BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
REIGN OF CHRIST SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 22, 2020
The video recording of this service can be found here.
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104
Gathering Music: Agnus Dei – M.W.Smith Vocalist: Angela Starchuk
Welcome & Announcements
Good day everyone! I welcome and greet you wherever you are in the name of Jesus Christ who reigns in our hearts forever! Today around the world, the Christian Church is celebrating the “Reign of Christ” which is also referred to as Christ the King Sunday. This Sunday signifies that our faith in Jesus the Christ is founded on the principles of justice, compassion, integrity and love.
Next Sunday, Nov 29th, we begin a new liturgical season. It’s the first Sunday of Advent and we are celebrating the sacrament of communion. We have an opportunity to gather in the sanctuary for a modified worship service at 10 am. A maximum number of 28 people are invited to gather. Please call the office to register. Full information on procedures and safety measures are posted on our website.
If you are not able to worship with us in the church sanctuary, please know that BCUC offers worship service in a number of ways. Check our website at bcuc.org, for our worship service in audio, video and text formats along with the weekly announcements, online meetings, events and other updates. You can also listen to the service via telephone by dialing 613-820-8104. Please continue to reach out by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.
And here are some announcements:
- The Veterans’ House project is due to be completed by January 2021 that hopes to accommodate at least 40 veterans. Please continue to support this project financially. For information on how to give, please check the website at multifaithhousing.ca.
- The 2021 Canadian Church Calendars are now available for purchase for $8 each, as well as grocery cards and the Book of Memories Volume 2. Please contact the office to place an order.
- If you are interested in exploring or discussing the biblical passages that Kim or Lorrie will use in their Sunday sermon, please join the Lectionary Group every Tuesday at 10:30 am via Zoom. Please inform Rev. Kim or the office of your attendance.
- Join us for a spontaneous Prayer Circle every Wednesday at 8 pm. Wherever you are, say a prayer for the world, your community including the congregation, your family, and yourself.
- And for those of you who are able to join us via Zoom, there will be zoom fellowship every Sunday at 11: 00 am. Link has been emailed to you or call the office for more information. For other announcements, please check your email or the church website.
Friends, in the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of our hearts, I now invite you to centre yourself in the presence of God to remind ourselves that the reign of Christ is the reign of love. Let us gather in worship.
Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolytes: David Stafford & Barbara Bole
We light this Christ candle reminding us that the spirit of Jesus reigns in our hearts. We long for God’s love to come to our world, to break through and reign over us with compassion, justice, and peace.
Call to Gather: Rev. Lorrie Lowes
(Beth W. Johnson, Gathering, Pentecost 2, Year B, 2015)
In a world with so many competing voices,
we are called to focus on you, O God.
In a world with many options,
we are called to make you and your ways a priority.
In a world with many stories and tales to tell,
we are called to give you praise and tell the story of God’s love and generosity.
Great and awesome God,
we come in worship today to give you thanks and praise!
Prayer of Approach: (Gord Dunbar, Gathering, Pentecost 2, Year C, 2013).
Knit us together, O God, joining us as one body in Christ’s name.
Breathe into us your inspiration for work and worship.
Light our lives with grace-filled self-giving.
Fire our hearts with the Good News of your love.
Unlock our minds with your revelation.
Gift us with your presence, we pray. Amen.
Hymn: Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love - Voices United #593
Refrain: Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbours we have from you.
1. Kneels at the feet of his friends,
silently washes their feet,
master who acts as a slave to them. R
2. Neighbours are rich and poor,
varied in colour and race,
neighbours are near and far away. R
3. These are the ones we should serve,
these are the ones we should love,
all are neighbours to us and you. R
4. Kneel at the feet of our friends,
silently washing their feet,
this is the way we should live with you. R
Words & Music Arr. © 1969 Tom Colvin Ghanaian Folk Song Hope Pub. Song # 00047
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime for the Young at Heart Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Hello! Do you know what I have here? Well, this is a set of rules that we have at BCUC for how to keep everyone in our congregation, and anyone who comes into or around our church building, safe during this covid-19 pandemic. It’s 12 pages long and pretty small print! It took a whole committee several weeks to go through all the rules and guidelines set out by the Federal government, the Ontario government and the city of Ottawa and all the medical advisors to see what applied to what is happening in our church. We want to stick together and keep as much of our church life happening while still making sure no one gets sick. That’s a lot of rules!
