| New Book now Available Here is an anthology of over 1100 brief prayers and thought-starters, for each day of the year, with almost 400 original prayers by Bruce Prewer. Included is both a subject index and an index of authors-- an ecumenical collection of about 300 different sources. |
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| Title: Brief Prayers for Busy People. Author: Bruce D Prewer ISBN 978-1-62880-090-6 Available from Australian Church Resources, web site www.acresources.com.au email service@acresources.com.au or by order from your local book shop or online on amazon. |
Year C, SUNDAY 16
July 17-23 July
Luke 10: 38-42
(Sermon
1: Are You with Martha or Mary?”)
Colossians 1: 15-28
Amos 8: 1-12
(Sermon
2: “What’s New?”)
Psalm 52
PREPARATION
The joy of the Lord be with
you all.
And also with you.
We have come here to sit at the feet of Christ and
learn from him.
I am like a
green olive tree in the house of God.
He has convened this assembly, and by his Spirit is
among us.
I will
proclaim your name, O God, for it is good.
By Christ’s grace we gladly worship the God whose
glory
will always stretch far beyond our comprehension
yet whose love is as simple and available as the air we
breathe.
I will trust
the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
OR
We are here because Christ has called us.
We assemble in
response to his word..
Prepare to rise above your fickle moods,
into the loving discipline of
praise and worship.
With God’s
help, we will.
Give God the best that you can!
We offer him
heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
Let us then worship God.
PRAYER OF APPROACH
God our most holy Friend, we come to you with
gratitude and awe. You are a God whose glory fills heaven and earth! Praise
belongs to you forever!
Loving God, you are able to do new things when we least
expect it. Whenever we become stuck in a rut, staying put and complaining,
please firmly call our names.
Show us again the vision of Jesus going on ahead of
us, beckoning us to follow and share in his all-inclusive worship and service. In his name and to your honour.
Amen !
CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE
It’s time to confront ourselves. It’s time to make a
good confession.
Let us pray.
Because at times we feel neither
awe in the vicinity of your love nor shame in the presence of your
light; Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Because it is not in your nature to let us get away
with self deceit, or allow us to drift in the shallows of triviality and
indifference; Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Because we are neither as good as we publicly
pretend, or as hopeless as we privately feel when we are down in the dumps;
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Holy Friend and Saviour,
meet with us beneath the currents and eddies of our inner lives; beneath the
strata of either our shame or our excuses.
Meet us with
your mercy that forgives and redeems at measureless cost, wanting nothing more
than our health and happiness.
Meet us that we may know that even when we have
fallen badly, there is more than enough grace to put things right and create a
better future.
Meet us with that loving Word
which can make the blind see and the
deaf to hear.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen!
ABSOLUTION
My sisters and brothers in the family of God it is
written for our benefit:
“Where
sin multiplies, grace much more multiplies.”
Hear
again Christ’s liberating word of grace.
“Your
sins are forgiven.”
Thanks be to God!
PRAYER FOR CHILDREN
Happy
People
It’s odd,
dear God.
I see dogs playing yappily
and birds playing flappily.
I wish that people
would live less crabbily
and much more happily.
Please help us.
Ó B D Prewer.
MARY AND
MARTHA
A
PROTEST
One again, Jesus of Nazareth,
you offend
our Aussie sense of a fair go.
Martha’s our preferred saint,
not your friend
Mary who sits like a drone
when in the end
the boring work must get done.
Once again, Jesus the troubler,
you make light
of all those extra hours
your Marthas
still put in
late at night,
while your ‘precious’ Marys make
it their right
to smile and hand round the
cake.
o dismay our righteous ego.
Once again, Jesus the prophet,
you defy
our sense of right and wrong.
It’s hard enough already to be
your ally,
without this story which appears
to decry
all our hard work and tears.
© B.D. Prewer 2000 & 2012
SERMON 1: ARE YOU WITH MARY OR MARTHA?
