28th. June. 2020 Service.

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Call to Worship

The church lives to praise God.
We have no higher calling than to offer God our lives in worship day to day, Sunday by Sunday, now and always.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, to the ages of ages! Amen.

The Collect for today

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; 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

Lord God, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
From north and south, from east and west,
Drawn to the glory of your majesty we come to worship you,
our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
For the gift of this new day, fresh from your hand, we rejoice.
For the renewal we receive through your friendship in Christ Jesus, we praise you.
With the Spirit’s energy, blessing us in each moment, whether joyous or difficult,
we place our hope in you, our Lord
Lord God, as we trust that all of life is your gift,
give us glimpses of your splendour and love during this time of worship.
Accept our praise, Lord God, Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord of all life and every life,
Forgive us when we forget that our life is a gift from you
and that you are with us in our struggles as well as our achievements.
Forgive us when we forget the value of every person whom you have created
and for the pain we have caused to others.
Bless with your healing love those who have been hurt by our actions and by our selfish inaction.
Heal us, too, of the hurts and harm we carry
and forgive us the grudges that weigh us down.
Restore our faith in your goodness
and free us to live with you and with each other in reconciling grace
through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Jesus said, “Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Friends, trust that peace and forgiveness are God’s gifts to you this day. Be renewed by the power of the Spirit that moves with you into each new day.

Prayer for Understanding

Spirit of wisdom be our guide as we listen for God’s Word speaking in the scriptures. When we are puzzled, give us clarity. When we resist hearing your word, open our hearts. Help us to measure our understanding of life by Christ, God’s Living Word and Witness. Amen.

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

The Readings

Genesis 22:1-14

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’

‘Here I am,’ he replied.

2 Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will show you.’

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’

‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.

‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’

8 Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’

‘Here I am,’ he replied.

12 ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’

Psalm 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

Matthew 10:34-42

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.

40 ‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.’

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

Sermon

Matthew 10:38-39

Our gospel text today is extraordinarily rich in ideas and it is difficult to know which ones to highlight, so today I have chosen to focus on two sections.

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

And:

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.’

These two ideas are not as disparate as they may appear to be at first glance. If I were to give the sermon a title it might be, “Of crosses and cups of cold water.” What connects the two is that both are expressions of the way of compassion of which we have spoken recently.

Jesus is quite blunt when he says that the way to find life is to lose life for his sake, to take up the same cross.

At other times he says: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Turn the other cheek, go the second mile. And, So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” For any of these to be accomplished involves the crucifixion of the self, the ego. Meekness, as we shall see, is not weakness, but the strength of a crucified ego.

The way of the world is to assert one’s ego, to push oneself forward

Someone put it thus “Assertiveness involves the recognition and expression of individual wants, values, needs, expectations, dislikes and desires”.

There we have it. Jesus says: follow me boldly in serving God and you will live. The assertive advise you: do your own thing, boldly. Here are two extreme examples which might illustrate this.

Duncan is a devout Christians who aims to deny himself in following Christ. He is quietly spoken, modest in dress and demeanour, forgives his enemies, does not answer back, and tries to turn away anger with a soft answer.

At home he tends to be at the beck and call of his wife and children. He tries to fulfil their expectations of him as a good husband and father. He is patient, tolerant, generous, and forgiving. Observers believe that his wife and children take Duncan too much for granted, and that the more he does for them, the more they expect.

He is employed as a draughtsman in a small company run by a devout Christian family belonging to another denomination. He works hard for his bosses, does not get paid for overtime, nor does he complain about extra jobs off-loaded on to him. He has never asked for a salary raise, believing that because they are Christians, they will surely always do the right thing by him. Most nights he takes work home to be completed late in the evening before getting a few hours’ sleep.

When his more worldly brother, Ted questions whether he gets adequate remuneration, Duncan shakes his head and says “You don’t understand, little brother. It’s the Lord’s work.”

Duncan is most impressed by the overt piety of his employers. He always attends a prayer meeting which the bosses hold at the beginning of each week, an hour before starting time. Moreover, because the management have often spoken of the way they support overseas missions, Duncan does everything possible to minimise costs and build up profits.

