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Sunday Worship 25 August 2024
Today’s service is led by Roo Stewart
Hymn The Canticle of the Turning
Rory Cooney GIA © Publications 1990 OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by the Virtual Choir of Creator Lutheran Church
My soul cries out with a joyful shout
that the God of my heart is great
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things
that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight
and my weakness you did not spurn.
So, from east to west shall my name be blest,
could the world be about to turn?
My heart shall sing of the day you bring;
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Though I am small, my God, my all,
You work great things in me.
And your mercy will last from the depths of the past
to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame
and to those who would for you yearn,
You will show your might, put the strong to flight,
for the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring;
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
From the halls of power to the fortress tower
not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
ev’ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more
for the food they can never earn.
There are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed
for the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring;
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Though the nations rage from age to age
we remember who holds us fast.
God’s mercy must deliver us
from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard
is the promise which holds us bound.
‘Til the spear and rod can be crushed by God
who is turning the world around.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring;
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Welcome
Welcome to our Sunday service from the United Reformed Church. I’m Roo Stewart and part of my role as Head of Public Issues is to lead the URC’s presence at the Greenbelt Festival. The annual Greenbelt Festival is happening this weekend, where Christians, questioners, and all their friends come together to celebrate, grow, and enjoy time together, on the grounds of Boughton House near Kettering in Northamptonshire. Some will come for a day, others will travel in from guest houses and hotels, but the hardiest of us are camping on site throughout the weekend. Which explains why I’m speaking to you from inside a tent today!
The URC runs both the youth venues and an ethical café on site. These are hugely popular places at the festival, and visitors get to experience something of the character and mission of the URC as they eat and drink, attend workshops, listen to testimonies and pray with us.
One of our contributors at Greenbelt will be preaching later in this service: Dr Anthony Reddie will be encouraging us to do the right thing, from Matthew 25. And we’ll have hymns and prayers that evoke the strong sense of justice, artistry and faith that pulses in the very heartbeat of Greenbelt.
This evening, at 6.30pm, you are invited to join us for our live online Greenbelt service where you can be part of our worship, and also get a chance to see the finished ‘blanket of dreams’, which has been stitched together from 100s of squares submitted by URC members all across the country. It promises to be a really special time. (the link for this is at the end of the order of service. But until then, let’s prepare our hearts for worship.
Prayers of Approach
Lord, you are the Bread of Life, so we come to you, hungry for justice, praying you will give us the bread that is the food of life,
with plenty for everyone in the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, you are the oasis of life, so we come to you, thirsty for peace,
praying you will give us a cup of your life-giving water
that will never be empty In the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, you are the host of life, so we come to you, needing to belong,
and pray you will open the door into the hearts of your people
where we will find a welcome in the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, you are the light of life, so we come to you, stripped of our identity,
praying you will clothe us today with the light of your love
that everyone will be wearing in the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, you are the healer for life, so we come to you,
sick from doing wrong, praying you will heal us today
so we can do better tomorrow,
forgiven and renewed for life in the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, you are the truth for life, so we come to you as prisoners of fear,
praying you will break into our lives, with your truth unlocking the doors
and leading us from captivity into the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, your food for the world is to do the will of God,
so may we sit at your table with thousands who are hungry
and break bread with you in the kingdom of heaven.
So, Lord, we pray we can eat what you eat and drink from your cup,
wearing your love as a coat, healed by grace and forgiveness,
to live free from our prisons of fear in the kingdom of heaven.
Some prayers of saying sorry to God. Please join in the words in bold.
Lord, forgive us for choosing to feast on injustice when
we believe you are Bread for the hungry.
Forgive us for fighting over the source of life when
we believe you are an oasis for the thirsty.
Forgive us for choosing to walk in the dark when
we believe you are the light for the world.
Forgive us for neglecting the good health of your creation when
we believe you are our healer and sustainer.
Forgive us if we become prisoners to the lies of the world when
we believe you are the truth that sets us free.
Your food, Lord, is to do the will of God.
So may we eat what you eat and drink from your cup
so the kingdom will come as we pray:
Our Father…
Reading St Matthew 25:31-46
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
Hymn Heaven Shall Not Wait
Graham Maule, John L. Bell © 1987 GIA Publications OneLicence # A-734713. Performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.
Heav’n shall not wait for the poor to lose their patience.
The scorned to smile, the despised to find a friend.
Jesus is Lord: he has championed the unwanted.
In him, injustice confronts its timely end.
Heav’n shall not wait for the rich to share their fortunes,
The proud to fall, the elite to tend the least.
Jesus is Lord: he has shown the master’s privilege
To kneel and wash servants’ feet before they feast.
Heav’n shall not wait for the dawn of great ideas,
Thoughts of compassion divorced from cries of pain.
Jesus is Lord: he has married word and action.
His cross and company make his purpose plain.
Heav’n shall not wait for triumphant hallelujahs,
When Earth has passed and we reach another shore.
