13th. March. 2022. Service.
Inverkeithing Parish Church linked with North Queensferry Church
Worship 13th March 2o22
Second Sunday in Lent
Prelude ““The Lord is my light”?”
Bible Introït 65 “Jubilate, everybody!”
Opening Prayer
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 162 “The God of Abraham praise”
Call to Prayer
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Prayer of Adoration and Confession
Creator of all things, Alpha, and Omega, Beginning and End, you are our Father, Shepherd, Servant, Brother, Priest and King.
Whose love poured out mends broken hearts. Whose wounded hands reach out to all. Whose Spirit waits to enter in. You are the everything that we desire. Be with us now in our worship. Bless us that we might be a blessing to others.
Gracious God, we are a people formed by your Word in Christ;
but we have wandered away from your truth, we have broken your commandments, we have distorted your teachings to serve our own ends, we have failed to trust your promises,
we have refused your mercy. round us again, O Holy One,
in the written wisdom of Scripture and in the living Word which is Christ Jesus. Nourish us on the bread of his teachings
until we can taste your goodness. Renew us at the fountain of his wisdom, so we may find joy in obedience and freedom in giving ourselves to you. Amen.
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.
The Intimations
Ukraine
The Very Reverend Susan Brown, former Moderator of the Church of Scotland and Convenor of the Faith Impact forum, has made contact with the Reformed Church in Hungary and in Ukraine to find the best way to help those fleeing to find sanctuary and safety. The Churches in Ukraine are using their buildings to offer support as the people move from east to west. There is an opportunity to give through donations, help for those who don’t have access to their money when the banks run out and who will need food /help, and those who cross the borders into Hungary, Slovakia or Romania.
Donations can be directed to the following account:
Royal Bank of Scotland
Church of Scotland No 1 Account
Account Number 00134859
Sort Code 83 06 08
Ref. RCHA donation.
Coffee mornings will be held in Inverkeithing Tuesdays and in North Queensferry every other Wednesday.
Invitation to the Offering
Our lives overflow with good gifts which come from God. Out of the goodness we enjoy, let us present our offering to God with thankfulness and generosity.
Prayer of Dedication
Living God, we offer our gifts today in hopeful gratitude.
Bless these gifts and use them to increase the goodness enjoyed by those in need. Bless our lives that, through our relationships,
others will be touched by the hope we know in Christ Jesus
and find their lives blessed by his love and mercy. Amen.
All Age Talk
Listen to this song: Five little Ducks
This song is just so sweet! It shows how much the mother duck loved her little ones. Each time the little ducks went out, one of them got lost. Finally, the mother duck had lost all of her little ones — but she never gave up — she kept calling them! Do you think mother duck would have been satisfied if one, two, three, or even four of the little ducks had come back? I don’t think so. I think mother duck would have kept calling, “Quack, quack, quack, quack,” until “ALL five of the little ducks came back!”
This story is a lot like the love that Jesus has for His children. The Bible tells us that one-day Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem and wept. He said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”
Jesus was crying out in sadness over Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a very special place for God’s chosen people. But when Jesus came, the people of Jerusalem rejected Him. Jesus longed for His children to turn from their ways and come to Him. He promised a blessing for those who would accept Him. We’re promised that same blessing today. Like a mother hen, Jesus calls His children to come to Him so that He can shelter and protect them.
Even though Jerusalem rejected Jesus, He never stopped calling His children. If only SOME of Jesus’ children come back, He won’t stop calling. If ALMOST all of His children come to Him, He still won’t stop calling. The Bible teaches us that Jesus loves His children so much that He won’t stop calling until ALL of His children come back. He may be calling some of you today.
Dear Jesus, thank You for loving us so much that You keep calling us to come to You. Amen.
.Hymn 522 “The Church is wherever God’s people are praising”
Genesis 15:1-12; 17-18
15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’
2 But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ 3 And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ 5 He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.’
8 But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?’
9 So the Lord said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.’
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking brazier with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. Amen.
Hymn 22 “The Lord’s my light and saving health”
Luke 13:31-35
31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.’
