ALL SAINTS DAY… 1^ST NOVEMBER 2020

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 34:

I will bless the Lord at all times;
   HIS PRAISE SHALL CONTINUALLY BE IN MY MOUTH.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    LET THE HUMBLE HEAR AND BE GLAD.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
    AND LET US EXALT HIS NAME TOGETHER.

We Sing TIS 162 THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE MORNING 6vv

Prayer    …

God of grace and mercy,

with awe

we respond to your call to accept your offer of good-will,

and to enjoy you

and the well-being you have in mind for us;

even as we deal with the dysfunctioning of our bodies and minds;

we thank you that we are joined by countless others

across time and space

in our worship of you,

and as we meet with our Lord

in the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup…

Grant us grace and courage to live as our Lord has modelled,

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

OUR LORD AND OUR GOD,
NOW AS WE HEAR YOUR WORD,
BLESS US WITH YOUR SPIRIT;
SOFTEN OUR HEARTS
THAT WE MAY DELIGHT IN YOUR PRESENCE

SHARPEN OUR MINDS
THAT WE MAY DISCERN YOUR TRUTH
SHAPE OUR WILLS
THAT WE MAY DESIRE YOUR WAYS.
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD.  AMEN

ROMANS 1:7,8 and 16:1-16

1 ⁷To all God’s beloved in Rome,

who are called to be saints:

⁸Grace to you and peace

from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

16 ¹I commend to you our sister Phoebe,

a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, 

²so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints,

and help her in whatever she may require from you,

for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 

⁴ and who risked their necks for my life,

to whom not only I give thanks,

but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 

⁵ Greet also the church in their house.

Greet my beloved Epaenetus,

who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. 

⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. 

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, 

my relatives who were in prison with me;

they are prominent among the apostles,

and they were in Christ before I was.

⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 

⁹ Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.

Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 

¹¹ Greet my relative Herodion.

Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 

¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa.

Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 

¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord;

and greet his mother—a mother to me also. 

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas,

and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas,

and all the saints who are with them. 

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ greet you.

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

Matthew 5:1-16 (A Responsive Reading)

5 When Jesussaw the crowds, he went up the mountain;

and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³ ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,

FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

⁴ ‘Blessed are those who mourn,

FOR THEY WILL BE COMFORTED.

⁵ ‘Blessed are the meek,

FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH.

⁶ ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

FOR THEY WILL BE FILLED.

⁷ ‘Blessed are the merciful,

FOR THEY WILL RECEIVE MERCY.

⁸ ‘Blessed are the pure in heart,

FOR THEY WILL SEE GOD.

⁹ ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,

FOR THEY WILL BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD.

¹⁰ ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

¹¹ ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falselyon my account. 

¹² REJOICE AND BE GLAD,

FOR YOUR REWARD IS GREAT IN HEAVEN,

FOR IN THE SAME WAY

THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS

WHO WERE BEFORE YOU.

¹³ ‘You are the salt of the earth;

BUT IF SALT HAS LOST ITS TASTE,

HOW CAN ITS SALTINESS BE RESTORED?

It is no longer good for anything,

but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

¹⁴ ‘YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

A CITY BUILT ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIDDEN.

¹⁵ no one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,

BUT ON THE LAMPSTAND,

AND IT GIVES LIGHT TO ALL IN THE HOUSE. 

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others,

SO THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS

AND GIVE GLORY TO YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.

This is the Gospel of our Lord 

PRAISE TO YOU LORD JESUS CHRIST

Prayer of Confession (Based on Ephesians 1:11-23)

Gracious God,

We confess we have lost sight

of the wonderful freedom from all that that would diminish our living, which is your inheritance in us as your saints…

So we fail to offer each other the care due as your saints

Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy.

So we undermine the hope which unites all your saints

Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy

So we underestimate your energy and vitality which sustains your saints

Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy

Words of Reconciliation

(Based on Ephesians 1:13 & 14, 20-23)

We are the saints of God !

We, the saints, are the people of God !

For us Jesus has been given everything and everyone

We, the saints, are everything to God,

both in this time and all times to come

We are forgiven in Jesus Christ,

Pledged by God with the Holy Spirit

to be the saints of God

Thanks be to God!

We Sing TIS 470 REJOICE IN GOD’S SAINTS 4vv

Contemporary Word:

Those of us who have had to offer the ‘thank you’ speeches,

naming the people and that which they did

which made the event a pleasure and success,

know how embarrassing it is to have,

after everyone has applauded, ‘put your hands together’…

the realisation hit you that you forgot to mention that one person…

so you yell into the microphone, to quieten the crowd again,

and begin…”oops, how could I have forgotten to mention….”

How indeed!?

