BOOK
Reviews
Theological books
I
read recently:
-Tom
Harpur,
The
Pagan Christ
Resources
by
Category:
Click
on a heading
below
to go directly
to a
category.
-Administration
and
Pastoral
Relations:
resolving
conflict;
-Children
and Church
School:
Lit for start
of
church sch term
-discussion
resources
-Liturgical
-movies
reviewd
-Mission
cong's
chaplain
outreach
Peace
for churches
-Sermon/Story
-Social
Comment
Spanking,
Liberal
Muslims
-Series
for SUMMER
Sermon
and
Worship Resources
for the Summer
Non
Lectionary
We
Are the Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
Ahands
First in a
series of four
Mark 16:18; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8
In the reading from Luke, we found the Risen Christ is preparing the disciples for the day when he would no longer be with them as a physical presence; a day when they would be the Hands of Christ.
Christ commissions them: "You are witnesses of the things I have
done so stay here, in the city, soon you will be clothed with power
from on high"(Acts 1:8). "Go into the world and proclaim
the good news."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany and lifting up his hands, he
blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and
was carried up into heaven.
The disciples may have expected that Jesus would be with them for
many years! Now he was gone. Not only was he gone, he had asked them
to take over; to be his hands.
The biblical scholar James Howell has written a small book which has
helped me to see our hands also as the hands of Christ. This is what
I will invite you to reflect on over the next four Sundays; our hands
as the hands of Christ.
To his beloved disciples says, "Look at my hands and my
feet." It's me he is saying, "I am with you. I will
not abandon you or leave you orphaned. Wherever you are I will be
there also. This is my promise to you."
One of the things I find peculiar about this story of Jesus' final
appearance to the disciples is the way he identifies himself.
"Look at my hands and my feet," he says. He could have
said, "Listen to my voice" or "Look at my face."
But instead, for identification purposes he offers to them his hands
and his feet.
Which led me to wonder, would I be able to identify someone I loved
by their hands and feet alone? I would like to think I could and I'm
not sure. A person's hands and feet are not usually the first thing
most of us would notice about one another. Well, except
perhaps, Sherlock Holmes.
I really like the author Conan Doyle's stories in which some
unsuspecting person is introduced to Holmes, spends five minutes in
the great detective's presence and leaves the room. When this person
has departed Sherlock turns to Watson and describes to him what this
person does for a living, his or her family status, income level and
hobbies - all based on having observed the person's hands.
For Holmes hands did not lie; nervous hands, clenched hands, damp
hands, calloused hands, soiled hands, scarred hands, they all told
him a piece of the person's story.
In his book "Yours Are The Hands of Christ: The Practice of
Faith" James Howell says that a mark that identifies a person as
a Christian is seen in their hands; they are the hands of Christ in
our world.
As you know, this is certainly not a new idea. The concept that we
are the hands of Christ can be traced back to Jesus himself.
According to Mark's Gospel, the Risen Christ commissioned the church
to do as Jesus had done: which is to lay hands on people and to heal
them. They would even have the power to pick up venomous snakes and
not be poisoned.
Christ challenged his friends to leave the security of the locked
room they were hiding in and to go into the world to use their hands
to continue the ministry Jesus. St. Paul taught that when we act out
of this mandate from Christ we become the Body of Christ.
James Howell invites us to reflect on the prayer of Teresa of Avila:
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours,
no feet but yours.
"Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ is to
look out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he is to
go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.
"Yours are the hands with which Jesus is to bless now."
Now what about us? What does it mean for you and I to be the blessing hands of Christ?
Howell is convinced that being the active hands of Christ is absolutely essential to our faith; it is as important as believing that God loves you. He argues that once we take God's love for us into our hearts that love will flow down our arms and into our hands. In that moment our hands are transformed as we become the loving, caring, healing hands of Christ.
Now, I am sure we can all think of some well-known persons who have given their hands into the service of Christ. Some obvious ones are Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King.
But what about you and I? Let's look at our hands. Put your hands out and up in front of you palm side up and take a good look at them. Now look at your neighbour's. Don't be shy. If you are comfortable, hold their hand in yours. Look at those hands; your hands and these hands that are in front of you and beside you and behind you are the hands of Christ.
