Sunday morning reflection 9.8.20
Sunday Morning Reflection 9.8.20
Good Morning , I am Karen Harbison, the Minister of Westburn Parish Church , Greenock and I am glad to welcome you to this time of worship. Everyone is welcome, whether you are often at Westburn Parish Church, or whether you have never been there in person before. Everyone is welcome as we, each in our own places, our own homes, come to worship God.
We live in a beautiful part of Scotland , by the ever widening river and looking across to the Argyll hills. I like walking along the Esplanade watching the ever changing colours and patterns, waves and stillness of the river. Boats of all shapes and sizes can be seen on the river, though not quite as many as usual at this present time. Occasionally we are surprised by an open water swimmer who we feel is almost alongside us as we are walking or by some dolphins out in the middle of the river. I was disappointed not to see them on Thursday – did any of you catch a glimpse of them ?
Today we hear a story of the disciples out in a boat on the lake. Remember some of them were experienced fishermen , well used to the wind and the waves and yet they were caught out in a storm.
Opening words
From hillside to lakeside, Jesus meets the needs of his friends
Always surprising them and us with his words and actions
Always walking towards us and reaching out to us
We come to give thanks and praise to Jesus our Lord
Let us worship God – Love divine
Let us pray
Lord – You come to us early in the morning; wind howling, waves crashing, the world unravelling around us. You come to us walking on the water, proclaiming peace when we feel anything but peaceful. Somewhere in our fear, in our finitude, we decided that we must be water-walkers to earn your love. Forgive us when we step out of the boat to test ourselves, to test you, to shore up our faith, our egos, our fear. You do not call us out to test our faith, you call us out in love, to be love and you are ever by our side. Comfort us when the waves rock the boat. Steady us when the wind is up, and our guard is down. Challenge us to live our faith from grace’s perspective knowing you match our steps, stride by stormy stride. In your name Lord we pray and we pray together as you taught
Our Father who art in heaven
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil
for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory
Now and forever
Amen
Last week we heard the story of the feeding of the 5000.Just before this Jesus had heard news of the death of John the Baptist and had gone to spend some time alone. Jesus had gone in a boat to a lonely place and the crowds had followed him on foot.We continue to read from Matthew’s gospel and another well known story, this time about Jesus walking on the water. Again it’s worth paying attention to the introduction ,for in today’s story we see Jesus going once more, to a quiet place to pray. This time he sends the disciples off in a boat, likely the same boat that he had used earlier and he walked up a hill by himself to pray . By this time it was late in the evening and darkness was coming in and the wind was getting up. Overnight those in the boat were scared.
So let us hear the Word of God
Bible Reading – Matthew 14: 22 – 33
Reflection
Jesus walking on water – really ? How did he do that? How on earth did he do that ? How can that be? We are amazed, bewildered by this story and have a whole lot of questions. We want to know if what the gospel writers said Jesus did really happened, how it happened, if it is true. And what about Peter – did he really manage a few steps ?How questions can not be answered fully and sometimes we find ourselves trying to explain all this away. But what if the more important question is why ? Why did Jesus walk on water ? Why – because his disciples, his friends needed him, because they were scared , afraid , in trouble, because he could not let them down, because he knew he could make a difference, because he wanted to be with them. And so he walked on the water to where they were and spoke to them at once saying ‘ Courage, take heart , it is I , don’t be afraid ‘ The why question brings us closer to the truth of the gospel, deeper in to relationship with Jesus. The why question touches our life and our experiences for we know that often we find ourselves in situations where we are afraid, when storms blow up suddenly and violently disrupting our lives, rocking our normality and our certainties, when we feel tossed about and overwhelmed – we have all had days or more like that in this uncertain season.In all these situations and in the times in which we have found ourselves, the story of Jesus walking on the water comes back to us and from our wee boats in the midst of our storms we see Jesus coming towards us. Why because we need him, because we are afraid , in trouble, scared. Why – because he loves us , because he can not let us down, because he knows he can make a difference to us, because he wants to be with us. And so he walks on the water to where we are and speaks at once to us ‘Courage, take heart, it is I , don’t be afraid ‘ Jesus’ presence, Jesus’ words, Jesus’ love reassure us , affirm us, calm us, fill us for we know we are loved and precious and worth walking on water for. Let us reach out to grab his hand. Amen
Let us pray
Lord you speak to us and say ‘Courage, I am with you , do not be afraid, come’ and you reach out your hand to us and you walk towards us
Lord – many in our world live with fear, and many find it difficult to do anything other than cower away from the world as if beaten by the pressures,challenges, anxieties and worries of each day and of these days.
We pray today for those drowning in the sorrow of their grief and the emptiness of their loneliness
For those drowning in poverty, hunger and anxiety over the future
For those drowning in a sea of violence and hatred
We pray today for those who are ill or bereaved or fearful as Covid 19 continues to impact lives and threaten the life of the world
For those who are injured or bereaved or homeless in Beirut
For our children , young people and teachers as exam results have been received and as schools return this week
We pray today in a moments quietness for people and situations on our minds and in our hearts
Lord may all for whom we pray hear your words and know your presence – ‘Courage, I am with you, do not be afraid, come’ May we all know that you are always walking towards us and reaching out to us . Amen
Amen.
Hymn – Focus my eyes on you , O Lord
Blessing
Courage, take heart,it’s me, don’t be afraid
With Christ’s words in your ears
With Christ’s promise in your hearts
With Christ’s hand in yours
Go to be Christ’s people
and may the blessing of God , the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you today and always
Amen
No Response to “Sunday morning reflection 9.8.20”