Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Pentecost 19 – 19 October 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: “Bless the Lord, my soul” – (TiS 723)
Santo, santo, santo. Mi corazón to 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:
We light this candle
as a symbol of the light of Christ,
which cannot be held back by distance,
and which shines in each one of us,
no matter where we find ourselves.
Acknowledgement of Country:
This land is God’s land and God’s Spirit dwells here.
As we come to worship today, I acknowledge the
Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin nations,
traditional custodians of this land under God.
I pay my respects to their Elders and leaders,
past and present, and to all future generations.
May we all walk gently and respectfully on this Land.
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 119 and Jeremiah 31):
How beautiful is the word of the Lord!
How wise are God’s commandments!
Through the Lord’s precepts, we gain understanding.
Through God’s wisdom, we find truth.
The Lord is our God; we are God’s people.
God’s word lives within us, for it is written on our hearts.
Living Word, Great Teacher, lead us and guide us!
Amen!
We Sing: “God has spoken” – (TiS 158)
God has spoken by his prophets, spoken his unchanging word,
each, from age to age proclaiming God, the one, the righteous Lord.
In the world’s despair and turmoil one firm anchor holds us fast:
God is king, his throne eternal, God the first, and God the last.
God has spoken by Christ Jesus, Christ, the everlasting Son,
brightness of the Father’s glory, with the Father ever one;
spoken by the Word incarnate, God from God, ere time began,
Light from Light, to earth descending, God, revealed as Son of Man.
God is speaking by his Spirit, speaking to our hearts again,
in the age-long word expounding God’s own message, now as then,
through the rise and fall of nations one sure faith yet standing fast;
God still speaks, God’s word unchanging, God the first, and God the last.
Prayer of Adoration and Confession:
As your people, God of all times,
we come to you with grateful hearts.
We give thanks for the wonder of life,
for the blossom on trees growing into fruit,
for nesting birds and tiny tenacious ants,
for blue skies and sunshine,
clouds, wind and rain
and the gentle pulse of surf
as it rolls and breaks onto sand.
We give thanks for the wonder of life,
for the miracle of birth, for the wisdom of age,
for the choices and challenges of our day
and the rest and replenishment of sleep.
We give thanks for the wonder of life,
for the people who share their kindness,
for the people who gratefully receive,
for our family, friends, neighbours,
and all who move our feet and meet our eyes
with companionship and love.
We pause to hold in prayer our gratitude and awe,
that we are your people and you are our God.
(moment of silence)
You have written your law on our hearts,
God of the ancient and the new.
In Jesus you have shown us how you want us to live.
Through the gift of the Spirit you inspire and guide us.
In the quiet we bring to you
the things we need to lay down,
burdens of shame or regret,
times of turning away,
or failing to live in love
towards ourselves, others and you.
(time of quiet)
Loving God,
we are assured that you are Justice and Truth
and that you hear us, hold us and love us,
tough and tender, as your beloved children,
and for this we thank you.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
We are forgiven,
free to live in the covenant of love
and to share this gift of forgiveness
with those in need.
This is indeed good news!
Thanks be to God.
Passing the Peace:
Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us to God, and
we meet in his name and share his peace.
The peace of the Christ be always with you:
and also with you.
Time for All:
In one of the Bible stories we will hear today, Jesus encourages us to persist, to keep going even when it’s difficult. So, I thought I’d share a story with you about Gerald the giraffe. This story is called Giraffes Can’t Dance and it’s written by Giles Andreae with pictures by Guy Parker-Rees.
Gerald was a tall giraffe whose neck was long and slim.
But his knees were awfully bandy and his legs were rather thin.
He was very good at standing still and munching shoots of trees,
but when he tried to run around he buckled at the knees.
Now every year in Africa they hold the Jungle Dance,
where every single animal turns up to skip and prance.
And this year when the day arrived poor Gerald felt to sad,
because when it came to dancing he was really very bad.
The warthogs started waltzing and the rhinos rock ‘n’ rolled
the lions danced a tango which was elegant and bold.
The chimps all did a cha-cha with a very Latin feel
and eight baboons teamed up for a splendid Scottish reel.
Gerald swallowed bravely as he walked across the floor,
but the lions saw him coming and they soon began to roar.
“Hey, look at clumsy Gerald,” the animals all laughed,
“Giraffes can’t dance, you silly fool, oh Gerald, don’t be daft!”
Gerald simply froze up, he was rooted to the spot.
“They’re right,” he thought, “I’m useless, oh, I feel like such a clot.”
So he crept off from the dancefloor and he started walking home,
he’d never felt so sad before – so sad and so alone.
Then he found a little clearing and he looked up at the sky,
“The moon can be so beautiful,” he whispered with a sigh.
“Excuse me!” coughed a cricket who’d seen Gerald earlier on,
“But sometimes when you’re different you just need a different song.”