Cast your memory back to yesterday or the day before to last week. and bring to mind one act of kindness that you have done that involved your hands. They need not be grandiose, probably things you do every week. Did you visit a friend in hospital, give someone a call just to say, "Hi." Were you one of those who came to the church this week to stock the Food Bank? Who offered refreshments this past Friday to the grieving family of Mrs. Brown?
Who offered to help a neighbour with a chore? Who gave money to the Mission and Service Fund, or helped a student with their home work? What were your acts of kindness this past week?
In remembering these times when you were the hands of Christ, become aware of how this act transformed your feelings. If it makes you feel like smiling please do so because in those moments your hands became the blessing hands of Christ; in those moments you contributed to bringing about God's realm "on Earth as it is in Heaven."
Mother Teresa put it this way, "In this life we cannot do great things, we can only do small things greatly."
The times that matters most in our lives are the moments when we touch one another with respect, love, generosity and compassion.
That is the message I would like us to hold for ourselves, young or old or in middle age, whatever out circumstances. What we are called to do in a hundred small ways is let God's love work through us, letting our hands become the hands of Christ in our everyday life.
Through these acts of loving-kindness God's work of transformation is done. You cannot act in love without it affecting you. By these acts both we and out neighbors may be transformed. In these small acts of loving-kindness the world is transformed.
So, Let us continue being the hands of Christ in all the many opportunities we have to act with love and compassion. Let us go, and Christ goes with us.
We
are the Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
A211
order
of service to accompany Sermon Ahands
We Gather in God’s Presence
WelcomeLife
and Work of Our Congregation
Minute
for MissionCentering Ourselves in the Love of GodOne: I
Invite you into a moment of stillness,This is a time to breathe
deeply of the Holy Spirit,To breathe out the distractions that you
carry within you,To welcome the Holy into your midst,To invite Jesus
into your hearts.All: Spirit of Life, come unto us this day,It is
good to be here today, O God, to sing psalms to your Holy name,To
sing out with joy and thanksgiving our songs of praises to you,We
pray that we would hear your voice singing in our hearts,in this
hour, in this day, in this coming week.
Silence
AmenHymn:
Psalm 100, VU No. 820 Opening Liturgy Opening Liturgy -
Magnificat to the God of the Dawn, Joyce Rupp
One: My being proclaims the wonders of light as it slowly penetrates
the ebbing darkness.
All: And my spirit bows to the beauty of the One who gives life to
all that has existence. Oh, vibrant green stems of life sing out your
praise to the Heart who draws you forth. Bird songs rejoicing in the
breath of dawn, warble your joy in view of the morning star.
One: Dew drops radiant upon the wetness of grass give glory to the
Wise Creator who sustains you.
All: Flower gardens, rushing streams, silent desserts, sing, sing,
for the Dancer who rejoices in your midst. Peoples of the planet,
creatures of the universe, play before the Enlivener who delights in
you. and my soul, my soul, rise up and greet the day with gratitude,
in a stance of humble remembering.
One: Surround us with your mercy and love, O Beloved, as we share
with you how we have turned away from you.
silent reflection...
One: Here is Good News. the One who raised Jesus from the dead offers
us new life this day. For all that we are, and all that we are called
to be, is held in the forgiving hands of the Creator who daily loves
us into life. Thanks be to God.
Sung Response, Shout for God, Waltrer Farquharson, Vink. VU246
To Speak and Hear God’s Word:Psalm 84Epistle Colossians 3:12-17Here ends the readingThanks be to God.
We Respond to God’s WordAffirmation of Faith - Creed
We Present Our Gifts Prayer of Dedication (sung)We give thee but thine own, what e’er the gift may be;all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O God, from thee.
Prayers
of the People
One: Lord,
listen to your children praying, Lord, send your Spirit to this
place;All: Lord listen to your children praying, send us love, send
us power, send us grace!Sung response: Make me a channel of
your peace
Lord’s Prayer
Sending Forth of God’s People
Hymn: We are Marching. Anders Nyberg Siyahamba VU 646
Blessing Sung Amen
The Peace of ChristMay the peace of Christ be with you.And also with you.
