Monthly Archives: February 2018

MtE Update – February 15 2018

  1.  Our worship space during Lent will feature a number of icons, increasing in number over the period to Easter. More details about this part of the worship can be found here, including a link to the icon for this Sunday, Lent 1
  2. Our Lenten studies for this year begin next Wednesday, February 21, and Friday February 23; details are here. It would help to know if you plan to attend!
  3. If you are free on Feb 22 to drive a mini bus to ferry students to a pre-term Melb Uni Chaplaincy BBQ, please let Craig know and he’ll put you in touch with Sunny Chen (~230pm-800pm) (but note the time conflict with the forum below…)
  4. The latest Presbytery mail-out (Feb 12) is here.
  5. Brother Peter Bray from Bethlehem University is returning to Melbourne, and will again be hosted by MtE in a public forum; more details are here. If social media is your thing, please help to make this event known via the Facebook link.
  6. “Read it as if you wrote it”. Attention all rostered (and potentially rostered!) in-worship Scripture readers: we’re planning a workshop on the important ministry of lector after morning tea on February 25 — “Read it as if you wrote it”. Please plan to be there if you’re able; those who don’t read the Scriptures for worship also welcome!
  7. For those interested in some background commentary to the readings for this Sunday February 18, see the links here.

Old News

  1. TRANSFIGURATION: An exhibition of oil paintings by Wes Campbell.

 

14 February – Light for the dark

View or print as a PDF

Ash Wednesday
14/2/2018

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-20


Over the next six weeks we take time to reflect on “treasure,” the theme of our reading from Matthew this evening.

Our readings thought Lent will take us through the unfolding of the covenant of God with Israel, and this we will hear in the context of Jesus’ ministry of engagement with Israel, fulfilling and renewing that covenant.

It is a story of love and conflict, of confusion and re-orientation. But it is not simply a story of to-and-fro; it goes somewhere. The scriptural story is an unfolding revelation, an account of gradually dawning light.

We gather this evening to mark the beginning of this process as a beginning in darkness, symbolised in the imposition of ash. We are from dust, and we return to dust, and there is no treasure to be had along the way which will endure. All that is earthly goes the way of all the earth. This ancient sign of the ashes speaks of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marks the penitence of a people prone to treasure the wrong things.

But the gospel is also that there is light – a treasure which shines in the dark and will not be overcome by it. The light illuminates, and calls forth, and makes clear the path which leads not to more dust but to life.

Our repentance, then, anticipates God’s forgiveness – our recognition of our breaking of the covenant takes place in the light of its renewal.

With this in mind, let us make our confession…


Lent and Easter 2018

Lent and Easter at MtE will feature a developing display of icons by artists within the congregation, reflecting the themes of the Gospel readings of the season; here, for more details.

 

Service times are 10.00am, unless otherwise indicated below

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday February 14, 6.00pm

Palm-Passion Sunday

Sunday March 25, 10.00am

Maundy Thursday

Thursday March 29, 7.30pm

Good Friday

Friday March 30, 10.00am

Easter Vigil

Saturday March 31, 8.00pm

Easter Day

Sunday April 1, 10.00am

LitBit Commentary – James K A Smith on the Call to Worship

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Litbit: The congregation gathers in response to a call to worship, which is the fundamental vocation of being human. God is calling out and constituting a people who will look “peculiar” in this broken world because they have been called to be renewed image bearers of God – to take and reembrace our creational vocation, now empowered by the Spirit to do so.

James K. A Smith, Desiring the Kingdom.

 

How to use LitBit Features and Commentaries.

February 18 – Martin Luther

These weekly “People to Commemorate” posts are a kind of calendar for the commemoration of the saints, reproduced here from a Uniting Church Assembly document which can be found in full here. They are intended for copying and pasting into congregational pew sheets on the Sunday closest to the nominated date.

Images (where provided) are of icons by Peter Blackwood; click on the image to download a high resolution copy of the image.

