Readings:
Isaiah 65: 17-25, Luke 21:5-19
Let us pray:
Holy God, in the midst of all that surrounds us, pierce our hearts and
minds with your purpose that we might live in your way and trust in your
promise to us. In Jesus name. Amen.
It is so good to
be back – we have missed you all so much but equally have had an exciting and
fascinating time away. And while we have
been away we have had a salutary reminder of the complexities of global living
– something we can be a little detached from here in this island nation – as we
moved among the fallout of the Brexit decision in Britain and Ireland. New
things are happening in our world and they make us nervous.
For many people around
the world the reality of God’s world is just so far from the vision of the new
heavens and new earth that Isaiah speaks of.
Peace, justice, loving relationship – sometimes it seems there is not a
lot of it to go around. The promise of what will be seems incredibly distant
from the here and now. And this is
reflected in our two readings today of vision and reality – with Luke warning
of turmoil to come and Isaiah talking of how it will be on God’s holy mountain
where peace and contentment are the everyday.
In fact the story from the Hebrew Scriptures could have been written for
today. It involves a people who called
themselves God’s chosen ones that have moved away so far from all that is fair
and caring and just – it’s a hard time for them, for sure, lives are difficult,
there is a huge resentment of other nations, division within and a cynicism
that demands attention be on their needs. They have lost their way.
What does Isaiah
say to them? He paints a picture of
paradise – a time where the most counter-intuitive relationships will exist:
wolf and lamb, lion and ox, where no-one labours in vain and each is housed and
fed, where weeping is no more and no child is born for calamity. It would, I suspect, have seemed quite
foolish and idealistic for a people determined to sort things themselves?
Conversely the
reading from Luke is a text full of bad news, full of reasons for us to feel
timid and helpless and hopeless as the world around us totters on the brink of
anarchy and all we know is threatened.
Luke scares us, let’s face it.
It’s frightening stuff and the sheer immensity of what can go wrong
threatens to overwhelm. But Jesus has
words of hope in the midst of the turmoil – he tells us to stand strong, that
this is an opportunity to testify and we don’t have to rely on our own
strengths for God is with us!
Funny how chosen
bible readings speak into the events of our week and the fears of our hearts
isn’t it.
Many of us are
still reeling from this week’s political theatre; one that will have serious
impact on the world stage let alone for many people within America. We have heard throughout the Presidential
campaign a rhetoric that leaves our hearts severely bruised and our minds
reeling from the hypocrisy and the hatred and the lack of compassion. While we can object to policies from all
sides that are unjust, I don’t think we have ever heard such blatant sexism,
racism, economic and environmental blindness as has been present these few
months and is now in control. If you
read the papers, check the opinion pieces, there is a real fear out there of
new and unthinkable global order.
So, how do we
respond? We could join the protestors
railing over what was in the end a democratic choice, or say it’s not our
problem (and welcome a wave of new immigrants here) or sink into despair or
hold our breaths and hope against hope that nothing goes wrong. But then again
many of us never thought that Donald Trump would be elected in a million years
so I don’t think that last one is the path to follow.
I could not begin
to offer a balanced assessment of what has gone on – goodness knows there are
enough ‘experts’ out there doing this already.
But there are some flags that pop up as we explore our readings for
today. Putting aside the sheer arrogance
of those who add God to their election strategy, the things to think about are
why has this happened and how do we respond as Christians into this turmoil.
Why – my
simplistic answer is because the people are unhappy, like the people of
Isaiah’s time. The signs have been there
for a long time as the political ineptitude and arrogance of those in power has
left the people on the ground feeling powerless, adrift, not listened to. And so, in fear, they turn to anyone who
promises they can make it better. Rabbi
Sacks calls it the birth of a new politics of anger that can only be nullified
if we create a new politics of hope – putting aside the divisive, disempowering,
elitist and self serving mantra of the past decades and finding ways to
strengthen families and communities, build a culture of collective
responsibility and insist on the economics of the common good.
The trouble is of
course so many of the people who embraced these false promises, even the
promise maker, call themselves Christian, yet the way of Christ is not the path
they choose to take. The cost of their
policies to the vulnerable, the future of the planet, the alienating of all who
are different are so far from the vision of the Holy Mountain that we are left
speechless. For how can we any of us
claim a relationship with Jesus Christ when we refuse to save refugees, or deny
hope to immigrants, or refuse justice to the oppressed, or not have faith in
those different from us, or deny love to our neighbours, strangers or even our
enemies. Self-preservation over self-sacrifice
– not Christ’s way! But hang on here – is
not that same attitude rife here too – and not just in politics but in our
everyday as well. As America and Europe struggles
with its reality, we too have to look at ourselves and recognise that the same
disempowerment and divide exists here and that we cannot sit back without responsibility
– for it is through us that change must happen.
