Today’s service is led by the Revd Andy Braunston

 
Introduction

Hello and welcome to worship for Safeguarding Sunday.  As we hear Tracy Chapman’s haunting song about domestic violence fade away we think about this year’s theme for Safeguarding Sunday “let’s talk about it”.  For some this will mean talking about what’s happened to them, for others it’s about talking about how to make the Church a safe refuge to find God, our shelter in the storm, and to find strength there to bring about change.  Our readings today all speak of finding safety, security and shelter in God amidst tumultuous times.  They are a good starting place to think about the role of safeguarding in the church as we seek to make our congregations places of safety, security and shelter.  My name is Andy Braunston and I am the United Reformed Church’s Minister for Digital Worship.  I live in Orkney off Scotland’s far north coast and am a member of the Peedie Kirk URC there.  Let’s worship God together.

Call to Worship

Arise in times of anguish and come to God, who delivers us.
Listen to God’s voice so that we awaken 
to everlasting life not everlasting contempt.
See through the light in the gloom to perceive God’s glory 
shine as the brightness of the day, like the stars forever and ever.  

Hymn     We Cannot Measure How You Heal
John Bell © 1989, WGRG the Iona Community (Scotland), admin. GIA Publications, Inc Sung by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.  OneLicence # A-734713

We cannot measure how You heal 
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.

The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.
 
So some have come who need Your help
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
Lord, let Your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make Your broken people whole.

Prayers of Approach, Confession, and Grace

We come to meet You, delivering God, in an age of uncertainty;
we greet You with our pain and our praise, 
seeking healing in our weary woundedness. 
We cannot measure how You heal or answer our prayers,
yet faith and doubt combine to give us glimpses of Your coming Kingdom
where public and private agony will find peace.

We gather at Your table, Liberating Jesus, to be fed by Your own self,
to see Your hands hold, heal, and warn when we go astray
and embrace us in welcome when we turn back to You.  
In times of difficulty, we are tempted to trust 
in our wealth, politicians, and armies instead of in You.
Forgive us when we turn away from You,
when we cling to the safety of our pain, fear and memories 
which haunt us,
and when we trust in anything other than You.
Give us the courage to heal, to turn back to, and trust in, You.

We discern your presence, Most Holy Spirit, 
as perfume in the air, as light in the gloom, as joy in despair;
meet us here, O God, to mend and tend us,
to disentangle peace from our pain,
and to make Your broken people whole.  Amen.

Prayer for Illumination

Bless us, O God, with Your counsel, 
as the Word is read and proclaimed.
Instruct our lives and gladden our hearts 
that as we hear and think,
You may stir us to action and show us the path of life
where, in Your presence, there is fullness of joy.  Amen

Reading     Daniel 12:1-3  

“At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Psalm 16 

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
As for the holy ones in the land, 
they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; 
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out 
or take their names upon my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 
I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the LORD, who gives me counsel; 
in the night also my heart instructs me.

I keep the LORD always before me; 
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; 
my body also rests secure.

For you do not give me up to Sheol or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Hymn     Heaven Shall Not Wait
John L. Bell (b.1949) and Graham Maule (b.1958) © WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH  Scotland.  OneLicence # A-734713 Frodsham Methodist Church Cloud Choir accompanied by Andrew Ellams. Produced by Rev’d Andrew Emison and used with their kind permission.

Heaven 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.

Heaven 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.

Heaven 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.

Heaven shall not wait for triumphant Hallelujahs,
when earth has passed and we reach another shore:
Jesus is Lord in our present imperfection;
his power and love are for now; and then for evermore.
 
Reading     St Mark 13:1-8

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.  When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Sermon

Living so far north we are lucky to have regular opportunities to see the Northern Lights or, as they are called in Orkney, the Merry Dancers.  I have an app on my phone which alerts me but takes no account of cloud cover nor the fact one can’t see the Dancers in daylight.  A much more accurate alert is provided by our neighbour who excitedly bangs on our windows to tell us!  The odd thing about the Merry Dancers is that they aren’t very exciting to look at with the naked eye – coming across as, at best, a shimmering green-grey light or, at worst, a slightly lighter bit of cloud.  However, once you realise these are the Northern Lights, they can look spectacular when photographed.  This makes me wonder which is the reality – what I can see with my eyes or what I can see in a picture.  Our eyes give a glimpse of what’s there, but a fuller truth is revealed in a picture where the lens picks up the colours and shows us a different reality.