Luke 11:4
Martha,
Martha, you worry over too many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has
chosen the best role, which shall not be taken away from her. 1
Are you with Mary or with Martha?
Trouble!
The story of Mary and Martha always seems to spell trouble.
Whenever I have tried to preach on it, afterwards a number of people say to me:
“I’m still on Martha’s side.” Or as one said to me “I don’t think Jesus was
very fair.”
From such feedback I conclude-
that many of us have suffered
from friends or family members who leave us to do all the work while they
fritter away the time. It becomes particularly galling when we are frantically
trying to entertain guests. I suspect that it is out of this experience that we
readily identify with Martha, while feeling miffed about Mary sitting at the
feet of Jesus.
If we have trouble with this story,
we can be assured of one
thing: we are not the first generation to do so. It seems that the Christians
of the early centuries had their qualms. In the ancient manuscripts that have
survived there are five variant readings of what Jesus said to Martha. When
this occurs in manuscripts, it is a sure sign that those first Christians felt
uncomfortable about something Jesus said or did. So, take heart; you are not
the first to get edgy about this attitude of Jesus.
A TRAGIC SPLIT
Regrettably, if we look at the whole story of
Christianity this little scene in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, has been misused. It has been employed to set up a
split between a life dedicated to prayer and meditation and one dedicated to
practical service.
Moreover, for the most part prayer and meditation
(sitting at the feet of Jesus as folk have understood it) has been exalted to a
superior place. It has been treated as holier than worldly demands and duties
(Martha busy in the kitchen). Historically the life of monks, nuns and priests
was regarded as being more godly than that of parents,
merchants, labourers, teachers, tradesmen, clerks, cooks, scholars and street
sweepers. The Marthas have been seen as inferior to
the Marys.
Maybe a bit of this still lingers on. But I suspect
that today the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Today we extol and
admire the busy people, the achievers, the movers and shakers. We are a generation of doers. Prayer is not
high on the ambitions list. Meditation is regarded as something for those who
can’t make it in the real world. Quietly reading and pondering the Scriptures
is for those who have caught a religious bug.
Either way I am not happy. I do not believe that
this passage justifies one way of life as above the other. I do not accept that
they should ever be split apart. We need
both Mary and Martha.
And they need to change roles often.
TAKE A CLOSE
LOOK AT THE SISTERS
Look at Martha a little more closely and you will
see a surprising thing. It is something not at first obvious to our culture and
era. The intriguing thing is that we are told that it was Martha who invited
Jesus to their house.
That was an unheard of thing in the Jewish culture
of that time. Women were not permitted to go around inviting guests. It was a man’s prerogative. So Martha is
acting in a liberated, ground-breaking way.
She is a pioneer.
I think we see in Martha something of the impact of
Jesus on those around him. We see his liberation already at work. For him women
were not lesser beings. Somewhere in the weeks before this event, Martha had
already come under the affirming influence of the Man from Nazareth. That
influence enabled her to go against convention and a
invite Jesus to dinner.
Now look closely at Mary. She is not at sitting at
his feet day dreaming. Mary is sitting at his feet listening to Jesus’
teaching. That expression “sitting at
the feet” was a common way of stating that a man was receiving instruction from
a Rabbi. But here it is a woman. The first recorded case. Women were not
allowed to be taught. As one famous Rabbi said: “Better the Scriptures be burnt than taught to a woman.” What’s going on here? Like
Martha, Mary had already come under the liberating influence of Jesus. She
feels free to sit at his feet as a male disciple would.
So what we have here in this household is evidence
of a radical change. Mary, Martha and Lazarus are a
part of the new race of humanity that comes into being through the influence of
Jesus Christ.
Maybe (just maybe; no certainty) one of the reasons
for what seems like a rebuke to Martha was that Martha had exerted her
new-found liberty to invite Jesus to the house, yet then gets annoyed when her
sister Mary dares to express her new liberty by daring to acting like a man
might. Jesus was not going to allow Mary to be put back in a domestic box.
