We are called to follow Christ
To respect Gods creation
To love and serve others
And to seek justice and resist evil
Song “The Summons”
Prayer of Lament
The sea roars with the grief
of all the plastic that fills it
of the destruction of coral reef.
The fields exclaim despair
for delayed rains and prolonged drought for species extinction on a daily basis.
No song of joy rings out from the trees of the forest decimated by forest fires.
How long O God,
In you we put our trust.
We are sorry that we do not care for your world.
God forgive us,
Christ bless us.
God’s Spirit help us to grow in love. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Reflection on Mark 12:38-44
While he was teaching he told them to beware of the teachers of the law (today this might be politicians!). Be on your guard".
They like to walk around in flowing robes, dressing up (the rich, church dignatories) and to be greeted, welcomed drinking up adulation. They like the most important seats in religious meetings, the best seat in the house. In a synagogue this is the box in front of the ark within which is stored the scrolls of scripture. They crave the places of honour at banquets and dinner parties. They devour and exploit, widows, the vulnerable, those who have little to spare, for show, pretence, pretext. They make lengthy prayers. These men will receive a terrible judgement.
In contrast the widow gives all that she has to God. She has two coins, so she could have kept one back, but she gives everything. The coins were the smallest minted in Palestine, a copper "lepton". For his non-Jewish readers, Mark notes that a lepton is a fraction, about one eighth, of the smallest Roman copper coin, a quadrans, a penny or cent.
Jesus is seated on a bench, as he watches the widow place her coins in one of the thirteen trumpet-shaped money boxes found against the wall in the Court of the Women. Mark's point here is that the robbed widows, in contrast to the robber scribes, are those who truly serve God. Many rich people were also throwing a lot of money into the boxes. Jesus called his disciples and said to them, "I tell you the truth, that this poor woman has put in much more than all the others". She has given everything and comparatively the rich (billionaires) have given nothing, because they have given what they can easily afford. They have given out of their abundance but she has given out of her poverty, everything she had to live on.
As the world meets at COP 26 to discuss climate change which the rich nations have inflicted on the poor nations are we not seeing the same displayed before us, with Covid vaccines agents of currency rather than acts of justice, with rich people milking the Covid situation?
Beware rich religious hypocrites! Amen
Song “A touching place”
For the beauty of the Earth desecrated by pollution extinguished by forest fires choked by plastic waste
O living God, to you we plead forgive the adults for their systemic greed.
For the urgency of this hour ignored by apathy or procrastination
wasted by ineffective decisions denied by economic interests, Christ, forgive us for the governments selfish short-term behaviour.
For the joy of human love fractured by forced migration crushed by bereavement, lost to typhoons, floods, starvation, Christ, bringer of justice, forgive us for this climate crisis.
Song “Christ be our light”
We will live justly
We will love kindly
We will walk with God. Amen
With thanks to ©Christian Aid and Brian Finlayson