Being
the Praying Hands of Christ . ecclesicakes
A440
Matthew
4:23; 14:23; 26:36. Mark 1:35; 6:46. Luke 3:21; 6:12; 24:50;
John 17.
NOTE: find
order of service at A211a
For Aug 11 yr. A. - May be obliquely related to Mt. 14:22-23
Today I want
to begin a series on "Being the Hands of Christ." My hope
is that these sermons will help us renew our identity as the hands of
Christ in this time. We are among those who as Christ's Hands in the
world; the hands of Christ that pray and teach and we are the hands
of Christ that heal and serve others. God has entrusted the work of
Christ to these hands of ours.
I have used
as my inspiration for these reflections a book by the biblical
scholar James Howell entitled "Being the Hands of Christ: The
Practice of Faith". This small book has helped me to make the
connections between the hands of Jesus and these hands; my hands and
yours. He says that a mark of being a Christian is to be the hands of
Christ in our world.
So, this
morning, I want to talk about being the praying hands of Christ;
offering the kinds of prayers Jesus used and taught us and to wonder
a bit about what happens to our prayers after they are uttered.
For Jesus,
prayer was integral to his life, his spiritual life and his ministry.
Prayer was
integral to the spiritual environment in which he grew up. For
instance, , recited the Shema many times a day:
"Hear O
Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all
your might. "
The Shema is
attributed to Moses who instructed the people: "Keep these words
that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your
children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are
away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on
your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on
the door posts of your house and on your gates. (Deut. 6:4-9):
So, the
people of Israel recited this prayer - the Shema - as a reminder of
God's presence always with them. Jews in Jesus' day, like Jewish and
Muslim believers today, prayed morning, afternoon and evening. They
prayed when they met a fellow neighbour, friend or stranger, they
blessed one another and they blessed God. Psalms and scripture,
prayer and songs filled the minds of their young. Prayer was the
basis for their decision making. Prayer was a familiar part of daily
life, practised by all and was embedded in the very fiber of a
person's being.
In today's
reading from Mark we learn that Jesus arose early in the morning for
private prayer. Mark also tells us that when Jesus was tired at the
end of a long day he would go up into the mountains to pray. He would
go to a place of solitude where he might indeed hear the voice of God
speaking to him. Luke tells us that he was praying when the Holy
Spirit came to him at his baptism and that he spent the whole night
in prayer before he chose the twelve who were to become his disciples
and, at least, on one occasion, Jesus stood in a boat and screamed
against the roaring wind and raging waves, "Be Still!!"
On the night
of his arrest, prayed passionately three times to be released for the
Cross. Jesus' last act was prayer. St. Luke reports that as the Risen
Christ ascended to the heavens Christ prayed a blessing on his
friends. St. John devotes a whole chapter to Jesus' prayer for the disciples.
So, what
about us and our prayer life as the Praying Hands of Christ?
To help us
here I will now turn to a book by Rabbi Marc Gellman & Monsignor
Thomas Hartman (Answers to Big Questions)*. They list five types of
prayer. As I read them, I invite you to ask yourselves, "Do my
prayers fit into this list? Let me know if you have other categories.
Five types
of prayers they identify are:
Gimme Prayers
Prayers of Woe,
Prayers of Thanks,
Oops! Prayers.
And
Wow! Prayers (Repeat this list)
Gimme
Prayers as the name implies are prayers in which we ask God to give
us something or to not take something away that you already have. I
want to assure you that there is nothing wrong with Gimme Prayers,
if, the thing that you are asking God from is a good thing.
There is
nothing wrong with asking God for strength and courage to face a
loss, to ask for guidance, wisdom, peace or protection. These are all
good examples of Gimme prayers. Also, to pray for the grace to be a
good winner or loser is also good, but asking God to help you win /
conversely for the other to lose is not worthy of us or of God.
Prayers of
Woe or Prayers of Lament: is our way of crying out to God. Prayers of
Woe are offered to express our grief over a loss. Or our despair we
can't make sense of the awful things that are happening in this world.