Look closely at the words that he spoke: Martha, Martha, you are fretting and fussing
about so many things; but one thing is necessary; the portion that Mary has
chosen is best; and it shall not be taken from her.
Jesus is not only affirming Mary’s new-found
freedom, but is also stating that for a disciple there is only one essential
pre-requisite: to be still and listen; to sit and learn. At base, that matters more than all else.
Of course some food is important, but not as
important as receiving the teaching. People
cannot live by bread alone but by every word of God that proceeds from his
mouth..
It is better to go hungry than to go wrong. We must
be receivers before we can be givers.
JESUS ALONE IS OUR RABBI
I think our frenetic generation needs to hear this.
We need times when we stop rushing and start listening. Jesus is our only
Rabbi.
The only special thing which the Christian has to
offer this mixed up old world is the light in the soul of Jesus, the words
spring from his lips, the grace that flows from his cross. Without that we have
nothing to add to the world’s religions and philosophies, nothing to bring into
the doubts and turmoil of fractured humanity.
Jesus alone is the shape of our faith. He offers
abundant life shining through his eyes, love given in his deeds, truth
expressed in his values.
We need to sit at his feet and learn all we can from
what he says, what he does, and how he looks at us.
We need to hear him saying awkward things like:
if you want to save your life then give it away,
the first shall be last and the last first,
pray for your enemies and bless those who curse you,.
do not store up wealth on earth, but treasure is heaven.
We need to watch him:
refuse to condemn a woman caught in the act of adultery,
touch with his own hands a diseased leper,
eat with taxgatherers and other
sinners
raise to life a little girl thought to be dead.
We need to be there when he
is transfigured while praying on a mountain,
commends a widow giving her last 2 coins in the offering,
prays in the garden of Gethsemene,
forgives those who drive in the nails at Golgotha,
and when he stands behind a weeping woman and says “Mary!”
The one thing absolutely necessary is to learn from
him; to sit as his feet and absorb his graciousness.
Without that we will end up being absorbed into the
fads and fashions of the world around us.
SERMON 2:
WHAT’S NEW?
Amos 8: 4-6
What’s new?
Hear this, you
who trample upon the needy
and bring the poor of the land
to despair
Amos 8:4
You alter the
balances to your own favour,
and devalue the currency for
your own profit..
Amos 8:5
Buying the
poor for a few dollars
and the needy for a pair of
sandals
Amos 8:6
What’s new?
Have we made any progress in the almost 3 millennia
since the prophet Amos? Don’t we still exploit the vulnerable, and abuse those
whom our society has made misfits or petty criminals? Just look around, see and
listen.
INJUSTICES AROUND US
In our nation the gap between the wealthy and the
poor
has been relentlessly growing
over the last 3 decades. Injustices that thirty years ago we would have
regarded as unthinkable, we now accept with hardly a raised eyebrow.
In the clothing industry, there are small backyard
sweat shops,
where adults and children toil
excessive hours to produce clothing with designer labels. For
what? That large emporiums may increase their
margins and profits, and shareholders rub their hands with Scrooge-ish glee.
Buying the
poor for a few dollars
and the needy for a pair of
sandals Amos 8:6
In the case of the mentally ill, our recent record
is deplorable.
Governments have fiercely cut back on treatment
centres and support agencies. The philosophy is now sink or swim, and if you
can’t swim, be damned. And many are. The reason? That
the well-off may pay less taxes.
Thousands of homeless young people barely exist in
our large cities.
They live on the streets, resorting to prostitution,
drawn into drug addiction to ease their emotional anguish. Governments won’t
spend much to help. They fear a backlash from respectable, comfortable
citizens, who reckon such lay-abouts deserve what
they get.
There is a whole under class of the permanently
unemployed.