In some ways that shouldn’t surprise us.  As Christians we pray for the Kingdom to come; we read of Jesus’ acts of power and love showing the Kingdom breaking into His world, we read his parables and his teaching which shows us how we can embody God’s Kingdom in our lives and loves but, at the same time, we know the Kingdom isn’t fully here, the world isn’t as it should be, injustice and evil haven’t been banished, people still suffer, the earth still groans from our harmful activities.  Just as our naked eyes catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights so we catch glimpses of the Kingdom breaking in – yet we don’t yet see it fully revealed.  

There are many places in our world where we long for the Kingdom to break in more fully.  We live in uncertain times; who would have predicted the breakout of riots in the summer in many cities in England and Northern Ireland?  We’ve elected a new UK government who seem to make much of the economic legacy they’ve inherited and are concentrating on telling how bad it is rather than being hopeful about change; sunny uplands seem to be as far away as the coming Kingdom.  As I write, the outcome of the American election hangs in the balance but will be known when this sermon is published.  Has the American public voted for the strong white man with easy answers or the nuanced mixed-race woman who ran for office with a sense of joy?  Life is hard for those struggling to get by – the reduction of support for pensioners this winter will hit some very hard indeed; countless people struggle to afford to rent somewhere decent to live and for many the dream of owning their own home is a laughable fiction.  Many of those who have had to live with various forms of abuse have not been believed when they told their stories; horrifically some experienced abuse within the Church.  Our faith tells us the Kingdom is coming and will shine like the glorious colours of the Merry Dancers, yet our eyes only show a glimmer in the dark.  This sense of trusting there’s more going on underpins our three readings today.

Daniel is a difficult book – it doesn’t appear much in the Lectionary.  It was written to encourage faithful discipleship in the face of a powerful oppressive empire which neither understood nor cared about Jewish life and practice.  Against this imperial oppression the author of Daniel asserts God’s sovereignty.  Today’s passage concerns a power vacuum after the death of a king – all changes of government can be disruptive; in the ancient world a peaceful transition of power that we (hopefully) see in democracies today was not guaranteed.  Rival claimants to a throne might battle it out and the ability to quietly get on with life became more and more difficult.  

Daniel offers comfort that this change too will pass.  Daniel introduces Michael into the equation as a great ruler who will protect God’s people; the name “Michael” means “who is like God?” and later tradition saw Michael as an archangel.  The passage is a rare glimpse of Jewish belief in an afterlife; the idea is to provide hope, relief to those suffering and to show that God is not far away.  Daniel thinks those who remained true to God under the oppression of empire will rise to light and life whilst those who weren’t faithful will rise to shame and contempt.   Those who have faith can see beyond the dull light and see the colours and glory of God’s coming Kingdom.

Like the passage from Daniel, Psalm 16 is about offering hope in uncertain times.  The poet opens by asking for God’s protection and refuge. In our contemporary society we are constantly told to be afraid – the Climate Emergency demands our attention but little action, it seems, from our politicians.  The media tells us of the dangers of smoking or eating too much sugar, of crime and fear of the outsider.  These stories attract attention, they sell.  They are amplified in our social media echo chambers.  The Psalmist seeks to reassure and offers an antidote to fear; trust in the Lord and ignore those who say otherwise.  The Psalm opens and closes with assertions of trust in God; in uncertain and dangerous times this is what matters; uncertainty can produce anxiety, living with danger can be horrific.  The Psalmist offers faith in God as a source of stability, security and strength.  God is not just a shelter from the storms and pains of life but a means by which injustice, pain, abuse, oppression and fear can be resisted and subverted.  Those who have faith can see beyond the dull light and see the colours, glory and change embodied in God’s coming Kingdom.

