Service for Sunday 17th January 2021 – Rev Louis van Laar

Servicing the Bald Hills and nearby Communities

Service for Sunday 17th January 2021 – Rev Louis van Laar

WE GATHER IN GOD’S PRESENCE:

Lighting the Candle (John 12:46,47) –

Jesus said: 46 I have come as light into the world,

so that everyone who believes in me

should not remain in the darkness. 

47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words

and does not keep them,

for I came not to judge the world,

but to save the world.

Let us be mindful of each other as we engage in worship,

those who worship at home

and those who worship in the chapel: –

Greeting:

The Lord be with you AND ALSO WITH YOU

We Focus on God (Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18)

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
YOU KNOW WHEN I SIT DOWN AND WHEN I RISE UP;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
YOU SEARCH OUT MY PATH AND MY LYING DOWN,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
EVEN BEFORE A WORD IS ON MY TONGUE,
    LORD, YOU KNOW IT COMPLETELY.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
SUCH KNOWLEDGE IS TOO WONDERFUL FOR ME;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

WHERE CAN I GO FROM YOUR SPIRIT?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
IF I ASCEND TO HEAVEN, YOU ARE THERE;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
IF I TAKE THE WINGS OF THE MORNING
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 EVEN THERE YOUR HAND SHALL LEAD ME,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 IF I SAY, ‘SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME,
    AND THE LIGHT AROUND ME BECOME NIGHT’,
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    THE NIGHT IS AS BRIGHT AS THE DAY,
    FOR DARKNESS IS AS LIGHT TO YOU.

We Sing: TIS 526 LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOU HAVE COME TO US… 4VV

Prayer

Awesome LORD of all that is,

we come with astonishment in your presence

because of the new and marvelous things

we continue to discover

about you and your creation…

Truly, to echo the Psalmist,

everything is wonderfully made! (Ps 139:14)

Our greatest wonder is reserved

for your faithful loyalty to what you have created

and humanity within that!

We praise you for the depth of your care displayed

in the one who became one of us,

Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah…

Accept our focus and this offer of time

as we seek from you

that which nurtures our well-being,

a well-being which contains seeds of your Kingdom,

therefore we pray as 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

Prayer for Illumination MARK 4

GRACIOUS GOD,

AS YOUR WORD IS SOWN AMONGST US,

GRANT IT FINDS THE FERTILE SOIL IN OUR HEARTS

THAT WE MIGHT BEAR MUCH FRUIT

TO THE GLORY OF YOUR KINGDOMAMEN

Scripture

1 SAMUEL 3:1-10, 19-20

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ 

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

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

JOHN 1:35-51

35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 39 He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ 46 Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ 48 Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49 Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 50 Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ 51 And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

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

Prayer of Confession

Holy and merciful God,

we come in your presence acknowledging our reluctance

to listen intentionally to those with whom we share faith and life

for a word from you…

Lord have mercy  LORD HAVE MERCY

Holy and merciful God,

we come in your presence acknowledging our reluctance

to value the shared witness to Jesus at work within and amongst us

Christ have mercy CHRIST HAVE MERCY

Holy and merciful God,

we come in your presence acknowledging our reluctance

to look for signs of your Spirit at work within and beyond us

Spirit have mercy SPIRIT HAVE MERCY

Declaration of Reconciliation

The Good News from God about God

is simply this… be reconciled to God…

accept the invitation in the knowledge

that because of, and in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah,

all is forgiven us…

so we say with joy 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:  TIS 597 MASTER SPEAK, THY SERVANT HEARETH 3VV

Contemporary Word  

7 where can I go from your spirit?
    or where can I flee from your presence?
8 if I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in sheol, you are there.
9 if I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 if I say, ‘surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light around me become night’,
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

I received an email from a very distraught mother a few weeks ago.

Our friendship goes back nearly thirty years…

though of the Christmas card exchange and happy birthday greeting variety after all this time… till a few weeks ago…

She wrote: My beautiful girl died very suddenly…she was 32,

Oh my god, Louis – I don’t know how to survive this.  I was signing papers to have my baby girl cremated on her birthday!

I am broken; my heart has been torn from my chest and obliterated.

I don’t want to go on in a world without her in it….

