Circuit Service – 30th October 2022
prepared by Mr. Graham Phillips
We place ourselves in your hands, O God. We lay everything on your altar. We take nothing back and yield all things to your glory, now and forever. ( Mary Slessor 1848-1918 )
Wherever you are. Welcome.
Out call to worship is based on today’s lectionary Gospel reading Luke 19 1-10
Come, let us worship the God who came to seek and save the lost!
Let us worship the God who came to seek and save each of us!
Let us welcome God into our homes and our hearts.
Hymn STF 255 :- The kingdom of God is justice and joy
Bryn Rees (n 1911-1983)
A prayer of Adoration
Saviour God, you came into this world not as a leader of men, but as a servant and friend.
You came into this world not to seek out the good but to gather the lost.
You came into this world as a healer of bodies and saviour of souls.
You came into this world as prince of Peace and lover of all.
You came into this world for people like us. Amen
From the Act of Prayer ( John Birch )
A prayer of confession
When we call out your name in times of hardship or in our despair and fail to hear your voice
or see the answer we desire, forgive our impatience.
When we pray for healing, freedom from fear or relief from evil’s grasp and grow weary of the
task of continuing in prayer, forgive our lack of faith.
Your ways are not ours, but in all things you are God;
your love and justice will always prevail.
In your time and in your way you will answer all our prayers
From the Act of Prayer. ( John Birch )
Old Testament readings 1:-Psalm 119 v 137-144 ( NRSV )
You are righteous, O Lord, and your judgements are right.
You have appointed your decrees in righteousness and in all faithfulness.
My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness and your law is the truth.
Trouble and anguish have come upon me, but your commandments are my delight.
Your decrees are righteous for ever; give me understanding that I may live.
Reading 2 ;- Habakkuk 1 v 1-4, 2 v 1-4
1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw
O lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrong doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before mew; strife and contention arise.
So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous- therefore judgement comes forth perverted.
2 I will stand at my watch-post and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
Then the Lord answered me and said; Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith
Gospel reading :- Luke 19 v 1-10 ( NRSV )
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich.
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not,because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him because he was going to pass that way.
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
All who saw it began to grumble and said, ”He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ”Look, half of my possessions , Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone or anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Hymn STF :- 248 I hear the voice of Jesus say
Reflection on Luke 19 v 1-10
I was looking for a song on the internet the other day and up popped a song about Zacchaeus, my search had no bearing on why this song should pop up but none the less strangely it did. The first verse of which went.
Zacchaeus was a very little man and a very little man was he.
He climbed up into a sycamore tree for the Saviour he wanted to see.
And when Jesus passed that way he looked into the tree and said
‘Now Zacchaeus, you come down, for I’m coming to your house for tea.’
If I go back to the first line of that song it says ‘Zacchaeus was a very little man’, being vertically challenged, short in stature, myself, I know how he must have felt, and it’s something I have learned to live with, something I can’t change, however hard I try. But that is just a physical thing, I believe we can all be short in stature in a spiritual sense as well, it doesn’t matter what shape or size we are, or come to that what age we are, it can affect us all.
I have a feeling that Habakkuk must have felt pretty small in stature when in the second verse from that reading he cries our “O Lord how long shall I cry for help, but you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” He must have felt small in stature, impotent almost in a spiritual sense as he looked on at the destruction and violence, the justice that never prevails and judgements that are perverted (1 v3-4)
The world we live in today, is, sadly far too similar to the one Habakkuk lived in all those years ago. Do you, like me feel short in stature when you have cried out to God, screamed almost, but the perceived lack of response has left you feeling small and insignificant, unloved, unheard? Verse 141 from our reading from Psalms says “I am small and of little account”. How often have you felt like that, I know I have?
Our gospel reading from Luke describes Zacchaeus as a chief tax collector which has brought him much wealth, but little else.
He was despised, seen as an outcast by his own people for the way the preyed on them, a lackey of the Romans.
Have you, I wonder ever felt like Zacchaeus, small and insignificant, of little if any importance, or just ignored. Have you looked at those around you and felt ‘I’m not good enough, I just don’t measure up? Are there occasions when you have felt left on the outside, never welcomed in? Are you forever trying to prove yourself, not only to others but to God as well? Do you feel stuck spiritually unable to grow, weighed down by your past life, judged by those around you? Have you ever felt overwhelmed and powerless because of the circumstances you find yourself in? Do you sometimes wonder if Jesus is even aware of you, knows your name? Do you sometimes feel your dignity, worth and value have been defined by the choices you have made and the actions you have taken in the past, by the things you done and those you haven’t?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, or any others that spring to mind then you, like me, will probably know what it must have been like for Zacchaeus, short in stature.
There have been many times when I have felt short in stature and still do, there have been times when I have felt like running away from parts of my life, to leave those parts behind and begin again, but that is never going to happen,
this is my life, the only one I will have. If Jesus is going to change me, it must start with my life as it is now, and the same may well apply to you. We have to face up to where we are, not run away from it. That’s what Zacchaeus did, he didn’t run away.