Daniel faced moving political tectonic plates in the ancient near east. Jesus also looked to world changing events.  The destruction of the Temple came in the year 70; all that remains now are parts of the Western Wall and an area where the Temple was to be expanded – now with a mosque on the site.  The area is often in the news and is called the Haram al-Sharif or the Temple Mount.  In Jesus’ time the Temple was the centre of Jewish life and worship; to imagine the destruction of this Temple would have been horrific.  In such horrible times anyone who offers certainty might be believed and followed.  We’ve seen in our political life the rise of the strong leader who offers certainty, easy answers to difficult questions, and who blame the weak and vulnerable for problems caused by systems controlled by the rich.  Jesus’ warning not to follow those who promise such answers in times of cataclysmic change is useful for us now to remember in times of political and environmental change.  Instead of the strong leader, the problem-solving blamers, we need to cling to Jesus who offers us true security in an age of change where we don’t often see justice, where the powerful manage to stay in power even when governments change, and when social media conspires with those who pedal hate to drive up fearful ratings.  Jesus’ good news can seem like fiction in an age of horror; we long for the glory of the Northern Lights but see only a dim glow in the sky.  Yet Jesus’ presence can comfort, inspire, strengthen,  move us to action and remind us that the eyes of faith see more than our own naked eyes.

What might these passages teach us, then, today – especially as we mark Safeguarding Sunday.  Daniel, in the face of overpowering forces, reminds us that God is near, looks after His faithful people, and – whilst there may not be justice in this world – the resurrection offers a hint of justice in the next.  Those imperial systems of oppression, injustice, patriarchy, and violence will be defeated and those who operate them and hide behind them will be punished.   Whilst we work to make our churches and our institutions safer places we know that many who abuse will not face justice; people are often not believed, evidence can be hard to get, and lies are often credible.  Holding fast to the glory and colour of God’s justice beyond the dim flickers of our own systems of justice can provide hope and the power to heal.  The Psalmist reminds us that the security which comes from God’s love can give strength to speak and to act.  The Church should always be a place of strength and safety encouraging all to speak out to find both justice and dignity.  When abuse is perpetuated, tolerated, or covered up by the Church we betray our fundamental calling and further obscure the signs of the Kingdom breaking through.  Jesus calls us, again and again, to trust in Him – something made more difficult if the Church proves untrustworthy.  In all these situations of pain, confusion and injustice these readings offer hope.  Daniel’s assertion that God safeguards His people with justice – even justice that happens beyond the grave as it is denied in life – offers hope.  The Psalmist’s certainty that in God we find safety and security gives a space for action – to tell the truth, to demand justice, to cry for change.  Jesus’ words in the Gospel reading remind us to look for him as the calm centre in the storms and struggles of life; not simply as a refuge but as a place to regroup, heal and work for change.  

So, as I walk my dogs last thing at night and gaze at the sky I sometimes get glimpses of colour, glory, and power that I can’t quite see.  As we live our lives of quiet discipleship we get glimpses of the Kingdom breaking in, releasing the captive, healing the wounded, and allowing the silenced to speak.  As we pray and as we proclaim God’s Kingdom, His power, glory, and love, break in forever changing us and our world.

Let’s pray:  

Justice-bringing God 
help us to see beyond the drabness of the news 
into the glorious colours of your kingdom; 
that as we yearn and work for its coming, 
you will help us make all things right.  Amen.

Hymn     The Kingdom of God is Justice and Joy
Bryn Rees (1973)  © 1973, Alexander Scott OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by the Revd 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.
 
An Act of Commitment

As God’s people we are called to glimpse the glory of the coming Kingdom,  where all are safe and valued, where justice shines like the stars at night, and where all hurts are healed.   As God’s people we are called to make our churches reflect the values of the coming Kingdom and so I ask:

Will you show God’s love by treating everyone with respect and dignity, 
love and grace, seeking to harm no one?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you help make and keep this congregation safe and support all those who have safeguarding responsibilities? 
With the help of God, we will.

Will you make space for those who’ve been hurt and harmed?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you work for the Kingdom so that all might be safe, 
those who face justice will find the grace of repentance, self-knowledge, and change, and so that healing becomes a hallmark of the Church?
With the help of God, we will.

Will you learn to see beyond the gloom and use the eyes of faith to see
the light, colour, excitement, and energy of God’s coming Kingdom?
With the help of God, we will.

May the God who began this good work within you, 
continue it until it is finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  Amen.

Intercessions

Loving God, 
we lay before you the challenges that confront us 
at home, at work, in our communities and churches. 
May your Son, the Good Shepherd, 
guide and shape the life of your Church 
that all may find a welcome, secure in your presence. 

Jesus, Lord of the Church, in your mercy, hear us. 

Renew your Church in the love of truth and in passion for justice. 
Take from us all hypocrisy and deceit, and teach us to serve with humility and honesty those whose lives are broken. 

