7th. November. 2021. Service.
24th Sunday after Pentecost
Prelude: – “Lead me, Lord”
Bible Introit 769 “Holy, holy, holy”
Collect
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 500 “Lord of Creation”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3jh7sEFHvo<
Call to Prayer
What do we bring before the Lord this morning?
We bring our hopes and our dreams to the Lord
What do you seek?
We seek peace for our tired souls.
We will find it in this place, for this is the house of the Lord.
Open our hearts and our spirits, O Lord, to hear your words of comfort and peace. Amen.
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Lord of Light and Life, we are here in your presence with wonder and awe, eager to praise your name and enjoy in your presence.
You are the source of all that is good and true, the essence of love. You bring gifts of peace and healing into troubled lives and show us how to love both friend and enemy that we may
build a better world together.
During our time of worship, help us to believe that our work in Jesus’ name makes a difference. So may we live to bring you glory, O God, now and always.
We bring all that we have, our lives, our hopes and dreams, our fears and sorrows. We place them before you in faith and hope, knowing that whatever may happen you are with us and blessing us.
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, so often we look at ourselves, our gifts and our talents, and wonder what you would do with these offerings. We don’t think that we have much to give. So, far too many times, we belittle the gifts and turn our backs on the needs and opportunities present to serve, believing that our gifts cannot possibly make a difference. We think that we must possess the greatest of talents and wealth in order to truly please and serve you. How foolish we are! Forgive us when we stop listening to your healing and comforting words and focus on our anxieties. Heal us, Lord. Help us know that you have given to us such blessings and that these blessings are truly wonderful and meant to be used to joy and service to others. Help us to bring our lives, just as they are, to you and to receive your gentle touch and healing grace.
Words of Assurance
God has given to each one of us such blessings and talents. With joy we bring these gifts to God. You are blessed by God’s absolute love for you. Rejoice in that love and find healing and hope.
Our minds are ready to receive your words and your spirit, that we may find healing and comfort. Realise in our lives all the possibilities for service and joy that you offer to us. Ease our minds and spirits that we may hear the words of encouragement and peace this day.. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name
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.
Inverkeithing
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. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen
Intimations
The Children’s Church will hold a Tombola on Saturday 20th November from in the Room Above in the Queen’s Hotel. All donations will be gratefully received.
The fortnightly Bible Study Group will meet on Tuesday 9th November at 7:30pm in the Vestry in North Queensferry.
Next Sunday, being Remembrance Sunday, the Service in North Queensferry will be conducted by Iain Mitchell QC, who will also officiate at the War Memorial following the Church Service.
In Inverkeithing, the Minister will officiate at the War Memorial Garden where the Royal Naval Association Parade will arrive at 10:55 for the Commemoration and Wreath Laying Ceremony. The Parade will resume to and disperse from the Civic Centre, not the Church, as Covid-19 regulations will not allow for the numbers to attend. The Church service will be at the usual time of 11:30 am. Please let Joan More know if you plan to attend.
The funeral of Mrs Muriel McPherson will take place on Wednesday 10th November at 1:15 pm in Dunfermline Crematorium.
The Funeral of Mr Martin Stevens will be held on Tuesday 16th November at 1:15 pm in Dunfermline Crematorium.
Invitation to the Offering
God’s goodness fills the world, if only we have eyes to see it. God’s goodness fills the world, if only we have hearts to share what God has given us. Know that your gifts come from God’s goodness and pass that goodness along to others in Jesus’ name.
Prayer of Dedication
Gracious God, we bring our gifts to you with grateful hearts, aware of all that we enjoy in Christ and in creation. Bless these gifts and the service we offer in Jesus’ name, so that others may share in your goodness and know of the love we have witnessed in Christ, our friend and Saviour.
All Age Talk
How many of you know how to play the game “Hana, Hana, Hana, Kuchi?
It’s a Japanese game that is a little bit like a combination of “Simon Says” and “Follow the Leader.”
