Second Sunday after Pentecost

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favour
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him! Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace! 

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God's people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

A reading from the book of Genesis.

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on – since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.’ Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to Abraham, ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ Then one said, ‘I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’ The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. He said, ‘Oh yes, you did laugh.’

The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ And she said, ‘Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’

For the word of the Lord,
thanks be to God.

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Jesus sends us - into what?

I have been a priest for fifty years so I am hardly in a position to write this reflection from a lay point of view.  My memories of being a lay person in the Church stretch back to the 1960s, although that era is relevant to the question.

Pretend that an agency is hiring people to work in the priesthood.  What would they look for? Who would be successful?  Are the candidates for ordination suitable?

In the Gospel today Jesus is sending out his chosen few “like sheep into the midst of wolves” so they need to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” I recall a St Columba’s Church parishioner exclaiming to me after we had been chatting for a while, “Oh! You poor darling!” That had been my first parish.  Jesus went on here to describe what might happen to them when they went out. “They will hand you over . . . flog you in their synagogues and you will be dragged before governors and kings.”  For Jesus, then, to send us all out in ministry is hardly enticing!

The world and our society have both changed immensely since the 1960s and earlier. For one. small thing, the popular music of 1960s is to today ancient history and the 1950s or earlier is primeval. On commercial radio and increasingly on the Local ABC the music of the 1980s is old.  More important things have changed. Most, though not all, people who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s were determined to rebel against parents, the Church, - everything which seemed traditional and confining.  It is of interest that Friday 12^th June was an Anniversary of the arrival of the Beatles in Adelaide. What an immense and exuberant crowd greeted them!. It truly marked a huge turning point in our social change.

Another of many changes has been the privatisation of religion. It is extraordinary how it has simply happened over a couple of decades. Whereas the Christian religion had a certain authority in Australia it is now just another voice among many. As teenagers debunked Christianity in the 1960s and called into question its sense of right and wrong the point made was that all these subjects are matters of opinion and everyone is entitled to their own view.

Two things need to be said. One is that many changes through the years have been wonderfully good.  Another is that the Church has shot itself in the foot very often over abusive behaviour and other controversies. We have not helped.

Who can be sent helpfully by Jesus into the world?  It is really important not to underestimate your own merits and we have to remember that Jesus knows what he is doing and will be with us all the way.  If in a heated family discussion we can just think of a pertinent question to throw in to help guide the drift of the talk. If we can behave well under all circumstances this can help others, too.  To be generous, attentive, selfless and faithful to your convictions is helpful to others, as well.

Social change tends to run in cycles and is subject to human fads as well as wisdom.  The present season will not persist indefinitely.  Further great change will occur.

Jesus brings change and justice out of very small things we can do.  It can never be right just to give up.

Let us together affirm the faith of the Church:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven;
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life for the world to come. Amen.

Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God, the Father almighty.

May the Lord accept our sacrifice
for the praise and glory of God’s name,
for our good, and the good of all God’s holy Church.

Let us pray with confidence to the Father
in the words our Saviour against us:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, only this do I seek:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.