Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Pentecost 21 – 13 October 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: “Bless the Lord, my soul” – (TiS 706)
Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
Candle Lighting:
You assure us, Jesus,
that wherever two or three are gathered in your name,
you are there.
We light this candle to remind ourselves
and to celebrate your constant presence.
May we always seek your guiding light in our lives,
and may we carry that light into the world.
Acknowledgement of Country:
This land is God’s land
and God’s Spirit dwells here.
As we come to worship this day,
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung
People of the Kulin nations,
traditional custodians of this land under God.
May we commit ourselves again
to working for justice in this land.
Call to Worship:
There is Life that is Eternal.
There is One who is Good.
There is a Way, and a way to walk in it.
Come, let us follow the Way.
Come, let us worship God!
Opening Prayer:
Lord, you have called us here this day
for hope, healing and transformation.
As we listen to Scripture, pray our prayers,
sing our hymns and hear words of wisdom,
open our hearts to hear your claim on our lives;
that we may fully and joyfully step into your calling.
Amen.
We Sing: “In the presence of your people” – (TiS 727)
In the presence of your people, I will praise your name;
for alone you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Let us celebrate your goodness, and your steadfast love;
may your name be exalted here on earth and in heaven above.
Prayer of Praise and Confession:
God of grace and glory,
to this worried world, you reveal your presence
in radiant glory and in gentle whispers,
on mountain tops and in shadowed valleys,
in classrooms and hospital beds,
in homes and churches,
in the quiet of nature and on busy streets.
Yours is the presence that pushes past our fear to calm us;
yours is the love that transforms our doubt with reassurance.
We come to dwell in your goodness
and offer you the praise you deserve.
God of love, sometimes we wonder where you are.
We look around and see sadness and sorrow,
and then we remember our own participation
in the systems which contribute to the pain of others.
We seek forgiveness, from you and one another.
We wake up each day determined to be different,
to take on more of your character and to be our best selves.
Then we have our first cuppa and, in frustration, realise that
we have already fallen short of our own hopes and expectations.
Where are you God?
The idea of giving all we have to the poor is great,
until we think about actually doing it,
and then we feel frustrated again,
for our intentions are like wax,
melting out of shape without us even noticing.
But we remember that you called us because you love us,
and that you are close beside us
whether we meet our own expectations or not.
You softly say our true name, “Beloved”,
and we can rest in the knowledge that you
have been with us since before our birth
and you have fed us on your sustaining mercy and grace.
Nothing separates us from you.
Holy God, we seek healing and wholeness,
for ourselves and each other.
Restore us and rejuvenate us so we can be
the light and love in your world again.
In Jesus’ name we pray all these things,
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Beloved in Christ,
Jesus understands our cries and our struggles.
He forgives and heals our souls,
and in the name of Jesus Christ
we are healed and transformed.
This is good news.
Thanks be to God.
The Peace:
In Christ we are mothers and fathers
and brothers and sisters to one another.
As members of God’s family,
let us share God’s peace with one another.
May the peace of God dwell with you
and also with you.
A Time for All:
I wonder what special things you might have at your home? Maybe you have some things that are real treasures? Do you have one thing that is your favourite? Maybe it’s something you think is worth a lot of money, but maybe it is special because of another reason.
Let me share with you some of my favourite things. Some of these things might be worth a lot of money, but some are not worth much money at all, rather they are special because of their sentimental value, of what they mean to me in my heart.
Now I wonder what you would think if someone asked you to give up those special things? What if you had to give them away or throw them away? What if you were asked to get rid of all the things you have?
That might seem pretty crazy, but it’s actually what happens in a bible reading we will hear later today. A rich man comes to Jesus to ask about heaven. He is a good man who has worked hard to keep the commandments all his life. As part of this conversation, Jesus invites the man to do one more thing: to sell the things he has and give the money to the poor people. That was a hard thing for the man to do. He had lots of special things, lots of treasures and lots of money and he didn’t want to give it away.
When the man left, Jesus explains to his disciples that it can be difficult when we have a lot of stuff, whether it is precious or not. Jesus went on to explain that it’s hard to have a lot of things because when we do we can worry about them or spend too much energy on them. We can rely on the things that we have, rather than rely on God.
That was why Jesus suggested to the rich man that he sell the things he had, not because it was wrong to have them, but because the man valued his things and his money more than he valued other people.
There is nothing wrong with having things. We need a certain amount of money to survive, but God wants us to depend on him, rather than the things we own. Nothing we have or do is enough by itself, and we need the precious gift of Jesus.
Let us remember that no matter what fun, precious or loved treasures that we have, nothing is worth more than Jesus. While we can appreciate all the special things we have, we should never forget that Jesus is the most precious. The good news about Jesus is something that we should share with everyone.
Let us pray …
Dear God,
Thank you for blessing us with all the things that we need.
Help us to trust in you, and not depend on the things that we have for our happiness.
