Sunday Worship 8 September 2024
Today’s service is led by the Revd Martin Knight
Welcome
My friends, you are warmly welcome to this service of worship, as we sing and pray and engage with God’s word, and are embraced as bread and wine are shared. My name is Martin Knight and in June, I moved, to serve as Chaplain to the Brighthelm Centre and as a Pioneer Minister with and alongside the LGBTQIA+ community in Brighton and Hove. It’s a new and exciting post rooted in simply showing God’s open and welcoming love, and it is a roll alongside people who have so much to teach the church, should we be open to learn! Today we will participate in God’s word of bias for the poor and those on the edge, heard so directly in Proverbs and Isaiah, and then in Mark the way Jesus learns through his encounter with the Syrophoenician Woman.
Call to Worship
As we gather to worship the living God: may the name of the Church be “God’s love”. As we live out our faith together and alone: may the name of the Church be “justice and hope”. As we rediscover who to serve may the name of be church “plead for the poor”. We come to worship our living God: active in every generation, inspiring in every tongue, calling from the edge. Alleluia! Let god’s holy revolution reign!
Hymn Jesus Calls Us Here to Meet Him
John Bell © 1989, WGRG c/o Iona Community, GIA Publications performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission. OneLicence # A-734713
Jesus calls us here to meet him as, through word & song & prayer,
we affirm God’s promised presence where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise; praise the Son who calls us friends;
praise the Spirit who, among us, to our hopes and fears attends.
Jesus calls us to confess him Word of life and Lord of all,
sharer of our flesh and frailness, saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story ; tell his tales that all may hear;
tell the world that Christ in glory came to earth to meet us here.
Jesus calls us to each other, vastly different though we are;
creed and colour, class and gender neither limit nor debar.
Join the hand of friend & stranger: join the hands of age and youth;
join the faithful and the doubter in their common search for truth.
Jesus calls us to his table rooted firm in time and space,
where the Church in earth & heaven finds a common meeting place.
Share the bread and wine, his body; share the love of which we sing;
share the feast of saints and sinners hosted by our Lord and King
Prayers of Thanksgiving
Let us pray:
for the first peek of the morning light as the outline of the day emerges thanks be to you, O God! For the gorgeous blanked of the dark and the insight of the light, thanks be to you, O God! For earth’s colours flaunting variety. For shimmering waters and swaying trees displaying your presence, thanks be to you, O God! Show to us this day, amidst life’s streaks of wrong and suffering the potential that endures in every person. Renew in us the joy of your upside down, chaotic kin-dom. Dispel the confusions and fears that cling close to our souls. Recreate in us a spirit of justice and mercy, that we may see ourselves and all people with eyes cleansed by the freshness of this new God-given day.
The Lord’s Prayer
And so, we are bold to pray, using the version below by the late Rev’d Jim Cotter:
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 echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
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, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, 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.
Prayer of Illumination
Prepare our hearts, O God, to hear you Word. Open us to hear your voice and the songs and cries of all people, that we may accept your Word and live it. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favour is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all. Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail. Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.
Reading Isaiah 35: 4-7
Say to those who are of a fearful heart ‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Hymn Help Us, O Lord, to Learn
William Watkins Reid © 1959, Hymn Society in the US & Canada Hope Publishing. Sung by the St Mary Magdalene, Taunton Choir OneLicence # A-734713
Help us, O Lord, to learn the truths thy word imparts,
to study that thy laws may be inscribed upon our hearts.
Help us, O Lord, to live the faith which we proclaim,
that all our thoughts & words & deeds may glorify your name.
Help us, O Lord, to teach the beauty of thy ways,
that yearning souls may find the Christ, and sing aloud his praise.
