26th. September. 2021. Service.
Service of Worship 26th September 2021
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Prelude: The Lord is my Shepherd (Schubert)
Bible Introit 772 “In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful”
Collect
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 84 “Now Israel may say and that truly”
Call to Prayer
Our help is in the name of the Lord our God,
He is the maker of heaven and earth.
God our Maker is always present with us,
He is loving and gracious to all.
We come to worship God as we follow in the way of truth.
We offer our prayers and praise to the One who is freedom and life.
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Holy One, Source, Story and Spirit of Love,
You are perfect in wisdom, faithful in love.
relentless in seeking to reconcile and bless your people.
When we feel alone, you offer us a place in the community of faith.
When we experience pain, you bring us comfort and healing.
When danger threatens us, you give us courage.
When we work against each another, you urge peace.
Holy One, you are the wellspring of grace and goodness.
We bring our worship with gratitude for all you have given us
through Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Accept our worship and our praise today; refresh our faith, purify our souls and enlighten our minds that they may be in accord with the mind of Christ our Saviour.
Prayer of Confession
Patient Lord, we know that you call us to service, but we often feel inadequate. We love to make excuses for not doing something or for doing something only half-heartedly. Remind us again of your loving and guiding presence and the promise of your help and strength. Forgive our jealousies and resentments,
and free us from any temptation to put others down.
Forgive us when we stumble and falter, when we forget ourselves and make mistakes or when we sin knowingly and deliberately. Turn us again to you in humility with confidence in your forgiveness and mercy. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
As Jesus forgave the sins and mistakes of his disciples and all who sought his blessing on earth, so God is faithful and forgives us and restores us to his favour and joy.
Prayer for Understanding
Let us hear the Living Word in our time of worship and, holding it firmly in our minds and hearts, help us to grow into the likeness of Christ Jesus, that we may live to the praise of your eternal glory. Hear our prayers as we sum them in the words which Jesus taught us:
The Lord’s Prayer in the version most familiar to you.
North Queensferry
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever. Amen.
Intimations
Next Sunday, October 3rd will be our Thanksgiving Service for Harvest which will be conducted by the elders. The minister will be on holiday from Saturday 2nd until 13th October. Morag Wilkinson will conduct worship on Sunday 10th October.
In Inverkeithing, the first coffee morning will be on Tuesday 28th September. Social distancing, track and trace and masks when moving in the sanctuary will be required.
Messy Church-
is back. Assuming there is no major change to Covid regulations in the next couple of weeks we will be welcoming families back to Messy Church on Saturday 9th October from 2-4pm in Inverkeithing.
The C Word
The return of Messy Church also means the return of the C-Word. In the next few session our C-Word will be “Creed” and we will look at what it is we say we believe when we recite the Apostles’ Creed. The first session is “I believe in God the Father? We’ll be looking at the issues surrounding the gender imagery of the Divine. Meeting on Wednesday 13th October at 7 pm in the Church.
Keith Belford’s funeral will be held privately on Thursday 30th September in North Queensferry Church; however friends and members of the congregation are respectfully invited to attend the interment in Dunfermline Cemetery at 11:30 am.
Please remember Catherine, and Keith’s wider family in your prayers.
Invitation to the Offering
Through our offering, we join in an outreach of creative and compassionate service across our country and around the world. Our gifts combine with those of many others to build up the body of Christ and its mission of healing and wholeness in Jesus’ name.
Prayer of Dedication
God of goodness and loving kindness, we offer our gifts in gratitude for what you have given us in Christ and in creation. We know there are many who face danger and devastation daily. Bless these gifts and multiply them through what others share this day, so that your goodness and loving kindness will touch many in need, for the sake of Christ our Lord. Amen.
All Age Talk
Everyone knows what salt is, right? We use it every day to make our food taste better. Imagine eating a hamburger and French fries without salt. It wouldn’t have much flavour, would it?
But salt has more uses than just making our food taste better. It’s used to make over 14,000 different products, some of which we use every single day.
- Salt is used in setting the dye in fabrics. Without salt, the bright colours that we wear today would quickly wash out of our clothes, making them dull and less vibrant.
