Invitation to Worship:
Gathered in the name of Jesus Christ,
inspired by the Holy Spirit,
and blessed by God,
we come to worship one, holy God.
O God, our own God,
how wonderful is your name in all the earth.
Your majesty is the music of the starry skies.
yet even children of dust can sing your praises.
In the name of the Healer, the Provider and the Enabler
let your gratitude and joy be made known.
O God, our own God,
how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
Hymn: StF 103 God is love; let heaven adore him
1 God is Love, let heaven adore him;
God is Love, let earth rejoice;
Let creation sing before him
And exalt him with one voice.
God who laid the earth’s foundation,
God who spread the heavens above,
God who breathes through all creation:
God is Love, eternal Love.
2 God is Love; and love enfolds us,
All the world in one embrace:
With unfailing grasp God hold us,
Every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking
Under sorrow’s iron rod,
Then we find that selfsame aching
Deep within the heart of God.
3 God is Love; and though with blindness
Sin afflicts each human soul
God’s eternal loving kindness
holds and guides and keeps them whole.
Sin and death and hell shall never
O’er us final triumph gain;
God is Love, so Love for ever
O’er the universe must reign.
Timothy Rees (1874 – 1939)
Prayers of approach, confession and forgiveness
O God, creator and sustainer of all life,
draw us into your holy presence today,
in the name of your Son,
and by the power of your Spirit.
Teach us more about you.
Help us to celebrate your majesty,
and to experience your blessing in our lives.
We take a moment to consider all the things we have brought with us today – whether they are things that worry us, or things that we celebrate; things that lift us up, or things that bring us down.
O God,
Take from us the burdens we do not need to bear,
so that, in this moment, we may focus on you alone.
Lord, there are so many ways
in which we can hurt one another
and grieve your Holy Spirit.
Forgive us when we have treated our lives,
and the lives of others, in ways that devalue us and them,
not appreciating the gift that life is to us.
Forgive us when we hurt those closest to us,
when we do not appreciate their worth.
Forgive us when, even today, we have lashed out
at someone else, made a joke at someone’s expense,
or undermined someone’s confidence or joy.
Forgive us when we have allowed hate to take root
where only love should dwell.
Help us, Lord, we pray –
wipe away all bitterness and resentment from our hearts,
and bring us into a stronger relationship with you
and with those around us.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Song: A love so undeserved (Amazing)
A love so undeserved, a gift that’s free
You lavish me
A peace I could not earn
And mercy for the freedom of my soul
That’s what’s so amazing about Your grace
That’s what’s so amazing about Your grace
Forgiveness runs so deep
Within Your heart of loving kindness
And should a soul forget
The cross of Christ reminds us every day
That’s what’s so amazing about Your grace
That’s what’s so amazing about Your grace
Lord, every day pour on me
Your blessings of eternity
And that’s what’s so amazing about Your grace
Freely I’ve received, now freely to give
Freely I’ve received, now freely to give
Freely I’ve received, now freely to give
Give my life to You…
Reading: Mark 10:2-16
2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ 3 He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ 4 They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ 5 But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. 6 But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” 7 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’
10 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’
13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
Reflection
The story which ends today’s reading is familiar and beautiful, painted by many artists and told many times to our children. To understand it properly, however, it’s important to recognise that children were often seen as insignificant in those times – they were valued for the people they would become, not for the people they already were. Jesus is telling his disciples to honour and value little children precisely because they were marginalised and vulnerable in their world. They are representatives of everyone who lives on the edge of society – and they belong in the kingdom of heaven.
Why does this gentle, compassionate story sit alongside the tough conversation around divorce? Jesus’ words ring harshly to modern Western ears. Divorce is part of the life of many families these days, sometimes amicable, sometimes anything but. It is always a tough step to take, but life goes on and new relationships form. In these circumstances, how are we to engage with Jesus’ teaching here?
