21 June 2026 - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Year A

The Faith Action Programme would like to thank Esther Moodie, Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees Co-ordinator, and the SFAR writing group for their thoughts on the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Sanctuary Sunday.

Introduction

This resource was first published in 2023 to help congregations to make Sanctuary Sunday a day to prayerfully reflect on the biblical call to offer welcome and safety to people seeking refuge. Three years on, the themes it explores remain as urgent and as faithful as ever.

Across Scotland, the UK and around the world, people continue to be displaced by war, persecution, climate crises and economic hardship. At the same time, public conversations about migration have grown increasingly tense, and many who seek safety now arrive in societies where suspicion, fear and hostility towards migrants are becoming more visible. In this climate, our calling to recognise the dignity of every person and to offer sanctuary is as important as ever.

At the heart of this resource is the story of Hagar in Genesis (16; 21:8-21). Twice Hagar is forced from her home into the wilderness, and twice God seeks her out there. In her loneliness and distress, God hears her cries, and in response, Hagar gives God a remarkable name: El Roi, "the God who sees me". Hagar discovers that even in the most desolate places she is not invisible to God.

For Tatiana Bondarenko, a Ukrainian woman with lived experience of displacement, Hagar's story deeply resonated. Her reflections beautifully draw out the ways Hagar's story speaks to an experience sadly shared by millions of refugees around the world. Our prayer continues to be that those who arrive in Scotland may feel welcomed, cared for, and above all, seen.

Additional reflections are provided by the Reverend John Carswell, drawing upon his experience providing chaplaincy support at the Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre. Sadly, the numbers of people in immigration detention have only increased in the past three years, and so the need for compassionate support for people whose lives are in limbo remains highly relevant.

This Sunday I would like to encourage you to pray and reflect on what it means to welcome the stranger in a time when that welcome is becoming increasingly at odds with a climate of fear and suspicion. Scripture consistently reminds us of God's concern for those who are displaced, vulnerable or far from home. From Hagar in the wilderness to the teachings of Jesus, we are invited to see the face of Christ in those who seek refuge among us.

In a time when fear can shape our public life, the Church is called to witness to a different vision: one rooted in compassion, justice and the conviction that every person is seen and known by God. May our churches be places where those seeking safety are recognised, valued and welcomed, and where together we recognise the God who sees us all.

A version of these reflections with additional resources can be found in our The God who Sees Me resource. Visit our Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees website for the latest resources that you can include in and use to shape your Sanctuary Sunday services. There you will find video testimonies of people seeking sanctuary in Scotland, prayers written by those displaced, reflections and much more.

Finally, if you do run a Sanctuary Sunday Service we would love to hear from you! I can be contacted at emoodie@churchofscotland.org.uk.

Blessings, Esther Moodie, Co-ordinator, Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees

Genesis 21:8-21

I am from Odessa, Ukraine. I moved to Edinburgh in May 2022 due to the war in my country. My son and daughter-in-law remained in Ukraine, as well as some of my friends. In Edinburgh, God gave me a wonderful family that took me in, as well as a wonderful church called Bellevue Chapel! I am very grateful to the Lord for His support and hope!

Imagine a desert. Wherever you look, all you can see is sand everywhere. There are no trees or any other vegetation, except for dry bushes. The sun burns everything that tries to grow, and you have a long road ahead through this parched land. There is nothing suitable to shelter you from the heat, there is not a single source of water along the road, only what you have taken with you. You are alone; it's just you and a boy – the son you are responsible for. There is not a single other person around who could offer you help. You wander in a direction unknown to you, no destination, not knowing where to turn, just wandering, hoping for safety. The situation is dire. What could be worse than this?

Many Ukrainians have found themselves in this situation during the war. You're running from danger, but you don't know where to run to. In your hands is a single suitcase, which now holds all your life's belongings. And sometimes you don't even have a suitcase – I did not have time to collect it. In your hands are the hands of your children. Who will help? Where to run to? Where can you expect help to come from? Everything around is new and unfamiliar. There are people around, but it is as if you are in a desert. Only you and your problems and no-one who could help!