A cry of
woe/anguish arose up out of my heart this past week when I learnt of
the death of two young children who had been left in a sealed car
while their mother was getting her hair done.
How could
this be possible? Why is it that these children were sacrificed
on an altar of neglect; these deaths were preventable and I wonder if
we, in 2,000 years, have learnt nothing about compassion and being
our sister/brother/children's keeper? Did no one see these children
in this car and if they did, didn't it cross their minds that this
was wrong, or to check out the situation? When I heard this
story I had no words, I just wept at the news. For me, it is often
through my tears that I express my deep sense of woe to God.
Prayers of
Thanks are the way we say, "God, I know you are the reason why
all good things come into the world and I just want to say thank-you."
I often find
myself praying: "Thank you for this day; thank you for the joy
and delight I experienced as I watched your children play at the
swimming pool; thanks for those who have heard and accepted their
call to bring about economic justice and better health care to our
sisters and brothers in this world; thank you for my children and the
delight they bring to me, thank you for all the blessings you have
showered upon me.
Then there
are the Oops! Prayers: a prayer that I believe all of us have shared
with God at some point in our lives and I wonder if it isn't one of
the main motivations for us to speak with God.
Oops!
Prayers are about reconciliation; reconciliation with God and with
our neighbour. Through them we acknowledge brokeness in our lives,
and commit to change our heart and our behaviour. Through these
prayers we ask for forgiveness
assured of
God's grace.
These Oops!
Prayers have important lessons for life. They can teach us is how to
face the people we have hurt and ask for forgiveness. Oops prayers
enable me to get a clearer idea of how can act the next time.
Then there
are the Wow! Prayers: Wow prayers are those spontaneous prayers
we offer to God when we come across something so beautiful or
wonderful that it literally can take our breath away; a prairie
sunset, or a waterfall usually does it for me. A Wow prayer also may
come in response to the miracle of birth or the smile on a child's or
adult's face the moment they realize they have accomplished something
they thought impossible.
Which of
these five do you pray most often? Do some of you prayer not fit
these five categories? St. Paul assures us that God receives all our
prayer - even those prayers that without words (Romans 8:26-27).
Father
Edward Hays, in his book, "Feathers on the Wind", imagines
that God has a rather huge shoe box and in this shoe box are placed
all of our prayers, those treasured bits of notes and conversations
that were too precious to be cast away. Hays imagines that God has a
shoebox filled with expressions of love, of friendship, of cries of
lament and pain.
Can you
imagine God having a shoebox filled with our outbursts of glee,
delight and jubilation, prayers of struggle, prayers of hopes and
dreams. Father Hayes imagines that our every sign, groan and laughter
(Rom. 8:26-27) are stored within this big box. They are kept
forever in God's treasury to be valued forever by God. He says that
when we pray our prayers last forever and they are joined with the
prayers of all those who have come before us and with all who will
come after us.
By his
example, Jesus teaches us that prayer is, or should be, our very
breath, our life dedicated to the service of God; that prayer is our
way of pouring out to God all that we hold in our hearts and that
prayer is not some kind of tool to get things we want or to bring
things under our control or that it will ease all of our burdens, but
that prayer is yielding everything that we are to God. Our
prayer is the same one that Jesus prayed on the cross: "Into
your hands I commit my spirit."
Christ has
no body but yours, no feet and no hands but yours. Yours are the
praying hands of Christ today, so let us commit our spirits to God
and join our hands together in prayer as we pray together the Lords prayer.
*1995,
Morrow Junior Books, New York
Order
of Service to accompany sermon:
Being the Hands
o Christ in Prayer A440
ecclesicakes A211a
Centering Ourselves in the Love of GodOne: I Invite you into a moment of stillness,This is a time to breathe deeply of the Holy Spirit,To breathe out the distractions that you carry within you,To welcome the Holy into your midst,To invite Jesus into your hearts.ALL: O God, we have gathered to celebrate your holy name and your presence in our lives and throughout the world. We ask you to refresh us and renew us in our gathering today. Open us to hear you in the words spoken and in the words sung; in the silence and the noises. Create in us hearts seeking love, lives seeking justice for all people. Enable us to see our hands as the praying hands of Christ. Amen.
