Sharing food - a sermon by Rogate Mshana

Sharing food- a sermon preached by Rogate Mshana on 3 May 2010 in the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva

Mathew 14:13-14

“Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves,” said the disciples. But Jesus replied, “That is not necessary- you feed them.” In Mark, Jesus said “they need not go away; you give them something to eat.” In Mark the disciples ask Jesus, “are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them to eat?” The debate is about compassion ( women call it the economics of care or compassion economicss and the market as methods to feed hungry people. Jesus refuses to send the crowd away to the market but chooses to embrace them with love and compassion.

In the text in Mark’s gospel about feeding the four/five thousand people that came to listen to him, we hear Jesus say: “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way-and some of them have come from a great distance” (Mark 8:2-3). This fainting due to hunger reminds me during a draught period in 1961 when my mother held us together, went down on her knees and prayed that we should not perish because of hunger. She cried out, “ Lord let my children live.”

The Gospel reminds us of our obligation as churches and the ecumenical movement to overcome hunger in the world. Sadly our economic systems and trade rules are designed to send hungry people away to be fed by the market. Many of them have fainted and died on the way. In 2009 more than 1 billion hungry people were undernourished world wide. In 2006 they were 854m. (www.wfp.org/stores/world-hungry-tops-billion . The MDGs were designed to bring this number to half by 2015. This is a great challenge. In other words one in every 6 people is undernourished. Hunger has increased not as a result of poor harvests but because of high domestic food prices, lower incomes and increasing unemployment due to, among other unjust trade policies and the global financial crisis - itself caused by structural greed. In his compassionate feeding of the people, Jesus was showing another way of feeding people over and against the market. “They will faint on the way” Jesus said. The market is designed only for those people with purchasing power. If no policies and structures are in place to ensure food sovereignty for the hungry, they will faint and die. “You give them something to eat”, means do not send them to the market.

We are reminded by Jesus about his holistic ministry of word and deed or diakonia as we call it. This is faith that is alive. The brief gospel of St. James defines what this diakonal ministry requires of us: If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace ; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? And James concludes that faith by itself, if it has no works is dead (James 2:14).

Sharing of food

In the story of the feeding of the multitudes, we learn the need for sharing food with others. Today, we know that food is wasted at the same time as others die of hunger. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health world wide, greater than AIDs, malaria and tuberculosis combined (www.wfp.org/hunger ). It is our mission to address this problem. Over 9million people die world wide each year because of hunger and malnutrition. 5m. are children. This is despite the fact that World agriculture produces 17% more calories per person today than it did years ago, despite a 70% population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories(Kcal) per person per day ( FAO 2002p.9) www.worldhunger.org/articles) But rich countries waste around half of the food supplies annually. America throws away 40% of the food while UK throws away from 40 to 50%. 38 billion US dollars worth of food is thrown away every year while the direct medical cost of hunger and malnutrition is estimated at 30 billion.

To share food in our world will mean protecting small farmers, advocating for policies that promote food sovereignty because today’s hunger is mainly caused by injustice. As the book of Proverbs says:“The field of the poor may yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice.” (Proverbs 13:23)

Today, the survival of the fittest is the guiding principle in what can be called market fundamentalism. The life and teachings of Jesus provides a paradigm for the content of our mission which is to continuously take the side of those who are reduced to objects and victims by the prevailing unjust structures of Empire. We have to reach the point where we can say like the prophet Isaiah “Never again will foreign warriors come to take away your grain and wine – you raised it and will keep it.” (Isaiah 62:8b)


In March,2010 when the WCC delegation visited Norway we experienced a very moving service to remember the death of a bold church leader who advocated for the poor in Elsalvador but assassinated in march 24, 1980.This great leader of the church, Archbishop Oscar Romero said, “If I feed people they call me a saint but if I ask, why people have no food, they call me a communist.” Feeding the hungry is now an issue of prophetic diakonia and transformative justice. It is about fighting against injustice in trade and agriculture and promoting life-giving agriculture. It is about stopping dumping food into poor countries and so destroying their production systems. It is about purchasing food with a sense of people in hunger. It is about refraining from wasting food while others starve. It is about having a meaningful fating during lent. It is about advocating for the human right to adequate food as a basic human right for every woman, man and child.

It is about sharing corn with compassion so that no one shall faint and die on the way.
So I end with more words from Oscar Romero

The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the rights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history (he spoke on 8/6/79). Where food is concerned are we ready to follow Christ's compassion or would we rather continue send the hungry people back to forces of the market?

Copyright (c) Dr Rogate Mshana / WCC

An Easter service on the promise of peace

This order of service was prepared by the WCC's general secretariat for the beginning of the WCC's staff planning days. The service was led by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit who also preached.
Morning Prayer, Monday, 26 April 2010 – Chapel, Ecumenical Centre

(This week in the ecumenical prayer cycle we prayer for the people and churches in Eritrea and Ethiopia.)

Prelude

Welcome

(L) Christ is risen!
(All) Indeed, he is risen!

Hymn: Cantai ao Senhor (Thuma Mina 3; verses 1-3 in Portuguese) (stand)

Invocation
(L) Eternal God, as you created humankind in your image,
women and men, male and female, renew us in that image:

(All) God the Holy Spirit, by your strength and love
comfort us as those whom a mother comforts:

(L) Lord Jesus Christ, by your death and resurrection,
give us the joy of those for whom pain and suffering become,
in hope, the fruitful agony of travail:

(All) God the Holy Trinity, grant that we may together
enter into new life, your promised rest of achievement
and fulfilment -- world without end. Amen.

Hymn: Cantai ao Senhor (Thuma Mina 3; verses 4-5 in English)

(L) The risen Lord is our peace; those who are divided he has made one.
He has broken down the barriers of separation by his death and his resurrection
and he has built us up into one body, with God.

(All) To all of us who repent and believe God promises forgiveness and reconciliation.
(L) Bless the Lord, my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all that the Lord has done for you.

(All) The Lord forgives all our iniquities, heals all our infirmities,
redeems our life from corruption, crowns us with mercy and compassion,
satisfies our desire with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(L) The Lord performs deeds of mercy, and justice for all who are wronged.
The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

(All) The Lord will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever.
The Lord has not dealt with us according to our iniquities,
nor has he rewarded us according to our sins.
For as heavens are high above the earth,
so great is the Lord’s mercy toward those who fear him.

(L) Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
In all places of his dominion, bless the Lord, O my soul.

Hymn: Let us praise the Lord our God (Thuma Mina 2) (stand)

Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you". After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained".

Hymn: Hallelujah (Thuma Mina 55)

Meditation (sit)

Intercessions
(L) We give praise to Christ, our risen Lord, the radiant light of the world. He guides our steps in a path of light and we no longer live in darkness. Let us pray to the Lord.
(All) Kiria alayson









(L) Christ, our Saviour, may your word take flesh in our lives and your truth shine forth in our actions. May your love burn brightly within us. Let us pray to the Lord.
(All) Kiria alayson

(L) Teach us to work for the good of all, whether the time is right or not; make your Church a welcome light for the human family. Let us pray to the Lord.
(All) Kiria alayson

(L) Bless the work of our effort, bring together those you have called into unity, and give us the grace to be faithful to your calling. Let us pray to the Lord.
(All) Kiria alayson

(L) We pray for unity among the Christian churches and genuine dialogue with people who confess other faiths. Let us pray to the Lord.
(All) Kiria alayson

(L) We pray for churches and people in Eritrea and Ethiopia. We pray for peace in the region, for harmony between its peoples, for genuine ecumenical relations among churches. Let us pray to the Lord.
(All) Kiria alayson

(L) O Christ, our God, author of life and giver of peace, guide us so that we may walk in your ways of righteousness. For you are our helper and our deliverer and to you is fitting glory, dominion and honour, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages.
(All) Amen.