In Genesis 21 we meet Hagar, the servant of Sarah, in a very similar situation. Hagar and her son Ishmael are displaced in the wilderness after being sent away by her masters. The sun is burning down, and the parched land that leads to nowhere is exhausting for the travellers. Eventually the provisions are empty, the last drop of water gone. What could be worse? Without water in the desert the chances of survival are zero. Hagar understands very well that her own strength is not enough to save her son and herself, and there they cannot count on help from others as there is not a soul around. What can a single woman do in such a situation?

Hagar makes the only decision she feels she can make in this situation. She leaves her son and goes a bowshot away so as not to see, and perhaps not hear, how he will die and she begins to cry. No one will hear her, but perhaps Hagar's cries will silence her son's cries. Incredibly though, there was one who sees and hears the voice of the boy. The angel of God calls to Hagar and says: "Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation" (vv.17-18). And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. God sees their distress and restores both her and Ishmael's physical wellbeing as well as their dignity, safety and protection through the promise of a family.

This was Hagar's second meeting with God. The first happened when Hagar had to flee from her mistress into the wilderness after being mistreated (Genesis 16). The angel of the Lord seeks her out in love and care for her. Hagar has a very personal encounter with God and gives God the name ‘El Roi', saying: "You are the God who sees me!"

God met Hagar twice in a desperate situation of displacement. God truly sees and understands her, and her worries and pain. God saves and restores her, and promises a hopeful future. This is the God who sees you too.

This is my God, the God in whom I believe! The God who knows all my difficulties and experiences, who does not leave me alone, but empathises and helps me! This is the God who gives hope, and gives life! In the most difficult moments of my life, my Lord supported me and gave me hope! At the beginning of the war, I came across one expression that encouraged me: "When I die, I will be with the Lord! If I live, the Lord will be with me. Live or die, I belong to the Lord!"

Call the Lord into your life! And then you can say, "You are the God who sees me! You are the God who saves me!"

Psalm 86

Day of Sorrow
"In the day of my affliction, I cry out to You, because You will hear me." Psalm 86:7

These lines written in the Bible belong to David.

David was a man after God's own heart! Sincere, open, God-loving David! We first meet David when he was still a young man. He looked after his father's sheep, played musical instruments and sang. The young man David, who passionately loves God and believes in God, and without hesitation fought a giant and defeated him!

But now David writes (vv.3-4) about his grief and how hard life feels for him. "Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you."

We have all had bad days. Sometimes it's the bad weather creating your bad mood, maybe you didn't pass an exam or didn't cope with a task at work, maybe your dinner burned or your holiday is postponed. But what David describes is not quite the same. What David is experiencing seems to be deep grief, distress or despair (v.7). These feelings are so much more than a bad day. Grief, distress and despair are the loss of a loved one, the loss of housing and uncertainty about the future, it is a threat to a person's life. They are strong and long-lasting human emotions and understandably many people have a hard time coping with them and don't know where to turn to.

David knew exactly where to look for help in the day of trouble! David turns to God! He pours out all his emotions and experiences before God. David is honest with God.

"Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; your servant who trusts in you." (vv.1-2)

At the beginning of the psalm, the cause of David's grief is not revealed to us, but verse 14 gives us some understanding of the situation.

"Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me – they have no regard for you."

David's life is in danger. Brave David, who defeated Goliath, warrior David, who fought with many enemies, is now in despair and scared for his life.

Have you had such experiences? Have there been such days? Were you afraid for your life or the lives of your loved ones?

The morning of 24 February 2022 forever changed the lives of my people. A full-scale war was at our doorstep. The days of mourning, grief and despair had come. Days when you do not know what awaits you, days when all your plans are destroyed in an instant, days when you are constantly afraid for your loved ones, days when you can lose everything in an instant.

What can help in such a situation? Who can help in such a situation?

I, probably like all people, experienced fear at the beginning of the war. On the first night, I didn't know how to go to bed. What awaited us? And the only thing that gave peace and hope was my Lord and faith in God, being in God's love! Perhaps I can say in the words of David, "Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call on You every day." It was prayer and hope in God that supported me.

"For You, O Lord, are good and merciful and have great mercy on all who call on You" (v.5).

If you have a day of sorrow today, call the Lord into your life and entrust your life to the Lord! "For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God" (v.10).