Jesus is Lord in our present imperfection.
His pow’r and love are for now and then for evermore.
Sermon Doing the Right Thing by Dr Anthony Reddie
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and Our Redeemer. Amen.
The theme of my sermon is doing the right thing. There’s a sense in which, right from its earliest days, there’s always been a tension in the Church between what’s more important (and obviously it’s both) but you have to choose one: is it to believe but not do the work, or to do the work but not believe? The Church has always been clear: it’s the first but not the second. In most of the official teachings of our Church, in terms of most of our creeds – certainly in the Methodist Church – although we have a strong tradition for social justice, we still say that the means of salvation is through the scriptures in the name of Jesus. That’s how you get saved. You get saved by acknowledging the saving work of Jesus.
If you happen to do the work that Jesus calls us to do in these passages, to be in solidarity with those who are ‘the least of these’, ‘that’s great but it’s not essential’ and therefore, as I was saying earlier at the start of my talk, there’s a reason why Christianity was able to collude with empires, because in the end ‘doing the work’ isn’t necessarily what saves you… Except for this passage – which is interesting! One of the things about some of the early reformers is that they didn’t like this passage, because it seems to be ‘salvation by works’. Because when you look at the text, there’s no indication that those on the right – the sheep who do the right thing – believe the right thing. There’s nothing in the text that says that they have the right belief. What they do have is that they’re in solidarity: they do the right thing and, by doing so, it would appear that they are saved. Whereas those on the left – the goats (who may well believe – we don’t know) – don’t do the right thing.
So that seems kind of obvious: it’s clearly that we have to do the right thing to be in solidarity and to help others. But here’s the rub: that’s not quite how it works, because the truth is it’s very easy to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons, which doesn’t therefore make it right.
One of my earliest experiences of ministry was as a university student. I was part of SCM [the Student Christian Movement] and one of the things we would do is we’d go on mission over Easter. I remember we went on mission to Droitwich, which is a town not far from Worcester. We spent a week as good, righteous, radical progressive students, working alongside people all on the margins. I remember befriending a young man called Bert who had drug addictions. And of course, me and my 18-year-old… – I mean, what the hell did I know about drug addictions and trying to help him – but anyway, I was full of righteous zeal, and I was doing the right thing. I read the passage and I wanted to work alongside him to help him. But the truth is, it was transactional: I was doing that because this was my way of working out my faith. It never occurred to me that the guy I was working with might have something to teach me, because the truth is, I was there doing my good thing. I was doing the right thing, but I was doing the right thing from a paternalistic, patrician model that the Church loves to do. We love social welfare. We love to help people. We love to help those who are ‘not as quite as good’ as we are; people who maybe are having a hard time. All of it is well meaning, but it’s still paternalistic and the power still lies with the people who are doing good.
To be clear, that’s not to say that doing good is not good, but it’s still problematic. The key thing I’ve learned from this passage over the years has been this radical sense that it’s not that we do it because it makes us feel good or does something for us. We work in solidarity and do the right thing because it’s in doing that that we find Christ. It’s interesting, if you look at the text, that what is revealed in working alongside those who are the least of us is Christ. That’s a radical idea that the Church has never embraced right from its early stages, even though it’s right up front and centre in the text.
In most of our official teachings, we say that we meet Christ in our official liturgy, so in bread and wine we meet Christ. Such is the significance of that, that in many of our traditions – obviously not so much in the URC – but certainly in the Methodist Church and certainly in Episcopal churches, only certain hands of those who are set apart are deemed holy enough in order to say the requisite prayers that then reveals God in Christ in those elements. A key insight of liberation theologies has been that actually that’s not to say that God is not present in bread and wine, or present in sacrament, but it’s to say that human life is also a sacrament, in those that are the least of these, those whose bodies we often see as being transgressive, that seem problematic, the ones who don’t turn up at Greenbelt because they can’t afford to come: it’s in the lives of those ordinary people who are the least of these that we find Christ. Actually, I would go even further and say if we are not finding Christ in them, we’re not finding Christ at all.
Doing the right thing is not a transactional thing that we do because, somehow, it’s about us. It’s actually a fundamental question of where are we looking in order to see where Christ is present in the world. Here’s the key thing: if we really believe that Christ was present in those who are the least of these, we would treat the least of these very differently. If we really believe that not only was God present in Christ in bread and wine, in sacraments, in holy and distinct things that we say are ordinary but made extraordinary by the power of the Holy Spirit – I have no problem with any of that theologically – but we also believe that Christ was as present in beggars, was as present in asylum seekers, was as present as people who are in prison, was as present in those who don’t have a voice and we see as being ‘problematic’ (those we patronise and want to help them, but don’t really see as being as important) – if we really believe that, think of how different the world would be.
