Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – 22 July 2018 The Mission and Discipleship Council would like to thank Rev Tom Gordon, former Chaplain to Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh, for his thoughts on the ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.

2 Samuel 7:1-14a ............................................................................................ 2

Psalm 89:20-37............................................................................................... 3

Ephesians 2:11-22 .......................................................................................... 6

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 ....................................................................................... 7

Sermon ideas ................................................................................................. 8

Illustrative material, including Time with Children ......................................... 10

Prayers ......................................................................................................... 19

Musical suggestions ...................................................................................... 23

2 Samuel 7:1-14a Context King David consults with the prophet, Nathan, about building a temple. Why should he live in a House of Cedar while the Ark of the Covenant still rests in a tent? At first, Nathan encourages the king. But Nathan has a revelation from God, stating that Solomon, and not David, should build the temple. God says: Since I led you out of Egypt, a tent has been my home. On the move, I don’t need to be pinned down to one place. Where you and the people go, I will go with you. The Tent of the Ark is my symbol of that.

I’ve never asked any of the tribes to build me a House of Cedar. I am a shepherd for you, leading you from pasture to pasture. In my time you will settle. Till then, I will shepherd you on your travels. There will be more struggles for you to face, enemies to defeat. But I will keep you safe. Only when you have completed your pilgrimage will I settle you. Then you can build your House of the Lord. Decision-making for a king David extrapolates from the things of his life – wealth, possessions, status – enshrined in his House of Cedar and assumes that God would want the same – grandeur, the trappings of wealth, the bigger the better. But God says no! My ways are not the ways of the world. Keep it simple. A tent is enough for me. It’s my constancy, my shepherding that matter, not signs of status, wealth or power. [Sermon Outline 1]

If David had been in prayerful communion with God, he would know that God’s promptings were out of line with his own thoughts. Nathan, on the other hand, gets the true message through listening to God’s purposes.

A pointer to Christ Blessings are promised to the family of David. These promises relate to Solomon, David's immediate successor, and the royal line of Judah. But they also relate to Christ, “The Son of David”. To Him God gave all power in heaven and earth. He was to build the Gospel temple, a house for God's name, the spiritual temple of true believers. David’s house came to an end, but Christ will establish His everlasting Kingdom.

The nature of the Church David was ready to be settled. His symbol was to build a solid and immovable building where God could live, a sign of God’s permanency. But God’s symbol was the Tent of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant: prepared for anything; ready to face the next stage of the journey. Will there be a time when the trials of the journey are over and the enemies defeated? Yes, God says, but not yet. So for now, it’s your job to concentrate on being ready. You are to be no more or less than a pilgrim people. [See Sermon Outline 1.]

Psalm 89:20-37 The section of Psalm 89 which is most familiar to us in the Church of Scotland are verses 15, 16 & 18 (CH4 53). I offer here a continuation of this Psalm of Faith in similar vein, which can be used in conjunction with this Psalm (if used as a Lectionary Reading) or with the Old Testament lesson from 2 Samuel 7:1-14. The tune, “Tramps and Hawkers” (CH4 - 5) works well, though other tunes which fit the DCM rhythm might be considered. As this is a new hymn was specially written for “Weekly Worship”, it can be used (and altered, if necessary) as appropriate to the circumstances, style and content of the worship. However, the copyright remains with the Mission and Discipleship Council of the Church of Scotland. So, if the hymn is printed or displayed, please include the following: Music [as chosen ... ]; Words by Tom Gordon; ©Church of Scotland Mission and Discipleship Council. Used with permission. Your servant, Lord, is sanctified, Now blessed with oil divine. Your faithful hands will hold him while More blessings You assign. While enemies may seek him harm, And wicked foes do wrong, Your faithful love will steadfast be; Your arm even yet be strong. ‘You are salvation’s rock,’ he cries. For praise is Your true worth. And greater will You value him Than all the thrones of earth. And if the children of his flock, Forsake Your holy laws, You will not cease from loving them – Though they may give You cause.

