Virtual worship - 11 October 2020

Jesus Shaped People - Prophetic Challenge

Service sheet (pdf)

Call to worship

When we say, 'Come, Lord Jesus.'
we can all, if we wish, respond: 'Come, Lord Jesus.'

To where I am or where we are -
still in bed, or having breakfast,
sitting or driving or enjoying being outside,
Come, Lord Jesus
ALL Come, Lord Jesus

To how I am or how we are -
glad of this new day
or fearing it,
with a song in our heart
or sadness in our soul,
full of faith, or doubt, or apathy,
come, Lord Jesus.
ALL Come, Lord Jesus

To calm us down
or move us on,
to help us open a door
or close one,
to share hope, light or truth
as much as we need it,
come, Lord Jesus.
ALL Come, Lord Jesus

Song

Our first song of praise invites us all, whoever we are and whatever needs, burdens or joys we have, to come to Jesus and praise Him for his love and forgiveness. “Come all you weary, come all you thirsty”.

Come all you weary, come all you thirsty
Come to the well that never runs dry
Drink of the Water, come and thirst no more

Well, come all you sinners, come find His mercy
Come to the table, He will satisfy
Taste of His goodness, find what you're looking for

For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever

Bring all your failures, bring your addictions
Come lay them down at the foot of the cross
Jesus is waiting there with open arms
Can you see His open arms? Here we go

For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
The power of hell forever defeated
Now it is well, I'm walking in freedom
For God so loved, God so loved the world

Praise God, praise God
From whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, praise Him
For the wonders of His love
Praise God, praise God
From whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, praise Him
For the wonders of His love His amazing love

For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save
For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
Oh, the power of hell forever defeated
Now it is well, I'm walking in freedom
For God so loved, God so loved the world

Bring all your failures, bring your addictions
Come lay them down at the foot of the cross
Jesus is waiting, God so loved the world

JSP Prophetic Challenge

As we focus on the last of the Big Five themes in the ministry of Jesus we can see why Jesus was too hot to handle. His powerful challenge to the religious and political leaders of the day was more than they could stomach – and is the reason why his Journey to Jerusalem ends with his crucifixion

Today we see how Jesus flagged up issues of social justice, and challenged those in power to become more lowly. Much of his teaching focuses on the responsibility that people have for each other – including stories like the Good Samaritan. We have already seen in earlier weeks how his own ministry was so very strongly focused on meeting the needs of poor and marginalised people.

Jesus and the prophets

One of the great insights of the Bible is that God doesn't always do the expected thing through the expected people.
The Hebrew scriptures indicate that the movers and shakers in Israel's history were not primarily the kings and their courtiers, the academics and the law-makers, but the prophets.
And the prophets had three great callings:
The first was to convince people that the past was not without its faults for which they shared responsibility.
The second was to provide a measure of consolation.
And the third was to offer glimpses of a better world to which they could aspire.

We also find these three things in the life and teachings of Jesus.

Jesus often issues a critique of what has gone wrong, both in individual’s lives and in society as a whole. He comments on the mistreatment of the vulnerable, and he speaks to those in power in uncompromising terms. For example, in Luke’s gospel, chapter 11 we read: 

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”
45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

The Past

Having heard these words, you might want to switch off and be rid of this pessimism, except that it's not pessimism - it's reality. The growth, the betterment of society depends on the ability of people to learn from their past mistakes. If we learn from the past, we can move to a different future. If we deny the past, we repeat the mistakes.

I don't know about you, but I am aware that in the past six months there are some things of which I was either ignorant or had avoided thinking about. These have been put in glorious profile. They are structural deficiencies of which we cannot be proud.

We did not acknowledge until recently the debt we owe to undervalued and underpaid care workers, many from outside the United Kingdom, who late in the day have been feted as heroes.

We were not aware until very recently that if you were from a black, Asian or minority ethnic culture, you were far more likely to die from the Corona virus than if you were white.

We did not acknowledge until recently that what should be 'normal' for the air we breathe, the health of our rivers, the wellbeing of animal, bird and plant-life had been so compromised by our bondage to practices that pollute.

We did not realise that the world has become so interconnected that the poorest nations in which Covid 19 did not originate, would suffer most from its ravages because money, medicine and purchasing power are dominated by the wealthiest nations.

Maybe we suspected some of these things but didn’t put all the pieces together. But given the information that has flowed in recent months, we can hardly feign complete ignorance.

