Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Service of Worship at Home
Pentecost 19 – 8 October 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: “Bless the Lord, my soul” (TiS 706 – words below)
Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
Candle Lighting:
The season of Spring deepens,
the air begins to warm,
the light is changing,
and blossoms speak of life and promise.
As time continues to move forward,
Christ’s presence is constant,
and the candle is lit to remind us.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we gather to worship this morning,
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and these waters
the Wurundjeri WoiWurrung People of the Kulin Nation.
I pay my respects to their 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:
Whenever we worship
let us worship together.
Whenever we gather
let us gather in God’s name.
Whenever we pray
let us pray for each other.
And whenever we meet
let us meet as Christ’s body,
Christ’s people,
Christ’s loving community.
Come, let us worship God.
We Sing: “Now thank we all our God” – (TiS 106 – words below)
Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done, in whom the world rejoices;
who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us.
Lord, keep us in your grace, and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all harm, in this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God who reigns in highest heaven,
to Father and to Son and Spirit now be given:
the one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore,
who ever was, is now, and shall be evermore.
Prayer of Adoration and Confession:
Holy One,
we gather here in this place
united by our love for you and for each other.
Together we are part
of your worldwide church,
the body of Christ.
We come to sing your praises,
to hear your word to us,
to share our joys and sorrows,
to offer ourselves to you,
and to seek your face.
We are drawn together by your son, Jesus,
the one who revealed your great love for us
and invites us into a relationship with you.
We come with faith,
but also with doubts and questions.
We confess that too often
we fail to love you as we should
and we fail to listen to your spirit guiding us.
We are sorry for the times
we have spoken or acted in ways that were not loving.
Forgive us, we pray
and help us to receive your forgiveness
and keep moving onwards.
Renew our commitment to you
and help us to go forward.
When we don’t know the way,
help us to trust that you will lead us.
So be it.
Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Hear these words of hope!
Though we fear when the way ahead is unknown,
the brilliant light of Christ’s love and presence will aways guide and comfort us.
This is the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Peace:
Jesus said: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’.
May the peace of Christ dwell with you
… and also with you.
Time for All:
Sometimes it’s hard to believe in good news. Things might be unknown, new or a little bit scary and so because we feel unsure, we begin to worry about the future rather than be excited about the possibilities. Let me share a story with you that reminds us of this important truth. It’s called When Does God Sleep? and it’s written and illustrated by Phillip W Rodgers.
One early morning when the woodlands were cool, young Bailey the Bear was all ready for school.
His fur was twice-combed from his toes to his chin, but he sported a frown instead of a grin.
“What’s worrying my bear cub?” his mum gently said as the gave him a kiss on the top of his head.
Bailey said, “I was wondering before I go, if you know when God sleeps? I thought you might know.”
“On a day like today, what would happen instead if God didn’t get up, but just stayed in his bed? Why God might miss something”, young Bailey explained. “I might slip off the slide, and my paw could get sprained! A fun day at school could get bad in a minute if God had a bed and was still sleeping in it. If I fell off a swing, I might skin my bear knees! Or even fall into a nest of mad bees! If God snores like Dad or he talks in his sleep, I don’t think he’ll hear me. Not even a peep.
Bailey’s mum was a wise bear and always prepared to say the right thing to a cub that was scared. “God’s not like a bear cub all snuggled in bed with the covers pulled up to the top of his head. God always takes care of the world that he made. He doesn’t get tired like a cub that has played. When you are in trouble, God doesn’t delay. He’ll comfort and calm you whenever you pray.”
Bailey’s mum goes on to tell him about God being with the people as they left Egypt, parting the sea for them so they could cross and about God being with Daniel in the lion’s den.
“God really does see me!” Bailey said with delight. “He’ll watch me all day and be with me all night. Then the big yellow bus roared up to the stop; Bailey bounced up the steps with a skip and a hop. Bailey walked down the aisle and sat in the rear. Then he prayed, “Thank you God. I know you are near!”
