For morning Light
We humbly thank you
And offer our praise to you
Open our hearts and our minds
Give us your presence
In our life today
Song “The Lords my shepherd”
https://youtu.be/-eIQQayhpak
Song “Great is thy faithfulness”
https://youtu.be/2eQ1oal44wU
Prayer for Gods help
Loving God
Come into our confused and troubled lives
Send your Spirit
To work in us
Realign us
So that we may know
You in our lives
Your joy, your peace, your Shalom
The Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Song “Lord I lift your name on high”
https://youtu.be/3tWSu9NAFIk
Reading Matthew 14:22-33
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Song “Establish the work of our hands”
https://youtu.be/u2tzX8VzvsY
Reflection
The story of Jesus walking on water was given a significant place in the oral
tradition of the early church. It was integrally linked to the feeding of the 5,000,
and when finally the oral tradition was documented, all four gospels
interestingly recorded the two stories together.
Jesus is still trying to find some peace and stillness after the beheading of
John the Baptist his cousin. Life as today was full of business and a lack of
peace and stillness even after such a traumatic event.
Literary evidence exists showing that in first century middle eastern world
people were interested in the way gods or God could exercise control
over nature. The miracle demonstrates that Jesus is who he says he is. The account also shows Christ's has authority over the sea, not just water, but the sea seen as chaos.
For the Jews the sea was a dark and foreboding place, not just because of its many dangers, but because it was the dwelling place of dark powers, of Leviathan, the whale. Jesus can control these deep places. Even the deep places of our minds, our soul.
The gospel tradition was shaped by oral transmission so that the stories
developed their own particular shape in different geographical regions and
churches. When it came time to write these stores down, with the
increasing age and death of the apostles, the gospel writers selected, shaped
and edited the stories and gave them their own characteristics.
Although there are differences between Matthew and Mark's accounts, they describe the same event. Even the wind and the waves obeyed him.
Ultimately the story is about having faith when the going gets tough. Fix on
something beyond the immediate and you will ride the storm and be at peace.
Wise words for today when we have to walk on choppy seas and we get
frightened and start sinking!
Do you know what its like to be lifted up when the waters of life threaten to
overwhelm you. Do you know Gods hand reaching out to catch you when you start sinking?
Faith helps us overcome the next wave.
Christ holds us, calls me, back toward the boat that holds life.
What is it carrying us now through Covid 19, BLM, political unrest, unemployment, hunger homelessness, global warming, fascism, sickness, depression, divorce, death, new relationships?
Faith leads us on in hope to leave the familiar places we have known and to let go of our usual ways of moving through the world. Peter comes inviting us to wonder if there’s a leap—even a little one—that Christ might be calling us to make, as we open ourselves to the voice that calls to us across the waves, and step out toward it.
How about you? Amid all that tugs at you or tosses you about, is there a
deeper invitation, a more compelling call, a leap that would draw you closer to
the Christ who is making his way toward you, as the waves lashing at our ankles?
God is in the boat, on the sea, in the waves and the drowning.
And if we find ourselves flailing, God will hold us by
the hand that reaches towards us, the voice that calls our name
Song “Abide with me”
https://youtu.be/MmtRlEIIZnQ
Our Prayers
We pray for people and situations we are concerned about including the continuing deaths from Covid 19, global warming, the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong and Syria, the rise of fascism, the government, the Rohinga Muslims, Muslims being persecuted in China, protection for key workers and adequate PPE, protection for Black and Asian people, for people on low or no incomes, for those with underlying health conditions and those over 60, care for those who are alone and those suffering with depression, protection for asylum seekers and refugees and ensuring that food is reaching the vulnerable.