We cannot move forward unless we acknowledge the mistakes, real or unintentional, of the past, and are prepared to do that which some politicians in every nation seem keen to avoid: to admit that we have got it wrong and be big enough, or become small enough, to say that we are sorry.

Song

Hymn: O Lord, the Clouds Are Gathering by Graham Kendrick
Our next hymn was written by Graham Kendrick back in 1987, but the version we are going to listen to was recorded virtually for this year’s Peace Sunday on 20 September. It features Graham singing with the National Methodist Choir of Great Britain, accompanied by the orchestra of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs.

O Lord, the clouds are gathering
The fire of judgement burns
How we have fallen!
O Lord, You stand appalled to see
Your laws of love so scorned
And lives so broken

Have mercy, Lord
Have mercy, Lord
Forgive us, Lord
Forgive us, Lord
Restore us, Lord
Revive Your church again
Let justice flow
Let justice flow
Like rivers
Like rivers
And righteousness like a
Never failing stream

O Lord, over the nations now
Where is the dove of peace?
Her wings are broken
O Lord, while precious children starve
The tools of war increase
Their bread is stolen

O Lord, dark powers are poised to flood
Our streets with hate and fear
We must awaken!
O Lord, let love reclaim the lives
That sin would sweep away
And let Your kingdom come

Yet, O Lord, Your glorious cross shall tower
Triumphant in this land
Evil confounding
Through the fire Your suffering church display
The glories of her Christ
Praises resounding!

The Present

The second job of the prophets was to offer some comfort.

It's not easy to cope with a disaster and own up to ways in which we might have contributed to things going wrong, or admit to exempting ourselves from what could have made things better. But as well as being penitent, we need some assurance that things can be different, that God has not turned away, that there is comfort and hope in the midst of bewilderment and regret.

Jesus offered such comfort to his disciples. In John’s gospel chapter 14 we read:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me.
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

These are words of solidarity from a God who feels for our brokenness.

And let’s not disregard the ordinary and immediate ways in which we are strengthened. And I use that word 'strengthened' because that at it root is what 'comfort' means.

Through these days of lockdown and restrictions on our ability to meet with one another, I have become more acutely aware than ever of the sheer delight of human company, of having, not snatched conversation, shared Facebook posts or Tweets, but of long talks with people over the phone or in the open air. It has just been an enrichment to converse, discuss, share stories, explore what we have been experiencing. We're making up for lost time. This is a gift of God.

But more than that, I find it ultimately comforting to realise that Jesus, in entering human history, engages in total solidarity with us. He does not keep himself apart from those who fear or hurt or who cause hurt, but engages with them.

Nor does he exempt himself from the possibility of persecution or pain. Sometimes he has to flee for his own safety and sometimes he breaks down in solidarity with those who mourn. One of the things I discern in him is that true comfort does not come from an instant answer, but from knowing that whatever we feel has been expressed, heard and valued.

Psalm 42 is one of the most beautiful poems. It begins with the expression of a sense of abandonment, and because that has been expressed to God, it moves to the possibility of hope and change.

As a deer longs for running streams, so I long for you, my God.
I thirst for God, the living God, when shall I come into your presence.
Tears are my food day and night while all day long people ask me, 'Where is your God?'

Song

“Sovereign Over Us” by Michael W Smith
Our next song re-assures us that God is with us, no matter what we are going through. It includes the line, “You’re with us in the fire and the flood”. I don’t know how well it will fit with the tune, but feel free to replace “fire and flood” with “pandemic” as we sing this together. God, you are sovereign over us.

There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You're sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You're teaching us to trust

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
[x2]

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You're working for our good
You're working for our good and for Your glory
[x2]

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
[x2]

You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

Re-Imagining the Future

The prophets had a THIRD role. It was not fortune-telling, but it was about the future.
From an appreciation of the wrongs of the society they lived in, they re-imagined the future as God would want it. And they did this not with stories, but with graphic images of a better world, a transformed society.

And when Jesus comes, these images are no longer aspiration. The longed-for future becomes a reality when he delivers his first sermon in his home synagogue. In the gospel of Luke chapter 4 we read:

“and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Jesus. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4: 17-19

The phrases Jesus uses .... good news to the poor, release for prisoners, sight for the blind, the liberation of the broken … these phrases do two things immediately.

They challenge the notion that God is only interested in me and my soul. These words spoken by Jesus declare God's interest, not just in our personal faith, but in the well-being of society.

And secondly they don’t just appeal or refer to religious people. The love of God is not restricted to the precincts of churches or synagogues, mosques or temples. These words, these images, resonate in the minds of all people who long for a different day.