Oh Louis, it hurts….it hurts so much. I can’t think, I don’t want to think.

I am so lost, so broken…

A very dark place to be in…

We automatically assign darkness as the place

where grieving people find themselves…

not just grieving people,

anyone who struggles with the vagaries of life,

anyone who can see no immediate solution to their predicament,

these we assign to darkness…

we use the metaphor of the darkness of a cloud covered sky…

or metaphorically we speak of the darkness within a tunnel…

and we use optimistic imagery to dispel the darkness, such as:

every cloud has a silver lining,

or, look for the light at the end of the tunnel…

I recall using that once and the man

with whom I was in conversation responded by saying,

I did many a time,

and each time it was an express train bearing down on me…

Death has been stalking us seemingly more intentionally lately

than before, or so it seems.

Several of you have shared the loss of loved ones,

beloved as friends or family, or neighbours,

work colleagues even.

Much of this is a natural consequence

of belonging to a certain age cohort…

our age group turns 21, oops, now 18!, with much fanfare

gets married, children, nearly half get divorced,

remarried, grand children, retirement,

then the inevitable… death…

I WROTE A WEEK AGO, when I began thinking about this text:

if I say, ‘surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light around me become night’,

 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
(Psalm 139)

the following :

Our NEWS outlets scream the horrible news headline:

Nine new infections in Australia today!

Unlike the Guardian in the United Kingdom,

which announced (04/01/21)

U.K. government figures also showed

there were a further 54,990 infections,

the sixth day in a row the number was above 50,000

Whereas in the USA the new cases

on the 3rd January 2021 were 199,337[1]

I then wrote:

We do well to remember

that the current corona virus

social distancing and other annoying requirements

(such as wearing a mask as I preach this)

are our attempts to keep death at a distance.

At least death from that virus, a virus which is especially,

so the evidence suggests, lethal to those of us over 65…

We have now had a three-day lockdown period in Brisbane

to minimise any potential threat of a new UK strain of the virus

introduced into Australia by overseas travellers…

Commentators refer to an imagery of darkness

when they say, for example,

the corona virus pandemic hangs

like a pall, or a cloud, or a shadow…

over the world…

The reference allegorically suggests

it is the unknowing aspects of this virus,

how will it mutate, will it evolve to counter the impact

of any anti-virus medication…???

The unknowing, the unforeseeable, the invisible aspects

of whatever causes the uncertainty, the ill-health issue,

whatever threatens our well-being…

this is metaphorically referred to as darkness.

The Psalmist states:

 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

I am reading a fascinating book on light.

Zapped: From Infrared to X-rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light 

by Bob Berman, an astronomer.[2]

Bob Berman as an astronomer, writes as a scientist, not a theologian, that is not a professional or trained theologian.

In a sense we all practice theology

the moment we think about God in any way at all…

He wrote as the first line of the first chapter:

If God really did say, ‘Let there be light,’

it was no small housewarming present.”

and continues:

 “There is a lot of light in the universe—

one billion photons of light for every subatomic particle. . .

The universe is literally made of light.

And that includes not only ordinary everyday visible light

but also the vast majority of light—the kind we cannot see.

He points out that photons,

the descriptive miniscule unit of light

which occurs when a light wave crashes into something,

makes up 99.999999 percent of everything!

He has mentioned invisible light earlier in his introduction:

It’s everywhere.

At this moment, as you sit quietly reading this book,

you are awash in it.

At work, it’s emanating from your electronic devices;

 step outside for lunch, and the sun bathes you in it.

You may receive an extra dose of it when you visit your doctor,

pass through security at the airport, or drive through city streets,

but minuscule amounts of it are with you always.

You cannot see, hear, smell, or feel it,

but there is never a single second

when it is not flying through your body.

Too much of it will kill you, but without it you wouldn’t live a year.

“Invisible light” seems like a contradiction, an oxymoron. 

Like Simon and Garfunkle’s “The Sounds of silence”.

Light is an astonishing entity, he concludes…

and demonstrates how astonishing an entity it is in the rest of his book.

My assumption, perhaps unwarranted, is that when we read Genesis 1:3:

 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.

most of us think only of the light we see…

the colours of the rainbow spectrum.