Jesus, Lord of the Church, in your mercy, hear us. 

Help us to cherish children and all in our community who are vulnerable, 
to protect them, and keep them safe. 
May this place rejoice to be a place  
where your love is celebrated with integrity. 

Jesus, Lord of the Church, in your mercy, hear us. 

Bring into your healing presence 
all who have been damaged and diminished by abuse, 
or whose lives continue to be overshadowed by guilt or fear, 
may sorrows be shared and memories be healed. 

Jesus, Lord of the Church, in your mercy, hear us. 

May those who have been damaged by abuse 
not simply survive, but flourish. 
May young and old discover your life-giving love, 
and delight in your gift of life, 
so that fun, laughter and joy overflow to your glory. 

Jesus, Lord of the Church, in your mercy, hear us. 

Merciful Creator, 
accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, 
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying: Our Father…

Offertory

Giving is at the heart of our faith: God so loved the world that Jesus was given for its sake.  Jesus poured out himself in love to his friends and, on the Cross, for us.  The Holy Spirit gives us any number of graces to help us be faithful disciples.  We respond to God’s self-giving love through our own attempts to follow, through loving service of others and through the giving of our financial offerings.  We now pray for the gifts of grace and wisdom.

Giving God,
You shower your blessings upon us,
giving us gifts to herald Your coming Kingdom;
give us the grace and wisdom we need to see Your light in the gloom,
to see through faith You at work in our midst.
Bring light and life to all.
Bless this money which we offer to you,
and help us to use it wisely that it too may be a sign of Your love.  Amen.

Hymn     God’s Spirit is in My Heart
Alan Dale, Hubert Richards © 1982, Kevin Mayhew sung by Matt Beckingham and used with his kind permission. OneLicence # A-734713

God’s Spirit is in my heart 
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do, 
what I have to do

He sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more;
tell blind people that they can see,
and set the downtrodden free.
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come,
and go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.

Just as the Father sent me 
so I’m sending you out to be,
my witnesses throughout the world, 
the whole of the world.

He sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more;
tell blind people that they can see,
and set the downtrodden free.
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come,
and go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.

Don’t carry a load in your pack, 
you don’t need two shirts on your back;
God’s workers can earn their own keep, 
can earn their own keep.

He sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more;
tell blind people that they can see,
and set the downtrodden free.
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come,
and go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.

Don’t worry what you have to say, 
don’t worry because on that day
God’s Spirit will speak in your heart, 
will speak in your heart.

He sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more;
tell blind people that they can see,
and set the downtrodden free.
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come,
and go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.

Blessing

May the One whose realm shines like the stars at night,
the One who brings good news to the poor and downtrodden,
the One who brings love, live and laughter,
enable you to shine with the joy of the Kingdom,
encourage you to proclaim good news,
and energise you with divine healing,
and the blessing of Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be with you all, now and always, Amen.
 

2 Samuel 11: 1-5, 26: 12:7

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.  David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’  So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.  The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’…When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.  But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,  and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had very many flocks and herds;  but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.  Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’  Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die;  he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!

Reflection

The David and Bathsheba story is well known; Hollywood promoted it as a love story and Bathsheba has been presented as a temptress.  It’s not often, however, that we name David for what he was – a voyeur, rapist, and murderer.  A woman in that era would have had no choice but to submit to the king.  She was powerless, married to a foreigner, and unable to resist.  Now we understand rape to be less about sexual desire and more about power and control.  If we were to read this story about anyone else we’d have no problems in seeing it as abuse, rape, and murder.  Yet it feels slightly wrong to say this about the biblical hero David.  After all he was supposed to have written many of the Psalms!  

We find it hard to believe bad things about people we see as good.  Westminster Cathedral in London has stunning carved Stations of the Cross by Eric Gill – now widely known to have abused his daughters and his pet dog.  The Stations are beautiful; the man who made them had huge ugliness.  When the abuse was revealed in the late 1980s there were calls to remove his art from public exhibition; calls which have been resisted. The Catholic Church in Scotland was rocked when Cardinal Keith O’Brien – a long term vociferous critic of homosexuality – was exposed as a long term gay sexual predator who had abused his power over seminarians and priests.  It seems the Church knew for some time about complaints but refused to believe.   British charismatic evangelist, Michael Pilavachi, a former Anglican priest, co-founder and former leader of the Soul Survivor charity had, like O’Brien advocated celibacy outside marriage.  Allegations of inappropriate touching of young men led to him being laicised by the Church of England;  allegations which were first raised nearly 20 years before action was taken.  