I bet you have heard lots about rules during this time too – rules that apply to different situations. There are rules about school, rules about wearing masks in stores and other buildings. We have to follow arrows on the floor and line up outside 6 ft apart… There are rules about washing your hands and using hand sanitizer everywhere you go. There are even rules about who you can visit or let into your house! Then, there are rules about no hugging and even no singing!
Whew! I don’t know about you, but I am getting tired of this pandemic. I am tired of worrying and tired of staying home – and I’m really tired of so many rules. I think lots of people are starting to feel this way. Some even argue about the rules and say that some are more important than others or even that some of the rules are silly. Sometimes people get really upset with each other if they disagree about what is essential. Sometimes people make mistakes and then get yelled at. Sometimes people are just rude – that’s no fun!
If I asked you which rule is the most important, I wonder what you’d say. I wonder if we would get a lot of different answers. It’s really hard to pick out just one…
Jesus was asked a question like that in the Gospel lesson today. The Pharisees tried to trick him again. They came and asked what the most important commandment was. See, the Jews had the ten commandments, which were a big deal for them. But they had even more laws on top of that, actually, hundreds of specific rules that governed how they were supposed to live. They wanted Jesus to mess up somehow by picking out one of those rules over the other ones.
He narrowed the commandments down to two key things: Love God and love others. Jesus said that the number one rule was to love God with heart, soul, and mind. That means that everything we do, think, or say should be done with God would want in mind. Jesus also said that we should love our neighbor as ourselves. And we know that he didn’t mean just the person living next door, but all the people in the world, even the ones we don’t know and the ones we don’t like. Jesus said that when we do those things—love God and love our neighbor, everything else comes into place. The other laws all hang on love. If we do both those things, it just follows that we will choose to do what is best for everyone. That’s how good rules are made in the first place. They are made to make sure that everyone is treated well and that they are treated fairly. They are made to make sure that everyone is safe and healthy.
That was true of the hundreds of laws the Jewish people were expected to follow and it’s true of the laws in our country. It’s even true of the rules for the games we play and for the rules about how we have to behave during this Covid-19 pandemic.
I would have a hard time making a list for you of all the rules that are in this 12-page document for our church – and I helped create it! But I know, that if I remember that the most important thing is to keep everyone safe and healthy, I know I will do the right thing. The most important thing to remember is that we are acting out of love – for God, for each other, and for the whole world.
So, I will do my best to keep all of you safe, and I am grateful that you are doing the same for me and for all of our neighbours. Thank you for the love you share – even when it’s hard to do.
Hymn: What Does the Lord Require of You? Voices United #701
What does the Lord require of you?
What does the Lord require of you?
Justice, kindness,
walk humbly with your God.
To seek justice, and love kindness,
And walk humbly with your God.
Words & Music © 1986 Jim Strathdee Desert Flower Music Song # 60048
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination Reader: John MacFarlane
(Richard Bott, Gathering, Pentecost 2, Year B, 2015)
Holy God,
you are the Storyteller,
you are the Word.
Bless the reading.
Bless the listening.
Bless the sharing.
Bless the love in Christ’s name. Amen.
