Welcoming the Stranger Welcoming the Christ Thinking allowed; thinking aloud allowed

Transcription

1 19 June 2016 Welcoming the Stranger Welcoming the Christ Thinking allowed; thinking aloud allowed Minister: Organists: Reader: Robyn McPhail Kato Akau'ola KK Kay Blunkell KK Clyde Foster KAEO tba KAEO Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be a better light, and safer than a known way. St John of the Cross (16th century Spanish monk) Plugging in Gathering with all the Saints When we long for the special effects we think life should offer: IT IS ENOUGH, FOR US, THAT GOD COMES IN A GENTLE RAIN. When our hearts are cracked by the drought of doubt: IT IS ENOUGH, FOR US, THAT GOD OPENS UP THE FOUNTAINS OF FAITH FOR US. When our senses are deadened by the sales pitches of our culture: IT IS ENOUGH, FOR US, THAT GOD WRAPS US IN THE SILENCE OF GRACE Thom M. Shuman adapted Hymn O for a thousand tongues to sing (multi-language version) Sometimes you say to yourself: the fire in me is going out. But you were not the one who lit that fire. Your faith does not create God, and your doubts cannot banish Him to nothingness. Brother Roger of Taizé Prayer God, travelling with us on the way, sustaining life, source of life, you are not a God travelling only ahead of us, like a general, like a hero, nor do you give prizes to those who boldly run, full of energy. I have heard your voice on the way, encouraging us not to stop, persuading us to continue on our way. YOU ARE A GOD EVERYWHERE PRESENT. YOU ARE TO BE FOUND IN ALL PLACES. YOU ARE AHEAD AND BEHIND US, WHEN THE ROAD IS LONG AND WEARINESS AT ITS GREATEST. You are not only the God of the strongest, of those whose lives are prosperous. When our strength falters and fails, you give us the strength to keep on going forward. WITH YOU, WE JOYFULLY CONTINUE ON OUR WAY, A GENTLE BREEZE IMPELS US ON, OUR STEPS BECOME LIGHTER, AND WE ARE EVEN ABLE TO SING. Simei Monteiro, Geneva, Switzerland. English transl. Colleen Reeks. Whole Life, Holy Life, Ernesto Cardoso, ISER, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2 Symbol of God's Presence Hymn Immortal invisible, God only wise WOV80 [Kay's choice] Clarifying our Purpose Conversation with the Word A Journey with Elijah There's a series of readings for this time during the year of Luke, selected out from 1 Kings and all connected to Elijah. Reading the whole story is better to get the feel of the context and how it is that YHWH, the Lord God of Israel, has fallen out of favour. What's needed is another Moses, prophets real stand-out prophets. Elijah is the first of what becomes a long tradition, learning as they go as to what is needed to get people engaged with God's way not other destructive ways. The key episodes for Elijah are these in the pictures: 1 Kings 17: (1.) Brash and bullet-proof Elijah bursts on the scene and tells the worst king ever, Ahab and his queen Jezebel, that disaster is coming unless they turn around back to the Lord. (2.) Elijah's young and foolish so the Lord gets him out into the wilderness where he feels the sting of the drought he's called down. He survives because God provides by way of ravens. (3.) He's then sent off to beg food from a widow who is about to cook her last meal before she and her young son die. God provides refilling her food jars, though it turns bad again when her son dies. However God the life-giver, through Elijah, restores her son to her. 1 Kings 18: (4.) Show-down on the mountain. Jezebel has been doing her darnedest to get rid of YHWH religion, killing off any prophets of the Lord she can find. Elijah is in the firing line, so he suggests a challenge on Mount Carmel 450 prophets of Baal versus Elijah, with the task of calling up flame to light the sacrificial pyre and bring rain. Elijah wins, even though he doused his pile of wood with water, and the rain comes down in torrents. Whereupon he orders the slaughter of all the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 19: As a result Jezebel is beside herself and Elijah scarpers. Then he despairs. How can he get the message across that YHWH God is the only way to life? The ethics, the attitude, the relationships that are the character of Israel's God. How can he convince people that the other gods are dangerous, deadly? (5.) A time of despair and discovery as there is another kind of showdown. Who is this God? Where is this God? Not in the things of power that other gods represent wind, earthquake, fire, etc but in the space between. In what no words can capture still small voice, sound of sheer silence. Emptiness, letting go, just being; the power between, beyond, beneath the powers that work against one another; the empowering energy that only one word comes close to naming love. This God wins so to speak by way of contrast, not conflict.