Lord's Prayer (stand)
(L) Let us, in fellowship with Christian people of all nations join in united petition to the one God and Parent of all humankind, after the manner of the prayer which our Lord himself has taught us.
(All) Our Father in heaven.

(L) We are weak and blind and selfish; but you are wisdom and love and life, and give us wisdom, love and life in its fullness to those who trust in you:
(All) Our Father in heaven.

(L) Through the continued search for fullness of life for all people, regardless of race and ideology:
(All) Hallowed be your name.

(L) Through the persistent desire in all people to seek fellowship with one another in your one family:
(All) Hallowed be your name.

(L) By the faithfulness of your people in seeking first your kingdom and your righteousness:
(All) Your kingdom come.

(L) By the new dedication of churches in all lands to the establishment of justice in all the earth:
(All) Your kingdom come.

(L) In the struggle against all that diminishes life in our world:
(All) Your will be done.

(L) In the determination among all to work for secure peace in a world order that is fair to the generations yet to be:
(All) Your will be done.

(L) By the establishment of peace and the unremitting search for justice:
(All) Give us today our daily bread.

(L) By passionate caring and committed sharing:
(All) Give us today our daily bread.

(L) Because by our self-interest and self-concern we have increased the bitterness between peoples and nations:
(All) Forgive us our sins.

(L) Because we have been arrogant, seeking to exalt ourselves rather than to find your will for us and do it:
(All) Forgive us our sins.

(L) If other countries while pursuing their own interests have hindered ours and impoverished the life of our people:
(All) We forgive those who sin against us.

(L) If any have injured us by exploiting our ignorance and weakness:
(All) We forgive those who sin against us.

(L) When opportunity comes to secure better living standards for ourselves at the cost of increased poverty to others:
(All) Save us from the time of trial.

(L) When fear distracts the mind or security lulls the conscience, and we are in danger of forgetting you:
(All) Save us from the time of trial.

(L) At times of self-satisfaction, self-seeking and self-confidence:
(All) Deliver us from evil.

(L) When we fear the designs of others, and desire to gain security or advantage by unjust means:
(All) Deliver us from evil.

(L) For over all races and nations you rule as sovereign; your parental love embraces all; and in your will is our peace and in your life our life.
(All) For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn: La paz del Senor (Thuma Mina 187) (stand)

(L) O Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles,
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you:
grant us that peace and unity which is agreeable to your will.
(All) Amen.

(L) Brothers and sisters, in the love of Christ, let us offer each other a sign of peace.

(L) May the Lord of peace give us peace in all ways at all times.
(All) Amen.

Postlude

Prayer for Monday 19 April 2010 and opening of Icon exhibition

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre Monday 19 April 2010
Praying through the ecumenical prayer cycle for the people of Somalia and Djibouti

Musical preparation

Welcome

Christos anesti!
Alithos anesti!

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Cristo ha resucitado!
!En verdad ha resucitado!

Le Christ est ressuscité!
Il est vraiment ressuscité!

Christus ist erstanden!
Er ist wahrhaftig erstanden!

Christos anesti!
Alithos anesti!

Sing - Agios o Theos, Agios Ischiros. Agios Athanatos, Eleison imas (three times)

Prayer
When we are all despairing
When the world is full of grief
When we see no way ahead
And hope has gone away:
Roll back the stone.
Although we fear change;
Although we are not ready;
Although we would rather weep
And run away:
Roll back the stone.
Because we hope where hope is vain;
Because you call us from the grave
And show the way:
Roll back the stone.

Sing - Agios o Theos, Agios Ischiros. Agios Athanatos, Eleison imas (three times)
please be seated

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers
all things have been created through him and for him.
He himself is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have first place in everything.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Sing - Agios o Theos, Agios Ischiros. Agios Athanatos, Eleison imas (three times remain seated)

Reading from the Hebrew Scripture Genesis 1:26-31
Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ 27So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ 29God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Stand to sing - A Toi la Gloire, verse 1 in French - remain standing for the gospel readings
À toi la gloire, O Ressuscité!
À toi la victoire pour l’éternité!
Brillant de lumière, l’ange est descendu,
Il roule la pierre du tombeau vaincu.
À toi la gloire, O Ressuscité!
À toi la victoire pour l’éternité!

Gospel Reading John 14:8-12
Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Sing - A Toi la Gloire, verse 2 in English - remain standing for second gospel reading
Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.
Thine is the glory, risen conqu'ring Son,
Endless is the vict'ry, Thou o'er death hast won.

Gospel John 17:11-22
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Sing - A Toi la Gloire, Verse 3 in French (be seated)
Craindrais-je encore? Il vit à jamais,
Celui que j’adore, le Prince de paix;
Il est ma victoire, mon puissant soutien,
Ma vie et ma gloire : non, je ne crains rien!
À toi la gloire, O Ressuscité!
À toi la victoire pour l’éternité!

Meditation “Images of the invisible” by Theodore A. Gill Jr.

Prayers of intercession ~ with the peoples of Djibouti and Somalia
O God Eternal, good beyond all that is good,
Fair beyond all that is fair, in whom is calmness and peace: reconcile the differences which divide us from one another and bring us back to the unity of love which may bear some likeness to your divine nature. Grant that we may be one, through the grace mercy and tenderness of your son, Jesus Christ.
Sing Agape 110: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God, you who are glorious and truly bounteous,
we pray to you for the countries and peoples of Djibouti and Somalia.
Even where drought and famine reign,
may sustenance be given to those suffering from malnutrition and facing starvation.
Even when rivers run dry and rain doesn’t fall,
we pray that all may have access to clean water.
Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God, your Son had “nowhere to lay his head”,
we pray to you now
for the hundreds of thousands of Somalian refugees throughout the world,
and for the refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia who have fled to Djibouti;
we pray that they may find shelter, protection and people willing to welcome them and offer practical support.
As we remember them,
we also pray for all refugees and displaced peoples in our world today.
Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God of peace,
we pray for peace in Somalia.
With heavy hearts we pray
for peace in our time and in the times to come;
that, throughout our world, swords may be beaten into ploughshares.
Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

God of resurrection and promise
we pray for the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
And we pray also for ourselves, for our work here and elsewhere,
for our families, friends and loved ones, for those we find it hard to love.
Teach us, too, to beat our swords into ploughshares.
May our prayers, and our actions, become icons
that illustrate the abiding reality of your love.
Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

The Lord’s Prayer ~ said by each in their own language

A prayer of sending

O Creator and Mighty God
You have promised
Strength for the weak, Rest for the labourers, Light for the way,
Grace for the trials, Help from above, Unfailing sympathy, Undying love.
O Creator and Mighty God
help us to continue in your promise.
Amen

Blessing

Sing - Agape 77:
Reamo leboga
Modimo wa rona

We give our thanks to God
We give our thanks to God

Wir danken unserm Gott
Der Dank gilt unserm Gott

Merci à toi Seigneur
Nous te rendons grâce

The Way - an Easter sermon by Jooseup Keum

The Way - A sermon preached by Rev Dr Jooseup Keum in the Ecumenical Chapel 12.04.2010
John 13:1-16
Mathew 28:19-20

