Sunday Gathering - March 20

Trinity United Church
March 20, 2022
Lent 3
Worship

Worship Leader: Rev David Cathcart
Music Leader: David Rogers
Scripture Reader: Judi Carroll
Zoom Hosts: Judy Johnson and Peggy Horvath

Welcome:

May the Peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.

Welcome to Trinity United Church in Port Coquitlam. We are grateful you have joined us for worship this morning. 
Trinity United Church in Port Coquitlam resides on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish People the Kwikwetlem First Nations. Our acknowledgement of unceded traditional territory is a first step in reconciliation between settler cultures and indigenous peoples and the decolonization of western systems that continue to oppress and exploit indigenous peoples and land.
If you are joining us on YouTube, please check out our website at ucpoco.ca. We would also appreciate it if you would subscribe to our channel and like and share our services, those buttons are just below the video. It does help our reach when you do so.
    I invite you to take a deep breath, and let it go. I invite you to take another breath, and let it go. And one more time, take a deep breath and let it go. Let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship.

Prelude: David Rogers

“You are my God, I long for you from early morning.
My whole being desires you like a dry, worn, waterless land.
My soul thirsts for you…
In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I cling to you; your hand keeps me safe.” (Psalm 63, VU 781)

On the way to the Kingdom of God, our souls can ache for the justice that is absent in the world around us. We feel the pain of oppression, the longing for right relationship, the anguish of abuse and neglect. Sometimes we feel the world has gone mad and only a helpless minority can see how desperately we need a new world order. So many feel alone and alienated.

We extinguish this candle, remembering that God disrupts our alienation, delivering us from isolation to intimate community.

[extinguish a candle]

Response: “The Light Still shines” WorshipCollective CLICK HERE 

The light still shines the light is still there
Disrupted but delivered, it’s there
The light still shines the light is still there
We tread this lonely landscape
Following, transforming, surrendering 
we are yours we are yours
The light still shines

There’s never enough 
to nurture like we need 
but holy winds are blowing 
disrupting soil and seed.

The light still shines the light is still there
Disrupted but delivered, it’s there
The light still shines the light is still there
We tread this lonely landscape
Following, transforming, surrendering 
we are yours we are yours
The light still shines

* WorshipCollective

Call to Worship and Opening Prayer:

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;
Let the wicked forsake their way and the unrighteous abandon their thoughts;
Let us return to the Lord, that we may delight in rich food!
Let us return to God, that we may clap our hands with joy!

Let us pray together:
Holy One, Our souls thirst for you.
Wash away the weariness of our lives 
and revive us with your glorious presence.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.

Hymn: “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart” VU 478

Reconciliation Meditation:
I invite you to become aware of your breathing.  You don’t need to control your breath, just become aware of it. Maybe close your eyes to use your imagination.

Imagine a hot, clear summer day and sitting on a bolder beside a small river, maybe our own Coquitlam River, under the trees in the cool shade. Imagine the sounds you would hear there: the rush of the water, perhaps a bird or two, maybe a squirrel, rustling in the branches and leaves? Imagine the breeze on your skin, the smell of the fresh water, the earth beneath your feet, the rock under your bottom… see if you can imagine at the same time, the warmth of the sun and the cool of the shade. God leads us to green pastures; it is Christ who restores our souls.

We will rest in this quiet for several minutes. I will read a few words from today’s scripture passages, then we will rest in God’s presence for several minutes. If you feel your thoughts are becoming busy or distracted, repeat the words of scripture silently to yourself and return to God’s loving presence.

Isaiah 55:1, “Come to the waters.”

[3 min silence]

“Come to the waters… I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love…” Amen.
    
Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

55Ho, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
   listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
   my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
   a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
   and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
   for he has glorified you.

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found,
   call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake their way,
   and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 63 (refrain 2) VU 781

Reading: Lent 3 Luke 13:1-9 WorshipCollective Video    CLICK HERE

Hymn: “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” VU 271

Message:

Holy One,
as we reflect on the sacred word,
may we know our desire for you.
may our thirst be sated, our hunger filled,
may we know gratitude, and respond with service.
In the name of the one who provides all for all, we pray, amen.

Isaiah proclaims:
"Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, by and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."

The passage brings up a lot of questions for me:
Are we hungry? are we thirsty? Is that an apt metaphor for us today?
Would we know it if we were?
Do we even remember what hunger and thirst feel like?
For what are we thirsty? For what are we hungry?

Are we hungry and thirsty for the right things?
Are the things for which we think we are hungry and thirsty, things that will actually sate our hunger and thirst?

Isaiah observes that we tend to spend our money and labour on things that are not bread and that do not satisfy. Do we do that? Why?

I actually think that Wester culture might be better described as experiencing digestive distress from consuming too much of what isn't good for us. But that's not the metaphor of the day.

Psalm 63 broadens the metaphor to "longing" and "desire": "I long for you from early morning./My whole being desires you..."

Can we recognize that?
Do we long for and desire God?

What does that feel like? What is the felt sense associated with longing for God? or a desire for God?