Help us remember that you are worth more than any treasure!
Thank you for your love.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
We Sing: “Thank you for giving me the morning” – (TiS 162)
Thank you for giving me the morning, thank you for every day that’s new,
thank you for all my hurts and troubles I can take to you.
Thank you for all my friends and helpers, thank you for people everywhere,
thank you for showing me, Lord Jesus, how to help and care.
Thank you for speaking to me Jesus, thank you for meeting with me here,
thank you, because you love all people, those both far and near.
Thank you that you’re so good and loving, thank you that I am filled with you,
thank you, you make me feel so glad and thankful as I do.
Bible Reading: Psalm 22:1-15
Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me,
from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night but find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not human,
scorned by others and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they sneer at me; they shake their heads;
8 “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Bible Reading: Mark 10:17-31
– The Rich Man
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud. Honour your father and mother.’ ” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Reflection:
Most of us like it when life is going well, when conversations are uplifting and encouraging, and when there is a sense of positivity in the air. We are much less comfortable with angry, despairing complaints, even though the Bible is full of them. Biblical writers, and even Jesus himself, give full voice to frustration, despair and disappointment. We hear fierce protest about the way the world is, and even sometimes, we hear protest against God. This is part of the reality of life, but we don’t want to go there. It’s not because these feelings are unfamiliar, but maybe they are too familiar that we want to shy away from them. Perhaps we are looking for a way to escape what is uncomfortable, and we hope that our faith, our God, will be that means of escape, even if it is just for an hour or two before we have to again face the realities of life.
There might be more to it than that too. I think that often we aren’t just wanting a refuge or a place to escape, what we are often wanting is clarity, certainty. In the midst of chaos and confusion we want to know what is right and wrong. We want to know clearly which way we should go. We want to know that we have all the pieces in place, that things are under control and that we are on the right side of the story. When there is lack of certainty and troubles abound, even those who do not have faith, can find themselves crying out to God and asking “Where are you?”
In both the passages that we have read today, we find people crying out to God, searching for clarity as they seek answers to the questions that burden them. The psalmist is pleading with God as he suffers at the hands of others, and the rich man approaches Jesus wanting clarity about eternity. Both are seeking answers that they are not able to find themselves, answers about things that really matter.
Borne out of a gut-wrenching anguish, Psalm 22 is the cry of this psalmist is palpable. It is the cry of one who knows what it is to be bullied by enemies, rejected by community, and who also feels abandoned by God. The threat for the psalmist is imminent as he is surrounded by those who are ready to attack and devour him, like bulls and lions. Bystanders despise and mock him, and even God seems to have forsaken him. Even as he cries out to God ‘why have you forsaken me?’, God remains agonizingly silent.
When the rich man visits Jesus he comes with respect, calling Jesus ‘Good Teacher’. He wants to do the right thing, is hungry for God, for life and for clear answers. He genuinely wants to know what he needs to do, for even though he has kept the commandments he has been taught to keep, he has a nagging feeling that something is missing, a quiet emptiness that tells him that he hasn’t quite found it yet. Rather than giving him a simple answer to his question, Jesus’ challenge to live faithfully sees the man grieving as he leaves, trying to process the reality of what he has been told.
So where is the hope? Where is the ‘good news’ to be found amongst these challenging readings? You could be forgiven for thinking there isn’t any, and to be honest, I was wondering that myself at first, yet after some pondering I found both good news and a couple of challenges within these texts. First, let’s focus on the good news.
The opening words of the psalm ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, are put into the mouth of Jesus by the gospel writer of Matthew as Jesus hangs on the cross. In that moment even the God-one knew what it was like to feel alone. This confirms for me that Jesus (the God who slipped into skin to be with us) really does understand the human condition, and what it is like for us even in our most challenging moments. There are times when we feel that we are totally alone, that no-one understands what it is like, but Jesus’ does, for he has been through it too.
There is also good news in the reminder that while the psalmist feels ‘like a worm, and not human’, ‘despised’ and ‘mocked’, he knows the reality that God has cared for him from the womb and kept him safe and nourished. He has been God’s priority – just as each one of us is God’s priority. God loves each one of us and views us as special. You might be aware of the social media frenzy surrounding the present debates about increasing the age of access for young people to be able to have social media accounts. This is because the messages received via this medium are so damaging. The world constantly tells us we are not good enough (not pretty enough, not cool enough, do not have enough ‘likes’) and we can begin to believe it. Some young people have even taken their lives because of this. How good is it then to see the vision of how God view us – as precious and blessed!
There is also hope in the gospel story. Yes, the young man goes away sad, but we don’t know what happens next. For all we know he might come back, and we should be willing to leave the door open for him. Before Jesus challenges the man, we are told that ‘Jesus, looking at him, loved him’. The good news here is that this man is loved.
This love isn’t dependent upon what he has done, or his attitude, or his questions. The man is loved because that is the heart of God. God’s love means the invitation is continually offered and the door is always open for us to return. Surely that is good news.
