Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Pentecost 2 – 11 June 2023 – 10am or whenever possible
Introit: “Bless the Lord, my soul”
Candle Lighting:
A lit candle placed in a window means we are here
and you are welcome.
As we light the Christ Candle today,
we acknowledge that we have come here
to follow Jesus the Christ.
We have heard the call and come.
May we continue to follow Jesus,
proclaiming his love and light to all.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we gather today,
I acknowledge the traditional custodians
of this land and these waters,
the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin Nations.
I pay my respects to elders past and present,
and to all future 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.
Call to Worship:
He was the first of strangers
and thus hosted every stranger.
There in the desert,
in the heat of the day,
three travellers appeared through the haze.
A feast was fixed by the hand of Sarah.
A sheep slaughtered by the hand of a servant.
Abraham enjoyed the credit
becoming the model of sacred hospitality.
So, my friends, this place is your own.
This time, your time.
These words not just a welcome
but an invitation
to be both guest and friend of this Community.
We Sing: “Morning has broken”
Prayer of Adoration and Confession:
Heavenly host,
in the beginning your love
was generously poured out in creation
and continues to pour out upon it today.
It is this love which has woven us together as one people,
generation upon generation,
bound together in your outpouring love.
Your love has been revealed most fully in Jesus,
who took on flesh and blood,
who lived a simple life among us.
He learned about hospitality
from stories of the ancestors
like Abraham and Sarah.
He was generous to all
who came to him in need.
He lived a life devoted to your law
and yet helped us discover
how to live fully within the law of love.
Jesus taught his followers day by day,
as they journeyed throughout Israel.
He taught them in word but more often through his actions.
Your followers continue to live as you have taught us,
listening to your word
and acting generously to everyone in need.
We are sorry for the times
when we fail to heed your word or put it into action.
We ask for your forgiveness
for those times when our words or silence,
our actions or inactions have caused hurt or harm.
In your mercy, hear our prayer
and may we receive the forgiveness you freely offer.
Help us hear the words of forgiveness,
daughter your sins are forgiven,
son your sins are forgiven.
Help us accept them
and move forward seeking to be
more faithful, generous people
serving in the world we live.
So be it.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Siblings:
There is nothing in all creation
that can separate us from the love of God
shown in Christ Jesus.
Hear then these words of faith:
our burdens are lifted,
our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
The Peace:
May the Peace of God dwell with you:
and also with you.
A Time for All:
Today I’d like to share a story with you called ‘The Lost Laugh’. It is written by Michelle Preen and illustrated by Karen Lilje.
Spotty the Hyena is very sad. He has lost his laugh. So he asks some of the other animals to help him find it.
“Please help me find my laugh, Giraffe.”
“I can’t hear a laugh up here”, said Giraffe.
“Please help me find my laugh, Hippo.”
“I can’t hear a laugh down here”, said Hippo.
“Please help me find my laugh, Warthog.”
“I can’t hear a laugh in here”, said Warthog.
“Please help me find my laugh, Monkey.”
“How did you lose it?”, asked Monkey.
“When I laugh, you can see my big teeth. That makes everyone frightened,” said Spotty. “Then I got sad and my laugh just disappeared. I can’t find it anywhere.”
“But you were looking in the wrong place”, said Monkey, who jumped out of the tree and picked up a feather.
Then she began to tickly Spotty all over.
Slowly Spotty started smiling, and then he let out a big, loud laugh. He laughed and laughed until he was rolling around on the ground. All the other animals started laughing too.
“Where did you find his laugh?”, they asked.
“His laugh was inside him all the time. I just made him happy and out it came”, said Monkey.
“They all laughed and laughed so that their teeth showed too.
So this is a simple, children’s story, but there are some things that I love about it, including the sense of community among the animals. Hyena wants his laugh back and asks his friends to help, but it is Monkey who asks the pertinent question and enables Hyena to share his story and find his laugh again.
We know that laughter is a good thing. It is said to be ‘the best medicine’ and while it can’t fix everything, laughing decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, which improve resistance to disease. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the natural feel-good chemicals in the body. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
I’m glad Hyena got his laugh back. I wonder if we know someone we can help to find theirs?
Let us pray:
Amazing God, we thank for laughter and for the way it makes us feel. Being made in your image, we imagine there are times that you might laugh with us, rejoicing in the good things of life. We hear this laughter in your creation … hyena’s, kookaburra’s and rippling water … and we thank you.
