Here is this week’s Online Service, on the theme of ‘Giving’.
Prelude I will be starting the service by playing some quiet, reflective music, at 11.00 am on Sunday morning, to centre me and prepare me for this time of virtual worship. You may wish to do the same.
Opening Words
In this time of insecurity and social upheaval,
When we are unable to meet in person,
I invite you into this time of online worship.
For this short space of time,
Let us put our worldly cares aside,
Close our eyes and imagine ourselves
To be in our places of worship,
Surrounded by members of our beloved community,
And be together, if only virtually,
At this one time.
Chalice Lighting (you may wish to light a candle in your own home at this point. I will be lighting my chalice for worship at 11.00 am on Sunday morning)
We light our chalice today
Remembering with gratitude all the front-line staff
Of our hospitals, shops and public services,
Who are selflessly carrying on,
To meet the needs of the people they serve.
We light our chalice in the hope
That our loved ones may be safe,
That all people may be safe,
And in faith that normality will return,
Or perhaps even, a kinder and more compassionate society.
Opening Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us as we gather for worship,
Each in their own place.
Help us to feel a sense of community,
Even though we are physically apart.
Help us to care for each other,
In this difficult time,
Keeping in touch however we can,
And helping each other,
However we may.
We hold in our hearts all those
Whose lives have been touched,
In whatever way,
By the coronavirus and the fall-out from it.
Amen
Reading from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Then said a rich man, speak to us of Giving. And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard, for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much that they have – and they give it for recognition, and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
Alternative Lord’s Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love, here and everywhere,
May we be aware of your presence in our lives.
May our world be blessed.
May our daily needs be met,
And may our shortcomings be forgiven,
As we forgive those of others.
Give us the strength to resist wrong-doing,
The inspiration and guidance to do right,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
We are your hands in the world; help us to grow.
May we have compassion for all living beings,
And receive whatever life brings,
With courage and trust.
Amen
Reading from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor
do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these, God speaks,
and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed, the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours
and not your inheritors.
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life – while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers – and you are all receivers – assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be over-mindful of your debt is to doubt his generosity,
Who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.
Prayer by John Carter (used with permission)
Sometimes it is hard to pray,
To take time to reflect and speak what lurks in the deepest part of me,
To speak that which my soul needs to say,
Needs to be released from
And bound to.
These days of pandemic, isolation, and physical distancing
Are taking a toll on our lives and our ability to live our lives…
We often hear contradictions and platitudes,
Not just from those who so often use these for their political power plays,
But from friends, and people we care deeply for, people we respect…
Words designed to give us assurance that actually create within us dissidence…
And here we sit alone, wondering, and struggling with the anxieties these words create.
*******
Where do we turn in this time?
Is it to each other? our family? our faith family?
Is it to you?
G_D of many names and of none….
Spirit of life, compassion and love…
Divine connection beyond our reasoning…
Can we turn to you?
*******
The ancients celebrated these things and saw within the hardest of times and situations
That spark of hope, divine light, sense of greater connection….
The poets of time and place have spoken the ways of moving us beyond our time and our situations..
Artists have shown us how we can see beauty even in desolation and lack…..
We take these ancient and contemporary witnesses as assurance….
We look to these and to the myriad voices that speak of compassion, of love, of connection….
And we turn to you, as we turn to one another….
And we pray our contradictions and concerns…
We pray our hopes and desires….
We pray our willingness to grow, to be, to become…
We simply pray… for we know we can do no other action….
We simply pray…..
*******
May we be just in our anger
May we be loving in our stances
May we be your hands and hearts during this time of lack….
May we be your people
Today, tomorrow, for ever.
For the time we are given….
May we show your fierce love,
Compassionate Justice,
Holy action that leads to life.
May we be what our world, our time, so desperately needs us to be…
May we be your people..
So say we all…
Amen
Reading from The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 19, verses 16-26
Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother; also, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Time of Stillness and Reflection
Let us now join in a time of stillness and reflection. The Buddhist Mettabhavana, or Prayer of Loving Kindness, is often used in Unitarian services, or for personal meditation. This is my version of it. After each line, I invite you to close your eyes, and pray for the people concerned, using the words given, if you wish…
First of all, we pray for ourselves: May I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from harm, may I find peace.
Next, we pray for our loved ones, those people who are dear to us: May they be well, may they be happy, may they be free from harm, may they find peace.
Next, we pray for someone less well-known to us, about whom we have no strong feelings, but whom we might know better, if we made the effort: May they be well, may they be happy, may they be free from harm, may they find peace.