Reading St Mark 7: 24-37
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Sermon
I am reliably informed by the website ‘bump’: a site for all things babies, that my name is of Latin origin and means ‘God of War’ or ‘dedicated to Mars’. I’ve never really wanted to be considered as war-like, but then I’ve considered some of my namesakes such as Martin Luther King and Martin Luther, both of whom fought to stand up for what they believed was right, for social justice, for other people and for God’s love. I would venture to hope to be something like that. Go on – take a look and see what your name means?
The opening of Proverbs describes the purpose of the book as including ‘receiving instruction in prudent behaviour, doing what is right and just and fair’. In today’s complex and untrustworthy world I could so benefit from exactly this kind of guidance – thanks be to God for these proverbs! Chapter 22 begins with the line ‘A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches’ and it has really stuck with me; this idea of a ‘good name’. Not least because the so-called Syrophoenician woman from Mark’s gospel is remembered and is noteworthy because her name and favour are contextually ‘bad’.
I’ve never been a particular fan of my first name. For some reason I’ve always felt closer to my middle name, Edward – but I’d struggle to articulate why. My surname is a status name from the middle English ‘knyghte’ (if I were to use phonetics), denoting someone who was a knight or from their household. Once upon a medieval time, it was a good, solid, honour-worthy name – that is until I was given it! For generations, our family names have said something about how we are recognised and respected (or not) in the community. Thankfully much less so now. I have been left wondering what a ‘good’ name; a good reputation might be. The other lectionary verses from Proverbs 22 and Isaiah 35 are fertile ground for an answer. ‘Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity’ proverbs says in vs.8. Part of being of good reputation is to sow honesty and integrity, not injustice.
‘Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate’ says vs.22. Part of what makes a good name in the eyes of God is to have a preference for the poor. In Isaiah 34, which is part of the second book of Isaiah with its focus on the returning exiled community, we share a good character if we struggle alongside those who seek to escape tyranny and empire. There is firm ground to stand on throughout scripture that justice and hope for those on the edge is part of what we should be known for as God’s people – as Christians – as church. I wonder what those wonderful folk who walk or drive past our church buildings think about us and about the God we worship and proclaim, by what we say and how we act? What is our name and reputation in community, in the UK, globally?
We might even try asking!
In Mark we encounter a woman not known to us by a name, but by cultural/historical reputation. We know here by her geopolitical title ‘Syrophoenician’. She is from the area of Trye and Sidon in today’s Lebanon. It was a major seaport, technically of the Tribe of Asher, but known as a place of vice and idolatry, placing it outside of the law of Moses and thus ‘gentile’. Jesus is not in the area around Tyre preaching or teaching. He’s desperately trying to find some alone time. But he is too well known, even here. The unnamed woman reaches out to the beleaguered Jesus, begging for healing. There is real humanity here. Desperation from a mother. Tiredness and stress from one who can’t escape and who is focused on his mission. And as they engage, perhaps all this humanity clashes. And we can’t forget that years of history and culture collide as well.
Her despair is met with severity from Jesus. She’s not having it, even from him, and gives a great answer back. And Jesus is brought up, he learns, he grows, and there is healing and growth. Such a rich and honest human encounter. All kinds of boundaries are crossed: gender, history, cultural, life and death, Jew or gentile. There is discomfort here and I’m not about to soften it – for we all know that crossing boundaries is uncomfortable and that’s ok, for we might learn and grow. Her name. Her reputation was dominated by her background and culture. Jesus’ perception of her was dominated by the same. All of that became less important when two people came together, one of them begging for healing.
The discomfort of this story challenges us to examine how we treat the ‘gentiles’ around us? In part of my new role as Pioneer Minister with the LGBTQIA+ community in Brighton & Hove, I am blessed to be alongside some whose given name has never spoken of who they really are. Names are mostly gendered. When I hear the name John, what we might call the gender-character of that person feels known and fixed. There is something safe in that knowledge. Assumptions about that person fill our minds. For some God-created humans, these names do not match who they really are. Neither does societies assumptions about two sexes and genders, which are false. The discomfort (or freedom) of this reality can help us to discover who and how we ‘other’ and how we might be open enough to learn a new way and to grow in how we care for and treat one another – just as Jesus did. He was challenged, he learnt, and a more expansive mission to all that God has made, burst into life! Thanks be to God when our human interactions, even if uncomfortable, cross boundaries, presumptions and names; teach us more about each other, and therefore about God’s love!
