Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Pentecost – 28 May 2023 – 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: “Veni Creator” – (Click on this link and skip the ads – TIS words below)
Veni Creator, veni Creator, veni Creator Spiritus.
(‘Come, Creator Spirit’)
Candle Lighting:
When the day of Pentecost came,
they were all together in one place.
There was a sound like wind
and what seemed to be tongues of fire.
Today, as we gather in this place,
and light the Christ candle,
may your Spirit be poured out on us once again.
May we look to the Christ,
and his example,
as we continue to walk
following his footsteps.
Acknowledgement of Country:
Click on the link below to hear an Acknowledgement of Country by Bianca Manning, Gomeroi woman and Common Grace Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Justice Coordinator. (Video by Common Grace)
Call to Worship:
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Pour out your Spirit upon us.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Speak to our hearts, minds and souls.
Come, Holy Spirit, come
that we may be changed, enlivened and renewed.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Bless us, and make us people who are a blessing to others.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Renew your whole creation.
We Sing: “Praise the Spirit in creation” – (Click on this link and skip the ads)
Prayer of Adoration and Confession:
Parent, Child and Spirit,
today we mark a day
of wind and fire upon the Earth;
a day where vast numbers
came to know you and follow you;
a day where the coming of your Holy Spirit
was celebrated.
As we come together this day
to remember the events of Pentecost,
we reflect upon where we are
as individuals and as a congregation.
If we feel that church has lost her oomph
and we are simply going through the motions,
forgive us and reinvigorate us, we pray.
If we feel that we have nothing left to give
and that the church is simply something
that we want to last as long as we do,
forgive us and reinvigorate us, we pray.
If we feel that your spirit has left this place,
forgive us and reinvigorate us, we pray.
This, and every day,
is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
This, and every day,
is the day when the Spirit came.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Forgiven, loved and free,
may we worship this day
filled with your spirit:
a spirit of hope
a spirit of peace
a spirit of joy
a spirit of love.
We pray these things
in the name of the Three in One
One in Three.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Friends, God has promised that if we confess our sins,
we will be granted forgiveness,
and be refreshed and renewed with the Holy Spirit.
This is good news … thanks be to God.
The Peace:
When Jesus left his disciples,
he did not leave them alone.
He promised that the Holy Spirit
would be present in their lives,
and he gave them an amazing gift:
his peace, the peace of Christ.
Through the Spirit, this gift lives still,
and it is ours to share with others.
So let us share this greeting …
the peace of Christ be with you
and also with you.
A Time for All:
As well as being the day when we celebrate Pentecost, in the Uniting Church today is also Reconciliation Day. After the service we will have the opportunity to join together over lunch and talk about the Voice. We will be able to respectfully share our thoughts and ideas, and I thought it might be good for us to hear from a First Nation’s woman too. Of course, our First Nation’s brothers and sisters, like us, have different stories to tell.
Aunty Dr Doseena Fergie is a proud Wuthathi and Mabuiag Islander woman and Aboriginal Christian Leader. As a midwife, missionary, activist, manager, and university lecturer, Aunty Doseena has been a change-agent, catalyst and inspiration for many people, Indigenous and non-indigenous alike. This has only been enhanced in recent years through the completion of Ph.D. studies (ACU); through her induction into the Victorian Women’s Roll of Honour; and as a recipient of a prestigious Churchill Fellowship in 2017.
Please click on the link below to hear from Aunty Doseena. (This video from Common Grace)
Let us pray:
God of Holy Dreaming, Great Creator Spirit,
from the dawn of creation you have given your children
the good things of Mother Earth.
You spoke and the gum tree grew.
In the vast desert and dense forest,
and in cities at the water’s edge,
Creation sings your praise.
Your presence endures as the rock at the heart of our Land.
When Jesus hung on the tree
you heard the cries of all your people
and became One with your wounded ones:
the convicts, the hunted, the disposed.
The sunrise of your Son coloured the earth anew,
and bathed it in glorious hope.
In Jesus we have been reconciled to you,
to each other and to your whole creation.
Lead us on, Great Spirit,
as we gather from the four corners of the earth;
enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt and shame of the past
into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
(Aunty Rev’d Lenore Parker – used with permission)
We Sing: “Where wide sky rolls down” – (Click on this link and skip the ads – TIS words below)
Bible Reading: Joel 2:23-32
23 O children of Zion, be glad,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army that I sent against you.
26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
28 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female slaves,
in those days I will pour out my spirit.