You will not break Your covenant; Your truth ne’er false will prove. You will not punish those who fall, Nor cast them from Your love. Just like the sun and moon, whose constant Presence guide our way, So may Your servants loud and long Their thankfulness display. While this hymn is based directly on the Lectionary Psalm, it now becomes – or could be – a hymn of dedication at an Ordination or Induction, or an admission of a New Communicant. It is written with the male pronoun, but, as with what follows, it could also be written appropriately for a female. Your servant, Lord, is sanctified, Now blessed with oil divine. Your faithful hands will hold her while More blessings You assign. While enemies may seek her harm, And wicked foes do wrong, Your faithful love will steadfast be; Your arm even yet be strong. ‘You are salvation’s rock,’ she cries. For praise is Your true worth. And greater will Your value her Than all the thrones of earth. And if the children of her flock, Forsake Your holy laws, You will not cease from loving them – Though they may give You cause. You will not break Your covenant; Your truth ne’er false will prove. You will not punish those who fall, Nor cast them from Your love. Just like the sun and moon, whose constant Presence guide our way,

So may Your servants loud and long Their thankfulness display. Finally, if it is necessary – for example in the dedication of a group of New Communicants, the ordination of a number of new elders, or simply at a congregational service of rededication – for the hymn to be gender-inclusive, it can be reworded as follows: Your servants, Lord, are sanctified, Now blessed with oil divine. Your faithful hands will hold them while More blessings You assign. While enemies may seek them harm, And wicked foes do wrong, Your faithful love will steadfast be; Your arm even yet be strong. ‘You are salvation’s rock,’ we cry For praise is Your true worth. And greater will You value us Than monarchs of the earth. And if the children of Your flock, Forsake Your holy laws, You will not cease from loving us – Though we may give You cause. You will not break Your covenant; Your truth ne’er false will prove. You will not punish those who fall, Nor cast them from Your love. Just like the sun and moon, whose constant Presence guide our way, So may Your servants loud and long Their thankfulness display.

Ephesians 2:11-22 Background Paul offers not general guidance, but wisdom in response to specific situations. He wrote this letter in prison and it was clearly directed at “the Gentiles” (see 2:1). The core of the letter is the all-sufficiency of Jesus, and the whole letter can be summarised in two verses of the first chapter (1:9, 10). Our reading can be divided into three sections: 11, 12: Paul addresses the Gentiles; “aliens from the society of Israel”, not part of “the holy people”. The Gentiles are living in despair, he suggests, before Christ comes to bring them hope in their hopelessness. Three thoughts might be developed from this: Here is the core of the Gospel This is a pointer to the Incarnation We have an insight into where our world might find true hope [Sermon Outline 2.] 13-18: The Jews despised the Gentiles. But Paul indicates that “those who were far away have been brought near” (2:13). The door to faith is shut to no one. The barrier, the dividing wall of hostility has been torn down (2:14). A metaphor from the Temple, this would be a powerful image for the Jews, where the walls which confined the Gentile to the outer court, beyond the Court of the Women, the Israelites, the Priests and the Holy Place, would be no more. Those who are far off can be brought close to God through the Mission and Service of the Church and Jesus Christ. No one – regardless of ethnicity, gender, orientation, circumstances – is excluded from that. The Gospel is inclusive. Barriers are torn down. There is no division any more between insiders and outsiders, the chosen and the rejected, men and women, different ministries, social circumstances. All are welcome in this place. [Sermon Outline 3.] Christ destroys barriers by the abolition of the flesh and regulations (2:15). In other words, when we put a human and not a God-guided construct on the Church, we run contrary to the will and purpose of Christ. Christ came to bring Peace (2:15, 2:17). He was the supreme reconciliation. He made Jew and Gentile one man out of the two (2:15). In so doing, both would be reconciled to God (2:18) [Sermon Outline 2.]. 2:19-22: Paul uses two enlightening pictures: Gentiles are no longer strangers or foreigners but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (2:19).

Every church is part of a great building and every Christian is a stone built into that Church (2:20-22) – like a cathedral, built on the site (or ruins) of an earlier worship setting and constantly added to, changed and adapted to meet the needs of the present day. This is what the Church should be. Its unity does not come from practice, organisation or uniformity, but from Christ alone. Where Christ is, there is the Church [Sermon Outline 2.].

