Skip to main content

Jesus’ inconvenient invitation

Our prayers often involve asking God to bless us and those we love with good health, with strength and with peace. In praying these prayers we take our cue from the Psalms, where people and communities cry out to God for help, reminding ourselves – and God – about God’s character of love and faithfulness.

Sometimes, though, the situation is reversed and God asks things of us. And these requests and invitations are not always easy or comfortable. In two of our readings this week, people are called upon to make momentous decisions that have far-reaching implications for their lives. In one instance, God calls Moses to return to Egypt to rescue God’s people from slavery under Pharaoh. This is more than inconvenient for Moses – it’s extremely dangerous and difficult. God promises to go with Moses, but it’s a big call.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus invites the disciples – and anyone else who wants to follow him –  to embrace suffering, just as he will walk a path of suffering all the way to the cross. According to Jesus this is the way to find true life. Again this is most inconvenient, especially in our culture that seeks comfort and pleasure at every opportunity and avoids suffering if at all possible.

The challenge for us, then, is to have the faith to hear and the courage to respond to God’s call, wherever it may take us. As the proverb suggest, a boat in the harbour is safe, but that is not what boats are built for.

What inconvenient but life-giving invitation may God be calling you to and how will you respond?

We will be holding a Zoom worship meeting this Sunday morning from 9.45 am. I will host the meeting from my home but it will be an opportunity to hold a larger (virtual) gathering and to see each others’ faces. We will be basing our worship on the attached worship@home resource for this week, so it would be handy to have a copy present. We can send you a link to the meeting or a phone number and meeting details if you sign up by emailing the Croydon UC church office on office@croydon.unitingchurch.org.au or using the form in the sidebar.

Click here for worship@home resources

Church@home, From the Minister,

The question that won’t go away

The question ‘Who is Jesus?’ lies at the heart of the whole of the New Testament. It is a question that each of the Gospel stories tries to answer in its own way, while the later books and letters deal with further implications of this question (e.g. why did Jesus have to die? who then is God? how are we to live?).

It’s the question that Jesus poses to his disciples roughly mid way through the story. Based on all that you have seen and heard, friends, who do you think I am? Peter’s response is regarded as the bedrock of Christian faith, namely that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. It’s why followers of Jesus are known as Christians, followers of the Christ, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah.

In our day, the question is still relevant, although the answers we might get to it cover a spectrum of views – ranging from Jesus was just an ordinary and misunderstood Jewish man to Jesus was a great moral teacher to Jesus was a mighty prophet to Jesus was God in human form. How we answer this question for ourselves will not only illuminate our faith but also influence how we live and what we give priority to.

How will you answer this question?

We will be holding a Zoom worship meeting this Sunday morning from 9.45 am. I will host the meeting from my home but it will be an opportunity to hold a larger (virtual) gathering and to see each others’ faces. We will be basing our worship on the attached worship@home resource for this week, so it would be handy to have a copy present. We can send you a link to the meeting or a phone number and meeting details if you sign up by emailing the Croydon UC church office on office@croydon.unitingchurch.org.au.

Click here for worship@home resources

Church@home, From the Minister

A lesson from the margins

Change rarely comes from the centre of a group or an organization. Usually lasting change comes from the margins. This week’s text illustrates this truth.

Jesus and the disciples have travelled to the region of Tyre and Sidon, coastal cities in modern day Lebanon. They’ve gone there for some rest and peace, but are soon confronted by a loud and insistent woman seeking help for her daughter. Matthew calls her a Canaanite woman, a derogatory term from the days of Moses used to describe the original inhabitants of the land of Israel. Jesus ignores her cries and later insults her, calling her a dog.

Where is Jesus’ famed compassion? Where is his welcome of the outcast? Both have seemingly gone missing on this occasion. The woman persists, however, and reframes the discussion by suggesting that even dogs belong to the wider family and are therefore worthy to receive the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.

The penny finally drops for Jesus as he recognises that his mission – and indeed God’s love and grace – are for everyone. This startling insight overcame centuries of history and prejudice and set the future direction for the emerging Christian community as a place of inclusion. The Black Lives Matter movement in Australia shows how far we still have to change our attitudes in this country.

This Sunday we will not be meeting by Zoom for worship. Instead we encourage people to watch and participate in the collaborative service prepared by Heathmont, Ringwood, Ringwood North and our two Croydon congregations. You will see and hear from several familiar faces from Croydon and Croydon North, including Rev Peter. To log in to the service go to the following website https://nruc.online.church/ before 10 am.

If you are unable to join us to participate online, click here for worship@home resources

Church@home, From the Minister

Getting through the storms of life

We’re currently in the middle of a storm – the pandemic caused by Covid19, which is affecting people’s health, their sense of connection with others, their work routines and, for many, their financial security. Where is God during such a storm? What is God up to in the midst of this pandemic?

In the Gospel story this week, Jesus is not with the disciples as they battle wind and waves. Some see this as a metaphor for the church (the boat), battling opposition and alone on the ocean of the world. In these days it may feel that we are indeed struggling alone.

But that is only half the story. Jesus comes to the disciples in the midst of their struggles and even encourages brave/foolish Peter to get out of the boat and come to him on the water. Peter is soon distracted by the storm around him and starts to sink, before Jesus reaches out and grabs him by the hand, hauling him to safety.

The good news in this story is that if we’re able to trust that Jesus really is Emmanuel – God with us – then we can live with courage and with hope, knowing that we will get through this storm together. Further, we can continue to seek the good of others in our community – knowing that God is always there for us in Jesus.

We will be holding a Zoom worship meeting this Sunday morning from 9.45 am. I will host the meeting from my home but it will be an opportunity to hold a larger (virtual) gathering and to see each others’ faces. We will be basing our worship on the attached worship@home resource for this week, so it would be handy to have a copy present. We can send you a link to the meeting or a phone number and meeting details if you sign up by emailing the Croydon UC church office on office@croydon.unitingchurch.org.au or using the form in the sidebar.

Click here for worship@home resources.

Church@home, From the Minister