Koonung Heights Uniting Church – Service of Worship at Home
Easter 6 – 9 May – 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: “Gloria, Gloria, Gloria” – (TIS words below)
Gloria, gloria, gloria en las alturas a Dios!
Gloria, gloria, gloria en las alturas a Dios!
Y en la tierra paz para aquellos que ama el Señor.
Y en la tierra paz para aquellos que ama el Señor.
Glory, glory, glory, glory be to God on high!
Glory, glory, glory, glory be to God on high!
And on earth peace to the people in whom God is well pleased.
And on earth peace to the people in whom God is well pleased.
Acknowledgement of Country:
As we meet to worship today,
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin nation,
a people who have cared for this place
and have never ceded sovereignty.
I pay my respects to their elders,
past, present and emerging.
I also remember and pay my respects
to those who have faithfully worshipped,
and shared their gifts and lives with us,
here at Koonung Heights.
Call to Worship:
God of love,
you are our creator,
our redeemer,
you command us to love you
and all that you have created.
We gather to offer you this time of worship,
to renew our love
and to offer ourselves to you.
Draw near to us
as we draw near to you.
We Sing: “Sing of the Lord’s goodness” – (Click on this link & skip the ads)
Prayer of Adoration and Confession:
God of inclusive love,
you make it so that nobody is left out –
no person is excluded from the invitation
to live within the circle of your love.
Though much of the life we know
is about the separation between inner circle and outer –
where some are poorer, hungrier, colder, sicker
and made to feel more restricted than others –
yours is a Kingdom where love is unconditional,
and the potential within the created life is of equal possibility.
Today we worship you,
the God who is Three-In-One,
one person,
who calls us to create a unity and oneness
in the family of creation,
where all are valued.
Forgiving God, we confess that as humanity,
we have created divisions and segregation
between the peoples of the earth,
through history and in the present.
We have not listened to your eternal story
from creation to redemption,
and have not grasped, nor fostered,
inclusive and mutual love in the way we should have.
We confess that sometimes we have been guilty
of creating such comforts and security for ourselves,
as individuals or nations,
that we have taken our eye of what it means to be
a people who look out for one another.
As people who admit to such failure,
today we seek to be challenged and to do better.
Accepting of your grace and mercy,
we are humbled and left with such gratitude,
that we are ready to mend our ways and live by the example of Jesus,
the One who taught us about the true meaning of friendship,
and so discover what it takes to be at one with you
and with all your people.
Amen.
Words of Assurance (John 15:15b-16a):
Long ago Jesus said to his disciples, “I have called you friends, because I have made
known to you everything that I have heard from God.
You did not choose me, but I chose you!”
Jesus speaks these words to us today.
Jesus forgives us and chooses us to be his friends, sharing his great work of love.
Hallelujah! This is good news!
Thanks be to God.
The Peace (John 15):
Look around and see the friends of Jesus!
Turn and greet one another with the peace, love, and joy of Jesus the Christ.
A Time for All:
Today I thought I’d share a book with you. It was a favourite when Elizabeth was little which is why it’s still on the shelf, and probably appropriate for today. It is called my mum and is written by Jeannette Rowe.
My mum helps me get dressed.
My mum plays peekaboo with me.
My mum makes yummy food.
My mum makes me feel better.
My mum reads to me.
My mum whispers secrets to me.
My mum loves me.
Obviously this is a simple children’s story of the different things that mothers do for their children, but I think it helps illustrate something that is being alluded to in our gospel reading for today.
Jesus commands us to love one another in the same way that he has loved us. This must be pretty important to Jesus if he commands it! It’s something Jesus says that we must do. It is also something that’s pretty hard to do, especially if we think that love is just a feeling. The reality is, though, that love is much more than a feeling. In fact, God’s love is all about action.
In the same way that the children know they are loved in part by the actions of their mothers, we know that we are loved by God because of what God has done for us. God created us and the world we live in. Jesus loves us so much that he calls us his friends. How amazing is that!
Let us pray …
Dear God,
Thank you that you love us
and made the world for us to live in.
Thank you that you gave us families and friends,
people who look after us and want the best for us.
Help us keep your commandment
and love one another.
Amen.
We Sing: “Jesus love is very wonderful” – (Click on this link to view images)
Bible Reading: Acts 10:34-36, 44-48 –
Gentiles Hear the Good News
34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.
Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Bible Reading: John 15:9-17
9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
Watch and Listen to the Reflection
Reflection: Friendship, inclusion and ‘what the’?
Ever had one of those ‘what the’ moments? You know what I mean. The moments when you witness behaviour that goes completely against everything you believe. When you hear something that has completely surprised you and you feel that you need to check what you’ve heard to make sure your ears weren’t deceiving you? In both of our readings today there are what I would like to call ‘what the’ moments, moments that were radical in their time and place, and still are if we are being honest.
In the reading from John Jesus is talking to his disciples not long before he is to be killed on the cross. As his death is not far away this is an intense conversation at an intense time. Jesus is telling his disciples the stuff that he needs them to hear … after all this is what really matters. Smack bang in the middle of this conversation Jesus says something that is likely to have made his listeners say ‘what the’ under their breaths, or at least let out a gasp. You know the kind of gasp you make when you’re truly surprised. You wonder if the people around you have heard the same thing, but you can’t interrupt the flow of the person speaking, even to make eye contact with the person next to you. You want to keep listening but it’s hard because you are still processing what you have just heard.