Amen.
Reflective Prayer:
Let us pray …
Loving God,
as we look back over the last week, we wonder …
Where did we see you in a stranger?
Who did we share a meal with
which revealed something of you?
When did you reveal something to us that made us laugh?
What did we offer of ourselves to someone
we did not know before?
God …
help us to learn from our interactions with others,
especially those who we do not know.
Encourage us to offer generous hospitality
and friendship to strangers in this coming week.
Challenge our thinking about how we speak
and act with strangers.
God, guide us to the people you long for us to meet
and welcome them into our lives.
Amen.
Bible Reading: Genesis 18:1-15
A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah
1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Bible Reading: Acts 9:36-43
Peter in Lydda and Joppa
36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile, he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
Let us pray …
God of love, be with us as we reflect on the passages of scripture we have heard today. May our hearts and minds be open for the message you have for us.
Amen.
Reflection:
Following the Women’s Lectionary this year we have been encountering the stories of women in the bible … some well-known ones such as Mary, the mother of Jesus, and some that are less well-known such as Vashti, whose story is entwined with that of Esther. As we hear part of the stories of these women, we are also invited to attend to what these stories might be telling us about God and how God engages with God’s people. Today we will hear a little of the stories of two more women, Sarah and Tabitha, with a focus on the Genesis text and story of Sarah.
While both of these women are reasonably well-known, these texts share something that might seem unexpected, and invite us into the liminal space where things are not certain, but where God is still present and faith can grow. Both texts also overflow with generous hospitality.
Before we focus on the story of Sarah, I’d like to briefly mention Tabitha (also known as Dorcas), who is seen to be a woman of exemplary faith and compassion. This text from Acts is short, has both surprising and miraculous elements, and yet speaks of a woman whose generous hospitality saw her mourned by the widow community that surrounded her as well as the men in her community.
Tabitha is introduced as the only woman disciple in the bible, and no sooner than we hear that she is one who follows the teaching of Jesus and lives out her beliefs by devoting herself to ‘good works and acts of charity’ (Acts 9:36), we are confronted by the news that she has passed away.
There is much we don’t know about Tabitha, but it is evident that she is a woman who has shown amazing hospitality. She is part of a community of independent older women, broadly described as ‘widows’, who engage in tradition female roles and provided charity to those in need. Tabitha makes clothes, but also takes a prominent part in the life of the church. In fact, she is such a valued part of the community, so significant, that the community send two men to Peter – the head of the church – to ask him to come ‘without delay’ (Acts 9:38) once she has died.
Tabitha’s life and witness were so significant that the community seem to be uncertain to what to do now that she is not with them. The text tells us that Peter comes and miraculously raises Tabitha to life, by God’s will. In some ways death can be the great interrupter, but God is present in this in between space for Tabitha, and God is listening to the community who need her with them.
In the Genesis story things appear a little hazy, just like a desert mirage. The text illustrates how we can see and not see God at the same time, there is a sense of knowing and not knowing, of being outside, inside and in between all at once. This ‘seeing’ in different ways is apparent early in the text with the author’s description of God. The opening verse tells us that ‘the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre’ (Gen 18:1) but then Abraham ‘looked up and saw three men standing by him’ (Gen 18:2).
Abraham addresses one of the men as ‘My Lord’ so it seems as though he might know this is God, or that God is among these three, but the greeting could equally just be the way to formally address three strangers that he does not know.
Either way, Abraham shows great hospitality to his visitors, convincing them to stay and refresh themselves. Whoever Abraham understands these visitors to be, he seems to know that they are not ordinary strangers. Hospitality is quite literally a matter of life and death in a semi-arid climate, but Abraham goes above and beyond the call of duty as he hosts the guests (or at least his wife and servant do). Abraham made the offer of hospitality, but it is Sarah and an unnamed servant who have to make everything happen.
Having offered the visitors ‘a little bread’, Sarah is ordered to ‘make haste’ to bake cakes from the finest flour, and the servant must prepare the calf that his master has selected. Abraham takes the credit, while his wife and servant seem to be treated in exactly the same way, and the modest meal that was offered has ended up becoming a magnificent feast.
After the meal is finished the biggest surprise of all comes: the announcement that Sarah will have a child. One look at Sarah and Abraham would suggest that this might seem impossible: Sarah is around 90 and her husband is 100. The fact that Sarah laughs is really not all that surprising, and when God told Abraham the same news earlier on (Gen 17:17) he laughed too.