Hymn No. This Is the Day. (Gerald Hobbes, This Is the Day) VU 412
Opening Liturgy - Magnificat to the God of the Dawn, by Joyce Rupp
One: My being proclaims the wonders of light as it slowly penetrates
the ebbing darkness.
All: And my spirit bows to the beauty of the One who gives life to
all that has existence. Oh, vibrant green stems of life sing out your
praise to the Heart who draws you forth. Bird songs rejoicing in the
breath of dawn, warble your joy in view of the morning star.
One: Dew drops radiant upon the wetness of grass give glory to the
Wise Creator who sustains you.
All: Flower gardens, rushing streams, silent desserts, sing, sing,
for the Dancer who rejoices in your midst. Peoples of the planet,
creatures of the universe, play before the Enlivener who delights in
you. and my soul, my soul, rise up and greet the day with gratitude,
in a stance of humble remembering.
One: Surround us with your mercy and love, O Beloved, as we share
with you how we have turned away from you.
silent reflection...
Here is Good News. the One who raised Jesus from the dead offers us
new life this day. For all that we are, and all that we are called to
be, is held in the forgiving hands of the Creator who daily loves us
into life. Thanks be to God.
Sung Response: Make Me A Channel of Your Peace VU 684 (St.
Francis, Channelof Peace)
To Speak and Hear God's Word
Epistle
Acts 16:25-34
Paul & Silas in Prison
One: ends the reading.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Mark 1-35-39
Jesus Prayer
One: The Gospel According to Mark.
All: Thanks be to God.
Reflection: "Praying Hands"
Respond to God's Word
Hymn: Jesus' Hands Were Kind Hands VU 570 (Margaret Cropper.
Au Clair de la Lune)
We Present Our Gifts
Prayer of Dedication
Prayers of the People
Sending Forth of God's People
Hymn: He Leadeth Me VU 657 (J.H.Gilmore, He Leadeth Me)
Blessing
Sung Amen
The Peace of Christ
One :May the peace of Christ be with you.
All: And also with you.
Matthew 7:28-29; 13:34; 28:19-20; Luke 2:19 and 46; John 15.
Today we
continue worship series on Being the Hands of Christ and considering
what it means for us to be the hands of Christ in our own times. St.
Paul called the church the Body of Christ; In this world, we are
Christ's hands, and feet and voice.
Last week we
explored what it meant to be the praying hands of Christ. Today I am
speaking about the learning/teaching Hands of Christ. And I begin
with three wonders, I ask you wonder :
· Did
you learn anything this past week? Was this a week in which you came
to a fresh way of looking at something or someone?
· Did
you teach anything this week; Was this a week in which you shared
something of yourself; let your family, your friends or neighbour see
something fresh in you, or in the world as you see it"
·
Thirdly, I wonder who was involved in your learning and your teaching
this past week?
A major
aspect of Jesus ministry was his role as learner/teacher. Jesus was
obviously a keen learner. He looked at the world and saw things that
other missed, then he shared these insights in ways that were
meaningful to those he met. So, they called him called him Teacher.
As those who
claim to be followers of Jesus, we too are called to be learner/teachers.
St. Matthew tells that in his final meeting with his friends Jesus
instructed them to carry on his teaching ministry (Mt. 28:19-20)
To be such a
disciple we take Jesus as our model and seek to learn and teach as
Jesus did. Jesus taught wherever the people were, and in the language
and images of the people. He taught not only in words, but also in
his every action. I see five characteristics that made Jesus a
special learner/teacher.
I see Jesus
as a person for whom every experience was an opportunity for
learning. First, I think he learned from his mother and father and
the faith traditions of his people. I am sure that he learned from
his friends, from children and, of course, from his own
contemplation. Through all this, he came to take one great learning
into the core of his being; that was: God is Love . From that one
seminal truth he built everything else.
Then, he
came to see how that core truth applied to himself and to his
neighbours. He learned to see every person, and every situation
through this lens: God is Love. So, this is our starting place too.