“Listen to the swaying grass and listen to the trees,
to me the sweetest music is those branches in the breeze.
So imagine that that lovely moon is playing just for you,
everything makes music if you really want it to.”
With that, the cricket smiled and picked up his violin.
Then Gerald felt his body do the most amazing thing.
His hooves had started shuffling making circles on the ground,
his neck was gently swaying and his tail was swishing round.
He threw his arms out sideways and he swung them everywhere,
then he did a backward somersault and leapt up in the air.
Gerald felt so wonderful his mouth was open wide,
“I am dancing! Yes, I’m dancing! I AM DANCING!” Gerald cried.
Then one by one each animal who’d been there at the dance
arrived while Gerald boogied on and watched him quite entranced.
They shouted, “It’s a miracle! We must be in a dream,
Gerald’s the best dancer that we’ve ever, ever seen!”
“How is it you can dance like that? Please, Gerald, tell us how.”
But Gerald simple twizzled round and finished with a bow.
Then he raised his head and looked up at the moon and stars above.
“We all can dance,” he said, “when we find music that we love.”
Gerald persists, he keeps trying even when the other animals make fun of him, and with the help of the friendly cricket, he ends up dancing! The woman in the bible story persists too, even when the judge ignores her at first, so that she finally gets the justice she is owed.
Let us pray:
God, when we know what is right help us to do it.
When we see something wrong help us to change it.
When we see your way forward help us to follow where you lead,
one step at a time, fuelled by faith, hope and love. Amen.
We Sing: “Lord of the Dance” – (TiS 242)
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun;
and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
at Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance then, wherever you may be: I am the Lord of the dance, said he:
and I’ll lead you all where ever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 31:27-34
– Individual Retribution
27 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
30 But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of the one who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.
A New Covenant
31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.
Bible Reading: Luke 18:1-8
– The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge
1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ 4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Reflection:
Our readings for today seem, at least in my mind, to find a common intersection around the idea of relationship. Jeremiah prophesies a new covenant which promises a direct, personal and internal relationship with God, where God’s law is written on people’s hearts. This new covenant isn’t just about following rules, but about a deep transformation of values and priorities guided by God’s presence within. The parable of the widow and the judge, only found in the gospel of Luke, encourages persistence in prayer, knowing that God will always answer, even if it takes time. For if an unjust person will respond to persistence, then how much more will our loving and just God answer the prayers of God’s people. Prayer is just one part of the new, covenant relationship; a conversation where we can continually bring our needs and our weariness to God.
This parable is sometimes known as either the Parable of the Persistent (or Persevering) Widow, or alternatively the Parable of the Unjust (or Ruthless) Judge, the name often depending on where the focus of the sermon or study is. It is one of the few parables that states its point at the very beginning, the ‘need to pray always and not lose heart’. It would appear that this parable is clearly directed to people who might be in danger of losing heart, and that a major contributor to the danger of them losing heart is that what they are hoping for and praying for is not being realised. At the time the gospel of Luke was written, near the end of the first century CE and some 60 to 80 years after the life of Jesus, the Romans were persecuting both Jewish and Christian communities. Not losing heart in the face of such persecution would have been quite challenging for the people to whom this gospel was written, so this story and the promise of God’s justice being given to those who cry out, would have been an encouragement to them to continue persisting in the very difficult circumstances.
Jesus tells the story of a powerful judge and the determined widow who doesn’t give up. The judge has no interest in serving justice for the oppressed, nor does he fear God or respect people. It is before this judge that a widow comes to plead for justice. She wants a ruling in her favour, and while the text doesn’t tell us the ins and outs of the matter, it does tell us that she has no intention of giving up until she gets the justice that is owed to her. The widows courage gives her the strength to keep coming before the judge. She knows his responsibility towards her, as a widow, under the law. Presumably he knows his responsibilities too, but his callous nature means that he only rules in her favour because he is annoyed with her and concerned that he might get a black eye for his troubles if he keeps ignoring her. Of course, in the end, she gets justice.
I’ve always been slightly puzzled by the traditional interpretations of this parable, which compare God to the judge, and put us alongside the widow. This interpretation seems to suggest that God, like the unjust judge, will respond if we pray often enough. Of course, God is just, loving, and has our best interests at heart, but even so, I’ve seen people who end up believing that their faith is not enough, or that they are not enough, when their prayers are not answered. For the record, I believe that prayer is incredibly powerful and that it can change lives. I also believe that prayer has the ability to enable us to change the world. I just don’t think that we’re supposed to be persistent in prayer in the hope that we can change God’s mind if we aren’t prepared to act too.