Silence and dismissal of the truth leads to more abuse and pain.  Breaking the silence leads to justice and healing.

Prayer

God give us the courage of the prophet Nathan,
to call out evil into the light,
to name and disempower it,
that the wounded may find healing
and that your people might be safe. Amen.

Advent Worship Resources

Dear Friends,

First, as you may realise Daily Devotions are written ahead of time – to allow editing, formatting into emails, recording to Podcasts and to allow our Communications Team to develop graphics and share them on social media.  When I wrote the current series on Safeguarding I had no idea they would land just as the Makin Report would be published leading to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  It’s been rather an uncanny week.  Thank you to all those who’ve emailed to share their stories and perspectives; it’s been humbling.  

Secondly, I’m pleased to say that the Advent resources are now live on the Worship Notes page here.  We have material for each of the four Sundays of Advent, some prayers for Advent Candle Lighting (as well as different prayers in weeks 2 and 3) and a separate suggested hymns document covering the whole season.  Those on the Early Bird list will receive the Advent service material early next week.

Finally, I will get the Christmas and Epiphany Worship Notes loaded up early next week too.

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

Safeguarding 4 Forgiveness – the last step? 

St Matthew 6: 9-14 
 
Jesus said: ‘Pray then in this way: 
 
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
    but rescue us from the evil one. 
 
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 
 
Reflection 

Almost every service of Christian worship includes the Lord’s Prayer in some form or other.  It is the prayer that every Christian knows by heart and, if we are honest, is often prayed without too much thought.  The rhythm and familiarity give comfort.  Yet, for some the prayer can be terrifying. 
Forgiveness can be used as a weapon by the Church; those who have experienced abuse, oppression, and injustice can be silenced by those who tell them they have failed to forgive their abuser.  Jesus’ words implying that God’s forgiveness is linked by our forgiveness of others can be a text of terror.  Winnie Johnson, the mother of Keith Bennett murdered in the 1960s, was a faithful Christian but could not bring herself to pray the Our Father.  Forgiveness can be a weapon we use against ourselves. 
Yet, perhaps, we could reimagine forgiveness to be something rather liberating.   

• To forgive does not mean we forget.   
• To forgive does not mean we say that what happened does not matter.   
• To forgive does not mean we would trust an abuser not to abuse again. 
• To forgive does not mean we don’t deal with the issue.   

 
Instead, forgiveness could mean not allowing the abuser, the bully, or the torturer to have power over us anymore.   It might mean letting go of the bitterness that holds us back. It might mean living our lives without reference to another’s desire to control.  

Forgiveness might be a final step in a journey of healing and freedom; it might be facilitated by true repentance (not just saying sorry but facing up to justice) and the administration of justice itself – which we will look at tomorrow.  Whatever forgiveness is, it must not be a weapon used by the Church, or its well-meaning members, to make itself feel less uncomfortable.  Instead, we need to think more about the power of forgiveness and diverse ways in which we might understand it. 

Prayer 

Forgive us, good Lord,
when we use your words as weapons,
when we insist the bruised are further hurt,
and when our discomfort makes us insist 
others act to make us feel better. 
Help us, instead, to see forgiveness as freedom from bondage,
liberation from control, and power to change.
Amen 

 
Today’s service is led by the Revd Lance Stone

 
Introduction

Hello and welcome to this online service. My name is Lance Stone and I am a retired URC minister who has served the church in London and in Cambridge, as well as ministering in the Church of Scotland in Aberdeen and in Amsterdam.

Call to Worship 

God is our refuge and our strength, a timely help in trouble.
Come, see what the Lord has done. 
In every part of the wide world he puts an end to war.

He breaks the bow, he snaps the spear, he burns the shield in the fire.
Stop fighting: learn that I am God, exalted among the nations, 
exalted in the earth.

Hymn     O God Our Help in Ages Past
Isaac Watts (1719) Public Domain, BBC Songs of Praise

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

Before the hills in order stood, or earth received its frame,
from everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the op’ning day.
 
O God, our Help in ages past, our Hope for years to come,
be Thou our Guard while life shall last, and our eternal Home!

