29th March 2020: Fifth Sunday in Lent Passion Sunday Service Sheet
Theme: The Resurrection and the Life
Sentence: Give me justice. O God, and defend my cause against the wicked; rescue me from deceitful and unjust people. You, O God, are my refuge
Collect: Let us pray for the courage to follow Christ:
Father, help us to be like Christ your Son, who loved the world and died for our salvation. Inspire us by his love, guide us by his example, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lesson: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD: LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, who then can stand? But with you is forgiveness, and for this we revere you. R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. More than the sentries wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the LORD. R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; And he will redeem the people of Israel from all their iniquities. R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Epistle: Romans 8:6-11
Gospel: John 11:1-45
Note on the Gospel
From the perspective of two millennia, the fact that some man named Lazarus gets to walk around Bethany an extra twenty or thirty years is no big deal. But the fact that Jesus has conquered death for all eternity is a very big deal… the biggest deal that ever was or ever will be.
Jesus is telling us: You want signs that I’m the Messiah? How about the blind see; the deaf hear; lepers are cleansed and devils are cast out? But I’m saving the best for last. Jesus doesn’t rush to Lazarus’ bedside to cure him. He waits until Lazarus is four days in the tomb to call him forth. He could have saved Martha and Mary a lot of grief with a quick, pop-in cure. But, as always, Jesus has a bigger point to make. And it doesn’t get bigger than: I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Before Jesus came among us, Death was the grim reaper, the all-powerful terminator come to extinguish us all. Jesus changes all of that. Death is not the dreaded conclusion to a meaningless existence. Our fate is not extinction. Death is a beginning, not an end. It is our passage to a life that will never end. Death came into the world through sin. It was conquered by the Sinless.
Mankind’s best minds are working hard at extending our human life another twenty or thirty years. Christians admire and support their efforts. We respect life as a gift from God; and we do all in our power to preserve it. But ultimately, like the extra years added to the earthly life of Lazarus, we know that every moment of life is God’s to give or to take away… on his schedule and for his purpose. In the context of eternity, getting to play a few bonus rounds of earthly overtime is no big deal.
What is a big deal is that sin and death have no mastery over us. Jesus took both to the cross and triumphed over them in the Resurrection. Unlike Lazarus, death will be a once in a lifetime experience for us. As such it will be a very big deal in each of our lives. And like anything that is important, we need to do it well. That takes practice… not rehearsing deathbed farewells… but constantly drawing closer and closer to Christ, making our earthly life a living prayer to the glory of God. The closer we get, the more we cut Death down to size… and the more we are prepared for life everlasting, face to face with God, in the joyful company of the blessed. Now that really is a great big deal.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He can transform death and despair, in any form, into life and hope. As the people of the living God, let us join together in our prayers for the Church and for the world.
Holy God, breathe your life into the Church; breathe holiness and deepening faith, breath energy, inspired teaching and fervent praise; unblock the channels and make us more receptive to your gentleness and your power.
Silence
Breathe into us: so that we live in you.
Holy God, breathe your life into the universe; breathe responsible caring, honesty and compassion, breathe right values and good stewardship, peace and reconciliation, vision and hope.
Silence
Breathe into us: so that we live in you.
Holy God, breathe your life into our homes and places of work; breathe increased patience and understanding, and the courage to live the Christian life when to do so brings ridicule or demands sacrifice.
Silence
Breathe into us: so that we live in you.
Holy God, in this time of endurance and distress, breathe your life into those who suffer; breathe comfort and wholeness, forgiveness and new confidence, breath peace of mind and the knowledge of your love.
Silence
Breathe into us: so that we live in you.
We pray especially for healing, peace and comfort for those on our prayer list …. and for any others known to us.
Silence
Breathe into us: so that we live in you.
Holy God, breathe your life into the dead and dying; breathe courage for the journey and the realisation that you can be trusted. Breathe life that lasts for ever.
Silence
Breathe into us: so that we live in you.
Holy God, breathe your life into us now as we offer you here our thanks and praise for your life laid down out of love for us. May our words be worked out in fresh commitment to you.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Please pray for… Grace, Bishop Jim, Gill & Ian, Phylis & Ian Forde, and all those who are known and unknown to us.
Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in Heaven.....
Readings for next week, April 5th : Sixth Sunday in Lent: Palm Sunday
Ps 118: 1 -2, 19 – 29; Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11
Services Next Sunday: None during the Lockdown period.
Contact for Revd Shiu Goundar
Please do not hesitate to contact me on phone 2684685 or mobile 0211888575 @ 28 Nanleen Rise, Gardens, E-mail Address: sgoundar@hotmail.com. should you need any assistance.
Church Warden : Adam’s phone contact -5367038.
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END OF FINANCIAL IS 31 MARCH 2020
Any donations or an offering through envelopes is eligible for inclusion in your 2019/2020 tax receipt. You can claim back from IRD 33% of all your donations and offerings. If you wish you can also donate your TAX REBATE back to the Church. Please talk to Heather for more details
Take care and God Bless. Shiu Goundar- Priest - in - Charge: Beachlands Maraetai Mission Venture
John Chapter Nine
Jesus: the Light of the World Adam Kirby - Lay Minister: Beachlands Maraetai Mission Venture
John chapter nine is a fascinating story. It is probably the most detailed story about a miracle and its aftermath in the whole of the Gospels. There is so much depth to it, so much that we can learn about the way Jesus behaved and even about his appearance. There is also so much we can understand through this story about the Jewish society in which Jesus and his disciples lived. We see from the beginning of the story that these disciples are ordinary people, with attitudes similar to those around them.