If we really believe that Christ was present in them, we wouldn’t send one asylum seeker or refugee off to Rwanda. If we really believe that God was present in the least of these, then our penal system would be different. If we really believe that Christ was present in the poor, then our taxation system would be different, rich people would pay their taxes and we would have proper distribution of resources. This is a revolutionary text, because in not seeing Christ in the ‘other’, in the ones who are the least of these, I would say that we are not seeing God at all. The challenge is: are we prepared to genuinely do the right thing? To genuinely do the right thing is to be alongside those who are the least of these because it’s a just act to do, and not simply because it’s a nice bit of social welfare that fits into our forms of paternalism, and simply helping the ‘others’ because we feel somehow it makes us feel virtuous.
That’s as much a challenge for me, so it’s easy for me to say it and much harder for me to do it. But every time I read this text, I see it as a judgment on myself because while I would like to confidently believe that I’m on the right (it’s interesting that it’s the only time I’m ever on the right by the way – every other time I’m always on the left!) but to be on the right side, which, however we understand that, cannot be in any other way than being in solidarity with those who are the least of these.
It’s easy to worship a God we can’t see and despise those people that we can see because they’re not our type of people. So let us do the right thing, but do the right thing in the spirit of searching for Christ in the least and the lost and the lonely in the name of Christ. Amen.
Hymn The Reign of God Like Farmer’s Field
Sr Delores Duffner © 2003 GIA Publications Ltd OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by Tim McNabb and used with his kind permission.
The reign of God, like farmer’s field,
Bears weeds along with wheat;
The good and bad are intertwined
Till harvest is complete.
Like mustard tree, the reign of God
From tiny seed will spread,
Till birds of every feather
Come to nest, and there be fed.
Though hidden now, the reign of God
May, yet unnoticed, grow;
From deep within it rises up,
Like yeast in swelling dough.
The reign of God is come in Christ;
The reign of God is near.
Ablaze among us, kindling hearts,
The reign of God is here!
Intercessions
God of majesty, creator of all. In you all things hold together.
All things come from you. All are yours.
Yet you willingly set aside the splendour of heaven
to become like us and live among us.
You are the hungry. You are the thirsty.
You are the naked. You are the sick. ou are the prisoner.
We remember all those who are hungry and thirsty
in our homes, our neighbourhoods and our world.
We remember those unable to afford the essentials
in our homes, our neighbourhoods and our world.
We remember those who seek shelter from danger
in our homes, our neighbourhoods and our world.
We remember those who seek healing and relief
in our homes, our neighbourhoods and our world.
We remember those in prisons physical and psychological
in our homes, our neighbourhoods and our world.
As we share our food, our water, our essentials,
our clothes, our care and our attention, we encounter you.
Guide our thoughts and our words,
our actions, our giving and our presence today and all days.
May we seek first your ways, finding heaven in the margins,
the transcendent entirely immanent,
God-with-us in the midst of hardship.
We pray for those who lead us.
Help us not fool ourselves into relying on them to do the right thing.
Help us do the right thing anyway, echoing Jesus, our best example,
our saving grace, our divine friend.
In a moment of stillness, we cast our unvoiced concerns upon you…
…knowing that you are more present in suffering and despair
than we could ever know.
Remain with all those who need you this day and forever. Amen.
Hymn The Kingdom of God is Justice and Joy
Bryn A. Rees, © 1973, Alexander Scott OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by Paul Robinson and used with his kind permission.
The kingdom of God is justice and joy;
For Jesus restores what sin would destroy.
God’s power and glory in Jesus we know;
And here and hereafter the kingdom shall grow.
The kingdom of God is mercy and grace;
The prisoners are freed, the sinners find place,
The outcast are welcomed God’s banquet to share;
And hope is awakened in place of despair.
The kingdom of God is challenge and choice:
Believe the good news, repent and rejoice!
His love for us sinners brought Christ to his cross:
Our crisis of judgement for gain or for loss.
God’s kingdom is come, the gift and the goal;
In Jesus begun, in heaven made whole.
The heirs of the kingdom shall answer his call;
And all things cry “Glory!” to God all in all.
Closing Blessing
We have gathered together to share in worship.
Gathered together from different places,
circumstances and understandings.
Gathered together to rejoice and pray and be fed.
Let us go forth to live out the Gospel message.
Let us be empowered by our time together
to keep walking the path of discipleship.
Let us live out the Good News in our lives.
We have come together, and now we part, refreshed and renewed.
And as we part, let us do so comforted by the love of God,
challenged by the teachings of Jesus,
and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And let us affirm our common ground
and celebrate the joy of our faith
by sharing together the grace:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.
You can join us live at 6:30pm for the URC service in the Greenbelt tent via Zoom:
Zoom Meeting ID: 965 1457 5443
Passcode: YourChurch
or click here:
URC Daily Devotion 24 August 2024
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URC Daily Devotion 23 August 2024
Daniel 4: 1 – 18
King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that live throughout the earth: May you have abundant prosperity! The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount.
How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and his sovereignty is from generation to generation.
