21st June. 2020 Service.

Third Sunday in Pentecost

Call to Worship

Gladden the souls of your servants, O God!
We lift our hearts to you, O Lord,

The Lord is good and forgiving, abounding on steadfast love.
Hear our cries, O God, and answer.

God is great and does wondrous things,
We come to worship and bow down before you, O Lord.

Let us glorify God’s name together.

The Collect for today

O Lord, give us constant love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and guide those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­ kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

God of grace, you created our minds to know and to grow in wisdom.
You created our hearts to expand with love for you and your world.
You created our voices to sing your praises forever.
Fill us to overflowing with your Holy Spirit, that we may worship you in spirit and in truth, bold and unafraid to follow you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Father God, you create the future, and you call us to follow you into it,
yet we confess that we prefer to remain where we are.
You offer us new beginnings, but we continue to make the same choices.
You invite us into the fullness of life, yet we distance ourselves from you and each other because of our fears and our doubt.
Forgive us, O God.
Release us from the guilt of every unworthy thought, word, and action by
the grace of Christ our Lord.
Rouse us by your Holy Spirit to be intentional, courageous disciples
even when the world does not welcome us or the word which we proclaim in Jesus’ name.

Assurance of Pardon
In Christ, we are made a new creation; the old life is gone, and the new life has come! Know that God loves you and forgives you. Do not be afraid to make a new start!

Prayer for Understanding
God of wisdom, by the power of your Holy Spirit, open our minds to your truth, our hearts to your love and grace, and our hands so that we may be able do your will. In the name of Jesus, your Living Word, we pray. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer (in the words most familiar to you)

The Readings

Genesis 21:8-21

8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day that Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob.

17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’

19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

Matthew 10:24-39

24 ‘The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

26 ‘So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32 ‘Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

34 ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn

‘“a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

37 ‘Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

This is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all praise and glory.

Sermon

Last week we spoke about Jesus’ compassion as a fundamental expression of the love of God. Psalm 145 tells us,

“9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made and 5 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

Jesus illustrates this principle today in our Gospel reading, Matthew 10:

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

I am not sure what I think about sparrows. They are everywhere, in the manse garden where they seem to outnumber every other bird at least ten to one. Flocks of them flit through the bushes and eat the flower buds on my fuchsias or scatter the mulch on the roses over the grass, along with their accomplices, the blackbirds. Of course, that is how they find their food at the proper time as God satisfies their desires. If you look closely at sparrows, they really don’t all look alike, although the differences are subtle though most of us pay them little attention unless we think they are damaging our vegetables or flowers.

Jesus tells us that sparrows are important to God and not one will fall outside our Father’s care. Nonetheless we know that sparrows don’t always survive, so are all sparrows equal? Or are there special favours for some? This raises a question:

Are good people who love, worship and obey God granted special protection from the evils and calamities that fall on unbelievers? And are true believers afforded favours in the ordinary business of life?

I found four illustrations which illustrate Jesus’ words to his disciples here.

Thirty-five-year-old Kathy, a devout Baptist, is driving to visit a friend in hospital; a friend with whom she usually plays tennis each week. As always, the biggest hassle will be finding parking space within walking distance of the hospital. She prays that God will provide her with one. Ahead of her (to her chagrin) is another car, also looking for parking. A vehicle’s reversing light flashes and leaves a space. Quickly, with sharp reflexes, Kathy swings and beats the other car to the vacant space. Gratefully she thanks the Lord for his favour. Sound familiar?

Also visiting the hospital that day is a 77-year-old woman named Eva. She is a devout Lutheran, who had prayed for God’s help to get her through another difficult day. Her husband is struggling to throw off an infection following open heart surgery. Her car is the one which was outmanoeuvred by Kathy’s. Eva vainly searches for another 15 minutes before settling for parking almost a kilometre way. With the aid of her walking stick, Eva slowly makes her way to the hospital, and lovingly tends her gravely ill husband. (Ever had to walk to Victoria Hospital from the top of one of the hills?)

Question: Has God looked after Baptist Kathy but ignored Lutheran Eva? Was one blessed and the other denied? Was the difference that one had greater faith than the other?

Does one of God’s human “sparrows” matter more than another?

Sue, a mother of four had fought a long battle with cancer. She and her husband Alex, an elder in their Presbyterian congregation, received repeated visits from a Roman Catholic neighbour with charismatic leanings, Tessa, who kept insisting. “If you have faith you will be healed. Not a hair of your head will perish.” She gave the example of a cousin of hers who prayed to the Lord and was delivered from cancer; that cousin was now in a remission that extended to 11 years. (I have a cousin who still survives fifty years on.)