Martin Luther, reformer of the Church

Martin Luther, (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1543) who is regarded as the founder of the German Reformation, began life as the son of a miner in Saxony. His path to becoming a Reformer began in 1505. As a student he feared being stuck by lightning during a storm, prayed to St Anne for help, promising to become a monk. He entered an Augustinian monastery, but the terror of the experience that brought him into religious life remained significant. The church of the day traded on the fear of hell and judgement, and for Luther himself the terror aroused by the storm was transferred to holy fear in the presence of Christ the judge, a figure graphically depicted in the art of the time. As a monk and priest he trembled at the thought of the Bread and Wine being changed into the body and blood of Christ in his hands.

Luther came to believe the only way a priest could be at ease in the presence of Christ was to have confessed all his sins. So troubled was he in conscience he sometime confessed for 6 hours per day. He ransacked his soul for every fault, and then, on returning to his room, would remember something he had not mentioned. This defeated him and wore out his superiors who, hoping he might work out his own salvation, made him a teacher of biblical studies. Luther began to wrestle with scripture. As a result of pondering the concept of justification in Paul’s letter to the Romans he underwent a complete liberation from his condition. The key passage for him was Romans 1:16-17.

From this Luther came to understand that the Justice of God stands for what God does to bring us back into right relationship with himself through faith, despite the fact that we are sinners and fall short of God’s gifts. This insight revolutionised his life. He no longer feared an avenging God, and became a much more cheerful soul. The emphasis on “the works of the law” or merit – that is our virtuous living and our efforts to secure a place with God– was replaced by life lived as a glad response to God’s acceptance of us before we ask.

On this basis his discipleship no longer served as a means of self-justification but took the form of glad and willing service of a merciful and gracious God. This was Martin Luther’s gift to the Church.

Martin Luther’s reform brought about a renewed understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that brought life and refreshment to many in his day, and has continued until now. In a world where it becomes harder and harder to recognize and name true sanctity, in Martin Luther’s life fear surrendered to peace with God; merriment replaced guilt and a sour spirit, and distrust of our human nature was replaced with acceptance and respect.

From Luther onwards the witness to Christ in Scripture was privileged as the guiding source of the Church’s life. But so long as the central ideas about faith were right, Luther did not argue about secondary issues such as vestments and gestures. Some even accused him of retaining too much “popery”. He also re-introduced the reception of communion in both kinds, expanded congregational singing and translated the Bible and the Liturgy into the language of the people. Luther did not remain a monk, but married Katharina von Bora and had a family. The Uniting Church was formed on the basis of going “forward together in sole loyalty to Jesus Christ, and it privileges the place of Scripture in the church. Luther would have approved of both.

Refs: Roland Bainton Here I Stand I Can Do no Other, F.L. Cross (ed) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

Rev John Smith

Lent 1 February 18: The baptism of Jesus

It is only two weeks since the Baptism of Jesus was the Gospel reading. Then it was seen as an epiphany, leading to the climax for the season of Epiphany, the Transfiguration.

Today, the Baptism is linked to the Temptations of Jesus, and marks the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. The emphasis is on the opening of the heavens, the descent of the Spirit (dove) and the words of the Father “You are my Son”. (This is an important text for the doctrine of the Trinity.) The Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness, the abode of Satan, for a confrontation with evil. Mark makes no mention of particular temptations. Instead Mark announces that the victory over temptation leads to Jesus proclaiming the good news that the Kingdom of God has come near, as promised in the opening words of the Gospel (Mark 1:1).

At the Baptism, the heavens were “torn apart”. Mark uses the same word at 15:38 to describe the curtain of the temple being torn apart as Jesus dies. The dove evokes Genesis 1:2 where, in the old translation, “the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters”, and also Genesis 8:11 where the dove brings evidence to Noah that order and peace are restored after the flood.