Ending with…May we not fail them Amen
Song “Be thou my vision”
https://youtu.be/p9dLsd3-4QU
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
We will go in Peace
To love and serve the Lord
Amen
Song “Peace like a river”
https://youtu.be/7it5W1FVtTs
With thanks to © Iona Community adapted
8月9日（週日）上午敬拜五旬節10 2020英語/漢語
對於晨光
我們衷心感謝您
並向您稱讚
打開我們的心靈
給我們您的光臨
在我們今天的生活中
歌曲“上議院我的牧者”
歌曲“偉大是您的忠誠”
祈求神的幫助
愛神
進入我們困惑和困擾的生活
傳遞你的精神
在我們這里工作
重新調整我們
這樣我們可能知道
您在我們的生活中
您的喜悅，您的平安，您的沙洛姆
我們母語的主禱文
歌曲“主啊，我高舉你的名字”
閱讀馬太福音14：22-33
22當他解散人群時，他立刻使門徒上船去向另一邊前進。 23他解散了群眾之後，就獨自上山去祈禱。傍晚時分，他獨自一人呆在這裡，24歲，但是這時被海浪襲擊的船離陸地很遠，因為風正對著他們。 25一大早，他來到海邊向他們走去。 26門徒看見他在海上行走時，就驚恐地說：“這是鬼！”他們哭了起來。 27耶穌立刻對他們說：“請放心，是我；不要害怕。” 28彼得回答他說：“主啊，如果是你，就命令我在水上來找你。” 29他說：“來。”彼得從船上出來，開始在水上行走，走向耶穌。 30但是當他注意到強風時，他變得害怕，開始下沉，他喊道：“主，救救我！” 31耶穌立刻伸出手抓住他，對他說：“你這小信徒，你為什麼懷疑？”
歌曲“建立我們的雙手”
反射
耶穌在水上行走的故事在口述中佔有重要地位
早期教會的傳統。它與5,000個食物的供給緊密相連，
當最終記錄了口頭傳統時，所有四本福音書
有趣地將這兩個故事記錄在一起。
在斬首之後，耶穌仍在努力尋求某種平靜與安寧
施洗約翰約翰的表弟。如今的生活充滿了事業，缺乏生活
即使經歷瞭如此慘痛的事件，也還是和平與寧靜。
有文學證據表明，在一世紀的中東世界
人們對神或神如何行使控制權感興趣
超過自然。奇蹟表明耶穌就是他所說的。記載還表明，基督對海擁有權柄，不僅是水，還有被視為混亂的海。
對於猶太人來說，海洋是一個黑暗而不祥的地方，不僅因為它有許多危險，而且因為它是鯨魚利維亞坦的黑暗力量的住所。耶穌可以控制這些深處。甚至我們心靈的深處，我們的靈魂。
福音的傳統是通過口頭傳播來塑造的，因此故事
在不同的地理區域發展出自己獨特的形狀，
教堂。是時候寫下這些商店了，
使徒的年齡和死亡日益增加，福音作家被選中，塑造
並編輯故事並賦予他們自己的特色。
儘管馬修（Matthew）和馬克（Mark）的敘述有所不同，但它們描述的是同一事件。連風浪也服從他。
最終，這個故事是關於在艱難的時刻有信心。固定住
超越眼前的事情，您將風雨如磐，安寧。
今天明智的話，當我們不得不在波濤洶湧的大海上行走時，我們得到
嚇壞了，開始下沉！
你知道當生命的水域威脅要抬高它的感覺時
不知所措。您是否知道當您下沉時眾神伸出手抓住您？
信念可以幫助我們克服下一波浪潮。
基督抱著我們，呼喚我，回到擁有生命的船上。
通過Covid 19，BLM，政治動盪，失業，飢餓無家可歸，全球變暖，法西斯主義，疾病，抑鬱，離婚，死亡，新關係，現在帶給我們什麼？
信念帶領我們繼續前進，希望離開我們所熟悉的熟悉的地方，並放棄我們慣常穿越世界的方式。彼得來邀請我們去想，是否有一個飛躍，甚至是一個小飛躍，當我們打開自己的聲音，跨過海浪呼喚我們的聲音，並邁向這一步時，基督可能正在呼召我們做出飛躍。
你呢？在所有拖拉或拋棄你的過程中，
更深層次的邀請，更引人注目的電話，一次飛躍，將使您更加接近
當海浪沖向我們的腳踝時，基督正在走向你嗎？
上帝在船上，海上，海浪中和溺水之中。
如果我們發現自己在逃亡，上帝會抱著我們
伸向我們的手，呼喚我們名字的聲音
歌曲“遵守我”
