Marsden Road Uniting Church Carlingford
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God Calls Us to Expand
Our Family.
Gathering God’s People
Acknowledgement of First Peoples
We acknowledge the first people who have cared
for this Land, where we worship, the Wallumedgal.
May our worship join with the voices of the First Peoples of this Land.
Call to Worship - (Abingdon Worship Annual 2015)
Come! Here you will find a family of faith
where you will always belong. Come! Here you will find friends who will love
you as a child of God. Come! Here you will worship a King who rules with
equity. Whoever you are, and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are
welcome here.
All who need a place to belong . . .
Come join the family of God.
All who seek spiritual brothers and sisters .
. .
Come join the family of God.
All who
strive to grow in faith and love . . .
Come join the family of God.
All who are unsure and feel unworthy . . .
Come join the family of God.
Hymn 693: Come as you are.
(tune – Come as you are)
Opening Prayer
Loving Mother, Caring Father, in the midst of our brokenness, knit us together as your family. Heal our wounded hearts, that we may welcome the strangers into our midst and treat them as beloved sisters and brothers. Swing wide the doors of our church, that all who seek a temple of faith may find in these walls a place where God’s will is done and holy relationships are nurtured. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Sovereign God, we so
often lose our way.
You seek to be our King— to lead us on right paths; to teach us the
ways of truth and life; to shelter us from our foes, yet we look to the rulers
of this earth for leadership, wisdom, and strength.
You seek to be our
comforter— to love us as our Father; to nurture us as our Mother; to shelter us
as our Brother; to assure us as our Sister, yet we look elsewhere for love, compassion,
and hope.
When our government fails us, and our families disappoint us, you alone remain faithful and true. Open your arms to us once more, O God. We will be your people, and you will be our God and King.
Declaration
of Forgiveness
Christ looks to each of us and says: “Here are
my mother and my brothers. Here are my father and my sisters. Whoever does the
will of God is my brother, sister, mother, father.” As the family of God, as
brothers and sisters of Christ, we are loved and forgiven by our gracious God.
Thanks, be to God!
The
Peace
As the family of
God, let us share signs of familial love and compassion, acceptance and
forgiveness, as we pass the peace of Christ.
Peace be with you!
And also with you!
(You may like to exchange a sign of peace with
those around you.)
Offering Prayer
Holy Sovereign, you are our King; we are your people. Forsaking the ways of the haughty, we reach for our brothers and sisters in faith, our mothers and fathers in Spirit, that we may care for the meek and the lowly. Use these offerings to fulfil your will in our world, that all may be drawn into your family of faith Amen.
Hymn 738: ‘My Jesus my Saviour’ (Shout to the Lord)
(tune – Shout to the Lord)
The Service of Holy Communion
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And
also, with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It
is right to give our thanks and praise.
With
all our hearts we praise you, faithful God. In the beginning, you called light
to shine in darkness, you made living things to grow and flourish and you
created human beings in your image. You chose us in love, guided us by your
presence and blessed us with your holy law. Yet we chose our own sinful ways. We
broke your commandments, persecuted your prophets, forgot your wisdom and time
after time, refused to answer your call.
So,
you spoke an eternal word in a human voice in Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary,
Son of God. He called, and people followed, leaving every other loyalty. He set
us free to praise your holy name. But hatred and violence shouted Jesus down. Betrayed
and abandoned and nailed to a cross, he laid down his life for the world he
loved and broke the chains of evil and death. Then you turned our sorrow into
joy. On the third day you raised him up to lead your people into life.
So,
we praise you, holy God, with angels and archangels and all your faithful
people:
Holy,
holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your
glory. Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered with his
friends to share a meal and wash their feet, teaching one more lesson of love. He
took bread and blessed you and broke it. He gave it to them and said: “Take
this and eat it. This is my body.” Whenever you do this, do it in memory of
me.”
He took a cup of wine and blessed you and gave it to
them.
He said: “Take this and drink it. This is my blood, sealing
God’s promise to forgive your sins. Whenever you do
this, do it in memory of me.”