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease in my home and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that frightened me; my fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me. So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, in order that they might tell me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not tell me its interpretation. At last Daniel came in before me — he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods — and I told him the dream: ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Hear the dream that I saw; tell me its interpretation.
Upon my bed this is what I saw;
there was a tree at the centre of the earth,
and its height was great.
The tree grew great and strong,
its top reached to heaven,
and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth.
Its foliage was beautiful,
its fruit abundant,
and it provided food for all.
The animals of the field found shade under it,
the birds of the air nested in its branches,
and from it all living beings were fed.
‘I continued looking, in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and there was a holy watcher, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said:
“Cut down the tree and chop off its branches,
strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit.
Let the animals flee from beneath it
and the birds from its branches.
But leave its stump and roots in the ground,
with a band of iron and bronze,
in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be bathed with the dew of heaven,
and let his lot be with the animals of the field
in the grass of the earth.
Let his mind be changed from that of a human,
and let the mind of an animal be given to him.
And let seven times pass over him.
The sentence is rendered by decree of the watchers,
the decision is given by order of the holy ones,
in order that all who live may know
that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of mortals;
he gives it to whom he will
and sets over it the lowliest of human beings.”
‘This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to tell me the interpretation. You are able, however, for you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.’
Reflection
The world seems to revolve around Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar thinks and acts as if he has absolute autonomy, that he is accountable to no-one but himself. Nebuchadnezzar is the tree, great and strong, the pinnacle of power reaching to the heavens, visible to the ends of the earth. He is the tree that has luxurious and extravagant foliage, that provides food and shelter, and that has far-reaching sovereignty and influence. Power, majesty, and glory are Nebuchadnezzar’s, or so he thinks. But God brings Nebuchadnezzar a new perspective.
At the end of Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar seemed to be converted to the reality of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s God. As we move into Daniel 5, we realise God has work to do in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. Nebuchadnezzar will be utterly humbled.
So often we live our lives as if we are sovereign. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can make ourselves ‘number 1’, and we can ignore, forget or shun the reality of the Living God. Daniel 5 invites us to humble ourselves before God – a theme that runs throughout Scripture. As James writes, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (4:6,10).
I wonder where you and I may need to be humbled? Why not invite God to show you today?
Prayer
Great and glorious King,
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your sovereignty is from generation to generation.
Forgive us the times we attempt to put ourselves on your throne,
to sit in judgement over ourselves and others.
Open our eyes to our pride and help us to be humble.
May we learn from your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ,
and may we be shaped and transformed by your Holy Spirit.
Amen.
URC Daily Devotion 22 August 2024
Daniel 3: 19 – 30
Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace to be heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counsellors, ‘Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?’ They answered the king, ‘True, O king.’ He replied, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.’ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counsellors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.’ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Reflection
Rage has two faces.
The first, and most commonly understood one, is that of tyrants such as Nebuchadnezzar. They are dedicated to the status quo, which benefit them and others with power. The other face of rage is seen in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had been uprooted from their homeland when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem. They shared in what Martin Luther King Jr called a ‘divine dissatisfaction’ that the world as it was was not the world as it should have been. Yet they channelled their rage into the God who is love, rather than succumbing to fear and its cousin, hate.
For them, love was not ‘emotional bosh.’ Perhaps these words of Dr King also would have resonated with them:
‘I’m concerned about a better world … through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.’
Dr King concluded this message addressing the ‘divine dissatisfaction’ of the treatment of Black people in America, by saying:
‘[L]et us remember that there is a creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realise that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went with the living God into that tyrant’s fire. With God, they came out not even smelling of fire. We, likewise, go with God whenever we do not cave to the fear and violence of today’s tyrants. We go with God when we act on our own ‘divine dissatisfaction’, channelling our rage to participate in the creative joy with which God liberates people from all forms of oppression. Thanks be to God.
Prayer
God, you deliver us from the evils of violent tyrants.
Save us from doing violence ourselves.
Let us go into tyrants’ fires without fear.
Let us channel our rage, our divine dissatisfaction,
that the world as it is is not the world as it should be,
into acts of love, carried out in your holy name. Amen.
URC Daily Devotion 21 August 2024
Daniel 3: 1 – 16
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to assemble and come to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. When they were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, the herald proclaimed aloud, ‘You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.’ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshipped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘O king, live for ever! You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the golden statue that you have set up.’
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?’
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defence to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.’
Reflection
At the time of writing Rishi Sunak’s election campaign had experienced a setback when he prematurely left the 6th July D-Day celebrations. Beyond the absence of Mr Sunak, one can imagine the diverse array of dignitaries, officials, and national leaders who would have been present at the ceremony. In our reading, a similar ceremony would have featured a comparable range of dignitaries. However, instead of dedicating their attention to those who died in battle, they were compelled to focus their adoration on a single individual: King Nebuchadnezzar.
Scripture does not mince words: such extravagant behaviour is identified as idolatry and is unequivocally condemned. Pastor Ed Stetzer writes: “Is it that a 12-inch tall piece of wood or bronze can do something bad to us? Or is it that we do something awful to ourselves when we place adoration and attention that should go to God, in other things? When it comes to idolatry, the danger is not in an item… it is in us.”
