Thirtieth 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):
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; 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 30, Sunday, 27th Oct 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>
A hiker who had strayed too close to the edge of a cliff slipped and fell over. As he tumbled over the edge, he tried to grab the shrubs and bushes on the way down and all of which eluded him. Finally, he did manage to grab a tiny sapling growing out of the cleft in a rock and it held him fast. As he dangled there, he threw up a desperate cry. Help, help. I'm in trouble here. Someone up there, please help me. Whereupon God heard his cry and responded, saying, “This is God. I am here to help you.” “Oh thank you, thank you, please help me.” “Of course,” God said, “The first thing you must do is let go of that branch.” <PAUSE> There was a long pause and then the hiker shouted, is there anyone else up there
In her book, “Asking for help in times of trouble” American author, Nora Claver writes, “asking for help is a universally dreaded endeavour. We are much more likely to say, I'm good, instead of, can you help me!”
Maybe that’s because don't want to inconvenience others and so reveal our problem or our weakness. We're afraid of what asking for help might say about us. In short, we're very good at trying to do things ourselves achieving modest results. Instead of getting real help and making real progress. In doing that, we miss out on the gifts that someone else can give us.
In our Gospel reading this morning, Mark 10:46-52, Bartimaeus, like that dangling hiker, had no such qualms about asking for help.
Scripture tells us that as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho and on their way up to Jerusalem, a large crowd was following. Gosh, it must have been a noisy procession. Yet, according to Mark, it's the sole voice of Bartimaeus that Jesus hears.
Numerous accounts suggest that Bartimaeus was a pathetic figure, virtually worthless, someone who existed at the bottom of the social ladder, a nobody of no status and of no consequence.
Yet, it is his voice that we hear today, and it is his voice that Jesus heard.
What is it about his voice that is so different from every other voice in the crowd? What is it that catches the attention of Jesus? Well, it is perhaps that Bartimaeus is the only one who is correctly identifying Jesus.
The man without sight, the man whom the crowds considered a nobody, is the only one who truly sees Jesus for who he is.
It takes a blind man to see that Jesus is the promised son of David, the prophesied king that has come forth from David's lineage.
The crowds order him to be quiet as he cries out. I can see it now. The louder he shouts, the louder the crowds become in trying to silence him.Their goal is to drown out Bartimaeus's voice. Their goal is to push Bartimaeus further away from Jesus. Their desire is for Jesus to see THEM, not to hear the babbling voice of an old blind fool who apparently has no value.
However, as I say, the more they order him to be quiet, the louder he becomes. “Son of David, Jesus, mercy, have mercy upon me.” The crowds are hoping that he will soon be silenced and forgotten. <PAUSE>
So what can we learn about ourselves from this blind son of Timaeus? This man forced to the outer fringes? Well may I suggest four things:
(1) Firstly, Bartimaeus teaches us to put aside our fear of asking for help. Like Bartimaeus dropped to the ground at the side of the road. We've all fallen. Like Bartimaeus, none of us can get up by ourselves. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar, which meant that his only hope for a productive life was to regain his sight. He knows his need, but notice that he doesn't lead with his need for sight, but rather with his need to receive mercy. For Bartimaeus, Jesus is not just some quick fix that heals us from what ails us. Bartimaeus know that Jesus is the one in whom there is justice and mercy and he has no fear of asking for help from Jesus.
(2) Secondly, Bartimaeus teaches us to take a leap of faith. After the crowds were pushing him further to the margins, what does Bartimaeus do? He shouts out all the more, and then when Jesus hears his cries, calls him by saying, call him here. Bartimaeus responded by throwing off his cloak, jumping up from the floor and running towards Jesus, guided only by his voice! When following Jesus, there comes a point in our lives when we too must take that leap of faith. In spite of what blinds us, in spite of a secular society wanting to push us off to the margins, in spite of having fallen by the wayside on our journeys, when Jesus calls, we must take that leap of faith. Get up and run to him. Why? Because, like Bartimaeus, we need to recognise that in Jesus, we have found our Lord and our Saviour.
(3) Thirdly, Bartimaeus teaches us how to talk to God, how to pray. The call of Bartimaeus is “Jesus, son of David, have mercy upon me.” Bartimaeus teaches us to always, ALWAYS approach God with Lord, grant me mercy and NOT … give me what I want. For Bartimaeus, in that mercy, in that moment, without any fuss, Bartimaeus receives what Jesus wants for him.
(4) Fourthly, Bartimaeus teaches us about the result of the new life that we now have in Christ. Gratefulness. Bartimaeus won't be left behind now. He's got that “attitude of gratitude” to Christ, and he follows Jesus on the way. No longer a helpless, blind beggar. Bartimaeus now has life. His gratitude is not merely words, but the actions of a follower.
Like Bartimaeus, may we not be afraid to ask Jesus for help?
Like Bartimaeus, may we step out in faith?
Like Bartimaeus, may we be made new in Christ?
And like Bartimaeus, may we be grateful to the God who supplies our every need.
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:
Merciful God, help us when praying to be like Blind Bartimaeus who was persistent in his prayers. He did not give up after his first cry of mercy to the Lord Jesus and though he was not heard the first time, he was persistent in his cry until the Lord healed him.
(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
Gracious God, we pray for your people throughout the world and for all Christian people; for the renewal of all in faith, love and service; for all who seek to live out the life of The Risen Christ; for the lives of our communities; for all who seek to serve You. We give you thanks for the gift of Your word, the grace of the sacraments and the fellowship of Your people.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Creator God, Lord of all, we pray for peace in the world bringing before you the troubles and dangers of people and nations; the war-torn and the world-weary. Shower your blessings on communities seeking to rebuild their lives in peace and hope; guide and protect refugees fleeing from war and persecution in their homelands and direct all rulers, governments and leaders of people to strive for justice, peace and fair shares of the rich bounty of their lands.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God, we pray for ourselves. Give to us an eye that is willing to see meaning in things and people that are familiar and commonplace and always to be sincerely aware our own faults. Enable us to see likeable qualities in those we may not like, recognise the mistakes in what we thought was correct and to understand the strength in what we choose to see as weakness.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
We pray for the sick and suffering and all who care for them. We pray for those for whom this day will be long and hard, for those struggling with despair or depression, for those in hospital and at home.
In Your goodness and mercy grant them health of body, soundness of mind and peace of heart.
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
We remember in our prayers friends and loved ones who have enriched our lives and are now departed from us. We pray for those who have died in recent days. May your light shine on them for ever and our lives be richer because of their memory.
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
Faithful God as we go out into the world help us to entrust the past to Your mercy, the present to Your love and the future to Your wisdom.
(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.