30 I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
Bible Reading: Acts 2:1-18 (adapted)
– The Coming of the Holy Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Woi Wurrung, Boonwurrung, Wathawurung, Yorta, Warlpiri, Kaytetye, Luritja, Arrernte, 10 Pintupi, Pitjantjatjara, Tiwi, Larrakia, Noongar, Dharug or Gadigal, 11 and many, many other languages – in our own languages, we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
Reflection:
The day of Pentecost is a day of hope. It is a day of fervent intervening and transformative energy. Juxtaposed to the narrative of disaster (natural, planned or perceived), Pentecost energy is positively transforming. It speaks to the dreams of all those who seek a positive change in personal or communal circumstances, and for this reason alone, the ‘day’ and ‘season’ of Pentecost are important for us to acknowledge and celebrate. Pentecost brings a word of hope to a world where we can so easily, and surprisingly often, feel entrenched in the misery of illness, poverty, terror, war, injustice and discrimination. Pentecost is a day of hope because it is where we see God coming into proximity with the world that God has made, and this makes all the difference. The fact that God wants to be intimate with Creation, should make a difference in how we respond to Creation as well.
Both of today’s readings reveal God’s connection with each of us, and that is something worth thinking about. There is no human agency, but it is all about God’s engagement with Creation. Of course the Holy Spirit is not new, but this outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost is an intensified experience which fulfils earlier promises. This positive action of God also comes out of present circumstances and not out of something like a fairy-tale, where the outcome feels like an unattainable pipe dream for those experiencing reality. God’s action is also both experienced and delivered by people like us. Ordinary people, yes, yet extraordinary through the indwelling of the Spirit. People who are not chosen based on status, wealth, age or gender.
Joel calls the people to rejoice and be glad. The prophet references experienced destructions which have been endured by the people, but also gives signs of the rebuilding of physical and non-physical hopes. Listeners are invited to take these signs as the indicators of what God is capable of doing, and what God will make possible in the times to come. God can be trusted to uphold their part of the agreement, but the people need to make this count too, by upholding their own responsibilities to live faithfully.
Joel’s vision for the establishment of a new future through a living, working message, is envisioned as something that will come to both male and female, and young and old. I think it can be fair to say that sometimes the Biblical text can be somewhat lacking in inclusivity and equality, especially when we hear about those who God will choose to bring about God’s purposes. We can explain this away by saying that it is because of the culture the texts were written in, or who they were written for. Yet, we can still fall into the trap of thinking that it is all about ‘me and my group’. It’s impossible not to notice that, in this text, women and men are explicitly mentioned as being recipients of God’s Spirit and are both called to action. Both free and slaves are also included. I wonder, if we trust the Spirit’s voice, whether we might also hear that people of all races, nationalities and people groups are included in God’s generosity.
Moving onto the familiar reading of the New Testament story of Pentecost, we find that it builds on the foundations of Joel’s words. The continuity of the God who gives birth to creation, is birthing something new. The touch of the Spirit is transforming: it gives life to the transformation of the world through new words and new actions. It is highlighting what God makes possible in rebirth for God’s people, time and time again, as the story of humanity progresses. The Spirit in Acts is directed once again to all people. Not reserved for a select view, or a select people group, the Spirit comes to all and works in all.
As I was reading this passage through the lens of Reconciliation Sunday and thinking about our First Nation’s people, I found myself looking at the text differently. Maybe the Spirit was opening new discoveries to me, but I felt I was seeing, for the first time, parallels to the lived experience of First Peoples as I was reading.
The imagery of fire is one of those used to describe the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples. Fire is a prominent symbol for many First People. It is a necessity for hunting, cooking and keeping warm. It is also spiritually significant with traditions such as storytelling, dance and art being passed down around the campfire. In smoking ceremonies native plants are burnt, and the smoke then cleanses the land and defends against evil spirits. Fire is also a sign of new life, and in relatively recent times we have come to understand the benefits of cultural burning and how it prepares the land for increased fruitfulness. In the Acts reading fire is also a symbol of new life – the new life of the Holy Spirit coming to Earth and being poured out for all. The Holy Spirit is vital to our lives as Christians. Just as fire has contributed to the nourishment of people over many years, so the Holy Spirit nourishes us as Christians.
The Holy Spirit also allows people to speak in a variety of languages. There is intimacy and knowledge through the understanding of language, and the capacity to hear and understand the gift being offered. How special it is to sit and listen to a First Nation’s person share about their country in their own language. When I have been lucky enough to do this, I have always found it a deeply spiritual experience.
When settlers arrived in this country, there were approximately 250 First Nations languages in Australia with an estimated 800 dialects[1], yet now there are only 13 First Nations languages being passed onto younger generations. This is a huge cultural loss, with the tradition and knowledge of thousands of years destroyed because policies of colonisation insisted that First Peoples used the language of the dominant culture to the exclusion of all other languages. In the same way that First People suffered abuse and punishment for speaking their own language, we see the disciples being accused of drunkenness and being rebuked for using their own languages. It is Peter who stands up for the disciples, insisting that they are speaking God’s words. I wonder what sacred words have been lost to us because our ears were closed to the message of God because it wasn’t in ‘our’ language. Recently, as First Nations people are reclaiming language, we are learning a little ourselves. Placenames like Uluru and Naarm, as well as words like Takila (which means heart in the language of the Palawa people from South-East Tasmania) are some that come to mind.
