Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
What follows is a worship service which, I pray, you can participate in at a time(s) that are convenient to you. This 'service' will take about forty five (45) minutes.
I pray that you will feel called to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in this service.
The text that is in regular typeface (that is what you are reading at the moment) is to be read quietly, while the text that is in bold face (like you are reading right now) is meant to be read aloud.
Opening Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we commence our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A Call To Worship:
We meet in the name of God,
Creator of the universe,
source of true humanity,
mother and father of all. Amen.
An Assurance of Forgiveness:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):
Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners.
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Our first reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Our second reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Gradual Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we raise out voices in praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A reading from the holy gospel according to Saint Mark.
Listen to David speak to this gospel.
or, if you prefer, you can read the sermon, below:
Sermon for Ordinary 25, Sunday, 22nd Sept 2024
MAY the words of my mouth and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>
For many people “We Are the Champions”, the 1997 song from “Queen” is the best way to celebrate a victory. It’s the “GOAT”, “G.O.A.T” - standing for the “Greatest Of All Time” victory, celebratory song. It’s widely used in sports, by politicians, and even my local radio station is currently asking listeners to vote for the music group that is the “G.O.A.T.” ! <PAUSE>
But, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
Let’s be honest here. I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I see happening in much of the world today. That’s probably not what most of us were told or taught growing up. Today, there is just a lot of talk about being the G.O.A.T. <PAUSE>
Many of my earlier years were spent on golf courses trying to beat every other player and ‘be a winner’, ‘be number one’! At that time, that is what greatness seemed to be about. Greatness was about power, control, wealth, fame, reputation, status, and position.
Have you ever seen the losing team in a world championship dancing around the next morning whooping and hollering and shouting, “We’re number two, we’re number two!”
Can you imagine a political slogan about making your country last or a servant of other countries? And who wants to be the servant of all anyway? Being last and servant of all is not what we usually strive for. That’s not the greatness to which we were told to aspire.
If being great, means being last of all and servant of all, then surely we have completely misunderstood what greatness is really all about … and the first disciples, arguing along the road, didn’t understand greatness any more than I did in my younger days.
When Jesus questions them, he’s inviting the disciples to reflect on what it means to be great. He’s presenting the disciples with an image and the reality of their better selves, and He’s doing so for us too.
Jesus is not saying that we should not or cannot be great. He never says that. Rather, He is asking us to reframe our understanding of greatness.
What does it mean and look like for you and I to be great in today’s world? That’s the question.
Jesus answers that question by taking a little child in His arms and saying to the disciples, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
The greatness HERE is in welcoming the child.
Now that doesn’t sound too difficult or challenging, does it? Who wouldn’t welcome a little child? But Jesus isn’t talking about the child. He’s talking about what the child represents. The child is a symbol of vulnerability, powerlessness, and dependency. The child in Jesus’ day had no rights, no status, no economic value. The child was a consumer and not a producer. Greatness, Jesus says, is in welcoming and receiving into our arms one who is like this, REGARDLESS OF HIS OR HER AGE.
Greatness is found not in what we have accomplished and gained for ourselves but in what we have done and given to “the least of these” (Mt. 25:40), the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and imprisoned; the symbolic children in each of our lives.
Think about a family member or a carer who bathes, changes, and tends the elderly, the sick, the dying; she or he is a G.O.A.T. I can’t help but think about people who, day after day, pray for and and invest themselves in the lives of others …they are the G.O.A.T.
Greatness never puts itself in a position of superiority over another. Being the G.O.A.T is not about personal status, my bank account, my house, my job, my reputation.
Being the G.O.A.T is revealed in our service and care of others regardless of their ability or willingness to pay, repay, or return the favour.
When Jesus talked about loving others even when they don’t love you, doing good to those who do not do good to you, lending without expectation of repayment, and inviting to supper those who cannot invite you back, he was describing how to be the G.O.A.T. <PAUSE> Let me expand this with some examples:
The G.O.A.T’s share with others who have nothing to share with them.
The G.O.A.T’s forgive people who have neither asked for our forgiveness nor changed their behaviour.
The G.O.A.T’s refuse to carry bitterness or envy towards others.
