 Devotions for Sunday 27th September 2020
Welcome to these weekly devotions. As you read, reflect and pray, may you connect with the God who loves you and calls you on into life at its very best for you and for the blessing of the world. Acknowledgement We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of our land, and pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. We honour their care of the land and acknowledge that as Second Peoples, we have benefitted from their dispossession. So we commit ourselves to reconciliation and justice as First and Second Peoples together, and to learn from them to care for each other and the land. Prayer – based on a prayer by Kevin Lyon in Psalm-Prayers for Every Mood I do not pray alone, Lord, I pray with my brothers and sisters, Who work together For the coming of your Kingdom. I make mine the prayers of each, While they make my prayers their own, Giving prayer a new meaning, A new dimension, A new depth Even getting together in your presence Lord, Is itself a prayer. When we pray, The whole world prays. We know its needs, We live its aspirations. All who suffer the same evils, Need the same blessings. There is no selfishness in common prayer. Dear God, I like this prayer. It shows I’m not alone even though we can’t be together. We are all interconnected. We pray with gratitude and thanksgiving because the blessings of life and love so far outweigh the burdens of grief and our problems, and your gifts and giving to us are all that fill us. I take a moment to name just a few of those blessings and gifts . . . . . and surprises . . . . . Thanks for our church and the faith I have in you. It makes such a difference in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen Backtrack In last week’s Devotions and in our free_key.com Zoom service we talked about the phrase ‘Love is Love’. During free_key I was struck with the question – ‘How would single people feel about what we’re saying here?’ In church we talk a lot about love, and emphasise families and marriage, but many of our members are single- some are young and unmarried, others are older and never married, some separated or divorced and we have many widows or widowers. People living alone is a fast growing demographic. In the 2016 census 31% of households in Warrnambool were single person households. In our reading last week from Matthew 19: 11-12 Jesus affirmed single people. John Bell (from the Iona Community who wrote a number of hymns we sing and is single) in the book Ten Things They Never Told Me About Jesus has a chapter title ‘Christian Family Values?’ in which he shows Jesus really challenges our Western nuclear family ideal. That’s not how families were in Jesus’ times. What he was calling for was such a close community in baptism that ‘water is thicker than blood’. Jesus invites us ‘into a larger family which is defined by commitment to the kingdom of God’. ‘Whoever does the will of God is my mother, sister, brother’ (Matthew 12: 50). In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul recommends that being single is a better life- being single, like him, allows one to serve God with greater devotion, He’s giving his opinion, not making rules, and says it’s OK to marry, and you should if you have a strong desire to do so. Paul was, however, expecting the ‘second coming’ of Christ at any moment which would change everything. In the book Faith in a Time of Crisis Vaughan Roberts, an Anglican priest who is single, calls for us to “encourage godly singleness. Singleness is a great gift from God. Whether it’s chosen or not, singleness is a great context in which God can work wonderfully.” He calls for the church to have a “real community among God’s people, whether married or single . . . where they show their love for God and for each other in all kinds of practical ways . . . with greater value placed on friendship. Married people can have a wonderful ministry by ‘adopting’ single people as almost being extra family members.” Exploring the phrases on this banner- this week’s phrase is KINDNESS IS EVERYTHING. I found this banner originated from a handwritten sign taken up by the Wisconsin Women’s Health Authority. In wanting to make a banner for our church we decided to add ‘. . . we believe: God is Good’ at the start because everything flows from that. ‘Kindness is Everything’ doesn’t have the same political sting as the other phrases, but could be seen as a summary of them all. Does Scripture attest that Kindness is Everything? Well, yes. In the Psalms there are many references to God’s kindness; eg Psalm 84: 11 The Lord is our protector and glorious king, blessing us with kindness and honour. He does not refuse any good thing to those who do what is right. The prophets called for kindness as the way to live; eg Zechariah 7: 9 “Long ago I gave these commands to my people: ‘You must see that justice is done, and must show kindness and mercy to one another. Jesus challenged the religious people of his day summarising the commandments as kindness; Matthew 9: 13 Go and find out what is meant by the scripture that says: ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.” Paul said kindness was one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit; Galatians 5: 22-23 The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, and self-control. Kindness, mercy and compassion are fairly interchangeable words. Jesus said; Luke 6: 36 Be kind just as your Father is kind. Reflection Here are some quotes from the website: kindnessiseverything.com
