Introduction - Kindle
within us, Lord, the flame of love and the song of praise; may we shine in your
temple, may light be shared among us, and may our voices lift in song together with
the music of all creation. Amen.
Hymn - Great is
thy faithfulness
Opening Prayers
Father God, we gather here before you
to praise you as the creator and source of
all that is.
Out of your love the universe was born.
From the formless dark your word brought
forth light and order
and myriad forms of life; and you saw that
all you had made was good.
We praise you that you have placed this world
into our stewarding hands:
help us to be worthy of that trust: to find
your Spirit within what you have made,
and to discern your calling voice within the
circles and cycles of creation.
Disturb and challenge us, that we may take
thought for the work of your hands,
and be ready to serve our sisters and
brothers, our neighbours in their need.
For it is your will that we should nourish
and protect the earth and its diversity of life,
and share and use well the gifts we have from
you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn - Brother,
sister, let me serve you.
Reading (Isaiah
55:12-56:1, NIV)
You will go out in joy and be led forth in
peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the
trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush will grow
the pine tree, and instead of briars the myrtle will grow. This will be for the
Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed. This is
what the Lord says: ‘Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is
close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.’
Reflection
Within and around this place of worship,
built to the glory of God,
we find that glory expressed in many ways: in
the beauty of flowers,
in the grandeur of the landscape, and in the
living world of plants and creatures.
It is good to take time to be still and
attentive, and to know God in all that he has made,
to tune ourselves in to the rhythms of life
and growth and the turning seasons,
in sun and rain, in the sown seed and the fruitful
crop, in life’s beginnings and endings;
may our reflections lead us into deeper
wisdom and clearer vision,
and may we learn to dance with the Spirit in
the joy of God’s creation.
Hymn - Dear Lord
and Father of mankind.
Reading
(Deuteronomy 11: 13-15 NIV)
If you faithfully obey the commands I am
giving you today - to love the Lord your God and to
serve him with all your heart and with all
your soul - then I will send rain on your land in its
season, both autumn and spring rains, so that
you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.
I will provide grass in the fields for your
cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Reflection
In Genesis we find the instruction, “Fill the
earth and subdue it. Have dominion . . .” But - and there is a but - where we
go out of step with the Creator, where in the way we use the resources of the
world around us we do so as owners rather than as stewards, then the whole
balance of creation is disturbed. The great prophets of the Old Testament knew
this, and warned the people, and their priests and kings, accordingly. What
about today? We understand so much more about ecosystems, how our living planet
works, what keeps things in balance. Scientists warn us that this balance is at
risk - are they the new prophets? We need to find ways of using this good earth
without using in up; we need to realise the impact of such things as greed,
envy, malice, on that essential balance.
Hymn - God in his
love for us lent us this planet
Reading (in part adapted
from “Lord of Creation” by Brendan O’Malley)
Generations of stars have created an
inheritance of heavy atoms that are bequeathed to us. The carbon atoms that
make up the ink of the words that I am reading now, the oxygen atoms that we
are breathing, the calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood: all of these
are products of stars. In her song “Woodstock”, Joni Mitchell sang, “We are
stardust, we are golden, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the Garden.” We
are recycled stardust, although our living, breathing, thinking selves are greater
than the mere sum of our particles. The constantly creating divine movement of
God is within all moving things of the universe, and we are an integral part of
the dance of the whole cosmic order. Creation happens around us. The 14th
century Christian thinker and writer Meister Eckhart said, “God is creating the
entire universe fully and totally in this present, now.” The voice of the
cosmic Christ calls to us through the hidden beauty present in creation,
calling us to be creative ourselves. We who are made “in the image and likeness
of God” are called to contemplate God as love, shining out in all creation, and
to love and serve him in return.
Hymn - Jesu, lover
of my soul
Reading (Luke
12.22-34)
To his disciples Jesus said, ‘Do not worry
about food to keep you alive or clothes to cover your body. Life is more than
food, the body more than clothes. Think of the ravens: they neither sow nor
reap; they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. You are worth far
more than the birds! Can anxious thought add a day to your life? If, then, you cannot do even a very little
thing, why worry about the rest?
‘Think of the lilies: they neither spin nor
weave; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his splendour was not attired like
one of them. If that is how God clothes the grass, which is growing in the
field today, and tomorrow is thrown on the stove, how much more will he clothe
you! How little faith you have! Do not set your minds on what you are to eat or
drink; do not be anxious. These are all things that occupy the minds of the
Gentiles, but your Father knows that you need them. No, set your minds on his
kingdom, and the rest will come to you as well.
‘Have no fear, little flock; for your Father
has chosen to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity.
Provide for yourselves purses that do not wear out, and never-failing treasure
in heaven, where no thief can get near it, no moth destroy it. For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Hymn - Make me a
channel of your peace
Reflection
and Prayers
The hymn we’ve just sung is based on a
“Prayer of St Francis”, written probably in the 19th century, and therefore not
Francis of Assisi’s own composition, but very true to his beliefs and teaching.
He took very seriously the call to “holy poverty”, and gave away all he had so
that he could be completely focused on serving his Lord. Not all of us are
called in that way, but we do all share a call to be devoted to the kingdom of
God above all other things, not as a spare time interest or hobby, not as
something we might get round to doing once we’ve sorted out all the other stuff,
but as the first priority in our lives, the first thing on our list. Jesus
promises us in the reading we’ve just heard, that if we set our minds on God’s
kingdom, we will find we have what we need for the task. Let us for a while be
still and prayerful:
Some words from the Salvadorian martyr Oscar
Romero:
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it
is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny
fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's
work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying the Kingdom
always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said;
no prayer fully expresses our faith;
no confession brings perfection, no pastoral
visit brings wholeness.
No programme accomplishes the Church's
mission,
no set goals and objectives include
everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that
they hold future promise.
We lay the foundations that will need further
development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far
beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in
realising that.
This enables us to do something and do it
well.
It may be incomplete, but is a beginning, a
step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter
and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master
builder and the worker.
We are the workers, not the master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are the prophets of a future not our own.
Two Kingdom prayers:
Almighty God, you teach us by reason that all
the riches of the world are made by you for our common use, and that by nature
not one of them belongs to one human being more than to another; direct us, we
pray, in obedience to your will, that all things may serve all people, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as
your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and
none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of creation are
shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures
live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice,
and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build
it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and
the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reflect on these words from the Prophecy of
Isaiah:
This is the fast that pleases me, says the
Lord: to break unjust fetters, to let the oppressed go free, to share your
bread with the hungry and shelter the homeless poor. If you do away with the
yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word, if you give your bread to the hungry and
relief to the oppressed, your light will rise in the darkness.
Hymn - To God be
the glory
Blessing
The Lord grant us beauty to delight us, light
to guide us, courage to support us, love to unite us, and his voice to call us
on in service and in praise, now and always. And the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all,
evermore. Amen.
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