Marsden
Road Uniting Church
Carlingford
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Clay Vessels of Beauty
9.30
am
Hymns
Hymn 10: The
Lord’s my shepherd
(Tune
- Crimond)
(Tune – Servant King)
(Tune –
Amazing Grace)
Hymn 681: Lord, let me see
(Tune – Lord let me see)
Hymn 778: Shalom to you
(Tune – Somos del Senor)
Readings:
The First Reading: 1 Samuel 16: 1-13 NEB
page 205
The Gospel Reading: John 9:1-41 NEB
page 817
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 - (James
Dollins, Abingdon 2016)
Show me
your way, O God, my Shepherd. Open a right path and let me hear your call to
follow. Show me your way, O Christ, my Healer. Open my eyes to the needs of my
world.
Shepherd
us, O God.
Open
our ears to hear your calling.
Shepherd
us, O God.
Open
our eyes to see your care.
Shepherd
us, O God.
Shear
our fascination with the ways of the world. Shepherd us, O God.
Prepare
us to follow you.
Hymn 10: The
Lord’s my shepherd
(Tune - Crimond)
YouTube
– Click on link below to take you to Hymn
i. The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want;
he makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.
he makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.
ii. My soul he doth restore again,
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness,
e'en for his own name's sake.
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness,
e'en for his own name's sake.
iii. Yea, though I walk through death's dark vale,
yet will I fear none ill,
for thou art with me; and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.
yet will I fear none ill,
for thou art with me; and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.
iv. My table thou hast furnished
in presence of my foes;
my head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.
in presence of my foes;
my head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.
v. Goodness and mercy all my life
shall surely follow me;
and in God's house
forevermore
my dwelling place shall
be.
Opening prayer
Visionary
creator; give us your vision. Show us our hearts,
our homes, our communities, and our world
through your
eyes. Wash away our blind spots, and help
us to see where
we do not see. Allow us to see creation
as you see it now,
and as you envision it to become. Help us
realize your
vision, and walk the road of life— the
way and path of
Jesus. Amen
A Prayer of Confession
Divine God, our Guide, give us the clarity to wake
to our short-sightedness and stay woke.
Give us the courage to wake to our
shortcomings and stay woke.
Give us the compassion to wake to our hurtful acts
and stay woke.
Give us wisdom to face our fears, receive your
grace, wake to your call and stay woke.
Hear our silent prayer, as we sit in awareness of
our need.
(Pause in silent prayer)
Help us wake to this awareness and stay woke.
As we receive your grace, we wake to your whispers and direction, yearning to
stay woke. Amen.
Declaration of Forgiveness
“Sleeper,
awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
“Sleeper,
awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Thanks,
be to God!
The
Peace
Blessed
are the peacemakers: they shall be called children of God. We meet in the name
of Christ and share his peace.
Peace be with you!
And also, with you!
(You
may like to exchange a sign of peace with those around you.)
A Word with The Young People
–
Theme: Humanity looks
on outward appearances, God looks
at
the inside.
Object: An x-ray
Some of
you have probably seen an X-Ray before. Yes, an X-ray. Many times,
when we go to the doctor, he cannot tell if we have something wrong just by
looking at us. We may look just fine on the outside, but there might be
something wrong on the inside. To see what is on the inside, the doctor
takes an x-ray. By looking at the x-ray, the doctor can see what's on the
inside and helps us to get well. You can't always tell by looking at the
outside.
The Bible
tells us that humans look at outward appearance, but God looks on the
inside. You can't always tell what a person is really like by looking at
the outside. Some people may be beautiful on the outside, but they may be very
mean, selfish, and hateful on the inside. Some people may not be very
beautiful to look at, but on the inside, they are loving, gentle, and kind.
We spend a
lot of time making sure we look good on the outside, but what are we doing to
make sure we look good on the inside? (Read 1 Peter 3: 3-4) When we
look at people, we need to remember that we can only see what's on the outside,
but God can see what's on the inside - and it's what's inside that counts.
Lord, help
us to be more concerned with our own inner beauty than with our outward
appearance and help us not to judge other people by what we see on the outside.
Amen.
Offering
Your offering can be given electronically – please talk to the Treasurer.