Reflective Action For your reflection, read through that list again and circle any thoughts that were new or were a good reminder. Maybe design a poster with one of the sayings and with links to actual times you received, witnessed or acted with kindness. These statements all feel warm and fuzzy, so how about this Scripture Verse? Psalm 141: 5 Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness. Every parent knows that there’s truth in that. We have to rebuke or in some way punish our children when the do the wrong thing- for their good (and everyone else’s good). But we’re not so easy to see it as kindness when it’s us being so rebuked or having something we want taken away from us. Some more difficult questions to ponder: 1 What if we reversed it and said Everything is Kindness? Would that work? Could we see the bad things that happen could actually be kindness? (This is hypothetical and standing back from real suffering) But maybe the person that so sadly died suddenly was spared a later, long drawn-out and painful death? We can’t know this, but maybe with an eternal view we could see this? Could Covid-19 actually be kindness by giving us a jolt that we might change our ways and prevent terrible devastation of the environment and socially through our greed and inequality as a human race? We can’t say, but I affirm that God can turn bad things into good for us if we ask. What difference would it make to our lives if we could imagine everything as kindness? 2 Is kindness enough? We usually think of acts of kindness as personal and individual. Are they enough to change the power of greedy and corrupt interests in our world: or do we need to pull on the levers of politics and public opinion and legislation to make change? It seems so slow- like two steps forward and two steps backwards. My faith gives me a hope that in this ‘dance’ God is stronger, love is more powerful, and the Holy Spirit is bringing the world to the place of peace, justice, sustainability, and spiritual life that Jesus envisioned. Prayers God of love and kindness, I open myself to be more of a channel of your kindness. Clean out the rubbish of wrong and regret so that it flows more easily through me. Prime my imagination with ways I can put love into action. May I know that all I give will be replenished by you Holy Spirit; and may my kindness grow a crop of goodness in my world and wider in your world. And in prayer I send love to situations where I may not be able to act: I pray for the whole Covid-19 situation: for those who are sick, those who are bereaved, for carers at risk, for leaders who have to make unpopular decisions in kindness, those who are losing their livelihoods and whose incomes are being reduced, and all who are finding the restrictions really hard – all throughout the world. We give thanks for the good progress that’s been made in Victoria. I pray for my loved ones in their needs . . . I pray for the issues in out local community . . . For our national issues . . . And I pray for myself with all that’s going on within me and around me . . . Give me physical and mental health, spiritual strength, and enough for life; and where I have so much more than enough help me to wear that responsibility and find the joy of sharing . . . And joined with others I pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as 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 Thanks for giving your time to read and reflect on these devotions. I’m conscious that if I’m thought of as a kind person, it’s because you who support the church create the opportunities for me to be so. Blessing In this time, may God fortify your inner being with hope and love. May they be expressed in actions of kindness. And like a goal assist- may you be able to receive kindness and set others up to be kind as well. What a blessing our interconnectedness with each other and the whole world is. From God. Amen
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 Devotions for Sunday 13th September
Welcome to the Devotions sheet for this Sunday. Please take your time to read, pray and imagine your way through what’s here. May you find grace and strength and connection with God from your time reading and reflecting. Prayer Dear God, as I settle in to read these devotions, I pause for a moment to reflect on my anticipation- what do I expect? . . . . What am I hoping for in this time? . . . . God, I offer you my best intentions, and open myself for you to speak to me through my reflection on what’s written. And if it disturbs me, help me stick with it to hear if you do have a challenge for me. And in my already-troubled state- still comfort and reassure me with your loving Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen Acknowledgement We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of our land, and pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. We honour their care of the land and acknowledge that as Second Peoples, we have benefitted from their dispossession. So, we commit ourselves to reconciliation and justice as First and Second Peoples together, and to learn from them to care for each other and the land. Meditation Ask yourself these questions How am I feeling with the Covid 19 restrictions? What has helped me through this so far? What difference have the sunny days made? Where have I seen natural beauty this week? What love have I experienced this week? What have I read, or listened to that lifted me? What kindness have I received; and what kindness have I given? What things have I enjoyed that have met my physical needs? What has nourished me spiritually? Where have you been in my week, God? Where you showed up, and where you came disguised? Say or even just feel a prayer of gratitude to God. Introduction We’re half-way through a series looking at some implications of the gospel in and towards some contemporary and perhaps controversial movements in our world, that all flow from our affirmation that ‘God is Good’. This was inspired by the banner we plan to get made and mount on the Warrnambool Church as a statement of who we are and what we stand for. Last week looked at ‘No Human is Illegal’- a loaded statement about refugees. Today it’s ‘Science is Real’. Science is Real This is a response to Climate Change Deniers- those who reject the findings of over 97% of scientists studying and reporting on the climate of our world. The scientific consensus is 1 The climate is warming. 