It was a lonely way. Jesus' way to the cross was a lonely way.
Nobody dared to walk together with him, even his disciples, maybe even us.
Imagine him, imagine his journey, he who is walking alone toward a cross. He carries all the agonies and sad stories of powerless people there. Somebody has lost their son, someone is crying, and someone is beating someone, someone is attempting suicide – can he provide any hope in their lives?
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is claiming the way is through washing the feet of his disciples. How ridiculous!
In Jesus' time, there were four different groups of Jewish traditions or restoration movements. They competed with each other, claiming that only their group knew the truth, the way of salvation. They each claimed they were the only hope for the restoration of Israel.
The Sadducees gave up any religious position and conviction, such as the resurrection doctrine, just so long as they could retain secular political power.
The Pharisees had no concerns about political oppression and the hardness of ordinary people's lives so long as they could maintain their ecclesiastical power, through the control of the Jewish temple. They did not care what happened outside the temple: they even betrayed their people and joined hands with the Roman Empire to maintain power.
The Essenes believed that there was no hope in the world. So they retreated to the desert. They withdrew into the spiritual realm, leaving the reality and hardness of people's daily lives behind them.
Lastly, the Zealots attempted to reclaim the sovereignty of Israel by force, arms, struggle and terrorism. They believed that all other choices had disappeared. They were liberation fighters.
And what was Jesus doing? He did not identify with any of them. Rather he chose to die alone in the cross. He was washing the feet of his disciples as a farewell ceremony. In fact he did identify with one group; Am Ha'aretz, the "people of the earth" in the Old Testament, and Ochlos, the "suffering people" in the New Testament.
Like the Dalits in India, Chin People in Myanmar, Burak in Japan, Minjung in Korea these were the people who suffered and cried. They were oppressed and manipulated by the Romans and their own leaders.
Through his cross, Jesus is bringing the kingdom of God to these people where they are. They did not need to climb ecclesiastical, social and political ladders to find the Kingdom. Jesus built and builds a community based on love and service. He provides a new dignity and identity to these suffering people as the people of God through washing their feet. He encourages them to see a new horizon of mission.
Traditionally, so called the Great Commission in Gospel of Mathew has been a mandate to evangelise individuals, baptise them, make them part of the church, and teach them that they may follow the law. Colonialism made the Great Commission a mandate to Christianise the world: to convert the spirituality of the natives to a Christianised spirituality (one we are comfortable with) and a western culture as a part of it. The present conservative approach would be to “enrich” or “civilise” people who are not enlightened.

However, I would like to draw your attention to three key words in verse 19 of Mathew chapter 28. “All nations”, “Baptise”, “Teach them”. The text says “all nations” which in Jesus’ time does not refer to member states of the UN! It does contain a plural concept, i.e. not individualistic. In Jesus’ time all nations were subject to Roman Empire – other identity was lost. Jesus is saying “go to all people who are subject to the Roman Empire.” The Roman Empire was the only one nation among “all nations” which exercised absolute earthly power.

Jesus was commissioning his disciples to go to the peoples and nations colonised by earthly power. Baptism in this context means restoring the dignity of these peoples and nations colonised by the earthly power as God’s peoples. Through the emphasis on Baptism, Jesus declare that dignity and identity of politically and economically oppressed and colonised all nations by the Empire is not sourced from the earthly power but by the power of God.

Teaching them is then a reference to Jesus’ own discourse. Whereas previously if you are willing to subscribe to Roman rule, discourse, and standard of living, you will be part of the pax Romana and “safe”. This allows local despots to perpetuate whatever oppression they choose as long as they subscribe to the pax Romana. Note the difference in John’s Gospel between Jesus’ peace and the “peace of the world” – pax Romana vs pax Christi. Pax Christi re-establishes identity and dignity as referenced to God, not empire. The rule of empire is replaced by the encouragement and accompaniment of God.

Where do we then identify as church of Jesus Christ? Jesus saw the potential of people who were regarded as “useless” by the Empire and their own leaders. He claimed that their dignity came from God, not the empire. They don’t have to climb ecclesiastical, social or political ladders to find it. He built a community of confidence and sharing encouragement based on love and service. He encouraged them to see a new horizon for their missiological task. The new community goes beyond the immediate group, beyond the ethnic community and so on. The New World of dignity is there for all who will recognise where dignity is sourced.
There are many ways in the world – motorway, bullet train and flight – however Jesus chose a tough, very lonely and slow way; off road. He is walking alone on a long endless mountainous path down to Galilee and waiting his disciples and us there. On his way to Galilee, he creates a new community of hope and love even calling the people from the four religious groups in Israel.
Once again, are we going to send him alone even after his resurrection? But he promises, he will be always with us to the end of time.

copyright (c) Jooseup Keum /WCC

A Song of Ascents - An Easter Sermon by Theodore Gill

A Song of Ascents

Rev. Theodore Gill, WCC Communication
Ecumenical Centre chapel, Geneva
Tuesday 6 April 2010

Scripture lessons: Psalm 118:19-24 and Luke 24:13-35

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

“I thank you, for you have answered me and have become my salvation.
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone:
“This is the Lord’s doing! It is marvelous in our eyes.”

The verse from Hebrew scripture that is most often quoted in the New Testament is found in our reading from this morning’s psalm: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Ps.118:22).

Literary critics would give a name to this form of observation: “Irony”. Academics, as is their custom, distinguish among several categories of irony, and one such category is called “situational irony”. In this form of verbal construction, an obvious discrepancy is discerned between what might be expected to happen, normally or logically, and what actually occurs – a discontinuity between assumption and reality. The purpose of literary irony, we are told, is to intensify meaning.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is rich in ironic images. To cite a few …
- the all-powerful Word of God is revealed as a newborn baby
- the divine child is laid in a manger, for there was no room in the inn
- the promised Messiah, the Son of David, enters Jerusalem on a donkey
- behind him there is no conquering army, but the poor of the earth and children bearing leafy branches
- the eternal Son of God discounts equality with God as a thing to be grasped, taking the form of a servant, finally dying on the cross
- and along the way, Jesus teaches in parables that routinely turn people’s everyday expectations on their heads.

No wonder the apostles and evangelists so frequently employed the psalmist’s metaphor: The stone rejected as worthless has become the head of the corner; it now bears the principal load and is found to have the highest value of all!

This verse is part of one of those psalms that are called, in English, “a song of ascents”. It is a psalm of pilgrims ascending – going up – to a festival in Jerusalem, making their way from the plains and foothills below. It is their song of spiritual preparation as they journey toward the gates of righteousness and the Temple precincts beyond.

Jesus and the disciples had made such an ascent to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. But what transpired there confounded his followers’ expectations. In Luke’s gospel, we are told of two disciples in particular who soon left Jerusalem, descending in confusion from the high country, to a town called Emmaus on the plain. Before they left the city, they had heard of the discovery of the empty tomb; they had heard the account of the women’s angelic vision; they had heard of respected disciples who had gone to the tomb and found the earlier reports credible. But none of this was enough to persuade these two to stay in place and see what would happen next. They made their way instead along the road that led downhill and away.

