WE GATHER IN GOD’S PRESENCE

Lighting the Candle

Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness

but will have the light of life.’

Being mindful of each other as we engage in worship:

Greeting:

the Lord is risen HE IS RISEN INDEED

this risen Lord be with you AND ALSO WITH YOU

We Focus on God     

I come to you, Lord, for protection.
    Don’t let me be ashamed.
DO AS YOU HAVE PROMISED
    AND RESCUE ME.
² Listen to my prayer and hurry to save me.
BE MY MIGHTY ROCK
    AND THE FORTRESS  WHERE I AM SAFE.

³ You, Lord God, are my mighty rock
    and my fortress.
LEAD ME AND GUIDE ME,
    SO THAT YOUR NAME  WILL BE HONOURED.
⁴ Protect me from hidden traps and keep me safe.
⁵ YOU ARE FAITHFUL,
    AND I TRUST YOU BECAUSE YOU RESCUED ME.

We Sing: TIS 103 A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

Prayer

Gracious and companion God,

we thank you that you are the One

who remains constant in our living

as the God who is with us,

and not against us…

We offer you this time of worship

and our focus

as a response to what you have given us already

through Jesus Christ;

and for what you have promised for our future;

grant us the insight and will to live according to the prayer

our Lord taught us to pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is 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 forever. Amen

WE LISTEN FOR A WORD FROM GOD

Jesus says, “ I am the way for you’

AND SO WE COME TO FOLLOW CHRIST

Jesus says, ‘I am the Truth for you’.

AND SO WE COME TO LEARN WITHIN THE LIGHT

Jesus says, ‘I am the life for you’

AND SO WE COME,

TO FEAST ON HIS WORD TO GROW IN GRACE.

Scripture

1 PETER 2: 1-10

 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵ like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in scripture:

‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’

⁷ To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,

‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner’,   ⁸ and

‘A stone that makes them stumble,
    and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

¹⁰ Once you were not a people,
    but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
    but now you have received mercy.

Reader: In this is the Word of the Lord   WE HEAR AND REJOICE, O LORD

JOHN 14: 1 – 14

Reader: This is the Gospel of our Lord    PRAISE TO YOU LORD JESUS CHRIST

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God, trust also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to the place where I am going.’⁵ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ ⁶ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, you will knowmy Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

⁸ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ ⁹ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it

Prayer of Confession

Holy and merciful God,

we claim your compassionate mercy

not merely for our particular and personal foibles,

but also for the sins of humanity

against your creation and its creatures,

and for our inhumanity against each other

because of national, racial, religious and political divisions

amongst us…

• silent reflection- 

God forgive us…

Declaration of Reconciliation

The apostle Peter declares:

¹⁰ Once you were not a people,
    but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
    but now you have received mercy.

therefore  we say with peace in our hearts  THANKS BE TO GOD

Passing the Peace.. as we raise our hands in blessing to those unseen…
The peace of the Risen Lord be with you all 

AND ALSO WITH YOU.

We Sing:  THE WAY THE TRUTH THE LIFE

Contemporary Word  ALL ROADS LEAD TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST

I served on the School Council of the local

government secondary college whilst in parish ministry in Victoria.

Walking around the city centre meant one rubbed shoulders with

Vietnamese, and more Vietnamese,

with Sudanese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali, Nepalese, Indian, including Fijian Indian,

Shri-Lankan, Nigerian, Chilean, … you get the idea…

as well as older people who came out from Scotland and Northern Ireland

as youngsters in migrant families,

and the odd Dutch migrant as well…

At the school the majority of the students

came from non-English speaking backgrounds.

A consequence of that multicultural mix

was that those who claimed Christian as their faith were a minority.

Muslims and Buddhists dominated,

but there were a range of smaller faiths

which claimed the loyalty of the families

whose children attended that Secondary College.

The school had a chaplain!

The position was funded through donations from some charitable trusts.

As the local ordained minister on the School Council,

I was called upon to liaison at times with the worker. 

A key issue was coming to an understanding how a Christian worker

would relate to these students of other faiths.

The worker was young and enthusiastic,

came from an evangelical church background,

but had studied some theology as part of an Arts degree…

so was exposed to broader faith perspectives.

You can imagine that today’s text presented a challenge,

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

Christians can easily take these words in an exclusivist sense;

to simply dismiss

all other belief systems as irrelevant,

erroneous or some would argue, even evil.