2 it’s caused by humans burning fossil fuels. 3 It’s already causing trouble with record temperatures, bushfires and extreme weather events, and unless we can limit the global average increase to 1.50C there will be a lot more trouble, but 4 we can stop it by changing to renewable energy sources and other changes to our lifestyles and practices. Science and Religion Both are real. There really need not be a conflict between science and religion, when the questions each seeks to answer are respected. Science investigates ‘How’. Religion provides answers to ‘Why’ and ‘How should we live.’ Albert Einstein is quoted as saying ‘Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.’ For a Christian, once you bust open the literalness of Genesis’ 6 days of creation, any need for conflict with science evaporates, but faith doesn’t. “God did not create the world once upon a time as the sole cause of a predetermined universe but creates the world over a long span of time through the processes of change and development. As the loving and (self)limited source of a world of becoming with freedom and novelty, God works in cooperation with the creatures, laws, and randomness of nature to create a purposeful world. Instead of thinking of the creator as the ultimate reality from the past or the ultimate reality in a timeless eternity, God can be thought of from the future, the God of lure and promise. When this shift is made, a determined cosmos or a timeless eternity gives way to creation from the future in which God works through the processes of evolution to create, redeem, and fulfill the world. God creates in cooperation with the creatures through the freedom, randomness, and laws of the natural world.” Ian Barbour: When Science Meets Religion The problem is that, despite the clear science, and the possibility of solutions, vested interests are holding up the changes we need to make, and day by day the difficulty of solving the problem of climate change increases, and the likelihood of world catastrophe grows. Given the science of climate change, the whole biblical story comes into it- from the declaration of God that the creation is very good in Genesis 1, to a better understanding of what ‘dominion’ means in the power given to human beings who are made in the image of God- to be creative and stewards of the earth; to humanity’s awareness of good and evil in Genesis 2, to the Psalms that rejoice in the creation, to Jesus’ ‘Do unto others as you would have them do to you’, his special place for the needs of children, his challenging the ruling powers of his day provocatively but non-violently (though violence was done to him), to Paul’s reference to the whole creation groaning for redemption in Romans 8, to the vision of the earth as a flourishing garden city at the end of Revelation. As Christians there can be no doubt we are called to care for the earth and the future generations. Reading: Psalm 75 is a Psalm that doesn’t get a go in our lectionary over the three-year cycle. Read this with climate change in mind. We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done. 2 “I have set a time for judgment,” says God, “and I will judge with fairness. 3 Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm. 4 I tell the wicked not to be arrogant; 5 I tell them to stop their boasting.” 6 Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south; 7 it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others. 8 The Lord holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop. 9 But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him. 10 He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased. We need to act decisively and quickly to mitigate the worst effects of Climate Change. There isn’t one ‘silver bullet’ solution, but many contributing changes to our power generation and use of technology, land-use practices, transport, and lifestyles. But the major one is a change from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. This change is happening but is held up by the political power of the fossil fuels industry. Acting to minimise Climate Change is not a science issue, it’s a spiritual issue. It’s an issue of the human heart. We can’t just blame the government. It would act more quickly if the people demanded it. It’s not just the Corporate Heads of the Fossil Fuel industries- it’s the shareholders- and we’re all more or less involved through our Superannuation. It’s also the workers in the fossil fuel industries and their communities- as the last Federal Election – especially in Queensland- showed. Studies of people who have changed their mind about Climate Change over recent years showed these causes for change:
The studies showed people wanted to know more but were not motivated enough to take the time and effort to find out. Other resistance factors were:
In our community there is a spectrum: Activists <–> Convinced <–> Concerned <–> Cautious <–> Disengaged <–> Doubtful <–> Dismissive What can move people to be more engaged?
