A liturgy for Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre for Monday 21 July 2008

Love does no wrong to a neighbour;
therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Praying through the ecumenical prayer cycle for
Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico

Welcome

Sing ~ Gloria en las alturas ~ in Spanish, French, Spanish again (Thuma Mina 60)

Gloria, gloria, gloria en las alturas a Dios
Gloria, gloria, gloria en las alturas a Dios
y en la tierra paz par’aquellos que ama el Señor
y en la tierra paz par’aquellos que ama el Señor

Gloire, gloire, gloire à Dieu dans les lieux très hauts
Glorie, gloire, gloire à Dieu dans les lieux très hauts
Sur la terre paix à ceux qui aiment le Seigneur
Sur la terre paix à ceux qui aiment le Siegneur

Gloria, gloria, gloria en las alturas a Dios…

Psalm 145 (extracts)
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
God’s greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works to another,
and we shall declare your mighty acts.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and we will meditate upon your wonders.
The Lord is gracious and merciful;
God is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord upholds all who are falling.
God raises up all who are bowed down.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless God’s holy name. Amen.

Sung response ~ Agape 81, “Santo, santo, santo”
Santo, Santo, Santo, mi corazon te adora!
Mi corazon te sabe decir: Santo eres, Señor

Let us bring our prayers to God:
With your faithful help rescue me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
Do not let the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the Pit close its mouth over me.

Sung response: Santo, Santo, Santo (Agape 81)

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Do not hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies.

Please stand to sing ~ and remain standing for the reading from Holy Scripture

Hale, hale, hale luya
Hale, hale, hale luya
Hale, hale, hale luya
Haleluya, Haleluya

Epistle reading ~ Romans 13:8 -10
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’ – and any other commandment – are summed up in this word: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

“Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Hale, hale, hale luya …

Meditation - By Theodore A. Gill Jr

Sing: “Gloria, Gloria, Gloria”, verse 1 in Spanish, French and Spanish ~ Thuma Mina 60

Prayers of intercession
We pray throughout this week for the peoples and churches of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. And we remember the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Middle East, the nation of Belgium and the people of all the lands represented in this chapel.

Spirit of peace, fill all the world with your transforming presence.
May the leaders of all countries rule with maturity and justice.
May all nations have tranquility and their sons and daughters be blessed.
May the people and the flocks and the herds prosper and be free from illness.
May the fields bear much fruit and the land be fertile.
May the face of all enemies be turned towards peace.

Sung Response: Oré poriaju vereko Ñandejara / Oré poriaju vereko Ñandejara ~ Agape 69

Spirit of unity, we pray for your church.
Fill your people with all truth and peace.
Where we are corrupt, purify us. Where we are in error, direct us.
Where anything in us is amiss, reform us. Where we are right, strengthen us.
Where we are in need, provide for us. Where we are divided, reunite us.

Sung Response: Oré poriaju vereko Ñandejara / Oré poriaju vereko Ñandejara

Spirit of love, watch over those who wake or watch or weep,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, rest the weary, give courage to women in childbirth,
soothe the suffering, and bless the dying.

Sung Response: Oré poriaju vereko Ñandejara / Oré poriaju vereko Ñandejara

God of Creation, of planting, growth and harvest:
Sow the potential of your Word in our lives, in the midst of this world,
like seed broadcast across a field of fertile soil.
Through the presence of your Son, our Light and our Life,
nurture the tender shoots of faith as they grow strong and tall.
By the power of your Spirit, help us to reap a harvest
of honest belief, unity, justice, peace and love.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer ~ said by each in his or her own language

Blessing
Let us go now, with the blessing of God.
Blessed are the poor…
Not the penniless, but those whose hearts are free.
Blessed are those who mourn…
Not those who whimper but those who raise their voices.
Blessed are the meek …
Not the soft but those who are patient and tolerant.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice …
Not those who whine but those who struggle.
Blessed are the merciful …
Not those who forget but those who forgive.
Blessed are the pure in heart …
Not those who act like angels but those whose life is transparent.
Blessed are the peace-makers …
Not those who shun conflict but those who face it squarely.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice …
Not because they suffer but because they love. Amen.

