Those who fly kites know that kites are earthbound and cannot lift and soar until they are caught by the wind.
People and churches are earthbound and cannot be themselves until the wind of God’s Spirit lifts them to fly.
Kites are not free to thrust and move until they are let go to explore the skies.
People and churches are not free to love and care until they can let go and catch the Spirit which is love.
Kites have no power and direction unless they are caught and controlled by the wind.
People and churches have no power and direction unless they allow the Spirit of God to move within them.
O God, may your Spirit lift us from being earthbound and free us to soar, to explore, to have direction and purpose.
O God, help us to fly as people freed by your Spirit, to live and to love.
Adapted From KITES FOR PENTECOST by Marcus Benjamin
Maundy Thursday 7.00pm
Good Friday 9.30am
Easter Sunday 10.00am
Visit the gallery to experience the ‘breakthrough’ experience of Easter (7-21 April)
John 11 — Lazarus
We all know how Lazarus made the biggest comeback since . . . well . . . Lazarus. And we might remember how John’s Gospel uses amazing ‘signs’ like this to illustrate nearby “I AM” sayings of Jesus — in this case: “I am the resurrection and the life.” But we also know only too well that this kind of ‘resurrection’ is not a common experience for us in the face of death — however much we might long for it to be so.
So what kind of false hope does this story encourage? And wasn’t it a resuscitation rather than a resurrection anyway — since Lazarus would surely have to die again one day? How then does this story connect with what happens to Jesus, and ultimately to us?
Jewish scholar Jon Levenson reminds us that if our first question is: ‘Will I have life after death?’ then ‘the discussion has already gotten off on the wrong foot.’ We are caught up in a cosmic transformation far more significant than our own private anxieties — a truth that should help relieve those very same anxieties. ‘Resurrection’ in the Bible is consistently understood in the plural (as communal rather than individual), and as embodied (rather than ‘soulish’ or ghostly). Now that’s a good place to start our discussions . . .
Keith
Dates: Thursday 31 March – Saturday 2 April
Venues: Toorak Uniting Church and the Swedish Church, Toorak
Babble:on is a three day conversation about art, spirituality and contemporary Australia. It’s a three way conversation between artworks, artists, and viewers. During March and April 2011, the 59th Blake Prize Touring Exhibition presented at Toorak Uniting Church, provides the impetus for these conversations.
At the moment we are enjoying the work of Jo Parkinson. I hope you have a moment to stop and browse. Next up, we are delighted that Ben Winspear will be returning for “A Closer look”. Ben’s Official Opening will be Thursday 24th Feb. We are trialling a new opportunity to engage with art, food and conversation, in the shape of a “Taste and See” dinner. Paul Smith and Ben Winspear will encourage a conversation about art and creativity, alongside the culinary creativity of Trudy Skilbeck. There is a cost of $20 for this event, and it will be held on Friday 25th Feb in the Gallery. There are limited numbers, so please book and pay soon if you are interested. Anne is taking the bookings.
Advent calls us out from sleep, the slumber that closes our eyes to what is around us, and gives us time to realign our lives with God’s purposes… purposes of love and truth. The season lifts our horizons and provides glimpses of a world in which weapons of war become tools for the feeding of everyone, where the Korean peninsula might imagine and move to realizing peace. In that world, when we put on armour it is the vulnerable humanity of Jesus Christ that we don. It is to hold before us the only path into God’s future, the way of patient and persistent attention to the myriad and mysterious ways God comes to us.
Two men push shopping trolleys, one is attentive, the other mindless in the shopping centre. One notices the baby grin in a passing trolley as the other complains at the nuisance it is to shop. Two women shift washing from the basket to the clothes line, one is attentive, the other bored. One bemoans her lot, the other notices the rosella call. Advent calls us out of complacency and boredom into attention to every human action; into awakening to the significance of every day and each moment, every face and our own. Advent is our annual wake up call to pay attention to life – for human lives are God’s chosen ‘site’ for comings and goings.”
Today we gather to consider the life and the work of this church over this past year. You have had a chance to read the reports, and consider the activity that has unfolded. How extraordinary that so much goes on… It is all an expression of who you are, who we become together and the very nature of our creative God.
It is no co-incidence that this year we have week by week been weaving a fabric… thread by thread. Each thread offers a unique contribution to the whole. The weft, the upward strings, hold it all together. This creative fabric beautifully reflects who we are as a community, coming together week by week, day by day, working at the things we believe to be important that express uniquely our identity in Christ. Creatively we have done that there, and creatively we have told the stories in our marvellous book, ‘a community creates’
What this book does is quite remarkable. It acknowledges how different we all are… and it is all there in black and white to both honour and understand. Surely, understanding difference is actually about recognizing the need for humility and gentleness and kindness to dwell among us. Surely, when we look at one who loves to cook when we can’t stand the kitchen, or wonder about someone who has musical skills when we can’t sing a note, surely when we hear that for them, the expression is an honouring of who they are meant to be… just as for me it might be making a model train… surely then, I can learn to soften just a little more, suspend judgement on another for their funny ways, be a little kinder when I think about the quirkiness.
And the extraordinary thing about the book, is that we have one thing in common – we are all different. We are united by our difference. We are one in our difference. And that quirky oddness in another is just what I need to remind me of who I am… even if sometimes it is irritating. The call in here, is to sit with the diversity of who we are in peace. Maturity means that we honour and value one another, not expecting them to conform to my picture of what they should be. Maturity as a church means recognizing that we are one voice among many, making one contribution among many, and, yes that is unique and valuable, and we claim it as our heritage and our story and our call… just as we honour others to do the same.
This church community is a rich and brave community that is open to explore and value that which is different, and to work with the wonder-ful range of expressing who we are. Each individual story makes a contribution to the whole. This opening of imagination, this extending of our selves and the consequent participation in the creative process is the way we are each invited into a wholeness that will transform the world.
When we feel lost, we may experience a loneliness of spirit that leads us to cry, “Where are you, O God?” Even as our hearts long to seek after God, God searches for us. God welcomes us through the friendship of Jesus the Christ, finding those who are lost, welcoming those who are considered outcasts, and lifting up those who are weary.
This day God is doing great things through all kinds of people, working to expand the community of faith. When we welcome Jesus, who welcomes us, surprising and wonderful things happen.
As we study the story of Zacchaeus we are invited to reflect upon how we might welcome the Spirit of God in order to channel God’s message of good news to our world?
Today we explore a wonderful story of healing – the healing of ten lepers no less! The story approaches the experience of healing in quite a distinctive way. It asks of us in the church the part we should play… Surely the church should be able to create the community in which people can find a place, discover the healing that is being extended by Jesus in this story. Is it not what we are called to be?
Those who can look beyond the visible cures or not, to the shifts of the heart – the things that make people whole, the need to be loved and to belong.
The wonderful thing about this passage is that it embraces the ‘whole’ person. What I mean by that is that it doesn’t get the balance skewed. For too long we split people up into bodies and souls – the church’s emphasis is purely on the soul – who cares about their social and physical needs, as long as they are right in heaven! The opposite is also a threat, where we become social workers, offering food or shelter, as though that is all. I think they are crucial things – for if our children in Ethiopia or anywhere else don’t get an education, they become stuck – limited to the knowledge around them. Education becomes a way out… but hopefully it is education that will ultimately open up the world…and open them up to an experience of God who is interested in them as a whole.
Neither a church which spiritualizes physical needs, nor a social system which alienates spiritual needs, is enough. Those of us on this journey of faith have the opportunity to address the needs of us as people in a holistic way, that will surely lead people to turn as the leper did, and Praise God.”
This week’s lectionary readings
