Worship on the Web STARTERS FOR SUNDAY 11th May 2008 This Sunday is the Day of Pentecost and the beginning of Christian Aid Week Readings Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11: 24-30 Psalm 104: 24-34, 35b 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13 or Acts 2: 1-21 John 20: 19-23 or John 7: 37-39 Linking the Lectionary Readings All the Lectionary readings, including the suggested alternatives, relate in some way to the creative Spirit of God. Pentecost marks the Church’s awakening self-awareness to its universal appeal, scope and potential. As such it is often spoken of as ‘the birthday of the Church.’ Pentecost was, of course, a Jewish festival, the fiftieth day(hence the name) after the beginning of Passover. It marked the end of the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) which was originally an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the "first fruits" of the early spring harvest (Leviticus 23, Exodus 23, 34). The liturgical cycle associate with this festival included the praise of God’s creative goodness which is reflected in Psalm 104. It is God’s Spirit that creates and God’s Spirit that renews (v. 30). It is surely appropriate that the birth of the Church should coincide with this important festival that celebrated the creative Spirit of God. Pentecost marked the transition from gestation to birth; it was a beginning rather than an ending. For the nascent Church it was the realisation of its true horizons and dimensions whose fulfilment had yet to be realised. It is the same Spirit that moved over the face of the deep to bring order out of chaos in the Genesis creation myth that also brings resurrection and gives birth and life to the Church. Just as the Psalmist spoke poetically of the presence of God’s active Spirit as having the power to make the earth tremble and volcanoes erupt(v. 32), so the presence of the Spirit giving birth to the Church is described in Acts 2 in similar colourful imagery of violent wind and tongues of fire. There are no boundaries limiting the activity or effectiveness of this Spirit: it transcends boundaries of religions and race; language and learning; rank and status; gender and age. It is the answer to Moses’ prayer (Numbers 11) and the realisation of Joel’s vision. This self-same Spirit also gives gifts to the Church to enable it to be the active body of Christ serving the world (1 Corinthians) and, in sacramental allusions, brings individuals of all types and circumstances into the life of the Church through Baptism to be nourished by drinking of that same Spirit that is the very life-blood of the world.(v13). Of all the gifts, Paul will go on to conclude that the greatest is love. All of this is nothing less that the continuing, resurrected life of Christ (John 7). This is the release of the Spirit that John’s Gospel speaks of. The Word made flesh, alive with the same Spirit of creation that brought all things into being, in turn gives that Spirit to his disciples (John 20) so that they can become the human catalysts by which that same Spirit is able to give birth to and sustain the universal Church. Yet, as John’s Gospel also reminds us, not even the Church can restrict the work of the creative Spirit of God; it blows where it chooses! (John 3 : 8) It transcends the Church. Responsive Call to Worship God is with you : God is also with you Creating God, send forth your Spirit: to revive your church and fill it with all spiritual gifts Come, Creator Spirit: inflame our hearts and renew a spirit of love within us O God, open our lips; and our mouths shall proclaim your praise. Let us worship God. Prayers Collect (Common Order, page 674) Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled the promises of Easter By sending your Holy Spirit And opening the way of life eternal To every race and nation Keep us in the unity of your Spirit, That every tongue may tell of your glory; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns With you and the Holy Spirit one God, now and for ever. Through the Holy Spirit he has given us, God’s love has flooded our hearts. (Romans 5:5) Prayer of Approach (Voiced, with congregational response) Voice 1 : Come, Holy Spirit, come, and renew the whole creation. Send the wind and flame of your transforming life to lift up the church in this day. Give wisdom and faith that we may know the great hope to which we are called. Come, Holy Spirit! Congregational Response : Come Holy Spirit and renew the whole creation. Voice 2 : Giver of life, sustain your creation. Confront us with our greedy consuming of your gifts. Stand before us as we pillage and destroy. Lead us into new harmonies of care for all that lives and breathes and has its being. Come, Holy Spirit! Response : Come Holy Spirit and renew the whole creation. Voice 3 : Spirit of truth, set us free to emerge as the children of God. Open our ears that we may hear the weeping of the world. Open our mouths that we may be a voice for the voiceless. Open our eyes that we may see your vision of peace and justice. Make us alive with the courage and faith of your prophetic truth. Come, Holy Spirit! Response : Come Holy Spirit and renew the whole creation. Voice 4 : Spirit of unity, reconcile your people. Give us the wisdom to hold to what we need to be your church. Give us the grace to lay down those things that you can do without. Give us a vision of your breadth and length and height that will challenge our smallness of heart and bring us humbly together. Come, Holy Spirit! Response : Come Holy Spirit and renew the whole creation. Voice 5 : Spirit of life and power, transform our dreams that we may be your people. Give us the gifts we need. Walk with us on the road as we risk living your way in spirit and in truth. Come, Holy Spirit! Response : Come Holy Spirit and renew the whole creation. Amen. (Based on Come Holy Spirit Renew the Whole Creation, in Falla, Terry C ‘Be our Freedom Lord’, Open Book Publishers.) Prayers of Concern (with response) Wind of God, blowing from the four corners of the earth, breathe on us, our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. Breathe hope and sinew into our desolate spirits. In flooded village, in refugee camp, in hungry homes, may your arm be under the head of the helpless, may they rise up from the graveyard of despair and find new life through the power of love. Holy Spirit of God: Show us how to love Wind of God, blow strongly in the world, bursting through structures of injustice and scattering the dust of apathy; cooling the heated frenzy of those who know only violent means of expression or