Service for Sunday 5th July 2020 – Rev Louis van Laar

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.’

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 43

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people;
FROM THOSE WHO ARE DECEITFUL AND UNJUST
    DELIVER ME!
²For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    WHY HAVE YOU CAST ME OFF?
Why must I walk about mournfully
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

³O SEND OUT YOUR LIGHT AND YOUR TRUTH;
    LET THEM LEAD ME;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling.
⁴THEN I WILL GO TO THE ALTAR OF GOD,
    to God my exceeding joy;
AND I WILL PRAISE YOU WITH THE HARP,
    O GOD, MY GOD.

⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
HOPE IN GOD; FOR I SHALL AGAIN PRAISE HIM,
MY HELP AND MY GOD.

We Sing: TIS 390

ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, GIVE THANKS TO THE RISEN LORD

Prayer

God of grace and mercy,

we come into your presence

knowing you welcome us

as you welcome anyone

who desires to offer you

their focus and time.

We acknowledge you to be LORD,

the God who in Jesus has reconciled us with you

and who, through your Holy Spirit,

enlivens us to live as your people.

Accept our praise and devotion,

as we long for your rule in our lives

and throughout your creation;

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

Scripture

ROMANS 2:1-24

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 You say, ‘We know that God’s judgement on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.’ 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgement of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed. 6 For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: 7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

12 All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. 15 They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God 18 and know his will and determine what is best because you are instructed in the law, 19 and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, 21 you, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You that forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You that abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You that boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? 24 For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’

In this is the Word of the Lord

WE HEAR AND REPENT, O LORD

MATTHEW 11:16-30

16 ‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,

17 “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.”

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’

20 Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. 21 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum,

will you be exalted to heaven?
No, you will be brought down to Hades.

For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.’

25 At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

This is the Gospel of our Lord

PRAISE TO YOU LORD JESUS CHRIST

Prayer of Confession

Hear the invitation of Christ Jesus:

‘Come to me, all you that are weary

WE COME LORD,

FOR WE ARE WEARY;

WORN DOWN BY DEMANDS

AND REQUIREMENTS

Lord have mercy

LORD HAVE MERCY

Come to me, all you carrying heavy burdens,

WE COME LORD,

FOR OUR BURDENS ARE HEAVY

WITH THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

ON OUR SHOULDERS

Christ have mercy

CHRIST HAVE MERCY

and I will give you rest for your souls.

WE LONG FOR YOUR REST, O LORD!

Take my yoke upon you,

For my yoke is easy,

HELP US ACCEPT YOUR YOKE, O LORD

RATHER THAN THOSE

IMPOSED BY OTHERS OR SELF

Lord have mercy

LORD HAVE MERCY

learn from me,

OPEN OUR MINDS

EASE OUR HEARTS

AND DIRECT OUR WILL

O LORD,

Christ have mercy

CHRIST HAVE MERCY

for my burden is light

LORD, WE CAN DANCE THROUGH LIFE

WITH AN EASY YOKE

AND A LIGHT BURDEN,

Lord have mercy

LORD HAVE MERCY

Declaration of Reconciliation

The Christ who invites us to accept his yoke

has reconciled us with the God

who in love saves us even from ourselves;

all is forgiven us,

and so we say with joy in our hearts!

THANKS BE TO GO

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 590 WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

Contemporary Word GOD HAS NO FAVOURITES

Romans 2:11 For God shows no partiality.

Did Jesus have a bad day at the office?

putting it in modern terms…

Do we ever think that such a thing is possible,

that Jesus gets as exasperated with an unproductive day

as we do,

and then vents his frustration in an emotional outburst!?

We accept what the writer to the Hebrews states about Jesus,

that he was tested in all ways like us,

yet we seldom sit and think of what that might mean.

Of course, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus’ words of frustration which begin today’s Gospel reading,

followed by strong words against the towns

where he had ministered without achieving the repentance

he had hoped for;

that redirection to God

and God’s way for life,

which is the way of life,

seem such a contrast to the invitation which follows!

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Today we continue our ‘themes from Romans‘ series,

so we will not explore those thoughts too much,

just allow them to guide us in our prayers…

However, I mention the Matthew text because

Jesus challenges Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum

reminding them that like the pagan Tyre and Sidon and Sodom,

they, the chosen people, also face judgment.

Here Jesus gives an example of Paul’s dictum:

For God shows no partiality.

Paul repeats here another topsy-turvy concept

for the people of his day!

(we are up to five so far! can you list them?

last week we mentioned the other four).