As Christians, our core learning is: God is love. Everything else is
built on that.
As one who
fully learned this core truth, Jesus was then an encouraging and
compassionate and accessible teacher.
He was
accessible. He taught where the people were. He spoke in
synagogues, and in the Temple. On the Sea of Galilee a fishing boat
became a pulpit. At other times he took advantage of a little
curvature in the hillside above the shore where a large number of
listeners sat the grass a few feet away. He taught near the tombs of
the prophets above the Kidron Valley. Everywhere he went from Galilee
to at Bethsiada and Korazim, Capernaum to Jerusalem, in Judea and
also in the Gentile lands beyond the Jordan.
His
teachings were accessible because there were cast in images taken
from everyday life; tangible, utterly familiar things: people at
their work or at prayer, clouds gathering, fields, homes, fig trees.
He never said, "There are five dogmas to which you must give
mental assent to." No, Jesus saw the mundane, routine of our
daily lives as metaphors for Holy things. His examples were of a
sower who goes out to sow, or of a man hiring workers for his
vineyard, a woman sweeping the floor in search of a lost coin, a man,
beaten and left for dead by the roadside, bypassed by holy men,
helped by a foreigner. He spoke of two houses - one built on sandy
soil, the other built on a solid foundation. Taste this salt, he said
oh, and take a look at that mustard bush - hard to believe something
so large came from such a tiny, little seed, isn't it?
Another
charcteristic that made Jesus a memorable teacher was his
story-telling. For Jesus, life was not six ideas or seven
propositions. Rather, life was a story, a story packed with dramatic
twists and turns and surprises which illustrated an aspect of God's love.
Like all
good teachers, he invited his listeners to ask questions of him, of
themselves and of each other; to think again and again on the story,
to move beyond the obvious and to find within them selves the wisdom
of God; in short, to become learners.
When Jesus
said, "Let anyone with ears listen!" he was extending an
invitation to us to wrestle with the inexhaustible truths in the
stories. It was an invitation to discover the wisdom that is already
within us and to share that wisdom with others as we move and grow in
our own spiritual development.
Finally,
Jesus was full of surprises. He turned our usual view of reality
upside down with teachings such as "Love your enemy."
If we are to
be the Hands of Christ today, we will carry on this learning/teaching
ministry, As Jesus did we will both learn and teach wherever we are,
and in the language and images of our ordinary life. As the learning/
teaching hands of Christ, we will use stories and we will be full of surprises.
We will be
teachers in this coming week, whether we want to teach or not. We
will teach in the four ways Jesus did:1. wherever we go, 2. in
ordinary language, 3 through stories and 4. with surprise.
First,
everywhere we go our words and our actions will show our family and
our neighbours what it is that we most value, and how much or how
little we value them.
Secondly,
just as Jesus taught by parable and metaphor so do we. Our very life
is itself a parable or metaphor. We are a parable every time we go to
the coffee shop, or conduct business.
Thirdly,
each of us a story. As we go down the street we are either a story of
love and grace, or a story of something else. As we do our business,
we will be a story of honesty and fairness, or a story of something else.
Fourthly, we
will often be a surprise to our neighbours. The terms we use to
describe those are weak or poor or outcast will show a surprising
respect for all people.
As we share
our insights with family, friends, coffee buddies and especially with
our children we become the teacher who sees the world the way God does.
In all this,
our most profound lessons will be the one we teach through our doing.
When Mahatma Ghandi was asked by a reported for a message to the
Indian people he scribbled on a piece of paper - "My life is my message."
To be such a
teacher, we must also be a learner. As we listen to our family,
friends, coffee buddies and as we listen to our children, and reflect
on the teachings of Christ, we are a learner.
it is a
cycle of growth - we listen, we reflect, we learn and then we teach.
Finally,
remember, the next time a child asks you a really hard question -
like why isn't God married or why can't we send babies back to where
they came from remember that nothing gives birth to a deepened
understanding of faith than a good question.
To be the
learning/teaching hands of Christ is to let our lives be filled with
God is Love, and let our hands and our whole being messages of God's
surprising grace. Thanks be to God for this calling.