Let us pray:
Loving God,
Help us remember that no matter where we are or what the future holds, you are always near us.
Amen.
We Sing: “God, who made the earth” – (TiS 146 – amended words below)
God, who make the earth, the air, the sky, the sea,
who gave the light its birth, God cares for me.
God, who made the grass, the flower, the fruit, the tree,
the day and night to pass, will care for me.
God, who made the sun, the moon, the stars, I see
you never sleep and you care for me.
Bible Reading: Ruth 1:1-22 – a retelling
Long ago in the days before Israel had a king, three women set out on a long journey.
Day 1:
Ruth: It was hard to say goodbye to my family, not knowing if I’d ever see them again. My mother cried and my father held me for a long time and I felt his sadness. I know so little about the land to which I’m travelling. It was hard to walk away from all that is familiar to me, all that has been my home. I’m glad that Orpah, my sister-in-law, is coming with us, because we share the same memories, the same gods, the same stories. We can help each other along.
Day 2:
Naomi: To be going home was all I ever dreamed of. Ten years in Moab felt like a lifetime. I only went there because Elimelech decided that living and working in a foreign land was better than starving in our own village. But Elimelech is dead and both of my sons, Mahlon and Chillion, died in Moab. I am nothing now; a widow without sons has no identity, no protection. My God has deserted me and left me bitter and alone. There was nothing to keep me in Moab, and they say that the harvest will be good this year in Bethlehem. I still have relatives there and I hope they’ll help me. My daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, have decided to come with me and I’m going home.
Day three:
Ruth: Orpah went back to Moab today, back to her home and family. Naomi told us that it made more sense for us to re-marry and raise a family in our own community. It was a hard parting. Orpah loved Naomi. We were all in tears. I can’t explain why, but I’ve decided to stay with Naomi. I held on to her and told her that I was going with her. I left no room for argument. We are travelling on.
Day five:
Naomi: Why won’t Ruth go home? I gave her my blessing. I tried to set her free of any obligation that she feels towards me.
I even told her that God has turned against me by taking my husband and sons away from me. But she won’t listen. She insists she’s coming with me and that nothing I can say will make her change her mind.
Day eight:
Ruth: I wonder what Naomi’s village is like. Will her neighbours remember her? What will her relatives say when they find out about Elimelech and Mahlon and Chillion? What kind of reception will we get? Will they welcome Naomi, or will they resent her for leaving the village when they were all struggling for survival, for getting out with her husband and sons and leaving the weakest behind? And what will they make of me, with my foreign ways and accent? Will they blame me for what has happened? I’m not someone who was chosen by the God who they believe looks after them, and Naomi thinks that her God is punishing her. Will he punish me too? I’ve said her God will be my God, but I don’t know what he’s like, this God of hers, or what he demands.
Day nine:
Naomi: Ruth is still with me. Although her presence is a continual reminder of what I’ve lost, I’m not sorry. It’s good to have a daughter-in-law who loves me like a daughter, like a friend. I’m trying to tell her about my village, my people, about our faith and traditions. But it’s so strange to her. And how can I tell her that our God is generous and faithful, when all I feel is bitterness towards him because he has taken from me all that I lived for and love?
Day twelve:
Ruth: Naomi says we’re getting near to Bethlehem. Part of me is excited and part of me is scared. This journey has given me time to think, time to ask questions. I don’t feel like the person that I was when we left Moab. I’ve had to leave behind the things that I don’t need any more, to let them go. And I’ve discovered some of the things that I want for myself, what I hope for, what I dream about, what I need. I can’t forget Chillion, or Moab, or my family. I don’t want to, they’re still part of me, part of the story of who I am. And I know better who I am now. I am Ruth. I am a widow. I am strong. I am able to take risks and to make changes. I am travelling with a new God. Naomi says he looks after his people, fights for them, shelters them, feeds them. He sounds a bit more like a she to me. I’ll tell Naomi that one day. I wish I could share some of this with Naomi. She’s so sad at the moment. I want her to know how much I love her, that I want to stay close to her, that I want us to share whatever happens to us from now on.