The Reading: Matthew 22 :34-40 (NRSV)
The Greatest Commandment
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the greatest and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
May we find ourselves renewed by this story of faith. Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “All We Need is Love!” Rev. Kim Vidal
Who is Jesus to you? This is a good question to ask. Nowadays, you can’t help noticing that people say a lot of things about Jesus. They write it down on books, magazines and newspapers. They say it out verbally at worship services and on street corners. They talk about it on the kitchen table and over the internet. They share it at home, in classrooms and in pulpits. In just about any context you can imagine, people say all kinds of things about Jesus, because nearly everybody has an opinion. You don’t have to be a follower of Jesus to understand that the man is big; he is as influential a figure as the planet is likely to see. They describe him, decry him, defend him, deconstruct him. They explain him, complain about him, and just plain old argue about him. The first century Jewish people did the same thing. Jesus is the most talked about Biblical figure for over 2000 years!
Traditionally, on this Sunday, we acclaim Christ's role as a “King”– that is why in some Christian traditions, particularly in the orthodox churches, they call it Christ the King Sunday. But I’m sure some of us are not comfortable with the image of Jesus as a king especially when it is understood to be an imperial title, or a symbolic head, or a monarch who could easily use his power in oppressing people; or someone who is detached and remote from the realities of the everyday world; or a king who is garbed in wealthy garments and live in a palace with guards and troops to protect him. My theological understanding of Jesus is the notion that Jesus refused to be seen as someone who is “high and mighty” but rather who is “among the least”, the compassionate one, the one who blessed children as heirs of God’s reign. Instead of being a king, I would rather describe Jesus as a kin to all – K-I-N - a kin who is one among us – one who is dear and near – one whom we can relate to, or someone that we can keep close to our hearts; someone who, in the language of Anne of Green Gables, is a bosom friend or if you wish, a brother or a comrade, one who rolls up his sleeves and find comfort in his hands-on approach to helping the needy, embracing the lonely, uplifting the poor, healing the sick.
We know that the Pharisees love to test Jesus, but perhaps the lawyer, the one who approached Jesus in today’s gospel reading had a similar feeling of being overwhelmed when he asked him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” — for there were 613 laws in the Torah. How was a person to keep track of them all, let alone prioritize them? The lawyer may be trying to do one of these three things when he questioned Jesus: first, he was trying to outwit Jesus; second, he may be siding with the Pharisees by confirming to the crowds that the Pharisees were far smarter than the Sadducees; and third, he may be genuinely seeking to discern what the law requires of him. What he has heard may have inspired him to believe that Jesus is able to answer the strongest questions of his heart. Jesus answers with two commandments quoted from the Torah: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.” (Deuteronomy 6: 5) and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Leviticus 19: 18). And Jesus concluded with this statement: “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” Loving God –loving others – these two tenets of love cannot be separated. You cannot love God if you hate your neighbour. Similarly, you cannot love your neighbour if you do not love God who is the source of love. Love is a profound, radical word. We say it almost all the time. We try to express it in many ways. And yet for some reasons, love is also the most violated, abused and misunderstood of all words.
The poet, Mary Oliver in some of her poems talks about the ordinary despair so many people feel in the face of the enormity of the world’s problems. ‘What can one individual do?’ she asked. Oliver may have answered her own question, as Jesus answered the Pharisees, by testifying to the power of love with her poem “Wild Geese,” which begins:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let …your body love what it loves.
But what does love mean? Christians are, indeed, called “to love and serve the world." Some of our theological positions tell us that God sends us to love and serve others as faithful witnesses of Jesus’ way. We are taught to put into practice what we have become in the sacrament of the Holy Communion – that we are the body of Christ on earth. The sixteenth-century mystic and Carmelite reformer Teresa of Avila said, “…God so loved the world that God sent Jesus, who healed the sick, fed the poor, raised the dead and lived, preached, ate and made friends in the world alongside ordinary human beings, especially those on the margins of society...” We are Christ’s embodiment of God’s radical love!