resentment; stirring into life all who are wearied by failure, silenced by ridicule, or too cowed to imagine a better life. Holy Spirit of God: Show us how to love Wind of God, blowing across the universe, stir the hearts of the compassionate, overturn the caution of the hesitant, that the resources of the world may be shared with the hungry, that tanks may be turned into tractors, and the debt of millions cancelled Holy Spirit of God: Show us how to love Breath of God gently whispering in our ears, remove the dust of apathy which clouds our vision. Energize us, that we may be a source of comfort for the sick, of solace for the bereaved. Holy Spirit of God: Show us how to love Fire of God, burn brightly in the world, cauterizing the wounds we have inflicted on the poor by our greed; melting the hearts of those who have grown hard and cold, who refuse to recognize and name evil; giving light to all who identify with the oppressed, and work with them to reclaim their dignity. Holy Spirit of God: Show us how to love God of wind and fire, breath into this place where we worship: the house of our own life, the house of the church, the house of the world. Where there is division or hurt, heal and harmonize us. Where there is disintegration or a falling apart, re-connect and reconcile us. Where there is rigidity or an over-respectability, lighten, loosen, leaven us, make us laugh at ourselves and respond to your free and unpredictable Spirit. Holy Spirit of God: Show us how to love Holy Spirit of comfort and change, send us out in confidence and joy to keep the faith and live it. Our Father ….. (Based on prayers 242 and 245 in Hilton, Donald (Editor) ‘Seasons and Celebrations, NCEC.) Hymns and songs The following choices of hymns and songs have been selected by the Music Panel, from the Worship and Doctrine Task Group:- Be still, for the presence of the Lord CH4, number 189 Come down, O Love divine CH4, number 489 Spirit of God, unseen as the wind CH4, number 600 There’s a spirit in the air CH4, number 616 She sits like a bird CH4, number 593 Breathe on me, Breath of God CH4, number 596 Is it spooky? (suitable for children) CH4, number 602 Spirit of truth and grace CH4, number 608 Spirit of the living God CH4, number 619 God’s love is for everybody (short song) CH4, number 765 Psalm 104: 26-36, 37b O worship the King CH4, number 127 All things bright and beautiful (suitable for children) CH4, number 137 Who put the colours in the rainbow (suitable for children) CH4, number 143 Themes for Preaching Linking Pentecost and the beginning of Christian Aid Week The challenge of the Spirit of Pentecost was to make real the universal nature of what God is doing in Christ. Surely it is that same challenging and disturbing spirit that brought Christian Aid, as well as other relief organisations into being. It was a realisation that, just as the good things of the faith cannot be restricted to any one people, neither can the good things of this earth be denied to all. They are not for some to enjoy at the expense of others. They are for all, as Christ is for all. In many ways the events of the day of Pentecost were a miracle: a miracle of communication; a miracle of connection; a miracle of cooperation. People could understand other people. Maybe there is something in the very essence of the gospel of God’s love that transcends words and language. Love after all has to be seen in action. In the words of the song: ‘Don’t talk of love - show me!’ Jesus might have written the lyric himself: ‘Don’t call me Lord; show me by your acts of love.’ Love, in acts of kindness and generosity, transcends barriers of language; Christian Aid is a miracle of communication; it is as much evidence of the working of the free spirit of God in the world today as the events and happenings of the day of Pentecost. It is also a miracle of connection. The connecting up of people in different parts of the world; connected on the one hand by need and on the other by the ability to respond to that need. In our global village we are more and more realising just how connected up we all are and how actions in one part of the world affect the lives of those in another. This connectedness is often referred to as globalisation; systems of trade and commerce and indeed of culture are conducted more and more at a global level rather than at a local level. More than that, they are all interconnected. There are undoubtedly disadvantages as well as advantages in this process of globalisation but there is no doubting that there is now greater global interdependence than ever before. So we need that third miracle, the miracle of co-operation. The early church had to learn to co-operate to spread the good news of Jesus. So today we need to co-operate with all kinds of people around the world forming associations and alliances of all kinds: - religious, political, ethical, commercial, - in order to spread justice and fairness, and bring hope to people. That is what Christian Aid tries to do, one of its tenets of operation being that it works in co-operation with local people in the belief that they know their own situation and needs better than anyone else. So Christian Aid is living expression to the Spirit of Pentecost, that free moving, disturbing, challenging, barrier-breaking and inspiring spirit that emanates from the very life and nature of God as lived by Jesus. The miracle of Pentecost is not therefore something of a bygone day; it is here and now! It is a miracle of communication, a miracle of connection and a miracle of cooperation that Christian Aid expresses and challenges and invites us to live. For the Children Display items associated with a birthday celebration to mark the birthday of the Church: specially-made cards, balloons (helium filled), streamers, hooters, etc., etc. At the centre of the celebration have a cake with candles (keep the candles well away from the balloons). Use inextinguishable candles – i.e. candles that light again when blown out. Light the candles, sing Happy Birthday and invite one child after another to attempt to blow them out. Use the fact that they relight each time to illustrate the inextinguishable, free spirit of God alive in the world and the ongoing life of the church – ‘nec tamen consumebatur’ even! !!!! P.S. It might be wise to check on the Church insurance policy before attempting this!! A word or two about the author The Rev Ian Dick is Minister at Aberdeen: Ferryhill, and also Master of Christ’s College, University of Aberdeen. This information was printed from www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worship