~Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB
Candle Lighting
We light this flame to affirm that new life and light
is ever waiting to break through to enlighten our ways:
that new truth is ever waiting
to break through to illumine our minds,
and that new love is ever waiting
to break through to warm our hearts.
May we be open to this light,
and to the rich possibilities that it brings us.
Opening Words
In these days of a slower pace and a smaller space for our living we recognise that we can’t go far – so help us to go deep.
Draw us more deeply into your way, O Christ, so we may sink into the truth you reveal – that we are in you and you in us and that God is all in all.
God of hope and healing, you journey with us along the way and yet you also keep disappearing from our sight.
You go ahead to prepare a place where we will be one with you, and yet you are also the way we are to travel;
we have a long way to go and yet we have already arrived in you.
Help us to see and to follow in the way and truth of Love;
may we be bearers of comfort
so that broken hearts are restored
and lonely lives find connection.
May we be strong in our soul to cry out at injustice,
to weep with those who weep,
and so to bear the beams of love to your world.
Amen.
Music for the soul
The church’s one foundation is a well known hymn that reflects some of the themes in our scripture passages this week. You can listen and sing along on youtube here.
Cornerstone is an old hymn with a refresh – you can sing/listen here.
Scripture reading
Two readings from the lectionary this week – the story of the stoning of Stephen, the first martyrdom in the early church…you can listen here
and a short passage from the long discourse around the table of the last supper, below.
Reflection
As usual, you can read/listen ahead of time of save this for after our gathering on Sunday.
Scroll down to the image of the Camino signpost to find the prayers of the people and a blessing.
The audio is here
The text starts here…
In the opening line of the passage from the gospel according to John, Jesus tells the disciples ‘do not let your hearts be troubled’. You may be most familiar with this passage from hearing it at funeral services, as it is a teaching the church has turned to in times when we are seeking to offer comfort and assurances for grieving hearts. It seems fitting that we are reading this particular passage in the midst of these troubling times.
Having said that, though, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” can sound a bit like a platitude – a kind of ‘don’t worry, everything will be alright’ without any real evidence to suggest that this may actually be true. I don’t know about you, but whenever I’ve been offered that kind of comfort, I have found it very unhelpful.
So, I think it’s worth noting that Jesus spoke these words as he gathered with his friends to celebrate the Passover; to break bread and drink wine together on the very night that he is betrayed, denied and then tried and executed. Even though the disciples didn’t grasp what was coming, Jesus knew what he was facing, and the other three gospel writers leave us in no doubt that he was deeply distressed by the suffering that lay ahead of him. So Jesus spoke these words into troubled times, at the cusp of events that for him would bring a tortuous death and for his disciples, would bring traumatic change. In the next hours and days, they would be deeply impacted by the shock and grief of the crucifixion and would then face a very uncertain future full of fearful possibilities and without any real way to make sense of what had happened to them.
And so these words are fitting for our times, in the midst of a pandemic, as we find ourselves six weeks into lockdown with our normal everyday lives in tatters around our feet. We are dealing with the ongoing impact of isolation on our natural social needs and instincts and the frustration of restricted movement. Alongside this we see and hear about the immense suffering around the world as it streams into our newsfeed. The shock of the numbers of deaths still catches me unawares at times, and I can hardly get my head around what that truly means for people living through and with that reality.
It would seem that everything is changed by the pandemic and the future is full of uncertainty.
So how do we hear these words of assurance in our times? Can you hear them so that they don’t just slide off your tense shoulders and slip away from you, but land in the well tilled soil of your soul? Can you hear them so that they sound full and rich and resonant as you receive them into your heart and let them settle there to shape you and form you for whatever lies ahead?
For surely this is Jesus’ intention and hope as he offers these words.
Do not let your hearts be troubled…trust in God. When there is trust, there is no need to grasp or to resist and it is this inner habit of grabbing on or pushing away that really causes us trouble. So for you to hear and receive these words this morning, the open handed, open hearted attitude of trust is key.
Trust in Jesus who is himself the way, the one to follow and the way to follow and also the threshold through whom all who search for truth and life will pass….Trust in the one who is One with the Father. Trust in the one who goes before us, so that we can know the way even when we cannot see how to make sense of what is happening, and trust in the one who walks beside us so that we do not ever journey alone.
I believe that how you hold the untroubled space in your hearts, and how we learn together to trust God and trust each other will shape how St. Peter’s as a community moves on and into the unknown future ahead.
Everything has changed.
What we will become is not yet clear, but it is in your hands and your heart to shape the community that emerges from lockdown in the weeks ahead.
Last week I was sent a survey by northern presbytery asking questions about how we at St Peter’s have responded to the lockdown and the various challenges of covid 19 to our community and our normal way of operating. The questions were efficiently divided into various categories like finances, technology, pastoral care, worship, mission and so on. There were some questions which asked about what we had learned from the enforced change to our normal way of doing church, and what we had gained as a result. There were also questions about what had been lost, compromised or abandoned. As I reflected on the questions and the way they invited a response I found myself wondering ….what difference would it make if we responded to changes from an untroubled heart? I also had to wonder if an untroubled heart might ask different questions? At the end of the survey were two questions focussing on what lies ahead. What do we see as the major challenges, and the major opportunities as we move back towards ‘normal’? Again, I want to pause and ask about the way an untroubled heart might look at that question.