I wonder if there are not also connections to Aboriginal Spirituality in the words ‘your old men shall dream dreams’ (Acts 2:17) First Peoples place great importance on Dreaming. We hear about Dreaming but it is a concept that I don’t think that we settlers really understand. I believe that it is what is passed down from elders, and provides a worldview for creation, existence, law and spirituality.
So what might all this mean? What is the Holy Spirit trying to say to us? I can’t answer that question for you … but I can share with you what I believe I am being called to. On a personal level, I believe the Holy Spirit has opened for me anew, the reality that the First Nations people understood God as Creator and Spirit. This is a timely reminder that faith can be located in all parts of the world and is never just about ‘me and my group’.
As a follower of Jesus, I believe I am called to seriously consider how Jesus would respond to the tough questions of our time. Throughout his life Jesus was invitational, inclusive and an advocate for justice, and this should be the posture I inhabit.
Finally I think that I need to be open to how the Spirit is moving in many people. There is a groundswell of people who, like me, are supportive of a Voice to Parliament, yet not all are people of faith. Is this the work of the Holy Spirit on a scale we don’t see simply because these people at some level are not like us?
Let us continue to be open to the Spirit’s leading, and let us be brave enough to go where we are led.
Amen.
We Sing: “Great God, your Spirit” – (Click on this link and skip the ads for the tune – TIS words below)
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, in your compassion, give your Spirit like the gentle rain,
Creating fertile ground from which your peace and justice spring like rain;
Until your love is satisfied, with all creation freed from pain,
And all your children live to praise your will fulfilled, your presence plain.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Margaret Lord)
Let us pray:
On this Pentecost Sunday we think of Joel’s poetic words as he envisioned the Spirit of God pouring out and infusing human life:
“I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, And your young men shall see visions”.
We pray that, like Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost, we might open ourselves to the power of that spirit, and be shaken out of our ordinary lives, see visions of a better world and lift our voices and our actions to do our bit towards making that vision a reality.
As his disciples today, we too want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
We pray that we might recognise what that looks like in each situation where we find ourselves. That we might know when it means washing the feet of others; when it means turning over tables; when it means going to a party at the house of an outsider; when it means breaking down the barriers that divide people from each other in the homes where we live, the places we work, the communities where we worship.
We grieve that the world is so divided and that injustice prevails in so many ways and places.
Yet it is we, the people of this world, who build the barriers – barriers of race, religion, social class, politics.
We retreat into ghettos of the likeminded and define ourselves as over against “the other”.
We pray that each of one of us finds the strength and resolve to break down walls starting with those within our own lives. Walls which hold us back from reaching out to others and prevent us from seeing the best in other people.
Even in the land of the “fair go”, life is far from fair. Our place in the scheme of things is in many ways a lottery. We pray that those of us who are comfortably placed, never forget the luck of our circumstances, and work, however we can, to push for greater equality and justice.
We think of all people who are living in trouble and fear today under the scourge of injustice of one sort or another. Some we know personally, most we don’t:
• Those who live in the unimaginable terror and disruption of war zones, like Sudan and Ukraine.
• Those who live with huge loss in the aftermath of earthquakes, floods and other disasters.
• Indigenous Australians waiting on the verdict of the coming referendum.
• Refugees with no place to belong and rebuild.
• Those experiencing domestic or street violence and its aftermath.
• Those who are struggling with the daily grind of making ends meet.
• Those worn down by the unfair hand they have been dealt in life, in whatever way.
We pray that the voices of all such people be clearly heard and then responded to.
On this Pentecost Day, may each of us gathered here at Koonung Heights be open to channel that energising Pentecost Spirit, so that we can join others across the world in being effective agents responding to need.
Amen.
Let us join together in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:
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 your 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: “Filled with the Spirit’s power” – (Click on this link and skip the ads)
Blessing:
God’s Holy Spirit calls us
to be people of justice, peace and love.
May we seek to be faithful to our calling.
God’s Holy Spirit calls us to prayer.
May we be people who seek God’s guidance.
God’s Holy Spirit calls us to ministry.
May we be a blessing to the world.
God’s Holy Spirit calls us out into the world.
Let us go, knowing that God’s Holy Spirit will empower and sustain us.
Go, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
the One who Mother’s us all,
knowing that these remain with us,
today, tomorrow and till the end of time.
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 46), The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching The Women Of The Bible Throughout The Year (Ashley M Wilcox), Ministry Matters, Reconciliation Sunday Worship Resources (SA) and Fig Tree Worship.
[1] Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies