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Remembering all the saints

There has been an outpouring of joy and thanksgiving across Melbourne this week as many aspects of our life that have been closed for months reopen, including most shops, cafes and outdoor sports. This is our reward for months of restrictions. Numbers at indoor gatherings will remain cautiously low for a while yet, which limits the possibilities for face-to-face worship, but we are already planning for what we might be able to do at Christmas.

This week in the church calendar is also a time for thanksgiving as we celebrate All Saints Day, a tradition that dates back to at least the sixth century. In the Bible, a saint is anyone whose life is devoted to God, which included all the members of the churches Paul wrote to (e.g. Rom 1:7, 1 Cor 1:2). In the Protestant tradition, we remember saints both living and dead, whether famous or obscure, who have brought us to faith, nurtured us in faith or who continue to inspire and stretch our faith today. As you reflect on the people who have influenced your life, what can you learn from their priorities and approach to life?

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

A wise answer to another tricky question

Whether we’ve happily complied with or loathed the Covid19 restrictions of the last several months, most people in Melbourne have been co-operative in following the law. Most of us see the benefit to the wider community of getting the disease under control and the best way to do this is to follow the health laws about wearing masks and so forth.

The Jewish Law contained in the Bible covers a multitude of topics that impinge on community life including disease control, food handling, settling of legal disputes and of course matters of worship. One day Jesus is asked what is the single most important or greatest commandment in this vast array of laws. His answer is succinct and memorable – love God with all your heart, soul and strength and also love your neighbour as yourself.

As Christians we are so familiar with this teaching that it’s difficult to imagine it being anything other than central to our faith. Yet the question asked of Jesus is set as a test or a trap. Perhaps this is because Jesus has had numerous earlier skirmishes with the Pharisees over interpretation of the Jewish Law, especially regarding Sabbath regulations and purity laws. For the Pharisees, Jesus plays fast and loose with the Law. For Jesus, the Pharisees focus on minor matters of the Law and ignore the weightier matters of mercy and justice. So a simple sounding question masks underlying tensions.

While Jesus’ response is memorable, it’s also hard to live out in practice. How do we get the balance right between our call to love God and our call to love our neighbour? And besides, who is my neighbour that I’m called to love? Is it just those of my tribe or those who live nearby? And what might it mean to love them? It’s all very open ended … which is why Jesus’ response is so brilliant. He didn’t provide black and white answers that we could haggle over, but rather asks us to consider in each and every situation how might I best love my neighbour, both during the Covid 19 pandemic and when life has settled back to a more predictable routine?

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

Paying taxes and honouring God

Last week the Federal Government handed down its Budget and there was the usual commentary on ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. While people with higher taxable incomes and business seemed to do well, other groups including university students and staff, overseas workers, the unemployed, refugees and people working in hospitality, the arts, retail or tourism seemed to be largely forgotten.

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus is asked whether it’s necessary and okay to pay taxes. Jesus dodges the question as either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer will probably land him in trouble. He requests instead that the coin for paying the Roman tax be brought, which carried the inscription Tiberius Caesar, divine son of Augustus, thus making rival claims to Jesus about his identity. Jesus’ wise and challenging response to the question of paying taxes is to give the Emperor his dues – and so pay the taxes he imposes – but also to give due honour to God’s demands, which are rather more all-encompassing as God is the Creator and Sustainer of every aspect of life.

Coming back to our government’s Budget, the cuts to personal and business taxes are no doubt welcome, but I wonder about neglecting those people struggling the most. As I look at the lists compiled of winners and losers from the Budget, it’s hard not to think that our government’s priorities do not line up with Jesus’ priorities for the outcast, the poor and the least. Hence the great challenge of Jesus’ response to give to God what rightly belongs to God – including our worship, our love for neighbour and our commitment to care for the last and the least.

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

Pressing on with Jesus

In these days of coronavirus and the extensive changes we are living through, it’s easy to get despondent and impatient with progress. As individuals and as a community we face an uncertain future over the next few weeks and months that is likely to continue into next year. Psychologists tell us that this continuing stress can cause serious harm to our mental health. Someone who knew plenty about stress and some ways of overcoming it was the apostle Paul.

Paul is nothing if not a polarising figure. He seemed to stir up controversy wherever he went and in the book of Acts is accused of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). In a rare autobiographical passage in Philippians, Paul describes the stress of seeking perfection as a Jew. This changed when he encountered Christ. Paul no longer had to rely on his own effort to please God, but now enjoyed a close personal relationship with God through Christ. This led to other problems, however, as Paul was seen by some as selling out his Jewish heritage and so was persecuted by Jews, by some rival Christians and also by Greeks who saw their commercial interests being threatened by Paul’s new religion. And we think we have it tough!

In the midst of the storms and controversies that seemed to follow Paul, his solution was to remain focused on Jesus – not being distracted by his past or rocked by present difficulties – but always pressing ahead. Paul was like a runner in a marathon race – never giving up and always striving to keep putting one foot after the other in pursuit of his calling. Despite his reputation for being uncompromising, Paul suggests that we need to accept differences between us while agreeing on what is central, which for Paul is all about following and knowing Jesus. In our days, how might this focus help us overcome the stress and uncertainty that we face?

There will be no Zoom worship meeting this Sunday morning. Instead please take the opportunity to explore other offerings by local churches or on the internet or TV.

Click here for worship@home resources.

Church@home, From the Minister