Much of Jesus’ earthly life and many of his undertakings were tied to giving and receiving love through hospitality. He was a guest in many homes and at numerous meals. Although without a place of his own, he acted as a host to individuals, small groups, and huge crowds, making use of places that were available to him. Jesus’ practices of a loving hospitality were often brief, intense, personal, and countercultural. Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall encourages for a “hospitable Christianity” whose love for neighbour as Jesus taught us, provides room for people of different faiths to exist together and value one another for the well-being of our world without watering down their differences – a way of being together that invites dialogue, respect and listening to each other. These words echo one of the Dalai Lama’s visions for the world: “Love and hospitality are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”
Fritz Eichenberg was a German born artist who moved to the United States in the 1930s. While still in Germany he started drawing politically and religiously poignant artworks. One of his drawings, called “Jesus in the Breadline” shows Jesus walking with the "least of these", men and women who most of society thought were outcasts, poor, worthless. Eichenberg portrays Jesus as a homeless man, and when you think about it, if Jesus came during the era of breadlines, He probably would have been standing in one. This type of imagery speaks to me, portraying Jesus Christ as someone journeying among us. Indeed, he declares that his neighbours, his sisters and brothers are the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the stranger, the prisoners, the homeless. They are the people we can easily pass by and easily ignore. The Great Commandment proposed by Matthew’s Jesus is a call to profound unity of heart, mind, body and spirit. The Golden Rule is the measuring stick in loving ourselves so we that can love our neighbours in good faith: “Do unto others what you would like others do unto you.”
Who then, is our neighbour? Our neighbours are those different from us. Our neighbours are the little ones - ignored by the society yet wanting our care and compassion. Our neighbours are the street marchers who confront those in power. Our neighbours are the homeless people with the desire to have decent lives. Our neighbours are the privileged and the affluent wanting to reach out for friendship and understanding. Our neighbours are those facing life’s uncertainties because of illness or loss of employment. Our neighbours are those in our community wanting to be affirmed and welcomed. Ours is not only about seeing others as a neighbour; our calling is also to become the neighbour we would like to meet. And you can only love your neighbour when you honestly and truthfully love God with your whole being – heart, soul and mind. To love God is to practice who and what God means to us. For me, God is the epitome of justice, compassion, kindness, peace and love. And even when we profess that we are God believers or atheists, I believe these are universal values that each human being must put into practice for the world to heal from the atrocities of violence, hatred and evil.
Loving God and our neighbour mean that we need to listen to the world and engage with it. As stewards of love, we need to be vulnerable, to pay attention, to participate in endeavours that bring hope and give life. An ideal way of engaging the world with love is to be like those children in the Special Olympics. We start out together and if one falls, another will stop and kiss the scratched knee or the bumped elbow. Another will sit down and see how we are coming along. Maybe someone else will find a Band-Aid to cover the boo-boo and another brings water to refresh the spirit. Sooner or later, everyone gets to be together as we come to the end, with each other, holding on for dear life, upholding each other in the power of community and the presence of God. No one, not even the least of these will be forgotten or ignored. As Frederick Buechner has written, “humanity is like a giant spider web. Touch it anywhere and the whole thing trembles.”
I took a break from my sermon writing and found two inspiring stories of love:
The first story talks about Max Woosey, a 10-year-old British boy, who set out to raise 100 pounds for a local hospice that looked after his neighbours who died of cancer. Days after Britain imposed a national lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, Woosey raised money in memory of his neighbours by sleeping in a tent in his garden. People were touched by his love for his neighbours that his charity camp-out amassed more than 40,000 pounds.
The second story was shared by an Ottawa Teen named Aya Abou Rshd - Two laptops present new hope and opportunities to her and her siblings when their schooling was disrupted by the Syrian civil war, persecution from Lebanese authorities and now the global COVID-19 pandemic. Things will now be a bit easier for their new life in Canada – thanks for the love and concern of an anonymous donor who came forward and donated two brand new laptops to Aya and her family. A symbol of hope and a glimmer of light for Aya and her family.
The Reign of Christ is indeed the reign of love! We all have our love stories to tell. And yes, all we need is love to heal the world. In closing, let me share with you a Franciscan Blessing, written in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi as you go and love God, your neighbours and yourself:
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness and love to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
Jesus the Christ reigns forever! Love reigns in us! Amen.
