Koonung Heights Uniting Church Service of Worship at Home
Reign of Christ – 24 November 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: “Glory” – (TiS 718)
Glory to the King of kings; majesty, power and strength to the Lord of lords.
Holy one, all creation crowns you King of kings,
holy one, King of kings, Lord of lords, holy one!
Glory to the King of kings; majesty, power and strength to the Lord of lords.
Jesus, Lord, with eyes unveiled we will see your throne,
Jesus, Prince of Peace, Son of God, Immanuel!
Glory to the King of kings; majesty, power and strength to the Lord of lords.
Candle Lighting:
We light this candle
as a sign of God’s Spirit at work in the world.
We light this candle
as a sign of God’s kingdom that is yet to come.
May this light
brighten our spirits.
May the light of God,
shining through us,
brighten the world.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we gather for worship today,
I acknowledge the traditional custodians
of these unceded lands and waters,
the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin nation.
I pay my respects to 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.
Call to Worship:
We come, God of the journey:
people from different places, histories and cultures.
We come hoping to find companionship for the journey,
solidarity for the struggle.
We yearn, God of diversity,
for a new way of living and relating as neighbours not strangers,
as brothers and sisters, not ‘them and us’.
We yearn to live fully celebrating both the diversity of our human family,
and the unity of our call to peace, love and justice.
As we gather together in worship,
let us entrust ourselves and the world
to the Spirit of Love and to each other.
May we find peace and healing in the joy of music and words,
in the stillness of prayer, and in the Spirit’s enfolding love.
Opening Prayer:
We come this day, rejoicing,
in the presence of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.
At his birth
the angels proclaimed his name to be Emmanuel,
God with us.
Today in this place, in this time of worship,
may we truly feel the power and presence
of Jesus Christ in our lives.
May our hearts and spirits be warmed and challenged
to proclaim with our lives,
“Christ is Lord!”.
Amen.
We Sing: “Praise to the Lord” – (TiS 111)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation;
O my soul, praising, for God is your health and salvation.
Come all who hear, brothers and sisters draw near, praising in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who in all things is wondrously reigning
and, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining:
have you not seen, all that is needed has been sent by God’s gracious ordaining?
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praise and rejoicing.
Let the Amen sound from God’s people again: gladly for ever adoring.
Prayer of Adoration and Confession:
God who is alpha and omega,
the beginning and the end,
we come in awe and wonder
as we celebrate the reign of Jesus.
We give thanks that his reign
is unlike the reign of those
who use power and violence
to further their own kingdoms.
We give thanks that in Jesus
we see your grace and love,
your desire for reconciliation and peace.
We offer our praise
for Christ’s witness to the whole of creation,
that love will have its way,
that peace will have its way.
We look in longing that every eye may see,
even those, and especially those,
who use power in abusing and destructive ways.
When we fear that Christ’s reign is not enough against the powers of the world,
we pray you forgive us.
When we can no longer wait for the new heaven and a new earth
and instead take power into our own hands,
we pray you forgive us.
When we seek to mete out what we think of as justice
in ways that are beyond your love and invitation,
we pray you forgive us.
Draw us again to you.
Draw us to your love.
Draw us to your hope.
Draw us to your peace shown through Jesus.
Call us to be his hands and feet,
to be the change we long for,
for the sake of the world.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Even though we have often failed to walk in the way Jesus has called us to,
there is always welcome and forgiveness on offer,
a chance to follow again in the way of Jesus.
Be assured, dear friends, that the love of Christ will never leave you.
This is indeed good news … thanks be to God.
The Peace:
Before we can impact the world with God’s peace,
we must practice peace in our own corner of the world.
May the peace of the risen Christ dwell with you
and also with you.
A Time for All:
Today as you came into Church, you were given an orange ribbon. I guess most of you were wondering what this was in aid of – there are so many coloured ribbons signifying different causes that it is hard to know what is what.
Orange is in recognition of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This is a campaign launched by the United Nations in 2008 which strives to end violence against women and girls and each year runs from 25 November to 10 December which is Human Rights Day.
Here in Victoria, the 16 Days of Activism is preceded each year by a march through the city – this was on 22 November and you may have seen photos in the media.
Violence against women and girls is a universal disgrace, whether it be institutional as it is in some nations, or perpetrated by an individual. Here in Australia 1 in every 4 women will at some stage in their lives be affected by family violence.
Many people around the world are trying to address this problem and you can find out about international action from the United Nations Women UNITE website or here in Victoria Respect Victoria has lots of information including a toolkit of actions. And if you know anyone seeking assistance, they can contact Orange Door – an office of which is in Box Hill and other suburbs and country towns around Victoria.
As an aside to the 16 Days of Activism, elder abuse is also a form of family violence. This has its own awareness day in June and a purple ribbon signifies that cause.