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Background This reading comes before and after two great miracles recorded by Mark – the feeding of the five thousand and the stilling of the storm – bracketing the two events with the true meaning of Jesus’ ministry. 6:30-34 – Jesus’ ministry: [Sermon Outline 3.] Here is the real Jesus – Surrounded by crowds, here is no ascetic who waits for people to come to him so he can impart wisdom in an atmosphere of calmness. Here is Jesus truly incarnate, available, out and about, rooted in the lives of the people and their circumstances. Here is the nature of ministry – Being fully engaged with the realities of people’s lives brings with it pressure, demands and turmoil. This is the reality of true obedience to our call as ministers of Word and Sacrament and as ministers within the whole people of God. Here is the purpose of the Church – How can we expect to be engaged with mission if we believe all we have to do is wait for people to come to us? We have to be engaged with people where they are, in all the messiness and confusion of their lives. Here is the reality of service – When the people of God make the Church’s care available, folk will come with their pressing demands. There will be no filters’, and what people bring will not always fit our preconceived expectations. Here is the need for prayer – The Christian life has to be in balance’, times of busyness counterbalanced by times of reflectiveness and regeneration. Rest and withdrawal for Jesus was hard to find, because there were so many demands on Him and He had so much compassion. The time of rest would come. But, for now, there was much love to share.

Further points to ponder on the “sheep and shepherd” theme: [Sermon Outline 3.] Sheep need a shepherd, or else they get lost. The shepherd – who knows the hills and the valleys, the danger and the safe places – must show them the right way. Sheep need to be fed – either by the provision of the shepherd or the leading of the flock to green pastures. On barren hillsides and dried-up valleys, is foraging without a shepherd going to be life-sustaining? Sheep need to be cared for – defended against dangers. The shepherds knows the territory before the sheep get there – the dangers of wild beasts, thieves, or even slopes and chasms. So the shepherd is ultimately their refuge and their strength.

6:53-56 – The demands of the crowds No sooner had Jesus landed on the other side of the lake than, once again, He was surrounded by crowds. The people came with instant demands. Needy people? For sure. But selfish? That too. And if anyone can come to a caring person with such a demanding attitude, how careful must we be not to have the same approach when we come to God? [Sermon Outline 3.]

Sermon ideas 1. The Church as a pilgrim people: (from OT lesson) The tension between the Church’s

desire to be settled – buildings; a professional ministry; traditions – and the call to be a pilgrim people – on the move; constantly reformed; travelling light; using the gifts of God’s people as they arise.

2. Themes from Ephesians:

The true Gospel: Those far-off can now belong; aliens become citizens; no one is outside the walls. A pointer to the Incarnation – Jesus Way; freedom for all; inclusivity; there is no in-crowd. True hope – barriers coming down; recognising the humanity and worth of those on the other side of societal/religious/cultural divides; pointers to the Kingdom.

The local congregation: All can be brought close to God, regardless of ethnicity, gender, orientation, circumstances. There is no division between insiders and outsiders’, the chosen and the rejected’, different ministries, social circumstances; All are welcome in this place’.

Christ destroys barriers: The abolition of the flesh’; a human and not a God-guided construct on the Church runs contrary to the will of Christ. [See the OT lesson.] Jesus, the supreme reconciliation; Jew and Gentile, one man out of the two’; both reconciled to God.

Two pictures: Gentiles no longer strangers or foreigners but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. Every church is part of a great building; every Christian is a stone built into the Church; like a great cathedral on the site/ruins of earlier worship settings and constantly adapted to meet the needs of the present; the true Church; unity comes not from purity, practice, organisation, uniformity, but from Christ alone.

3. The nature of service (from Mark) – either for the minister re. workload/commitment, or

for the ministry of the whole people of God, especially those who feel overloaded ... Here is the real Jesus – where the people were, surrounded by crowds. Here is the nature of ministry – being fully engaged with the realities of people’s lives. Here is the purpose of the Church – How can we expect to be engaged with mission if we only wait for people to come to us? Here is the reality of service – When the people of God make the Church available, needy folk will come with their pressing demands. Here is the need for prayer – The Christian life in balance’; times of busyness counter-balanced by times of reflectiveness.

Sheep and the shepherd: Sheep need a shepherd, or else they get lost. The shepherd – who knows the hills and the valleys, the dangerous and the safe places – shows the way

Sheep need to be fed – by the provision of the shepherd or the leading of the flock to green pastures’. Is foraging without a shepherd going to be life-sustaining?