What does Jesus say to derail the disciples? He tells them they are no longer servants but are now his friends. He ups the ante on them and suggests a relationship of mutuality that is shocking. As always, God’s agency is primary and it is in this agency that Jesus says “You did not choose me but I chose you” (John 15:16) and to be chosen is to be loved. This love is not glib or sentimental. It is a self-giving and dramatic love which lays down its life so the other will be elevated.
Jesus also makes the distinction between servants and friends. Servants have a duty to serve and do what they are told. They have not been let in on any plans or know what is going on. As friends, the disciples have had disclosed to them what God is about. They are not kept in the dark about what is happening. They are told about the coming crisis and Jesus’ impending departure. “I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15) is a statement anchored in the very nature of God which is revealed in Jesus.
We like to think of ourselves as Jesus friends and this is a good thing, but it’s no ordinary friendship to which Jesus summons us. It is a friendship that he has initiated, and it’s a friendship that is about more than being a member of some exclusive club. In reality, friendship with Jesus is a call to service and loving faithfulness, one that is characterised by the commandment to “love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12).
We all know stories of those who have loved in a manner that could be seen as them laying down their lives. Some are famous like Nelson Mandela (the anti-apartheid political leader) or Iesha Evans (who protested after the shooting of two men at Baton Rouge “because she wanted to look her son in the eyes to tell him she fought for his freedom and rights”). Yet there are unnamed people who do this too … the health providers who are working on the streets in India, the family member who moves in to care for children when a parent is ill. This is love.
This is the love that we are called to have for others as friends of Jesus. We need to be honest about the fact that this love is difficult and we might not always get it right. It can help us to remember that the disciples didn’t always get it right either. These friends that Jesus chose are the same friends who would deny, betray and run away in the tough times around the cross. We will not always get it right but we should not give up on this greater love that we are called to.
The reading from Acts also has one of those ‘what the’ moments, and I would encourage you to read the whole of chapter 10 at some time. Again we see God acting first, with the Holy Spirit really being the hero of the text, prompting both Peter and the gathered community to move beyond their boundaries.
The section we read today opens with the words “I truly understand that God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). This is certainly a ‘what the’ moment as Peter has changed one of his core beliefs. Following a vision where Peter is shown a variety of foods and he refuses to eat what he calls unclean, the Spirit tells him that “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” (Acts 10:15) Suddenly for Peter, the old understandings of division and separation are no more for “the message sent to the people of Israel … spread throughout all Judea.” (Acts 10:36.37) The Spirit has shown Peter that the Gentiles are also included in the invitation of God.
This is a radical, audacious and fresh message which shows God’s love for all humankind, and once this church leader has changed his mind he has no problem proclaiming his new understanding.
As Peter is proclaiming his new understanding the Holy Spirit again leaps into action and we have another ‘what the’ moment as the gathered company witness something new. For those who are with Peter not only hear his words but they are “astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,” (Acts 10:45) as they hear then speaking and praising God. God has stirred a powerful reaction among the Jews as they discover that God’s saving grace is not for them alone.
In the same way that Peter and those with him are moved to see something new, what are the new things that we are being prompted to notice? What is the Spirit doing that we are called to see? If we are growing in faith surely we cannot stay in the same mindset. If this is the case, what thoughts and beliefs do we need to change, in order for us to be people who are truly loving others as Jesus loved us? What do we need to reframe so that the message of God’s love can be truly echoed by our actions?
Attention! Jesus just called you friend! It couldn’t be more personal. It couldn’t be more challenging. Let us continue to live into the comic strength and human frailty of this friendship, and live it out into the world in which we move. Let us go to befriend others, welcome those on the edges, reconcile those who have been outcast, and build bridges of care and concern.
Amen.
We Sing: “A New Commandment” – (Click on this link and skip the ads)
Prayer for Others (prepared by Rhonwen Pierce):
Let us pray …
Heavenly Father,
We thank and praise you for answered prayer. You bless us in many ways and always surprise us with the answers we get for our prayers often long after we have said the words. You know the needs and your love constantly shines on us.
We pray for mothers everywhere this day. So many struggle to feed their families in drought ravaged countries. Poverty hurts many more and here in our country we see on TV and read in the news of violence hidden behind closed doors. Lord may we work to open these doors to your love and lead us to ways of helping the poor and changing the climate that droughts are lessened and huge floods eased.
Compassionate God soften the hearts of those who control our borders. We know we don’t want the boat people to start again but much has changed through the pandemic. We can’t take refugees due to the virus but open our eyes to see better treatments for those in dire need.
We pray for Brazil and India as both countries try to prevent knowledge of poor control and lack of basic health outcomes from being made known to the world. Many other countries control their media to such an extent we can’t find out what is happening there. We pray that the virus has not mutated in these countries and we pray for good health outcomes for all. We pray all countries will soon have their injections.
We pray for all our leaders – government, state and local councils – may they use finances wisely to improve our communities. We thank you Lord that you have lead many people to serve in the Assembly, Synod, Presbytery and here in this church. We give thanks for Rev Heather and the new elders who have joined this year and pray health for the whole council as they serve this year.
Let us remember the shut-ins, sick, lonely and depressed who we know. We name them in this silence ……. You know all those on our hearts and with love and gentleness care for them.
Let us join in the prayer Jesus 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: “Filled with the Spirit’s power” – (Click on this link and skip the ads)
Blessing:
Friends, you are loved.
Jesus loves us and calls on us to love others.
Let us go in peace to do just that …
May the peace of Christ,
the love of God and the companionship of the Holy Spirit,
go with you this day and forever more.
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 38), By The Well Podcast, Texts for Preaching, Ministry Matters, caitlinrussell.org and Billabong Worship Resources.