Stetzer’s insightful words remind us that contemporary culture is not immune to the perils of idolatry. Modern idols take many forms, including the worship and prioritisation of identity, the pursuit of money and power, the entertainment industry, sex, comfort, and technology. While this list is not inherently negative, and modern society might struggle to function without these elements, Stetzer cautions us about the potential self-harm inflicted by idol worship. Our reading reminds us of the cost of deliberately avoiding idol worship. Each choice carries consequences.
This should not surprise us. As Jesus stated, “Anyone who wishes to follow me must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.” (Matt 16.24) While this may evoke the fear of an existential void opening within us, it ultimately inspires the profound joy of allowing God’s love and worship to fill that vacated space.
Prayer
Good and gracious God,
We confess that many modern idols seize our imagination
Our adoration from the source of all goodness and love.
May the Spirit highlight such idols which have taken root in our lives.
May your forgiveness touch us,
May your healing restore us,
And may your guidance lead us to a place where we adore you all the more.
Amen.
URC Daily Devotion 20 August 2024
Daniel 2: 46 – 49
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshipped Daniel, and commanded that a grain-offering and incense be offered to him. The king said to Daniel, ‘Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!’ Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
Reflection
Let’s be honest here… I picked this passage not because it spoke to me about some deep and undeniable truth but because it was the shortest available. I’m lazy, I admit it. I want to be involved with this project, but I don’t want to have to work too hard at it. I’ll leave the difficult stuff to others.
I wonder if Daniel felt the same? He was given a job to do – but got others to do it for him whilst he remained in Nebuchadnezzar’s court after his promotion to be showered with gifts and praise by the king.
Perhaps we should be focussing on Daniel being a wise leader in subcontracting the day-to-day stuff to others whilst he reaped the benefits, that his ability to delegate made others better, gave them a chance to shine and develop.
Or, perhaps, we should acknowledge that Daniel liked the good life too much to move away from comfort and opulence and put in the hard miles and so got others to do that stuff for him.
We can spin it however we like, to make the point we want to make.
I won’t spin it, though. I’m lazy. I don’t want to get my hands too dirty. I’m happy to let someone else die for my sins. I’m content in the knowledge that, whilst I’m concerned about injustice and unfairness and wish it was ended, there are others who will fight that fight on my behalf allowing me to watch their efforts on the news between binge-watching episodes of the latest Netflix blockbuster. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
I know which Daniel I am. Which Daniel are you?
Prayer
Disturbing God
Shake me from my complacency and inaction.
Amen
URC Daily Devotion 19 August 2024
Daniel 2: 17-45
Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel said:
‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my ancestors,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.’
Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.’
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: ‘I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered the king, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
‘You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
‘This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever; just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.’
Reflection
Daniel dared to go the Arioch and tell him not to kill the wise men but to take him to the king and he, Daniel, would interpret the dream.
The interpretation speaks of four great empires, these are the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. The city of Babylon was vast and magnificent. A German archaeologist Robert Koldewey spent several years excavating the remains of the city. He writes about how the remains show it was a grand city with high walls and large buildings far greater than any others that have been excavated (Robert Koldewey: “The Excavations at Babylon” MacMillan & Co, 1914).
Despite the power of the king Daniel was not afraid to speak the truth that God gave him to speak. He spoke of how the king’s empire would be succeeded by others. It must have been dangerous to tell a powerful king that his kingdom would end. Daniel was true to God when he spoke to this king. He was not afraid to speak the truth.
Perhaps the most important phrase is “in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed”. We know that about 600 years after Daniel Jesus was born and the greatest Kingdom was established. Christianity has reached far more places that any previous empire and we also know that this kingdom cannot be destroyed. Daniel was certain of what God had given him to say, the passage ends with his saying “The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy”.
It is good that we can still have this certainty. Just as God spoke clearly to Daniel. He speaks to Christians all over the world today. We need to follow Daniel’s example and listen to what God says and share it with others knowing that it is the truth.
Prayer
Almighty God,
I thank you that you spoke to the prophets of old,
I thank you that You still speak today,
I thank you that you will never be silenced.
Speak to me clearly and help me to speak to other about you,
help me to share the good news that Jesus is my saviour.
Amen
Sunday Worship 18 August 2024
Today’s service is led by the Revd Angela Rigby
Welcome
Hello and welcome to our worship service. My name is Rev Angela Rigby, and I am the minister serving churches in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. It’s August. Are you making hay whilst the sun shines? Or perhaps saying “it never rains, but it pours?” Looking for the promised silver lining in the clouds? As I am recording these words in May, I will let you decide which of these proverbs are applicable for today. Whatever the weather, whatever is happening in your life at the moment, I pray you feel God’s presence with you.
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord. I will praise God with all my heart.
Great are God’s works; we delight in them and are amazed.