3 1 Kings 21: (6.) With this episode we have can no doubt that the other gods are deadly self-seeking, power-hungry. Naboth's vineyard is a classic of corruption, injustice and violence. A spiritually bankrupt way of running a nation and a society. Elijah makes it clear that YHWH, the Lord, is first and foremost about justice and life: what matters is livelihood and well-being for all; that's how peace is achieved. It's indeed a journey, and Elijah has made progress. By the end of his time (when he hands over to Elisha) he surely regrets the ungodliness of his own acts, like the slaughter of the opposing prophets back in chapter 18. Think about what he wanted to achieve, what he could have achieved if he'd realised that it can't be God's way if he's doing the same violent things as the opposition are; if he's treating people as expendable. And think of what happens between him and Jezebel. Arch-enemies. What if he'd found another way? The text's editors have played into this conflict/victory motif for God. For them Jezebel has to be beyond the pale, she has to be the loser. But she is a function of her culture of her gods. She believes that power and manipulation are the way to get the benefits and a good ruler needs to do that for the people. Pray to the gods to get food production, to avoid natural disasters, to gain pre-eminence among other nations. That's all she knows. So let's not make Jezebel the scapegoat and miss the connections. Our culture is much like hers, our politics has a lot in common. It's just that we don't talk about gods. Much more subtle, working as we do with concepts like the principles of economics, the law of the market, and believing we can, if we are smart enough, control our world through intelligence and technology and political systems. Power over others in order to achieve benefits that not everyone can be part of is the perfect description of how our world operates. Now it's not that intelligence, technology, and being organised to solve problems are not important and good. It's just that they are not the ultimate value. They are tools to use as part of a bigger perspective, a perspective that for Elijah is summed up in worshipping the Lord. As the centuries went by following on from Elijah, the prophets discovered more and more of these truths about the way of YHWH. Social and environmental justice features strongly in the 8 th century BCE (Isaiah, Micah, Amos). By the 5th century, the Lord has become the God of creation, with the vision of all peoples gathering and feasting together on the holy mountain (2nd Isaiah). As Elijah learnt in his time, so did the prophetic movement as a whole. A learning that for us is brought to fruition in Jesus. From a Christian perspective, Jezebel and our world is in the grip of a cultural/intellectual/spiritual worldview that is not life-giving, that is not spiritually healthy and inclusive of life for all that exists. It's the worldview that was the problem for her, as it was for Israel's leaders and people generally. Elijah started the great prophetic journey towards transforming people's understanding of what is really important, really of God. It begins as a battle between the god-powers. It culminates for us as Christians in the healing of hearts and minds. The way Jesus shows us. Think about this is relation to today's gospel. Think about the demons that gripped Jezebel and Israel's leadership, that grip dominant culture now. Think about the way everyone adapts society at large, the deeply affected person's family, and even the person themself. Afterwards is a problem for him: living free of the system is hard work. But Jesus says it must be done. We must live as freed people, live God's way, live the compassionate way. That's the key difference in Jesus' response, engaging with the person and their whole situation, putting centre-stage the person's experience of what is happening to them. Not what's wrong with them from an outside point of view but what's wrong with them from their point of view. That's the compassionate way. Imagine Elijah and Jezebel had sat down together and talked about their lives... Imagine if Jesus had met Jezebel. Luke 8:26-39

4 Conversations around the Table Hymn [KK] Inspired by love and anger [KAEO] Blow through the valleys [Clyde's choice] Prayers Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Brazil prayer book prayers... God of Life, prepare our hands for a touch, a new and different touch. Prepare our hands for a touch, a touch of encounter, a touch of awakening, a touch of hope, a touch of feeling. Many are the worn-out gestures. Many are the movements frozen in time. Many are the useless excuses just to repeat attitudes. Give us daring to create new titles of community, new kinds of affection, breaking away from old ways of relating, encouraging true, meaningful ways to move into closeness. Ernesto Barros Cardoso, Brazil. Gifts of Many Cultures: Worship Resources for the Global Community, Maren C. Tirabassi and Kathy Wonson Eddy [KK] Learning from the Children Lord's Prayer Sent to Carry Healing and Hope Serving in the Week Ahead In the community... being Christ shaped Offering Hymn Wide, wide as the ocean Sending and Blessing God gives us enough grace, SO WE MAY GO TO STAND WITH ALL REJECTED BY THE WORLD. Jesus gives us enough hope, SO WE MAY FILL THOSE EMPTIED BY DESPAIR. The Spirit gives us enough peace, SO WE MAY SET FREE ALL IMPRISONED BY FEARS AND HATE Thom M. Shuman...Kia tau.../the grace....[singing] A-men, a-men, a---men Robyn McPhail,

5 NOTICES FOR TODAY 12 JUNE 2016 Parish Minister: Robyn McPhail , Church Office: message machine) Find us at and on Facebook Notices: Jenny Phillips KK Pastoral Contact: Jessica Scott ROSTERED FOR NEXT SUNDAY 26 JUNE 2016 Organist: Marie Cannon KK Clyde Foster KAEO Reader: Arlene Purdie KK tba KAEO Door and Tea: Rilla and Jan KK LECTIONARY READINGS for the coming week 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77:1-2,11-20 Galatians 5:1,13-25 Luke 9: SINGING GROUP: Practice today after tea and chat. KAEO CONGREGATION: Please hand in your little pieces of paper with your hymn choices. NEW CHURCH ROOF SHOUT: The time is at hand. Contributions of morning tea snacks can be left at Jan's or phone her at By Monday please. Or meet outside the site at 9.00am on Tuesday. LECTIONARY STUDY: Monday 20 June at pm in Ted Robinson Chapel, Kerikeri, to read through the week s Bible readings, learn more about their background, and share thoughts and responses. PROPERTY PLANNING GROUP: Tuesday 21 June tba meets prior to Parish Council meeting. PARISH COUNCIL: Tuesday 21 June at 7.00pm meets in the supper room, Kaeo Union Church BOOK CLUB: Wednesday 22 June meets at Joan's place. Part 4. CAR BOOT SALES at 19 Homestead Road, Kerikeri, and every 2nd and 4th Saturday. Contact Mary Next Sale: 25 June COMMUNION SERVICE Sunday 26 June at 1.00pm at Kauri Lodge 4.00pm Communion Service in Ted Robinson Chapel KERIKERI GIRLS BRIGADE: Thursdays during school terms pm at the Baptist Church contact Sheryl Webster, Please pass this on to any families you know who might be interested. KERIKERI RETIREMENT VILLAGE CHAPEL SERVICES: Every Sunday at 4.00pm at the Ted Robinson Chapel. KERIKERI HOME GROUP: First Friday of the month at 6.30pm. Shared meal, venue tba, contact Michelle KAEO HOME GROUP Monday nights, 2nd and 4th of the month, contact Alan