Sing: Reamo Leboga, Agape 77

Sermone by Theodroe A. Gill on Romans 13.8-10

Love is the fulfilling of the law
A sermon by Rev. Theodore A. Gill, Jr preached in the Ecumenical Centre chapel, 21 July 2008,

Text: Romans 13:8-10

Before Paul became a follower of Jesus, he tells us,
he was a student of Gamaliel… one of the greatest of the Pharisees,
a renowned scholar of the Torah, or Jewish law.

And although we, too, profess to follow Jesus,
we are raised as students of Linnaeus, whose 300th anniversary
was celebrated just last year. It was Linnaeus who taught us to
* analyze all of life according to
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
* place each of God’s creatures in its category, to understand its
particular characteristics.
It is the ideal scientific method in an age of fragmentation,
for a philosophy of radical individualism
that leads to a culture of specialization.

But occasionally the voice of the generalist breaks through,
especially in the reading of pre-scientific texts:

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

The Law, the five books of the Torah, was made up of more than 600 statutes,
and each has received ample attention over time.
The statutes have been categorized and arranged according to subject matter,
in the hope of discovering how to render God what we owe,
and how to keep our accounts even in relation to one another.

Paul and other New Testament authors had a good deal to say about the law,
and those of us who were raised and educated in churches of the Reformation
have tended to focus on the more negative reviews that were rendered.
But a generation ago, E.P.Sanders raised this question:
Isn’t it possible that the 16th-century Reformers
projected a good deal of their own context, their own struggle with canon law
into their reading of the early church’s situation –
anachronistically discerning the legalistic dynamics of Roman dogmatism
in first-century Pharisaism and among the later rabbinic traditions –
committing eisegesis as well as exegesis in their interpretation of Paul?

Gamaliel, and his student Paul, were capable of a generous approach to the Torah
that sought a unified, positive meaning underlying the larger system of “law”.
For them, the biblical law was much more than the sum of its parts,
and less complicated that it may have seemed.

This approach is echoed in a saying of a later rabbi (Deut.R., Berakah, XI, 6):

“Rabbi Elazar said, What was the blessing which Moses said over the Law when he received it? ‘Blessed art thou, O Lord, King of the Universe, who hast chosen the Law, and has sanctified it, and hast pleasure in those who fulfill it.’ He did not say, …in those who labour to study it, or in those who meditate on it, but in those who fulfill it. A man may say, I have not learnt wisdom, I have not studied the Law, what am I to do? God said to the Israelites, All wisdom and all the Law is a single easy thing: he who fears me, and fulfills the words of the Law, he has all wisdom and all the Law in his heart.”

There are strands of testimony to the idea that God’s law may be fulfilled
without scrupulous or obsessive attention to each of its many statutes.

Jesus said, “I have not come to overthrow the Law and the prophets but to fulfill them.”

And listen again to this verse from Paul, interpreting the law with generosity:

“The commandments ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
‘You shall not murder’; ‘You shall not steal’; ‘You shall not covet’ –
and any other commandment – are summed up in this word:
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”

This was not a notion original to the early Christians.
Listen to this story from the early rabbinic writings (T.J. Ta’an, 1, 4, 64b, line 54):

“[In a time of drought] it was revealed to Rabbi Abbahu in a dream that Pentekaka [i.e., ‘the man of five sins’] should pray for rain. Abbahu sent and had this sinner fetched to him. He asked him what his trade was. Pentekaka replied, ‘Every day I commit five sins. I hire myself out to harlots; I deck their theatres; I take the harlots’ garments to the baths; I clap and dance before them; and I beat the tympanum for their orgies.’ Rabbi Abbahu said to him, ‘Have you ever done one good deed?’ He said, ‘Once I was decking out the theatre when a woman came and wept behind one of the pillars. When I asked her why she was weeping, she told me that her husband was in prison and that she was going to sell her honour to obtain his ransom. So I sold my bed and coverlet, and gave her the price, and said, “Go, redeem your husband, and sin not.”’ And the rabbi said to him: ‘Worthy art thou to pray, and to be answered.’”