Hana is the Japanese word for nose, and kuchi is the word for mouth. I will touch my nose three times as I say, “nose, nose, nose,” but when I say “mouth,” I will touch some other part of my body such as my ear, eye, or chin. You have to touch the part that I say — not the part I touch. If you touch what I touch instead of what I say, you are out of the game. Let’s try it once just for practice.
“Nose, nose, nose, mouth.”
Uh-oh! I’m sure I caught a few of you. Well, that was just for practice, so nobody is out of the game. Let’s try it again.
“Nose, nose, nose, ear.”
I caught a few of you again, didn’t I?
When we were playing that game, I was trying to trick some of you into doing the wrong thing. It was only a game, and we were just having some fun, but there are times when people try to trick us into doing the wrong thing. Jesus warned about people like that.
One day, Jesus told his disciples to be careful not to let anyone deceive them. He warned that there would be many false teachers who would come teaching in His name and claiming to be Him. Jesus said that many would be fooled.
It was fun trying to trick you in the game of “Hana, Hana, Hana, Kuchi,” but it isn’t any fun to see people tricked into following false teachers instead of following Jesus. It is important to know what Jesus really teaches in the Bible, so we won’t be tricked.
Dear God, help us to read our Bibles each day and follow Jesus’ teachings. Guard us from those pretending to be Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn 563 “Jesus loves, me this I know”
Reading
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
3 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing-floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing-floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.’
5 ‘I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered.
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.’
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son!’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Amen.
Hymn 565 “My life flows on in endless song
Mark 12:38-44
38 As he taught, Jesus said, ‘Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the market-places, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.’
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’’ Amen, this is the Word of the Lord to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 551 “In heavenly love abiding”
Sermon
Mark 12:43-44
“This poor widow has put more in than all the others who have made donations to the temple treasury. For they have contributed out of their wealth but she out of her poverty, even everything she had, her very living.”
There are times when we are confronted by images of the suffering of others which makes us stop in our tracks. I like flipping through the daily photographs in the Guardian App on my iPad. Yesterday I came across three disturbing pictures, one was of a man diving for clams in the mangroves of the Congo River, a second was a sick migrant child receiving medicine in Mexico and the third was a group of women lining up to receive aid in Kabul Afghanistan as poverty and hunger increase in that country. Seeing these puts any thoughts of the challenges of life I face into a different perspective. What is it like to be these people? What do they feel, what do they hope, what is their future? Then I read this
The nearest we will ever come in this life to seeing the face of God, is when we look with respect on the faces of our fellows, including the faces of the poor and the neglected.
Today two of the Bible readings direct our gaze at two widows, one an immigrant to ancient, rural Israel and one at the time of Jesus. My first pastoral experience with a widow was in Quebec in 1972. A man went missing, presumed drowned, on a hunting expedition in the north of the province. That summer I was looking after the small Presbyterian Church in Valcartier where he lived. There was not much I could do, and I was appalled when his wife was turned out of her home under Quebec Property Law (based on the Code Louis ~ French Heritage Law) and the house was sealed until her husband might be found. Presumption of death in Quebec takes seven years This was a shocking revelation at how easily a person’s life could be totally devastated. She was so distressed she could barely speak. As it happens this poor woman and her child were helped by the Minister and Session of St Andrew’s Church in Quebec City before I returned to Scotland.
Other ministers have similar stories. Here is one from Australia:
On one occasion my wife and I had the privilege of being permitted to visit some of the remote aboriginal towns in the “homelands” of NW South Australia. One day our guide wanted us to meet one woman who had befriended him and helped him when he had taken up a teaching position in that small community. She was a widow, aged about 45 years, I would guess.
Meeting with her in that wide land where we were strangers and she was at home, I tried to make conversation, aware of a culture gulf. She happened to mention that the next week she was flying to Hawaii for a conference on the health of indigenous peoples. I remarked (in a way which later I saw as odiously patronising) about what a thrilling experience that would be for her.