As the mother of four sank lower towards death, Tessa took to taking the husband aside and berating him, “Alex, It must be your lack of faith that is the problem. Have more faith and God will deliver Sue from this disease.” Tessa laid the whole blame for his wife’s illness on him. When Sue died, Alex felt a burden of guilt heaped upon the load of sorrow he had to bear.

Was that correct? Would God have healed Sue if only Alex had more faith? Is that the kind of God we are dealing with?

It was mid-summer. The temperature reached 41 degrees. A bushfire was bearing down towards a farmhouse. The occupants, the Hasluck family, were members of the Uniting Church.

The man and his wife prayed that God would divert the fire and save them. Suddenly, at about 4.30 p.m. there was a wind shift and the fires missed their home and outbuildings by about 700 metres. The farmer and his wife thanked the Lord for his miraculous intervention. Later they told their friends: “Our prayers saved us. The Lord looks after his own. Each hair on our heads is numbered.” When questioned about other farms in the district that suffered, the Haslucks said: “Well we had faith, didn’t we?” (A bushfire once got awfully close to our house in Mount Victoria).

Why then did the Lord not hear the similar, fervent prayers of the Arrowsmiths, their devout Anglican neighbours? For when the wind changed direction, it wiped out their sheep pens and shearing shed, their barn, tractor, and shearers’ huts. If God watches over every sparrow that falls, where was he when 5 thousand sheep either perished or had to be mercifully shot once the fire had passed? Are Uniting Church members like the Haslucks more in God’s favour than Anglicans like the Arrowsmith family?

Two blithe AOG members, Jerry and Cindy, were driving interstate to visit relatives. Before they set out, they prayed to the Lord for travelling mercies. Then off they went, without a care in the world. Suddenly, as they rounded a bend, they were involved in a three-car collision. Their vehicle fared better than the other two. After the police have finished enquires, Cindy and Jerry were able to continue their journey with little more than bruises and shock. They drove on, singing their thanks to the Lord for his travelling mercies, which so obviously protected them. Jerry in a croaky baritone hymned: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he cares for me.”

What about the dead man in one car, and the two injured in the other vehicle who were rushed by ambulance to hospital? Must we assume that they were either not believers, or if they were, they did not have as much faith as our two Christians, Jerry and Cindy?

Are these examples farfetched? Not at all. Each one is based on actual people and events, although names and details and church affiliations have been changed

People do find themselves in such tragic situations in which God seems to hear the prayers of some yet ignores the prayers of others.

What then did Jesus mean when he spoke these words:

Two sparrows can be bought for a couple of coins. Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father being concerned. The very hairs on your head are all numbered So do not be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows?

We must place this saying in context. Jesus had been warning his disciples about the inevitable misunderstandings and persecution which would afflict the disciples in their mission. They were being sent out into the world “like sheep among wolves” He warned that some of them would be dragged before the courts or hauled before governors and kings for sentencing. Some would be abused and betrayed by their own families. Some would be killed for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“If this happens,” says Jesus, “nonetheless do not be afraid.”

Two sparrows can be bought for a couple of coins. Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father feeling the loss.

This promise is not to a few lucky disciples who will have an easy life, but to those who will endure many troubles, and who may even be arrested, tortured, convicted and executed.

Jesus is not promising favours in human terms, he is not guaranteeing protection in the way the world offers protection.

If you want protection, then go to a security firm, hire a bodyguard, put bars over your windows and wear a bullet proof vest. And always be afraid. Because you will be, if you chose to place your trust in the world’s protection. You will always be anxious. Always afraid.

Jesus offers something better, something far more profound. Something fundamentally more secure.
He is saying that even when the worst happens, you will remain precious to God. Not for a moment will you be alone. No part of your soul will be ignored or lost. He Himself will be with you all the way, from here to eternity.

Notice that Jesus does not say that God will prevent the fall of a sparrow. Nor does he say we will not lose some of our hair. He is using vivid metaphors to state that God cares for us utterly, every second, no matter what happens. God will be with us in every moment of ease or struggle, of laughter or tears.

There is no divine insurance policy guaranteeing “Christian sparrows” good health, nor for their protection as they board an aeroplane, nor is there a sure promise of deliverance in times of fire, flood, famine, drought or coronavirus.