Tatiana Bondarenko

Romans 6:1-11b

What does God see and how does God save? Just as God did with Hagar in the desert, God saves with the provision of water – in this case, the water of baptism, which saves us from what we see, that we might become what God sees.

In this passage Paul is confronting a false notion of the privileges of salvation which seems to imply that the more we sin, the more we experience the joy of forgiveness. That would be like Hagar, gulping down the water from the well, only to wander off into the desert again to see if it would happen all over again!

Paul says, no, that we have been called to a new life through our union with Jesus in baptism. The Greek word sumphutos is used only here in the New Testament and speaks of a union like that of a new vine grafted into an old branch, the two becoming one in the process (see John 15). The union Paul is referring to is the holy union we have with Jesus, becoming one with Him in His death and resurrection. Baptism is the transforming moment in which we become something different to what we were before, dying to an old self and rising to a new self. It is of course, not the water itself, any more than it was the water in the desert. It is merely the means by which God teaches us what has happened to us in our sumphutos with Jesus. We are transformed and made new.

But for what? Is it simply for our pleasure or to secure our future in heaven? No, it is to turn our hearts to God in worship, and to turn our eyes towards others in service. We are to engage in the battle against the selfish ways of the old self so that we might live and love as Jesus did and continues to do through our holy union.

Rev John Carswell

Matthew 10:24-39

The new life does not come without hardship. In fact, the new life often brings hardship. As the Psalmist wrote, ‘It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face,' (Psalm 69:7). As Jeremiah lamented, ‘I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me,' (Jeremiah 20:7). Jesus warns of the same thing in this passage from Matthew, promising that those who follow Him will likely suffer the same abuse as He did, up to and including being likened to Satan. No matter, Jesus says. Do not be afraid, keep trying, keep working, keep shouting about what God has done for you. Your enemies can only kill your body, they cannot actually take your soul.

Following Christ, picking up your cross, leads in only one direction, to death. But remember, death for the believer, united with Christ in baptism, leads also to resurrection. This is, in the final measure, who we really are, died and risen again. To pretend otherwise is to deny Christ, and risk Him denying you! It is a costly discipleship that divides those who choose to follow from those who choose not to follow, even fathers from sons, mothers from daughters, husbands from wives. It is a hard road, but one that leads to the discovery of true life, lasting life, abundant life (John 10:10).

Rev John Carswell

Sermon ideas

All four of our readings are rich with themes relevant both to the lives of refugees and asylum seekers, and to all followers of Jesus. Below are some suggestions on what could be developed from these readings.

The God who sees and hears
Our passages today reveal to us a God who sees us and a God who hears us. Hagar's story reflects the experience of many refugees. Hagar was forced to leave her home at least three times. The first, when she was taken from Egypt into slavery. The second, when she fled into the desert from Sarah's abuse, and third, as we read about today, when she and her son were cast out by Abraham and Sarah. This is not an uncommon experience: refugees often experience multiple displacements within their own country even before seeking asylum abroad.

In the desert Hagar experiences her lowest moment. Her child is dying and all she can do is weep. And yet Hagar is not alone. God came to her in her deepest need and responded to her cry, first with a listening ear, and then with life-sustaining water. This passage reveals to us a God of compassion and caring love. When the world had discarded Hagar, God did not.

God will not forget us. Our Gospel reading reassures us that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without them noticing (Matt 10:29). If that is true how much more will God hear the cries of those in need? See every refugee? Know every person in our community who is suffering today? This passage reminds us that we are never alone in our pain, we have a God of love who draws close to us and has counted every hair on our heads (Matt 10:30).

God sees us and is faithful to us. This is what gave the Psalmist the confidence to cry out, "Turn to me and be gracious to me" (Psalm 86:16) and it's what gives Tatiana the confidence to say "You are the God who sees me! God – who saves me!"

Sin of rejection
If these passages reveal God's compassion for those in need, they also show us the ugly reality of human rejection. Hagar, an Egyptian living in a foreign land, was consistently mistreated. She was used by the people around her, treated with suspicion and mistrust, and eventually discarded when she was no longer of use to them. It is disturbing to see Abraham and Sarah, heroes of our faith, acting in such cruel and callous ways.