Or as Paul writes, “love is the fulfilling of the law.”

It is a more comforting phrase than the earlier verses in Romans 13, the passage for which this chapter is widely recognized, in which Christians are advised to honour the Emperor and to acknowledge that the power of empire has been given the ruler by God. That’s the passage we Americans have heard quoted from podiums and pulpits to defend aggressive foreign policy, from the days of the war in Vietnam to contemporary justifications of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

I was glad to see that the daily lectionary calls our attention to these later verses today, and not to that earlier passage.

But the late Zurich theologian Emil Brunner saw a connection between these two portions of the letter to the Romans. He notes that the teaching regarding the authority of the Emperor is immediately preceded by the verse, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” And it is followed by the beginning of the passage we have been considering: “Owe no debt to any man.”

Brunner wrote concerning Paul’s explanations of imperial authority:

“Yet the remarkable fact remains that these explanations are interposed between two instructions concerning Christian love! Obviously, there exists for Paul a hidden relationship after all. I think it is not too difficult to find. Love is not a levelling; love meets everyone as the person he is and takes him seriously in his particular being. To confront the representatives of political power, with the intention of giving them their due, is an outworking of love.

“Neither Paul nor Christians in their lives are concerned with the abstract entity of the State, but with persons who have something definite to do, who occupy a definite position and expect something definite from them. To give them what is their due, to owe them no debt, is the command of love. Indeed, love itself is not abstract and theoretical, but it consists precisely… in fulfilling the law by acknowledging everyone in the place in which God has put him and giving him that which he requires for the fulfillment of his special task of service. How can one love the official if one does not acknowledge his office and its dignity? Love does not presuppose justice, but love spontaneously fulfills the demands of justice…”

(Following up on this commentary from Brunner: Just as it is said, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner”, perhaps we might add, “Honour the Emperor, but confront the empire.”)

Elsewhere in Romans, Paul asserted that “Christ is the end of the law” – the telos, the goal. In the teaching of Jesus, so similar to that of rabbis like Hillel and Gamaliel, the whole Torah is summarized in the commands to love God and to love one’s neighbour.

These traditions, Jewish as well as Christian, lie behind this morning’s word from Paul:
“Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” Amen.


Sources:

Emil Brunner, The Letter to the Romans ET (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1959), 110f.

C.C. Montefiore & H. Loewe, A Rabbinic Anthology (New York: Schocken, 1974), 179f.

Overcoming fear with faith - sermon preached in Johannesburg by Dr Roderick Hewitt

Sermon preached in Johannesburg, on 14 July
By Dr Roderick Hewitt, CWM moderator
At special Assembly on Zimbabwe, organised by SACC, CWM, UCCSA, UPCSA
Copyright (c) Roderick Hewitt


Overcoming Fear with Faith
1Kings 18

Introduction
You have entrusted me with this awesome responsibility which I regard as a great honour and privilege of delivering the message at this opening service of the Zimbabwe Summit. I am an African Jamaican who has been influenced by the philosophy of that great Jamaican and Pan-Africanist, Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Rastafarai hermeneutics that strongly embraces an Afro-centric worldview. I can still remember how Jamaicans joined with millions around the world and celebrated the liberation of Zimbabwe from Ian Smith’s illegitimate colonial government. It was Bob Marley who penned the famous words: “Africans a liberate Zimbabwe” in celebration of the liberation struggle that resulted in the overthrowing of the government. To thousands of independent citizens with great hopes and aspiration for their nation he sang out in Harare “Africans a liberate Zimbabwe”. Mugabe and his War Veterans danced on Independence Day, April 18, 1980 as Bob sang the opening verse:

“Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny,
And in this judgement there is no partiality.
So arms in arms with arms, we’ll fight this little struggle
‘Cause that’s the only way we can overcome our little trouble!”
In response the chorus line affirmed: Brother, you’re right, you’re right, so right!