32 He replied, ‘Go and tell that fox, “I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.” 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”’ Amen. This is the Word of the Lord, to him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 550 “As the deer pants for the water”
Sermon
A few months ago, I watched a fascinating documentary about domestic chickens Gallus Domestics often simply called hens. I was pleased to discover that like many birds they are quite intelligent. In one clip the researcher put a stuffed fox on a trolley and moved it slowly along the edge of their enclosure to gauge the reaction of the birds. They ignored it, but when a real fox came into view the hens reacted to the impending threat. A hen will start to bring her chicks under the shelter of her wings. Should a fox get too close, the hen will launch an attack against it, willing to sacrifice her life for her brood. Hens will break up fights between other animals and take on a much bigger beast. As you have gathered, chickens and a fox figure in today’s gospel reading.
Last week the gospel dealt with Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the desert when he confronted the potential for evil within himself. He was tempted to use his divine power for selfish ends. It was for us the beginning of the Lenten journey towards Jerusalem, culminating in the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Today the evil which Jesus faces is external, and it has two faces.
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.’ What was this about? Jesus had been at odds with the Pharisees over their insistence on the primacy of the Law of Moses which overruled compassion and love. Luke records in chapter 11 that: When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say. In the next chapter Jesus warns his followers: Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. He then advises them to be prepared for persecution and to fear God rather than the violence of human authority.
We can only conclude that this “friendly warning,” was more like a mafia style “warning off. “It has been suggested that the warning from the Pharisees was really a political strategy on Herod’s part and that the Pharisees and Herod were in cahoots. They want to drive Jesus out of Herod’s jurisdiction and right into the arms of Pilate and make Him Pilate’s responsibility! Maybe Pilate could figure out a way of getting rid of Jesus altogether! Of course, Jesus sees right through the Pharisees “so-called” good intentions.
And he proves it by clearly linking them with Herod: “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’” Jesus knew that in order to fulfil the will of God, he could not veer from the path that was set out for Him.
He had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die—rising again on the third day!
In the final weeks of His life, Jesus was moving closer to Jerusalem—the city of David—where so many of the great prophets from the past have been ignored, hated, killed. Jesus was on His way to a similar fate, and He knew it well. And still, He went.
Hans Kung, in his book “On Being Christian” raises the question as to which Jesus we should believe in. Kung offers several examples that have emerged in history
We have the sweet Jesus, surrounded by roses, red robins, and a Bible text.
The Revolutionary Jesus,
The Christ of the Sacred Heart, popular in some Roman Catholic devotion.
The God-on-earth Jesus; working miracles scarcely human.
The holy son of the beloved Virgin in Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje.
Jesus the Great Example; popular with “pull-yourself-up with-your-shoe-strings” moralists.
Jesus The Super Star of the 1960’s.
The beardless Shepherd or the transfigured Christ, in the Roman catacombs.
The 5th century enthroned Christ, wearing the insignia of a Roman Emperor. The Kingly Christ of European Royalty.
The Beggar Christ of St Francis and St Claire.
The Divine Lover, sought by St. Augustine and Bernard of Clairvaux.
The Blood-of-the-Lamb Jesus, popular among American evangelists.
The Calvinist Jesus, propitiating an angry God.
The Omega-point-of-history Jesus, adored by Teilhard de Chardin
Jesus the Wonder Worker, honoured by charismatics.
The Man of Prayer, fashionable among mystics.
The Social Justice Jesus.
The elegant Bestower-of-blessings, renowned in the Anglican Church.
All are stereotypes, and as such all of them break the second commandment.
Which Jesus then? All of them are valid in their way, but they have a danger in that each may become the defining image of Jesus in people’s minds. The second of the Ten Commandments states: You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
The purpose of this commandment was to prohibit a physical depiction of God because any such depiction is limiting. Thus, the golden calf of Aaron which confronted Moses when he came down the mountain was a picture of the strength and power of God, but only that. Although the commandment forbids a physical image it also includes a mental image. People picture God according to their psychological needs at any one time, and that is what usually gets fixed, closing the mind to other truths about God.
To the Pharisees, God was the Law Giver who had to be obeyed above everything else. It was a form of idolatry, worship of one image of God. As a student I was shocked when a friend rightly suggested that a lot of Christians worship the Bible before God. Bibliolatry. Jesus Christ presents in many guises as we have seen; the danger is in elevating one image of him over any other.