I got this far in preparing these devotions and looked over what I’d written and was reminded of how self-righteous it sounds. I was reminded by a devotion by Philip Yancey: “Jesus’ message of the Kingdom had little in common with the politics of polarization”. While he was on the side of the poor and oppressed, “he became known as a friend of tax-collectors, a group clearly identified with the foreign exploiters. Though he spoke of the dangers of money he showed love and compassion toward a rich young ruler. In short, Jesus honoured the dignity of people, whether he agreed with them or not. I feel convicted by this quality of Jesus every time I get involved in a cause I strongly believe in. How easy it is to join the politics of polarization, to find myself shouting across the picket lines at the ‘enemy’ on the other side. From Jesus I learn that whatever activism I get involved in, it must not drive out love and humility, or otherwise I betray the Kingdom of heaven.” That doesn’t mean we don’t get involved, but we’re called to bring that humility, respect and even love for all people into our activism, our conversations, our lobbying. Which has more show of succeeding that finger-wagging and shouting. I remember Gill Davey saying, ‘When you point the finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you.’ Prayer (from UnitingJustice) Creator God, breath and source of life, in love you called the world into being and in grace you made us and call us your children. We stand in awe of the wonder of your creation: its beauty and wildness; complexity and power; resilience and fragility. God of life, you call us to be participants in the web and wellspring of life: to be nurtured by the planet; to be nurturing of the planet; to cherish the world and all that lives. But we have failed and creation groans under our weight. God of grace, forgive us in our brokenness: when we have taken too much from the earth; when we have not spoken out against greed and destruction; when we have allowed our most vulnerable neighbours to be harmed. We seek courage and forgiveness to be made whole. God of love, we pray for those people, communities and nations already suffering the devastating effects of climate change; and we pray for the diversity of life on earth, so much of it already threatened by our actions. God of hope, we pray for the members of parliament who make laws and policies. Bless them with wisdom and creativity, and a shared vision of hope for all creation. May they find the determination to take strong action to halt the destructive effects of climate change, and the political will to act together for the common good Creator God, we pray for us all, that we might restore our relationships with each other and work together to heal the earth. Renew us in your grace for the sake of your creation. Amen. And God, we pray for all of us together in this Covid19 situation as well- all of us throughout the world. Bring us together as one humanity in love and care. We pray for our loved ones and ourselves with our needs . . . And we offer prayer for all those opposed to our concerns . . . in the wonder of Jesus. Amen Blessing May God bless you with the Divine Love, that is gentle and passionate; so you flourish even in difficulty, so that making changes for good in your own life is a joy, so you stir up the world with a vision of human unity, peace and sustainability with such hope and respect that you are irresistibly persuasive. And may the future generations praise and thank you for what you did for the world in 2020. In the name of Christ. Amen.  Welcome to the Devotions sheet for this Sunday. Please take your time to read, pray and imagine your way through what’s here. May you find grace and strength and connection with God from your time reading and reflecting.