Evil, incidentally, is how my Indian neighbour,

a refined lady of mature age,

a conscientious Hindu, describes Christianity

as she regales me with tales of the deceits and misinformation

supplied by English officials, including missionaries

to the people of Christian England

to encourage the attempts at eradicating Hindu values and achievements.

She cannot quite understand how such a tolerant gentleman as me

can be beholden to such an evil entity as Christianity!

It is quite a sobering thought to be identified with evil in such a way;

has much more emotional impact

than reading about Christianity described as evil by Jewish writers

dealing with anti-Semitism and its consequences.

Certainly makes me very cautious to use ‘evil’

as a descriptive of a group or a person.

Jesus does make, on the face of it, some strong exclusivist claims!

‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

He reinforces these further with,

⁷ If you know me, you will know my Father also.

From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

repeating that message with

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, “Show us the Father”? 

¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

This morning’s Gospel text drives home this truth claim of Jesus!

Surely a valid understanding,

one certainly understood by the church over centuries,

would be to take these words as a unique overarching claim

that it is Jesus who can show us the way to God,

inform us the truth about God,

and bestow on us the life of God…

I certainly understand this text,

and the general sense of what our Scriptures teach about Jesus,

in such a way.

However, it does not necessarily follow that this makes the claim exclusivist.

The New Testament witness suggests instead

that the claim be understood as inclusivist.

God, rather then excluding those with other convictions

than Christ based ones,

includes all, precisely because of Jesus.

We celebrate this text in the season of Easter!

The season of Easter which rejoices in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(each Sunday of course, is meant to do this…

Sonday would be a better name for the day…)

One of the academic writers I turn to often for an informed opinion

(not necessarily to buttress my own, but to critique and sharpen my thinking)

is the New testament scholar and expert on Paul, N.T. (Tom) Wright.

In a 2002 interview with the Christian Century (18^th December)

Tom Wright reiterated his understanding

of the vital importance of the resurrection. 

Wright said,  Resurrection is hugely important

as the beginning of the new world God has already started—

which is how Paul talks about it…

the resurrection is a beginning.

It is a seed being sown,

a tune being composed which everyone now gets to sing.

He echoes the trajectory offered by the writer of Ephesians and Colossians,

for example. Think on these: Ephesians 1

^7-8 Christ sacrificed his life’s blood to set us free,

which means that our sins are now forgiven.

Christ did this because God was so kind to us.

God has great wisdom and understanding,

 ⁹ and by what Christ has done,

God has shown us his own mysterious ways. 

¹⁰ Then when the time is right,

God will do all that he has planned,

and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.

and Colossians 1

All things were created by God’s Son,
and everything was made for him.

God’s Son was before all else,
and by him everything is held together.
¹⁸ He is the head of his body, which is the church.
He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death,
so that he would be above all others.

¹⁹ God himself was pleased to live fully in his Son.
²⁰ And God was pleased for him to make peace
by sacrificing his blood on the cross,
so that all beings in heaven and on earth
would be brought back to God.

(both from the Contemporary English Version, my emphasis)

Note the movement towards a total integration of everything, all beings,

all in heaven and on earth…

all come back to God together in Christ…

This trajectory of all being included

to me suggests a necessity to view the adherents and disciples

of other faiths, or none…

not as outsiders, but as insiders, fellow pilgrims

travelling a different, but parallel path to mine,

following variations of those truths I hold,

drawing on divine life through other ancient practices

than the religious and sacramental actions I engage with…

Jesus’ words: ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 

² For with the judgement you make you will be judged,

and the measure you give will be the measure you get. (Matthew 7)

may well mean that how I assess other faiths

and the convictions and actions of its adherents,

will be how convictions and actions as Christians

will be assessed…

and will be judged from the perspective of some, maybe even many,

as misguided, wrong, even evil…

We Christians do well to reread Paul’s opening argument in Romans,

where he concludes that áll… are under the power of sin’ (3.9).

He then of course goes on to explain

how through the faithfulness of Christ

to God’s plan for creation and humanity,

a commitment which led to his death by crucifixion,

followed by his being raised from the dead,

this power of sin is broken,

and God’s own Spirit driven power enlivens us.

So does it matter, then, which faith one adheres to

if all eventually lead to God, revealed through Jesus Christ

as the one who is for us, not against us!?

What about the great commission to go into the world,

to baptise, and to teach…

Taking Jesus’ claim to be the way, the truth and the life

as inclusivist does not mean Christians shut up shop.