Let us share in a prayer which comes from the UK based group Christian Aid. Let us pray …
God, we cry to you for justice for women and girls.
Help us to dig out the roots of gender-based violence and discrimination.
Inspire us to break down the structures that silence and disempower women,
and make us united in condemning abuse, in all its forms.
God, we cry to you for refuge for the survivors of violence.
May those in power recognise their responsibilities to support survivors.
Show us how to amplify the voices of all speaking up for change,
and give us the courage to act against inequality.
God, we cry to you for change, for transformation.
Send us the strength to persist in activism when we face barriers.
Fill us with determination as we seek to renew our world.
May we see a day when every one will be free to flourish and know life in all its fullness.
Amen.
We Sing: “O Lord hear my prayer” – (TiS 741)
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer: when I call answer me.
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer. Come and listen to me.
Bible Reading: Revelation 1:4-8
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Bible Reading: John 18:33-37
33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Reflection:
Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the week before Advent, the week that is known as Reign of Christ or Christ the King Sunday. This liturgical week only appeared in the church calendar in 1925, when Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King to remind Christians that their allegiance was to their spiritual ruler in heaven. This was in opposition to the earthly supremacy claimed by Benito Mussolini. One hundred years later, Christians still celebrate this day, reaffirming that Christ is sovereign over all creation. The day calls us to return to the gospel, to think about Christ, other leaders and the empires that they build.
The word ‘king’ has many connotations. As Australian’s, whether we are monarchists or not, we have a king. As in the case of King Charles III, kings are often hereditary rulers. In biblical terms, a king is a man appointed by God. Yet, there is always a political connection to the word which has something to do with rule and power. Yet, Jesus comes with a different message. Jesus as ‘king’ seeks out the least in society, the outcasts, the women, the poor and the ill. Jesus eats with prostitutes, and calls fishermen and tax collectors to be part of his inner circle, not the learned or powerful. He invites those outside the Jewish faith to receive God’s blessing and he models what he calls his disciples to; a life of service to God and others.
Both readings for this week give us an insight into how we might understand Christ as King, and what this reality might mean. In Revelation, we see Jesus is an enthroned deity, the God-one who is both crucified and ruler, the one who has been persecuted and vulnerable and yet is the Almighty ruler of all. In holding these seemingly opposing realities together, Jesus is named not simply as a king, but the eternal king who both loves and liberates the people for all time. This is particularly relevant for those that John, the writer of Revelation, addresses.
When John writes these words, he is writing to churches he has an intimate knowledge of, churches that are all living in a particular time and place, probably under the rule of Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) who was known chiefly for his reign of terror. The churches John writes to are made up of a persecuted minority: people indigenous to the area, a mix of Jewish and Gentile, all following the testimony of Jesus and living under Roman occupation. They are on the margins of the empire, poor (as subjects of imperial occupation generally are), and religiously persecuted by Rome. These people are vulnerable and struggling, and John’s words are designed to remind them that there is a bigger picture. To those suffering at the hands of the powerful, John’s vision of Jesus is meant to unmask what is really going on so that the people can see things in context, understand the larger picture, and continue to sustain and resist the Roman Empire.
In the Gospel passage from John, we witness an interaction between Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine, and the prisoner, Jesus. It is just hours before Jesus is to be crucified. Jesus has been brought before Pilate, and Pilate’s primary concern seems to be whether the Rabbi Jesus has been calling himself a king. As the figurehead of the Roman Empire, Pilate holds all the power, but even as he questions Jesus, we see that he is wrestling with who Jesus is. In the midst of the expectations that others are placing on him, Jesus gives Pilate the space to question and shows him a different way.
I can’t help but wonder if Jesus is ministering to Pilate in this encounter. Jesus makes visible what is invisible, the holy truth about the heavenly kingdom. In doing so, Pilate is invited to think seriously about this kingdom and even to receive it. This is a huge thing, particularly in the context of what is going on for Jesus. While he hasn’t met Pilate before, no doubt he would have heard about him. As Governor, Pilate would have had a reputation for being arrogant, and a bully. As well as that, the fact he was the Roman Governor would have represented so much more. Rome had brutally conquered Palestine about 70 years before and many Jews were put to death. Jesus would have grown up with that legacy.
The most urgent question of the Jewish community was how they should respond to Rome. Rome was the enemy, and yet the Jews needed to continue with their lives while living as an overthrown people. It is fair to imagine that most often their responses would have come from a place of fear and hatred, yet Jesus practised something different.