Yet, if we are honest, we can all find ourselves tempted to privilege the people who are closest to us. Jesus specifically challenged this instinct when He asked His disciples to place Him above their family relations (Matt 10:35). It is easy to put our tribe first and fail to extend that same consideration to those who seem strange to us.

Meeting with refugees can sometimes be challenging for people who have not had those same life experiences. Refugees are people who come from different cultures from our own, they can speak different languages and will have a different relationship with place and identity. In addition, many refugees have also experienced immense trauma and loss in their lives. In the face of those needs it can be tempting to look away. Like the Priest and the Levite, we can cross to the other side of the road and leave the Samaritan uncared for.

But to do so is to miss on the opportunity to meet refugees as people. Refugees are more than their immigration status, they are people with stories, creativity, and gifts to share. Churches that have opened their doors to refugees can testify to the ways that relationships with New Scots have enriched their communities.

Paul tells us we consider ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6:11). Therefore, we must bury the old sins: the sin of racism, the sin of narrow-mindedness, the sin of failing to see the humanity of others. When we do, we will have the joy of encountering the stranger, not as a threat but as a blessing.

New life
Our readings from Romans and Matthew both speak of the promise of new life. We see this too in Genesis. God rescued Hagar and Ishmael by providing them life-sustaining water, and would continue to protect them. God did not lead them back to Abraham, nor to Egypt. Ishmael would be raised in the wilderness, a place of real danger. Yet there he thrived in this barren and desolate place. Why? Because "God was with the boy."

Every person who flees their home does so in search of a new life. They are looking for peace and safety, but before reaching their destination many must spend years-long spells in the wilderness. Whether it is the harrowing and dangerous journeys that refugees must make to reach safe countries, the complex bureaucratic systems they must navigate to be given status, or the long process of making a new place their home, refugees are used to spending years in the wilderness.

And yet refugees continue to create new lives wherever they are. Despite all the challenges refugees are constantly making homes, gathering communities, and finding moments of joy within all the suffering. Hope like this is not easy, it takes great courage and resilience to hold on to hope in the face of such overwhelming opposition. Yet they do, each day refugees build new and rich lives.

As Christians we have been called by Jesus to new life. In baptism we die to our old selves and are raised to a life of discipleship (Romans 6:4). This is a life of great joy, but also real challenges. As John wrote in his reflection, ‘The new life does not come without hardship. In fact, the new life often brings hardship.' Jesus called us to pick up our crosses and follow Him (Matt 10:38). This means leaving safe and familiar places and letting go of identities that give us security. Jesus calls us out into the wilderness.

Yet like Ishmael and so many refugees, we can thrive in the wilderness. As John Carswell notes in his reflection, God saves us with the water of baptism as an ongoing act of transformation. Discipleship brings challenges but it is also a lifegiving path, full of joy and hope. In this then, perhaps we should see refugees not as alien other, but as fellow sojourners living in hope. Or, in the words of John Carswell, ‘In the death of all that is familiar, let us welcome the stranger and find our true selves in Christ.'

Esther Moodie

Prayers

Opening prayer

May God walk with refugees as God walked with Abraham.
May Christ protect those who were forced out of their homeland
as Christ experienced displacement since His birth.
May the Holy Spirit lead and comfort those who are willing to lose everything,
but keep the faith. Amen

From God With Us

Prayer of approach
Hospitable God, You enfold us;
Compassionate Jesus, You uphold us;
Advocating Spirit, You are the wind at our backs.
Trinity of Love,
because of You, the universe exists
in all its unfathomable depths,
in all its meticulous detail.
What an astonishing thing to do!
What a labour of love!
Thank You for giving us a place in Your creation,
for making each one of us, an unrepeatable wonder,
and setting us on this earth in this time.
When we recognise Your presence, life is better.
When we call on Your help and spend time with You, life is better.
When You break in on our consciousness
with Your timely, gentle, surprising, funny, startling ways of saying hello,
life is better.
Thank You God for always coming to meet us where we are,
at our best, at our worst, in ordinariness, in crisis,
You welcome us and offer help and healing.
So will You silence any fears that we don't deserve Your love,
take away any guilt from mistakes we have made,
bring us close to You,
cheer us up and cheer us on.
In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen.