Acknowledgement We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of our land, and pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. We honour their care of the land and acknowledge that as Second Peoples, we have benefitted from their dispossession. So we commit ourselves to reconciliation and justice as First and Second Peoples together, and to learn from them to care for each other and the land. Prayer Dear God of eternity, time is a funny thing. In some ways the weeks seem to fly by and in other ways time seems to drag. Anyhow, this is time I’m specially setting aside to share myself with you. You know me better than I can say myself. You see right into my heart and motives. You know the things I think but dare not say and the things I want but don’t dare act on. With some of those things it’s because they wouldn’t be good, and with some they would be good but are just not the done thing, or I’m too afraid. I do believe (and where I doubt it, I’ll try and trust) that you look on the whole of me with compassionate love and care, you forgive all that’s wrong, and in everything you want the best for me. Thank you for my life and all that’s made it up. Thank you for the message of Jesus, the reassurance of your Spirit and my connection to your church. I open myself to receive what you give me out of this time of devotion. In Jesus’ name. Amen Introduction Three weeks ago now we began a series looking at some implications of the gospel in and towards some contemporary and perhaps controversial movements in our world, that all flow from our affirmation that ‘God is Good’. This was inspired by the banner we plan to get made and mount on the Warrnambool Church as a statement of who we are and what we stand for. Last week looked ‘Women’s rights are human rights’. We thought this missed something: The best alternative that’s been suggested is ‘Women are owed real equity’. Today it’s time for ‘No Human is Illegal’. But first! Take a moment to think about what has changed for women over your lifetime. If you are a woman, which of these are you grateful for? Give thanks to God for those changes and the people who have helped bring them about. If you are a man- what have those changes meant for you? Would you want to give thanks for them? Why? Prayer-Meditation I was just hearing a story about someone, whose cat never goes outside- it is too scared to, and so stays inside even if the door is opened for it. Using your imagination in prayer- talk and listen with God about these prompts: What does the cat enjoy? What does it miss out on- both good and bad? Jesus said ‘I have come that you might have life in its fullness (John 10:10). Does the cat story speak to you of your life? Or ‘life’ in general? You might even like to write a response. No human is illegal All these phrases are loaded and respond to policies and practices around social justice issues. They are a response to injustices. So ‘No Human Is Illegal’ is about policies and terms used to describe Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Certain Refugees and Asylum Seekers get branded as ‘Illegals’ wrongly. According to the United Nations Convention on Refugees to which Australia is a signatory, it is a human right to seek asylum in another country when you fear persecution in your own. The Australian Press Council has said that calling asylum seekers ‘illegal immigrants’ is a breach of the Council’s Standards of Practice. A brief history After World War 2 Australia felt a need to increase it’s population and opened its door to migrants from Europe, including a lot of displaced people from the war. After the end of the Vietnam War, under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, many refugees from Vietnam were welcomed. Many of those came by small boats. In 1992 after an influx of Cambodian refugees the Labor government brought in mandatory detention for anyone entering Australia without a valid visa. Australia has a history of accepting UNHCR recognised refugees (people who have been waiting in Refugee Camps). The annual figure from 2013 was 13,750 which was increased to 18,750 in 2018. In 2001 under Prime Minister John Howard, the government chose to make an issue of boat arrivals with the Tampa Affair, where a Norwegian ship rescued asylum seekers in trouble off the Australian coast. The government refused to accept them, there was a stand-off, and the government used it to incite fear of ‘boat people’ to raise its popularity. With the fear of terrorists after 9/11 this approach worked. The ‘Pacific Solution’ was created where boat arrivals could be sent to Nauru and later Manus Island while their claims were assessed. Christmas Island and other Australian islands were excised from Australia’s migration zone, so arrivals there couldn’t apply for asylum there. Boat turn-backs were started using the navy. Temporary (3 year) Protection Visas were introduced for boat people found to be refugees. Most asylum seekers sent to Nauru and Manus Island had their claims processed and over 90% were found to be refugees. The new Labor government ended offshore processing early in 2008 and ended the temporary nature of TPVs. This coincided with the civil war in Sri Lanka and war in Afghanistan and Iraq creating a millions of refugees of whom many sought Australia by boat. Many solutions were proposed and thwarted and off-shore processing was re-started under Prime Minister Julia Gillard. When Kevin Rudd re-replaced her, in July 2013 he introduced a policy that no boat people would ever be resettled in Australia. The Abbott Coalition Government with Peter Dutton becoming Minister for Home Affairs took an even tougher stand with Operation Sovereign Borders. TPVs were reintroduced, and time limited Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs). Eventually they took children off Manus Island and Nauru, and with a deal with USA, the number of refugees has reduced a lot. Last year’s Medevac Bill was another controversy illustrating the government’s hard line on refugees needing urgent medical attention. Those who have come for treatment are now holed up in hotels like under permanent quarantine. One family where