As people of faith we are called to share the good news of Jesus and what this means for us, and this is where the challenge lies. To share we need to be interacting with one another, and so we need to make sure that we treat one another well. Other people’s treatment of us can contribute to how close or far away we feel that God is. When we are treated badly, ignored, mocked or abandoned, we can feel that God has left us too. If we can feel it, so can others, so let’s make sure that we share God’s love not just in words, but with action, taking Jesus as our example.
Jesus challenges the rich man to live faithfully by seeking to serve the poor. This call to live rightly is a call for us too. While we might not feel it, the reality is that by the world’s standards we are all considered to be wealthy because we have clothes to wear, a roof over our heads and food to eat. So how might we live more simply? Maybe it starts with thinking about all the unnecessary things we accumulate. Maybe it’s about purchasing only the food we need – an action we discovered not only helps us but also helps our environment. Maybe it’s donating the cost of a meal out to an organisation that feeds the homeless.
Jesus doesn’t promise that it will be easy, but he still calls us to follow him. The path might not be comfortable, but the path we walk with Jesus is the one that will lead us to the wide open spaces of resurrection life; of freedom, love and justice. And God will always travel with us. Maybe when we only see one set of footprints, it is because God is carrying us.
Amen.
We Sing: “Lord, take my hand and lead me” – (TiS 593)
Lord, take my hand and lead me along life’s way;
protect and guide and feed me from day to day.
Without your care and favour I go astray;
so take my hand, O Saviour, and lead the way.
Lord, take my heart and hide it within your grace;
through pain and pleasure guide it to be at peace.
Hold close your child, dear Saviour, and stay we me,
and help me trust whenever I cannot see.
For when it seems you’re hiding your saving might,
still you are safely guiding me through the night.
So take my hand and lead me along life’s way;
protect and guide and feed me to endless day.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Rob Fenton):
Dear Lord,
We thank you for hearing the prayers of your people. We pray for our congregation, and that it continues to grow in its understanding of your ways for us.
We pray for our wonderful minister Heather, and we give thanks for the care and spiritual leadership she provides to our congregation. We also pray for the many in our congregation who contribute in many ways to our congregation, including elders, pastoral care contacts, the choir and musicians, the Property Committee, and all those on the various rosters.
We pray for peace in the Middle East, where there seems to be no end in sight to the loss of lives from the relentless missile attacks. We pray that some common ground can be reached so that Israel and its neighbours can live in peace, and that Palestinians can have a land to call home.
We also pray for an end to the many other wars and conflicts in our world, including the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and the wars in various parts of Africa.
We pray for our own country of Australia. We pray with concern that the wars in other parts of the world are leading to increasing tensions and disharmony in Australia, including increasing anti-Semitism and also mistrust of Muslims. We pray that the wonderful history we have that all nationalities and religions can live together in Australia in peace and harmony will continue, even though it is being tested at the moment.
We pray for the many in our country of Australia who are doing it tough due to the increasing cost of living, and who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and to feed their families.
We pray for the many church organisations and other organisations, which provide relief and support for those in need.
We give thanks for the wonderful environment you have made for us, and we pray that we will look after it so that it is there for our children and grandchildren and for all future generations. We pray that we will all play our part in protecting the environment.
We pray for our families and friends, and for all in our communities. We pray for their health, their safety and their wellbeing.
We pray for our young people who are finding their own paths in life. We pray for their parents, their teachers, and for other mentors, who can guide them on their way, whilst encouraging them to be independent and resilient.
We pray for all in our church community, and give thanks for the warm fellowship and encouragement which we receive within Koonung Heights.
We remember wonderful caring people who have passed away, and who have made a rich contribution to our church community. In particular at this time we remember Tui Beggs, and think of Jim and of Jim and Tui’s children and their families.
We now join with Christians across the centuries and pray as our Lord 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: “This day God gives me” – (TiS 642)
This day God gives me
strength of high heaven,
sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth,
flashing of lightning, wind in its swiftness,
deeps of the ocean, firmness of earth.
This day God sends me
strength to sustain me,
might to uphold me, wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful,
your ears are listening,
your lips are speaking, friend at my side.
God’s way is my way, God’s shield is round me
God’s host defends me, saving from ill.
Angels of heaven, drive from me always
all that would harm me, stand by me still.
Rising, I thank you, mighty and strong One,
king of creation, giver of rest,
firmly confessing three-ness of persons,
one-ness of Godhead, trinity blest.
Blessing:
Go now to serve and bless others,
with mercy, grace and peace as your companions.
May the Father’s hand keep you from stumbling.
May the footprints of Jesus
give you confidence to follow,
and may the fire of the Spirit keep you warm and safe
in your walk with God this day.
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: Ministry Matters, WorkingPreacher.com, By the Well Podcast, and Fig Tree Worship Resources.