PRAYER of INTERCESSION ( Helen Garton)

SERMON OUTLINE

Basic ingredients

Psalm 146 presents us with a vision of the kind of world God intended where there is justice for the oppressed and food for the hungry.

 You start where you want to end up, because you begin with an end in mind: a world where there is no hunger, a world where all the available resources are shared out fairly so that no-one lives in want. Just as when you cook with a recipe, you know what you want to produce and you have the instructions laid out before you.

 Ultimately you are trying to do yourself out of a job! Just as celebrity chefs on the television impart their knowledge to the rest of us, in an attempt to turn us all into competent cooks. In the same way, the ultimate goal of Commitment for Life is to eradicate poverty and so no longer needs to exist.

 The important question is: what do you need to get there? We need each other. The partners in our chosen countries need people like us to support them and we need them to help us understand the problems they face. We both need each other to share our different experiences and insights and cultures, so that the world will be a richer, better place. Christian Aid needs C4L to support its work, C4L needs the URC, without whom much of the work could not happen.

Cooking instructions

Mark 6:30-44 presents us with an enacted parable of both sharing and miracle, of how God can take what little we are able to offer and turn it into something far greater than we can ever imagine.

 Give – this is a fairly obvious point, of course. But talk about the kinds of ways in which your church has raised money. Remember, that the ways we give very often draw us closer together as churches, especially if you host fundraising events.

 Act – mention the kinds of resources you use (posters, leaflets, updates, etc). Perhaps you have held a talk about your chosen C4L country or invited a speaker. Maybe you have joined in with one of the campaigns (e.g. sending off action postcards to MPs or attending a campaigning event)

 Pray – if giving and acting are like the chopping and mixing of ingredients, then prayer is where you turn up the heat and pop your dish into the oven to cook. We do our part and, with prayer, we dedicate our efforts and concerns to God, waiting with anticipation for the end result.

Serving suggestions

Isaiah 58:1-9a speaks of the only true kind of worship and devotion which is acceptable to God, not just of looking the part but of living the authentic life.

 This means that the things we have and the things we enjoy are not ours as a right, but they are gifts to be enjoyed and shared. How can we break bread together at the Lord’s table, if we are not prepared to share what we have with those who are in need.

 This means that we are accountable to God for the kinds of lives we choose to lead. Are we fair and just in all our dealings? Food highlights this very well: does what we eat help or hinder us, does it help or hinder others? Is the food we eat fairly traded? What kind of impact does the way we live have on the world, God’s world?

 Ultimately, the question is: are we working with God towards a fairer world?