I wonder, then, if we might be brave enough to look at the unjust judge and the persistent widow a little differently. The word in Hebrew for widow is a word that also means silent, or voiceless one. What then, if we might imagine the widow as the silent, voiceless masses whose only method of protest is to cry out with the pain of the life that is theirs to live. It is us who become the unjust judge and is it the Divine One who is crying out through the pain of my voiceless sisters and brothers, crying out to me for justice. How many times have we heard the pain of the voiceless? How many times have the circumstances of the lives of those in need of justice cried out to us for legal protection from their opponents? Can we hear their protestations as prayer? Can we begin to understand that the God who is the source of all that is, comes to us through the lives and witness of those who appeal for justice – the created world and sections of humanity within it?
In our world we often hear cries for justice, but instead we can turn away on focus on the things that we believe are more worthy of our attention. We see things that are disturbing, yet we distract ourselves and turn our focus inward. Whether it’s persecuted people crying out for freedom; the poor, hungry and homeless crying out for the crumbs off my table and a safe space to lay their heads; or the plaintive groaning of the earth as it longs for relief from the burden of greed and waste that continues to use up the precious recourses of the planet, or the persistent voiceless cries of animals as their kind disappear form the earth. Widows, silent ones, voiceless ones, unable to speak cry out to us for justice, persistently hoping that we will relent if only for the sake of our own peace of mind.
‘I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel … and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ Have we forgotten what God has written in our hearts? Is God also crying out to us to remember who we are called to be?
Our God, the Divine One who lives and breathes in, with and through us, also lives and breathes in, with and through the voiceless of this world, the ones who long for us to stand with them and work for justice. Our God comes to us in many guises, for our God, the Divine One the source of all that is, lives and breathes in, with and through creation and we are all intimately connected to one another.
We are incredibly powerful judges, and we can change the world. God lives and breathes in, with and through us. The prayers of the voiceless will not go unheeded, if we only listen to their cries for justice. Let the justice we impart come swiftly. Let it be so. Let it be so.
Amen.
We Sing: “Here I Am, Lord” – (TiS 658)
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright,
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord; is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night;
I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have born my people’s pain;
I have wept for love of them. They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord …
I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts are satisfied.
I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord …
Prayer for Others (prepared by Wendy and Graham Ray):
Let us pray …
Loving, caring God, we bring our prayers before You this morning.
There is so much in this world that is in need of prayer.
We get tired just reading, watching or listening to the daily news.
But through the inspiration of Scripture, we all know what is required of us, so Lord, our prayer is that we and the nations of the world, will have the courage and wisdom to stand up for justice.
If we want peace, we must work for justice.
May all of us dare to care.
Free us from the tendency to lord it over others.
Free us from the tendency to pursue our own needs and wants, before those of others.
Teach us how to live in love, dignity and respect, following Your example.
We pray for all those in our church community, and for people dear to us, who are in need of Your love.
In a moment of silence, we bring the prayer that is on our hearts this morning before You …
Thank You for this time of prayer, when we open our hearts to You.
Like the widow before the judge in Luke’s gospel, may we continue to be persistent and not lose heart.
May we be inspired to make a change in ourselves and the world, by following Your word, and the mentors and witnesses who have gone before us, and helped us grow.
Before we conclude this prayer with the Lord’s Prayer, please open your eyes and look at the Christ Candle. This candle is lit each Sunday as we begin our church service.
Our prayers, and the candle, shed a light on our own concerns and those of the world.
They link pain and hope.
The light of the candle and our prayers, remind us of God’s presence in the world.
From the Gospel of John: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never overcome it.”
We now continue to pray, saying the prayer that You 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: “Great God, your Spirit, like the wind” – (TiS 416)
Great God, your Spirit, like the wind unseen but shaking things we see
will never leave us undisturbed fulfil our dreams, or set us free,
until we turn from faithless fear and prove the promise of your grace
in justice, peace and daily bread with joy for all the human race.
Lord, shake us with the force of love, to rouse us from our dreadful sleep;
remove our hearts of stone, and give new hearts of flesh, to break and weep
for all your children in distress and dying for the wealth we keep.
Help us prevent, while we have time, the blighted harvest greed must reap.
And then, I your compassion, give your Spirit like the gentle rain,
creating fertile ground from which your peace and justice spring like grain;
until your love is satisfied, with all creation freed from pain,
and all your children live to praise your will fulfilled, your presence plain.
Blessing and Sending:
God does not ask us to do all things,
but to do the good that we can.
Go from here in that purpose,
and know that God travels with you,
willing and working in you for good.
Be encouraged so you can encourage others.
Be persistent in the pursuit of love, justice and hope.
And the blessing of Triune God,
One in Three, Three in One,
be with you 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: The Fig Tree Worship, MinistryMatters.com, Billabong Worship Resources and pastordawn.com.
Giraffes Can’t Dance written by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees, Orchard Books, London, 1999.