This is one he has mentioned earlier,

which we just gloss over because the thought no longer startles us:

(Romans 1)… that I may reap some harvest among you

as I have among the rest of the Gentiles.

14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians,

both to the wise and to the foolish…

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel;

it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith,

to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul attests that God has no favourites!

Paul includes both Jew, and Greek and barbarian,

in fact, all of the Gentiles as eligible recipients

of God’s reconciliation and ongoing salvation

(which we may take to mean as being Paul’s word

for what Jesus promises as the life abundant!).

Gentiles as a word does not appear

in either the Hebrew or Greek languages of our scriptures.

It is an anglicised version of the Latin word, gentilis,

the Latin translation of the Hebrew and Greek words,

which itself derives from the Latin root gens,

meaning clan or tribe.

The actual Hebrew and Greek words גּוֹיִם goyim; ἔθνος ethnos

as used in the bible,

simply translate as ‘nation’, into English;

mind you some Wycliffe Bible Translators I mixed with

always made the point that ethnos meant clan/tribe

which of course motivated them to live with tribes

anywhere to develop a written form of their language,

and then a printed gospel and then more of the scriptures…

In Biblical usage, especially the Hebrew context,

גּוֹיִם goyim; ἔθνος ethnos inevitably meant any or all, other nation(s)

than the people of God, that is Jews.

This sense carried over into the thinking of the early Christians,

though Jesus’ commission also suggests an all-inclusive thinking:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19

It seems Paul used Greek as a term for non-Jews.

Not all non-Jews. Only the civilised peoples

as determined by Greek and Roman standards.

Paul mentions barbarians as a separate category.

These were any people not civilised by Greek or Roman culture.

Some commentators believe Paul mentions

barbarians as a distinct category

because he wants to go to Spain (15:24)

and wants the Roman congregations to support him financially,

logistically and tactically…

Paul needs to clarify the theological foundations of his mission

before suggesting the nature of the desired cooperation.[1]

Therefore he is pointing out to the Romans that barbarians,

that is non-Roman people from their perspective,

deserve the news of God’s offer of reconciliation

as much as anyone else… For God shows no partiality.

Then as now, racial and cultural prejudice reigns

even where the concept is contrary to the way of following Jesus…

I recall in the seventies, 1970’s that is…

being appointed to work out with a Vietnamese congregation

how they might manage financially…

these were refugees after the collapse of Saigon;

arrived with nothing except the clothes on their backs!

There was a thriving, financially prosperous

Chinese congregation within the denomination…

I spoke with them, and they agreed readily

to finance this fledging and struggling Vietnamese group.

I excitedly met with the Vietnamese leadership

to share with them this solution to all their financial problems!

Disaster!

They declared that never ever

would a Vietnamese accept assistance from a Chinese!

Never mind that most of these Chinese were

3^rd and 4^th generation Australian born Australian citizens!

I learned that their resistance derived not only from the fact that China

supported the Viet Cong in that Vietnamese civil war;

but the Vietnamese saw themselves as superior in culture

and as a people compared to the Chinese!

Any church, any congregation, with members of different cultures

has to guard against cultural superiority overriding

God’s call to live in community with compassion and care.

Such cultural superiority Paul intends to correct in his writing to Rome.

God has no favourites!

God shares God’s grace and mercy indiscriminately.

God is righting all wrongs,

and is accepting anyone and everyone

-Greek, Barbarian, non-Jew, Jew, wise, foolish-

prepared to simply trust that God is on our side,

and not against us,

inclusive of all!

Paul has stated the basic conviction that God has no favourites

from the positive perspective…

all are included in the offer of reconciliation…

Because God accepts all,

all must offer the same forbearance to others!

Welcome one another,

therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you,

for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)

Now he wants to drive home the point Jesus made,

when it comes to assessing a people,

making a judgment concerning them,

God has no favourites either.

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself,

because you, the judge, are doing the very same things (2.1)

Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum

just like Tyre and Sidon and Sodom

can expect God’s diagnosis of their spiritual and social health!

Paul argues that each society has sufficient insights

into what is a Godly society –

what counts for right, and what supports wrong,

to be assessed without favouritism.

God will not say to any person or ethnos,

you are my favourite people

therefore don’t worry about what you have done or are doing!

6 For he will repay according to each one’s deeds:

7 to those who by patiently doing good

seek for glory and honour and immortality,

he will give eternal life;

8 while for those who are self-seeking

and who obey not the truth but wickedness,

there will be wrath and fury.

9 There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil,

the Jew first and also the Greek,

10 but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good,

the Jew first and also the Greek.