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer: Rev. Kim Vidal
Let us gather our hearts in prayer:
God, author of our lives, create for us a life that opens a path to new visions and vistas of compassion, love and understanding. Make us a sanctuary of a just society through our acts and deeds. We are your people, your creation and in that creation is your expectation that we offer love to the best of our ability to make that expectation a reality. Continue to challenge us, to push us, to prod us to walk the talk. Broaden our thinking with new ideas. Enrich us with your spirit. Make us a community of love who embraces a purpose of “no condemnation.”
We pray that you would guide us on our journeys through this land of such abundance. Help us not to be seduced into thinking that material resources can ever make us happy or content. Help us as we see our neighbours’ success not to feel inadequate, deprived, or greedy. Help us rather to find our strength, our comfort, and our satisfaction in knowing whose we are and to live life with a sense of hope. Provide us an inner serenity which exterior things can never bring.
God of grace and compassion we are always mindful of our tenuous hold on life and health and safe keeping. With those thoughts in mind, we ask for your healing presence to those affected by the ongoing pandemic. With love and earnest concern, we pray for those in retirement homes and long-term care facilities especially those who are affected by COVID-19 and those unnamed among us in need of your healing touch. We continue to pray for the families of those who have died from the virus, may healing love be with them in this time of sorrow. For those who are sick and those recovering from illness, may they find comfort from those who tend to them. For the health workers, first-line responders and essential workers who serve to heal the sick and who put themselves at risk, may they know that many are praying for them and rallying behind them.
For the leaders in all sectors of the society, may they lead with wisdom and foresight to act with love and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. May we comfort those who have suffered deep losses in their lives and those who are troubled and distressed. We pray for peace in our neighbourhood and wider communities. We also bring to you those who are frail and weak - the bereaved, the dying, the lonely, the lost, the downtrodden. We pray for this church family, for its vitality and its mission to love others. Empower us to be the body of Christ in the world. Be with us as we meet and share the joys and concerns of this congregation.
God of harmony and peace, we pray for the world where your reign of love is still calling each one for transformation; where bombs of war are dropped and people live in terror and death; where people suffer under the pangs of economic upheaval – where unemployment rises in its toll and people live in despair; where people ravaged by calamities and natural disasters seek daily survival. And we pray for ourselves that we may be sustained by the hope and love that you have offered to us.
God of life, God of love, God of all that we have and all that we are, we give you thanks.
These we ask in the name of Jesus the Christ who reigns in hearts and who taught us this prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom come, thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kin-dom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever,
Amen.
Invitation to Offer: Rev. Lorrie Lowes
I invite you to give lovingly, as we serve God through sharing and offering of time, talents and treasures. These gifts empower the ministry within our congregation and respond to the needs of our community and the world. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the slot by the kitchen door of the church or mail them to BCUC. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer
This offering has the power to help others.
This offering demonstrates our love for those in need.
This offering reflects your love, O God.
Bless these gifts and the givers,
we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen
Sending Forth: Rev. Kim Vidal
People of God, step forward into the world in which we live
and be lovers in word and in deed.
Keep your hearts steadfast on the priorities to which God guides us:
to love mercy, to do justice, and to walk humbly.
Let us go forth with confidence in the name
of God the Lover,
of Jesus Christ, the Beloved
and the Holy Spirit who is Love. Amen!
Hymn: Fairest Lord Jesus – Voices United #341
1 Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,
O thou of God to earth come down:
thee will I cherish, thee will I honour,
thou my soul's glory, joy, and crown.
2 Fair are the meadows,
fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
who makes the troubled heart to sing.
3 Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
and fair the twinkling, starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.
4 All fairest beauty heavenly and earthly,
wondrously, Jesus, is found in thee;
none can be nearer, fairer or dearer
than thou, my Saviour, art to me.
Words 1677 from the German Crusader’s Hymn, Music 1842 Silesian Folk Melody
Song # 97906 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Departing: Higher Realms - Abe
Zoom Fellowship hosted by Lorrie at 11:00 am. Link has been emailed. See you there!