God’s deeds are glorious and everlasting.
We remember them with thankfulness.
God is gracious and compassionate.
God provides food for those who fear God
The works of God are faithful and just.
All God’s teachings are trustworthy.
God has redeemed God’s people.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow God’s teachings have good understanding. To God belongs eternal praise.
Hymn Come, Now is the Time to Worship
Brian Doerkson © 1988 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) OneLicence # A-734713. Performed by an online choir of Franklin Methodist Church.
Come now is the time to worship!
Come now is the time to give your heart!
Come just as you are to worship!
Come just as you are before your God, come!
One day every tongue will confess You are God.
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains
for those who gladly choose You now.
Come now is the time to worship!
Come now is the time to give your heart!
Come just as you are to worship!
Come just as you are before your God, come!
(repeat)
Opening Prayer
God, You are love. You are goodness.
You are justice. You are wisdom.
You are the way we should live together on this earth.
You are at the beginning of creation and at its end.
You hold everything and everyone in Your holy presence.
To You belongs eternal praise.
We love you, and we thank you.
Confession
God, we confess that although we know You are wise,
we do not always seek Your wisdom.
Although we know You are love, goodness, and justice,
we do not always seek Your ways of living together
and sharing this planet.
Although we know You created this wonderful world,
we do not always look after the land as You asked humanity to do.
We seek our own ways.
We follow short cuts.
We demand our ways over Yours.
God, we are sorry.
Help us to seek your wisdom, to structure our communities
around your life giving ways of living together.
For the sake of this world You dearly love. Amen
Declaration of Forgiveness
Who is like our God?
God pardons sin and forgives our transgressions.
God does not stay angry forever,
but delights to show us mercy.
God, again, has compassion on us.
Prayer for Illumination
God, may we hear from you today, as Your words are life-giving and true. May we be open to hearing your Words – in the prayers, in the songs, in the Bible readings, and even in the silence. Speak to our hearts, we pray. Amen
Reading Proverbs 9 : 1-18
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
‘You that are simple, turn in here!’
To those without sense she says,
‘Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.’
Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse;
whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.
A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you;
the wise, when rebuked, will love you.
Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will gain in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
The foolish woman is loud;
she is ignorant and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the high places of the town,
calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
‘You who are simple, turn in here!’
And to those without sense she says,
‘Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’
But they do not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Hymn There’s a Spirit in the Air
Brian Wren © 1979 Hope Publishing Co. OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by Gareth Moore from the Isle of Man Methodist Church
There’s a spirit in the air,
Telling Christians everywhere:
“Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world!”
Lose your shyness, find your tongue,
Tell the world what God has done:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
When believers break the bread,
When a hungry child is fed,
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world.
Still the Spirit gives us light,
Seeing wrong and setting right:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
When a stranger’s not alone,
Where the homeless find a home,
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world.
May the Spirit fill our praise,
Guide our thoughts and change our ways.
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!
There’s a Spirit in the air,
Calling people everywhere:
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
Living, working in our world.
Reading St John 6 : 51-60
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’
Sermon
Today’s sermon can be summed up with the question – will you accept Christ’s audacious invitation to the foolish banquet of heaven?
The Proverbs reading was intentionally longer than it was supposed to be, as was the Gospel reading, be it only by two verses. The problem with following the Lectionary is the Lectionary skips over some really important chunks of the Bible. Also, in the case of this week, the lectionary can gloss over the more challenging parts of scripture. We weren’t supposed to read about the woman named Folly this week. We were only supposed to read about the woman named Wisdom. But to talk about Wisdom without mentioning Folly is to ignore the first 9 chapters of the book of Proverbs.
Before the proverbs that we know and love actually start in Proverbs 10, we have 9 chapters dedicated to two women – Wisdom and Folly. There are a lot of good articles by feminist theologians challenging the idea of reducing the range of womankind to two stereotypes. Wisdom does all the socially acceptable things – prepares the home and the banquet, sends people out to bring in guests, and encourages her guests to partake of the banquet she has prepared. In contrast, the woman Folly is loud and has the audacity to invite the guests herself. Folly encourages indulgence in secrecy and is actually compared to a prostitute or an adulteress. And the argument the writer of Proverbs makes is – you are either on Team Wisdom or on Team Folly. The young men who are the target audience of Proverbs are encouraged to stay away from Folly as she leads to death, and instead urged to pursue Wisdom as she leads to life.
Sure – given those choices – full life or certain death – who wouldn’t choose Wisdom?
As a woman reading Proverbs, I wonder, how do I teach this text? Do I teach the stereotypes, saying “Friends, be the woman (or choose the woman) who leads to wisdom and not the one who lures people away?” Do I question the validity of the stereotypes and talk about how they highlight the author’s own prejudices of women – with women only being either divinely good or totally evil? Do I talk about how Proverbs as a teaching tool for young men perpetuated these harmful stereotypes about women? Admittedly, that last one wouldn’t be a popular sermon, and I might not be invited again to lead worship. Also, if I’m not careful, I could find myself stereotyping men. Or do I ignore the genders of Wisdom and Folly altogether and treat them as metaphorical concepts and try not to worry too much about the ending of Proverbs with its advice on finding a good wife?