He rarely gets thanks for the money he saves the firm. They seem to take it for granted and then expect more. Yet Duncan does not complain. He suffers from high blood pressure, is often extremely weary, and permanently wears a worried look. Yet in all this, Duncan really believes that he is denying himself for Christ’s sake.

A young woman, Katrina, received expensive self-assertion training to help her in her job. She now acts with supreme self-confidence, no longer feels any need to apologise for mistakes, believes in her absolute right to go and get whatever she wants.

She met an old friend, Alice who was impressed by the transformation in Katrina. Her confident behaviour was not at all like the gentle character she used to know. Katrina suggested they go and have a meal at a popular, quality restaurant.

On arriving they found a long queue waiting for a table. Alice thought they should move on and try somewhere else. Katrina would have none of that. Taking her friend’s hand and, exuding confidence and authority, she marched to the head of the line. Confronted by the receptionist she said: “The table I ordered for two please; in the name of Ms Carmichael. She continued walking towards an empty table that a waitress was just finishing setting.”

The receptionist said: “We have no record, madam, of your booking.” Katrina smiled in a condescending way: “That’s your problem, not mine.” And proceeded to sit down at the table.

To Alice’s amazement, it worked. They ended up occupying that table and soon had a meal before them, while the long queue waited. Alice whispered that she felt embarrassed. They should not have gate crashed like that.

“Why not?” asked Katrina, with a self-satisfied smile and commanding voice. “I can’t help it if others don’t stand up for themselves. Good luck comes to those who claim it, not to those who stand docile like silly sheep.”

Alice did not enjoy the evening, and felt she liked the old Katrina far more and was glad when the evening was over.

In those two stories from real life, we have extreme positions. On the one hand there is Duncan, the self-effacing, devoted Christian. On the other is self-assertive, dominating Katrina, the very contented customer of an assertiveness training programme.

Duncan would have looked askance at Katrina’s attitude and actions. Katrina would look with scorn on Duncan’s self-effacing way of life. She would have called him a door mat. He would have shaken his head but refrained from calling her anything, except maybe something polite like “misguided.”

Of course, to be fair, most Christians are not as servile as Duncan, and many self-assertive folk are much more sensitive and caring than Katrina.

But allowing for the more moderate people on both sides, is there anything compatible between the whole theory and practice of self-assertion and Christianity? Or are the two mutually exclusive?

Duncan imagined he was carrying his cross and thought that he was being meek. We describe Jesus as meek, and unfortunately, we associate it also with the word, “mild.”

But the gospel shows how strong Jesus was in standing up for those who were neglected or rejected. He was assertive for their sakes: For the lepers, the mentally deranged, tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, women, the poorly educated, children, and the mass of common people of the countryside, those whom the pious scorned and the powerful exploited and bullied.

Jesus loved and treasured these folks, he respected them and assisted them to stand tall and look the world in the eye. For Jesus that had an essential dignity. They were all the precious children of God, members of the family of his loving Abba. He went out of his way to respect them, uplift them, to enable them to take charge of their lives.

At considerable cost to himself, he was assertive for their sakes.

And in loyalty to God, he was radically self-assertive.

He refused to allow any bullying individual, or any pressure group, to control his values and actions. He would not bow down to the educated elite of the Scribes and Pharisees, nor pander to the priestly hierarchy of the Sadducees… He refused to share the common hatred of the ruling Romans and would not agree with the methods of terrorist organisations like the Iscari (the dagger men) who were intent on a violent revolution.

In his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus refused to allow His friends and neighbours to make him conform to their expectations for the son of a carpenter. He would not even allow his widowed mother Mary, nor his brothers and sisters, to change his beliefs and activities.

At the end of his short life, he chose the time and place when he would allow himself to be arrested. He declared that nobody was going to rob him of his life; he was going to give it up of his own free will.

He was self-assertive for God’s sake. For the glory of God, he would not allow any person or authority to dominate him.

Thus, any attempt, to turn Jesus into a kindly, pious door mat, who allowed others to walk all over him, is wrong. Any attempt to make Christians into a servile group who bow their pious heads and allow the world to push them around, is also misguided.