The Act of Remembrance 

Friends, let us remember in silence before God 
all those who have died in war…

The silence…

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them. We will remember them.

Opening Prayer

Holy and gracious God,
eternal source and end of all things:
we praise and worship you.
We rejoice in the wonder of your creation;
we give thanks that you have given us life;
that you have  given us one another;
that you have given us a world to delight in.
All around us are signs of your handiwork
and we would honour you, the Maker.

Confession and Pardon

O God, forgive us for our destructive ways
forgive us that we threaten what you have made,
and this morning we especially pray for forgiveness for war, 
and for all its horror.
We pray for forgiveness for the ease with which we resort to war;
for the casualties and the victims that it leaves in its wake;
for all the ways in which your good world is scarred
by conflict and our inhumanity to one another.
We confess our share in such a world,
our failures to seek and to establish peace even in our own lives.

O God, have mercy upon us and forgive us.  
Keep faith with us and lead us into ways of righteousness.
Show us the things that make for peace.
And we thank you that you have given us Jesus, the prince of peace,
who has come and made peace by the blood of his cross.
Help us, we pray, to live in that power.
We pray all these things in his name, as we join together in the words 
that he taught us, saying…Our Father…

Prayer for Illumination

Living God, fashion and shape us by your Word, 
that we might rise from death and destruction 
to life in all its fullness. Amen.

Reading     St Mark 12:38-44

As Jesus taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses  and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’ He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them,  ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have  contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’

Hymn     For the Healing of the Nations
Fred Kaan (1965) © 1968, Hope Publishing Co. OneLicence  # A-734713 sung by the virtual choir of the First Avenue Presbyterian Church Virtual Choir, New York, America.

For the healing of the nations,
Lord, we pray with one accord,
for a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.

Lead us forward into freedom;
from despair your world release,
that, redeemed from war & hatred,
all may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care 
and goodness
fear will die and hope increase.

All that kills abundant living,
let it from the earth be banned:
pride of status, race, or schooling,
dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
may we hallow life’s brief span.

You, Creator God, have written
your great name on humankind.
For our growing in your likeness,
bring the life of Christ to mind
that by our response and service
earth its destiny may find.
 
Sermon

Let us pray: Loving God, speak your Word to our hearts that it may become flesh in our lives, to the glory of your name. Amen.

At first sight our reading this morning from Mark’s Gospel is fairly straightforward. Jesus is in Jerusalem and he is visiting the temple and he notices people putting money into the treasury, which consisted of thirteen large collecting boxes. And as Jesus watches he sees this poor widow – one of the most vulnerable people in society – putting in her two small coins which amounted to almost nothing, and certainly nothing in comparison to the big sums being put in by rich people. Jesus, however, knew that what she had given was far more than the bigger offerings for it was all that she had. And so he commended her. And the story lends itself to a simple moral: generosity is a blessed virtue, even when we don’t have much, and the story might be used a subtle prompt to church members to give generously the church, a reminder which – as church treasurers know well – is sometimes necessary.

There is, however, rather more to the story than that, and to grasp this we need to backtrack a little. You see, the setting of the incident in its wider context in Mark’s Gospel is a series of controversies between Jesus and the religious establishment who are trying to catch him out. Here Jesus goes toe- to-toe with the religious authorities of his day and what he saw as their corrupt and distorted practices. So Jesus warns people in verse 38 to ‘beware of the scribes’ with their ostentatious display of long robes and their top-tier seats. But then comes this stinging rebuke, ‘they devour widows’ houses…’ In other words, Jesus here is condemning the entire, rotten religious system, centred on the temple, which extorts money out of those least able to afford it, like this widow, and which bleeds them dry. 

What is worse, however, is that in these latter chapters of Mark’s Gospel Jesus is making plain that the Jerusalem temple to which this widow was giving, this mighty edifice, has no future. It is ear-marked for destruction. In Jesus’ mind the Jewish people of his day do not know the things that work for peace but are set on a course that will in just a few years lead ultimately to rebellion against Rome and a brutal crushing defeat. Jerusalem and its glorious temple will be laid to waste, as happened in AD70. And Jesus has not long since prefigured all this by invading the temple and driving out the money-changers, symbolising the coming destruction. Suddenly we view this woman’s actions in a different light. She was giving all she had – but for what purpose? She was making a sacrifice – but for what?  