In Jesus dealings he practised sincerity instead of deception, trust instead of fear, and love instead of hatred – even love of enemy. We see this when Jesus heals the Centurions servant, showing the liberation he offers is open to all. Christ’s willingness to do this is outrageous and offensive to many of his peers, and quite frankly, is the sort of thing that sets some of his own against him. Oppressed people do not dream of their oppressors being set free too, but Jesus proclaimed that God’s kingdom was open to all.
So, as people of faith, how might we do what Jesus did? How might we speak truth to power and resist against the empires of the world?
Firstly, I think we need to be clear about what truth is. In this day and age, with ‘fake news’ and artificial intelligence, the call for truth is meaningful. Truth is dependable, it can be relied upon and is not fleeting, calculated, harmful or deceiving. It is not temporary but permanent and relational. Jesus is the truth the world needs.
Secondly, I wonder if the work of speaking truth to power begins when we take time to sit with others, and make room for them to see things differently. If we imagine that we travel a spiral pathway through life, then it is easy to see that we will come back time and again to questions that are not new, but are asked and answered differently. Paradigm shifts are possible, minds can be changed in significant ways, and God navigates those shifts with us and walks the path of life with us. We can walk with others and invite them into new ways of seeing.
We think of the encounter between Jesus and Pilate as part of Jesus’ trial, yet it is also the trial of Pilate. Will he be able to see something new? Will he act differently because of this encounter? We don’t know the answer to that, but in responding to Pilate as he does, Jesus opens the door for Pilate. When we respond to people out of fear, rather than love, we can close the door that God wants us to leave open.
Pilate’s story of this moment is just one part of his story. We are inclined, like Pilate in this moment, to turn away from God, but God never turns away from us. We see it in Jesus’ encounter with Pilate. Even in that moment of darkness, Jesus acts out of sincerity, trust and love, shining the Christ light that even all the powers in the empire cannot snuff out.
Amen.
We Sing: “Glory be to God the Father” – (TiS 142)
Glory be to God the Father,
glory be to God the Son,
glory be to God the Spirit,
God almighty, Three in One!
Glory, glory, glory, glory
while eternal ages run.
Glory to the king of angels, glory to the church’s king,
glory to the king of nations, heaven and earth, your praises bring;
glory, glory, glory, glory to the King of Glory bring.
‘Glory, blessing, praise eternal!’ thus the choir of angels sings;
‘Honour, riches, power, dominion!’ thus is praise creation brings;
glory, glory, glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Prayer for Others (prepared by Rhonwen Pierce):
I am using paragraphs from a prayer by Bruce Prewer.
Let us pray,
Most loving God in whom we live and move and have our being. Please give us new awareness of your presence. May we use this awareness to reach out in prayer and action to be your face for everyone we meet.
Touch our minds that we know you in scripture and use this knowledge to further your influence in the world. By writing to politicians and policy makers we try to apply your work in the world. You gave us Jesus to show us how to love and serve our neighbours. We have not done a good job at times and often forget it was you who created us and this world. Touch our ears to hear the music of nature.
Give us eyes to see you in all those we know who are unwell and unable to worship with us. May we care as you care. We pray for all volunteers as we approach Christmas and the load of care grows constantly. We lift up to you the people who serve here on council, presbytery and synod and particularly Rev Heather and her family. May we do as much as we can to ease the burden of all volunteers.
Touch our hearts that we may love you with a love that sweeps through us like a great tide. Filling us with your spirit to live for you wholly.
Living loving Spirit of God touch us with the spirit of love joy and praise.
Let us join in the Lord’s Prayer written by W. Wallace.
Most compassionate Life -giver, may we honour and praise you:
May we work with you to establish your new order of justice, peace and love.
Give us what we need for growth,
and help us through forgiving others, to accept forgiveness.
Strengthen us in the time of testing, that we may resist all evil.
For all the tenderness, strength and love are yours, now and forever.
Amen.
We Sing: “At the name of Jesus” – (TiS 231)
At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
every tongue confess him King of Glory now:
this the Father’s pleasure that we call him Lord,
who from the beginning was the mighty Word.
Humbled for a season to receive a name
from the lips of sinners unto whom he came,
faithfully he bore it spotless to the last,
brought it back victorious when from death he passed.
In your hearts enthrone him, there let him make new
all that is not holy, all that is not true.
He is God the Saviour, he is Christ the Lord,
ever to be worshipped, trusted and adored.
When this same Lord Jesus shall appear again
in his Father’s glory, there with God to reign,
then may we adore him, all before him bow,
as our hearts confess him King of Glory now.
Blessing:
Go out into the world
proclaiming God’s Kingdom.
Go to bless and be blessed:
as peacemakers,
as people of justice,
hopeful and loving in the ways of Christ.
And may the blessing of God,
Alpha and Omega, be with you now and always:
the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
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, By The Well Podcast, WorkingPreacher.com, A Sermon for every Sunday and Fig Tree Worship.