Obviously Paul did not have such a moment

when he listed all those whom he knew in Rome,

and sent them his greetings and blessing!

There are twenty-six individuals in all,

far more than Paul greets in any other letter.

Any intelligent person realizes that,

seeing Paul had never visited Rome yet,

he would make a strong effort to inform everyone

that he was no stranger to a significant number of people;

a significant number of significant persons![1]

Many were leaders in the early Christian movement.

e.g. Greet Andronicus and Junia, 

my fellow Jews[2] who were in prison with me;

they are prominent among the apostles,

and they were in Christ before I was.

hosted congregations in their homes,

e.g. Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 

⁴ and who risked their necks for my life,

to whom not only I give thanks,

but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 

⁵ Greet also the church in their house.

They were perhaps expelled from Rome being Jews,

persuaded by the Gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ

either before, or during their exile from Rome, who,

when Nero became emperor, returned to Rome.

Paul had either been the one who converted them,

or had come across them as their travels,

and his own travels crossed paths.

When Paul refers to working together with Prisca and Aquila,

he means working together in mission.

In other letters, Paul uses “work” or “labor” or “toil”

to speak about missionary leaders

(see, for instance, 1 Cor. 16:16 and 1 Thess. 5:12).

When he uses such language to greet

Urbanus, Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, and Persis,

he may be indicating their function and status as missionary leaders.

It is significant that the last four of these named persons are women. Prisca, then, would not be the only woman missionary leader

among the Roman followers of Jesus.^[3]

Two other groups of followers are suggested by the greetings.

Paul speaks of “the brothers and sisters”

who are with Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, and Patrobas (16:14)

and “all the saints who are with” Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and Olympas.

Many of these names were commonly used for slaves or freedpersons.  

In contrast, then, to the possibility of connection to privilege

in the previous two households,

(and of course the first mentioned

apparently temporary resident, Phoebe)

these groups of followers were likely to have been made up

of slaves and freed persons of much lower economic and social status.

They may have lived in the crowded and squalid tenements in the city. Worshiping together under those conditions would have been difficult, and the common meal they shared

may have been an important source of survival.

It is not hard to see how tension could arise among followers of Jesus with such different life experiences

as these four households may have had.

Vast difference in privilege and resources

can raise barriers in a worshiping community in our own time

as well as in theirs.^[4]

The range of people that Paul greets by name should not be missed.

Not only do they include Jewish and Gentile persons,

but they also include male and female as well as slave and free.

The followers of Jesus in Rome

have the potential for being the community in Christ

that Paul envisions in Galatians 3:28.

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free;

nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

The theology Paul has explained to them throughout this letter

has been to help them understand and realize this community.

The greetings at the end of the letter highlight the diversity of the community, and Paul honours them all equally.

What these greetings show is Paul’s consciousness

of being a part of a larger Christian fellowship

within which God’s Spirit is at work to accomplish God’s plan.

The phrases Paul uses to characterize these individuals—

“fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (v. 2);

“Mary who has worked hard among you” (v. 6);

“men of note among the apostles” (v. 7);

“our fellow worker” (v. 9);

“Persis who has worked hard in the Lord” (v. 12);

“Rufus, eminent in the Lord” (v. 13)—

indicate Paul’s awareness of the fact

that he was one of many whose trust in God through Christ

led him to work for God’s new reality in the world.

If being an apostle conferred special responsibility,

it did not confer special rank—that is clear from these greetings.

Note also that Paul was always,

and including the time of writing, a team worker…

Eight persons send greetings to the followers of Jesus in Rome

at the close of this letter (16.21,22).

Of those, the first four are identified as “relatives”

or as compatriots i.e. fellow Jews.

Because Paul is apostle to the Gentiles,

by including these greetings in his letter,

Paul may be showing to the Jewish followers in Rome

that he has not abandoned his people

and in fact has good working relationships with other Jews

as he pursues his mission.

Tertius and Quartus are names meaning “third” and “fourth” respectively, and they were common names given to slaves.

Despite their depersonalizing names,

they have significance among the followers of Jesus.

Gaius may be the Gaius named in 1 Corinthians 1:14.

As host not only to Paul but to the whole church,

Gaius must have been a wealthy patron,

either hosting gatherings of followers in his home

or providing hospitality for other followers like Paul who traveled.

As a public official,

Erastus also would have wealth and standing in the community.

Like Paul’s earlier personal greetings,

these final greetings show

how social barriers were being broken down in Christ.

Jew and Gentile,

depersonalized slave and persons of high social standing

come together and work together.^[5]

Paul’s overriding concern is not himself

but the Lord Jesus Christ,

and that is demonstrated in the generosity of his characterizations

of those whom he greets.

