Showing posts with label Pentecost 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pentecost 2. Show all posts

Saturday, 21 June 2025

Service 22nd June 2025, Luke 8v26-39, Pentecost 2, Culto de 22 de junho de 2025, Lucas 8:26-39, Pentecostes 2, مراسم ۲۲ ژوئن ۲۰۲۵، لوقا ۸:۲۶-۳۹، پنطیکاست ۲،




Our sisters and brothers bear a heavy load
Only many hands will move the rock
Come for Christ calls us
Only many hands will move the rock
 
Song “Beauty for brokenness”
https://youtu.be/08utbDFP9AE
 
Loving God
We are made in your image
We pray for justice and peace
Believing in your love for us
We pray for an end to oppression
Believing you made us and our earth
We commit to protecting one another
And your world
Amen
 
We say the Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Reflection “Taming your demon” Luke 8v26-39
The story of the Gerasene demoniac is of a cosmic confrontation between the kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. It is a confrontation played ouy in the ministry of Jesus and in our own lives and world. It follows the stilling of the storm. Both stories image the powers of evil and the defeat of those powers. 
 
When Jesus stepped ashore a man from the city having demons (we would say today metal health issues), began to scream out and fell at Jesus feet, lunged at him.
 
He said “I beg you”. Jesus responded “What do you want with me-literally “What to me and you?”, what do we have in common, an Aramaic saying. The demons in the man recognized that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God. The evil powers are well aware of Jesus divine origins. Don’t torture me they said or literally, Don’t twist me. Torture to exact a confession.  
 
Many times this power seized the man though he was chained and bound to keep him safe. But he had broken his chains and escaped into the wilderness. 
 
Jesus asked him what was his name and he answered Legion. A Roman Legion was 5000 soldiers. We are many then! (Like Mary).
 
They begged him not to send them into the abyss. A very deep underworld and the dwelling place of Satan. 
 
There is a herd of pigs grazing nearby on the hillside. The demons beg to be sent into the pigs (Why?! This seems very unfair on the pigs!)
 
When the demons came out they went into the pigs who rushed over the cliff into the sea and drowned. There was a lot of noise and the herdsman and villagers were very afraid. What they found was the man sitting talking to Jesus, having been dressed and now of sound mind. He is seated at the feet of Jesus like a disciple. 
 
They were afraid even though the man was healed! The eye witnesses the swine herdsmen said the man had been healed. Healing is salvation, being saved in Luke. It is demonstrated here. 
 
And the people ask Jesus to leave!! So he returned to Galilee and the man begged to go with him but Jesus told him to return to his people, his village. So he did telling his story of healing. 
 
Do we know situations where miracles have been performed but people want the old way back again? 
 
Intercessions
 
Blessed are the ones we call poor
God comforts them with an open door
Blessed are the ones who deeply mourn
God comforts them from dusk till dawn
Blessed are the ones who know their need
God comforts them and sows a seed
Blessed are the ones who thirst for right
God comforts them in their fight.
Blessed are the ones who bring calm
God comforts them with his open arms. 
 
We pray for our world, our country, our communities, our families and friends.
 
Song “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen!”       https://youtu.be/dAP06iDU3C0?si=DDt0kjFNgmu08xPr

Wisdom take root in our spirits.
Help us to see new possibilities
Dream new dreams.
And bless us on our way. Amen
 
خواهران و برادران ما بار سنگینی را بر دوش می‌کشند
تنها دستان بسیاری صخره را تکان خواهند داد
بیایید زیرا مسیح ما را فرا می‌خواند
تنها دستان بسیاری صخره را تکان خواهند داد
سرود «زیبایی برای شکستگی»
https://youtu.be/08utbDFP9AE
خدای مهربان
ما به تصویر تو آفریده شده‌ایم
ما برای عدالت و صلح دعا می‌کنیم
با ایمان به عشق تو به ما
ما برای پایان ظلم دعا می‌کنیم
با ایمان به اینکه تو ما و زمین ما را آفریده‌ای
ما متعهد به محافظت از یکدیگر
و جهان تو هستیم
آمین
 