Along their path they encountered an apparent stranger. (Perhaps he resembled the figure whom Mary Magdalene mistook for a gardener near the tomb – but that is another story.) When this stranger met them on the Emmaus road, he saw that they were profoundly sad. He enquired as to what was troubling them so.

The traveler named Cleopas responded rhetorically: “Are you the only person coming from Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in recent days?”

And here Luke presents us with one more example of situational irony: In fact, this stranger was the only one who truly understood what had been happening.

So the stranger – whom they would recognize as Jesus only later, in the breaking of the bread – first called them foolish for indulging their doubt and self-absorption; then, he proceeded to give them hope that scripture was indeed being fulfilled, hope that God’s promises were being kept.

And once the bread had been broken, and their perception was transformed, Luke tells us that “within the hour” they took to the road again, ascending once more to Jerusalem where the community of Jesus’ followers was gathering to share their experience, their insight, their renewed assurance. And Luke tells us that when they were gathered together, Jesus stood among them; the disciples remained in the city for some time, worshiping daily in the Temple.

Now, of course, that is not the end of the story – not even within the New Testament, much less over the 19 centuries after it. But the gospel writers do emphasize narratives like this for our continuing edification and improvement…

After all, those two travelers on the road to Emmaus were not the last would-be followers of Jesus to go wandering off on their own, in the wrong direction…
(my wife and I spent Easter weekend in Avignon – a majestic medieval city, but also something of a hiccup in the history of western Christianity… a bridge too far…)
No, they would not be the last to head the wrong way, only to be pulled up abruptly, to be forced to turn around and start over again on the ascent to community.

Nor were these the last disciples to be found standing, sad and dejected, so absorbed in a sense of confusion, doubt and abandonment that they momentarily lost the plot of the gospel narrative. Maureen Dowd, a columnist for the New York Times, wondered just this past weekend: “Why does the church seem more prone to self-pity than self-reflection?” I believe the answer to that question is that disciples are only human – and we disciples require regular doses of revelation to rekindle our hearts and minds.

In the case of Cleopas and his companion – perhaps Mrs Cleopas? or possibly just a very close friend? – the central revelation of the day came with the breaking of bread.

Sometimes disciples go astray. For more than sixty years, the constitution of the World Council of Churches has held out as a chief goal of our movement the establishment of one, common eucharistic fellowship, so that we together may join in sharing the one bread and together may recognize Christ in our midst. We feature this vision of “one eucharistic fellowship” in our WCC promotional brochures, but…

What have we done about that goal, lately? Have we made six decades’ worth of progress in this area? Or four-and-a-half decades’ worth, since Vatican II?

My wife and I have known one another for forty years. She comes from one tradition of Christianity, and I come from another. Whenever we have taken communion together in the same service of worship, the action has been considered illicit by someone or another. Will we ever share the same bread, licitly? Perhaps at the feast in the kingdom of heaven…? Again, I wonder: What are we honestly doing to hasten the day of a common eucharist, in this life?

Disciples sometimes wander off, making impressive progress in the wrong direction. At such times, a word of correction should be welcome. Accepting a word of correction may lift us from the mire of self-pity and move us to self-reflection, and at last place our feet once more on the upward road that leads to a more abundant life, together.

Let us pray.

We thank you, Lord: For you have answered us and have become our salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
This is your doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

In the name of the Triune God we pray. Amen.

An Easter order for morning worship

The following order for prayers at the beginning of the week was prepared by the wonderful Yvette Milosevic

Ecumenical Centre Geneva, Monday morning prayers, 6 April 2010

Christ is risen
Christ is risen indeed!

Christus ist auferstanden
Christus ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!

Christ est résuscité
Christ est vraiment rescuscité

Cristo ha resucitado
Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!

Hristos a înviat!
Adevărat a înviat!

Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη!
(Christos Anesti! Aleithos Anesti!)

Христос Воскресе! Воистину Воскресе!
(Khristos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!)

Kristus er oppstanden!
Han er sannelig oppstanden!

Words of welcome

Opening Prayer
Having beheld the resurrection of Christ,
Let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one.
We venerate your cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify your holy resurrection.
You are our God. We know no other than you, and we call upon your name.
Come, all faithful, let us venerate the holy resurrection of Christ.
For behold, through the cross joy has come to all the world.
Blessing the Lord always, let us praise his resurrection.
For enduring the cross for us, he destroyed death by death.
Amen

Hymn “Now the green blade riseth”
Liebe ist wie Weizen und sein Halm ist grün
Verse 1 in English, verse 2 in German and verse 3 and 4 English.

Psalm 118:19-24
19Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.*

Sung acclamation of the gospel: Alleluia!

Luke 24:13-35
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles* from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ 19He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ 25Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah* should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us* while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Halle, Halle, Halleluia

Sermon Rev. Theodore Gill

Sing: Ubi Caritas

Intercessions

The Lord’s prayer (each in their own language)

Closing Prayer

Christ is risen from the dead:
trampling down death by death; and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Though you went down into the grave, O Immortal One, yet you put down the power of Hades and rose a conqueror, O Christ our God: you spoke clearly to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice; upon the apostles you bestowed peace, and to the fallen you brought resurrection.
Amen

Blessing

Final hymn: A toi la Gloire

An Orthodox morning prayer for Easter time

Monday 27th of April, beginning of the Staff Planning Days

We pray for the churches and people in Eritrea and Ethiopia

Celebrant: Come, receive light from the resurrection light, and sing to Christ who is risen from the dead!

All : (Sing) Thy resurrection, O Christ our Savior ….

During this song the lights are still lit.
The Celebrant lights a candle and all the participants take a light from him. During this process, the celebrants are singing “Christ is risen from the dead” (in Greek)

Celebrant: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, let those who hate Him flee from before His face
Sung: (English) ‘Oh Christ is risen from the dead and thru death He did trample, trample upon death and thus bestowed on those in the tombs the gift of eternal life’

Celebrant: As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish as wax melts before the fire
Sung: Greek
Celebrant: So the sinners will perish before the face of God but let the righteous be glad
Sung: German
Celebrant: This is the day which the Lord has make. Let us rejoice and be glad in it
Sung:French
Celebrant: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Sung: English
Celebrant: Now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen
Sung: Greek
Celebrant: Christ is reason from the dead, trampling down death by death …
Sung: German

Celebrant: Wisdom, Let us attend. Let us listen to the Holy Gospel. Peace unto all!
All: And to your Spirit

Celebrant: The reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark 16, 1-8
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

The Great Litany
In peace, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison” (three times initially and then once after each intention)
For the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
For the peace of the whole world, for the welfare of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
For this holy house and for those who enter with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
For this city, for every city and country, and for the faithful dwelling in them and governments marked by peace and justice, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
For the faithful witness of Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians, their ancient traditions, and the new possibilities for proclaiming the faith of the risen Christ….
“Kyrie eleison”
For reasonable weather, for abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
For travellers by land, by sea, and by air; refugees and those who have been displaced from their homes and villages, for the sick and the suffering affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases; for captives and their salvation, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and necessity, let us pray to the Lord
“Kyrie eleison”
Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by Thy grace
“Kyrie eleison”
Let us pray
Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless One. We venerate Thy Cross, O Christ, and we praise and give glory to Thy holy Resurrection; for Thou art our God, and we know no other than Thee; we call on Thy name. Come, all you faithful, let us venerate Christ’s holy resurrection. For, behold, through the Cross, joy has come into all the world. Let us ever bless the Lord, praising His resurrection, for by enduring the Cross for us, He has destroyed death by death.