As we share these holy gifts, we remember the Lord
Jesus. For the love you taught us, the sacrifice you made for us and the hope
you give us, we acclaim you, O Christ:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again!
And now, faithful God, send us your Spirit to feed
us with the body and the blood of
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Make us one body in Christ. Send us as your
messengers in the world and fill us with energy, courage and love. Now to you,
most holy God, through Christ your Son and in the Spirit’s power, we bring our
worship and our songs of praise:
Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever.
Amen.
The
Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread and take this cup so that we can all share in the life of Christ. God's gifts for God's people.
Thanks, be to God.
Lamb of God
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the
world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the
world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the
world,
grant us peace.
Invitation to Communion
As tangible as grain
plucked by Jesus and his disciples, as mysterious as the Presence known by our
faithful ancestors, so is the meal we are about to share. Let us open our
hearts and hands, as we remember and partake together.
Prayer
after Communion
This
has been no ordinary meal. It has been one in which we have been fed and
nourished with the life of Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord. May we go from this
table, refreshed and eager, to share that life with others. In Jesus' name, we
pray. Amen
The Service of the Word
The First Reading: 1 Samuel 8:4-20
The Gospel Reading: Mark 3:20-35
After the final reading the reader will say For the Word of the Lord
Please respond by saying Thanks be to God.
Readings: NRSV Translation
1
Samuel 8:4-20
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to
Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, ‘You are old, and your sons do
not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other
nations.’ 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us
a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord, 7 and the Lord said
to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for
they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over
them. 8 Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up
out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also, they
are doing to you. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall
solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over
them.’ 10 So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people
who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, ‘These will be the ways
of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to
his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his
chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and
commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest,
and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.13 He
will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He
will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give
them to his courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of
your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He
will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys,
and put them to his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks,
and you shall be his slaves.18 And in that day you will cry out because of
your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not
answer you in that day.’ 19 But the people refused to listen to the
voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over
us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king
may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’
Mark 3:20-35
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’ 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.’ 23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.’ 30 He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’ 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting round him, and they told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’ 33 ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle round him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’
Preaching of the Word - God
Calls Us to Expand Our Family.
Family. We all come from one. Some are loving, some are quirky, some are
dysfunctional, some are abusive, and some are a combination of those things. No
matter what type of family we have, we have a role to play within it: the
Peacemaker, the Pretty One, the Black Sheep, the Smart One, the Religious One,
the Baby, and so on. But what happens when the Black Sheep starts acting like
the Smart One? Or the Peacemaker becomes the Artistic One? The delicate system
of roles is shaken, and the other players must try to put the person back in
their role or adjust to the new role that is being played. Guess which one people
usually choose?
Fear of the new role usually wins out, and people often try to sabotage
the fledgling before anything permanent can happen. We think we know what is
best for the other person because really, it is best for us. Take any
self-improvement – losing weight, quitting smoking, going back to school, going
to a counsellor – and there will be people who will not be encouraging because
it makes them look at the improvements they need to make and aren’t. They fear
change in their lives, so why should they support the changes in yours? It
takes a strong person to become who God created us to be and to continue to
make positive changes when it puts personal relationships in jeopardy.
Look at Jesus coming back to his hometown where his family lived. People
were crowding him to see if he would heal them, but some were talking about
him, “He’s gone out of his mind,” and “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of
the demons he casts out demons.” People feared what they did not understand.
Jesus’ family tried to restrain him, but Jesus faced the crowd. He was called
by God to preach and teach and heal, and that was his focus. He knew his role,
but it was not necessarily the role that his family or hometown thought he
should be in. God was doing a new thing in Jesus. God was expanding what it
meant to be bonded to another person the way we are in a family, and Jesus
called attention to this. God knows what is best for Jesus and for us, not the
other way around.
When Jesus declared, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and
sister and mother,” it challenged the Jewish culture around him. No longer are
you close to God because you were born into a Jewish household; no longer do
you just take care of your own kind; instead, your family is being extended to
anyone who does the will of God.