ما دعای ربانی را به زبان خودمان می‌خوانیم
تأمل «رام کردن دیو خود»
لوقا ۸:۲۶-۳۹
داستان دیوزده‌ی جِراسین، روایتی از یک رویارویی کیهانی بین پادشاهی خدا و پادشاهی شیطان است. این رویارویی در خدمت عیسی و در زندگی و جهان خودمان رخ می‌دهد. این رویارویی پس از آرام شدن طوفان رخ می‌دهد. هر دو داستان، قدرت‌های شر و شکست آن قدرت‌ها را به تصویر می‌کشند.
هنگامی که عیسی از کشتی پیاده شد، مردی از اهالی شهر که دچار شیاطین (امروزه به مشکلات جسمی مبتلا هستیم) بود، شروع به فریاد زدن کرد و به پاهای عیسی افتاد و به او حمله کرد.
او گفت: «التماست می‌کنم». عیسی پاسخ داد: «از من چه می‌خواهی؟» - به معنای واقعی کلمه «به من و تو چه؟»، ما چه وجه اشتراکی داریم، یک ضرب‌المثل آرامی. شیاطین درون آن مرد تشخیص دادند که عیسی پسر خدای متعال است. قدرت‌های شیطانی به خوبی از ریشه‌های الهی عیسی آگاه هستند. آنها گفتند مرا شکنجه نکنید یا به معنای واقعی کلمه، مرا نپیچانید. شکنجه برای گرفتن اعتراف.
بارها این قدرت مرد را در حالی که برای حفظ امنیتش به زنجیر کشیده شده بود، تسخیر کرد. اما او زنجیرهایش را پاره کرده و به بیابان فرار کرده بود.
عیسی از او پرسید نامش چیست و او پاسخ داد: لژیون. یک لژیون رومی شامل ۵۰۰۰ سرباز بود. پس ما تعداد زیادی هستیم! (مانند مریم).
آنها از او التماس کردند که آنها را به ورطه نفرستد. یک دنیای زیرزمینی بسیار عمیق و محل سکونت شیطان.
گله‌ای از خوک‌ها در نزدیکی دامنه تپه در حال چرا هستند. شیاطین التماس می‌کنند که به داخل خوک‌ها فرستاده شوند (چرا؟! این برای خوک‌ها بسیار ناعادلانه به نظر می‌رسد!)
وقتی شیاطین بیرون آمدند، به درون خوک‌هایی رفت که از صخره به دریا هجوم بردند و غرق شدند. سر و صدای زیادی بود و چوپان و روستاییان بسیار ترسیده بودند. چیزی که آنها دیدند مردی بود که نشسته بود و با عیسی صحبت می‌کرد، لباس پوشیده بود و حالا عقلش کامل بود. او مانند یک شاگرد در پای عیسی نشسته بود.
آنها ترسیدند، اگرچه مرد شفا یافته بود! چشم شاهد است که چوپانان خوک می‌گویند که مرد شفا یافته است. شفا، رستگاری است، نجات یافتن در لوقا. این در اینجا نشان داده شده است.
و مردم از عیسی می‌خواهند که آنجا را ترک کند!! بنابراین او به جلیل بازگشت و مرد التماس کرد که با او برود، اما عیسی به او گفت که به قوم خود، روستای خود بازگردد. بنابراین او داستان شفای خود را تعریف کرد.
آیا ما موقعیت‌هایی را می‌شناسیم که معجزات انجام شده باشد، اما مردم می‌خواهند دوباره به راه قدیمی برگردند؟
شفاعت‌ها
 
خوشا به حال کسانی که ما آنها را فقیر می‌نامیم
خدا آنها را با دری باز تسلی می‌دهد
خوشا به حال کسانی که عمیقاً سوگواری می‌کنند
خدا آنها را از غروب تا طلوع تسلی می‌دهد
خوشا به حال کسانی که از سرنوشت خود آگاهند نیاز
خدا آنها را تسلی می‌دهد و بذری می‌پاشد
خوشا به حال کسانی که تشنه حق هستند
خدا آنها را در مبارزه‌شان تسلی می‌دهد.
خوشا به حال کسانی که آرامش می‌آورند
خدا آنها را با آغوش باز خود تسلی می‌دهد.
ما برای جهان، کشور، جوامع، خانواده‌ها و دوستانمان دعا می‌کنیم.
آهنگ «هیچ‌کس از مشکلاتی که دیده‌ام خبر ندارد!» https://youtu.be/dAP06iDU3C0?si=DDt0kjFNgmu08xPr
خرد در روح ما ریشه بدواند.
به ما کمک کن تا امکانات جدید را ببینیم
رویاهای جدید در سر بپرورانیم.
و ما را در راهمان برکت ده. آمین
 
 
Nossos irmãos e irmãs carregam um fardo pesado
Somente muitas mãos moverão a rocha
Venham, pois Cristo nos chama
Somente muitas mãos moverão a rocha
 