In this judgement there is no partiality
Why then after 28 years, are we gathered in this place to remind the regime that every one within the nation of Zimbabwe got the right to decide the nation’s destiny? It was not right when the Western Powers’ Trojan horse, Ian Smith was in power and it is still not right when Mugabe the liberation war hero has betrayed the revolution because of his regime’s oppression of his people. Bob Marley prophetic words remind us that: “in this judgement there is no partiality”! Marley warned him about the possibility of a great betrayal of the Zimbabwe people:

“ No more internal power struggle;
We come together to overcome this little trouble
Soon we’ll find out who is the true revolutionary
‘Cause I don’t want my people to be contrary”

Betraying the Liberation
Bob Marley must be turning now in his grave when he sees what is going on in this beloved African nation that has been for so long a symbol of hope to so many Africans at home and in the Diaspora. Now it has become our worst nightmare. Right now if Bob were alive in flesh he would be in the struggle against the actions of this regime whose hands are stained with the blood of suffering Zimbabweans. He would want to remind Mr Mugabe of the final verse that says:

“To divide and rule could only tear us apart;
To every man’s chest, there beats a heart.
So soon we’ll find out who is the real revolutionary
And I don’t want my people to be tricked by mercenaries”.

“Brother, you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re so wrong!”
The new chorus would go like this: “Brother, you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re so wrong!” In the same way that Ian Smith’s regime was wrong, your regime is wrong because of the harm you have done to your own people. It makes no sense to hide behind the veil of a sovereignty cult. You are so wrong in believing that being heroes of the liberation struggle indemnifies you from accountability. The rogue behaviour of the militias suggests that they genuinely believe that they have been ordained to rule Zimbabwe forever. They have become addicted to power and cannot do without the drug! Former UN Secretary General and African statesman Kofi Annan declared that no government has the right to hide behind national sovereignty in order to violate the human rights or fundamental freedom of its people”. Again I echo the words of Bob Marley “Brother, you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re so wrong!”

Killing in the name of false sovereignty
Who would have believed that in 28 years this beloved nation would be held to ransom by a regime that murders, starves and brutalises the very citizens for whom a war of liberation was waged? How could one so respected and loved betrays the dream of so many? What is so troubling and painful is how the regime allowed militia to participate in killing and maiming ordinary Zimbabweans including women and children without revulsion. Such behaviour can only be explained in what is observed in animal pack group dynamics. In any state that nurtures a security culture that demands unquestionable obedience, as was in Rwanda and Germany, then ordinary people can be schooled in the name of ideology to kill even their own family for the agenda of the party.

Lest we forget
Today, we say to the peoples of Mashonaland with burnt and empty villages harassed by state-sponsored militias that used violence as a tool to control and force a people to submit to their one party state, we will remember and will hold accountable the perpetrators of your pain. To the people of Matabeleland who experienced genocide when about 20,000 persons died at the hands of a military junta, we will hold accountable those who have done this horrendous and evil act. To the many who disappeared of whom no one can say where they have been taken, today we say they will not be forgotten! And to you the refugees who have fled this tyranny, Jesus, the refugee saviour understands your plight because he also had to flee the tyrant Herod as a child when his parents found refuge in Egypt.

The Church taking sides
We are here as churches united in our solidarity with the suffering peoples of Zimbabwe . We were there with the people of Zimbabwe during their struggle for independence. Against much criticism from conservative political and religious forces the WCC and the AACC took sides and supported the Liberation movement. Allan Bosack reminds us in his open letter to the Zimbabwean churches, that these ecumenical organizations were accused of being communists for the support that they gave. What an irony that this regime is now opposing their work because they are standing up against their injustice! With the same prophetic voice that the church used to speak out against the rogue government of Ian Smith regime and the continuing failure of the British Government to live up to the Lancaster House agreement, so too Mugabe’s regime is found to have been weighed in the balance and found wanting! Claiming neutrality in the face of injustice and oppression is not an option for the Church’s understanding of its ministry and mission. It is better for us to risk failure than non- involvement! So the peoples of Zimbabwe who are suffering can be assured of the continuing practical support of the ecumenical movement.

Leadership in Crisis
I was led by the Spirit to read again 1Kings 18 and 19 that outlined the epic struggle between Elijah and the evil regime of King Ahab who married Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Phoenicia whose faith commitment was to the god Baal and not Yahweh. Leadership is a strategic ingredient in the development of any nation and when there is poor and dysfunctional leadership then the people will surely pay a heavy price! For far too long has there been an unholy intimate connection between the welfare of the country and the welfare of the leader. It follows that where unstable and unfocussed leadership exist then the nation will reflect this instability. As it was with Ahab’s leadership, I submit that the government of Zimbabwe has encountered its worst nightmare and a day of accountability is coming very soon! It has deluded itself in believing that the battle is with western forces. But that is simply scapegoating! The real battle is between the regime and the Zimbabwe people that it is seeking to enslave and any regime that builds its authority by oppressing the people has incurred the wrath of God.

Ordinary people pay the price for failed leadership
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was in a terrible state of drought and famine. The failed leadership of Ahab and Jezebel brought the country to its knees. The people were reduced to a powerless and hopeless state. Through fear, intimidation and assassination the people became enslaved by one who claimed to be their leader. They were so beaten that they feared imagining an alternative to Ahab’s power. They were led to believe that the cost would be too great to change course. He silenced his critics with bribes and they became spiritually impotent. The true Priests and prophets of Yahweh were on the run hiding in caves. Jezebel launched a crusade against the true worship of Yahweh and installed her own “Bishops and Priests” who would be accountable to the political directorate rather than to Jehovah! When the earthly powers believe that they are sovereign and all powerful then God appoints an Elijah.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely
It’s interesting how the Zimbabwe regime is modelling that of Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab’s wife was his key advisor. She was a jealous and fanatical worshipper of Baal, the Canaanite god of rain and fertility. Even though Ahab was brought up as a true worshipper of Yahweh he changed course through his quest for total power. He helped Jezebel build a temple to Baal (1Kings 16:29-34) and did nothing to stop her persecuting the worshippers of Yahweh. Those who were unable to stand up to the suffering and persecution gave in and bowed to Baal. In doing so the political powers gave them privileges. In a time of drought and famine they got subsidized food and no harassment from the secret police. People are always ready to give their loyalty to those who give them privileges.

Abdication of responsibility
To stand up for Yahweh at a time of great persecution was not easy. Elijah appeared on the scene proclaiming that Ahab’s reign will be characterised by a season of drought because of the regime’s bare-faced and self-centred life that was rooted in serving and giving loyalty to gods of their own making. It was the tyranny of Ahab and Jezebel that oppressed and divided Israel and the same can be said of Mugabe’s regime. Elijah saw no room for compromise with Ahab, Jezebel and their Baal gods. It is time for show down! People must choose where they stand. God’s people must take sides! The church must take sides! Sitting on the fence folding arms is not an option. Not choosing is to choose! Ahab and Jezebel accused Elijah of being the troubler of Israel ! They took no responsibility for the crisis in their nation. They looked for external enemies to blame for the ill in the nation that their poor leadership created. Like Ahab, it is Mugabe’s unquenchable lustful quest for and maintenance of power that in the end will undo him and expose his real weakness.

The Lord sees, hears, is concerned and is ready to rescue
Today our presence in this place is meant to send a message to the blood-stained hands of this illegitimate regime in Zimbabwe that the battle is not yet over; it has only just begun! We are here to proclaim the word of the Lord, that he sees the misery of his people; he has heard them crying out because of their oppressors; he is concerned about their suffering, and he has come to rescue them (Ex. 3:7). Today we call on the people of Zimbabwe to choose…to take sides to reject fear and intimidation. Our duty and purpose here today is to send a strong signal to the peoples of Zimbabwe that they must not surrender to the despot because he is not sovereign! God alone is sovereign! His days are numbered and the day of decision is near. The showdown in Zimbabwe is consistent with what happened to Ahab. It is all about loyalty and sovereignty. Listen to the question that Elijah posed to the nation of Israel: “How long will you go limping between two opinions? (18:21)

Stand Up and Face up to what you believe in!
A great show down is coming soon when the peoples of Zimbabwe will see for themselves that this all powerful regime that demonstrates such audacity, insolence, arrogance and petulance is really like an emperor with no clothes. It behaves like that because at the core it is really weak and impotent.

Show down on Mount Carmel
In the show down on Mount Carmel ! The regime of Ahab and his priests of Baal thought that the scales were tipped heavily on their side. This was a contest that they could not afford to loose, but a severe humiliation awaited them. In the end the people saw through deception and rogue power. The regime made gods for themselves to support their deception. The whole situation resulted in severe humiliation for a leader who had forgotten how God-given kingship should function. This big bad bully that cut down the prophets and priests of Yahweh failed to perform at the contest that he could not fix! In the open with neutral monitors present, there was no room for manipulation and the people saw for themselves that Baal was no god at all!

The drought is ending! Rainfall is coming!
Let those who have ears to hear, listen to what the spirit is saying! Because the regime refused to listen it brought God’s judgement upon itself.” The regime was dead set against the truth and in the end it was the truth that led to its down fall. Ahab was devoted to untruth and protected himself from truth at all cost. As Ahab returned to Jezreel to continue his feeble rule, his wife unleashed a deadly attack on the critics of the regime and Elijah was top on the assassination list. But did they realise that the end was near. A time will come when the people will be free from their fear of rogue powers. Better days are coming! The people of Zimbabwe will overcome. From this conference a strong word will be sent to Harare that Rainfall is coming! The time of drought is ending! Prepare to plant again, it is going to rain!
(c) Rev Dr Roderick Hewitt
Moderator, Council for World Mission

Sermon by Rev. Douwe Visser on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus

This sermon was preached in the chapel of the ecumenical centre on Monday July 14th 2008 by Rev. Douwe Visser of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, WARC.

Luke 16:19-31

Not so long ago in my country, the Netherlands, there was a special fair of goods for the super rich. We saw something about it on television. It struck me that what was on show there was just so predictable. Maybe one of the worries of being so rich is the burning question of how you can overcome anonymity and distinguish yourself from other very rich people.
And so the rich man in the parable Jesus tells has no name. He is just a rich man, no more than that. He is not a bad person. There are people who say, that being rich was a sin in itself because how did the rich man get all his money? That is not what Jesus says, at least not in this parable. To have beautiful clothes, to enjoy eating and drinking is not a sin. In Ecclesiastes chapter 9 we read: “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love…”
No, the rich man is not a bad person. One could well imagine that as his servant you had a good life in his house. And being his friend you were really well off with the invitations for all his parties. He shared his wealth.
But what Jesus wants to tell us is that the rich man has never even seen Lazarus on his doorstep. The rich man is not a bad person; he just doesn’t see what happens on his doorstep. This poor man on the doorstep by the way has a name. And this is special. It is so special because in all the parables Jesus tells no one ever gets a name. The lost son has no name. The sower has no name. No one else ever gets named in the parables except for Lazarus. He is the only one who doesn’t remain anonymous. Lazarus is his name, which means: God helps. Well, what’s in a name? Isn’t this name senseless if you look at Lazarus’ life? He is covered with sores which even attract the dogs to him. And dogs in biblical times were not regarded as the faithful quadrupeds so dear to many today - so dear, that per annum 17 billion dollars is spent for pet food, which is 7 billion more than needed to solve the shortage of food for great parts of world. Well the dogs are anyhow a plague for Lazarus. God helps?
The worst aspect to wealth in the parable is that no one sees Lazarus. The worst thing about wealth in the world can be that no one sees suffering either close by or not so close in today’s world. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a story about not seeing what happens so very nearby. The first time that the rich man mentions Lazarus’ name is when he asks out of inferno: “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” Now we shouldn’t be distracted by the idea that this parable has to lead us to a complete theology of heaven and hell, double predestination and even whether we should or should not believe in hell. In this story heaven and hell are just décor for the real message. The real message is that life on earth becomes hell when we do not see what is happening on our doorstep. And today that doorstep is worldwide! In this way the rich man is in hell when he realises how rich, how really rich his life could have been if he had seen Lazarus and mentioned his name so much earlier.
God helps is the name of Lazarus. But in fact God helps us to see what is happening on our doorstep. That is the meaning of what Abraham says to the rich man from above: “Your brothers have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” God helps us with his word. God helps us to see - like through the very concrete words we also read in Deuteronomy. Let the name of Lazarus be a symbol to all of us. That God helps us to see. May in your work this week God help you to see. So that people may have a name and be seen.
AMEN

Liturgy prepared by Patricia Sheerattan Bisnauth

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre, 14 July 2008
(This order of worship was prepared by Rev. Patricia Sheerattan Bisnauth and colleagues from the World Alliance of REformed Churches - WARC)

Music

Call to Worship
O God, open our lips
And our mouths shall proclaim your praise.
We pray to you, O God.
You hear our voices this morning hour.
At sunrise we offer our prayers
And wait for your answer.