The need for balance in the Christian life: There should not be a hermit-like withdrawal, but consideration of our work/rest, activity/prayer, busyness/solitude being side-by-side all the time, the one serving a complementary function to the other.

Illustrative material, including Time with Children Rory’s wall For use with Ephesians 2:19-22 – a story as a contemporary reading or adaptable for the children Rory was fascinated by the workmen building the wall. Living on the farm as he did, he was well used to things being repaired – old huts to be made wind-and-water-tight; new storage sheds to be built; and broken-down walls to be restored. Rory liked to get involved and feel grown-up with his father and elder brother. He loved all the building work – ‘You’ll be an engineer one day and not a farmer, lad,’ his father had often said. But when it came to the rebuilding of the end wall of the old barn, well, that was quite out of Rory’s league. The old barn was one of a series of ramshackle outhouses at the back of the farmhouse and Rory’s father had decided it needed to be rebuilt. It would have been easy enough to demolish the three remaining walls of the roofless barn and start again with some prefabricated structure of wood and metal. But Rory’s father had decided that it would be a great shame to waste the good stone of what had been a solid and dependable structure in its day. So a firm of stone-masons had been brought in to restore the barn by rebuilding the end wall in the same style as the three remaining walls. Putting the roof on would be relatively easy once the four walls were in place. But the stone-masons needed to do a good job before that happened, to make sure the walls were strong enough to take a solid roof and make the old barn what it once was. There was no shortage of good stones around the farmyard and in the fields beyond. So before they were ready to do anything else, the stone-masons collected suitable stones from near and far and made a great pile of stoners of all shapes and sizes of stones in the corner of the farm-yard nearest to the barn. Then their job was to ensure that the bottom part of the ruined end wall was solid. First, they stripped out all the loose stone-work, with the discarded stones being thrown on to

the pile to be used later. Then slowly, to Rory’s constant fascination, the wall began to grow. Pretty soon the wall was higher than he was, and, within days, it was over the workmen’s heads. So scaffolding had to be erected to take the building work on to its next stage. A pulley was rigged up to allow the bigger stones to be hauled up on to the platform ready for their place in the wall, with the smaller stones being carried up in buckets either by the workmen or by using the pulley. The biggest stones needed two workmen to lift them, and Rory would watch as they heaved a big boulder into its place. Sometimes it would nearly fit, and, with great exertion, the men would move it this way and that to try to make it fit better. Often it didn’t fit at all, and it was decided that this wasn’t the right stone for this part of the wall. But the workmen never threw an ill-fitting stone back down again. That would have been a waste of the effort to get it up onto the platform in the first place. Instead, they would drag it along to the end of the platform and leave it there with several other discarded stones, ready to be used in another part of the wall when the time and the space were right. Rory was fascinated by the workmen building the wall. But what fascinated him even more than the big stones being heaved about, was how the masons used all the little stones that had been brought up onto the platform, fitting them carefully between one big stone and another. Every stone, it seemed, had its place in the wall – the big ones, of course, but also the misshapen ones that you wouldn’t have thought would have been any use at all; ones with jagged edges that just seemed to be the very stone to grip on to the stones on either side; little ones that could be jammed in between the others to make sure none of the stones could move or fall. As the wall rose, so the pile of stones in the corner of the farmyard went down. There didn’t seem to be a stone that wasn’t of use. Soon the wall was finished, and finally the last part of the pointing was done, cement squeezed into all the cracks and spaces, so that all the big stones and little stones could bind together. And, with the wall completed, the pile of stones in the yard had all but disappeared. Rory was fascinated by the workmen building the wall, how every big stone had somewhere to fit, and how they weren’t any use on their own, and how the wall was made strong when all the little stones were fitted into the spaces. Every stone had its place, or else there would have been no wall and no barn in the corner of the yard. This can be used verbally in worship or for any other purpose, but if printed in whole or in extracts should include: “Adapted from “Rory’s Wall”, from Welcoming Each Wonder by Tom Gordon. © Tom Gordon and Wild Goose Publications – www.ionabooks.com. Used with the permission of the author.”