From today’s reading from Luke, we will consider two facets of this remarkable, complex Jesus. Both are firmly rooted, not in the later biases of the diverse Christian church, but in the Gospels.
Jesus’ response to the Pharisees’ ‘friendly’ warning was tough and direct: “You go and tell that fox, Herod, that I continue to do my thing today and tomorrow, and on the third day I’ll complete what I’ve started.” That is a tough response to a tyrant. “That fox” Not exactly an answer Herod would hear with kindliness.
Jesus was a strong person, resilient in character, tough as steel when the occasion required it. This is no gentle Jesus, meek and mild, no sentimental dreamer. Jesus knew the score. He knew of and mourned the horrible death of his cousin John. But he was not going to be intimidated. He was a man in charge if his own destiny. A strong Jesus. “Go tell that fox I will move on when I am ready. Not before.”
Placed beside this picture of Jesus, is another scene depicting a compassionate Christ. In a graphic juxtaposition Luke right away shows Jesus lamenting the fate Jerusalem. In fact, the word “Jerusalem” is the only connection between the Herod incident and Christ’s heart-tearing lament for the holy city.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem……..How often I wanted to gather your children like a hen gathering her chickens under her wing, but you would not have it.
There is hardly a more feminine picture of Jesus available in the Gospel. The vivid picture of a clucky hen rounding up her chickens and fluffing her feathers protectively over them, shows the compassion of the Jesus whom we name Lord and Saviour.
It may be that we can never appreciate the depth of feeling a Jew like Jesus had for Jerusalem. Idealised as the city of God, Jerusalem was woven into their prayers and conversation, into their hopes and their worst fears. No earthly place was more precious to Jesus the Jew.
But like Herod, it rejected him, spurned his compassion, and at the conclusion, would hound him outside its walls to Golgotha. In one way, Jerusalem and the magnificent Temple of Jesus’ day were Herod’s creation. He had invaded it and rebuilt it in his own style, and he controlled the collaborating chief priests and Sadducees as Rome controlled him.
Luke shows us Jesus lamenting at the coming destruction. Jerusalem had been destroyed hundreds of years before in the time of the prophets. The city had been reduced to rubble; the holy temple vessels taken off to a foreign palace to be used in drunken orgies. The ruins had become a desolation, a nesting place for owls and a lair for wolves.
It was to be destroyed again. Luke was writing after Roman patience with the Jews ran out. In 70 AD the holy city was besieged starved and conquered, its people slaughtered, crucified, and scattered. But of course, it was not the physical city that Jesus mourned, but the people, their history with God whom they now spurned. All because The temple and the Law had become more important that God himself.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem……..How often I wanted to gather your children like a hen gathering her chickens under her wing, but you would not have it.
The heart of Jesus was almost broken. Compassion; profound human compassion, elemental divine compassion! And why? Because worldly evil, the evil of strong men, tyrants, and usurpers as well as those who claimed to be God’s very own had rejected his love and his message of peace.
This image of God as a female or one with motherly instincts can be disconcerting for some. Most of us have been raised with a patriarchal view of God; we regularly use the male pronoun in place of God. It is part of what we’ve heard and known since we were young. We think of God as all-powerful, all-mighty, all-knowing. Those images tend to reinforce His maleness image. But here, in this passage of Luke, we have another image – Jesus as a mother hen, with all her love and passion for her children, gathering them under her protective wings. Isn’t that image more helpful in assisting us in understanding what God is like?
One of the popular images of Jesus is that he is a man who can do anything – walk on water; turn a couple fish and a few loaves into a feast for thousands; even raise the dead. But today’s Gospel lesson Jesus reveals that He cannot make us love Him – He cannot control human will.
“How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.”
Jesus has tried to gather this flock many times. He’ll walk out of a tomb in a few days, but, apparently, he can’t walk into our hearts without permission. We must be willing to accept his love and be willing to come together under his wing.
During Lent, as we follow Jesus on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, we are called to be like him. Courageous, strong, and willing to stand in his strength against evil in the world. That almost always involves sacrifice. He refused to use violence and instructed his disciples to be ready to be called to witness to a worldly authority. But we are also called to share in the compassion of Jesus.