In this icon (an original composition) Jesus is naked because he is stripped of his heavenly glory. He has “emptied himself” (Philippians 2:7). By becoming fully human, he clothes humanity in a garment that is incorruptible. The angels who minister to Jesus in the wilderness are seen here bringing new clothes after his baptism. Total immersion indicates Christ’s dying (drowning) and rising again. With his right hand Jesus blesses the water, and water takes on sacramental significance. Traditional icons show evil powers lurking in the depths, such as river gods riding dolphins, but here the powers to be overcome are war and violence, represented by a tank, and pop culture, represented by a TV set. Note that on one side there is the wilderness, the scene of the temptations, and on the other a fertile paradise, with a gum tree. The mountains are taken from a photo of the Olgas. There are several aboriginal motifs, so that the whole of our Australian culture is included. The part circle at the top indicates the Father, who is eternal, but the whole circle is hidden because we do not fully comprehend the mystery which is God.

CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER.

Lord Jesus,

By the stripping of your garments you show humility, and we too are humbled, stripped of all posturing, and concern for our own self-importance.

By your descent into the water, you faced chaos and turbulence in order to bring us peace, assurance and stillness.

By your blessing of the water, water becomes a sacrament, offering new birth, new creation, and life from death.

By your rising from the water, and your triumph over temptation, you overcome the evil one and give hope for peace in the world.

By the descent of the dove you are blessed, and yet driven into the wilderness, where your struggle with Satan intensifies, as does ours in your service.

By the word of the Father we know you as the beloved of the living God, and we too affirm pleasure in your presence.

May your Spirit live in us, bring power to our prayers, build up your people in this place, and give us all a sense of belonging in the community of the baptised that circles the globe.

Lamb of God, have mercy on us.

 

MtE Update – February 9 2018

 

  1. This Sunday the UCA chaplain at Melbourne University, Sunny Chen, will be our preacher and will speak in our first after-worship conversation for this year about the chaplaincy at the University.
  2. Lent begins next week with our Ash Wednesday service, Wednesday Feb 14. This is a quiet, contemplative service at 6pm, setting something of the “tone” of worship during Lent. Our worship space during Lent will feature a number of icons, increasing in number over the period to Easter. More details about this part of the worship can be found here, including a link to the icon for Ash Wednesday
  3. Our Lenten studies for this year begin the following Wednesday, February 21, and Friday February 23; details are here. It would help to know if you plan to attend!
  4. The latest Synod e-News (Feb 8) is here.
  5. Brother Peter Bray from Bethlehem University is returning to Melbourne, and will again be hosted by MtE in a public forum; more details are here. If social media is your thing, please help to make this event known via the Facebook link.
  6. “Read it as if you wrote it”. Attention all rostered (and potentially rostered!) in-worship Scripture readers: we’re planning a workshop on the important ministry of lector after morning tea on February 25 — “Read it as if you wrote it”. Please plan to be there if you’re able; those who don’t read the Scriptures for worship also welcome!
  7. TRANSFIGURATION: An exhibition of oil paintings by Wes Campbell.
  8. For those interested in some background commentary to the readings for this Sunday February 11, see the links here. One of the readings for this Sunday is off-lectionary; see here for the text and comment.

Lent to Easter at MtE

Worship at Mark the Evangelist during the 2018 Lenten season will feature a growing “display” of icons relating to readings and themes of the period. These icons are classical images from the church’s tradition, painted (or “written”) by members of the MtE congregation.

Rob Gallacher has written an introduction to how the icons might be prayerfully incorporated into our personal and corporate worship.

Each week a new icon will be introduced into worship, with an accompanying account of its significance in the pew sheet and email updates. Icons of the specified saints for the Sundays of this Lent will also be introduced.

 

An introduction to the icons over Lent-Easter

Ash Wednesday: the icon of Blessed Silence

Lent 1 February 18

Lent 2 February 25

Lent 3 March 4

Lent 4 March 11

Lent 5 March 18

Palm/Passion March 25

Maundy Thursday

Holy Saturday

Good Friday

Easter

Some aspects of contemplative prayer

Rob Gallacher

Some aspects of contemplative prayer

Start with “sacrament”. In Confirmation Class I was taught that “sacramentum” was the oath of obedience that Roman soldiers took, pledging allegiance to their commander, however dangerous that might be. So to take the sacrament was to renew your promise to serve Christ in the same way. Something that was between you and God, i.e. individualistic.