Many of these are from the 50plus age group who are
passed over for younger employees. Others are from among the vulnerable who have low self esteem, limited intellectual capacity or
initiative. Some are from the indigenous population, where the dispiriting
effect of generations of dispossession takes a heavy toll.
Hear this, you
who trample upon the needy
and bring the poor of the land
to despair. Amos 8:4
Employees in their twenties and thirties,
are enticed by rosy promises.
There will be promotion upon promotion, to give all
their time and ability and last drop of energy they have. They do so, often at
the cost of health and family. And when in the forties they start to slow down
a little, they are discarded like toilet tissues. And for
what? Increased profits to wealthy shareholders
Gambling wreaks havoc.
Governments have turned to the silent, yet
unscrupulous taxation via increased gambling facilities. Glittering casinos,
and gambling rooms at
clubs and pubs with their ubiquitous poker machines. The investors get richer,
the governments coffers are filled, while marriages
collapse, work places are embezzled to maintain the thrills or addiction, and
once-honourable citizens go to prison or commit suicide.
Every bit of so called “taxation relief” entrenches
disadvantage.
Tax changes, announced with much hoo
ha by smug politicians, assist the affluent much more than the poor battlers.
One such recent tax reduction gave $5 to the average worker, $20 to the lower professionals and $
30+ to the upper professionals. Where’s the justice in that?
You alter the
balances to your own favour,
and devalue the currency for
your own profit.
Amos
8:5
The there is the wider international sphere.
We get self righteous about the “:war
on terrorism.” We will pay vast amounts of money to maintain that war. But we
show scant signs of trying to understand why there is so much anger against
affluent Western countries. Some think it is a religious thing: Islam against
Christianity. Not so. That is no more true that the troubles in Northern
Ireland being attributed to simply Catholic versus Protestant. It is a social
justice matter. Deprived people reacting against what they see as our
exploitation of poor nations across the world.
We are appalled at suicide bombers.
We should be. Yet we need to understand that suicide
bombers give their lives for what they see as a righteous cause; to focus world
attention on social injustice, and to hurt those whom they feel are unjustly
afflicting them. They would quickly understand where the prophet Amos was
coming from.
THE MESSAGE OF AMOS
So, what’s new?
My friends, have we made much progress in almost
three thousand years? Ethically I doubt it.
Sadly, our attitudes and policies have not changed
much over the centuries.
The wealthier people still thrive at the cost of the
poor. There are little periods of widespread thirst for social justice, but it
becomes soon swamped again by a new tide of rampant greed.
Now to Amos.
The prophet Amos, lived about
760 BC. He saw the problem. He came down
from the hills of Tekoa with the fire of God’s
justice in his belly, and challenged the decadent luxury of the “upper crust”
under king Jeroboam II. He came and preached God’s judgment on their ways.
Hear this, you
who trample upon the needy
and bring the poor of the land
to despair. Amos 8:4
If Amos was right, even 60% right, then let us beware.
The judgement of God might well be upon much of our
way of life here in Australia. We like
to call it “the lucky country” but it is only lucky for those in a privileged
position. The words of Amos judge us.
I will turn
your turn your parties into wakes,
and your rock ‘n’ roll into
dirges.
I will make
all to wear sackcloth
and walk head-bare in the
storm.
It will be like
the death of one’s only son,
and every day shall end with
bitterness. Amos 8:10
GOD’S JUDGEMENT IS GOOD NEWS
Judgement?
Does this mean I am in melancholy mood?
Not at all. In truth I am feeling quite
buoyant today.
I’m just trying to be faithful to the Scriptures and
faithful to the prophet Amos, and to be faithful to the God of Jesus Christ.
The fact that today’s reading from Amos discomforts me (and you, I hope!) is a
good thing.
Deep down I believe that judgment is good news.
Wonderful news, in fact! It may not always be comfortable news but it
is good tidings. It is gospel.
It is good news that the wrongs of life will one day
be righted.
It is good news that the poor are not oppressed
without God seeing and taking a stand for them.