Parts
of Worship used with sermon:
Learning/Teaching
Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
A211b
Use
the outline found at A211 (scroll up to find)
Opening Liturgy and Prayers (adapted from somewhere, if you know, tell me)
One: In the beginning, God made the world: God made it and mothered it, shaped it and fathered it; filled it with seed and with signs of fertility, filled it with love and its people with ability.
All: It is the hand of God that created us.
One: The world belongs to God; the earth and it's people All that is green, blue, deep and growing. All that is tender, firm fragrant and curious. All that suffers, lacks, limps or longs for an end.
All: It is the hand of God that created us.
One: God of
life, prepare our hands for a touch, a new and different touch.
A touch of
encounter, a touch of awakening, a touch of hope, a touch of feeling.
Many are the
worn-out gestures, many are the movements frozen in time. Many are
the useless excuses just to repeat attitudes.
Give us daring, O God, to use our hands to create your community here on earth, to use our hands to break the chains that prevent us from true, encouraging and meaningful relationships. As followers of the Risen Christ, help us to use our hands to bear witness to the light.
All: Help us this day to be the Hands of Christ that will transform your world. Amen.
Good News: One: The Spirit of the Lord is upon you and has anointed you to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the year of God's favour.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn: O, For a Thousand Tongues Charles Wesley, Westminster Abbey VU 326
Epistle, 1
Corinthians 12:4-11,27 Spiritual Gifts
Here ends
the reading.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Matthew 7:24-29 Christ is an astounding teacher
This is
Testimony to Gospel According to Matthew
All: Thanks be to God.
Reflection: Being the Learning and Teaching Hands of Christ A441
Hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be" (F.G. Havergal, Mozart) VU 506 "
Affirmation
of Faith (Dianne New, adapted) unison.
Blessed be
the work of your hands, O Holy One.
Blessed be
these hands that have touched life and have nurtured creativity.
Blessed be
these hands that have held pain and have embraced passion.
Blessed be
these hands that have learnt to write and express thoughts.
Blessed be
these hands that have closed in anger and opened in celebration.
Blessed be
these hands that have planted new seeds and have harvested ripe fields.
Blessed be
these hands that have cleaned, washed, mopped and scrubbed.
Blessed be
these hands that have become knotty with age.
Blessed be
these hands that are wrinkled and scarred from doing justice.
Blessed be
these hands that have reached out and been received.
Blessed be
these hands that have hold the promise of the future.
Blessed be
the work of your hands, O Holy One. Amen.
Hymn:"Be Thou My Vision" (Trad. Irish, Slane) VU 642
Being
the Healing Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
A442
See
also article on practise of anointing A213
Matthew
4:23, Acts 3:1-10, James 5:13-15
Today I
invite you to consider being the Healing Hands of Christ. Along with
prayer, and teaching, healing was one of the prime ministries of
Jesus, and the church.
I invite you
to enter this morning's theme with a question. It is this: how many
times in the past several months have you participated in healing? I
pose that question with the conviction that most of us have
participated recently in healing even though we may not think we have.
People of
the church have a very long history with healing, which continues
even today. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, one of the
first acts of the Apostles was to heal a man who could not walk (Acts
3:1-10). This was a clear sign that the church would continue the
healing ministry of Jesus.
Christian
healing is rooted two beliefs: First, we believe that God wants what
is best for us in body and mind as well as in soul, and secondly, we
believe that God is with us a companion in our times of sickness and
trial. We take these beliefs from Jesus. When Jesus met a sick person
he believed that God does not bring illness upon us, but rather God
wants us to be well. So, the church of Christ has always worked to
bring healing.
For instance
if you were sick in the Middle Ages you went to the cathedral, or to
the monks and sisters of the monasteries who operated the first
hospitals. For the first half of this century our denomination
operated many hospital in isolated regions of Canada. Some of the
most important healing centres in North America were started by the
church. This continues. Today in Manitoba churches operate at least
three of our largest hospitals. Also, every large hospital in
Manitoba has a chaplain.