Without any rudeness, in fact most graciously, she let me know that she had travelled widely, representing her people at conferences in Europe and the USA, and the Pacific. It turned out she was a brilliant and capable person, whose vision and drive had established health services in that remote part of the Australian Outback. She was a poor widow in monetary terms, living in a humble dwelling. But she was rich in vision and experience. I was looking on one of the faces of God.
I left her feeling both grateful for the honour of meeting her, and yet most chastened. I repented the chauvinism with which I had started the conversation.
I wondered how often I, and the church, saw the poor (be they widows, the unemployed, asylum seekers, etc) purely as subjects in need of charity, without respecting their innate dignity, or celebrating the gifts they have to offer. How blind are we to the different kind of wealth that these “poor” may possess? How enriched could we be if we recognised one of the faces of God, and became willing learners at their feet?
~ BP.
Last week and this, we have read snippets of the story of Ruth. Ruth, a pagan woman of Moab had got herself involved in what we call “a mixed marriage” with a Jew. He was the son of Naomi and Elimelech, a Jewish family who had gone to live in Moab at the time of famine in Judah.
First Naomi’s husband died, and then Ruth’s. Both were now widows. Naomi decided to return to her homeland, but loving, loyal Ruth would not let her go alone. She travelled with Naomi into foreign Judah, in the region of Bethlehem, where alien Moabites were scorned. There, in deep poverty they eked out a bare existence. At the time of barely harvest, widow Ruth followed the reapers, gleaning the stray ears that were left behind from which flour could be ground.
The Bible reveals a God who is on the side of the desperately poor people; like widows, and outsiders such as migrant Ruth. Unless there was an extended family to care for them, their plight was grave. There was no social security net in those days. Repeatedly God called his people to look after widows and orphans. The law of Moses specifically stipulated that the foreigner, the orphan and the widow had the right to follow the men with the sickle and pick up anything that was missed. Widows must be provided for, not just when the well-off people happened to be in a charitable mood, but as a matter of rights. It is a tragedy that still after two thousand years of the gospel even basic human rights are denied to so many unfortunate people. Fear of the stranger and different can turn people into resentful haters and can kill compassion.
Ruth qualified on two counts. She was a widow, and she was a foreigner. But we must also remember that Ruth was not just a receiver but a giver. Her care for her mother-in-law is one of the high points of love in the Old Testament.
This poor widow, a foreigner from Moab, had something to offer the whole Jewish people. In fact far more to offer than she could ever have realised. As the story unfolds, Ruth marries Boaz. She bears children, one of whose descendants, many centuries later, is a man called Jesus of Nazareth. When we look on the face of this foreign widow we will glimpse the face of God.
A fourth widow is the woman Jesus affirmed as she offered to God. her last two pennies. All that she had. There were receptacles for the offering rather like trumpets. Big coins, especially gold pieces, made an impressive clatter. Her little coins barely made a tinkle.
This woman was not a person of status. Not the kind of person others might notice. The disciples noticed the wealthy people and the golden gifts they offered. They noticed and were impressed. But the widow and her gift were not memorable. Until Jesus spoke, that is. What Jesus said has made this unnamed woman a celebrity for two millennia.
Jesus affirmed her. He told his disciples her gift was more wonderful than the silver and gold of the rich and famous. As a widow, at least in theory she had the rights that God has endorsed. In practice, her existence in the city must have been particularly precarious. Yet she was a giver, not just a receiver. She gave all that she had, just as Jesus himself, during these last few days of his life, was steeling himself to do. In giving her all, she provided inspiration to generations that were to come.
In a poem by David Foster are these insightful words:
“Don’t give everything.”
How many times have you heard them say
“Don’t give everything.”
You might think that they
had given everything and lost, but hardly
any thing could be further from the truth.
They lost because they did not give everything.”
The widow did give everything, and she did not lose in doing so. She was a winner.
The final widow is very much in this same Biblical mould. She is poor, but from her poverty has a treasure to offer those around her.