He refused to run away, refused to hide, refused to get lost in the crowd. Instead he races ahead of the crowd and climbs a tree with everyone watching what he was doing. Luke tells us it was so he could see Jesus, but maybe, just maybe he climbed that tree so that Jesus would see him. What if in that moment he was beginning to face up to who he was, the truth and reality of his own life, maybe climbing that tree was the beginning of who he wanted to be, noticed and loved for who he was, crying out, almost screaming ‘here I am, this is me, this is my life, recognize me for who I am, a son of Abraham.
I wonder how he must have felt when Jesus stopped and looked up. Could this be the first time anyone had ‘looked’ up to him, he had spent most of his life being scorned and looked down on because of who he was and what he did, short in stature both physically and spiritually, but no, Jesus looks up with acceptance and love. And then to top it off he invites himself into Zacchaeus’ home, but more than that, into his life. The crowd must have been astonished, that this short man, this sinner, could be the focus of Jesus’ attention, but Jesus could see past the rich chief tax collector, he saw what Zacchaeus couldn’t, he saw one of his own. Jesus saw a lost soul, a son of Abraham, a lost one found.
That’s what I want from Jesus when I run up my own personal tree, short of confidence, short in stature, I want Jesus to look at me with loving acceptance of who I am saying, “Come down from that tree, your life is about to begin in a new and fruitful way”. Do you feel the same?
Zacchaeus means, ”clean “pure,” or a better word may be innocent. That’s the real truth, that’s what Jesus saw as he looked up at Zacchaeus, it’s what he sees in us, you and me, even if we don’t see it in ourselves or in each other, he calls us back to be our purest and truest selves.
Let us pray
Lord of all goodness. When we feel not up to the job, short in stature, fearful that we aren’t good enough and we climb our imaginary tree, look up we pray and call us down. Strengthen us with the power of your Holy Spirit so that we can see for ourselves what you would have us be, people of stature, fit for purpose, enabled to share your good news of the gospel. Amen
We pray for others as we come to our prayers of intercession.
Holy God, we pray for your worldwide church, that it may grow in stature, become one united family enabled to be of service to you in these difficult times, give us strength of purpose and the wisdom to work your purpose out.
We pray for our own churches and our circuit, help us to grow in stature in our own communities, to stand out as beacons of hope, that all may come to know of your grace and love. We pray too for our superintendent, our presbyters, our deacon, our local preachers, worship leaders and all who contribute to growing your kingdom here on earth.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
We pray for peace in troubled lands, with no doubt Ukraine at the forefront. May the leaders of the nations come together to find a way to resolve this conflict, to stop the unnecessary and needless loss of life, the destructions of villages, towns and cities. We pray too for all those on both sides in this conflict as they suffer the loss of homes and loved ones. We remember the people of Myanmar, North Korea, Iran and all people who live under oppressive regimes where dissent is crushed mercilessly. Wherever there is conflict Lord, on a big or small scale may the bomb and the bullet be replaced by love and compassion.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
We pray for our own communities where there is hardship brought about by lack of proper funding for those in need.
We pray for those reliant on food banks to feed their family through no fault of their own, help us to be generous in our giving to such causes. We pray for those reliant on social care for their daily needs, reliant on help to get out of bed to start their day. We thank you for all who work to make their lives easier, showing them love and compassion as they seek to make life bearable for all in need.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
We pray for the sick, those we know and those we don’t………. We pray for all who work in the NHS, from those who mop the floors to those who perform life giving and lifesaving operations, for doctors who find ways to cure diseases of many kinds, for radiologists and radiotherapists who use modern techniques to relieve pain and suffering. We pray for those who work in mental care for their patience and understanding of the complex needs of those who suffer with anxiety and depression and see no point in living. We pray for those who work in care homes dealing with folk suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia, for their patience and understanding with, not only those suffering from such afflictions, but for the relatives as well as they see loved ones fading before their eyes. We pray too for those who mourn the loss of friend or relative, thinking at this time of the family of the Rev. John Palmer a former minister of this circuit who sadly passed away last week. We thank you for his ministry not only in this circuit but wherever he felt the call to serve you.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
Finally, we pray for ourselves……………………………. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
The Lords prayer
Hymn STF:- 443 Come let us sing of a wonderful love
1 Come let us sing of a wonderful love, tender and true; out of the heart of the Father above, streaming to me and to you: wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above. 2 Jesus, the Saviour, this gospel to tell, |
3 Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet; why do they roam? Love only waits to forgive and forget; home! weary wanderer, home! Wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above. 4 Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love, Robert Walmsley |
The Blessing (from an Indian liturgy)
May the cross of the Son of God, mightier than all the powers of evil, bless our going out and our coming in,
Deliver us from all temptation and unruly passion, and the God of all grace bless us, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen
Copyright Notices
Hymns
Hymn words displayed are in the Public Domain
Audio Hymn recordings are from Small Church Music. Copyright notice: Rev. Clyde McLennan, performer in this collection, has assigned his performer rights in this collection to Hymnary.org. Non-commercial use of these recordings is permitted.
Video Hymn recordings are from Hatfield Road Methodist Church music group hosted on YouTube. HRMC have CCLI and One License both with streaming cover.
Bible Readings
Bible readings are from the New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Images
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