The G.O.A.T’s respond to the needs of others.
The G.O.A.T’s refuse thoughts and actions of hatred or prejudice.
The G.O.A.T’s refuse to objectify the opposite sex.
The G.O.A.T’s do not join in jokes about minorities or foreigners..
The G.O.A.T’s overcome fear, tear down walls, and make room for one who is different, vulnerable.
Greatness is not something to be achieved or earned. It is a quality that arises within us when our lives are in balance and we step into our better selves. That’s the life Jesus offers us. That’s the greatness I want to live. I want to be great like that, don’t you?
This kind of greatness happens in the simple, ordinary, and mundane. It often goes unnoticed and unnamed but it’s there and Greatness is always a choice set before us.
I wonder what that child that Jesus will set before us represents. I wonder which greatness you and I will choose … because …
Whoever wants to be great, whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all … just Like Jesus, The Christ.
I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu. <AMINE>
In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMEN>
Pause and Reflect
Just take a moment now to pause. Bow your head, close your eyes.
Allow these words of Holy Scripture and this interpretation of them today to speak to you.
An Affirmation of Our Faith
Let us affirm our faith by saying aloud, and together, "The Apostles Creed":
... and now let us pray for the Church, the World, and Ourselves, giving thanks for God's goodness.
Let us pray aloud, and together:
Heavenly Father, we know You are always with us, always hear us and so we pray to you knowing that you will hear our prayers and answer them in Your time and in Your way - the way that is best for us.
(LONGER pause for silent, personal reflection)
In response to the call today “Lord, in Your mercy” Our response is, “hear our prayer!”
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Creator God, calm the tensions and injustices of the world; heal the resentment between people, and intervene in the world’s conflicts. Help humanity to walk humbly with You at our side and when we come to the crossroads, and have to choose which way to go, lead us to the path of justice and righteousness whilst steering us away from the road that leads to selfishness and sin.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the love we share with our families and our friends. We recognise that they may have faults and they love us in spite of ours. Help us to be flexible and adaptable in all of our relationships and also capable of accepting constructive criticism.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Mighty God we pray for those who You have called to the study and practice of medicine, healing and to the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them as they follow Jesus’ example, that through their ministries the health of the community may be promoted and your creation glorified.
We especially raise before You now all those who have asked for our prayers from around the world … those we know in New Zealand, in Singapore, in Argentina, in France, in Australia, in the US, in Canada, in Austria, in Ukraine, in China and any others we now name aloud, or in the silence of our hearts, and those who are known only by You.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Eternal God, You sent to earth Your son Jesus Christ so that in Your power and love we might also have the gift of eternal life; bless those whom we love that have departed this life with the gifts of your all-encompassing love and life eternal.
May all the faithful departed now rest in peace as they most surely have risen in glory.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your Mercy: Hear our prayer
In a moment of silence we pray for ourselves, our families, friends, for all whom we love and for our personal ministries. Make the things that we choose to do worthy of the life, death, and rising again of Your Son.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord we ask You to lead us into the coming days, Help us to believe that You are close to us, keep us from making mistakes and help us never to disappoint You. When we face hard decisions or difficult work, when we enjoy ourselves and have fun with others may we know that you share these times with us.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring; Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King.
Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Remembering that we are confident to pray this day, and every day, because Jesus Christ continues to teach us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Let us conclude our prayers by praying together and aloud:
God of mercy,
you have given us grace to pray with one heart and one voice,
and have promised to hear the prayers
of two or three who agree in your name,
fulfil now, we pray,
the prayers and longings of your people
as may be best for us and for your kingdom.
Grant us in this world to know your truth,
and in the world to come to see your glory. Amen.
The Blessing
May The Risen Lord Christ turn His face towards each and every one of you.
May He cause His light to shine upon you, and
may He grant you His peace, and
The blessing of Almighty God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you and all of those whom you love,
on this day and forever more.
A Closing Hymn:
Let us conclude our worship today by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we unite in another hymn our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
The Dismissal
Go now, go out into the world
to love and serve The Lord.
Go in peace.
AMEN, we go in the name of Christ.