11 For God shows no partiality.

What happened to faith/trust?

the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith;

as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’ 1:17

The focus here, in Romans 2, is on what one does!

on those who by patiently doing good… those who obey the truth

will be given eternal life..

as opposed to those who do evil… those who obey wickedness

there will be wrath and fury…

For he will repay according to each one’s deeds:

Paul here reiterates what he implied before,

denying God has its behavioural consequences,

therefore God gave them up to… 1:24,26,28

trust in God has its behavioural consequences,

the obedience of faith! (1:5)

He is laying the grounds for his final denouement

For there is no distinction,

²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God(3:22)[2]

In his little volume God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath

Tom Wright points out that the coronavirus is indiscriminate.

He exclaims: And suddenly there was no safe space on the planet!^[3]

His sentiments echo the now common refrain ‘we are all in this together’.

Because of this, he urges Christians

to avoid discriminately apportioning blame,

to refrain from judging others!

He hints at how cultural differences

make it easy to point the finger elsewhere,

rather than at ourselves;

easier to critique the behaviour of others

than to examine our own!

He draws on the evidence of the early Christians

that their response to a crisis was not analysis,

not attempting to determine who was to blame,

not searching for sin,

but action: compassionate and caring action!

In Paul’s words, Patiently doing good, obeying the truth!

In the first few centuries of our era,

when serious sickness would strike a town or city,

the well-to-do would run for the hills

(part of the problem was often low-lying, foetid air in a town).

The Christians would stay and nurse people.

Sometimes they caught the disease and died.

People were astonished.

What was that about?

Oh, they replied, we are followers of this man Jesus.

He put his life on the line to save us.

So that’s what we do as well.

Nobody had ever thought of doing that kind of thing before.

No wonder the Gospel spread^{^[4]}

Wright argues from his interpretation of scripture

that this pragmatic response

is what God requires Christians to do in a crisis,

is what Jesus modelled

in his own life, death and resurrection.

The sort of action people associate with the Salvation Army

when thinking of a Christian practical response to a local disaster…

Those early Christians practiced the obedience of faith!

As did later Christians, including Martin Luther!

In 1527, plague struck Wittenberg

— the university town where Luther lived —

prompting classes to be moved to an unaffected town.

Yet Luther refused to leave.

He chose instead to venture his life

on caring for the sick and dying

and transformed his home into a makeshift hospital.

In an era without widespread institutionalised healthcare,

Luther wrote that Christians are under a divine obligation to fill the gap: “We must give hospital care and be nurses for one another

in any extremity or risk the loss of salvation and the grace of God.”[5]

In our own day we have hospitals and a national Medicare system,

to deal with pandemics etc.

These are part of our social fabric

because those early and later

Christians practised patiently doing good.

Unfortunately some Christians still react to a disaster or pandemic

with apportioning blame to others.

They attribute the crisis event as divine retribution

for particular sins committed, usually by others!

Paul reminds us all such an approach denies

the basic assumptions of the Gospel entrusted to him.

God does not have favourites!

Furthermore, he argues,

none of us are any more deserving than another

when it comes to receiving God’s grace,

for we are all tarred with the same brush… sin…

therefore, his recipe for salvation, the abundant life,

is simply this:

Trust God and do any good you can!

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

We Sing: TIS 52 LET US SING TO THE GOD OF SALVATION

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 [6]

God, you know our hearts’ joys and sorrows

even before words form in our minds to describe them.

You stand with us through the hard stuff;

you struggle with us in our distress;

you dance with us in our delights.

We lift prayers to you,

and with one another, that in our speaking

we might hear those concerns,

the distress, and those delights in new ways;

ways that help us to understand one another

and reach out to each other in tenderness and respect;

and to understand our world, your creation,

and ourselves more clearly.

Teach us, as we pray.

Open us, as we pray.

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We pray for our children and our families (pause).

We pray for the scary places in our lives,

the places that cause us worry (pause).

We pray for the leaders of our world (pause).

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We pray for the mysteries we cannot answer,

the puzzles we cannot decipher:

the relationships that failed,

the plans that fell through, the dreams that faded.

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

We pray for all the unknowns

that spur us to ask whether we will have enough,

or be enough, for challenges to come (pause).

Lord hear us LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

And, finally, we rest ourselves in you,

releasing burdens too heavy, or those unnecessary,

taking on instead the yoke of Christ.

In your great grace and love, we rest.

For the gift of that home in your heart,

we thank you and we praise you. AMEN.