Stones For use with Ephesians 2:19-22 – as a prayer or for a time of reflection. God of this place, there are big stones in these walls, solid, dependable stones, hauled up onto scaffolding by pulleys and ropes, heaved into place by skilled masons, and holding these walls in place, for centuries, for decades, for now, so that we can use this place for our worship and rest. God of this place, thank you for these big stones, for their strength and purpose, and for their enduring ability to make this place what it needs to be. God of this place there are little stones in these walls, fitted in, banged into place, to fill the gaps, to bind with other stones to make these walls complete; misshapen stones, all with an appropriate space for their shape alone; once discarded stones, discarded no longer; odd stones, each one with its special place. God of this place, thank you for the little stones, for their unobtrusive, necessary part, strengthening these walls for us, making this place what it needs to be. God of our lives, thank you for the big people, in our churches, in our communities, in our world, carrying responsibilities, carved out for important roles, people we rely on, people who are our role models, people we trust, people who make our lives, our church, our world worthwhile. God of our lives, help the big people to hang-in-there, because we need them so much, to keep the whole thing going, making our world what it needs to be. And if I’m one of those big stones, help me not to crumble with the weight of it all.

God of our lives, help us not to forget the little people, those seemingly insignificant, misshapen people, the ones who don’t get much thought or much recognition, who’re often rejected as being useless; the shy people; the different people; the gentle people; the low-self-esteem people; the diffident people; the not-so-sure-I’m-really-any-good people. Fit them into your walls to make the church, our communities, our world what they were meant to be. And help us to see that without them churches crumble, communities perish, the walls of our world fall down. God of our lives, hooray for the little people! Three cheers for the little stones! Thank God they’re there. And if I’m a misshapen, ordinary stone, minding my own business, just doing my bit of filling my place in the wall, just being me, thank you for putting me here. Thank you for believing in me, and building me into your walls. Amen. This prayer was first used in worship in Iona Abbey, but was later adapted for use in Chalmers Memorial Church, Port Seton, particularly because of the 100-year-old stone walls which are exposed in the interior of the church. It is, therefore, a prayer which is applicable in many different settings. This can be used verbally in worship or for any other purpose, but if printed in whole or in extracts should include: “Taken verbatim from Welcoming Each Wonder by Tom Gordon. © Tom Gordon and Wild Goose Publications – www.ionabooks.com. Used with the permission of the author.

Bell-pulls For use with Mark 6:53-56 – on the issue of our natural selfishness in making demands on each other, and the danger of our selfishness in prayer. In an old manse I visited recently there were still the bell-pulls in the lounge, dining room and study, which, when used, vibrated a little disc in a glass box on the wall outside the kitchen so that the servant would know in which room he or she was required and would respond instantly to the demand. Wouldn’t it be nice ...? But, if it is integral to our nature to put demands on those who care for us – and not just in a pseudo-Victorian environment – how much of a danger is there to approach God in the same way? Do we consider our God to be on end of our bell-pull, our summons, so that he will respond instantly when our personal disc jiggles in the glass box outside God’s heavenly kitchen? Crowds For use with Mark 6:32-34 – as a contemporary reading (on the issue of being besieged by crowds) ‘I hate crowds.’ Tony Nelson furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth as the taxi swung into the Infirmary car park. ‘Now he tells me,’ the woman beside him exclaimed. ‘Who ever heard of a politician who hates crowds? Isn’t that what got you into politics?’ ‘It certainly was not,’ Tony rejoined. The conversation came to an abrupt end as the taxi stopped at the hospital’s main entrance. Tony could see the crowds round the door – photographers jostling for position; a couple of camera-crews approaching the taxi; men in suits forming what seemed to be a reception line; members of the public drawn in just because something was happening. It was always the same. ‘That’ll be eight pounds sixty,’ the taxi driver was saying. Tony’s companion was brandishing a tenner. ‘Keep the change,’ she insisted. ‘Thanks, doll,’ the driver responded. The woman cringed, but offered no reply. ‘It’s no’ every day ah’ve got Tony Nelson in the back o’ ma’ cab. Awrra best, pal.’ By now Tony and his minder were standing in the paved area in front of a big sign that proclaimed, “Welcome to your local hospital.” The woman by his side surreptitiously placed her hand on Tony’s elbow and squeezed it encouragingly. ‘Come on, Tony, let’s do it.’