Ornithologists have estimated that there are between 200 and 400 billion birds in the world, 22.7 billion of them being domestic hens.And the commonest wild bird is not the sparrow, but the red-billed quelea at 1.5 billion, followed by mourning doves at 475 million. There are thus between forty and sixty birds to every human being. God’s eye is upon them all.

But who is the ‘you’ Jesus speaks of in this passage? You and me! We are invited to rest in this powerful promise that God’s eye is on us as He loves us with an amazing love which knows us so well that He has numbered the very hairs on our heads.

You and me, yes, of course. But also, all those others. All those other often truly forgotten ones or despised ones. I read this week that the rich of Mumbai are quite discomfited because, owing to covid-19, all the casual workers in the city have returned to their villages in the country. As a result, there is no one to fetch their sandwiches at lunchtime, wash and iron their clothes, supply cheap fruit and vegetables, and the streets are inundated with monsoon water because there is no one to clear silt or sewage from the drains. All those and others they often do not pause to notice. Not unlike sparrows in a way, and in India most of these invisible people are darker in skin colour.

Here are an American pastor’s thoughts on this:

In our society we call some people ‘essential workers’. And yes, those include doctors and nurses and health care workers, of course. But I cannot help but believe that in an especially powerful and particular way God’s heart is:

• With the young man who behind a plexiglass screen checked me out at the grocery store the other day.

• With the health care aid who has no choice but to go to work to feed her family.

• With the middle-aged woman with a heavy accent who handed my order at the drive through last week.

• With all the nameless faceless ones who harvest and butcher and pack the food that lines my shelves and fills our freezer.

• People who work long, hard hours for little pay who are too often unseen.

• People who in these last months have been lauded with yard signs and have received our public and private thanks, but who can still hardly make ends meet.

And yes, I also think of so very many people of colour (often one and the same as those named above) whose stories have been overlooked or downright ignored — to their very peril — by those of us in the dominant culture.

‘Sparrows,’ all, it seems to me. At least in terms of how much more God loves them.

Indeed, all so very loved by God although we who walk alongside often simply do not see or really hear them at all.

I am deeply humbled by this discovery now that while Jesus may have meant these words for the very likes of me, even so, perhaps it is so that they were meant even deeply and surely for so very many others. Those I, myself, too seldom truly ‘see’ at all.

And I am wondering at what God’s call is for me in all of this.

• Surely that call is not only to notice, but to pay attention not only ‘when they fall’ as the Gospel has it now, but long before they do.

• And more than this, or in order to do this, to remember their inherent value.

• And because of this noticing, this remembering, to change my very way of living in this world now so that ‘value’ will be reflected in real and meaningful ways in their lives now.

And yes, even more than this, to work to change the systems of this world which keep them so invisible, so forgotten along the way. JH.

Here there is just one guarantee, one sure thing which stands the test of time and eternity, that God loves us and will be with us, no matter what happens. Nothing can cancel God’s loving involvement, from our highest success and happiness to our deepest disaster.

God’s providence over arches and undergirds all things every minute. God never wearies. God’s Holy Spirit is with us always, sharing our lives and seeking to bless our strengths, to forgive our sins, share our pain and weep with us in our grief. God is with us enabling to transform accidents and tragedies into spiritual opportunity.
We continue our mission as agents of the loving Christ in a largely unloving world, not because if we do so we will receive God’s protection, but because it is the right and loving thing to do.

Not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father feeling the loss. Amen.

Invitation to the Offering

Pentecost season celebrates the gifts of the Spirit energised in the Church to touch the world with God’s love and mercy, God’s truth and justice. Whatever you offer back to God becomes a gift which can change the world for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Dedication

O God, you are kind and generous to us, thus we bring our gifts to you in gratitude. Pour your Spirit over these gifts and onto our lives, that we may bear the fruit of your Spirit in everything we do, thereby touching others with your grace. We pray in the name of Christ, our Living Lord. Amen.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession

God of compassion and courage,
In our weakness you are strength.
In our darkness you are light.
In our sorrows you are comfort and peace.
Embrace In your steadfast love.
every person and situation we bring to you in our prayers.

We thank you for the moments of joy that break into our lives,
even in these challenging times of pandemic and unrest.
We thank you for love given and received, for friends who furnish our life with meaning and happiness, and for family who embrace us with love and understanding.
And we thank you for all caring and faithful fathers celebrated t0day,
remembering those whose fathers have died or are absent,
and praying for fathers who are separated from their families today.

God of the nations
We pray for our country and countries around this world
so deeply affected by COVID-19.
Guide our leaders to make wise decisions about the reopening of our communities,
and give patience and courage to those whose lives have been disrupted, and reassure
those who fear what the future holds.
Wherever injustice rules and misinformation confuses,
protect the vulnerable and shine the light of your truth upon
our path to restore our society and revive our hopes.