That generosity toward others in itself is a clear, if unintended,

witness to the kind of attitude

which is appropriate for the unity of human beings.

It is also the only proper response

to God’s act of grace and reconciliation in his Son

towards all who all were at enmity with God[6].

(check Romans 5.1-11 again..)

Paul began his letter with a reference to the ‘saints’

1.7 To all God’s beloved in Rome,

who are called to be saints:

Paul reminds them, and us, that the Spirit intercedes with the saints,

And God, who searches the heart,

knows what is the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints 

according to the will of God. 8.27;

He refers to the Christians in Jerusalem as ‘the saints’,

even though he has some anxiety about how these will welcome him,

or if they will even accept him, because of his radical stance

as a Jew who recognises Jesus as the Messiah, the Lord…

³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, 

by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit,

to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf, 

³¹ that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea,

and that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 

³² so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy

and be refreshed in your company.

It is obvious that for Paul, the term ‘saints’

is synonymous with believers, Christians…

Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to think that the word

was just a name without theological significance.

According to the Old Testament, God has called and “set apart”

(the root meaning of “holy,)” a people to be God’s own people,

the “holy ones”.

God’s saints constitute “a priestly kingdom and a holy nation”

(Exodus 19:6; see 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10).

Because God is holy (totally distinctive from humans),

God’s people are called to be holy, to share in God’s differentness

(Leviticus 11:44–45; see 1 Peter 1:15–16).

This distinctiveness Jesus elaborates on in his Sermon on the Mount,

beginning with what we call the Beautitudes… (Matthew 5-7)

In Acts 9:13, we have Ananias voicing his suspicion of Saul (Paul)

to the Lord (Jesus) because of

“how much evil he has done to your [the Lord’s] saints”—

one of the few New Testament texts in which the saints

are identified explicitly as belonging to the Lord,

echoing the Old Testament image of the people as God’s own possession

(see also Colossians 1:26; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; and, implicitly, Revelation v5:9).^[7]

This all suggests that biblical holiness, or “sainthood,”

is both gift and task, privilege and responsibility.

This theology of sainthood as both gift and task

comes to the fore in Romans.

As we read before, the Christians in Rome are said to be

simultaneously  “called to belong to Jesus Christ” 1.6,

and “called to be saints,” 1.7

thus stressing God’s election of the people to follow Jesus

in a vocation of holiness, which is spelled out in some detail

in Romans chap. 6 and chaps. 12–15 (note 1:4; 6:19, 22; 12:1).

The working dimension of sainthood is stressed on a few occasions,

in which Paul requests his readers

to do that which is fitting for those who are saints

e.g. offer practical assistance (Rom 16:2).

Paul’s use of “to bring about the obedience of faith”

at the beginning of the Romans letter, 1.5,

and at its conclusion, 16.26, 

suggests that the designation saints

implies a standard of behavior grounded in the fundamentals

of early Christian ethics,

which embraced virtues such as hospitality, sacrificial love,

a non-retributive approach to life,

overcoming evil with good,

interpersonal faithfulness

and steadfast faithfulness to God,

in defining sainthood or holiness as discipleship to Jesus.

Paul sums up this obedience with:

being wise in what is good;

and innocent in what is evil (16:19).

Jesus summed it up with:

let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good works

and give glory to your father in heaven (Matt 5.16).

In spite of the Christian tradition having turned ‘saints’

into a title only for, firstly, dead believers,

and secondly, now dead, whether martyred or not,

and exceptional, in a miracle working way, believers,

we do well to remind ourselves of this descriptive for ourselves,

we who are alive!

and not necessarily exceptional

as miracle workers, or movers and shakers…

We are the ones called both to belong to Jesus and to be saints!

Our tradition at least acknowledges that

we who are alive, saints by call, gifted with grace for action,

are in a mysterious way united with all who have gone before us..

as the Apostle’s Creed has it

we believe in the communion of saints…

All saints, believers, find themselves in communion with God

hence through God we are in communion with each other,

whether there is awareness of such or not!

Our Great Prayer of Thanksgiving states:

with all your people gathered across time and space,

thus echoing this conviction.

Prior to our prayers of the people,

following the example of Paul, as per Romans 16,

we will take time to recall and name particular saints

who have been part of our congregational life!

taking care to not merely name the movers and the shakers,

but also those too easy to overlook;

not only those of whom we have fond memories,

but also those whom we found troublesome;

not only the incredibly regularly active and faithful folk,

but also those who attended services and activities spasmodically…

in other words…

one and all who come to mind…

for the One who unites us is the God who does not discriminate

seeing none is righteous…

and we all have received God’s reconciliation as gifted grace.  AMEN

We Share Our Community Life

Prayers of the People

We Name Before God, Some of Those

We Recognise as Saints Within This Congregation

Both in the Present and from the Past…

Prayer[8]

The saints of God

are united by the Spirit of God,

that we may know the great hope

to which we are called…

and that we may be empowered

to truly reflect the gospel…

-silence-

The saints of God are

united by the Spirit of God,

so that we may see

God’s vision of peace and justice

struggled for through the ages,

 realised within our time.