Peter makes it clear: in order that you may proclaim

 the mighty acts of him who called you

out of darkness into his marvellous light.

He elaborates later (next week)

Always be ready to make your defence

to anyone who demands from you

an account of the hope that is in you; 

¹⁶ yet do it with gentleness and reverence.

Those mighty acts and that hope get summed up with Paul’s cry,

Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

That municipality where I was in placement had a Ministers’ Fraternal.

We recognised it no longer served as a representative group

which ideally reflected the, for want of a better word,

spiritual and social aspirations of a community.

So we suggested to the City Council

they invite the leaders of all and any religious group to meet quarterly

to discuss local issues and concerns.

These meetings led to many conversations

between members of that group;

we engaged in dialogue or group conversations

explaining our convictions, clarifying misconceptions and so on…

we discovered that in spite of different understandings of God, gods,

or the divine,

we shared common aspirations for the common good of a community

which flowed from our differing religious convictions…

Be very clear, some of the leaders of the other faiths

did not show much of an inclusivist approach.

Some Christian pastors continued to interpret Jesus words

as excluding others…

but all conversations were conducted with gentleness and reverence.

Because of Jesus’ faithfulness to God’s purpose for us all,

through his death and resurrection

nothing and no one is now ultimately lost to God,

or God to them…

God ensures all roads lead to the Way,

that all teachings reflect some aspect of the Truth,

that all life is gifted by the Life…

so that all in heaven and all on earth

might be brought back to God

through the one who is the way, the truth and the life for all!

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

We Sing: TIS 467 I AM THE CHURCH, YOU ARE CHURCH 

We Bring Our offering to God

setting aside our gifts to support the local and wider work of the church

and bless our gifts…

Generous God

who has given us what we have,

and continues to make us who we are,

with gratitude we give these offerings

for the use of your work through Christ’s church.

We Share Our Community Life 

This second Sunday in May is celebrated as Mother’s Day,

a day of mixed emotions for most people…

(the prayer which follows is resourced from

the Rev. Bruce Prewer’s prayers, if I recall correctly)…

Prayers of the People

Most Holy and Eternal God,
your love is from everlasting to everlasting.

This day we approach you mindful of the world in which we live.

In this country and in many others,

Mothers are being remembered and celebrated.

Our prayer is for the joys and sorrows this day brings.
We put our faith and our hope in you.
Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

For those who have a mother they dearly love,

For those whose mother is dearly loved

but no longer living,

For those who are facing the imminent loss

of their own dear mothers…
   We give thanks, God,

for these good mothers who gave us birth…

may we all take time to remember the gifts and graces

that have come to us through her…
Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We pray, compassionate God,

for those whose mother

has been a source of hurt and pain,

May they find refuge in your love. 

May their wounds be healed.

Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We give thanks to you, O God,

for all those who, responding to the difficult lives of others,

have stepped in to become surrogate mothers;

for those who, in the absence of biological mothers

for whatever reason,

have stepped into lives providing the guidance and stability,

 the nurture and the love needed.

Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Look now, loving God, upon all those who are mothers—

biologically or by the role they play in the lives of others.

May they receive grace from you for their task.

We join all mothers everywhere

In praying that their children may be a joy and a blessing.
Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We remember single mothers

who struggle to be both parents to their children—

to provide all their emotional, physical

and spiritual needs without the constant support of a spouse.

May they find the strength, the courage and wisdom for their task. 

Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We pray for those whose years of mothering

have been cut short by the loss of a child.

We pray for those who have been denied

a longed-for chance at motherhood,

We pray for those mothers

who have been hurt, disillusioned, or disappointed

in their role as mother.

We turn to You, most holy God,

trusting that you can console when consolation
seems impossible.

May these receive your comfort and hope for living

that their gifts may not be denied to others.

Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We also pray for those known to us

who live with ill health and other debilitating circumstances,

Be to these a source of strength,

grant all these your blessing

Lord hear us: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

Hear our prayers this day, O God,

and give to us such assurance of your love

that we might accept both the joys and sorrows

of a day such as this….  AMEN.

WE GO OUT TO SERVE GOD

We Sing  TIS  226 THOU ART THE WAY

Sending Out

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, God’s own people,

in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him

who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Blessing

May the way of God be kind to you,

may the truth of Christ be clear to you

and may the life of the Spirit be constant within you,

this day and all days beyond…

The Lord is risen HE IS RISEN INDEED