Instead of two women, let me tell you about three of the women I have met over the years. As I briefly introduce them to you, ask yourself – would you be wise if you accepted their invitations if they were inviting you to a banquet?
Woman one was a middle-class woman who worked for the NHS. She baked great cakes, and she loved to invite people over for dinner. She was involved in many community projects and was well-loved by many. A devout Christian and confident communicator, she led a Bible study group.
Woman two was a prostitute. I met her when I visited a church community project run by a local church alongside Tearfund. She welcomed me and my friend into her home, and she introduced me to her children and to her neighbours. She was not a Christian, but valued kindness and hospitality.
Woman three was a single mum on benefits. She had hardly any food in her cupboards. Whatever food she did have went straight to her growing children. Having left an abusive relationship, she struggled to get child support from her ex. She enjoyed chatting over a cup of tea and was one of the most encouraging Christians I had ever met.
On the face of it, Proverbs would encourage us to befriend the first woman and discourage interaction with the other two. I find that very problematic. All three women are created and loved by God. All three women have life circumstances that have shaped where they are in their lives. All three women need God’s wisdom and have great wisdom to offer anyone who would listen.
There are many other women I could have mentioned, but I mentioned these three as examples to demonstrate that human beings are complicated. The problem I find with Proverbs chapters 1-9 is that I am unable to reduce women to two categories – women to embrace and women to reject.
At this point, I turn to Jesus, and I am heartened by his teaching in our gospel reading today. Whilst Proverbs encourages us to make a choice between two women, Jesus takes us back to the main focus – God and God’s kingdom. Without mentioning Wisdom or Folly, Jesus’ words seem to echo the invitation of Wisdom that we find in Proverbs. Rather than the contrast of stereotypes, Jesus’ focus is on the invitation to the banquet that he is hosting.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” v 51
In Jesus, we see someone who is bold enough to go out and invite people himself, as well as sending out his disciples to invite people. We see Jesus inviting prostitutes, tax collectors, and other folks who probably would have been associated more with Folly’s guest list, but equally we see Jesus converse with scribes and Pharisees – the people who would have sought to accept Wisdom’s invitation. When I look at some of the things Jesus said and did, I can see glimpses of both Wisdom and Folly. I wonder, does Jesus somehow embody both Wisdom and Folly, with one crucial understanding – Jesus leads to life?
What then are we to make of the fact that those well-versed in scripture, who probably learned life’s lessons from Proverbs, struggled to accept Jesus’ invitation to his banquet? Even those who would call themselves Jesus’ disciples found this invitation difficult to understand and accept.
The key to unlocking the proverbs and their application is found in Proverbs 9 verse 10: “Fear of the LORD (letting God be God) is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One (a relationship with God) results in good judgement.”
And the good news is we can do this without stereotyping people, whatever their gender.
And when we put God first and let God be God, we see the invitation of Christ in a different light. The cost isn’t ours to pay. The food and drink for the banquet is provided by Christ.
For Jesus himself, though, the banquet is very costly.
Sharing food and drink with prostitutes, tax collectors and other religiously unrespectable people cost Jesus his reputation.
Standing in the religiously respectable places and being audacious enough to invite people to his banquet by saying things like:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
And “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7 : 37-38)
This boldness cost him his standing within the respectable religious community.
Yet still he cries out to everyone – come and find life!
Jesus knows what the ultimate cost of the banquet will be for him, as he says to the people, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” John 6 v54-56
And to anyone paying attention, it would seem a foolish thing to do – for God to surrender God’s self to the torture devices of empire and so-called reputable society. Is it wise for Jesus to continue to go down this road of rejection, pain and suffering?
Proverbs reminds us – fear the LORD, let God be God.
Jesus does something none of us can do. He embodies both Wisdom and Folly. He holds both of our stereotypes and everyone in between, taking all our sin and shame, highlighting all our beauty and generosity. He calls us to an existence beyond stereotypes, to a brave space where we are seen and where we can see him. Where we “remain in him and he in us.”
We may spend a lifetime trying to understand it in our heads, but maybe some of the things that look foolish on first glance are actually some of the wisest things Christ is calling us to? Are we focussed on God? Are we seeking life? And importantly – will you accept Christ’s audacious invitation to the seemingly foolish banquet of heaven?
Let us pray.
Loving God, with your wisely foolish ways,
help us to be audacious in our welcoming of each other.
Make us a people who seek You and Your kin-dom first.
Help us to be discerning without being judgemental.
May we all accept Christ’s invitation to the heavenly banquet. Amen
Hymn The King of Love My Shepherd Is
H. W. Baker (1868) Public Domain
The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never.
I nothing lack if I am his,
And he is mine forever.