God of our waking receive our gifts, that they may bring the goodness of
our ministry to your world. Receive also the gifts of our transformed lives, as
we open our hearts to perceive our short-sightedness. Give us the vision to
offer our lives in service of you. Light our paths, and shine through our
lives, as we follow you. Amen.
Hymn 256: From
heaven you came, helpless babe
(Tune – Servant King)
From Heaven
You Came, Helpless Babe,
Entered Our World, Your Glory Veiled;
Not to Be Served but To Serve,
And Give Your Life That We Might Live.
Entered Our World, Your Glory Veiled;
Not to Be Served but To Serve,
And Give Your Life That We Might Live.
This Is Our
God, The Servant King,
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
There in The
Garden of Tears,
My Heavy Load He Chose to Bear;
His Heart with Sorrow Was Torn,
‘Yet Not My Will but Yours,’ He Said.
My Heavy Load He Chose to Bear;
His Heart with Sorrow Was Torn,
‘Yet Not My Will but Yours,’ He Said.
This Is Our
God, The Servant King,
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
Come, See His
Hands and His Feet,
The Scars That Speak of Sacrifice,
Hands That Flung Stars into Space
To Cruel Nails Surrendered.
The Scars That Speak of Sacrifice,
Hands That Flung Stars into Space
To Cruel Nails Surrendered.
This Is Our
God, The Servant King,
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
So, Let Us
Learn How to Serve,
And in Our Lives Enthrone Him;
Each Other’s Needs To Prefer,
For It Is Christ We’re Serving.
And in Our Lives Enthrone Him;
Each Other’s Needs To Prefer,
For It Is Christ We’re Serving.
This Is Our
God, The Servant King,
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
He Calls Us Now to Follow Him,
To Bring Our Lives as A Daily Offering
Of Worship to The Servant King.
The
Service of the Word
The Gospel Reading: John 9:1-41 NEB
page 819
Please
respond by saying Thanks be to God.
John
9:1-41 from NRSV
1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His
disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was
born blind?’ 3 Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man
nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed
in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me
while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As
long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ 6 When
he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread
the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, ‘Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and
came back able to see. 8 The neighbours and those
who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used
to sit and beg?’ 9 Some were saying, ‘It is he.’
Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the
man.’ 10 But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were
your eyes opened?’ 11 He answered, ‘The man called
Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.”
Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ 12 They
said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’ 13 They
brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now
it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then
the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to
them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ 16 Some
of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the
sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’
And they were divided. 17 So they said again to the
blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said,
‘He is a prophet.’ 18 The Jews did not believe that
he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of
the man who had received his sight 19 and asked
them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now
see?’ 20 His parents answered, ‘We know that this
is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but we
do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask
him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ 22 His
parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had
already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put
out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents
said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ 24 So for the second
time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory
to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ 25 He
answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that
though I was blind, now I see.’ 26 They said to
him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ 27 He
answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you
want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ 28 Then
they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of
Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but
as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ 30 The
man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes
from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that
God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and
obeys his will. 32 Never since the world began has
it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If
this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ 34 They
answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’
And they drove him out. 35 Jesus heard that they
had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son
of Man?’ 36 He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell
me, so that I may believe in him.’ 37 Jesus said to
him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ 38 He
said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. 39 Jesus
said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may
see, and those who do see may become blind.’ 40 Some
of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind,
are we?’ 41 Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind,
you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.
Preaching of the Word -
Clay
Vessels of Beauty
Lent has often
been seen as a time of intense self-reflection. But self-reflection without
understanding the power that God holds to make something beautiful of our clay
vessels, our little lives, is to defy the power of the God of Love. According
to the psalmist, the valley of the shadow of death is where God is. It is in
the presence of our enemies that a table is set, and, deep in our own muck, we
are led beside the still waters.
According to the
book of Samuel, God picks David, a young child, to fight Goliath and to be king
of all Israel. And through that kingship, which has its times of horror and
times of victory, God makes David the king Israel needed for the moment. In
addition, in the Gospel of John, the blind man suffers consistently throughout
his life because people look at him as deficient, as sinful, as someone not
worthy.