‘OK, Tonto. Hi Ho silver …’ and the two of them headed for the crowded hospital entrance. ‘Well, that went off OK,’ Alicia da Silva pronounced as she and her charge were being taxied home. Alicia da Silva was a journalist from the local paper, processing an ‘exclusive day-in-the-life’ of Tony Nelson – GP, campaigner, reluctant politician. He was hot news. In his heart of hearts he’d never expected to win the bi-election. But here he was: Tony Nelson MP, and having to face the crowds. Tony felt that he’d carried off the engagement reasonably well. ‘You’ll get used to it,’ Alicia was saying. ‘But I still I hate crowds,’ was all Tony could reply. ‘Do you really?’ Alicia asked. Tony looked dreamingly out of the cab window for a while before he responded. ‘Ever since I was small, I never liked fuss and bother. I preferred being on my own, or in the company of family and friends. That’s why I liked my job as a GP. Every person, every mother, every child, every consultation, really mattered. I could make a difference to that woman or that family or that situation. I’m a one-to-one person. But when a crowd comes at you, how can you separate out what really matters? How can you know who has the real needs?’ Alicia scribbled furiously, and then, looking up, she said, ‘But didn’t Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and all the great reformers and peace-campaigners, do the crowd-bit because they had a passion for the rights of the individual?’ Tony smiled. ‘I suppose you’re right. So when I’m doing “the crowd-bit”, as you call it, I just have to think of Mrs A with her miscarriages, and Miss B with her ectopic pregnancy, and Baby C who’s a Down’s Syndrome child, yes?’ He paused, turned to the reporter, and smiled again. ‘If every individual in the crowd matters, then the crowd is made up of individual needs, and everyone is helped – even though they’re in the crowd? Yes?’ ‘Something like that,’ Alicia responded, slipping her notebook into her bag. ‘But then, I’m not the politician – or the philosopher, come to that.’

The taxi was stopping at Tony’s front door. ‘Thanks, driver,’ Alicia was saying to the cabbie. ‘We’ll just drop Dr Nelson off here and you can take me up to the office.’ ‘Would you like to come in for a coffee,’ Tony asked as he was leaving the cab. ‘It’s been a long day, and you’ll need a break.’ ‘No thanks, Tony,’ Alicia da Silva replied. ‘You need to be alone, I suspect. And some of us have a very crowded schedule to deal with.’ This can be used verbally in worship or for any other purpose, but if printed in whole or in extracts should include: “Adapted from ‘Crowds’ from With an Open Eye by Tom Gordon. © Tom Gordon and Wild Goose Publications – www.ionabooks.com. Used with the permission of the author.” Why did you tell me to love? For use with Mark 6:32-34 – on the issue of compassion fatigue, when we are in danger of being overwhelmed with more and more responsibilities to care for others. Lord, why did you tell me to love all men, my brothers? I have tried, but I come back to you, frightened… Lord, I was so peaceful at home, I was so comfortably settled. It was well furnished, and I felt cosy. I was alone, I was at peace. Sheltered from the wind, the rain, the mud. I would have stayed unsullied in my ivory tower. But, Lord, you have discovered a breach in my defences. You have forced me to open my door, Like a squall of rain in the face, the cry of men has awakened me; Like a gale of wind a friendship has shaken me, As a ray of light slips in unnoticed, your grace has stirred me… and, rashly enough, I left my door ajar. Now, Lord, I am lost! Outside men were lying in wait for me. I did not know they were so near; in this house, in this street, in this office; my neighbour, my colleague, my friend. As soon as I started to open the door I saw them, with outstretched hands, burning eyes, longing hearts, like beggars on church steps. The first ones came in, Lord. There was after all some space in my heart. I welcomed them. I would have cared for them and fondled them, my very own little lambs, my little flock.