We are told – though I am not sure that we have fully taken it in – that there is no immediate recovery from the pandemic. The virus will be around for a while, as will the consequences of economic meltdown. If we are going to recover, are we aiming to go back to the old 'normal' whose defects we were thinking about earlier? Because if we are not, we need to envisage a world which is in some ways radically different.

We will have to use that faculty which was in the prophets and glorious in Jesus, namely, our imagination,
not to escape from reality, but to re-shape reality.

So let’s ponder some alternatives in the light of what Jesus has told us.

If we believe, as Jesus says, “you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”
....do we want children in the future to be as ignorant of the past as many or most of us adults have been?
I mean, I had to wait until I was fifty to discover that the Victorian opulence of many British cities was the result of the trans-Atlantic transport of enslaved Africans, tacitly condoned by Christian churches.
Do we have to wait for statues to be toppled before we own our past?

If we believe that Jesus declared there is “good news for the poor”
… and if we know that poverty has grown in our nation, and that people living in poor neighbourhoods are far more likely to die from Covid 19 than the wealthy, are we prepared to identify the root causes, and to treat those who are economically disadvantaged with dignity in the future?

If we believe that “God so loved the world” that he sent us Jesus
… and we know that the world is threatened by human failure to respect the integrity of creation, are we going to continue living so irresponsibly that the children of tomorrow will have to go to museums to see what we regard as commonplace today?

And if we believe from the evidence of the gospels, that Jesus spent a hundred times more of his life on issues of healing, teaching, evangelism, engaging face to face with people, than he ever did on bricks and mortar, are we going to going to shape the future of the church according to his priorities or remain obsessed by the upkeep of buildings and structures some of which have long been obsolete?

Prayers

Help us gracious God.

Pandemic is not a word which fits easily into prayers,
we are used to less menacing terms.

As a nation we are not usually so uncertain of the future.

So help us not to fear it,
but to identify every sign of hope
and encourage every angel of mercy who appears in human form.

God, in your kindness, hear our prayer

If we feel savaged by the untimely death of those we love,
or face the possibility of redundancy and restricted income,
save us from despair and the desire for revenge.

Reveal to us our better selves, our resourcefulness and
doors we have yet to open.

God, in your kindness, hear our prayer

Prevent our leaders from the presumption of high office,
liberate them to listen to the dreamers more than the schemers,
the dispossessed more than the over possessive,
so that decisions are shot through with integrity,
and seasoned with wisdom as well as knowledge.

God, in your kindness, hear our prayer

And keep our eyes open,
to the goodness and giftedness in our neighbours,
which we may never have noticed before.

We pray in the name of Jesus,
who has seen the goodness and giftedness in us.

Lord’s Prayer

And now, remembering those who in recent days have been either the victims or perpetrators of violence, here in Bradford as elsewhere, we join our voices to pray as Jesus taught us:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.

As people of faith we should be keen to re-imagine the future. That is what Jesus did.

John Bell of the Iona Community, somebody I consider to be a modern day prophet, helps us to imagine what that future may look like:

“We can but imagine... that one day sculptors will erect statues not of white male military generals, but of black women who lovingly change the diapers of the diseased

one day television companies will stop producing reality shows which delight in dysfunction, and instead celebrate the potential of what marginalised people can do

one day the natural world will cease to be the victim of neglect, and become the beneficiary of human kindness.

one day the Christian Church will supplement its creeds from the distant past, with commitments to give flesh to God's dreams for tomorrow.”

Response

Inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus, what is the future you imagine for yourself, your family, your workplace, your community, and your church?

How does God want you to be part of making that future a reality? What small step of faith can you take, today or tomorrow, in response to God’s call?

In a moment our service will close with a song which invites Jesus to come and build his kingdom here, in Baildon, in Bradford. Please use it to re-affirm your commitment to being part of that future.

But for now, as we take our farewell, may God bless you, wherever you are,
and God bless those you love, wherever they are.

Hymn

Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective 

Come, set Your rule and reign
In our hearts again
Increase in us we pray
Unveil why we're made
Come, set our hearts ablaze with hope
Like wildfire in our very souls
Holy Spirit come invade us now
We are Your church
We need Your power in us

We seek Your kingdom first
We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives
For You're our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause

We are Your church
We pray: revive this earth

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray

Unleash Your kingdoms power
Reaching the near and far
No force of Hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this
Awake the kingdom seed in us
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ

We are Your church
We are the hope on earth

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray