Magnificat

Robyn Sand Anderson Art (Retrieved from: robynsandanderson.com)

 

Click to view pdf version 

 

Greeting          Rev Seung Jae Yeon

 

 

I welcome you all to the online worship service with the people of Boronia Park Uniting. I also pay respect to the Wallumettagal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of this land where I stand.

 

Last three days, it was very foggy in the morning. I could see surroundings except the long distance. It was like walking on a sea of clouds when I was walking down a street that gives me such a great city view. Actually, I couldn’t see at all. But I was aware that in that direction there is the town where buildings and skyscrapers form a huge human habitat that men built. A few hours later, the fog laid in the city had disappeared by the day heat and the town appears. Not a surprising. Because there is always the city.

 

During the Pandemic, particularly this lockdown in the Greater Sydney, we are now facing another challenging time. Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 test, more positive cases hit the record every day. Some our neighbouring streets and shops have become clusters. The state government asks us to assume our fellow citizens whether not or they have been infected. It might create a climate of unrest around us. Furthermore, as Church, this climate would seem to wrinkle our mission and ministry these days. But is this an end? Is this stopping us being a people of God? I don’t think so.

 

Now we are like people walking on a foggy street where we know well what is coming. As we are passing through, we are able to find there is always God willing. There is an end. But that is not the end but another corner where we might discern which direction we might take. In God, and in our living in union with Christ, you and I walk together, discerning where God’s call leads us. What we should have this moment is TRUST. Again, let us have trust in God. And behold where all God’s help come. Then a joy in trusting in God and beholding the Lord may come dwell among us.

 

James 1 clearly speaks to us about a courage that we dare to claim joy. It says,

 

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (New Living Translation)

 

What is this passage speaking to you? What is in you reminded by the Word?

 

We will definitely be locked in till Friday 9 July. We will be feeling isolated or even more. But I may ask you to seek to find great joy in this challenging time. From daily newspaper or your favourite Youtubers, from your spouse or your kid, from your parent or your friend, from the pots inside house or garden at your backyard, from birds twittering above you or wind blowing like whistling around your ear. Open a bible and revisit your favourite passage. Commit to sit for prayers. Click to donate your good will for others. Doing something to find joy will be a starter of your daily feast where God sits right next you.

 

Shall we find joy?

 

 

Call to Worship

 

We come from all walks of life:

the rich, the poor, the struggling and the secure.

And God calls us all.

 

We bring our hearts to this time and place –

hearts holding joy and sorrow, questions and wonders.

And God knows us.

 

We offer what we have to give:

our talents and our imperfections,

our faith and our doubt,

our hope and our hands.

And God loves us.

 

Let us worship God.

 

 

Song         Come As You Are

 

 

1       ‘Come as you are: that’s how I want you.

Come as you are; feel quite at home,

close to my heart, loved and forgiven.

Come as you are: why stand alone?

 

2       ‘No need to fear, love sets no limits;

no need to fear, love never ends;

don’t run away shamed and disheartened,

rest in my love, trust me again.

 

3       ‘I came to call sinners, not just the righteous;

I came to bring peace, not to condemn.

Each time you fail to live by my promise,

why do you think I’d love you the less?

 

4       ‘Come as you are; that’s how I love you;

come as you are, trust me again.

Nothing can change the love that I bear you;

all will be well, just come as you are.’               

_{Deirdre Browne| CCLI #260394}

 

Prayer of the Day

 

INVITATION TO CONFESSION

 

Every week, as we worship together, we have the opportunity to admit to ourselves, to each other, and to God that we do not always live as we are called. In this time of confession, this time of opening our hearts, let us remember that God is merciful and just, eager to offer grace and love. Let us pray, first in silence.

 

SILENT PRAYER

 

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

Gracious God, source of all life,

Lord of mercy and grace, hear our prayer.

 

We come before you in need of healing:

the healing of our bodies and souls,

the healing of our relationships,

the healing of our pride and fear and apathy.

We know that with you,

nothing is impossible, not even our healing,

not even the restoration of the whole world.