- Salt is also used in leather making. Without salt, we would not have many of the leather products that we use every day — like this belt.
- Salt is used to make plastic. Without salt, we might not have many of the plastic toys that we play with. People have known about the usefulness of salt for many years. A grain of salt may be small, but it’s very valuable. At one time, salt was so important that people were paid with salt instead of money.
Jesus knew the power of salt in our lives. He even used it to tell His followers how He wants us to live. Jesus said, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.”
We are called to be salt in the world. This means to flavour our world with the love of Jesus, and to be led by Him in making the world a better place.
Dear God, help us flavour our world with Your love. Help us make the world a better place. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn 692 “Jesus puts this song into our hearts”
Psalm 124
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side –
let Israel say –
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth. Amen
Hymn 356 “Meekness and majesty”
Mark 9:38-50
38 ‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’
39 ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.
42 ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung round their neck, and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
“the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.”
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
50 ‘Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with each other.’ Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 552 “O for a closer walk with God”
Sermon
Mark 9:42-48
Two things caught my eye this week. The first was an article in the Guardian about the restoration of harsh Sharia Law in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Nooruddin Turabi, the former minister of justice indicated that harsh punishments based on the Quran will be restored. Horror and disgust rightly attend such punishments in our society so what do we make of the very challenging passage from St Mark’s Gospel which we read this morning? It talks about causing children to stumble, punishment with outsize millstones and cutting off or plucking out offending parts of the body and being salted with fire and all of these words come from the mouth of Jesus.
Every now and again we have to confront the harder aspects of the Gospel, and it is tempting to explain them away or brush over them without attempting to understand the meaning behind them. Today I attempt to tackle this to our benefit I hope.
We all know the expression “tough love” and it appears from this passage that Jesus’ love is as “tough as nails.”
We prefer to think of the Lord as “full of compassion and mercy” as the letter of James tells us, however that is only one description of Jesus because today’s Gospel reading dispels any idea Jesus is soft on sin:
Whoever causes one of these little children who trust me to sin,
it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung round his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
It would appear in this passage that any attempt to reduce the concept of Christian love to pious sentimentality, is here robustly refuted.
The most loving person this world has seen spoke some of the sternest words ever to cross human lips, and for such love he suffered one of the worst possible deaths. The essence of today’s passage is that true love needs to be robust in its condemnation of anything that harms the soul.
We know that Jesus was the champion of the disempowered and the despised, the vulnerable and the abused. Children came into that category. So did new converts to the gospel, those who were mere infants in the community of faith. In the Gospel of Mark we read that Jesus warned offenders against little children. This is something which our society has been forced to recognise in our lifetime and sadly it has been a tragedy for some branches of the church itself for a long time. Although Jesus’ words do not directly address the manifestation of child abuse in our time, they do encompass it. It appears from the context that spiritual abuse, wrong teaching and example by which young converts’ faith is subverted was as much in Jesus’ mind rather the physical and sexual abuse we hear about today. The two are closely connected as survivors of such abuse in the church will testify. In Jesus words, perpetrators of such abuse are in big trouble. It would be preferable to be thrown into the sea with millstone around their necks, than finding oneself in hell. In Jessie Burton’s book the Miniaturist, set in Amsterdam in the 17th Century, this punishment is used against a homosexual man.
This sort of punishment is shocking to us, but extreme punishments like it have only been moderated in very recent years.
Jesus goes further and condemns any wilful offence that harms either self or others.. But we should note that his advice is not to judicial authority about the nature of punishment. It is addressed to the mind and conscience of the individual saying that it is better to cut off one’s own offending hand or foot, or to pluck out one’s evil eye, than to wilfully injure others and damn your own soul.
Maintaining our Christian integrity, living lovingly towards others, so that justice and mercy embrace, is never an easy assignment. It takes all our energy and dedication, common sense and profound wisdom. Especially it requires self-honesty. Know yourself. Self-honesty and clear thinking are essential if we are to get it right in our relationships and to keep it right.