The Gospel is not a call to be a self-effacing slave of others, pushed this way and that by the powerful or the manipulators. The call of the Gospel is to take up our cross and be assertive for Christ’s sake. Assertive for God and assertive for the well-being of others.

And what does this mean; to be self-assertive for Christ’s sake?

It means to be assertive for the sake of our true soul, for the image of the living God which is in us… Adopt the Bible’s estimate of your personal worth: “Made only a little less that the gods.” From this core of self-respect, the valid form of self-love, we are set free to be assertive for the sake of others and for the glory of God.

When we do this, asserting our right to be who we are called to be, and from this firm ground readily giving ourselves in service to God and humanity, we find a most unexpected yet wonderful thing happens: we find an enlarging “true self” which is more wonderful than we imagined possible. We find our own destiny. We find ourselves growing and enlarging and becoming fulfilled.

Thomas Traherne a 17th Century preacher and poet said, “Enter your own inner ground, therefore, and act from there, and all your works will become living works.

Jesus was right. When we believe in ourselves enough to love others truly, we find blessedness. There is greater happiness in generous giving than in greedy grabbing. There is more joy in helping others than being obsessed with helping ourselves. The meek do more truly possess the profound riches of this earth than do the arrogant.

The cup of cold water is the humblest of service, but it expresses the love of Christ within us in the fullest way. Here are two examples I read about recently.

“This last week I sat with a group which found itself in a conversation which I have heard repeated more times that I can remember. “What should we do for the beggar on the street? Is it right to give him money? What should we do to help her?” Only this time, one among us piped up with a story about being with friends in the city not long ago. They came upon one who stopped their group and asked for money. They pooled what they had and gave him enough to help him find a place indoors to sleep that night. She said he literally danced down the street as he made his way towards a good night’s sleep. Only this person’s contribution did not end there. She went on to say that maybe he didn’t use it for housing that night. Maybe he went and spent it on cheap wine. She didn’t care. Either way, she figured he had a good night. Yes, what she said ran contrary to everything I’ve ever been taught about how to ‘give a cup of cold water’ to those who call the street home. Even so, it was the most refreshing, generous stories I have heard in a long time and it gave me a window into the way Jesus calls us to be today: to give without judgment and without limit because one of God’s own is in need. In Jesus’ name.

A while back a young woman showed up in my office. We had met a few weeks before when she stopped on a Sunday morning to ask for gas money. She told me her story again. How she is a student at the local community college, hoping eventually to study biochemistry. How she and her 5-year-old son were homeless in a nearby city when a relative attacked her. How, as a result, they came to live at the women’s shelter in the community where I live. How they helped her get on her feet. Only that day there was no food left in the house and her Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program card would not be refilled until the next morning. I had a handful of McDonald’s gift cards in my file drawer and so I gave them to her. Only this was not the cup of cold water in this story. Rather there was this. When she waited to talk to me, she had read one of our flyers about our upcoming Vacation Bible School. She asked me then if it would be possible for her son to attend. Now registration has been essentially ‘closed’ for a couple of weeks. There is only so much bus space and so many adult volunteers to oversee the children as they trek to a local camp for four days in June. Even so, I stepped into the next office and asked our staff member who is in charge what she could do. She did not hesitate. She got out her class lists and in a matter of minute figured out how to fit one more five-year-old into a group. She knows the ‘limits’ far better than I do, but she didn’t hesitate to serve up a cup of cold water for a young mom whose son wants to go to camp this year. Again, in Jesus’ name.

I don’t know how else we learn to pour the water except by doing it. And in doing it in the face of perceived scarcity or fear or even our own best judgment, perhaps it is more and more so that we find ourselves doing it in Jesus’ name. What do you think?”

By following Christ, we become fulfilled in a way that those who are assertive for selfish reasons can never attain. There is no arrogance, no hubris, in Christ’s way. He gives us a good opinion of ourselves which is not based on pride, but on God’s love. It does not lead to the putting down of others to build up oneself, as is so often the case in this foolish world.