If your church likes conversation in worship or bible study, or you’d like something to think about at home or as you go about your week. Maybe these thoughts will help. What is the name of the church you are part of? What makes that a good name? How might you love ‘the other’, so loved by God?
Hymn Have You Heard God’s Voice?
© Jacqueline G. Jones performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.
Have you heard God’s voice; has your heart been stirred?
Are you still prepared to follow?
Have you made a choice to remain and serve,
though the way be rough and narrow?
Will you walk the path that will cost you much
and embrace the pain and sorrow?
Will you trust in One who entrusts to you
the disciples of tomorrow?
Will you use your voice; will you not sit down
when the multitudes are silent?
Will you make a choice to stand your ground
when the crowds are turning violent?
In your city streets will you be God’s heart?
Will you listen to the voiceless?
Will you stop and eat, and when friendships start,
will you share your faith with the faithless?
Will you watch the news with the eyes of faith
and believe it could be different?
Will you share your views using words of grace?
Will you leave a thoughtful imprint?
We will walk the path that will cost us much
and embrace the pain and sorrow.
We will trust in One who entrusts to us
the disciples of tomorrow.
Affirmation of Faith
As with any affirmation of faith, you are invited to share these words as you feel able.
God is love. God is the cosmic creativity present everywhere and in everything. God gently urges all toward the good. To transcending love, we raise our awestruck praise! Jesus embodied the love that is God. Jesus loved the poor, the sick, the outcast. He loved the unpopular. He loved even his own enemies. He loved so completely, he loved so dangerously, that it cost him his life. As Christians we aim to serve humbly as Jesus did, resurrecting his life of love through communion with others. The texts and traditions of Christianity give voice to our souls, so that we may support each other in our quests of love. So, we pray for a Holy Spirit of discernment to express our faith afresh in new times and places. These are our truths. This is what we believe.
Prayers for others
Gracious God, as we learn through your Word, and the prompting of your Holy Spirit, may we be open to following your way.
Let us dwell alongside those on the edge of society, in all its grit and intolerance, and learn from them more about you and each other.
Let us sit with those in despair and grief, in all its emotion and confusion and learn from them more about you and each other.
Let us live with the poor, in all its struggle and ridicule and learn from them more about you and each other.
Let us seek to identify with those in war and conflict, in all it’s graphic horror and tragedy, and learn from them more about you and each other.
Let us go to those who are not like us, in all its discomfort and fear and learn from them more about you and each other.
Let us be but one part of creation, in all it’s diversity and natural balance and learn more from all things about you and each other.
Let us look within ourselves, to all the joys and disasters and learn to trust that you are lovingly with us and with all others.
Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness
Great God, in the silence we lament our brokenness, not to weigh ourselves down with guilt but to acknowledge our limits, to name them with you, and to seek the mercy that leads to new life.
Silence is kept
And so, we use a confession from the Iona Abbey Worship Book, in which I confess and then you confess:
Before God, with the people of God, I confess to turning away from God in the ways I wound my life, the lives of others and the life of the world.
May God forgive you, Christ renew you,
and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.
Amen
Before God, with the people of God,
I confess to turning away from God in the ways I wound my life,
the lives of others and the life of the world.
May God forgive you, Christ renew you,
and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.
Amen
Offertory Prayer
Gracious God, may the money we offer
and the gifts you have given us to use for your service,
be a blessing to our community, in your name. Amen
Holy Communion
Introduction
Everyone who seeks to follow Jesus Christ is welcome at this table. This is a place where we gather and we model the community God would have us be.