Canção “Beleza para o quebrantamento”
https://youtu.be/08utbDFP9AE
 
Amando a Deus
Somos feitos à sua imagem
Oramos por justiça e paz
Crendo em seu amor por nós
Oramos pelo fim da opressão
Crendo que você nos criou e à nossa Terra
Comprometemo-nos a proteger uns aos outros
E o seu mundo
Amém
 
Rezamos a Oração do Senhor em nossa própria língua
 
Reflexão “Domando seu demônio” Lucas 8:26-39
A história do endemoninhado geraseno é de um confronto cósmico entre o reino de Deus e o reino de Satanás. É um confronto travado no ministério de Jesus e em nossas próprias vidas e no mundo. Segue-se o acalmar da tempestade. Ambas as histórias retratam os poderes do mal e a derrota desses poderes.
Quando Jesus desembarcou, um homem da cidade, possuído por demônios (como diríamos hoje, problemas de saúde mental), começou a gritar e caiu aos pés de Jesus, investindo contra ele.
Ele disse: "Eu te imploro". Jesus respondeu: "O que você quer comigo?" — literalmente, "O que eu e você temos em comum?", um ditado aramaico. Os demônios no homem reconheceram que Jesus era o Filho do Deus Altíssimo. Os poderes malignos estão bem cientes das origens divinas de Jesus. "Não me torture", disseram eles, ou literalmente, "Não me distorça". Tortura para exigir uma confissão.
Muitas vezes, esse poder se apoderou do homem, embora ele estivesse acorrentado e amarrado para mantê-lo seguro. Mas ele havia quebrado suas correntes e fugido para o deserto.
Jesus perguntou-lhe qual era o seu nome e ele respondeu: Legião. Uma Legião Romana tinha 5.000 soldados. Somos muitos então! (Como Maria).
Eles imploraram a ele que não os enviasse para o abismo. Um submundo muito profundo e a morada de Satanás.
Há uma manada de porcos pastando perto da encosta. Os demônios imploram para serem enviados para dentro dos porcos (Por quê?! Isso parece muito injusto com os porcos!)
Quando os demônios saíram Eles entraram nos porcos, que se precipitaram do penhasco para o mar e se afogaram. Havia muito barulho e os pastores e os aldeões ficaram com muito medo. O que encontraram foi o homem sentado conversando com Jesus, tendo sido vestido e agora em sã consciência. Ele estava sentado aos pés de Jesus como um discípulo.
Eles estavam com medo, mesmo com o homem curado! As testemunhas oculares, os pastores de porcos, disseram que o homem havia sido curado. Cura é salvação, ser salvo em Lucas. Isso é demonstrado aqui.
E o povo pede a Jesus para ir embora!! Então ele voltou para a Galileia e o homem implorou para ir com ele, mas Jesus lhe disse para voltar para o seu povo, para a sua aldeia. E assim ele fez, contando sua história de cura.
Conhecemos situações em que milagres foram realizados, mas as pessoas querem voltar ao antigo caminho?
Intercessões
Bem-aventurados os que chamamos de pobres
Deus os conforta com uma porta aberta
Bem-aventurados os que choram profundamente
Deus os conforta do anoitecer ao amanhecer
Bem-aventurados São aqueles que conhecem suas necessidades
Deus os conforta e planta uma semente
Bem-aventurados os que têm sede do que é certo
Deus os conforta em sua luta.
Bem-aventurados os que trazem calma
Deus os conforta de braços abertos.
 
Oramos por nosso mundo, nosso país, nossas comunidades, nossas famílias e amigos.
Música "Ninguém sabe os problemas que eu vi!" https://youtu.be/dAP06iDU3C0?si=DDt0kjFNgmu08xPr
 
Que a sabedoria crie raízes em nossos espíritos.
Ajude-nos a ver novas possibilidades
Sonhe novos sonhos.
E nos abençoe em nosso caminho. Amém

Saturday, 6 June 2015

Pentecost 2, Mark 3 v20-35



“Nobody knows the trouble ive seen!”

Jesus’ ministry after the wilderness experience invokes conflict. Our lives are full of conflict. Todays gospel reading is one example of many that illustrate the conflict that he endures. 

Marks gospel is like a manifesto. It is about good news, a good news that is subversive to the powers that be whether religious or political.

Jesus gets the good news from God
Mark gets the good news from Jesus
Readers get the good news from Mark

The life of discipleship entails conflict.
Mark’s gospel is about repentance and resistance, repentance from all that which prevents us from living as God wants us to live and resistance to the powers and principalities the ideologies that set out to thwart ours and Gods task, namely to build Gods kingdom on earth. It is a call to justice to compassion and liberation. For the religious aristocracy or the sign seekers he has nothing.