Prayer from the Armenian Orthodox Church
Awesome and marvelous is the mystery of our salvation. He, who is from the Father without beginning, in an ineffable manner was incarnate of the Virgin. He endured the cross and by his voluntary death granted us the gift of life.
For Christ, the eternal God, arose from the dead, the creator and the resurrection of all mankind; the hosts of angels and all the vigilant angels in heaven unceasingly praise him; with them we cry aloud and say: glory to thy awesome resurrection O Lord.

Easter Proclamation

Celebrant : Christos anesti!
All: Alithos anesti! (Greek)

Celebrant: Christ is risen!
All: He is risen indeed! (English)
Celebrant: Christ est ressuscité!
All : Il est vraiment ressuscité! (French)

Celebrant: Christus ist auferstanden!
All: Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! (German)

Celebrant: Khristos voskrésye!
All: Voistinu voskrésne! (Slavonic)

Celebrant :Si Cristo ay nabuhay !
All: shianga eye naboo hi!(Filipino)

Celebrant : Christoo weer tellen dar
All: Om, Christoo weer tellen dar!(Tamil)

Celebrant : Cristo ha resucitado!
All: En verdad ha resucitado! (Spanish)

Celebrant :Yesu Amefufuka !
All: Amefufuka hakika! (Swahili)

Celebrant : Nitsangana tami’ny maty i Kristy !
All: Nitsangana marina tokoa izy! (Malagasy)

Celebrant: Christos haryav I merelotz!
All: Orhvial e Haroutiunn Christosi! (Armenian)

Celebrant : Christus is opgestaan !
All : Hij is waarlijk opgestaan ! (Dutch)

Celebrant: Al-Masih qam!
All: Haqqan qam! (Arabic)

Celebrant: Christ is Risen
All: Christ is risen from the dead….

A bright new flower has appeared this day out of the new tomb. Souls, have blossomed and are, adorned with diverse hues, and have become green with life. The florescence of divine light has bloomed in the spiritual spring. He who died for us in love, has raised with him our fallen nature. The light of the resurrection has shone in the darkness of the shadows of death. And the seraph with wings spread sat shining on the rock.
Christ is risen from the dead ! He trampled down death by death, and by his resurrection granted life unto us. Glory unto him for all ages. Amen

Awesome and marvelous is the mystery of our salvation. He, who is from the Father without beginning, in an ineffable manner was incarnate of the Virgin. He endured the cross and by his voluntary death granted us the gift of life.
For Christ, the eternal God, arose from the dead, the creator and the resurrection of all mankind; the hosts of angels and all the vigilant angels in heaven unceasingly praise him; with them we cry aloud and say: glory to thy awesome resurrection O Lord.

Recessional Hymn – Roll Away the Stone
They have been saying, all our plans are empty.
They have been saying, ‘Where is their God now?
Refrain – Roll away the stone, see the glory of God, roll away the stone.

They have been saying, no one will remember; they have been saying ‘power rules the world’ Refrain

They have been saying no one hears the singing, they have been saying ‘all our strength is gone’. Refrain

They have been saying, all of us are dying, they have been saying ‘all of us are dead’ Refrain

Investing in people - a sermon on Ezekiel 36.24-28 and John 17.1-11 by Manoj Kurian

Reflection by Dr. Manoj Kurian ~ Investing in people

Texts: Ezekiel 36.24-28 and John 17.1-11

This service is a one of the most important one in the life of the Ecumenical Centre, because it recognizes and prays for the people who have worked in the organizations in this Centre and have now left; it also names and prays for those who have joined the organizations in the last 4 months.

It reaches out to the target and the instruments of God’s mission on earth. God’s people.

It reminds us to recognize and value the greatest resource that is given to us. We the people.

On this 7th week after Easter in the western calender, we do not have to search for the right biblical verses to suit the occasion. By following the lectionary it is clear what is considered important in God’s sight regarding transforming the world.

In the first reading we read from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. The voice of God revealsthe plain truth to the returning refugees from Babylon after 400 years of exile. God is offering them a new consciousness, a new sensitivity and an enhanced ability to respond to God. All this to enable them to be follow the will of God, recognizing God in their lives.

It assures them that “you shall be my people, and I will be your God”. A possibility for mutual recognition and the working together of God and humanity. The fundamental thrust is not on any structural change, building walls or temples. It is not even targeting the cultural and linguistic change. (Even several hundred years after the return of the exiles- the descendants of the returnees like Jesus- spoke the language of the Babylonians - Aramaic.) God was concerned about the heart of the people, their passions and motivations. God was investing in the transformation of people.

For Lord so loved the world that God gave God’s only child, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Have you ever thought what it would have been like if God so so loved the world and gave the world -

God’s only document;

or God’s favourite strategy;

or perhaps in God’s name a grant of a few billion Francs;

perhaps a new temple or tall cathedrals;

or a vast new diocese;

or a great new organization;

appoint a new political leader;

formulate a new ideology;

maybe even design a smart weapon to tame the world!

No ! For the salvation of humanity, God gave a caring human being. He was vulnerable yet strong; audacious yet obedient; humble yet never shied away from truth.

He was also clear about how his message to the world must be carried to the far corners of the earth through generations to come. He invested in people. At the most intense and painful reflective moment in his life - he reflects on his mission and its validity and demands God to entrust his vision to his followers.

His prayers are still real. "You are the most important investment of God."

It is neither the white-washed walls, the neat documents nor the comfortable chairs.

With this expectation and prayer, there is a great responsibility. The responsibility of those who leave these organizations - to continue their allegiance to God and people. Responsibility for those who join new, to discern the will of God and to work with others in the most effective way.
Responsibility for those who remain, to be truthful and open to challenges and changes, and to continue the sincere path.

Responsibility of the organizations to value and recognize their employees and to treat them with dignity and to hold them accountable to their duties and responsibilities.

If Jesus were a mirror, reflecting the glory of God, we are at best, broken mirrors. This brokenness and flawed existence applies to us as individuals and as organizations. But the fact remains that we look to Jesus as our gold standard and we strive for perfection.

In God’s own grace and time , may we achieve this! But for this, we need to do what God did and Jesus in his life on earth did. Invest in people.

Copyright WCC/Manoj Kurian

Litirgy for Monday 21 April - Ecumenical prayer cycle Somalia and Djibouti

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre
Monday April 21 2008
Praying through the ecumenical prayer cycle for the people of Somalia and Djibouti

Music Enter Into Jerusalem

Welcome

Christos anesti!
Alithos anesti!

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Cristo ha resucitado!
!En verdad ha resucitado!

Le Christ est ressuscité!
Il est vraiment ressuscité!

Christus ist erstanden!
Er ist wahrhaftig erstanden!

Christos anesti!
Alithos anesti!

Song: Roll Away the Stone
They have been saying all our plans are empty.
They have been saying “Where is their God now?”
REFRAIN – Roll away the stone, see the Glory of God. Roll away the stone.

They have been saying no one will remember.
They have been saying power rules the world. REF

They have been saying no one hears the singing.
They have been saying all our strength is gone. REF

They have been saying “All of us are dying”.
They have been saying “All of us are dead”. REF

Prayer
When we are all despairing
When the world is full of grief
When we see no way ahead
And hope has gone away:
Roll back the stone.
Although we fear change;
Although we are not ready;
Although we would rather weep
And run away:
Roll back the stone.
Because we hope where hope is vain;
Because you call us from the grave
And show the way:
Roll back the stone.

Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, we give you thanks.
Because you are resurrected from the dead,
we can also be raised from our mortal lives
with you, the giver of eternal life.
ask you to appear before us,
As you appeared to your disciples.
Breathe on us your Holy Spirit,
So we can go out
And be your witnesses
With peace love and happiness.
In your name we pray. Amen

Sing Alleluia

(Translation : We are ambassadors of God, all ambassadors of Jesus
Thanks to our God we are all Ambassadors.....we are all ambassadors of Jesus
Alleluia we are all Ambassadors…we are all ambassadors of Jesus)

Gospel Reading John 14. 1-12 ~ read in Arabic
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Sing: Alleluia

Meditation ~

Prayers of intercession ~ with the peoples of Djibouti and Somalia
O God Eternal, good beyond all that is good,
Fair beyond all that is fair, in whom is calmness and peace: reconcile the differences which divide us from one another and bring us back to the unity of love which may bear some likeness to your divine nature. Grant that we may be spiritually one, both within ourselves and with one another, through the grace mercy and tenderness of your son, Jesus Christ.

Sing Agape 110:
Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God, you who are glorious and truly bounteous,
we pray to you for the countries and peoples of Djibouti and Somalia.
Even where drought and famine reign,
may sustenance be given to those suffering from malnutrition and facing starvation.
Even when rivers run dry and rain doesn’t fall,
we pray that all may have access to clean drinking water;

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God, your Son also once had “nowhere to lay his head”,
we pray to you for the hundreds of thousands of Somalian refugees throughout the world,
and for the refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia who have fled to Djibouti;
we pray that they may find shelter, protection and people willing to welcome them and offer practical support.
As we remember them,
we also pray for all refugees and displaced peoples in our world today.

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God of peace,
we pray for peace in Somalia;
that clan leaders and warlords may repent of the devastation they have caused
and seek the way of peace and justice for the whole country.
With heavy hearts we pray
for peace in our time and in the times to come;
that throughout our world swords may be beaten into ploughshares.

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

God of resurrection and promise
we pray for the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world;
may it always exercise its power with integrity,
bear witness to your kingdom and seek the unity Christ prayed for.
And we pray also for ourselves, for our work here and elsewhere,
for our families, friends and loved ones, for those we find it hard to love.
Teach us also to beat our swords into ploughshares.

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

The Lord’s Prayer ~ said by each in their own language

O Creator and Mighty God
You have promised
Strength for the weak, Rest for the labourers, Light for the way,
Grace for the trials, Help from above, Unfailing sympathy, Undying love.
O Creator and Mighty God help us to continue in your promise.
Amen

Blessing en français

Sing Agape 77:
Reamo leboga
Modimo wa rona

We give our thanks to God
We give our thanks to God

Wir danken unserm Gott
Der Dank gilt unserm Gott

Merci à toi Seigneur
Nous te rendons grâce

A meditation for World Health Day 2008 - in recognition of climate change by Ted Karpf

A Meditation for World Health Day 2008
In Recognition of Climate Change

Preached the Ecumenical Centre on 7 April 2008
By the Reverend Canon Ted Karpf
Partnerships Officer
Office of the Director-General
Partnerships and UN Reform
World Health Organization
Geneva, Switzerland


Let us pray:
“Come Holy Spirit, cleanse the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love; send forth your Spirit and, together, we will renew the face of the earth.”

Hear again these words:
"He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke24:25)

And let me add:
How foolish you are who would have us believe that there is no relationship between our exploitation and abuse of the environment and global warning.

How foolish are you who would have us believe that decades of environmental plunder and our constant craving for the bread of the world, rather than hungering and thirsting after the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation, would leave us in a world without consequence.

How foolish are you who would have us repudiate the voice of the prophets, especially the ones who tell us to minimize our profits as the cost to creation is too high, in order to mislead us in way of life.

“How foolish are you and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.”

Today is World Health Day. This year we are recognizing and highlighting the environment and impact climate change on health. “Impacts of climate change on human health are occurring today and attacking the pillars of public health. They provide a glimpse of the challenges public health will have to confront on a large scale”, WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan warned today.

Here are additional facts to back-up that claim:
Climate impacts human health now and it will be greater in the future.
Climatic events – e.g. floods, drought, heat waves – affect human health today and provide a glimpse of the potential risk to human health in the future.
Projected changes to our climate will affect the health of all of us, but especially so among vulnerable populations in the developing world.
Climate change endangers health in many ways:

- drought threatens food security and increases malnutrition,
- extreme weather events can result in death and injury,
- scarcities and excesses of water increase the burden of diarrhoeal disease,
- heat waves can increase death and illness through cardiovascular and respiratory disease,
- higher temperatures can increase ground-level ozone and speed the onset of the pollen season contributing to asthma attacks,
- changing temperatures and patterns of rainfall are expected to alter the geographical distribution of insect vectors that spread infectious disease – notably malaria and dengue.

And consider some of the realities of our immediate past:
1) European heat wave 2003. Estimates suggest that approximately 70,000 more people died in that summer than would have been expected.
There is now strong evidence that the human influence on climate more than doubled the likelihood of this event occurring.

2) Rift-Valley Fever in Africa. Major outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever are usually associated with heavy rains, which are expected to become more frequent as the climate changes.

3) Malaria in the East African Highlands. In the last 30 years, warmer temperatures have also created more favourable conditions for mosquito populations in the region and therefore for transmission of malaria.

4) Hurricane Katrina, 2005. Over 1800 died and thousands more were displaced. Additionally, health facilities throughout the region were destroyed critically affecting health infrastructure.

5) Recent warming temperatures have moved the freeze line -- which limits transmission of schistosomiasis in China -- further northwards, exposing over 20 million additional people to risk of this disease

What is the way forward? At the World Health Organization, we will continue to safe guard the public health and the family of nations by focusing our efforts on continued technical research, and the issuance of public health guidelines, including recommendations focusing on the water and air quality and the environment impact on disease of climate change. We will continue our surveillance and scrutiny of disease outbreaks, which according to scientists will appear in places where they are seldom or rarely experienced. WHO will continue to hold the world accountable for health and wellbeing so that all people may attain the highest possible level of health.

But this is where it will take more than the collective effort by the governments of the world. Through the international organizations we can only do part of the job. We need people of faith, we need the ecumenical community to hold us all accountable, to continue the prophetic utterances of truth and judgement, justice and mercy, faith and hope. This Centre in the heart of the international community stands as a witness to the world of the prophetic power of faith and the commitment of Christians across denominational boundaries to a higher righteous and more potent justice and vision of wholeness of humankind. Would you do less or be less in the face of environment challenge and climate change.

Can you not call all of us to a reckoning of our spiritual and material values, which if left untended can lead us down the road of apocalypse and destruction? I call upon you in your capacities for justice and peace, for prophetic witness and faithful caretaking to be a model to the world, a light to the nations of what people can do to address environmental degradation and human consumption. Forget not your high calling and faithful witness. Let your hearts burn with demands for restoring to the creation to wholeness and shalom.

I invite you to stand with us in the international communities, among the international organization and bear your standard of judgement and mercy, of calling the world to repentance for environmental damage, and by pronouncing the word of forgiveness that allows all of humanity to move forward in peace together in a restored Garden of Eden.