WE BREAK BREAD TOGETHER WITH OUR LORD

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,

to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2: 42

We remind ourselves again as we think on fellowship, community,

that as the creedal line ‘we believe in the Communion of Saints’ attests,

in God, we are all present to each other;

thousands and millions of communities of whatever size,

even isolated individuals,

across time and space,

celebrating Communion together,

entirely isolated from one another

yet joyfully proclaiming that all are joining together

with the faithful of every time and place and even the choirs of angels!

Let us be mindful of each other,

taking a moment to think about our congregation,

praying for each other…

then including other physically absent dear ones in this sacred time.

Let us now pay attention to the apostles’ teaching,

through the Apostle Paul, recalling the words of Institution (1 Cor 11)

²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:

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

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

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

²⁵In 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.”

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

you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

We Offer A 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 the Lord Our God

IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE GOD

OUR THANKS AND PRAISE

Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

we gladly praise you

for you have placed us in a world

where we all exist through unbelievably fragile links

of interdependency and freedom.

You in Christ have chosen to reconcile creation and us

to yourself and each other;

through your Spirit you provide us

the wisdom and discernment necessary

to live as worthy stewards of all you have entrusted to us;

In awe we join with all creation,

all people past, present and to come,

with the angelic host and heavenly creatures

in singing the song of your unending praise

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD,

GOD OF GRACE AND MERCY,

HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE FULL OF YOUR GLORY.

HOSANNAH IN THE HIGHEST.

BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES

IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!

HOSANNAH IN THE HIGHEST.

O God of grace and mercy,

you revealed your salvation of us

through your Son, Jesus Christ,

as he hung on the cross.

He was then raised to life by you

to ascend to his rightful place beside you

to continue your work of salvation

within Jew and gentile, Greek and barbarian, wise and foolish…

Great is the mystery of faith.

CHRIST HAS DIED;

CHRIST IS RISEN;

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.

Lord of all who are weary and heavy burdened,

grant us the joy of your yoke

that we might engage with you

in good works;

and then, on the last day,

bring us home with you forever!

AMEN

(Now is the time to uncover the bread and jug, with the cup/glass)

The Invitation (Rev.3:21)

Until that time,

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

Here I am! 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 Bread

Taking,

We take the bread, and hold it

marvelling at how it reflects the bounty of a creation

designed to feed all,

of which Christ said, I am the bread of life…

Thanking, holding up the bread…

We pray:

We give you thanks, O God,

that in seeing this bread

we receive a reminder of how people all throughout your creation

hunger for sustenance of body, mind and spirit.

we praise you for he who is the bread of life,

who through the gifting of his own life unto death

offers us life abundant.

Breaking, as you break the bread ready to eat, say:

Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,

so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness;

My body, broken for you, Jesus said.

Do this for the remembrance of me…

Sharing and Eating: eat with remembrance

Jesus invites us: Take and eat

SILENCE

The Cup

Taking

We take the cup,

look at its contents,

marvelling at the way water transformed into wine

by our Lord

serves as a metaphor for the transformed life

offered through the gifted Spirit…

Thanking, holding up the cup…

We pray:

we give you thanks, O God

that in this fruit of the vine

we receive an insight into how abiding in the One

who names himself as the vine

results in blessings to be shared…

a life abundant.

Pouring… as you pour from the jug into the cup/glass, say

When Jesus was abused, he did not return abuse,

when he suffered, he did not threaten…

by his wounds, we have been healed;

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

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

Sharing and Drinking: Drink with remembrance

Jesus invites us: “Drink from it, all of you.

SILENCE

Prayers

Let us Pray:

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 practice 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

FLVL 2009

WE GO OUT TO SERVE GOD

We Sing: TIS 531 SEND FORTH BY GOD’S BLESSING

Sent forth by God’s blessing, our true faith confessing,
the people of God from his dwelling take leave.
The supper is ended: O now be extended
the fruits of our service in all who believe.
The seed of the teaching, receptive souls reaching,
shall blossom in action for God and for all.
His grace did invite us, his love shall unite us
to work for God’s kingdom, and answer the call.

With praise and thanksgiving to God ever-living
the tasks of our everyday life we will face,
our faith ever sharing, in love ever caring,
embracing the children of each tribe and race.
With Your feast You feed us, with Your light now lead us,
unite us as one in His life that we share.
Then may all the living, with praise and thanksgiving,
give honour to Christ and His name that we bear.

Omer Westendorf 1916– alt.

Words: additional permission required. Available from LicenSing & Word of Life

Sending Out

Go as a people

celebrating life

as a continuous moment of grace!

With a grateful heart

engage in good deeds

which echo God’s goodness to us!

Let joy fill your hearts

rather than fear,

for God has chosen you