Marks gospel is a call to discipleship

Jesus disciples have already upset the Pharisees by eating grain from cornfields on the Sabbath, the holy day. Also he has upset them by healing a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the holy day, the Sabbath, because he had 6 days to heal on! 7 days a week NHS! As a result of both his actions the Pharisees have a plot to kill him. I think its an unfortunate human attribute that we often hate goodie goodies who bend the rules.

And then the religious authorities call him Beelzebub, the fly carrier ( a word I cant use in the pulpit!), the prince of demons. In other words he is demonic.
The initial enthusiastic response to Jesus ministry, the adulation, prompts a resultant negative reaction from Jesus' family and Israel's religious officials. This is double conflict, double trouble.
  
1. Jesus' family said he had gone out of his mind.
2. The religious authorities accuse him of being possessed.

Ie he is mad!!

So Mark now has Jesus answering the charge that he is acting under the power of Satan.  Is response is to reject them both and bring a counter charge. 

Jesus says if Satan has moved against himself then he is finished! Divide and fall!
And he points out that his miraculous works, particularly exorcisms,happen because  Satan, the "strong man", the psyche/our soul is, "bound" and unable to resist the ministry of Jesus, which is why the only way to tackle addictions is through the Holy Spirit! 
  
If there are internal divisions in a household, it is impossible that such a household wont disintegrate.

"no one is able to enter a strong man's house and to plunder his property unless  he first ties up "the strong man's then he can rob the house.

This is about us as Christians, What is our strong man that we need to bind before Jesus can minister to us?  

The scribes have suggested that Jesus is an agent of Satan. Addressing the issue of slander (blasphemies) Jesus says that we can be forgiven all sort of sinful slanders, except a slander against the Holy Spirit, Gods work. 
  
So in Marks story, his gospel, we have moved from the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan to Galilee where both his family and the religious authorities have accused him of being possessed. Jesus says he intends to overthrow the reign of the strong man, by binding him, and robbing his house, like a thief in the night. He is talking about the religious authorities! 

The chapter ends with his family calling to him from outside the house. The family was central to Palestinian society. But there is a serious rift between Jesus and his family. He says "Whoever does the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother!" Even our families wont understand us. More trouble!

Conflict is a sign of maturity. It can also be an increasing sign of separation. As a Christian on our journey without a shadow of a doubt we will not grow until we learn to accept conflict and trouble as part of life’s journey. There is nothing worse than seeing how we consistently avoid conflict through wheeling and dealing and compromising ourselves. We mature as we face it and those we seek are surely those who in the face of adversity have matured and wisened . Unless you can face conflict people can buy you!!!

So if your going to be a Christian there's going to be trouble. But if you’re going to be human there’s going to be trouble too! At work and at home there will be conflicts. It’s an art form to avoid conflict or resolve it.  Jesus says blessed are the peacemakers. They are needed today more than ever, those who can see the problems and move beyond them, not denying reality, but finding ways through. Today we need such people. And we need to pray for them because it’s a high calling. 

So in our lives, what do we need to bind so that God can work in our lives? What do we need to confront!

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me …to proclaim release to the captives” 


Friday, 20 June 2014

Pentecost 2, Matthew 10v32-39, Luke 14v 25-33, Mark 8v34-9v1, The cost of discipleship.

Matthew 10 v32-39 What is discipleship?



In Matthew the context is the sending out of the 12 disciples to do Jesus' work of teaching, healing, baptising, changing the world. He has warned of the dangers of discipleship, now he desribes what it means to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. It centres on the cross and cross bearing. This is gritty, costly, not fluffy discipleship.


He is transferring power to his disciples. Discipleship is self denying. "Whoever declares themselves for me" is an Aramaic construction and almost legal in context as in a courtroom. It is in stark contrast to Peter's deniel later in the gospels. There will be trouble and division because following Jesus will attract it. Doing what is right, speaking up for the truth will cause trouble even in families, where obedience and loyalty were sacred as in many cultures today. In fact the most trouble will come from the family! Family is very important but it is not more important than following God and doing what is right. "Whoever doesnt take up his cross"- rather a pole, fixed to another horizontal pole. This is what law breakers did at that time, they carried their pole/cross to their place of execution. Following Jesus is like that! It could be terminal! And someone who looks after themselves and their own is not a disciple of Jesus who has had to take up their cross and lost a great deal in the process. But in losing we gain-peace? sleep at night? friends? changing the world we live in? We gain our soul/life.