We celebrate this worship in the name of God,
who cares for us like a parent
We celebrate in the name of Jesus Christ
who is with us even in greatest darkness.
We celebrate in the name of the Holy Ghost
who empowers and strengthens us to shape a world
in which women and men can live life in fullness.

Prayer
We celebrate you, oh God of Life
In the midst of the noise of our cities,
We celebrate you for your gift of silence.
In the midst the greyness of our houses,
We celebrate you for your gift of colours.
In the midst our distorted relationships,
We celebrate you for your gift of life in abundance.

In the midst the hierarchies of our society,
We celebrate you for your creation of equals.
In the midst the abuse of power and money,
We celebrate you for your gift of justice.
In the midst a reality where everything comes with a price,
We celebrate you for your gifts of life in abundance.
We celebrate you, oh God of Life

Thuma Mina 201 Morning has broken

Scripture readings:
Deuteronomy 15: 7 - 11
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Thuma Mina 56 Glory to God

Luke 16: 19 - 31
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Thuma Mina 56 Glory to God

Message - preached by Rev. Douwe Visser

Thuma Mina 253 Jesus Christ is waiting (verses 1 to 3)

Prayers
This week we pray for the peoples and churches of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama.

We pray for those who suffer violence,
For those who bear the brunt of poverty and exclusion,
And those who resist the evils of death dealing principalities and powers.
Clothe your people O God, with power for the struggle ahead.

We pray for leaders and decision-makers,
For citizens, old and young,
For wellbeing and future of their young generation.
Bless the churches in these lands that they may be the light shining through troubled times.

We offer all our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ to whom be blessing, honour and glory. Amen.

The Lord’s prayer (each in his/her language of preference)

Thuma Mina 253 Jesus Christ is waiting (verses 4 to 5)

Blessing

This is the day that God has made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
We will not offer to God
Offerings that cost us nothing.
Go in peace, and serve the Lord;
We will seek peace and pursue it.
In the name of the Trinity of love,
One God in perfect community. Amen

Church of Norway Welcomes Church of England Action on Women Bishops

Church of Norway Welcomes Church of England Action on Women Bishops

The Church of Norway warmly welcomes the decision by the Church of England to open its episcopal ministry to women priests.

This is a significant step in the consolidation of the Porvoo Communion of the British and Irish Anglican churches and Lutheran churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries, says Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations. Up until the present time, the fact that the Church of England did not recognize the ministry of women bishops in the Nordic folk churches set unfortunate limits to the implementation of the Porvoo Common Statement (1992).

According to Rev. Fykse Tveit, the apostolicity of the church, rooted in Christ and the apostles, is equally important to Anglican and Lutheran churches. The ordained ministry is instituted by God in order for the apostolic mission of God’s saving grace in Christ to be maintained throughout history. It is a local ministry of word and sacraments together with a regional ministry of episkopé.

The gender of ordained ministers cannot be a criterion of the church’s apostolicity. On the contrary, the admittance of women to all levels of ordained ministry has contributed significantly to the full expression of God’s mission in the world. As affirmed by the Lutheran World Federation in 2007, “limiting the ordained ministry to men obscures the nature of the church as a sign of our reconciliation and unity in Christ through baptism across the divides of ethnicity, social status and gender (cf. Gal. 3:27-28).”

The Church of England has taken a bold and mature action knowing well the immediate costs involved. The Church of Norway, having gone through a similar process some years ago, and having been much blessed by its fruits, shall accompany the Church of England, as a sister church in communion, with gratitude and with prayers of God’s blessing and guidance in the time to come.