It is good news that we were not created to live
this way, with the world divided into have and have nots.
And it is good news that by the grace of Christ we
are being redeemed .
Saved from the selfishness which causes, or
tolerates injustice, and that we are being led (often kicking and screaming)
towards the generosity of God.
Maybe we don’t always achieve what we should.
But by the saving grace of Christ Jesus, we get up
from defeat and try again and again and again. This is good news.
A SALUTE TO THOSE WHO PRACTICE GOD’S JUSTICE.
What new? The impact of Christ Jesus continues to
make many things new.
Here are now I salute all those daring souls.
Those Christians who are attempting to stand
with God for a better way of life for all.
I salute those who are working in “third world”
countries.
Giving their all in an attempt to uplift the those who are bowed down. I salute young people from
congregations where I have served, who put off careers for a few years to go
and work alongside less fortunate peoples.
I salute all that our Uniting Church is doing in
Australia.
I am humbly proud that we spend more on social
service than any other non-government agency or church denomination. I rejoice
that we have workers who stand beside the needy and help them hone their skills
in order that they may better stand up for themselves.
I salute the very ordinary people in every
congregation.
Those among you who, in the face of human need, do
not withdraw into pious, private religion, but do the best you can in combating
injustice and public apathy.
In short I salute all those in whom the saving grace
of Christ has not been in vain.
Judgement is a good thing.
It brings us to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and
from there into increased. active love for humanity.
Thanks be to God!
THANKSGIVING
With thanksgiving in our hearts and minds,
let us pray.
Holy Friend, Source and Sustenance of your people,
we want to say ‘thank you’ for the gift of life and all the joys that enhance
it.
We are grateful for the multiplicity of sounds,
scents and tastes, that enrich every waking moment.
We are blessed by those who love us enough to
comfort us when we are wounded and confront us when we are being wilful.
We are grateful for your gift of the church, which
in spite of its obvious imperfections, has nurtured our spirits and raised our
sights.
We thank you for outstanding personalities, some
famous some obscure, whose lives shine like beacons of encouragement.
We give praise for the Jew we know as Christ Jesus,
who goes beyond all others in lifting us out of frustration and defeat into the
light of a glorious destiny.
We give thanks for your intimate friendship, your
own Holy Spirit helping us to befriend others as we journey towards the
fulfilment of your purposes.
Thanks is too small a word, O God.
But you know our hearts and accept the profound gratitude that stirs there
whenever we stop and take stock. Wonderful are you, joy of the universe!
Amen!
INTERCESSIONS
In our prayers of intercession, we re-align ourselves
with God’s will and activity.
Let us pray.
Most loving God, ‘to turn from you is to fall, to
turn to you is to rise, to stand with you is to stay firm forever,’ grant us
the faith to turn, to rise, and to stand with you, both in our praying and in our
working.
May all of your children discover the secret of
Christ, and be enabled to rise above all that would discourage, ensnare,
oppress or destroy them.
Assist your church to rise above things that are
second-rate, selfish, petty or misguided. May it continue to be a community
where small souls meet a very large Saviour.
Loving God, we pray for this world with its many
successes yet innumerable failures. Save it from the greed, arrogance and
injustice which foster crime, terrorism and war,
By your Holy Spirit, be near those close by , and those far off, who are confused, diseased, injured,
abused, emotionally disturbed, sorrowful, or despairing. May they receive
compassion, encouragement and healing.
Holy Friend, as we have prayed for others, we now
pray for ourselves. Help us in the wider world to live out the text of these
our prayers.
Through Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Amen!
SENDING OUT
Go your way with thanksgiving.
Enjoy those who love you most and pray for those who
dislike you most.
Be compassionate in the face of human need and
patient in the presence of stupidity.
Let the love of Christ be your map and goal, your
pride and your strength.
The grace of the Man of Galilee, the love of the eternal God,
and the fellowship of the Spirit of liberty, be with you now and always.
Amen!
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