Where this passage tells us that this widow ‘put in everything she had’, the original Greek in which the passage was written says, literally, that she put in ‘all the living of her’ – or, in other words, ‘she gave her whole life’. But what was she giving her whole life for? The upkeep of a building with a demolition order attached. She was giving her all for a building with a very  short shelf-life. What was the point of that? Was it worth it?

Well, here is where this passage begins to bite, not least on this occasion, this Remembrance Sunday when we recall those who made the supreme sacrifice in war – those who gave their whole lives. At the risk of being controversial, we surely have to ask whenever a war is fought: was it worth it? Was it worth the cost in bloodshed? Was it like this widow’s sacrifice – costly self-giving for a lost cause? And we might prefer to blank that question, but we can’t, and certainly it is a responsibility of Christians who serve the Prince of Peace to face it.

Take the 1st World War which still looms large on Remembrance Sunday.  It has been estimated that in that conflict over 16 million people died: around 10 million military personnel and just under 7 million civilians – and of course there were a far greater number of wounded and maimed who were scarred for life. 

The numbers are mind-boggling – what cause could conceivably justify such suffering and loss of life?  And we hear about the horrors and futility of trench warfare, with thousands of lives lost for a few metres of mud gained. And those soldiers who survived were promised a return to ‘a land fit for heroes’, when in fact they returned to the economic turmoil of the 20s and the 30s and high unemployment and the Great Depression. And the 1st World War was dubbed ‘the war to end all wars’, but the deeply resented terms of the Treaty of Versailles helped to make that an impossible dream. The 20th century, that most bloody of centuries, did not exactly fulfil that hope, ‘the war to end all wars’. And  so we ask: was it worth it? 

Most people would agree that it is easier to answer that question affirmatively with regard to the 2nd World War, that a necessary price was paid, despite the appalling death toll. But what of more recent wars? What about Vietnam where an estimated 58,000 Americans died, with the overall number on all sides likely exceeding a million? Was it worth it? Robert McNamara was the US Secretary of Defence at the height of the war, and a fierce advocate of it, but he later confessed to deep regret and remorse for US mistakes: ‘we were wrong, terribly wrong’ he confessed, ‘and we owe it to future generations to  explain why.’ And what of Northern Ireland? Can those who died for the cause rest in peace? Was it worth it? Or Iraq? Can the death toll be justified by the emergence of a more peaceful and stable world? Or Afghanistan, or Ukraine or Gaza? And of course in some cases there would be a strong case for concluding with a heavy heart that yes, it was worth it. It was justified. There was no choice.

But we return to this widow, and her sacrificial offering, her costly giving to a doomed temple. And we might see in her a symbol of futility, of pity, of lives laid down for lost causes, sacrifices made that were just not worth it. Yet Jesus, despite his perspective on the temple, does not seem to see it that way. He could have told her to keep her coins, to save them for a better purpose – but he did not. He commended her. And soon after this another woman will come to Jesus and break open a jar of very costly ointment and anoint Jesus and that too could be seen as a pointless gesture, a waste. But no, Jesus commends her. And maybe that is because these acts were done in good faith, from good motives, out of love – irrespective of their effects or what they achieved. 

And here I want to put this widow’s self-sacrifice into a much wider context. I want to suggest that that acts of self-giving, done in good faith, acts that cost us, are central to  our humanity, essential to our becoming fully human beings. Indeed, perhaps in this widow’s act Jesus saw an echo of his own ministry of self-giving and sacrifice. The great over-arching narrative of our faith proclaims that in the fullness of time God emptied himself in Christ, laying aside his glory and being born in human likeness, becoming a servant – an act of self-sacrifice, writing this into the very DNA of the universe. Self-sacrifice therefore lies in the heart of God, and at the heart of creation and of what it means to be made in the image of God. And this is something we need to learn in an age where there is great emphasis on self-fulfilment, on discovering our true selves, on maximising our potential and becoming all that we can be – but we aren’t very sure how to go about it. And the word is that the key to it all lies in asserting ourselves and trying to grab more and to produce more and to consume more and to be more, but it doesn’t work. This is not humanising us. What we who strive to bear the image of God must learn is that self-fulfilment, paradoxically, cannot come without self-giving and self-sacrifice; that in order to gain life we have to be ready to lose it; that in order to live we must be prepared to die; that in surrendering ourselves to loss there is a mysterious, gratuitous gain. It’s what we see symbolised and enacted in the Christian rite of baptism which tells us that in laying ourselves down we rise to new life.
 
