Sunday Gathering - March 6th

Trinity United Church
March 6, 2022
Lent 1
Worship

Worship Leader: Rev David Cathcart
Music Leader: David Rogers
Scripture Reader: Joy Galea
Zoom Hosts: Jo-Ann Dahms, Jennifer Marshall and Ross Dunning

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

Tenebrae Candles:

God is our refuge. We can trust in God. We are promised again and again that if we will trust God, rather than our own works, we will receive abundance and joy, more than we can ask or imagine.

We extinguish this candle, remembering that God disrupts our rugged independence, delivering us from suspicion to trust.

[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

“Temptation, it is real 
you’re hungry You’re alone 
wing lifted to the wind, 
but which path takes you home?

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:
The God of our ancestors 
heard our cries 
when we were enslaved in Egypt.
And God brought us forth 
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm
The God of our ancestors 
took the people through the wilderness 
where we resisted, doubted and denied our God.
And God brought us forth 
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm
Kingdoms rose and fell as Judges and Prophets 
called us back into right relationship with God
And God brought us forth 
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
God, you are our shelter, our refuge and our rock. 
You speak to us and say,
When my people call to me, 
I will answer them;  
I will be with them in trouble; 
I will show them my salvation.

Holy One, 
as we begin our Lenten journey 
we remember our past 
as a wandering people.  
We wandered through a difficult land 
as you showed us the way 
and brought us to a land of plenty.  
Help us to trust your guidance now 
as we follow Jesus 
to Jerusalem and to the cross.  
In the name of the one who lives and dies 
and lives again, we pray.  Amen.

Hymn: “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness” VU 375  CLICK HERE

Reconciliation Meditation:
I would invite you to close your eyes, or let them rest half lidded and take a deep breath with me as we exhale, let your body feel heavy on the pew. We’ll do that again, letting our bodies feel heavier. And one more time, really trusting the pew to hold your weight.

Imagine a warm light a little above and before you, imagine its warmth on your face, chest and arms. Imagine the warmth sinking in through your skin, into the flesh beneath, all the way through your body to your back and down into your legs and feet.

Imagine the light as God’s love and you are soaking in God’s reconciling love.

I will read a few words from scripture then we will sit in God’s reconciling love for a few minutes. If you feel your mind getting busy or distracted, simply repeat the words from scripture silently to yourself and bring your focus back to God’s reconciling love.

Psalm 91:12 “I will bear you up”

[90 sec of silence]

Through trouble, through temptation, through the wilderness, God’s promise is to bear us up. Thanks be to God.

Reading:
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
26When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.’ 4When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5you shall make this response before the LORD your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, 7we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. 
Thanks be to God!

Psalm 91 VU 808 (sung)

Story: “Yes! Yes! Yes! No! No! No!” by Susan Lukey

The following is a story by Susan Lukey, based on the New Testament.  It is very unlikely that the events recorded in it actually took place. But it has a great deal to tell us about ourselves, our relationship to God, our relationships to the world and to each other.  There are cues for you the congregation.  When we hold up this sign, you say "No, No, No!"  and when we hold up this sign you say, "Yes, Yes, Yes!"
 
Let's practice that a couple times:
"No, No, No!"
"Yes, Yes, Yes!"
"No, No, No!"
"Yes, Yes, Yes!"
"Yes, Yes, Yes!"
"No, No, No!"
 
That's good, we can begin with our story:
 
One day, Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave Nazareth and begin the ministry that God wanted him to do. Jesus went into the carpenter shop and said to Joseph, “It is time for me to leave home in order to do God’s work.”
Joseph felt bad and he said, “No, No, No!”
but Jesus said, “Yes, Yes, Yes!”
 
Next, Jesus went into the house to speak with his mother Mary. He said, “mother, it is time for me to leave home in order to do God’s work.”
Mary felt sad and said, “No, No, No!”
but Jesus said, “Yes, Yes, Yes!”
 
Jesus went to the Jordan River, where his cousin John was baptizing people.
John baptized Jesus and God said, “Yes, Yes, Yes!”
 
Then Jesus went out into the wilderness, a dry, rocky, and hilly place, to spend 40 days in prayer and fasting (that’s going without any food). During those 40 days, the devil came to tempt Jesus. The devil is the one who asks the tough questions, the questions that no one else dares ask, the questions that most people do not want to answer. The devil had three tough questions for Jesus.
 
The devil asked Jesus, “You’re hungry. you haven’t eaten for days. You’re the Son of God. Would you like to turn these stones into bread? Mmmmm good!”
And Jesus said, “No, No, No!”
 
Next, the devil took Jesus to a high mountain and said, “Look at all the kingdoms of the world. you’re very powerful, Jesus. Why don’t you claim all these kingdoms for yourself? Why don’t you join me and we can rule them together? Just you and me, Jesus. Forget God.”
And Jesus said, “No, No, No!”
 
Finally the devil took Jesus up to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and said, “You’re the Son of God, and God has promised to be with you always. God has promised to protect you. Why don’t you jump off the top of the temple and test God? Why don’t you see if God will really send the angels to catch you?”
And Jesus said, “No, No, No!”
 
God heard every word that Jesus had said, and God said, “Yes, Yes, Yes!”
 
When the 40 days were finished, the angels came to Jesus, brought him bread and water, washed his face and his feet, and cared for him. God said to Jesus, “Are you ready to begin the work I need you to do?”
and Jesus said, “Yes, Yes, Yes!”

*written by Susan Lukey
Gathering L/E/P 2004 p 40-41
used with permission

Hymn: “Jesus, Tempted in the Desert” VU 115  CLICK HERE

Message: Rev David

Holy One,
you give us a story
full of meaning and purpose.
The story reminds us who we are,
and whose we are.
We come from nothing,
you hear our prayers,
with signs and wonders,
you deliver us from chaos,
and you ask us to express our gratitude.
As we reflect on our story,
let us hear you stirring in our hearts.
In the name of our deliverer,
we pray, Amen.