I can relate to this scenario because I’ve heard that type of laughter. Back in 2006, when I found out I was pregnant and shared the news with Tony, he laughed. All at once he was overwhelmed with feelings of shock and excitement, contemplating the fact that he was going to become a father the year he turned 49. Before he could put any of that into words, he laughed.
Without being present at the scene, we cannot know what Sarah’s laughter sounded like and can only guess it’s significance. Was it a spontaneous outburst of joy at the news she was going to be a mother at last? Was it the cynical laughter of disbelief (after all she had heard this before and when nothing happened encouraged her husband to have a child by her servant)? Was it a nervous response, reflecting sheer panic at the thought of becoming a mother when she was older?
While Sarah thinks she is laughing to herself inside the tent, she is heard. While she might have been hidden away in the tent, doing unseen women’s work, Sarah is not hidden from God. God has heard and God understands. God has seen her struggle and her tears, and knows the deepest desires of her heart.
As Abraham laughed before and Sarah laughs behind the tent door, I wonder if God laughs with them at the divine, absurdity of all that has happened leading to this point. Regardless of what they have done, I can see the Divine chuckling with the recognition that God will act in unexpected ways to fulfill promises made.
So what light do these readings shed on how we might understand God and how God interacts with God’s people?
Firstly, I think both readings remind us that God is attentive to us. Even when we try and hide away, God sees us and knows us. God called Sarah by name, even though she seemed to be hidden away. God heard her laughter and rejoiced too.
God also heard the call of Tabitha’s community and she was raised to life. Even in the liminal in between spaces we can find ourselves, God is present, and when we open ourselves to this presence our faith can grow.
Secondly, wherever we find ourselves, and whatever our circumstances, we have the opportunity to show hospitality to others. Whether that is provision of a meal or clothing (some of the essentials of life) or a smile of welcome or an invitation to participate more fully, sharing hospitality is a continuation of the hospitality that God has generously offered each one of us.
I wonder how you might do that this week … who you might encounter, and where you might meet God as you do.
Amen.
We Sing: “The God of Sarah Praise” (Words below)
The God of Sarah praise, the God of dreams long dead,
who brings forth unexpected life, disarming dread.
Though grief lasts through the night,
joy rises with the sun:
God leaves us laughing in surprise at death undone.
The God of Abraham praise, the God of all who roam,
who guides us into foreign lands and makes our home.
When darkness shrouds our path,
the stars, as pledges, shine.
God’s covenant will be fulfilled by love’s design.
The God of Hagar praise, the God of those oppressed –
who sees the lost and overlooked
and calls them blessed.
Though wandering alone through deserts of despair
God leads us to a well of hope and meets us there.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Liz Pace)
We know that we are amongst the most unlikely people to carry out your work as we feel powerless and unprepared, yet your son Jesus has shown us the way to live.
Encourage us.
Creator God, hear the prayers of your people gathered here today.
Embolden us.
We see around us warring people seeking power through force and we sink into depths of despair wondering why such atrocities can take place in your world. We feel powerless to make change.
Empower us.
We glimpse in others the bravery to stand up against the strong forces of popular opinion and we recognise that your kingdom of justice is working through ordinary, seemingly powerless, people.
We, who have the privilege to live in a country that attempts to care for its citizens give us the insight into how we can help our fellows citizens in ways that do not diminish their dignity. Help your church show love with a smile not solely with a sense of duty.
Enliven us.
We are sometimes fearful of change, especially as we age. Yet you have shown through the ages that love for each other is stronger than fear. Help us to speak up against those that promote fear and bring the calm of love in its place.
Enrich our faith.
Emboldened, encouraged, enlivened, enriched and empowered, we, your unlikely people, step into this world helping others to see that love always overcomes fear.
Great God, we ask for your aid to live in this world as strong, caring, thoughtful people, your unlikely apostles, grateful and generous, promoting justice and joy.
This we ask through 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: “God gives us a future”
Blessing:
Friends,
as you go,
know that what you have received,
you are free to share,
the good news of God’s extravagant generosity.
And the blessing of God of Father,
God the Son and God the Spirit,
the One who Mother’s us all,
go with you,
now 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:-Spill the Beans (Issue 47), The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible Throughout the Year by Ashley M Wilcox, Texts for Preaching and www.WorkingPreacher.com.
The Story The Lost Laugh is written by Michelle Preen and illustrated by Karen Lilje.