Notice again the lesson from today.
“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. . . Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread." (Luke 24:31-35)
After they recognized him in the breaking of the bread, they found yet again that Jesus had forgiven them their hardness of heart, their unyielding and disbelieving spirits, and their obsession with loss. He forgave them, liberating them to new life and new possibilities. Can we believe that He would do less for us in the face of our foolishness and slowness to understand?

We then must ask God to come among us and bless us as Jesus did, and recognize that Jesus does come to bless and forgive, and that Jesus will come again, and again, until we get it right. This is our claim and this is our call.

Let us pray:
“O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of the bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all of His redeeming work, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.” (Collect for Easter III Book of Common Prayer)

An Easter sermon on John 20 by Rev. Shanta Premawardhana

Salaam Aleikkum ~ An Easter sermon by Shanta Premawardhana
Rev Shanta Premawardhana has been director of the WCC's inter-religious dialogue and cooperation programme since November 2007. When working with the National Council of Churches in the USA he also wrote a blog.

Let me greet you with the words our Lord Jesus Christ used to greet his disciples when he appeared to them in the upper room: Salaam Aleikkum. If the risen Christ were to approach you in the guise of your Muslim neighbor, he might greet you in the same way. And of course, most of you know the correct response -- Aleikkum Asalaam! Would you turn to you neighbor and say Salaam Aleikkum and respond with an Aliekkum Asalaam!
Let me quote from John 20:21ff, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And before we go any further with this, I want you to notice “As the Father has sent me” is about God’s mission to the world, “So I send you” is about Jesus commissioning us for our mission. When he had said this, Jesus, fully knowing that we cannot do any of this by our own power, breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"
On this the first day of the week after Easter when many of us return after the Easter holidays, energized and ready to get back to work, isn’t it good to know that the risen Jesus breathes on us again, and again offers us the gift of the Holy Spirit that we may indeed be energetically engage with God’s mission.
That word reminds me of the great ecumenist Bishop Lesslie Newbegin. “There is nothing called the mission of the church,” he said. “That is a misnomer. There is only God's mission and the church is the vehicle of God's mission.” But too often, he says, the church lacks the power of the Spirit, is not attuned to God's mission and therefore has no alternative but to put its trust in its own structures and traditions. And then can become the very antithesis of God's mission. Indeed, it is when we are filled by the power of the Spirit that we are attuned to God's mission and have the power to be engaged in it.
It makes sense then, to take a brief look at how Jesus engaged in God’s mission and ask ourselves what we must do in our context to continue the work of Christ here. There is no better place to begin than in Luke 4:14ff, which describes one of the first days of Jesus' ministry. We didn’t read this scripture this morning, but I commend it for your reflection this week. Luke begins his narrative of Jesus' ministry with this descriptive phrase: "Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit."
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, i.e. attuned to God's mission and having the power to be engaged in it, returned to Galilee and the religious community got excited about him. Like how politicians go to their home towns to announce their candidacy, Jesus went to Nazareth, his home town, to announce his campaign. He stood up to read and this famous preacher, the hometown hero was given the scroll of Isaiah, and he read those famous words from chapter 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. That is sat down to preach. In those days, you stood to read the scripture and sat down to preach. And their eyes were fixed on him. There was an air of expectancy that filled the room. And he said, "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." That was his announcement. That was his manifesto. He is saying, this is a description of God's mission and I am empowered to be engaged in God's mission.
In those days people didn't stay politely and quietly until the entire sermon was over – unlike you all! When the preacher said something unexpected, stunning or controversial, and preachers filled with the power of the Spirit often do, people said something right then and there. Now, these people don't seem to have caught the impact of what he said immediately, perhaps their eyes were still glazed by his reputation. They were still amazed and said, "Is this not Joseph and Mary's son?"
Now, as Jesus gets warmed up in his preaching, he is trying to expound on what this means. He is very aware that these people who seem so receptive to him now are not going to be so, when the preaching is over. The preaching on the reign of God is going to take him into an area which the congregants at the synagogue at Nazareth are not going to like. Jesus is going to tell them that God's mission goes against their tradition. He told them that when there was a three and a half year famine in the land, and God's prophet Elijah, one also filled with the Spirit, was called to go, where now? To a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. He was sent to a foreign widow. Not to anyone in Israel, the chosen ones. And then, a widow, a woman whose husband had died, and therefore considered not to be in God's best favor. Jesus does not stop there, he gives another example. Elisha, another prophet filled with the Spirit was also sent to a foreigner, Naaman the Syrian. Why, weren't there any lepers in Israel? Of course there were. But God chose the Syrian.
So, what's the point? The point is to say that God's mission is different from the synagogue's mission. The synagogue thinks that they need to simply cater to the Jews, God's chosen people. But Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, fully attuned to God's mission preaches, no, God's mission is an inclusive mission. You could hear their protest, can't you? But we are the chosen people. This is consistent with scripture. Why would God be interested in the making this an inclusive community, when scripture says that it we are the chosen ones? Aha! But Jesus is also within scripture. His examples are taken right from the book. Jesus unfreezes Isaiah for them. They had never read Isaiah that way, they had never considered Elijah's visit to the widow at Zarephath or Elisha's to Naaman the Syrian that way. How can this be, they are wondering.
Friends, throughout history, people in religious authority who interpreted scripture, chose particular scripture passages they wanted to highlight and that became the norm, the tradition. Such interpretations often led to claims that were designed to exclude people who were different from those who held power. When questions arose, around who or what is legitimate and what interpretations were orthodox or the right belief, they were resolved by referring to this tradition. This way, religious authorities consolidated power.
I am helping organize this May in the United States a Missiology consultation to examine the missiology of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, a port in Virginia. This was a place of massacre of Native American populations and the port of entry for the slave ships from Africa. These atrocities were based on a particular missiology that which legitimized colonization in order to convert. And don’t we remember South Africa’s there was Apartheid system. Now, there are a couple of places in the Bible where one could find support for these atrocities. And that was enough justification for them. Never mind, everything else the Bible had to say about there being no Jew or gentile, slave or free in Christ Jesus. Never mind, what the Bible said about God's love for the slaves and the oppressed. Never mind Jesus' manifesto that he came to proclaim release to the captives. This was how the religious authorities maintained their power. You remember that it took a Martin Luther King, a Cesar Chavez, a Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu to change our thinking on that subject. Many Evangelical churches, the Vatican, and even some of our churches still use a similar argument to keep women from the pulpit and the priesthood. Never mind that the Bible says there is no male or female in Christ Jesus. Never mind that some of the illustrious prophets of Israel were women. Never mind church planter Lydia and pastor Priscilla. The tradition has consolidated the power in males, and it is the same tradition that is used as a guide to resolve this question as well.
The religious authorities in Jesus' day considered themselves to be legitimate heirs of the long line of authoritative interpreters of the faith. So, when later in the gospel story, Jesus meets people who are sick and disabled, people whom the religious authorities said were in disfavor with God, therefore sinners, Jesus does not hesitate to go to them, touch them despite the religious prohibitions about contamination and heal them even on a Sabbath. That he would go out to those who had found disfavor in the eyes of society was a real problem for the religious authorities.
That day, in the sermon at Nazareth, Jesus basically told those people that the reign of God is about a community that includes those whom religious power has disenfranchised. And you know what they did? They ran him out of the synagogue, ran him out of town and tried to kill him. What Jesus was saying about God's mission may have been based totally on scripture, but it ran thoroughly counter to their tradition, assumptions, prejudices and biases, which said, God could not possibly love the widow of Zarephath or the Naaman the Syrian. It is the same religious authorities that ran him out of the synagogue, that expelled the man born blind from the synagogue, that opposed him every time Jesus tried to share God's love with the disenfranchised, and ultimately took Jesus to his cross.
Friends, there’s plenty more in the gospel story that point to this. And I know that you already know this. It is hard to work in this building if you don’t. But it is necessary that at this time of new beginnings to examine again our own biases, prejudices, assumptions and power plays that we are so used to that keep us from engaging in not necessarily the church’s mission, but in God’s mission. To empower us to that task, the risen Jesus who comes to us with a salaam aleikkum, also says to us, “as the father has sent me so I send you.” And knowing that we cannot do it on our own, indeed knowing that the church cannot do it alone, he breathes on us, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Would you turn to your neighbor and say, “Receive the Holy Spirit!”