It isn't very often that I experience real hunger, or even thirst. I'm not a big proponent of fasting, but fasting during Lent can at least remind us what it is like to be hungry again. I can often wake up in the night, especially when the heat is on, and I'll be really thirsty. But I usually take care of that pretty quickly.

I can identify deep longing:
I remember longing for pain to stop when I was passing kidney stones last year. I remember rolling around on my bed and pacing hallways longing for the pain to end.
I know the pain of grief and longing for comfort in deep grief.
I also know the longing for justice. When I think about Ukraine and my fear that we are on the edge of World War III, I just want what is just. I want violence to stop, and for people to have their needs met, and for families to be reunited.

I also know rejoicing, even ecstatic rejoicing and longing to feel that again.
And I know what it's like to be really, really creative and to long for that kind of creativity again.

There are entire industries in the Western world whose sole purpose is to subvert our longing.

The Advertising industry is designed to convince us, 24/7 that if we purchase this product, participate in this event, acquire this accreditation, or travel to this destination we will satisfy our longing.

Consumer culture would fall apart over night if we ever discovered that we had enough of anything. And so part of that industry is to convince us that there isn't enough of anything, especially basics like food, water, shelter. We are brainwashed constantly that we need to compete for basic necessities.

It's nonsense, because the universe is vast and we increasingly have access to those resources, if only we'd distribute them justly.

"Why do you spend your money for that which is no bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?"

What does give you a sense of satisfaction?
What makes you feel "this is really good"?
When do you have that feeling that "this is enough"?

I think of spending time with someone whose company I really enjoy.
I think of completing a sketchbook.
Sometimes I have enough time after worship on a Sunday to stop and think, "wow, that was okay, we did something good there."
Each week when I finish composing the message for Sunday, I might have a very brief moment of, "Well, that was nice." but then I'm rushing off to the next thing.
I used to really enjoy sitting on my balcony. I don't do that much now, but I used to sit out there for hours doing nothing. It was a deeply satisfying activity, especially if it included some Lectio Divina, which I also haven't done much of lately.

This week, I would invite you to consider:
What do you deeply long for? Are you longing for things that God wants for you, or that you want for yourself?
When have you felt deeply satisfied? When was the last time you did whatever you find deeply satisfying?

And maybe making some time this week to do something that will fill your soul.

As we continue to watch what is unfolding in Ukraine, as we continue to hear about climate crises, as a new strain of covid rises, it is so important for us to remain connected to what fills our souls, so that we can be responsive, and not just overwhelmed and burnt out.

May we be satisfied,
May we be grateful,
May we respond with joyful service.
Amen.

Anthem: “Call on Him” John Leavitt - The Trinity Choir

Offering:
We are grateful for the many ways people choose to serve and give at Trinity United Church. Our ministry is only possible thanks to your gifts of money, time and service. If you would like to make a financial contribution, please send a check to the church office, or click on the “Donate Now” button on our website.

Holy One, 
you make a rich feast for our souls, 
filling our hearts with joy.
Grant that we too, 
through our offerings of time, money and praise, 
may be a source of joy to others.
In the name of the One who came in your name 
we pray. Amen.

Prayers of the People/Disciples’ Prayer:
To the words, “We beseech you,” please respond, 
“Be as water for our thirsty souls, O God.”

Merciful God, as we journey with Jesus through Lent, we are surrounded by murmurs and shouts from a world hungering and thirsting for truth, justice, and compassion. We beseech you, Be as water for our thirsty souls, O God.

In the ordinariness of everyday life, guide us to discern and distinguish your ways. Empower us as community and individuals to seek answers of truth and substance, and not settle for things that do not satisfy. We beseech you, Be as water for our thirsty souls, O God.

We pray that you will rise up within us, a fountain of blessing, so that we ourselves may not become inwardly parched and weary. Satisfy the thirst within our souls, that we might all the more vigorously and joyfully serve our brothers and sisters.   We beseech you, Be as water for our thirsty souls, O God.

Leader: O God, your thoughts and ways are beyond our comprehension. And yet we trust that you will care for your children and give us what we need. We pray for your blessing upon Oakridge United Church as we begin our long journey into redevelopment.  We pray for all who are sick or unable to be with us in worship: Chun, Mary, Jean, Cathy, Lorna, Ethel, Rob, Grace, Francis, Sylvia, Sue, Evelyn, Joyce, and so many more.  They are not with us in person, but they rest in our hearts. We pray for the well-being of all your creation.  We beseech you, Be as water for our thirsty souls, O God.

And now we turn to you as a child turns to her mother, seeking affirmation and comfort, praying the words Jesus taught us.

Disciples Prayer: “Our Father,” [the traditional spoken prayer]

Hymn: “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” VU 651   CLICK HERE

Blessing:

Hold your hands out in a sign of blessing:
Imagine the love of God entering through the top of your head, mingling with your heart, going out through your fingers into your device and out to all the people out there:

May the God beyond us, 
the Christ beside us, 
the spirit within us, 
the three all around us 
be with you now and always. Amen.

Postlude: David Rogers