-silence-

The saints of God, like Jesus,

have a human face:

we laugh, we weep, we wait in hope.

We pray, we speak out,

we bring healing,

we invite others to join us.

-silence-

We struggle

with the way of the cross,

even as we celebrate the new life

which is ours

through the cross bearing

of our Lord.

-silence-

But God is God,

and Jesus is the Christ,

and the Spirit

will lift up our feet.

-silence-

Nothing can take away

the love of God in Christ

through which we,

the saints of God here and now,

are united with all the saints,

everywhere and forever.  Amen.

THE SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION

We Bring Ourselves and Our Offerings

We Sing TIS 524 COME RISEN LORD 4vv

Great Prayer Of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you… And also with you.
Lift up your hearts…. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God our thanks and praise.

It is right that we give you our thanks and praise, O God,
creator of heaven and earth.

You brought our world into being

and formed man and woman in your image,

breathing into them the breath of life.

We do indeed give you our thanks and praise, O God,
with all our heart and soul and mind and strength,
for you keep faith forever with all peoples
and reach out to save the burdened and the bereft.

You are the creator of heaven and earth,
and the maker of the teeming seas.
From generation to generation,
you have shown your generous love to those

who were not your people,

who received no mercy,

to include them as your people known as saints

recipients of your unlimited mercy and grace.!

Through your holy law you provided a way of forgiveness,
and when we lost our way,
you came to us in your Son, Jesus Christ.
Embodying the law of love,
offering life to all,

he was cruelly hounded to death on a cross,
and, raised by you to new life,
he has entered your holy presence, once for all,
and freed us from works of futility
to worship you by living the ways of love.
And so, with all your people gathered across time and space,

with the company of heaven and earth we praise
your holy name saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of grace and truth,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Institution

Holy are you O God, and blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ
who revealed your law of love so powerfully,
especially on that night,

when the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,

 ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 

“This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

 ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,

 “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; 

do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 

²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Great is the mystery of faith.

CHRIST HAS DIED;

CHRIST IS RISEN;

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.

The Present Christ (Rev.3:21)

it is Jesus who invites himself to sup with us here,

joining us if we but say the word:

Here I am! Jesus said, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 

I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

COME, LORD JESUS

The Distribution of the Bread

My body, broken for you, Jesus said.

Do this for the remembrance of me…

The Distribution of the Cup

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood; Jesus said

do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me

Prayer                          Generous and welcoming God,

in Jesus Christ

you desire to embrace all.

Grant us of your own

generous Spirit

that we might speak

words of invitation

and practise actions of welcome

in a Spirit of hospitality

to bring all within your embrace.

May they and we enjoy feasting

at your table,

revelling in your gracious gift

of abundant life,

to the praise and glory of your name. AMEN

WE GO TO SERVE GOD

 We sing TIS 547 BE THOU MY VISION, O LORD OF MY HEART 5vv

Sending Out

May God who kindled the fire of love in the hearts of the saints,

pour upon you the riches of God’s grace. Amen

May God give you joy in their fellowship

and a share in their praises.  Amen

May God strengthen you to follow them in the way of holiness

and to come to the full radiance of glory.  Amen

Blessing

Get on with life,

knowing that you are the very children

of the Most High God.

The grace of Christ Jesus redeem you from all evil,

the love of God hold you fast when all else fails,

the friendship of the Spirit keep you in perfect peace,

now and evermore. Amen, Amen, Amen

---

[1] Achtemeier, P. J. (1985). Romans (pp. 233–236). Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, elaborates on this.

[2] where relative occurs, the meaning could also be, more likely is, fellow Jew, compatriot.

^[3] Lancaster, S. H. (2015). Romans. (A. P. Pauw & W. C. Placher, Eds.) (First edition, pp. 260–263). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

^[4] ibid

^[5] Lancaster, S. H. (2015). Romans. (A. P. Pauw & W. C. Placher, Eds.) (First edition, p. 266). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

[6] Achtemeier, P. J. (1985). Romans (pp. 238–239). Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press

^[7] Gorman, M. J. (2006–2009). Saint. In K. D. Sakenfeld (Ed.), The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 5, p. 42). Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

[8] [Based on and adapted from Echoes of Our Journey  byDorothy McRae-McMahon, Joint Board , Melbourne.1995]