The question comes from the Pharisees and sits within a wider debate among the rabbis and religious thinkers of those times. Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife, and if so, for what reasons? The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus into tying himself down to one opinion or another, so that he loses support from those who disagree with him. As usual, Jesus is more than a match for them. He suggests that God’s intention for lifelong relationships within creation has been modified in response to the realities of human nature and the way we live together.
Under the surface of his response, however, is another reality: divorce rights only extend to half the population. Men can choose to divorce their wives, but under the laws of the time, the women have no choice. Jesus imagines an unreal situation where women can divorce their husband, but in reality they have no such right, nor can they refuse to allow him to divorce them – and this leaves them without any way of providing for themselves or their children, for they are economically dependent on him, in a society which expects men to be breadwinners and women to work at home. They are as insecure as the little children, shut out of the centre of life and often valued only for the children they bear, not for themselves.
Jesus is helping his hearers understand God’s world, where life is shaped in such a way that everyone is valued and treasured. Looking at the world around him, he sees that some have power and others don’t, some have rights and others don’t. Even private family life is corrupted by this imbalance. Jesus sees the current situation through the lens of compassion for those who face hurt and damage. Beyond that, he seeks a world where women, men and little children are equally honoured as citizens of the kingdom, and where, in the end, the compromises can be swept away and God’s perfect will, God’s blessing will be all in all.
Prayers for those in need
We look for good from you, our God,
for your love is always with us.
Loving God, we do not understand the suffering we see in this world. We look for you to bring good into the challenges and darkness of these times. We pray for the people of Israel, the Lebanon and Gaza, and all the surrounding nations. We also continue to remember the conflict in Ukraine. We pray for protection and hope for all those who live in fear, and the many thousands who have abandoned their homes and have nowhere to go. We pray for comfort for those who are injured and damaged, and those who have lost their friends and families. We look for you to bring wisdom, calm, and peace into the minds of all those who make decisions and have the power to work for peace.
We look for good from you, our God,
for your love is always with us.
Caring God, we do not understand the pain we see in our communities. We look to you to bring good and compassion into the decisions of the Government of our nation and those of local leaders. On this Homelessness Sunday, we look for good in the way those who have little, who are homeless, and who are struggling are treated by others. We pray for those who struggle in difficult relationships, for those who live with domestic violence and abuse. We seek to be people who bring your hope and blessing to those who are hungry and needy in our community, and to challenge others to do the same. We look for good in the lives of those who are in despair, depression, and desperation, that in the middle of it all you would provide a glimmer of hope.
We look for good from you, our God,
for your love is always with us.
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn: StF 615 Let love be real
Let love be real, in giving and receiving,
Without the need to manage and to own;
A haven free from posing and pretending,
Where every weakness may be safely known.
Give me your hand, along the desert pathway,
Give me your love wherever we may go.
As God loves us, so let us love each other;
With no demands, just open hands and space to grow.
Let love be real, not grasping or confining,
That strange embrace that holds yet sets us free;
That helps us face the risk of truly living,
And makes us brave to be what we might be.
Give me your strength when all my words are weakness;
Give me your love in spite of all you know.
As God loves us, so let us love each other;
With no demands, just open hands and space to grow.
Let love be real, with no manipulation,
No secret wish to harness or control;
Let us accept each other’s incompleteness,
And share the joy of learning to be whole.
Give me your hope through dreams and disappointments
Give me your trust when all my failings show.
As God loves us, so let us love each other;
With no demands, just open hands and space to grow.
Michael Forster, words © 1995 Kevin Mayhew Ltd, reproduced under CCLI licence no.263530
Prayer of Blessing
Go in peace, love and care for one another in Christ’s name,
Go in the confidence of people who have found mercy through him,
keeping the commandments
and letting go of all that binds you to the ways of this world,
And may God come close to you and keep you safe;
may Christ Jesus reward your faithfulness a hundredfold;
and may the Holy Spirit be your help in time of need.
both now and forevermore. Amen
Resources taken from re:worship and Rootsontheweb