You would have been pleased, Lord, I would have served and honoured you in a proper, respectable way. Till then, it was sensible… But the next ones, Lord, the other men, I had not seen them; they were hidden behind the first ones. There were more of them, they were wretched; they over-powered me without warning. We had to crowd in. I had to find room for them. Now they have come from all over, in successive waves, pushing one another, jostling one another. They have come from all over town, from all parts of the country, of the world; numberless, inexhaustible. They don’t come alone any longer but in groups, bound one to another. They come bending under heavy loads; loads of injustice, of resentment and hate, of suffering and sin… They drag the world behind them, with everything rusted, twisted, or badly adjusted. Lord, they hurt me! They are in the way, they are everywhere. They are too hungry, they are consuming me! I can’t do anything anymore; as they come in, they push the door, and the door opens wider… Lord! My door is wide open! I can’t stand it anymore! It’s too much! It’s no kind of life! What about my job? my family? my peace? my liberty? And me? Lord, I have lost everything, I don’t belong to myself any longer; There’s no more room for me at home. Don’t worry, God says, you have gained all. While men came in to you, I, your Father, I, your God, Slipped in among them. Taken verbatim from Prayer of Life by Michel Quoist. © Gill and Macmillan Publishers, Dublin 1963.

Also published on-line Polly Pilgrim’s Blog (https://pollypilgrim.wordpress.com/prayer-page/extract-from-prayers-of-life-by-michel-quoist-p90-91) in the name of “Church of England, Prayer for the Joint Group Eucharist”, September 2012.) The Enormous Turnip You may be familiar with the traditional tale, The Enormous Turnip, in various forms from different countries, and easily adapted to suit local circumstances and modern times. (e.g., see: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/pdfs/assemblies/the_enormous_turnip.pdf) The story can be retold in a children’s setting using both children and adults in a visual illustration of a) the people of God working together; b) the need for good, trusting relationships; c) the worth and value of every individual – even the smallest and (apparently) least significant; d) the ministry of the whole people of God. If there are in the story, for example, a) a farmer, b) a farmer’s wife, c) a son, d) a daughter, e) a donkey, f) a dog, g) a cat, h) a mouse (or how many you include in your version) have them come out in turn either across the chancel or up and down a central aisle such as (for example) a) the Session Clerk; b) the Guild President’; c) the BB Captain/Youth Leader; d) the Flower Convener; e) the leader Prayer Group; f) a girl from the Sunday School; g) a boy from the Sunday School; h) the littlest children from the Sunday School (or anyone else in any order you care to choose). Have the first one pretend to pull out the turnip – and fail! Have the next one hold on to the waist of the first and pull – and fail. Each one takes the waist of the one before – and they pull and fail ... Till the last (and littlest) holds on to the back of the line and they pull, and pull, and pull ... and the turnip comes up (and maybe they all fall backwards after their exertions ...) and everyone in the village gets fed! It’s a great, visual and fun way of making an important point. Everyone will love it – including the adults (perhaps mostly them ...) who join in, and there’s not much that needs to be said by way of explanation. And it would be a brave minister that places themselves in the role of the donkey ... Who’s going to give that a try? In similar vein, the Rory’s Wall story and the Enormous Turnip illustrations could be used to touch on themes such as: bullying; exclusion; racial tensions; ethnicity; community issues; anything recently in the news (e.g. the Grenfell Tower Fire) that is illustrative on the one hand of people working together for the common good, and on the other hand, people working against each other to cause further hatred and tension.

Prayers Prayer of approach, thanksgiving and confession The service could begin with the hymn “In Christ there is no east or west” (CH4 624) [though I’ve always considered that the best tune for this hymn is St Stephen (Newington) CH4 686]. If so, this might be the opening prayer: Let us pray. “In Christ there is no east or west, In Him no south or north, But one great fellowship of love Throughout the whole wide earth.” Loving God, there is no east or west where Christ’s call cannot be heard to draw us to this fellowship of love. There is no place of brokenness In which we cannot see signs of his healing touch. There is no south or north, no dwelling place of darkness from which we cannot escape into the light of his love. There is no home, no circumstance from which we cannot get away, no road we cannot travel, no journey of life we cannot pass through to reach that place where Christ-like souls are one in Him. No east or west, no south or north, no place of failure and dejection from which we cannot rise to be blessed at Your mercy seat. Ever-welcoming God, in this house of Your dwelling, where high communion is found with our brothers and sisters of faith, in the presence of Your love, in the wholeness of Christ’s acceptance, in the warmth of the Spirit’s blessing, we rejoice in our oneness; we give thanks for Your mercy;