the parents fled Sri Lanka are kept at huge expense on Christmas Island though hundreds of thousands of people have campaigned for their release to the Biloela community in Queensland that wants them back. UN experts have found this offshore processing regime to be in breach of international human rights standards. Under international law, Australia is still responsible for upholding the human rights of asylum seekers it sends offshore. Meanwhile, many people overstay their visas in Australia. Some scriptures: Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is the remembrance of what it was like for the people of Israel to be refugees, for example Psalm 105: 12-13 God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan. 13 They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another. And therefore to treat other refugees with hospitality: eg Exodus 23: 9 9 “Do not mistreat a foreigner; you know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt. In Jesus’ parable of the ultimate test of human goodness in Matthew 25: 34-40 ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’ In the story of the Good Samaritan, (Luke 10: 25-37) Jesus’ message is that whoever we come across in need is our ‘neighbour’ and should be treated with great kindness. In the early church, Christians were urged to be hospitable: eg Romans 12:13 Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. And at the same time to feel a bit like refugees in the culture of this world: eg Hebrews 13: 14 4 For there is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come. Explanation Human Rights, such as the UN Refugee Convention are a product of Christian ethics and Enlightenment thinking. It is clear from scripture that Christians should care for refugees. 80 million refugees in the world is more than something we can tackle as individuals. It is something for governments, though we can play a small part. Often refugees have significant trauma and need personal support, but they also make grateful and positive citizens. If you want to refute the common arguments against supporting refugees and asylum seekers there are websites like the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, www.arsc.org.au; or the Refugee Council of Australia, www.refugeecouncil.org.au; or the Kaldor Centre at the University of New South Wales, www.kaldorcentre@unsw.edu.au; that have plenty of information. If you don’t have the internet and are interested let me know and I can send you information. In my experience if you drill down to peoples’ hostility to supporting refugees it comes down to a threat to their money. Yes it will cost us something, though the long-term benefits may well outweigh the costs. But we are a wealthy country and can afford to do at least our fair share of taking refugees. Does our good fortune and the blessing of being born in Australia come with a responsibility to help those less fortunate? But the question I’m wondering about is how we might argue, when it comes to saying ‘No human is illegal’, that ‘Compassion Is Enough Reason’. That’s a question that takes us to the very core of our value systems or our spirituality. What is our purpose as human beings? Much of the world believes it is to be happy. If that is the purpose of life then you can argue that compassion makes us happier. It certainly can make one much happier than greed ever does. All faiths teach this and scientific research confirms it. We can argue that we are all interconnected, so kindness to others actually benefits us. But Christian faith calls us beyond our own benefit. Don’t just be compassionate because ultimately you will be better off. Christian faith calls us to a deeper purpose- to be part of God’s purpose. Jesus said ‘Be compassionate as your Father in heaven is compassionate.’ (Luke 6:36) It seems to me there are four ways to argue for generous support for refugees and asylum seekers and that in Australia we could do much better: The legal one of human rights, a moral argument about our responsibilities as fortunate people, a utilitarian one that it will ultimately makes us happier, and a spiritual one that it reflect the character of God. Of course just how generous is debatable and in the realm of politics, and in a democracy I think we have the responsibility to use that blessing to advocate for Christlike policies. Our local Love Makes A Way group is in recess since the Covid19 restrictions, but up until then had met weekly to pray for refugees outside Dan Tehan’s office for over 4 years. Good on them! Prayers from a liturgy from Love Makes a Way Jesus you calmed the waves: Be with the boat people. Until they find safe harbour: Be with the boat people. Until their homeland is safe: Be with the boat people. Until they are re-united with their families: Be with the boat people. Until the hearts of the world are open to their cries: Be with the boat people. From our fear of strangers: Christ deliver us. From our fear of your message: Christ deliver us. From our selfishness: Christ deliver us. From our paralysis Christ deliver us. Toward the exiled: Open our hearts. Toward the alien: Open our hearts. Toward the voiceless: Open our hearts. Toward a more just sharing of what we have received: Open our hearts. Toward our sisters and brothers everywhere: Open our hearts. More prayers Dear God, we bring to you our prayers about everything else: My own worries, needs and concerns . . . . and those of people I love . . . . our troubled world with this pandemic . . . . and other big issues in our world and nation . . . . for our leaders . . . . for our church . . . . for strength, imagination and clarity about what you want me to do . . . . for those who I find hard to cope with . . . . And joined with others I pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as 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 Blessing: May God bless you with an open and compassionate heart, an open and insightful mind, and a creative purpose to live by. May God’s life flow in and through you with the blessing of an attractive, joyful depth of being. In the name of Christ. Amen |
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