It was the late Dom Helder Cámara, an extraordinary Brazilian bishop with a wholehearted respect and love for the poor, who provides us with this story. One day he took a French visitor to visit a typical favella — a shanty town. The French woman was overcome with the primitive conditions and the poverty. As they paused outside the hut of an elderly widow named Severina, the visitor exclaimed: “What misery! What wretched poverty!”
Severina did not speak French, but she picked up the meaning of the words for misery and wretchedness. She spoke indignantly to the bishop: “Please tell the lady that I do not consider myself in any way to be wretched. I have riches that all the money in the world cannot buy. I have my eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, arms, legs feet and head; I have my heart and above all my faith. This I would not sell for all the money in all the banks of the world.”
The French lady had come to find out what a charitable society back in France might do for the poor. Instead it was the poor that did something for her, challenging her to the roots of her being. In the favella she looked on one of the faces of God.
Archbishop Camara sums up the attitude of many to the confrontation of poverty. Câmara preached for a church closer to the disfavoured people. He is quoted as having said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.”
The essential message of these passages and stories is that everyone made in the image of God has an innate dignity and worth which we as God’s people are called to see and honour. What we have here is God’s passionate love and respect for the poor and the outsider. We are commanded to take up their cause with similar respect and love. But it’s never just one way traffic; they have a special ministry for us, if only we are not too arrogant to hear it, nor too dumb to realise that we might indeed be looking on some of the faces of God. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
God of Our Past and Our Future, God of Healing and Hope,
We come before you with grateful hearts, thanking you that you have promised to walk with us through all the days of our lives.
As we look over our lives we thank you for the blessings and mercies which we enjoy and often take for granted. For food and shelter, for personal safety and security, for the warmth of our closest relationships, the joy of family and friend for the wealth of our culture and for the many things which make our lives pleasurable and content. We are richly blessed and often do not realise it.
We pray today for those whose lives are very different. We have spoken of those who have lost spouses or children, who know struggle and poverty, who must find whatever means they can to live and who often are at risk as they work. Others face danger and despair in these difficult days as heat, flood, fire and volcano and earthquakes threaten their security.
We remember before you those living with hunger, communities struggling with the impact of drought or failing harvests, and for people for whom the pandemic is unrelenting.
We remember people caught up in unrest whose lives are directed by forces beyond their control or as violence, war and displacement send them on journeys into the unknown.
(Keep a time of silence)
We pray for all persons and agencies which work to relieve suffering in these lives
and those who work to bring justice and peace:
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for people tormented by anxiety, fear or frustration,
wrestling with sorrow or discouragement in any area of their lives:
For those who live with illness or pain every day,
For those who endure chronic conditions or disability…
For those who know the grief and change of bereavement…We are reminded of your specific commandments to help the stranger, the widowed and the fatherless.
(Keep a time of silence)
And we pray for all those whose calling it to bring healing and comfort and for agencies which offer support and care to them.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for all who feel helpless or hopeless in the face of the upheavals which come upon our world.:
Remember people struggling to make ends meet or trying to find employment…
For folks who are caught up in the frustrations of misunderstanding or trying to remedy broken relationship
and for those working through conflict at home or at work…
We pray for all who offer guidance and support in the midst of such difficulties
and for those who have skills in reconciliation or mediation:
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of Our Past and Our Future,
God of Healing and Hope,
Help our congregation and churches everywhere
as we regroup after months of pandemic isolation
to engage each day with faithfulness and creativity.
Where we need correction, show us a new way,
where we need love and encouragement, draw near.
Whatever our challenge, stay with us on our way
for we are the followers of Jesus who pray together in his name:
Amen.
Hymn 497 “Almighty Father of all things that be”
Sending out and Benediction
You have heard the words of healing and of peace. You have been blessed by the Spirit of God. Go now into God’s world to be the spirit of hope, peace and blessing for others, knowing that God is always with you. Go in peace. Amen.
“May God’s blessing surround you each day”
Postlude: “Close to Thee”