Now in the narrative as John tells it to us, Jesus has just come from a life-threatening situation. Chapter 8 says that people had picked up stones to kill him, but that he slipped away. In chapter nine, he courts trouble again. There is something about Jesus’ sense of calling that made him challenge authority. He could not rest with the world as it was. Chapter nine also brings us another opportunity to see Jesus’ loving humanity and his sense of purpose in the world.
At the beginning of the chapter a man blind from birth is found by Jesus and this encounter becomes an opportunity to explain more about why Jesus is in the world: that he has come to be the light of the world. The man’s profound darkness is an opportunity for Jesus show the light of God’s transforming power in the world and to show that that loving power will not be limited by the rules and regulations of human authority.
In the story, Jesus spat on the ground, made some clay and smeared it on the man’s eyes. This may seem revolting to us, but in Jesus’ day saliva, especially that of a first-born son, was considered to have healing properties. As instructed, the man went off to wash in the Pool of Siloam, and to the amazement of everyone, came back healed. He perceived physical light for the first time in his life.
People were so amazed that some of them could not believe it and said he was not really the man born blind, but an imposter. To deal with this issue and to try and verify the truth of the man’s claims, he was taken to the Pharisees: they had authority, and would know the truth.
Now the pharisees believed that there was a problem with this miracle: it was done on the sabbath, when not only was no work allowed but this particular form of healing activity with saliva was prohibited, so this meant that Jesus was a sinner, not a true prophet and should be punished. One way around this was to say that the man who claimed to have been healed was lying: he had not really received his sight. So they sent for his parents to prove if this man really had been born blind. The parents of course said that he was, but refused to be drawn on exactly how he came to see. They were not there, anyway, and did not want to be drawn into a confrontation with the pharisees. In any case, as they explained, their son was old enough to speak for himself. So, the pharisees called the son back and he responded very bluntly to the religious leaders and ended up being thrown out of the synagogue.
Now although this is a story all about Jesus’ role in the life of this man and in the world, he had vanished from the scene. However, he was obviously not too far from the action as he heard what had happened and sought out the man. Again, we see the loving care of Jesus. He hasn’t finished with the man. He fixed his sight problem, but this is only a job half done. Now the man met Jesus properly for the first time and was confronted with who Jesus really was – The Son of Man. By using this Messianic title, Jesus challenges the man to accept him as the Messiah and become a disciple. His response is to worship Jesus.
Jesus then wraps up the whole series of events by explaining how his light works in the world. For some people, like the man born blind, God’s light enables them to see properly and to accept who Jesus really is. They become enlightened. Others, such as the pharisees, who think they have the light already are shown to be living in darkness.
So, Jesus is the light of the upside down and back to front Kingdom of God: darkness is transformed into light and seeming light is shown to be darkness.
Yet, this whole story begs a question. What does it mean to walk in the light and not in the darkness?
Well, I think the first answer to this question is to say that we must become followers of Jesus. The story is all about Jesus presenting himself as a miracle working prophet and giving people a choice whether to follow him or not. Here Jesus makes the blind see, which the coming Messiah is expected to do. The challenge is to follow Jesus as Messiah or reject the miracle as fraudulent evidence because it doesn’t fit the rules, and so reject Jesus.
Now if we have chosen to be followers of Jesus, what do these events tell us about what following the Light of the World means?
The first thing is to note that Jesus calls on his disciples to join him in doing the work of his father who sent him. He doesn’t say I must do my father’s work, while you disciples just watch. Disciples of Jesus are to be involved with the work of Jesus. We are active participants in being light to the world.
Secondly, following Jesus’ example, we are called to seek out those who need light. For Jesus, this is synonymous with saying they need love. Jesus took the opportunity of his encounter with the blind man to heal him and then later on he sought out the outcast in order to offer him a new home.
Thirdly, offering the light of love can be costly to those who offer it. Doing so can go against cultural norms. Family members may not be able to understand why we care for others in the way that Jesus calls us to do. We are called to go beyond our comfort zones to share the Light of the World, with the world. Love can be costly.
So, as we face the greatest corporate and communal crisis that the world has faced for at least the last 75 years, what does it mean to be followers of the Light of the World? What does it mean to be those who are called to do the works of the Father of light; the source of love?
To me, it must mean that we adopt a heart attitude of love for those around us and actively reach out creatively to them. Our role cannot be that we passively wait for people to come to us in need, but that we actively make sure that we are aware of possible needs around us and are making ourselves available to help where we can. Jesus actively sought out people with whom to share his transforming, loving, light. In our social seclusion, we may feel there is little we can do, but let us pray for those around us and beyond, keep in touch with our networks of friends and family, and be ready to help when we can.
May we be constantly aware of the loving presence of God and be that light and love in the world, where and when we are able.
Love and Peace to you all.
Adam