If we try to find fulfilment by saving our own lives; if we try to find our true selves by pushing ourselves to the front, trampling on others, building on our own insatiable ego, then we are doomed to failure. That is the way of loss. It is the way of perpetual restlessness, and finally of despair and death.

Whoever tries to save life will lose it, and those who lose life for my sake, will find it. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.’ Amen.

Invitation to the Offering

Jesus teaches that even the gift of a simple cup of water is a gift worthy of his disciples. Friends, whatever we can give to God can bless the world in Jesus’ name. Give so that others may taste God’s living water.

Prayer of Dedication

Generous and gracious God, we receive so much from you. What we return to you this day has first come to us from you. By your Spirit, multiply our gifts that those who are in need may experience the fulness which we already know in Christ, our Living Lord. Amen.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession
Lord God of heaven and earth,
with joy and thanksgiving, we praise you because you create, sustain, and redeem everything.
We thank you for making us in your image to love one another and to care for your creation,
We thank you for the gift of your Son whose life is the pattern for our lives and service, and we thank you for the energy of your Spirit who inspires us in times of challenge and change,

Strengthen us in these difficult days that we may be able to show your love to others as we pray for the church and those who lead it as we adapt to new ways of worshiping and being together…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

We pray for our world in all its diversity and fulness that we may learn reverence and care for it…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

We pray for those who lead in the nations of the world that they may work for the well-being of the most vulnerable…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

We pray for those who serve as teachers, healers and caregivers in these stressful days when their work is so demanding…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

For the poor, the homeless, the hungry and all whose livelihoods have been disrupted during the pandemic…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

We pray for those who are ill or struggling in isolation, and for those who mourn the loss of someone dear…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

We pray for the powerless and the oppressed in all places and for those who work to defend them…
(Silence for 5 seconds)

Hear us now as we pray in silence for people and situations which are on our minds today.

Eternal God, keep us in communion with your people through all times and in all places. May we serve you faithfully, blessing others as we have been blessed by your love in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Benediction

Go out with the Gospel ringing in your ears
with joy flooding your heart
and a spring energising your step
and with love flowing through your hands.

The Creator of the universe will uphold you,
the Saviour of the lost will enfold you, and
the Spirit of truth will strengthen you,
now and evermore, 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:

Praise my soul, the King of heaven

Lord, you have come to the seashore (beautifully sung)

Version with words:

Brother, sister, let me serve you

We sing a love that sets all people free

All over the World

Let Your Living Water Flow

For Children

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Matthew 10:40-42

Stickers—I am sure you have seen a lot of these. Your teachers at school, and maybe even your parents, often use stickers to reward your good behaviour. Nothing makes a child prouder than showing off a new sticker. It gives them a feeling of pride and accomplishment. It is the proof of a job well done! Children aren’t the only ones who like to get rewards. God knows that all of us, big or small, are also motivated by rewards. The Bible contains many exciting promises of rewards for those who are faithful to God’s teaching.

When Jesus was sending out his twelve disciples, he warned them that being his disciple wasn’t going to be easy. They would often be mistreated, rejected, and abused. In our lesson last week, Jesus assured that God would watch over them and keep them safe. He also promised that God would reward those who received his disciples with kindness and welcomed them into their homes and was kind to them.

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me,” Jesus told them. Who is the one who sent Jesus? It is God the Father. Isn’t it wonderful that we can know that when we welcome those who come to us in Jesus’ name, it is the same as welcoming Jesus and when we welcome Jesus, we also welcome God the Father who sent him? Jesus went on to tell the disciples that whoever welcomes a prophet would receive the same reward as the prophet and that whoever welcomes a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. Jesus also promised, “If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of my disciples, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

I guess stickers are a pretty good reward for doing something well at school or for keeping our room clean at home, but they don’t compare to knowing that God is pleased with us and that one day we will receive our reward. To hear the Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” is reward enough for me.

God our Father, help us to be faithful to your teachings each day. Help us to welcome those who come to us in Jesus’ name and care for others as we offer even a cup of cold water in your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

A cup of cold water

Let’s sing to the Lord (A Jewish song of praise)

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