Mark 8v34-9v1.

In Mark Jesus has predicted his death and resurrection and rebuked Peter. Jesus is speaking about cross-bearing discipleship. The disciples must be ready to face martyrdom. The suffering messiah means also a suffering messianic community. In its original context to 'take up his cross' meant only one thing, to die with Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus' call is a call for commitment to Christ, not just to the disciples, but to "the crowd". It and he were an an embarrassment.

A suffering messiah is not an easy idea for the disciples to come to grips with. Rejected, to be killed and after three days, (like Jonah in the big fish) to rise. He said all this quite openly.
He called to the crowd to follow him. He  is calling all to discipleship if anyone really does want to follow behind me... he must deny himself -take up his cross - the image would conjure up the cross-bearing criminal who is shamed in the presence of neighbours and friends and follow. Whoever-wishes to save his life or soul (Jung uses soul here) will lose it.  Whoever makes the decision to follow Jesus,  will save their life. What does anyone gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his life? 
If anyone is ashamed of my words in this adulterous faithless / godless generation...

Do we want to be found on the wrong side in the day of judgment?

Luke 14:25-33 

In Luke Jesus has told the “crowds” that even outsiders, the poor and the disabled are called to be part of God’s kingdom. Now he moves on to talk about discipleship, what is required to become a follower of Jesus and these hard sayings!

Hating Your Family

Heeding the wishes of the family was the most important social value in first century Palestine. The fifth commandment was to give honor to your parents, and it was respected and observed. For Jesus to speak of  "hatred" of your own family strikes us as very odd, but nowhere near as forcefully as it would have struck people then. Perhaps an equivalent today would be for Jesus to demand hatred of our mothers. Mother"s are still very important even in our culture. We might gain some idea of the counter-cultural stance adopted by Jesus here if we imagine a Christian renewal movement that called on its adherents to reject their mothers!. But Jesus used the word we translate as hate to describe the hold that those relationships should have upon our discipleship. The word “hate” is shocking! , It may be an exaggeration which was a common linguistic trait in Hebrew, so “hate” means love less, be less attached to. 

If taken seriously it was a divisive challenge to a Palestinian family, encouraging strive between generations, two parents against their children, and vice versa. But we cannot presume that parents are against Jesus and children for him, or vice versa. The point is not belief or disbelief at all. It is, just as in Micah 7:6, the standard of the patriarchal familial hierarchy is under attack. 


This cuts across and between genders. "the father against the son and the son against the father.' as it says in the Gospel of Thomas. So Jesus is encouraging a split between generations and across genders. There can be women, just as much as men on the side of Jesus, or on the other side. This is all deeply challenging and offensive to a patriarchal culture. This is what our faith must be like.

Carrying Your Cross

The cross is the definitive symbol of Christianity. As early as the 50's of the first century, Paul (writing in 1 Corinthians) could simply use "the cross" as a recognised symbol of a much larger set of ideas and beliefs. Jesus in Luke was discussing the possible consequences of following a certain philosophy. The cost of adopting a particular way of life is graphically imagined and the fate portrayed, so he uses two illustrations. 

Tower Builder and Warrior King

These two parables are without parallel in either the Jesus tradition or the rabbinic tradition. In fact the Tower Builder is perhaps the only parable of Jesus that reflects his traditional involvement in the building crafts of his time. For someone typically understood to have been a "carpenter's son," Jesus shows little interest in the family craft when shaping his wisdom that otherwise draws so deeply on his observations of everyday scenes. We hear him speak of farmers, fishers, housewives, tenants, crooked judges, but rarely of buildings, of furniture and of those who make them.Whether or not Jesus was actually a construction worker or a timber craftsman, these two parables pick up from the wider wisdom tradition insights about careful consideration of major projects:

By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established; 
Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones,
and those who have knowledge than those who have strength; 
for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counsellors there is victory. 
[Proverbs 24:3-7]

The wise person observes the harsh reality and foresees the difficulty of carrying out a challenging plan. 

Renouncing All

Verse 33 is found in no other Christian text, although it is consistent with a number of other sayings attributed to Jesus. It is like Serving two masters, Hating your family, Leaving the dead, Looking backwards. 
  
So what does the call to discipleship, to follow Jesus, mean today for the ordinary person? What did Jesus mean to say to us? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers this questions by differentiating between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is costly because it costs a person their life, and it is grace because it gives us the only true life." However for us today counting the cost may mean simply being loving, honest, compassionate, forgiving. That's costly enough in today’s society.







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