Jesus warns us
that hard times will be. He cautions us
against following false prophets. He reassures us that we are loved and cared
for and that we will continue to stand and be heard. Not in our own strength or in the strength of
others but in the power of the Word of God living in our lives. We are the word, unshaken, continuing…..
We are to testify
to the truth and to live in the patterns of mercy that Christ has laid out for
us.
For we are able to
give one drink of cold water at a time, we are able to bring comfort to the
poor and the wretched, one act of mercy or change at a time. One book given,
one friendship claimed, one covenant of love, one can of beans, one moment of
commendation, one moment in which another person is humanized rather than
objectified, one challenge to the set order that maintains injustice, one
declaration of evil that is hiding in plain sight, one declaration that every
person is a child of God, these are the patterns of mercy that are God’s grace that
will transform the world.
So maybe it is
time to reclaim the absurdity of self-sacrificial love – to be absurdly
gracious, hospitable, kind, patient, self controlled and giving. But more than that, recognise that this sits
in the ‘hard basket’ of living. That
humbly serving others, defending the powerless, fighting for the oppressed and
radically loving the world around you isn’t for the faint of heart and rarely
results in comfort and security – which may explain why so many turn to the
false Gods of this world.
I have run out of
words – let us hear from someone else - we remain seated as we sing the words
of hope for us and for the world from Ruth Duck……
Hymn
Healing river of
the Spirit, bathe the wounds that living brings.
Plunge our pain,
our sin, our sadness deep beneath your sacred springs.
Weary from the
restless searching that has lured us from your side,
we discover in your
presence peace the world cannot provide.
Wellspring of the
healing Spirit, stream that flows to bring release,
as we gain our
selves, our senses, may our lives reflect your peace.
Grateful for the
flood that heals us, may your Church live out your grace.
As we meet both
friend and stranger, may we see our Saviour’s face.
Living stream that
heals the nations, make us channels of your power.
All the world is
torn by conflict; wars are raging at this hour.
Saving Spirit, move
among us; guide our winding human course,
till we find our
way together, flowing homeward to our Source.
Words Ruth C Duck, Tune Joel CH4 Alt Tune
Nettleton
Margaret Garland
Prayer of Intercession - Abby Smith
Sometimes, Lord, things don’t go the way we
want them to. Maybe something we really
wanted doesn’t arrive. Maybe something
we really dreaded actually happens. Sometimes
it rains on our game, or someone else gets the prize, or we’re sick at exactly
the wrong time. The world is always
reminding us – it is not ours to command.
If we can manage to look up – to forget our
fears, our disappointments, our sadness, our losses – then we can see exactly
who this world belongs to.
Lord, we can see you in the huge gorgeous
globes of rhododendron flowers, exploding in the garden, if we just look. We can hear you in the glad voice of a friend
unexpectedly encountered, if we will listen.
We can taste and smell your bounty in the wine and the bread, and in the
pesto on pasta, and in the roasted nuts, and in the ice cream cone, and in the
thousands of tastes and smells. We can
touch you in the warmth of wool, the softness of silk, the coolness of cotton,
the comfort of a hot bath. All around us
the senses -- that you gave us -- allow us to experience the world that
proclaims it is your kingdom.
Your kingdom, not ours. Your will, not ours. Your world, not ours.
If we can manage to look up, then we see
you. And we turn to you with gratitude
and with thanks.
Our stay in the world is short, and not
always sweet. We remember today people
we know, and those we don’t know, who are sick and battling on for another day,
or who have lost loved ones, or who are dying themselves. We think of people we know, and those we
don’t know, who are going without – who don’t have clean water, or adequate
food, or proper shelter, or any security.
We think of people we know, and those we don’t know, who are scared and
uncertain and insecure and unwelcome. We
think of people we know, and those we don’t know, who are suffering in any
way.
We pause now, and because it is your world
and not ours, we place them into your care, into your hands, into your endless
love.
(pause)
Your kingdom, not ours. Your will, not ours. Your world, not ours.
If we can manage to look up, then we see
what you want from us, and what this, your world really needs. Truth, kindness, humility, justice,
generosity, dedication, compassion, openness of spirit, faith, and love. We pray that we will be what you need us to
be, here in your world, your will, your kingdom.
We pray and sing together the Lord's prayer
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