The Peace
As we come to this meal, we seek peace for each other and for the world.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Hymn I Come With Joy, a Child of God
Brian Wren © 1971, rev. 1995 Hope Publishing, unknown choir on YouTube OneLicence # A-734713
I come with joy to meet my Lord, forgiven, loved and free,
in awe and wonder to recall his love laid down for me.
I come with Christians far and near to find, as all are fed,
the new community of love in Christ’s communion bread.
As Christ breaks bread and bids us share each proud division ends.
The love that made us, makes us one, and strangers now are friends.
The Spirit of the risen Christ, unseen, but ever near,
is in such friendship better known, alive among us here.
Together met, together bound, by all that God has done,
we’ll go with love, to give the world the love that makes us one.
Invitation
Jesus was often a guest. He shared many meals with his friends, and they long remembered his words at the table. Though some disapproved of the company he kept, Jesus ate and drank with all kinds of people and showed everyone the love of God. Wherever people met together Jesus was glad to be welcomed and to be fed. Today, we are the guests of Jesus. He welcomes us, whoever we are and whatever we bring, and he will feed us at his table. Old or young, rich or poor, joyful or in sorrow, Jesus invites us to share bread and wine with him, to remember the story of his life and death, and to celebrate his presence with us today. On the night before he died, Jesus shared a meal with his disciples in an upstairs room in Jerusalem. The Gospel writer tells us what happened that night.
The Story
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body’. Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I tell you, I will never again drink the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’
We are the friends and disciples of Jesus today. He invites us to break bread together, to remember him and to pray that God’s Kingdom will come – and so we pray as he did:
Great Prayer
God is with us! We give thanks and praise to God!
Loving God, the world you made is beautiful and full of wonder. You made us, with all your creatures, and you love all that you have made. You gave us the words of your prophets, the stories of your people through the generations, and the gathered wisdom of many years.
You gave us Jesus, your Son, to be born and to grow up in difficult times when there was little peace. He embraced people with your love and told stories to change us all. He healed those in pain and brought to life those who had lost hope. He made friends with anyone who would listen and loved even his enemies. For these things, he suffered. For these things, he died. And he was raised from death and lives with you forever. You give us your Holy Spirit, to teach and to strengthen us, to remind us of Jesus Christ, and to make us one in him. For all these gifts we thank you, and we join with all your people on earth and in heaven, in joyful praise:
Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
We praise you that we are here today, around the table of Jesus. We have heard the good news of your love; the cross is the sign of your arms stretched out in love for us and the empty tomb declares your love stronger than death.
Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!
Send your Holy Spirit upon this bread and wine, and upon your people, that Christ may be with us, and we may be made ready to live for you and to do what you ask of us, today, and every day to come. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the love of the Creator, One God, to whom be glory and praise forever, amen!
The Sharing
These are the gifts of God, for the people of God.
‘The body and blood of Christ given for you’
Music for Communion Sanctus from Missa Luba
Concluding Prayer
In gratitude, in deep gratitude for this moment, this meal, these people, we give ourselves to you. Take us out as changed people because we have shared the living bread and cannot remain the same. As much of us, expect much from us, enable much by us, encourage many through us. So, Lord, may we live to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of your growing kingdom. Amen
Hymn Sent by the Lord Am I
Words from the Nicaraguan Oral tradition, tune arranged by John Bell, sung by members of St Michael’s Church, Chiswick OneLicence # A-734713
Sent by the Lord am I; my hands are ready now
to make the earth the place in which the kingdom comes.
(repeat)
The angels cannot change a world of hurt and pain
into a world of love of justice and of peace.
The task is mine to do, to set it really free.
Oh, help me to obey; help me to do your will.
Sending Out & Blessing
Having gathered for worship
we go, strengthened to live our faith as church in the world
and to dwell with each other in community,
and the blessing of God
Creator, Son and Spirit, goes with us. Amen