Day fifteen:
Naomi: Home is a good place to be and today was both sad and wonderful: wonderful to see my friends and neighbours and catch up on ten years of news and gossip; sad to tell my story, to come home without my husband and sons.
It’s hard, and yet it feels somehow safe to be back with people who still believe that God loves them and cares for them. Maybe here I can learn to live with my sadness and pain.
This is my home and Ruth is the stranger here, but it’s strange for me too. This place is both an ending and a new beginning for me, for both of us. Maybe out of our struggle and suffering something new will be born.
And so, Naomi returned from Moab, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, came with her. And as they came to Bethlehem, the barley was ripening and it was harvest time.
Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 3:1-7 –
Godlessness in the Last Days
1 You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unfeeling, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! 6 For among them are those who make their way into households and captivate immature women, 7 who are always studying yet never able to recognize truth.
Reflection:
Have you heard of the Serenity Prayer. I’m sure you have, but to refresh your memory it goes like this …
God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.
I’ve always liked this short prayer. It recognises that it’s hard to change some things, but acknowledges that with courage we can do more than we might imagine. It also reminds us to consider our actions and move with wisdom as our guide. God is petitioned with the request to serenity and I wonder if this peace is what might come to us when we know that we have acted with courage and wisdom?
Today we return to the Women’s Lectionary … the lectionary that deals with parts of the biblical text that we often don’t encounter. The readings that make up this lectionary include the stories of women as well as feminine images of God. It can take courage to study these texts which are sometimes difficult to hear and harsh to our ears. And, as with all passages of scripture, we need wisdom to discern what they have to offer us. Yet if we claim the Bible as our sacred text, then we cannot ignore them.
The themes of courage and wisdom also resonate through the readings we have heard today even though we might have to dig a little deep to find them. We see courage as Naomi and Ruth confront their future, and decide to set out on a journey that is a return to home for Naomi, but an adventure to a new place for Ruth. Naomi suggests what might be a wise path for Ruth, but Ruth finds peace after she chooses to continue with Naomi into an unknown future. In this section of his letter to Timothy, Paul warns Timothy that things are going to be hard in the last days and that he will not only need courage but will need to make wise decisions, which it seems, not everyone is capable of.
The passage which begins to tell the story of Naomi and Ruth is well known to us, in fact we have looked at it once already this year. We are introduced to Naomi who appears very much like a female Job – she has lost nearly everything. She has left her home due to a famine and, once settled in a new country, her husband and sons die, leaving her without social status and support. Naomi differs from Job because she has a daughter-in-law Ruth who commits to her. Even though Naomi urges Ruth to return to mother’s house, she decides to stay, while Orpah follows Naomi’s counsel. Knowing how the story ends, it is easy to say that Ruth showed wisdom in making her decision to travel to Bethlehem with Naomi, but it doesn’t seem like Naomi initially thought so. While both women show courage as they travel to Bethlehem, Ruth’s journey to a new homeland, a new people and a new God is more courageous than many of us could imagine. Maybe if we really listened to the stories of our refugee neighbours who seek life in a new country because of war, famine or oppression we might have some idea.
When Paul writes the letter to Timothy he is an older man nearing death. Timothy is young and Paul cares about him, so warns him about the ‘last days’ and the distressing times that will come. Yet for Paul this is not a prediction of the future (like it is sometimes understood) but rather what he believed would be fulfilled in the churches of his day. For early Christians, Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost were seen to be the beginning of the end times, which would culminate in the ‘last day’ of resurrection and judgement. Being particularly aware of false teachers, Paul suggests that they are behaving in the same way people will act in the last days, his point being that their teachings are corrupt and will lead to social disorder. Timothy, who is a teacher of truth, is urged in no uncertain terms to avoid them!