So we return to the widow in the temple with her little offering. The cause to which she gave may have been already lost but she nevertheless comes to us graced with the image of God. In a competitive and often ruthless world she gives us a glimpse of the secret of our humanity. And she speaks to us too of those who sacrificed their lives in wars – sometimes, apparently, in a futile cause. This is not to justify pointless and destructive wars. It is not to try to put a gloss on the shameful waste of life and the sheer pity and tragedy of war. But it is to recognise that we are never more fully human than when we give of ourselves in love and in good faith – whatever the outcome. And in the spirit of this widow, let us never, ever underestimate the significance of little acts of kindness – small acts of love that may cost us, but which season life, and which humanise us, and which make the world a more gracious and generous place to live. 

Opportunities for such sacrificial self-giving abound. They are all around us. Let us embrace them, and so honour the fallen. Amen.

Hymn     Peace is Flowing Like a River
Adapted by Carey Landry © 1975, 1979, OCP OneLicence # A-734713. Sung by Chris Brunelle and used with his kind permission.

Peace is flowing like a river,
flowing out through you and me;
flowing out into the desert,
setting all the captives free.

Love is flowing like a river,
flowing out through you and me;
flowing out into the desert,
setting all the captives free.

Healing’s flowing like a river,
flowing out through you and me;
flowing out into the desert,
setting all the captives free.

Alleluia, alleluia, Alleluia, alleluia,
Alleluia, alleluia, Alleluia, alleluia.

Prayers of Intercession

O gracious, peace-making God, 
as we today remember the fallen, those who have died in conflicts, 
we bring before you today our war-torn world, 
where the strident din of hatred and conflict
drowns out the sighs of peace and the whispers of reconciliation.

We think of conflicts too numerous to mention,
religious conflicts, political conflicts, civil wars –
and we think of the effects of wars – 
of refugees and refugee camps and asylum seekers,
and the maimed and the disfigured…
We pray, God, for the United Nations, that it may be a force for peace.
We pray for world leaders that they may act wisely
and justly and for the good of all.
And we pray for those who bear arms on behalf of the nation,
that they may be endowed discipline and discernment,
courage and compassion.

We pray today for the United States of America 
in the aftermath of the election, 
praying for a peaceful and orderly transition to a new administration, 
for a healing of the divisions that have opened up in recent times, 
and for a recovery of trust and commitment to the common good.

And we pray for our enemies, for those who wish us harm,
that you will turn the hearts of all towards kindness and friendship.
We pray for the wounded and the bereaved,
that  in their trials they may know your love and support.

Most holy and gracious God, 
hear our prayers for all who strive for peace
and all who fight for justice.
Help us, who today remember the cost of war
to work for a better tomorrow;
and as we commend to you lives lost in terror and conflict,
bring us all, in the end, to the peace of your presence;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Offertory Prayer

Living God, today we honour those who, 
like the woman in the gospel, are motivated by self-giving.
As we do so we give thanks for Jesus who gave his life 
that we might live.
And we offer these gifts, asking that our lives may be motivated
By such self-giving, in the service of your Kingdom.  Amen

Hymn     Healing River of the Spirit    
Ruth C Duck © 1996 The Pilgrim Press OneLicence # A-734713 Recorded by the Sunday 7pm Choir at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Healing river of the Spirit, bathe the wounds that living brings.
Plunge our pain, our sin, our sadness deep beneath your sacred springs.
Weary from the restless searching that has lured us from your side,
we discover in your presence peace the world cannot provide.
  
Wellspring of the healing Spirit, stream that flows to bring release,
as we gain ourselves, our senses, may our lives reflect your peace.
Grateful for the flood that heals us, may your Church live out your grace.
As we meet both friend and stranger, may we see our Saviour’s face.

Living stream that heals the nations, make us channels of your power.
All the world is torn by conflict; wars are raging at this hour.
Saving Spirit, move among us; guide our winding human course,
till we find our way together, flowing homeward to our Source.

Blessing

Now go in peace
to live lives in the service of Christ’s Kingdom;
and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship   of the Holy Spirit
be with you, now and always. Amen.