The passage commences with that stark warning about not harming the faith of the vulnerable. “Any person who causes one of these little ones who trust me to stumble, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck, and he was thrown into the sea”
The millstone referred to is not a small hand millstone sometimes used by women to grind flour for the family’s bread. It is the large millstones of an ox-driven mill weighing some tons. These huge stones were kept turning by ox or ass plodding around and around in a tight circle. Such a millstone is a hundred times larger than would be needed to carry a man to the bottom of the sea and keep him there forever.
What we have here is the typical, exaggerated language of the Middle East. We call it hyperbole. We have commented on hyperbole at other times, but from a pastoral perspective it is something we must recognise because some people persist in trying to read Eastern documents through the filter of Western eyes. This can lead to confusion of serious error.
If a truth is important enough, the Semitic people do not go in for concise, moderated, (and often dull) language such as the Romans favoured. The Semites expressed truth in vivid word pictures, exaggerated images.
Jesus, a true Semite, used that kind of dramatic language to make his point. Readers of the Bible get themselves into all sorts of trouble if they try reading it with academic, Western goggles on. For our culture, especially when we are writing or giving a formal lecture, the bigger the truth the more careful and concise and logical our language should be.
Not so for the people of the Middle East. Jesus was not a Professor at Cambridge, Harvard, St Andrews, or the universities of Scotland. And he was not speaking to academics or undergraduates. He was a Jewish man peaking to ordinary Jewish people. For Jesus and his hearers, the bigger the truth the more exaggerated the language might be. Get this right and his teaching packs a punch. Get it wrong and some earnest souls could end up with a literalism which can lead to serious religious excess.
Now look again at that millstone. Consigning an offender to drown by hanging a full size millstone around his neck is definitely “over-kill.” That stone would be sufficient to send a team of oxen to the bottom of the sea, let alone one offending man or woman! It is a dramatic picture because Jesus is giving a drastic warning. He is for real. The danger is real. Cause one of these little ones who believe in him to stumble, and it would be preferable for the offender to consigned, attached to the millstone, to the depths of the sea.
As we mentioned last Sunday, there is the double play in the “phrase little ones.” It can mean the little child or the new convert. Both are vulnerable to the influence of others. Both are easily diverted and corrupted by those in whom they place their trust.
In the church we are warned by the Lord about our influence for good or evil. It is no light matter. What we say and do always has some effect on those around us, for good or evil. Be warned. Jesus took it seriously enough to draw on a vivid picture: that large and heavy stone, and one little human, being plunging into the sea.
There is even more to this image. The Jews were among the world’s worst sailors. Why? At that time they saw the sea as an alien place, belonging to primitive powers of chaos from which God had established the land. For them in that era, to be drowned was to be lost for all eternity. There was no hope of resurrection for those who were lost at sea. A grim warning to all of us.
The warnings then continue with amputations. Jesus keeps up the pressure by speaking first of our hands “If your hand offends, cut it off, better to live maimed than to go to hell with two hands.” Shocking imagery, huh? More to come. “If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. Better to live lame than go to hell with two feet.” Jesus pushes us even harder: “If your eye leads you to sin, tear it out. Better to enter life with one eye than to go to hell with twenty- twenty vision.” I suppose what makes this even more shocking is the fact that within Islam these punishments are sanctioned for lesser crimes like theft or highway robbery. As such this adoption into an earthly judicial process takes it much further than Jesus’ intention
Here Jesus is warning us about making an unholy alliance with sin; sin is never just between you and God; it also has an impact on people around us. Sin is like spreading bacteria in a public swimming pool. All sin impinges on others, and trips up other people, especially the “little ones,” on their journey of faith.
We should lament the fact that some guilt-ridden folk have missed the hyperbole and taken these words of Jesus literally. Historically there may have been a few who have actually amputated a hand or a leg or blinded themselves wanting to get rid of temptation and sin. That is tragic. Jesus never wants us to mutilate ourselves. His warning was intentional, but it was dressed in the hyperbole familiar to his people. We need to get the point he is making, not allow our literalist, western understanding to lead us into the terrible folly of mutilating the body God has created.
The grim warning Jesus gives is reinforced by his repeated use of the word “hell”. The word before we translate it into English as hell is actually Gehenna. Our word “hell” is the best we can do but it is hardly adequate. The word Gehenna derives from the city of Jerusalem’s rubbish tip in the valley of Hinnom. It was a stinking place of maggots and worms, and continual smouldering fires. Jesus is telling us that If we chose to do those things that degrade us and undermine the faith of those around us, we are choosing to be trash. One wonders what a careless life without self-examination and repentance might lead to in eternity. Jesus’ warnings about spiritual danger are very real.