Now I learn that “sacrament” is the Latin translation of the Greek “mystikos”, and that gives it an entirely different perspective.

The root of “mystikos” is “my” or “mu”, and it means silence or a secret. If I were to tell you something very special, and then say “Keep Mum about it!”, what do you think I meant? “Not don’t tell your mother.” Rather, reflect in silence about my message. It’s meaning is profound and you need to take time to quietly contemplate it in order to understand, or, better, explore some of its hidden depths. The transaction here is between you and something bigger than you, bigger than your capacity to comprehend, certainly beyond your capacity to find words that will say it all. But as you contemplate the enormity of it, some bite become clear, and when you perceive a little, it leads you on to a little more.

Have you ever gone home after a conversation and suddenly you say to yourself, ‘Oh, is that what she meant?” And the next time you see her, you check it out, and out comes a whole lot more.

Mystery – not a puzzle to be solved, it is like climbing a mountain, and when you get to the top, you pause to enjoy the view, which is hard to describe. Then you see that there is another mountain beyond, and then another, for you to explore and contemplate.

I read somewhere, I think it is James Joyce who does this in great detail, that “mmmm” is one of the basic sounds out of which language developed.

Imagine the first caveman wondering how to catch an elephant. He has an idea, and he goes “mmmm” or possibly “nnnnn”. His mind is whirring. He sees another person pondering, and he thinks, that’s an “mmmm-er” too. But the elephant, it’s not an “mmmm-er”. So the word “mmmannn”, or “human” develops to express this particular characteristic of our species. We can contemplate something that is obscure, or very big, and gradually it will reveal its secrets to us.

We apply our mind. Latin for mind = mens, mentis. That gives us mental, mentality, mentor, mention.

Related words are remind and reminisce.

Latin again: “memor” is mindful, and that gives us memory, memorable, memorial, memorandum, memoir, memento, memo, and particularly for today’s study, remember and remembrance – the word Jesu used at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me”. The Greek word is “anamnesis”. So what Jesus is saying is, when you drink the wine which is my blood, do a bit of whirring, or “mmmm-ing”. There is a mystery here which is bigger than you will fully comprehend, but apply your mind and the secrets will gradually be revealed to you.

When “mystikos” is used for the mystery of the Eucharist, or for Baptism, it means (mmmeannns!) enter into this astounding action of God. And try to work out how you can catch it and apply it.

This brings us to Paul, e.g. Colossians 1:26 – the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages but now is revealed to his saints. God’s purpose which is implied or hidden in the Old Testament, is made known to us in the incarnation of Christ.

Christians share in the life of Christ through the sacraments, the “mysteria”. It is a sharing with other Christians in the mystery which is always revealing more and more of God’s truth. Not an individual direct line to God – Medieval mysticism took it this way. A mystic is a person who has a direct way of knowing God, through visions, dreams, voices, that others don’t perceive. This is the point Louth is making forcibly. In the early Christian writings, a mystic is one who perceives the secrets revealed in Word and Sacrament – Truth so big, hidden in the OT, clarified in Christ, but still so enormous that we need to contemplate as we participate, and this is communal.

An icon is a sacramental object, sometimes called, the Bible in pictures, the visible word – so it is appropriate to contemplate, to pray and “mmmm” prayer, letting it talk to you, to reveal its hidden mysteries. Letting it draw you into the great company of “mmmmm” people who share this mystery.

It has a dimension of personal commitment (sacramentum) but it is more significantly the entry into another world, through contemplation of the mystery which God has revealed in Christ.

“We all partake the joy of one, the common peace we feel, a peace to sensual minds unknown a joy unspeakable. “ Ammmmennnn.

 

Most of the above is drawn from The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition, by Andrew Louth, Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies at Durham University; this edition is a reprint to which he has added a final chapter in which he says that if he were writing the book today.

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