 

We pray that you will heal us,

that you will heal our world,

so that we will be freed

to serve and love and dream and be,

as Christ calls us.

 

Amen.

 

 

Bible Readings      Jenny Warren

 

 

First Reading: Psalm 30:4-5

^{4 여호와의 성도들아,
주께 노래하고
그 거룩한 이름을 찬양하여라.
5 그의 노여움은 잠깐이요
그의 은총은 평생 동안이다!
밤에는 우는 일이 있을지라도
아침에는 기쁨이 오리라.}

^{(Korean Living Bible)}

^{4 耶和華的聖民哪，你們要歌頌他，
    要頌揚他神聖的名字。
5 因為，他的怒氣不過是轉眼之間；
    他的恩典乃是一生之久。
一宿雖然有哭泣，
    早晨便必歡呼。}

^{(Revised Chinese Union Version (Traditional Script) Shen Edition)}

⁴ Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
    Praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
    but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

(New Living Translation)

 

Gospel Reading: Luke 1:46-53

 

⁴⁶ 그러자 마리아는 이렇게 노래하였다. “내 영혼이 주를 찬양하며

⁴⁷ 내 마음이 내 구주 하나님을 기뻐하는 것은

⁴⁸ 그가 이 천한 종을 돌아보셨음이라. 지금부터는 모든 세대가 나를 행복하다 하겠네.

⁴⁹ 능력 있는 분이 나를 위해 큰 일을 하셨으니 그의 이름 거룩하여라!

⁵⁰ 그를 두려워하는 사람들에게 자손 대대로 자비를 베푸시는구나.

⁵¹ 그가 권능의 팔을 펴서 교만한 자들을 흩으시고

⁵² 권력자들을 높은 자리에서 끌어내리셨지만 낮고 천한 사람들은 높여 주셨네.

⁵³ 굶주린 사람들에게는 좋은 것으로 배불리 먹이셨으나 부자들은 빈손으로 보내셨네.

(Korean Living Bible)

 

The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise

 

⁴⁶ Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
    and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For the Mighty One is holy,
    and he has done great things for me.
⁵⁰ He shows mercy from generation to generation
    to all who fear him.
⁵¹ His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
    He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
⁵² He has brought down princes from their thrones
    and exalted the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away with empty hands.

 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

 

Reflection       Mary’s joy

 

Interview with Reverend Kevin Bates SM PP (Holy Name of May Parish)

 

This interview was held on Thursday 3 December 2020 at the Presbytery office of Villa Maria as part of interview series ‘Churches who journey together’. The minister, Rev Seung Jae Yeon had brought some questions and Father Kevin answered them. It is less formal but a great opportunity to exchange the point of view of who Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, is from a Marist priest. This video interview may honour our ecumenical relationship with the Catholic parish.

 

Kevin: “Hello SeungJae, and hello everyone at Boronia Park Uniting Church. Its lovely to be joining you, via this medium; On one of these lovely Sundays of Advent and very happy to be here with you all. Now Seungjae has a couple of questions to ask me, and I will do my best to answer them.”

 

Q1 – Can you tell us about joy of Mary, the subversive joy? What does it mean for us, Christians?

 

Kevin: “Sure, SeungJae, it’s no doubt there was great joy at the time of Jesus’ birth, where we read in St. Luke was her anticipation of that moment, when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. And there was that beautiful hymn ‘my soul glorifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’. And one of the notable things that we know about Mary, we don’t know a lot about her from the scriptures but we do know some things and from what we do know, her focus was always pointing towards God, or drawing attention toward Jesus and later on. And her focus was never on herself, so ‘my soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit gives thanks to God, my saviour. He’s looked on his lowly handmade, all generations will call me blessed, not because of me but because of God’s goodness’ and she takes great joy in that.

 

And you used the word subversive in your question, and that’s a very telling word because as Mary’s hymn goes along, we realise he has casted the mighty from their thrones and raised up the lowly, he fills the hungry with good things and send the rich empty away. So we’re talking revolution there, like radical transformation of each of our hearts and a radical transformation of human society in light of the Gospel. Luke puts those words in her mouth to express that subversive joy. This is hope for all creation and for all peoples, for all times. But it’s also a hope that requires our best love and our best response and our best courage often, to bring about God’s word in our time. So, Mary’s joy is something that is infectious and also very challenging. It’s not something we just sit back and admire, it’s a joy in which we participate as we in our turn strive to give birth to God’s word in our way”

 

Q2 – The relationship between Jesus and Mary which we will never full understand: One is as a mother, earthly and the other is heavenly, the Son of God. Through Mary, Jesus belongs to human race and through Him, Mary becomes Mother of God. We want to know more about the special relationship.

 

Kevin: “Well as you say, we’ll never get to the bottom of it. It’s a bit similar to the relationship between any mother and her child. There’s something very, I won’t use the word sacred but something very precious that belongs just to them and we will never unpack all of that of course. What we do know is that there was a great intimacy there and in the pages of the gospel, we get tiny glimpses of it, really like the wedding feast at Cana, when they ran out of wine and Mary gives Jesus a little prompt and he’s going ‘but my time is not, I’m not ready’ and she goes ‘just put some water in the bowl for him, do what he says, do whatever he tell you’. She knew him to well. There’s a lovely humour in that too, I think. So there was a lovely gentle humour between them certainly a great tenderness. And wherever she appears in the Gospel, as I said earlier, she’s pointing towards him and she’s being fruitful, not that his just conception at birth, like a cater. Particularly at the foot of the cross, where she suffers with him, and she shares a gift of the cross with him. She’s weeping at the foot of the cross and then he entrusts her and John to each other, as he was dying.

And then the other time we do spot her later on in the Act of the Apostles that she’s present with the apostles at Pentecost, with the birth of the church, and again, she’s there mothering the newborn body of Christ if you like, the body of Christ the church. We can imagine a lot there, but it’s just quite lovely to think of her there, with those frightened Apostles and their girlfriends, I presume they were all there too, that lovely presence supporting just saying “it’s going to be alright, stop being as frightened” as the Holy Spirit came upon that group. And again that is an expression of her relationship with Jesus, and her carrying out her part of her part in his mission to ensure that the birth of the church happened well. It must’ve gone well enough, we’re still talking about it all these years later.

 

So there was a lovely intimacy between them, both in human terms and also divine terms. We just don’t know how much he knew really, she must’ve pondered all these things in her heart, and when they were mystified by Jesus’ behaviour when he got himself lost in the temple and they had to call social welfare to find him. Here he was talking to all the ‘heavies’ at the temple. I love that moment because it means he wasn’t always good or perfect and he worried them, like every kid does. But then he went home with them and was obedient to them, like the Gospel says. So there’s that lovely normal humanity in it all but through it all shines the face of God in a mysterious way. The God who no one can know really, the God who is beyond description, the God who is beyond our imagining, and yet we learn to recognise God in a human face and then as he did to Mary, he showed us something of that face and there’s a certain sense in which we in our turn show that face, so we are part of that intimate relationship, we’re not just followers. You know we’re part the body of Christ? As members of the body of Christ we are part of that ongoing mystery of God becoming flesh. Becoming one of us. So the incarnation didn’t just happen once, its ongoing.”

 

Q3 – In the context of Gladesville and Boronia Park, how we should honour Mary today?

 

Kevin: “Okay, that’s a very good question, looking through the history of the Catholic church, we’ve developed all these devotions to Mary, where we pray to her; we certainly don’t worship her, some people seem to think we worship her but we don’t of course. We honour her, God is the only one we worship. We honour her, as we do all our other holy people, our saints. Some of them still living with us, some have gone to God. A lot of the devotions developed asking Mary for help, or focused on our sinfulness, and I suppose they serve their purpose for a time and in some cultures. I belong to a community, the Marist Fathers. Marist, we take our name from Mary. And our founder had a very beautiful spirituality in France, this is in the 18th century. And he said, “our mission really isn’t to have devotion to Mary, although we do, but our mission is to do Mary’s work. And to give birth to God’s word as best we can as she did. To think like her, to judge like her, to feel like her, to respond to the world with her heart. As priests for instance, he never wanted us running the church, he wanted us to be supporting of God’s people and that how I certainly see my own ministry. I see myself working with our people in the parish rather, even though I’m the leader of the parish, my leadership is one of mutual support. And so to look at Mary now, sitting around and admiring her, well that’s cool, but it’s not enough. Our world is in deep need of healing and of hope. We know it through this year’s adventures with the COVID caper, and with the political and the economic upheavals that have come with it, and for other reasons as well. And with the uncertainty of relationships with other nations, particularly at the moment. To be like Mary, means to give birth, to truth, to integrity, to justice, to gentleness, to all those beautiful qualities that Jesus spells out in the Beatitudes. I was very moved the other week, not long after the US election when it became clear that Joe Biden had probably won. And there was an Afro-American commentator on CNN, I was watching it. He was crying, he said “Now I can tell my son it is okay to be truthful and that it is okay to be just, and it is okay to put community first” that was the most moving. So, that’s our role to be like Mary, not just to imitate her but to do her work, the work of allowing God’s word to be spread in the world, and to make a gift of it. So often in our history we imposed religion on people, but that are not our mission. Our mission is to break open God’s word as a gift and offer it, and then to see what happens and to realise its God’s work we’re doing and let it go.”

 

Absolutely, don’t close the door, yes, yes, yes, yes, And in doing that we take our inspiration from her, we can hold her close, we can chat with her. I still chat with my mother whose been dead or 13 years, she’s one of our saints now. I chat to Mary that way, like a sister. As well as the mother of God, she’s our first woman of faith.

I’ll show you this little treasure with you, a friend sent it to me from Barcelona in Spain, it’s made by a blind man. (Kevin holds the white sculpture, telling about it.) Depending on which angle you look at it, you can see Mary praying, you can see her going to the well with a bucket on her hip, you can see her pregnant, and you can see her holding the child, and you can see her as the dove of peace. It is a beautiful little icon, it’s meant to be held and prayed with. So I just thought I’d share that with you. She’s very very special in our lives and the most lovely presence; and a gentle presence, you know. As I said, some Catholics have gone a bit overboard with our devotions at different times, our central focus is God’s word in Jesus made flesh, and that was her central focus too, so I suppose she’s our inspiration.

 

God bless all of you at Boronia Park, our dear neighbours.

 

         Prayers of the People     Phoebe Kim

 

 

Heavenly Father of all nations, and of all cultures, of all peoples.

 

We come to worship before you again online again. Though we are not in fellowship together in person, hear our prayers and hearts.

 

Help us foster respect and harmony with others, especially those who are weak or poor. We ask for your blessings and guidance upon us, the people of your world. During this time of pandemic, we pray for a quick control over the corona virus that is destroying our world. We pray for good leadership and we pray that people are able to find peace and comfort though times may be scary and uncertain. We continue to pray for front-line workers and those who are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

 

We pray for all those who are suffering and grieving. We pray that God’s healing hand and comfort may rest upon them. Also, we pray that help us take advantage of living together as a family.

 

Help us cultivate responsibility, patience and hope.

 

Let the greatness of God who is always with us be our pride, song, and hope. Protect who take care of our environment and love God.

 

This week especially Father, we pray the countries in the Ecumenical World Cycle of Prayer. We think of Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. These are beautiful, vibrant cultures Lord. We ask for our brothers and sisters there, the churches, and the people that they all daily receive your blessing and love.

 

We also remember and uphold in the Inter Church Council, Anglican Parish of Hunters Hill, All Saints and St. Mark’s Anglican Church. We ask for your continued guidance in their ministry in the local community. We ask for your love to strengthen the bond we have with those congregations as we walk side-by-side in our journeys to do your will.