Might the way ahead look different if we weren’t trying to go back to normal, but were hoping and trusting to go forward, crossing the threshold into whatever new and green pasture lay beyond – through whatever dark valley – over whatever terrain Christ leads us to? I know that Level 2 is very much on our minds right now, as we wait to hear if/when we may move to it, and as we try to figure out what level two might allow us to do in terms of returning to the church building and gathering for worship.
One thing I know for sure: we have a lot to process. We have a lot to process and that may sound troubling to you. But through the lockdown there have been uncelebrated joys, achievements, anniversaries and birthdays; and while we are often keen to be happy together, we also need to recognise that there has been trauma, and there have been unmourned losses and deaths. We are not always so keen to lament together, and to trust one another with our tears as much as with our laughter. When we gather again, we will need time to acknowledge and to honour the grief of all that is passed because as I heard on the radio the other day in a very smart sound bite – you have to feel to heal.
The untroubled heart is not one that does not feel, but rather one that is not afraid to feel, and knows how to honour each feeling and then to let it pass. Because remember, when there is trust, there is no need to grasp or to resist.
As we process our trauma, as we share our joy, as we offer our learning and tell our stories,
as we listen for the still, small voice of the Spirit and search together for the grace, wisdom and compassion of God, we allow light and love to flow where we have got stuck, where we have held on or are stoically keeping a lid on the inner reservoir of pain and loss.
And we begin to heal. We begin to live from a heart that is not troubled.
And this is Jesus gift and blessing to us, not just for these times, but for all times.
It is not too hard, or too far from you. It is as simple as breathing – you receive; you let go.
Do not let your hearts be troubled…trust in God and remember, where there is trust, there is no need to grasp or resist.
Conversation and reflection questions
Trust can be hard to repair once its been broken…have you a story of restoration and what helped to heal the gap?
Trusting God can sometimes be hard. We need people to love us in a trustworthy way – who has been that person for you and what are some of the ways they have helped you to trust love?
What has been your experience of learning to trust God through times of change?
What do you see as the major challenges and opportunities that lie ahead after lockdown?
What do you think may need to change about our ‘normal’ way of doing church or what change would you like to take with us from lockdown into a new normal?
Prayers of the People
God of love, we thank you for all the ways that you journey towards us on our journey. We thank you for all the ways that you meet us in our meetings with one another. We thank you for all the ways that you nurture us as we need.
Today we give you thanks for those who have been mothers to us – all those who have given from their depths to nurture us, have sheltered us, have given guidance, offered wisdom and withheld judgement when we have ignored them.
We give thanks for the earth who nurtures us, shelters us, offers us the wisdom of seasons and of patience, of connection, balance and of diversity. We pray we may learn to listen more carefully and so to choose our way mindful of our interdependence and of our common ground as creations of your love and your life.
Today we also pray for all whose journey through life is marked by shadows and fear… and especially we pray for those who are sick and for those who care for the sick… for those who are most vulnerable to the challenges of the pandemic … for those whose food security and personal wellbeing are already fragile ….and we name in our hearts those known to us who struggle in darkness……those who struggle in pain….God of grace, bring healing and wholeness.
We pray for all who risk their own well being to minister to others… for doctors, nurses, aid workers and carers…for parents caring for sick children and for children caring for sick parents….God of grace, bring healing and wholeness.
We pray for all who have no family connections to support them or to draw on…for those who are dependent on the generosity and compassion of strangers…for those who live isolated within the fear that they are unloveable…God of grace, bring healing and wholeness.
Jesus told us ‘I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.’ So often our lives are small and cramped, and we are so used to it that we don’t even notice…Speak to us, O God, of the spaciousness of your love….draw us deeper into the brightness of your joy….and smooth our furrowed brows with the gentleness of your peace. God of grace, bring healing and wholeness.
Broaden our horizons beyond our own reality as we move from darkness to light, and as we begin to bear the beams of love to those around us. Remind us often of our connectedness to one another and to the world, the threads of light that are woven into our being and call us to community, to compassion and to come home to you…God of grace, bring healing and wholeness.
God of light, by your son Jesus the Christ you have made us your children, and so together we pray to you as our parent:
Eternal Spirit, Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the earth!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and forever.
Amen.
Blessing
As we go forth into the sacred mystery of everyday life, may we move with the flow of grace and be carried along your way by the energy of mercy and compassion.
May we recognise, hidden in our routines and our relationships, your many invitations to follow you on the way, and to learn from you how to walk this pilgrim’s path.
May we daily glimpse the underlying reality of Love that is stronger than death and live in the way, the truth and the light of this hope.
Amen
