Kaye
and Andrew led our service today beginning with the
Prayers
of Thanksgiving
A
prayer was offered to the Holy Friend of all, approaching him with joy and
thanksgiving: acknowledging the Glory that is his and offering our prayers of
gratitude In songs from loving hearts. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Kaye
and Andrew then drew our attention to the day being The International Day of
Peace and gave the people time to turn to those near them and offer them
the hand of peace.
Prayer
of Adoration
Instead
of a spoken prayer we watched a series of visions of God's almighty creation;
his greatness in evidence in each one. Accompanying this were the words of
"A Wonderful World"
Prayers
of Confession
Through
Kaye and Terry we prayed to the Holy One, calling on him who is eternal and
ever present and who knows no borders. We confessed that we fail to acknowledge
him for all he is and confessed that it is fear that make us feel so small:
that it is doubt that invades our thinking as we face the daily round. We asked
that God would remind us of his presence and help us to see him and to act
courageously in the name of Christ. That
through us and in his hands Christ will be made present in his:
forgiveness, healing, encouragement, peace and forgiveness.
Assurance
This
is truth. God is in Christ. Not counting up our sins, but pardoning our
offences. As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our
transgressions from us. With Christ as my sure authority I declare to you:
Your
sins are forgiven.
Offering
Father
God, we receive from you more than we deserve or could ever earn. Bless these
gifts and use them to further your work in the world that many more will come
to know you.
Hymn
TIS 390
"Allelulia" Give thanks and praise! For the new life we are offered
in our forgiveness from sin.
Bible
Reading
Chris
read to us from Exodus 16: 2 - 15 and Matthew 20:1 - 16. Exodus tells us that
after a couple of months in the desert, the Israelites had forgotten about the
terrible life from which they had been liberated and started complaining and
blaming Moses and Aaron for the conditions they were suffering. The result was
that God provided. But his will concerning what was provided had to be
followed. The Matthew reading concerned the labourers, some who worked all day
and some who only worked one hour, receiving the same wage. Both stories are
about God's ability to meet all needs and that it is not a matter of our
deserving anything.
Reflection
Kaye
and Andrew recalled events from their youth that appeared unfair. Kaye then
told of a recent event which she ranted and raved about because she thought she
was being treated unfairly. That brought their discussion to the matter of
"Justice". They pointed to the different meanings of the word:
equality, as in receiving equal pay for equal work: merit, as in receiving the
same units of pay per hour or per task: or pay depending on the knowledge and
skill needed and therefore the time spent in training. When we think about
justice this way, it is a matter of counting and calculating. Justice, God's
style is quite different. Because of God's generosity the reward is the same
regardless of when we enter the kingdom. Jesus' disciples pointed out that they
had left everything to follow him and suggested that that should give them some
superior claim on whatever it was he offered, but he said it wasn't like that
and the first could be last, and the last, first. Further, there's only one
prize - Gold - being in God's presence.
This is because God's love is
unconditional and big enough embrace us all, just as we are. Kaye and Andrew
went on to talk about something very important - our fundamental discomfort
with generosity. We like to think we deserve what we get; that we earned it.
This way of thinking doesn't work with God. We have to humble ourselves, admit
our unworthiness and accept his generous acceptance of us.
Kaye
prayed for those people who are in the Defence Forces, charged with keeping
peace - and also for the friends and family who love them. Then the prayer went
on for all those people closest to us and covered all the most ordinary and
mundane concerns. I (Joan is speaking now – Margaret had to leave early) thought the practicality and everyday-ness of
this part of the prayer was really meaningful. We then prayed for people we
don't know, strangers and enemies. We then joined in the Lord's Prayer.
Hymn
TIS 650
Servant Song: "May the Feet of God walk with You" What a gift to
offer to another person!
The
Benediction had
a response: "O give thanks to our God who is good-whose love stands firm forever."
We were told that "Thanksgiving transcends all our pain and
suffering." Amen
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