 

We finally pray for our own church and congregation, Boronia Park. We have a multicultural congregation and thank you that you bring us all together each Sunday. Where we are able to share and express our fellowship. Also, we thank you for our minister Seungjae and his family.

 

We take this moment to think of those who are unwell. Especially, we pray for Jim Dummette who recently lost his loved sister. We pray for your deepest love and care be with him and the rest of family who have had to postpone the funeral due to the resurgence of the pandemic in Australia.

 

We pray for your strength and courage to be with them every moment. We pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Holy Communion

 

 

 

Great Thanksgiving Prayer

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

 

Let us give thanks to our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

It is right and our deep joy to give you all our gratitude, O God, because in love and with a creativity we cannot imagine you made the universe, and the planets, and our earth and seas and sky. You created life, and us. And you gave us free will, trusting that we would make mistakes and learn, trusting that we would do amazing things for you and for each other.

 

And so with praise and gratitude in our hearts and on our lips, we join our voices in the song of the angels and saints, who forever sing to you, as we say these words:

 

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest.

 

You are blessed, O God, and Jesus is blessed, and the Holy Spirit is blessed, too. We ask now that you send us your Spirit, that by your power, this ordinary table will become a sacred banquet, and this bread and cup will become holy things that we can share.

 

As we break bread together, as we drink from the same cup, unite us as people who are grateful for all we have and share in that abundance. And hear us as we are bold to say together the prayer that Jesus taught….

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

 

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Give us this day our daily bread;

 

and forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

 

For thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory, forever.

 

Amen.

 

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us, gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,

that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

 

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other,

and one in ministry to all the world,

until Christ comes in final victory

and we feast at his heavenly meal.

 

Through your Son Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit in your holy church,

all honour and glory is yours, Almighty Father,

now and forever.

Amen.

 

Breaking the Bread and Presenting the Cup

 

The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.

The cup we take is a sharing in the blood of Christ.

 

The gifts of God for the people of God.

The body of Christ.

 

The Communion

 

All is prepared so please come bring your heart and join this table fellowship called Communion wherever you are.

 

Prayer after Communion

 

We thank you once again for this meal,

this day, this gift of resurrection.

 

Send us out into your world

to be the presence of love, hope and joy

to all who despair and fear,

that all may live life, and life abundant.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, Amen.

 

Song         King of My Heart

 

 

Let the King of my heart

Be the mountain where I run

The fountain I drink from

Oh He is my song

 

Let the King of my heart

Be the shadow where I hide

The ransom for my life

Oh He is my song

 

Chorus

You are good good oh (Sing four times)

 

Let the King of my heart

Be the wind inside my sails

The anchor in the waves

Oh He is my song

 

Let the King of my heart

Be the fire inside my veins

The echo of my days

Oh He is my song

You are good good oh …

 

Bridge 1

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

(Sing twice)

 

Bridge 2

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down (4 times)

 

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

^{John Mark McMillan | Sarah McMillan}

^{CCLI Song # 7046145}

 

Benediction

 

Come, O Spirit of God,

and make within us your dwelling place and home.

May our darkness be scattered by your light,

and our troubles calmed by your peace;

may all the brokenness be redeemed by your love,

and pain transformed through the suffering of Christ,

and all of us glorified by his risen life.

Amen.

 

Offering

 

The offering will be used for the congregation’s continuing mission and ministry including young people and youth ministry in these changing times. Please make your offering through a Bank Deposit or a personal cheque whichever is convenient to you.

 

Account Name: Boronia Park Uniting Church

BSB: 634-634                    

Account: 100023784

Reference: Offering      

 

Please contact Robyn Harvey, Treasurer on 0418 783 290 or robyn.49@bigpond.net.au for more information about how to make Direct Debit.

 

Let us pray:

 

We have the means to give,

we have the reason to give,

and there are many waiting for us to give.

Yet often, our hands hold back,

and we hoard what we have for ourselves.

 

God of grace,

help us live and give in your kingdom of love,

where there are no enemies,

only brothers and sisters,

and kindness is the air we breathe.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.                             

_{Attributed to Carol Penner}