Until quite
recent times, most young people who became nurses or doctors did so
with the conviction that this was a calling from God. It was
understood to be a ministry. I am sure than many of today's doctors
and nurses consider their work to be a part of their faith commitment.
We should
not be surprised that the Canadian Medicare system was first put in
place by a politician who was a Baptist minister. It was largely
people motivated by the Gospel who brought into being a medical
system in which rich and poor all get the same treatment.
So, one of
the ways by which Christians continue the ministry of Jesus is
through healing and attending to the sick through the healing sciences.
However,
this healing ministry isn't limited to doctors and nurses. In the
epistle from James, the elders of the first churches are instructed
to go to those who are sick and pray for their healing (James
5:13-15). We still do this. I participate in this every week. I am
sure that many of you also offer prayers for your friends and
neighbours who are unwell.
One of my friends who became a doctor chose to go into the field of public health because he said: "A basic healthy society is what keeps people well. Medicine can do little good if there is not clean water, safe food, and public policy that respects all persons."
One of my
favourite passages of scripture is the one from Isaiah 61, which
Jesus read to describe his ministry. It is Luke 4:18-19 (read
it). I believe that this passage describes the ministry that
all we who follow Jesus are called to. It also describes the some of
the many ways we can contribute to healing.
Therefore, I
wonder: how times this past few months have each of us, who are not
nurses or doctors, participated in healing. I wonder: how many
lives have you and I touched this week in a loving, accepting,
healing way.
Healing can
take many forms: Perhaps you helped someone heal their spirit by
giving them a warm hug, or holding them as they wept in fear or in
sorrow. Maybe you prepared a nourishing meal for someone who was
unable to do that for themselves. Perhaps you ate with someone who
might not have bothered to eat if you were not there.
Perhaps you
took a child into your lap and told them a story.
Did you
offer one on your sisters/brothers in the faith support and understanding?
All these
are ways to bring health and healing to body, mind, or spirit.
I see people
many people doing this work of healing and promoting health:
Last week I
read in the paper of Habitant for Humanity volunteers who helped a
family have a safe and healthy place to live;
I notice how
much this congregation contributes to the health promoting work of
the Mission and Service Fund.;
I see people
with smudges of flour on their hands as they create casseroles/ bake
pies/ and pots of soup for a family in need or a fund raising project.
Healers and
health bringers come in all shape and sizes. In all colours and with
all kinds of attributes to meet every occasion. They hold our hands
when it needs to be held. They embrace us when we need to be held.
They help us to laugh and to cry. Then know when to speak and when
silence is best. Then know when to appear and when to stay away. Most
of all they hold us in prayer.
When I was
going through a series of tests to see if I had a malignancy, I know
that many people held me in their prayers.
So far I
have spoken of us bringing healing to someone else. However, our
healing ministry also includes our own selves. God calls us to seek
ways of living that promote our own well being. I once hear a medical
doctor say: "I can heal no one. All I can do is work with the
natural healing processes of the human mind and body. Also, I cannot
heal a person who does not want to be healed." We are called to
participate in our own health and healing.
Finally,
healing is not always a matter of being cured. Sometimes health means
living meaningfully with a condition that cannot be cured. A
colleague of mine once said that she often had her spirits lifted by
the courage and peace she found in the lives of those who live with
an incurable disease. I know a woman who lives with breast cancer,
and is full of laughter.
I once saw a
work of beautiful art, and then I met the artist. I was astounded. A
person whose hands were terribly crippled with arthritis had created
this beautiful painting. She was a healing person who could never be cured.
A man once
told me that there is a difference between being healed and being
cured. He had a diseased heart, which could not be cured, but he
said: "My heart has been healed by the love of my family."
So, there
are at least five ways that we can be the healing hands of Christ. We
can do this by supporting our medical system, and the Mission and
Service Fund, by being a true friend, by seeking health for
ourselves, by prayer and by living with courage even in our pain.
And all of
this is God's doing. It is God's way of healing the brokeness that is
around us and within us. Christ calls : "Go and bear
Fruit" (John 15:16). In accepting Christ's injunction we become
a part of God's presence. We become the healing hands of Christ.