The culmination of this list of unacceptable behaviours is that false teachers worm their way into households and ‘captivate immature women’. As a 21st century female reader this text sounds belittling, but Paul is simply naming the cultural stereotype of the time which considered women as easy manipulated, flighty and not rational like men. Women were more vulnerable because they did not have access to education, and many would have been hungry for knowledge. The sad reality is that those who have less education are often more vulnerable and, by default, are more likely to be taken in by falsehoods and by those who want to manipulate them.
Many of the things Paul calls out we can see in pockets of our society today. People are often lovers of themselves – working primarily for their own advantage. Sometimes big business loves money so much that profits come before people. We behave arrogantly towards those who hold less power than we do, and some even use their position of power to abuse those who are marginalised. Too often we see people who have lost out because others have taken advantage.
‘Why do bad things happen?’ ‘Why is life so difficult?’ These are questions that we often ask and in many ways there is no satisfactory answer. We don’t always know why things happen, and we should stop pretending that bad things are rare or non-existent. It takes courage to do this, but do it we must. If we are to live with integrity, we have a duty to recognise the reality of human existence in all its joy and its pain. We also have a duty to live and speak the truth, to not lead people astray or manipulate. We need to be on the alert so that we are not led down false paths ourselves. When we see something that is wrong we need to have the courage to speak out, the courage to try and change things if we can. But we also need to be wise enough to ask what people need, rather than assuming that we know what is best for them.
The story of Ruth and the passage from 2 Timothy remind us that life is not as straightforward as we might like. Life is not just one event, but a journey with highs and lows, and moments of vulnerability and challenge. In order to be a community, a family of God, we need to recognise, affirm and accept this for ourselves and one another, walking the journey together. May God give us the serenity, courage and wisdom for all that lies ahead.
Amen.
We Sing: “God of grace and God of glory” – (TiS 611 – words below)
God of grace and God of glory, on your people pour your power;
now fulfil your Church’s story, bring the bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour.
See the hosts of evil round us scorn your Christ, assail his ways.
Fears and doubts too long have bound us; free our hearts to work and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days.
Cure your children’s warring madness; bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.
Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, serving you whom we adore.
Prayer for Others (prepared by Liz Pace):
God of all creation, past, present and future,
we come before you this morning.
Hear our prayers.
We thank you for the lives of all who have gone before us, who have lived in your care and have shown us your way of living with love, hope and faith. Let us take a moment to recall all those who have used your love to encourage us to step forward boldly and have faithfully lived lives of grace and love
(moment of silence)
We acknowledge that at times we are overwhelmed by all the seemingly uncaring communities around us who seek power through force, not understanding that all people are your family.
At times we are overwhelmed by constantly hearing all the cruel things this world endures. We know that good news is rarely reported and it is hard to keep a sense of balance. Give us the courage to seek out and publish the good news. Bless those who use their lives to help those in need. Help us to do what we can however small and insignificant it may seem.
Open our eyes to our own arrogance in believing we know how people should live. Give us courage to allow your Holy Spirit to work within us so that we can encourage others, using the wisdom you have given us.
We pray for those who feel they must use fear to get their own way. Give us the confidence to show, by the way we live and reason, that love is stronger than fear.
Bless our governments that they may continue to seek the best ways of sharing our wealth, caring for all levels of society not just the noisiest or popular. Give them wisdom to make wise decisions.
We bring before you now, in silent prayer, our own personal prayers for those people and situations that concern us today
(time of silence)
Hear our prayers through Jesus Christ, who never succumbed to fear, but lived only through love.
Let us now join in the prayer that he 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: “Brother, sister, let me serve you” – (TiS 650 –words below)
Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping; when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow till we’ve seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together of Christ’s love and agony.
Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
Blessing:
Go now and walk wherever God sends you.
Let Jesus walk beside you
and the Spirit guide your path.
Take the love of God with you
and share it with everyone you meet.
And may God bless you on your journey
into all that the future holds.
this day 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 48), The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible Throughout the Year by Ashley M Wilcox, and Fig Tree Worship.
A Time for All story taken from: When Does God Sleep? written and illustrated by Phillip W Rodgers.