That certainly broadens the margins and challenges those who took that
relationship with God for granted. Today, it challenges us to look beyond our
walls, our denominational lines, our socio-economic status, and our faith to
see our brothers and sisters and mothers. God calls us to expand our family in
ways that are just as shocking as it was to the Gospel of Mark’s first-century
audience.
We should come to expect this from God. How successful are we when left to our own devices? In today’s Old Testament lesson from First Samuel, when the people request an earthly king to rule them rather than God, Samuel is in a difficult position. The very request is a rebellion against God. But the Israelites want to be “like other nations.” How often do we want the same thing? We want to be “normal,” we want to have what other people have and we measure our worth by earthly standards. We lose our focus and stop doing the will of God.
Brothers turn against brothers, sisters against sisters, mothers
against mothers. We get caught up in wanting approval from others and are
jealous of what they have, which can leave us empty and seemingly worthless. We
forget that we have value because God loves us. Jesus understood this. He kept
his focus on following God’s will and was clear about it, despite what his
family or the crowds wanted from him.
It’s easier said than done, of course. Anthony de Mello tells a story
that reminds us of this:
A man traversed land and sea to check out for himself the master’s
extraordinary fame. “What miracles has your Master worked?” he asked a
disciple.
“Well, there are miracles and miracles. In your land it is regarded as a
miracle if God does someone’s will. In our country it is regarded as a miracle
if someone does the will of God.”
We may smile at the story, but it speaks truth. Doing the will of God
often means leaving our comfort zones. As Episcopalians, our Baptismal Covenant
demands a life that follows God by continuing in the apostles’ teaching and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, in the prayers, resisting evil, repenting,
and returning to the Lord, proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God
in Christ, seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving our neighbour as
ourselves, striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the
dignity of every human being. This is not an easy road to journey! Yet we
readily answer, “I will, with God’s help.”
We cannot do this alone. Jesus’ single-minded focus on God’s will is an example to us. We must have God’s help to follow the call of Jesus in order to be the people we were created to be. May we go forth, as the blessing from St. Clare says, to “live without fear: your Creator has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Go in peace to follow the good road and may God’s blessing be with you always.”
Hymn
609 May
the mind of Christ my Saviour
(tune – St Leonards)
Intercessory Prayers
Pentecost 2 Sunday – Year B –
Loving God, you know our
needs and desires before we ask, and all our days are in your hands: hear the
prayers we bring to you.
We pray for the world: for
those who suffer because of war or civil strife; for those who are imprisoned,
displaced or dispossessed.
Loving God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
When we are legalistic and
lacking in love, when we are slow to recognise your voice or understand your
word, call us again by name, and restore us to life.
Loving God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for our community: for
those who have nowhere to live and too little to eat; for those without any
work or means of support.
When we are judgmental and
mean-minded, when we are slow to compassion and swift to condemn,
unlock our hearts and
restore us to life.
Loving God, in your mercy, hear
our prayer.
We pray for all who suffer for
those who do not know the love of family or friends; for the sick and the dying
and all who mourn.
When hearts are broken and
spirits crush ed, when bodies are crippled or racked with pain,
touch us again with your
love and restore us to life.
Loving God, in your mercy, hear
our prayer.
We pray for all who have
died in your love, for all who have heard your voice and answered your call; for
all whose yearly remembrance occurs at this time.
Help us to follow the
example of your faithful people and, when we come to the end of our earthly
days, bring us with all your saints from death to everlasting life, that we may
continue forever in your presence.
Loving God, in your mercy, hear
our prayer.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth
as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. 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 for ever.
Amen.
Hymn
613: Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy.
(tune – Slane)
Benediction
With
God as our King,
we go
forth to build God’s kingdom.
With
our inner nature renewed,
we go
forth to proclaim God’s glory.
With
our sisters and brothers in Christ, our mothers and fathers in the faith,
we go forth to be Christ’s family.
Go with God.
Hymn 779: May the feet of God walk with you. (tune – Aubrey)
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