According to Berman’s understanding,

his reconstruction of the scene,

When God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light,

it included not merely the visible to the human eye spectrum,

but also ultraviolet light and infrared radiation,

radio waves and microwaves, x-rays and gamma rays.

All these form aspects of Invisible light to us,

therefore part of the ‘darkness’  

within which we cannot see our way…

at the moment…

But which darkness, our Psalm reading allows,

God treats as the brightest day light!

Berman’s focus is on the stories

of how some remarkable scientists unfolded the mysteries

of various forms of invisible light

and how that light influences our lives and our health today.

But he’s not afraid to marvel at the gravitas of his subject matter.

Writing about cosmic microwave background radiation,

a faint microwave hum that seems to be leftover

from a cosmic “big bang” 13.8 billion years ago, Berman concludes:

The ultimate reason for the big bang,

or even an accurate (or approximate) description of it, is unknown.

A universe popping out of empty space offers no hint

of any antecedent conditions,

no clue of what may have precipitated such an astonishing occurrence. Thus the all-pervasive invisible background microwaves

provide some clarity about the enormous mystery of cosmic genesis—while presenting an equally big enigma

at which we can only shrug in wonder.

The point of all this?

Simply put, to me the overwhelming presence of invisible light

as a necessary aspect of our existence

acts as a metaphor for much in our lives which is hidden from us.

However, what remains hidden to us

is not hidden from God.

I am not arguing here that God is responsible

for every minute detail of our lives,

every ache or pain, each crisis or tragedy…

merely that God knows the interconnectedness

between our specific life and all lives,

our specific existence and all which exists…

the hidden stuff, for the moment…

but which will move from darkness into our periphery of sight,

such as our awareness since the Corina virus

of the impact of human encroachment

on the natural habitat of a variety of wild life.

The Psalm 139 begins with the acknowledgement,

O LORD, you have searched me and known me (v.1)

and concludes with,

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my thoughts.
 See if there is any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting
.  (vv. 23,24)

Between the opening affirmation and closing petition

the Psalmist has illustrated the vastness

of God’s knowledge of God’s creation and its creatures,

as well as God’s depth of knowledge

concerning the author himself!

The psalm is divided into two distinct parts.

The first part, verses 1–18, is a hymn in praise of God’s intimate knowledge and involvement in the psalmist’s life.

Almost every verse contains pronouns referring both to the psalmist (I/me/my) and to God (you/your).

They are intertwined in such a way

that God is the very context of the psalmist’s life—indeed,

of all human existence.

The hymn has three stanzas.

Verses 1–6 declare that God knows everything

the psalmist thinks and does.

Verses 7–12 acknowledge that God is present with him

everywhere he might go.

Verses 13–18 affirm that God has been present and actively involved with him from the very beginning, as his creator.[3]

In Psalm 139 the work of God the creator is not only cosmic—

it is inescapably personal.

Six times in the first six verses the psalmist addresses God as “You.” 

“It was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (v. 13).

As the thoroughly known creation of God,

humans have both an identity and a value that endure.

Psalm 139:14 has two possible interpretations:

The NRSV says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (v. 14). The RSV takes a different tack.

 “I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.”

Both affirmations are true, and they need to be held together—

the wonder of God, our creator,

and the wonder of our creation

as the “intricately woven” handiwork of God.[4]

In the Gospel reading, John 1:43–51,

Nathanael is astounded by Jesus’ knowledge of him

before they have even met—so astounded that he declares,

“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (v. 49).

Nathanael’s response to Jesus’ knowledge makes theological sense only in light of Psalm 139.

Only God could have such knowledge.

That Jesus possesses such knowledge leads to one conclusion:

that Jesus is the Son of God[5]

The Psalm’s author suggests that the stuff of existence

which seems from a creaturely point of view

to consist simply of opposing life forces and situations,

light and darkness, death and life,

God holds together for life affirming identity and purpose.

It is the same God who knows us before birth, (v.13ff)

who knows us after death… (v.18)

The general spirit of the psalm is not fear but trust,

not guilt but praise, not judgment but grace.

The psalmist reflects on his utter dependence upon God

and finds it comforting as well as demanding.

