Sunday 29th March 9:30am
Candle Lighting
As a symbol of hope in dark places
We light the flame.
As a sign of trust in things unseen
We light the flame.
The light shines in the darkness
And the darkness cannot overcome it.
Call to worship
Come along with me as a traveller of faith.
Bring along a sense of expectancy
a sense of high hopes
a glimpse of future possibility
a vivid imagination – for God’s creation is not done.We are called to pioneer forth toward a future yet unnamed.
As we venture forward, we leave behind our desires for a no-risk life, worldly accumulations and the certainty of answers.Let us travel light in the spirit of faith and expectation
toward the God of our hopes and dreams.Let us be a witness to God’s future breaking in.
Come along with me on the journey
secure in the knowledge that we never travel alone.
A story of sadness
Conversation/reflection questions
What does it mean to you to share in each others’ sorrow? When have you done this, or experienced someone sharing in your sorrow? How was that for you?
How might we share in the sorrow of the world? What one thing can you do this week to ‘weep with those who weep’?
Reading
A reading from the gospel according to John, chapter 11 v1-45. You can find it here, or you can listen to the clip.
Revival vs. Resurrection
The story of the raising of Lazarus is a story of revival. Lazarus receives his old life back and is restored to health, family and community. But he will live his life and die, as it is in the nature of all things to die.
I wonder how much of the prayers, the mission and activity of the church is focussed on revival – give us back the life we had – without recognising the limitation of the life we are seeking?
As Easter approaches, we prepare to remember the events of Holy Week – the jubilant entry into Jerusalem; the last supper in the upper room; the agonised prayer in the garden of Gethsemane; the betrayal and sham trial; the torture of crucifixion and the dark days of the silent tomb.
We prepare too, to celebrate the outrageous claim, the awesome and astonishing truth of Christ risen from death. He is seen, alive, eating, breathing, speaking, listening, cooking – and also appearing in a locked room and disappearing in an instant.
This is the story of resurrection. Is this really the story that inspires our faith, and shapes our imagination? If it were, we would not look for our old life back. We’d recognise the movement of this story is from life – through death – to new life.
What is your understanding of resurrection life and faith?
How might we live the life of creative, renewing hope as the Body of Christ? What might need to happen for us to live with resurrection imagination?
Prayers of the people
Loving God as we slow down in the quiet, we become aware of the noise within…we become more aware of the thousand thoughts….the simmering feelings…the half submerged ice burg of our lives…. in your presence, oh God, we are safe…sheltered under your wings we are able to recognise what we bring into our prayerful space today…
Aware of so much suffering in the world today, we come to you in need. We come to you fearful for the future, and what new pain may be ahead of us. We come to you anxious for our loved ones, for ourselves, for the many we hear of in the news who are overwhelmed by the pandemic.
You are Emmanuel, God with us. We know you have not abandoned us; we believe you walk with us every step of the journey of life.
Despite our physical distancing, we come to you not as isolated individuals, but as people in relationship, as part of our families, part of the family that is St. Peter’s church, part of the family that is the church worldwide, and part of the family that is all of humanity, in relationship with all of creation…
So in the quiet of our prayer, we open to your presence, and with you we have the courage to be present with our fears…our struggles…our questions…our longings for safety, for healing, for love and connection. We recognise our hope that things will return to the way they were, our fear they may never do this.
In silence we offer these to you for your healing, consolation and guidance.
We name and cherish those we hold in the deep chambers of our hearts – our family, our whanau, and we trust them once more into your loving care….
We pray for all those in caring professions and essential workers around the world as they are stretched thin, fatigued and daily at risk. May their strength and courage be renewed each day, nourished by our gratitude and our appreciation of care offered for those who are sick.
We pray for world leaders as they make decisions for the health and safety of their people. May wisdom guide and compassion inspire all.
And we pray for our world – we pray for those whose lives are marked by violent conflict… and for those who are working to bring peace …we pray for those living in poverty around the world, and for those who advocate for the poor… we pray for those in prison, and those who facilitate restoration and returning to community.
We pray for the courage to look these difficult things full in the face and to find compassionate ways to respond to the needs….
May the love and grace we encounter in the gospel transform our hearts and minds so that the same love and grace may be seen in all we do, all we say and all we are.
Amen
Blessing
God is our hope. Go and live as women and men of faith and courage.
We go with faith in a world worth saving;
Faith in a dream worth sharing;
Faith in a heritage worth renewing.
We go in faith in the One who is always faithful. Amen.