Self-reflection
in all these cases would bring us to a place of despair, but in the hands of a
good and merciful God? Something beautiful happens. As human beings, we look at
vulnerabilities as weaknesses, as those places that need to be thrown out or
erased, denied, or refused .... But it’s in our weakness and
vulnerabilities that God reveals God’s self. It was in the choice of the
smallest and youngest son that God revealed the king. It was in the valley of
the shadow of death and in the presence of enemies that the poet knew that his
God anointed him with the most fragrant oil and his cup ran over.
And it was in
the man’s blindness that the Holy One’s spit and a little mud helped him see.
But we live in a world where the expectation is that we are always and forever
at the top of our game or we are punished. We live in a world where admitting
our weakness is to admit defeat and to encourage harassment. We are in a world
where we hide our hurt or we will be further damaged. And God says, “It’s in
our vulnerabilities that we find the grace” and that finding grace and mercy is
the ultimate goal of human existence within the Christian faith.
John Wesley
hoped we would become perfected but being perfected meant perfected in
receiving and showing mercy, not in our perfection in a particular moral code
or a sense of our own “doing it right.” That is the transformative power of the
Christian faith. The ability to receive and swim through the muddy and spit-filled
complexity of life with a merciful loving creator.
The blind man
could have been a “seeing” man—it is not the healing of the man’s blindness
that is the ultimate experience Jesus hoped to address. The ultimate experience
is God making us whole; God’s work is in making us whole. The one who was blind
from birth was surprised by grace, surprised by Jesus, shockingly loved and
chosen, and his vulnerability became the place where the good news that he,
too, was deeply loved was made manifest.
The real injury
in the blind man’s life was the criticism from society, the damning from the
religious leaders, and the selling out of his parents. The ultimate holy
experience, and one that is throughout scripture, is to experience God as one
who does not see as mortals see—who does not see us in all the ways others have
judged us, raced us, held us down, and been aggressively jealous or arrogant
toward us.
Yet it is facing
those judgments, oppressions, imprisonments, jealousies, and arrogances, and reflecting
and focusing on God’s love, grace, and mercy that will heal us. The ultimate is
that we are all yet beautiful, full, alive, living this life with the Spirit of
God deep in our hearts. The ultimate is that God chose to birth us from love
and mercy, continues to love and give us mercy every day of our lives, and, at
the end of our life, will receive us into arms of love and mercy.
Hymn
129: Amazing
grace
(Tune – Amazing Grace)
Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
I have already come:
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
Intercessory Prayers - Pray for those in need, our world etc.
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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the
power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn
681: Lord, let me see
(Tune
– Lord let me see)
YouTube
– Click on link below to take you to Hymn
Lord, let me see, see more
and more:
See the beauty of a person,
not the colour of the skin,
See the faces of the
homeless with no-one to take them
in,
See discouragement because
she'll never win,
See the face of our Lord in
the pain. Lord, let me see.
Lord, let me hear, hear
more and more:
Hear the sounds of great
rejoicing, hear a person barely sigh,
Hear the ring of truth, and
hollowness of those who live a lie,
Hear the wail of starving
people who will die,
Hear the voice of our Lord
in the cry. Lord, let me hear.
Lord, let me care, care more
and more:
Care for those who feel the
loneliness, for those who have no say,
Care for friends who have
no job and find it hard to face the day,
Care for those with whom we
sing and work and pray; And in care, Jesus Christ will be found.
Lord, let me care.
Lord, let me learn, learn
more and more:
Learn that what I know is
just a speck of what there is to know,
Learn from listening to my
neighbour when I'd rather speak and go,
Learn that as we live in
faith and trust we grow;
Learn to see, hear and
care, with our Lord.
Lord, let me learn.
Lord, let me love, love
more and more:
Love the loveless and the
fragile, help them be what they can be,
Love the way that I would
like them to be looking after me,
For to know you is to love
them and be free;
And in love Jesus Christ
will be found.
Lord, let me love.
Benediction
Let us in the daily life we currently live, be
awake to the call of God, our creator. May we go forth, true to the path lit by
Christ, our redeemer. May we go forth, awake to the conscience of the Holy
Spirit, our helper and guide. Amen.
Hymn 778: Shalom to you
YouTube
– Click on link below to take you to Hymn
Shalom to you now, shalom, my friends.
May God’s full mercies bless you, my friends.
In all your living and through your loving,
Christ be your shalom, Christ be your shalom
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