After wandering the wilderness for 40 years, the Israelites are about to enter the promised land. Moses climbs Mount Psigah at God's order and is given a vision of the Promised Land. And part of that vision are the instructions we hear today.

Once the people have settled the Promised Land, they are go to the Priest with their first fruits and recite the story of their people:

"A Wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruits of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me."

This is the foundational identifying narrative of the Israelite people. This is who the Israelites are.

The people are never to forget that their ancestor was a "Wandering Aramean." It is essential to our faith story that our ancestor was an alien in a foreign land, a refugee.

The people cry out to God and God hears them. With signs and wonders, a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and a terrifying display of power, God delivers the people.

The Israelites are instructed to show gratitude by making a gift of the first fruits of the ground, not the best fruits, not the most fruits, just the first fruits.

These are the important features of this identifying narrative: they are descended of a refugee; they cried to God and God delivered them; and they are to respond with gratitude.

I wonder how, or even if, we 21st century Canadians identify with this narrative. Do we identify our ancestors as refugees? Do we have shared experience of crying out to God and God delivering us? Do we express gratitude by making a gift of our first fruits?

The UN Refugee Agency, reports there were 84 million refugees around the world in 2021. That was, of course, before the current violence in Ukraine. It is estimated that another 1 million people have fled Ukraine in the last few weeks. Most non-indigenous people are here in Canada because our ancestors fled violence, persecution, and starvation in another part of the world. At some level, we are all "Wandering Arameans." Do we remember that? is it part of our identity? Or do we take offense when someone refers to us as settlers, or colonizers? If we aren't indigenous, we are from away.

The language of "deliverance" is challenging for many of us. We might identify "deliverance" language as being too "born again" for us. But really the language simply acknowledges that we were in one state, we prayed to God, and another, preferable state ensued. I was lonely, I prayed, and I was comforted. I was afraid, I prayed, I found courage. I was lost, I prayed, I found my way.

I wonder what our shared story of deliverance might be as a community of faith? How have we, as a community of faith, shared an experience of deliverance? When has our community struggled, suffered, feared, or been oppressed? When have we prayed together as a community and experienced deliverance?

I really hope that finishing the year in the black isn't our only example of deliverance. Although, I will concede its an example. I hope that isn't the extent of our ability to receive deliverance.

I do wonder if we are in the middle of such a story as covid enters a new season; as our financial crisis comes to something of a climax; Will we cry out to God? I have no doubt that we will be delivered. I do wonder if God will deliver us in any way that we will be able to recognize as deliverance.

I'm pretty sure that deliverance didn't feel like deliverance while the Israelites were wandering the wilderness 38 years in and getting tired of eating mana and quail.

I will continue to wonder, what is Trinity's common story of deliverance? I really would be interested in hearing our small groups engaging that question.

I do believe that we are a grateful people, even if we forget it from time to time. The last two years have been really hard. We would not have remained connected and be gathering together again now, were we not nourished and motivated by gratitude. We wouldn't be here if we didn't really want to be here.

We are grateful for all the phone calls and cards, the visits and meetings, the prayers and music, the endless zoom rooms, YouTube Livestreams and emails. And we are grateful for the people who really helped to make that happen.

The command from today's reading is to express our gratitude once we recognize deliverance.

In the days of Lent ahead, may we deepen our connection to our faith story.
May we recognize our vulnerability and dependence on God.
May we remember to cry out to God for deliverance.
May God deliver us.
And may we express our gratitude.
Amen.

Anthem: “My Refuge” David Lantz III

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.
Let us pray:

God of love, 
as in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us, 
so may we give ourselves to you.
Lead us to Jerusalem as your disciples, 
teach us on the way 
and prepare us for your parting.
Accept these, our humble offering 
of music, prayer and money.  
May you make them signs and wonders in your world, 
bringing healing and new life.  Amen.

Prayers of the People/Disciples’ Prayer:

We continue in prayer:

Holy One,
We pray for miracles,
in a world where we long for what other have: 
bigger houses, more leisure, 
expensive personal transportation, 
exotic vacations, abundant feasting, 
assured health, and abundant housing. 
We want to turn stones to bread, 
and yet you, in love, say, 
“No, not by bread alone.”

We pray for miracles.
In a world where everyone 
wants to be a sovereign ruler: 
absolute personal freedom, 
total and final authority, 
power to assert our own wills, 
to be honoured and respected by the mighty, 
prestige, affluence, control, networks…
And you, in love, say, 
“No. you cannot flourish by worshipping those things.”

We pray for miracles,
in a world where we shut ourselves off; 
we burry our hearts under layers 
of cynicism and mistrust. 
We delineate lines of otherness 
to push people away because they are different.  
We cling to practices that are comforting, 
but no longer serve us or your world. 
We focus on narratives that support our prejudices 
and limit our humanity. 
We are so afraid of pain, 
we shut ourselves away.
And you, in love, say, 
“Don’t test me. Trust me.”

We pray for miracles.

Disrupt us, O God.
Disrupt our attachment to material goods. 
Disrupt our love for things that do not nourish us.
Disrupt our tendency to alienate and estrange.
Shake us to the core 
and stir within us a 
sense of gratitude, wonder and awe.
Open our eyes.
Open our ears.
Open our hearts.

We pray for miracles.

We pray for Ukraine and Russia.
We pray for hearts to be turned.
We pray for families to be reunited.
We pray for life to be respected.
We pray for the grieving to be comforted.

We pray for miracles.

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, spoken: “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”

Hymn: “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing” VU 559  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