Where streams of living water flow,
My ransomed soul he leadeth;
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.
Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me;
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill,
With thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.
Thou spreadst a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And oh, what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth!
And so through all the length of days,
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house forever.
Offertory Prayer
God, we thank You for Your love for us and for this world You made. Thank You for inviting us to be Your people sharing Your love. In response to Your love, we give in different ways – volunteering, donations to charities and to church, sharing our time and talents. We offer all of these offerings to You, to further Your Kin-dom community. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
O Most High, you give us bread when we are hungry,
you quench the thirst in our souls.
We pray today for all who are hungry and for all who thirst for you.
Bless those who feed the hungry in night shelter and foodbank,
and bring to judgement those who allow our people to hunger and thirst.
Bless those who help quench the thirst of those seeking you,
and bring to judgement all who stand in your way.
Risen Lord Jesus,
we pray for women who have evil choices forced upon them,
where whichever way they turn harm is done to themselves.
We pray for those who staff women’s refuges,
making places of safety for the most vulnerable and abused.
We pray for women trafficked into the UK to be bought and sold,
whose bodies are valued more than their humanity.
We pray too for the men who control them,
that in the piercing light of your judgement,
they repent and face justice.
Most Holy Spirit,
the awesome fear of you is the beginning of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Help us to be in awe of you, to cast aside familiar contempt,
and to learn again of your power and justice, that we may find life.
Eternal Trinity,
bless those for whom we now pray….
and bless us as we long for life, thirst for justice
and hunger for the world to come as we pray
Our Father….
Hymn Blessed Assurance
Fanny Crosby (1873) Public Domain Sung by the choir and people of First Plymouth Church, Lincoln Nebraska.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Saviour am happy and bless’d,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
Blessing
Having been fed from the wise words of God,
let us go into this world, created and loved by God,
as people redeemed and called by Christ,
to serve, to embody hope, and to love.
And may the blessing of God be with us now and evermore. Amen
URC Daily Devotion Saturday 17th August 2024
Daniel 2: 1 – 16
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such dreams that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, ‘I have had such a dream that my spirit is troubled by the desire to understand it.’
The Chaldeans said to the king (in Aramaic), ‘O king, live for ever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation.’ The king answered the Chaldeans, ‘This is a public decree: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you do tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honour. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.’ They answered a second time, ‘Let the king first tell his servants the dream, then we can give its interpretation.’ The king answered, ‘I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see I have firmly decreed: if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you. You have agreed to speak lying and misleading words to me until things take a turn. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.’ The Chaldeans answered the king, ‘There is no one on earth who can reveal what the king demands! In fact no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.’
Because of this the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions, to execute them. Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; he asked Arioch, the royal official, ‘Why is the decree of the king so urgent?’ Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation.
Reflection
Today’s text takes on a further turn of depth and complexity: from ‘O King, live forever!’ to the end of Chapter 7, the text switches from Hebrew to Aramaic. Aramaic was the common language of the area from around 1000 BCE. Aramaic and Hebrew are related languages, very roughly like Italian and French. It was also the everyday language Jesus spoke. It is important because chapters 2-6 narrate Daniel’s (and his friends’) service to four Gentile, Aramaic-speaking kings, events which witness to God’s sovereignty in the strange dreams and happenings. Daniel’s integrity ultimately paved the way for the Israelites’ release from exile.
Today’s text may sound oddly familiar from another, more well-known account in the Bible. In Genesis 41, there is another Gentile king (Pharoah) troubled by dreams whose own mystics are unable to help. Along comes Joseph and interprets Pharoah’s dream; along comes Daniel to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Did you spot the difference? Pharoah readily shared his dream, but Nebuchadnezzar refused to do so, expecting the interpreter not only to narrate the dream but also to interpret it! A seemingly impossible task! We will discover in the coming days how it works out.
Communicating God’s message in a language which folk understand was important to Daniel, a point emphasised by the author of Daniel by writing in Aramaic. Central to the Reformation was translating the Scriptures into the languages of the people. As languages and society evolve, Bible translators publish refreshed translations of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. The foundation of their work is scholarship. I am forever grateful to my college tutors who opened up the Biblical languages, giving me considerable new insight into God’s Word.
If you are interested in learning Hebrew or Greek, why not consider auditing a course at one of the URC’s Resource Centres for Learning?
Alternatively, I can recommend the following free online beginners’ resources:
https://freehebrew.online/
https://freegreek.online/
Or, if you have some rusty Hebrew and Greek and would like to revive it:
https://dailydoseofhebrew.com/
https://dailydoseofgreek.com/
Prayer
Creator God, whose words spoke creation into being;
Saviour Jesus, the Word made flesh;
Holy Spirit, who inspires us to speak in Your name –
we thank You for Daniel’s message,
Your servant who spoke truth to power,
in the language of the people.
We thank you for the work of Bible translators.
We pray for the Scriptures to speak to us afresh;
help us to speak Your love plainly to those we meet. Amen.