly when we are feeling burnt out ourselves. At times we can also be guilty of the opposite, not calling people to change when we see bad behaviour because they are part of our circle.
Today we are worshipping as the Koonung Heights – Surrey Hills community for the first time. There might be the temptation, now that we’re all together, to feel that we need to jump in and start producing a full harvest of fruit right now, but I don’t believe there is a need to rush.
Now might be the time for us to wait, and there is nothing wrong with faithful waiting. Just because we don’t see outward signs of growth, it doesn’t mean nothing is happening. If we wait and rest in God’s presence, we will be refreshed, watered and given the ingredients we need for growth. Modern science teaches us what happens to the fig tree in the years before the fruit appears. Down below, the tree is gathering strength and building relationships. Soilborne fungi are finding home in its roots, boosting the tree’s capacity to resist disease and take in nutrients. In return, the tree feeds the fungi. In this place of rest, transformation is beginning.
The fig tree needs to produce fruit, but the caretaker in the vineyard knows the fig tree needs rest, nutrients, and time before it will be able to produce fruit. Just as both things are true for the fig tree, but are true for us. If we are always striving for more growth, and not taking time to rest, we will not be replenished and will eventually burn out. Yet, if all we ever do is rest, we will be too lethargic to grow and bear fruit.
As a new community, my hope is that each of us might rest in God and nurture one another, waiting expectantly for the transformation that is to come. We may not imagine what is happening beneath the surface, but I, for one, can’t wait to see what fruit God will have enabled us to produce by this time next year.
Amen.
We Sing: “Beneath the Soil” – (Tune TiS 299)
Beneath the soil in the dark there’s growth too slow to see.
A transformation not displayed in branches, fruit and leaves.
Remember when the world demands more than you can produce.
We each grow at a different place and growth starts at the roots.
The rest and nurture we receive will turn to fruit in time.
For God made us to grow and change as toward the sky we climb.
In every season of our lives the Spirit is at work.
To nurture us to bear good fruit while rooted in the earth.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Graham and Wendy Ray)
Let us pray,
As we come together, as one, this morning, we ask that you will hear our prayers.
We pray for the world, our community and ourselves.
We pray for the world and all its troubled uncertainty.
We think of those involved in war torn areas, such as the Middle East and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
In these complex situations, may common sense and goodwill prevail to end the suffering and misery of so many people.
May we continue to hold them in our prayers, and the organisations and personnel striving to bring relief.
We pray for all those around the world affected by floods, drought and fire.
May we all be mindful of things we can do, to mitigate the devastating effects of these crises.
We pray for our community – our family, friends and those with whom we work and socialise.
May we strive for understanding, respect and friendship.
May we treat others as we would like to be treated.
We pray for the Reverend Heather Hon.
May she know the love and respect we have for her, and be with her in her tireless work to further the Word of God.
We pray for this congregation.
On this day of amalgamation, as we journey with God, may we all come together, with our different strengths, to be Your hands and feet in the world.
Like a newly planted fig tree, we realise we will need to feed, water and nourish this new planting, confident that we will produce abundant fruit.
We pray now for ourselves and what is on our minds this morning.
In a moment of silence, we bring our individual prayers before You. (time of silence)
Thank you, God, for this prayerful time, and we conclude by saying the Lord’s Prayer 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: “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 find God in every messy middle.
May you know that the world is bigger than two sides.
May you trust that you are made in the image of God.
May you move through this world with an open heart,
with a curious mind,
and with the confidence that you do not go alone.
God is with you in the mountains,
in the valleys,
and everywhere in between.
Believe this good news and go in peace.
The blessing of God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
the One God who Mother’s us all,
be with you.
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). Poem written by Rev Sarah Speed. Beneath the Soil song words written by Anna Strickland.