Next, we pray for people we don’t know, for all the people who are doing their best to make a positive difference in the world, and for those who are lost in places of scarcity and fear: may they be well, may they be happy, may they be free from harm, may they find peace.
Next, we pray for someone we dislike, or find it difficult to get on with: may they be well, may they be happy, may they be free from harm, may they find peace.
Finally, we pray for the world: may all be well, may all be happy, may all be free from harm, may all find peace.
May all find peace, today and always, Amen
Musical Interlude I will play a piece of quiet, reflective music at this point. You may wish to do the same.
Address on the theme of Giving
I never cease to be amazed by the wisdom of Kahlil Gibran. I have found his words on ‘Giving’, this week’s theme, so appropriate to our situation right now. Let me remind you… “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard, for fear you may need them tomorrow?”
This is not to say that giving food and other items to your local food bank (for example) is a bad idea. Because it absolutely isn’t. They need our donations more than ever. But he speaks so clearly to those who are living in places of scarcity and fear just now. If we are tempted to hoard anything more than we can actually use, week by week, we are depriving someone else of essentials which they may desperately need, to feed and look after themselves and their families. So let us try to “give with joy… as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.” Such a beautiful image. Such a beautiful action.
He also reminds us that “it is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding; and to the open-handed, the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.” Who might we be able to give to, today, next week? Let us search our minds and hearts. It need not be material things which we give. Indeed, the most precious gifts are those which cannot be seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted. Generosity, love, compassion – we can give of all of these freely, knowing that by our giving, we have not only enriched our own lives, but also those to whom we have given.
Life is hard for many of us at the moment, particularly those of us who live alone. Who are yearning to see a friendly face, hear a friendly voice, be touched by a loving hand. We may not be able to exchange hugs and kisses at the moment (which I truly believe is the greatest hardship that the coronavirus has imposed on us) but we can stay in touch with others in other ways – by e-mail, by phone call, by Zoom, on Face Book, on FaceTime – the choices are endless. So when this service has ended, why not get in touch with someone you know, and brighten their day? This could be a phone call, a card through the post, whatever. Or, if you are not self-isolating, you could put a note through a self-isolating neighbour’s door, offering to shop for them or fetch their medication from the local pharmacy. Little acts of kindness could make a huge difference.
And if we are self-isolating, our gift to the people who are sharing our space might be patience or compassion… I know that it is easy to get on each other’s wicks when we are stuck in the house together, in closer proximity than we are used to, but let’s try to treat each other with the consideration we would like to be treated ourselves. Today is Golden Rule Sunday. But following this should not be confined to one day in the year.
Most of us need to celebrate life, to feel our inherent worth, to be restored our dignity, and to practice justice, equity and compassion in human relationships. Most of us yearn to say, “Hello, I am Somebody…” and to be greeted “Hello, Somebody, welcome! We’re glad you’re here!” Most of us hunger for affirmation and celebration in who we are, and in the gifts and blessings we bring this world. Most of us come to our churches and chapels, Sunday by Sunday, to be greeted as the loving, generous, compassionate people we are. And it is hard to have that taken away from us, just now. But like I say, we can choose to spread that love, that generosity, that compassion, in other ways.
Each of us has at least one blessing—I believe each of us offers MANY blessings—to this world in who we are. But sometimes we, and even our loved ones, might struggle to see and affirm those blessings.
So right now, we’re going to have a little exercise.
I invite you to look into yourself and discover again one of your blessings, one of your gifts to the world. Loving, peaceful, generous, compassionate—there are so many traits and blessings. What is yours?
Greet yourself in the mirror of your heart with that name.
Share that greeting with another person today.
We are all blessings to this world. Our work of building bridges of connection by finding and naming and affirming those blessings we are, is the work of nurturing our spirits and healing our world. These are the gifts we can give to ourselves, and to the world.
I’ll finish by repeating part of the beautiful prayer which my friend and colleague, Rev John Carter, posted on Face Book this week:
May we be loving in our stances
May we be your hands and hearts during this time of lack….
May we be your people
Today, tomorrow, for ever.
For the time we are given….
May we show your fierce love,
Compassionate Justice,
Holy action that leads to life.
May we be what our world, our time, so desperately needs us to be…
May we be your people..
So say we all…
Amen
Closing Words
Our time together is drawing to a close.
May we return to our everyday world refreshed,
May we share the love we feel,
May we look out for each other,
And may we keep up our hearts,
Now and in the days to come,
Amen
Postlude I will play a piece of quiet, reflective music at this point. You may wish to do the same.