God “knit” and “wove” the psalmist together in “secret,”

in “the depths of the earth.”

God’s intimate, loving attention (vv. 13–16) is reminiscent of Genesis 2:7, where God molds the human from dust with God’s own hands

and breathes God’s own breath into the creature’s nostrils.

God’s personal care makes even a mother’s physical familiarity

and loving nurture seem distant and reserved.

God’s providence includes the psalmist’s end as well as his origin.

All the psalmist’s days are recorded in God’s book (v. 16).

Nothing can befall him that is not included in God’s loving providence.

In a similar mind-set, the psalmist writes,

I come to the end”—whether the conclusion of endless reflection

on God’s goodness or of his own life—

I am still with you” (v. 18).

The psalmist trusts that no extremity, whatever it is,

can separate him from the loving presence of God.

Wherever he goes, whatever becomes of him, God is there. [6]

The Psalmist already testifies to what Paul would claim,

In life and in death we belong to God (Romans 14:8).

This God in whom we trust knows the intricacies of creation!

This God in whom we trust can ‘see’ the total spectrum

of the created cosmos and human existence.

The Psalmist states:

 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

What proves unknowable, undiscoverable to us,

whatever takes us into an unbearable darkness,

God knows because nothing and no-one can hide from God; (vv7-12)

I suggest we find this reassuring,

a sign of God’s grace even if it includes judgment… (vv23,24) 

because it comforts us with the thought

that God can therefore take us through any darkness

because to God,

and with the companionship of God,

we may rephrase the Psalmist’s words as:

even the darkness is not dark;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light
along the way.

AMEN

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

We Sing: tis 268 JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME 4VV

We Bring Our offering to God

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

and bless our gifts in an act of praise…

We Share Our Community Life 

Prayers of the People

Gracious God,

as we continue to deal with the consequences

of our careless abuse of your creation and its other creatures,

including climate change and the global pandemic,

   we pray for all people adversely affected

by Government restrictions on economic activity:

workers without paid work, business owners without customers,

professionals without clients, investors without returns…

as a nation, help us to bear each other’s burden…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

   we pray also for those people unseen by most of us:

overseas students, temporary visa workers of whatever category, tourists – who find themselves stranded without any government support,

desperately looking for ways to return home…

as a nation, guide us to acts of compassion…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

   we pray for those who cannot even think of returning home

such as asylum seekers,

for whom the little they received from communities,

rather than government,

is under threat as these communities now struggle to survive,

guide us to be the agents through whom the prayer,

‘give us today our daily bread’ is answered…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

we pray for those at the front line, medical personnel, super market employees, school teachers, and our law enforcement personnel,

as a people grant us patience and tolerance

in our interactions with these…

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

we pray for those known to us who struggle

with their personal crisis of health and well being…

we pause to name these before you

grant them strength and peace grounded in a confidence in you

as the LORD of Whom it is written:

even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

AMEN

WE GO OUT TO SERVE GOD

We Sing: TIS 606 SON OF GOD ETERNAL SAVIOUR.. 4VV

Sending Out  Blessing[7] Ps. 36:8–9; 1 Cor. 12:1–12

May the Spirit’s love,

flowing like water across the face of the earth,

fill you with every gift for the good of the world.

And the blessing of God,

as Father, the Eternal Source,

Son, the Fountain of Life,

and Holy Spirit, the Giver of Gifts,

be with you always. Amen.


[1]  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ accessed 04/01/2021

[2] Zapped: From Infrared to X-rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light 

by Bob Berman, Kindle edition downloaded 2021,

printed edition: London: One World Publications, 2018.   All quotes are from the Kindle Edition

[3] Wilfong, M. M. (2008). Exegetical Perspective on Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, p. 249). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[4] McSween, A. C., Jr. (2008). Pastoral Perspective on Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, p. 250). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[5] Wilfong, M. M. (2008). Exegetical Perspective on Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, p. 253). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[6] Beach-Verhey, T. A. (2008). Theological Perspective on Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 1, p. 250). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[7] Bracken Long, Kimberly (EDITOR)  2012 FEASTING ON THE WORD, Worship Companion p53,  Westminster John Knox: Louisville