Jesus went to Jerusalem He went because He loves you and me, He went He went because He loved the Pharisees and even that “Fox” Herod!
I found this illustration of love like that:
A father tells of a situation with his daughter, Sarah, who is sixteen years old. One night, Sarah is about to leave the house on a date with her older boyfriend. The father has been worrying about Sarah. She has been acting out and is starting to do poorly in school. He would do anything to protect her, to keep her safe and make sure she makes the most of the life God has given her.
Then, a car is honking its horn out front. Sarah’s father is slumped down in his chair, exhausted from a fourteen-hour day. Before Sarah steps through the screen door, her father says: “Remember—curfew is at 12 O’clock!” His daughter stops at the far end of the living room, turns, and says with an expression that is half sneer, half smile: “I’d like to see you make me get home by twelve!”
The door slams behind her and the father knows she is right. He is powerless to make her do much of anything anymore.
One of our greatest images of Jesus is that He can do anything! He can walk on water. He can turn a couple fish and a few loaves of bread into a feast for thousands. He can even raise the dead. Yes, Jesus can do anything! But one thing Jesus will not do is to make us love Him. Jesus will not control human will.
And so, in our Gospel Lesson for this morning, we see Jesus give one of His most emotional utterances recorded in the Bible: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”
Jesus will walk out of a tomb on Easter morning, but He won’t walk into our lives without permission!
I would imagine anyone who has loved someone deeply and knows that they can’t shelter them from harm’s way understands just a little bit of the pain in Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem and feel the same for the world today. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Almighty God, You hold all things together, From the smallest seed to the largest tree, From each microscopic species to the fiercest lion, From the depths of the oceans to the great expanse of the universe. Thank you for the beauty around us, Thank you for the complexity of life within us, Thank you for growth, for renewal, for breath. You sustain the whole earth, bringing food and nourishment from the soil. You have showered the land with streams of water. You have warmed our lives with the heat of the sun And blessed our countryside with rain. Thank you for all this rich, incredible beauty and intricate life And more than this, you have paid the price for the sins of man. You have laid out a path straight into your heart. You have adopted us as your children in Jesus Christ and invited us to call you Abba Father. We thank you and bless your Holy Name.
God of peace, you have called us all to work for peace and justice. Wherever we are, we can find opportunities to stand with people, and identify with their needs and hopes. We can no longer be silent – where there is need, there is a task for us. Wherever there is unfulfilled hope, we can be the inspiration of a new future. God you call each of us to be the vehicles of hospitality.
When we speak out against injustice and for your kingdom, give us courage and the right words to say. We pray particularly for the prophets in our community. Open the ears of their audience, we pray, so that the words of challenge, even if hurtful or difficult, will be acted upon. But, loving God, you know that speaking out, by its very nature, can leave behind bitterness and anxiety – in the heart of the listener, and in the speaker too, who can feel so alone. Surround those who speak out, we pray, with the warmth of your love and acceptance. Give them at least one true friend prepared to act as both sounding board and comforter.
Lord God, we need also the healer and the peacemaker as we pray for Ukraine in time of war and other conflicts around the world. When we offer healing and work for peace, give us gentleness and compassion. We pray particularly for doctors, psychiatrists, and counsellors – all those whose job it is to help heal the hurts of mind and body. May their hands and words be full of your love. We pray too for the peacemakers – for those, and thankfully there are many, who rise above their own hurts and prejudices to work with the ‘other side’ for peace and understanding – the mediators in our courts, industry, and international arena. And for all those who work and identify with oppressed people or minority groups. Give them courage and understanding, and a discernment to know your way ahead. We thank you God of love and justice for all these people who have taken your command seriously to love others just as you have loved us. Amen.
Hymn 485 “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”
Benediction
We go now into the world as witnesses of God’s love, light, and power.
Go in the love of God, whose promises are never broken.
Go in the light of Christ, whose love transforms us.
Go in the power of the Holy Spirit, whose fire sustains and encourages us. Amen.
“May God’s blessing surround you each day”
Postlude: “Dona nobis pacem”