God of compassion,
We pray for peace to prevail in every place that is torn by war,
and ask that all life may be respected and healed wherever people are abused or scorned.
We pray for all those who are suffering and for all who mourn deep loss.
Surround them with your love and support them with the strength of your Spirit.
Help us to see to how we may bring comfort to people who are hurting.

Eternal God, you hold the dead as well as the living in your tender care.
We thank you for your people in every age who have entered your heavenly presence, especially those dear to our own hearts.
Keep us in communion with them and bring us to live with them at the last in your eternal light. We ask all our prayers in the name of and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Benediction
God has given you all that you will need as you reach out in love and caring to others. Go into God’s world bringing the good news of redemption and hope. In Jesus’ Name, go in peace and may the God of Peace go with you always. Amen.

Hymns
Here are some hymn suggestions to check on YouTube if you wish to sing along. Some may not be as familiar as their titles suggest:

Be still for the presence of the Lord is here
Be still for the Presence of the Lord is hear.
How great thou art!

Beauty for brokenness
Beauty and Brokenness.

Summer suns are glowing

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord!

His eye is on the sparrow (Whitney Houston)

For Children

What are some hobbies that people enjoy?

Reading, knitting, and photography are popular hobbies. Some people like to build things like model cars or airplanes. Others may enjoy outdoor activities like fishing or hiking. Do you have a hobby? What’s your hobby?

Do you think God has a hobby? OK, I know the Bible doesn’t tell us that God has a hobby, but if He did, do you know what I think it might be? Bird watching! If I use my imagination, I can see God sitting in heaven with a pair of binoculars, though I suspect he does not need them Perhaps He has a book with pictures of all the beautiful birds that He has created, and He is trying to see how many of them he can spot. If I really stretch my imagination, I can even hear Him saying, “There’s a chaffinch, and a blue tit!. Oh look, there’s an Eagle, a Meadowlark, and a Sparrow.” A Sparrow? Of course He would see a Sparrow, there are millions of them. You’ve seen them –, ordinary, brown Sparrows — but God must have loved them, because He made so many of them.

What birds do you see in your garden?

One day Jesus was teaching His disciples that they should not be afraid. Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid when people threaten you. Two sparrows are sold for a penny, but not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing it. So, don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”

A sparrow seems like a common bird. It has been said, “God must have loved the common people, because He made so many of them.” I don’t think that God sees us as common or ordinary. If He did, He would not love us in such an uncommon and extraordinary way! The Bible says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” We are more precious to Him than a whole flock of sparrows — and we know how much He loves the sparrow.

Dear God, we know that we are precious in Your sight. Thank You for loving us with such an uncommon and extraordinary love. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Now listen to Hymn 239 below:

When your father made the world

When your Father made the world,
Before that world was old,
In his eye, what he had made was lovely to behold,
Help your people to care for your world.

Chorus
The world is a garden you made,
And you are the one who planted the seed.
The world is a garden you made,
A life for our food, life for our joy,
Life we could kill with our selfish greed.

And the world that he had made,
The sea, the rocks the air,
All creatures and the plants he gave into our care,
Help your people to care for your world.
Chorus

When you walked in Galilee, you said your Father knows,
When each tiny sparrow dies,
Each fragile lily grows,
Help your people to care for you world.
Chorus

And the children of the earth like sheep within your fold,
Should have food enough to eat,
And shelter from the cold,
Help your people to care for your world.
Chorus

A Prayer in a Time of Distress

Almighty and everlasting God, you are strength to those who suffer and comfort to those who grieve. Let the prayers of your children who are in trouble rise to you. Hear our prayer. We claim your promises of wholeness as we pray for those who are ill or are suffering loss and long for your healing touch. Hear our prayer. Make the weak strong, the sick healthy, the broken whole, and confirm those who serve them as agents of your love. Hear our prayer. To everyone in distress, grant mercy, grant relief, grant refreshment. Hear our prayer. When we begin to rebuild, we commend our neighbourhoods to your care. Give us strength of purpose and concern for others, that we may create a community where your will, may be done. Hear our prayer. God of compassion, you watch our ways, and weave out of terrible happenings wonders of goodness and grace. Hear our prayer. Surround those who have been shaken by tragedy with a sense of your present love and hold them in faith. Though they are lost in grief, may they find you and be comforted; Through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives and rules this world with you. Amen