Whose Death Worries You?

This morning at Ashmore Uniting we looked at how we grapple with the unfairness of life, in particular the situations which involve violent, senseless and premature death. Sounds a bit morbid I know, but at some point we need opportunities to connect worship with the difficult parts of our lives.

Finding hymns and songs that grapple with this theme is not easy. Praise and worship songs tend to gloss over suffering, suggesting that we can glide over discomfort to go straight to the heart of God. Even the Hillsong classic, “Your eye is on the sparrow” barely touches on the thought behind God’s compassionate awareness of the sparrow’s death, focusing instead of “running to God” and relying on God’s truth and power. We ended up using “All creatures of our God and King”, including the verse about kind and gentle death, waiting to hush our final breath. We used “The Steadfast Love of the Lord”, straight from Lamentations 3, including the original four verses.

We used the lectionary reading for the day, Luke 13:1-9, in which Jesus is quizzed about the significance of the deaths of people under a vicious ruler, and the victims of a collapsed tower. We unpacked the temptation to try and find a pattern in the chaos by assigning blame to victims, rather than recognise life for what it is, tenuous and fragile. We referred to the commitment God has to compassion and second chances, rather than blame and exclusion.

In our small group discussions we explored the question, “Whose death worries you.” It’s a personal question and so we gave people permission to share at their chosen level of disclosure. 10 minutes of sharing opened up a sense of community and validated concern.

We used Bruce Prewer‘s “Rebellion Prayer”, as found in Australian Psalms and Be Our Freedom, Lord.

“Some days we find find it hard to love you, Lord, we smoulder with rebellion, even in church. Your way of managing this world seems wrong, your love and justice appears to be missing… Redemer God, remind us today that things were not different for Jesus of Nazareth or those dared follow him. Remind us too that our passion is yours, our world is yours, and that you are the source of our cry. Take the energy of our angers, our fears, and our discontent and tranform them into fires of determination and love. Give us, we pray, the quiet hope and simple courage to find you in the sorrow-filled reality of our world. And so let you meet us in the grape that is crushed, the bread that is shared, and the Christ who is risen.”

We used one of Ann Weems’ Psalms of Lament, “Open your window, O God, and see me. Like a wounded bird lying on the sidewalk, I wait to be found, I wait to be helped. I am too weak to lift my head. I open my mouth to call to you and nothing comes out…”

We used Colin Gibson’s song, “Nothing is lost in the breath of God“.

Nothing is lost to the heart of God,
nothing is lost for ever;
God’s heart is love, and that love will remain,
holding the world for ever.
No impulse of love, no office of care,
no moment of life in its fulness;
no beginning too late, no ending too soon,
but is gathered and known in God’s goodness.

Click on the image below to play the video of a Mennonite College singing the song in YouTube (HD)

We used Queen’s music video for “My Life Has Been Saved”, “O”, directed by Nichola Bruce and included on the 2003 DVD, “Queen, The Films”. Freddie Mercury wrote the song for the Made in Heaven album, in the year before he died of AIDS. The video is beautiful, sensual and meaningful, and a little disturbing to people who are not keen on nudity in church. I had to reassure people that the film included belly buttons, and nothing more personal.

This is where we are today
People going separate ways
This is the way things are now
In disarray

I read it in the papers
There’s death on every page
Oh Lord, I thank the Lord above
My life has been saved

Here we go, telling lies
Here we go

Were right back where we started from
People going separate ways
This is the way things are now
In disarray

Click on the image below to play the video from the Queen HQ YouTube channel

All-age communion was connected with our Lent Event project for the week, supporting the people of Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. We had on display a killing stick from Papua New Guinea. Having an instrument of brutal execution alongside our communion table reminded us of the life and death difference a gospel of reconcilation makes to people in violent situations. People of all came forward for prayer for healing and support.

“Christ Be Our Light”, our final song, took on new significance as we reflected on being a community of light responding to the the sense of darkness that goes with grief.