An order for morning prayer during Easter time

The following order for morning prayer was prepared by Yvette Milosevic for morning prayer on Thursday, 3rd April, 2008 in the Ecumenical Centre Geneva

Leader: O Lord open our lips
All: And our mouth shall show forth your praise.
Leader: O God make speed to save us.
All: O Lord make haste to help us
Leader: O God show your mercy upon us.
All: And grant us your salvation.
Leader: This is the day which our Lord has made.
All: Let us all rejoice and be glad in it.

Sing Thuma Mina 6

PSALM 16:
1 Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."
3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

READING: Acts 2: 14a, 22-32

Sing Thuma Mina 46

Prayer
Lord, when I am hungry,
give me someone needing of food;
When I am thirsty,
send me someone needing a drink;
When I am cold,
send me someone to warm;
When I am grieved,
offer me some to console;
When my cross grows heavy,
let me share another's cross too;
When I am poor,
lend me to someone in need;
When I have not time,
give me someone I can help a little while;
When I am humiliated,
let me have someone to praise;
When I am disheartened,
send me someone to cheer;
When I need understanding,
give me someone who needs mine;
When I need to be looked after,
send me someone to care for;
When I think only of myself,
draw my thoughts to another.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Prayers of Intercession

O God of Grace, we thank you for bringing us here together today, people from different churches and countries, we thank you for the work of the World Council of Churches and other church organizations, the YMCA and YWCA , all with office in Geneva, we thank you for the many ecumenical and international agencies based in Geneva, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the agencies of the United Nations. We ask for help to make time in our busy lives to nurture the spirituality which is a gift from you to each of us.
God of Grace,
Hear our prayer

O God of Peace, we pray for the peoples and churches of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. We thank you for those who struggle for human rights against great odds. We ask you to strengthen the people who are persecuted for their faith. Guide them through your paths of peace, justice and reconciliation.
Inspire political leaders with your Holy Spirit.
God of Peace,
Hear our prayer.

O God of Love, help us to be the voices of Your vision of hope and love. Help us to grow in our own faith, so as to be able to reach out in faith to others of faith, instead of condemning them or shutting them out because of our own small-mindedness, ignorance or fear
God in your love,
Hear our prayer

O God of Compassion, we ask you to open us to one another and to enable us to see that of God in each of our colleagues. Enable us to reach out to each other for support, break down barriers between us, help us to care for the vulnerable and sick, and to share with those in need.
God in your Compassion,
Hear our prayer

Lord our God,
Enlighten your church,
That wherever it may be,
It will never seek for its interests
But will only serve you faithfully.
Grant your church wisdom and courage,
That it may break down all boundaries,
So that humankind will become one again.
In Jesus’ name.

THE LORD'S PRAYER (each in your own language)

CLOSING PRAYER

Eternal God,
the sun never sets on the earth you created.
Grant to all your peoples, from east to west,
the light and life that are ever new in Christ.
From morning until evening let us praise you,
and in your presence do our work day by day,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

An order for morning prayer in Easter time

The following order for morning prayer was put together by Yvette Milosevic

Ecumenical Centre, Geneva an order for morning prayer in Easter time Tuesday, 1st April, 2008

L Eternal God, as you created humankind in your image,
Women and men, male and female, renew us in that image:

All: God the Holy Spirit, by your strength and love
Comfort us as those whom a mother comforts:

Lord Jesus Christ, by your death and resurrection,
Give us the joy of those whom pain and suffering become,
In hope, the fruitful agony of travail:

All: God the Holy Trinity, grant that we may together
Enter into new life, your promised rest of achievement and fulfilment,
world without end. Amen

L. You are the gathering one
Who calls us into community with the whole creation;

All: to live in harmony
To cherish and renew
Let us worship the God who makes us one.


HYMN Tuma Mina No. 9 (Verse 1 Shona , 2 German, 3 English)

PSALM 123:

Men To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Women As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.

Men Have mercy upon us, O Lord,
Have mercy upon us,
For we have had more than enough of contempt.

Women: Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease,
Of the contempt of the proud.

All: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.
Amen


READING: John 20: 23-31
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Sing: Tuma Mina 46 in Spanish

A Prayer of Intercession

Lord Jesus, bruised for and by our iniquities, risen for our salvation, please receive our prayers for all your world. Especially we pray this Easter for those members of your human family who are dying, and for all who are grieving their passing.

Wherever this day death arrives with the roar of bombs or the rattle of machine guns, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

Wherever today death arrives with the malnutrition and disease of refugee camps, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God, with your Easter light and salvation.

Wherever today death arrives with the assassins knife or the bullet of the hit man, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

Wherever today death arrives with the swallowing of illegal drugs or the insertion of an injection needle, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

Wherever death arrives today with the squeal of car tyres or the shouts of an alcoholic brawl, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

Wherever death arrives today despite the best of medical care, and watched over by loved ones, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

Whenever death arrives today as a most welcome friend to those whose bodies are wasted and who long to go home, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

Wherever death has left in its wake desolate loved ones, desperate orphans, or angry people looking for revenge, come risen Christ Jesus;
Come quickly living God with your Easter light and salvation.

God of Easter, let it be written indelibly on our mind and soul, that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, nothing can sever us from your grace. Let is be so written that we awake each morning with faith and hope ingrained, and with love ready to flow through every deed we do, to the glory of your wonderful name!
Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

O God of Peace, we pray for the peoples and churches of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. We thank you for the amazing diversity of life. There are many species of plants and animals which are found in these countries and nowhere else.
We pray for the Chinese inhabitants of Brunei who have been denied citizenship and face discrimation. We pray for peace among the many ethic groups within these countries.
God of Peace,
Hear our prayer.

O God of Love, help us to be the voices of Your vision of hope and love. Help us to grow in our own faith, so as to be able to reach out in faith to others of faith, instead of condemning them or shutting them out because of our own small-mindedness, ignorance or fear
God in your love,
Hear our prayer

O God of Compassion, we ask you to open us to one another and to enable us to see that of God in each of our colleagues. Enable us to reach out to each other for support, break down barriers between us, help us to care for the vulnerable and sick, and to share with those in need.
God in your Compassion,
Hear our prayer


THE LORD'S PRAYER (each in your own language)

CLOSING PRAYER

L: Let us now go and take up the tasks
Which have been given us for this day and for this week.

All: Let us go forward in faith and trust
Because God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is with us.
Amen