The other thing which caught my eye this week was a scientific article about two cities in the Middle East that show evidence of having been destroyed by a meteor strike. The evidence showed that the remaining ground was rendered infertile for a long time afterwards because of the presence of extreme amounts of salt, of various kinds remaining in the soil. It is speculated that these communities are the basis of the Sodom and Gomorrah stories in Genesis, and the account of Lot’s wife turned into a column of salt. The land somehow cleansed and purified?
This brings us to the other difficult saying, “Everyone will be salted with fire,” a verse that I had not noticed until now. Salt was valued for its preservative purposes, and it was used in the Temple to purify the burnt offerings made on the altar. Does this imply a purifying of the soul? It may be behind the doctrine of purgatory. Since there is judgment could there not also be purifying in eternity whatever that may signify. Added to the sayings about Christians being the salt of the earth, we should surely ask ourselves, “Are we a purifying presence in society?”
We must understand that in saying these things Jesus was not just expressing his frustration by using colourful language. He was clear headed and filled with nothing but love for those around him.
If you love others you will care about their safety, long for their wellbeing. True love will encourage, true love will warn, true love will rebuke when necessary. True love will gladly suffer to try and reclaim the beloved from turning themselves into trash, fit for the rubbish dump. Gehenna is no fit place for those who were created to be creatures of light made into the image of God. Our primary challenge is to purify ourselves through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit with in us
Christ loves his people enough to be hard on them. We should be grateful for that, and never take lightly either his warnings or his mercies. He who startles us with such dramatic language, also puts his own body on the line for us. Love is as tough as the nails that held him to the cross. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Gracious God,
you have called many people together to become the church
that bears Jesus’ name.
Thank you for joining us in a fellowship that spans this worldand unites us in the great adventure of the gospel as you reach out in love to all humankind.
We pray that you will bless our congregation and our denomination, and give us a sense of the universal mission and purpose of your church
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Creator God,
you made all things and called them good.
May the earth be held in reverence by all people.
May its resources be used wisely, and the fragile balance among all its species respected and preserved.
Be with people around the world whose lives have been disrupted by wildfires, storm and droughts
and bring healing to communities and wildlife struggling for life. Make us aware of how we can help to preserve the resources of the planet for future generations. Curb our selfishness and our carelessness.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Comforting God,
your Son became a refugee without a place to call his own.
Look with mercy on all those who are fleeing from danger,
and find themselves homeless and hungry in hostile lands.
(Here you can add specific prayers for places in recent news)
Bless and protect those who work to bring relief of suffering.
We ask you to inspire generosity and compassion in hearts of all who have resources to share.
Guide the nations to work together for climate change or to bring an end to conflict so that children may grow up safe and happy in their own homes.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Eternal Ruler,
all nations rise and fall in your sight.
Hear our prayers for those who rule in countries around the world, that they may act with integrity, establish justice for all citizens, and follow in ways of peace.
As we face the difficulties, scarcity and hardships which threaten our own country give counsel to our leader as they try to address the needs of the most vulnerable, and to lead recovery from the pandemic with wisdom and care.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of hope,
we bring before you the names of people and situations which concern us today, praying for healing, help and the intervention of your spirit on their behalf.
(Keep silence for 30 seconds)
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Ever faithful God, you are gathering all your people from all times and places into the body of Christ through his resurrecting love. Keep us in communion with all your saints,
those we have known and loved, as well as those known best to you.
Inspire us in the remembrance of their faith in action,
and bring us together with the joy we can only know in your eternal presence.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Merciful God,
accept our prayers, spoken and unspoken,
and enable us to do your will each day through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn 739 “The Church’s one foundation”
Sending out and Benediction
Go in peace to serve the Lord. Remember the healing love that has taken place in your life. Be open to all the wonders and opportunities that God puts before you. Go in peace. AMEN.
“May God’s blessing surround you each day”
Postlude: “Angel Band”