Jo Love

Prayers of gratitude / thanksgiving
I will keep trusting and believing in God
and I will keep holding on to His promises
knowing that it shall be well with my soul.

I refuse to be discouraged.
I receive spiritual encouragement to go forward.
Lord, everywhere I go, I will not be alone
because You are always with me.
I declare I am courageous,
no matter what I see or hear,
I will not give up, in Jesus' name.

Lord, remind us of the precious and constant thoughts You have for us,
entrusting our identity and our self-confidence in You
rather than in ourselves, our circumstances, or the culture that we live in.
Thank You for Your word and unending love for us.
In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Father God, help us to value life as much as You do,
and to be good stewards
of not only the bodies You have crafted for us,
but the short time here on earth You have given us
to do Your will and glorify You.

Lord Jesus, You break down the walls that divide us;
walls of hostility that blind us to one another.
You died that we may be one.
Thank You for Your great and merciful love,
we trust You.

Prayer of intercession
May God bless us,
our God, who called the world into being,
who breathed us into life,
who provides us with new strength.
May God bless us,
our God, whose love does not know borders nor walls,
whose justice will come.
Our God, who casts down the mighty from their thrones
and lifts up the lowly.
May God bless us,
Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer,
Amen.

Blessing
May God bless us,
our God, who called the world into being,
who breathed us into life,
who provides us with new strength.
May God bless us,
our God, whose love does not know borders nor walls,
whose justice will come.
Our God, who casts down the mighty from their thrones
and lifts up the lowly.
May God bless us,
Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, Amen

From God With Us

Blessing
May God bless us with encounters
that turn strangers into neighbours,
that turn fear into friendships,
that turn hatred into hospitality,
that turn pain into peace. Amen

From Pray Now: Stories of Encounter

Journeys of Faith and Welcome
A series of videos produced to celebrate the stories of New Scots and faith communities, and the role faith has played in their journeys of seeking, finding and offering sanctuary. We encourage communities across Scotland to show these videos in their local contexts, as part of worship services, events, discussion groups or prayer meetings.

"God With Us"
An ecumenical worship resource on the theme of refugees, migration and sanctuary. Available to download from the Church of Scotland website.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786225573/god-welcomes-all

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

• CH4 9 – "O God, my refuge, keep me safe" (Psalm 16)
• CH4 168 – "God weeps at love withheld"
• CH4 198 – "Let us build a house where love can dwell"
• CH4 253 – "Inspired by love and anger"
• CH4 259 – "Beauty for brokenness"
• CH4 360 – "Jesus Christ is waiting"
• CH4 485 – "Dear Lord and Father of mankind" (verse 6)
• CH4 543 – "Longing for light, we wait in darkness"
• CH4 544 – "When I needed a neighbour, were you there"
• CH4 550 – "As the deer pants for the water"
• CH4 606 – "Lord, you sometimes speak in wonders"
• CH4 694 – "Brother, sister, let me serve you"
• CH4 706 – "For the healing of the nations" (alternative tunes: Westminster Abbey, Cwm Rhondda)

• GWA 25 – "The God of Sarah Praise" (verse 3)
• GWA 42 – "God Welcomes All"
• GWA 51 – "Kyrie eleison" (English and Arabic)
• GWA 47 – "Come, all you wounded and weary"
• GWA 101 – "There is no child so small"
• GWA 209 – "We Are Called to Welcome Strangers"
• GWA 216 – "Build a longer table, not a higher wall"

All-age songs

• "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty" (Children's song)
• "He's got the whole world in his hands" (insert different nationalities) (Children's song)

Songs in multiple languages

For a selection of international songs and songs in different languages visit: https://songs2serve.eu/songs (includes music videos).

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

• Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
• Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
• In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
• While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
• Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
• Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

• How inclusive was the worship?
  Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
  Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
• How was the balance between passive and active participation?
• How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
  What helped this?
  What hindered this?
• How cohesive was the worship?
  Did it function well as a whole?
  How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
• How balanced was the worship?
  What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
• How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
  Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
  How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
  How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
• What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

Useful links

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.