we embrace fullness of life in this new beginning; we thank You for inviting us home. All-encompassing God, we pray that our fellowship here will be a mirror of Your Kingdom’s grace; that our worship here will be an echo of heavenly praise; that our healing here will be a symbol of redemptive power; that our closeness here will be a sign of the real unity of the whole people of God; that our thanksgiving here will be a mark of true communion with You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Prayer of blessing and supplication Note: Where a SILENCE is indicated between the sections, this can be a short period of quietness or a place where specific petitions relating to that section can be added, or both. Ever present God, You promise us there is no place we can go where You will not be with us; no prayers we can offer that You will not hear; no stumbling words or random thoughts that will not make sense to You, no empty silence that will not be filled with our groans and pleadings. We are so grateful for that, especially when our prayers are dry, or ill-formed, or vainly repetitive, or inarticulate. And yet You call us to come into fellowship from time to time, to gather all of that together – clever prayers and ill-conceived ideas; jumbled phrases and inadequate grammar; silent yearnings and barren deserts of weeping – in one place and as one people; to lay it all before You,

knowing that You will hear what we cannot begin to express; believing that You will makes sense of what we cannot fully understand. Listening God, we pray for Your Church: in its fragility and in its strength; in its nurture and in its mission; in its pilgrimage and in its establishment; in its traditions and in its newness ... that it may continue to be what it has always sought to be – a light in the darkest of places; a healing for broken lives; a hope for a searching world. SILENCE Understanding God, we pray for our nation, giving thanks for examples of goodness, and weeping with those who weep in their poverty, alienation and despair; looking with admiration at examples of righteousness and condemning evil in whatever form we find it. SILENCE Ever-watchful God, we pray for our world, in all its tension and striving, wonder and questioning, beauty and brokenness. Where there is rejection we pray that the embrace of acceptance might be offered; where there is isolation we pray that the handshake of understanding might be given; where there are barriers we pray that the sledge-hammers of justice might beat upon the walls; where there is pain we pray that the tenderness of healing might be known; where there is violence

we pray that the beauty of peace might herald a new dawn; where there is hopelessness we pray that the vision of oneness might be a pointer to Your Kingdom. SILENCE Attentive God, we pray for those we love – who, with little encouragement or prompting, pop into our minds and fill our prayers with their circumstances, our yearnings with their cries, our compassion with their tears, out joy with their smiles, because we know them so well and love them so much. SILENCE God who made us in Your very image, we pray for ourselves, for strength on our journey of faith; for love in our expressions of service; for healing in body, mind and spirit. And we give thanks, that even now as we pray for others, many others are praying for us. SILENCE Bless us now with Your touch of tenderness; remind us each new day of Christ’s companionship on the Way; surround us at all times with the Spirit’s constancy; bind us always with the Communion of Saints. And all for Your sake and for Your glory. Amen.

Musical suggestions

On the theme of the uniqueness (and importance) of the service of every individual:

• CH4 795 – “Take me, take me as I am”

• CH4 533 – “Just as I am”

• CH4 533 – “Will you come and follow me”

• CH4 534 – “Make me a captive, Lord”

• See the hymn written for today’s second reading, Psalm 89:20-37 – “Your servants, Lord, are sanctified”

On the theme of the Church as a Pilgrim People:

• CH4 530 – “One more step along the world I go” • CH4 535 – “Who would true valour see”

• CH4 167 – “Guide me, O thou great Jehovah”

• CH4 237 – “Look forward in faith”

On the theme of the centrality of Christ in the Church

• CH4 531 – “My Jesus, my Saviour” • CH4 539 – “I want Jesus to walk with me”

• CH4 348 – “Praise the One who breaks the darkness”

On the theme of the need for a life of prayer to balance a life of activity:

• CH4 540 – “I heard the voice of Jesus say” • CH4 542 – “Lord, speak to me, that I may speak”

On the theme of breaking down barriers:

• CH4 358 – “The great love of God is revealed in the Son” • CH4 624 – “In Christ there is no east or west”

• CH4 721 – “We lay our broken world ...”

• CH4 198 – “Let us build a house”