Third Sunday in the Season of Creation (Australian Version 2)
Outback Sunday We worship with creation in the Outback
‘Let the wilderness lift up its voice’. Isaiah 42:11
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
In the name of the Creator, the fountain of life, the name of Christ, the pulse of life, and the name of the Spirit, the breath of life. Amen. Holy! Holy! Holy! Earth is filled with God’s presence.
The Lord of life be with you. And also with you.
Christ, we gather in your name to worship in this sanctuary called Earth, a planet filled with your presence, quivering in the forests, vibrating in the land, pulsating in the wilderness, shimmering in the rivers.
God, reveal yourself to us in this place, and show us your face in all creation. Holy! Holy! Holy! Earth is filled with God’s presence.
We invite the Outback to worship with us: Uluru and the red centre, deep gorges and mountain ranges.
We invite the flora to sing in the sun: ghost gums and spinifex, mallee trees and Sturt’s desert pea.
We join with the fauna of the Outback in praising God: roaming dingos and wallabies, old goannas and hovering hawks.
We invite the Dreaming to join us in praise: songs of ancient custodians deep in the rock, spirits of life deep in the sand and the hills.
We celebrate the song of the Outback! Sing, Outback, sing!
We invite you to name Outback creatures to join us in worship.
The names of other creatures or parts of the Outback may be added by members of the congregation.
We celebrate the song of the Outback! Sing, Outback, sing!
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
As we rub this Outback stone in our hands we remember the Outback, a desert or somewhere in the wild where we have visited or lived. O God, we thank you for the wonders of creation and the gift of the Outback.
We remember and confess how we have destroyed wild domains in the Outback. Christ, from the wilderness, hear our cry.
We regret that we have forgotten Earth and treated this garden planet as a beast to be tamed and a place to be ruled. Christ, the hope of all creation, we lament our failings.
We have polluted deserts with radioactive waste, we have torn holes in the ozone layer, we have desecrated sacred sites in the Outback and we have destroyed the homes of wild creatures. Christ, the source of all life, we are sorry. We are sorry.
Christ hears your confession out in the wilderness and forgives your sins against the Outback, Christ, teach us to love Earth and return to Earth as our home.
I speak for Christ: I invite you to come home to Earth by rejoicing in the Outback. Shalom! Shalom! We are coming home!
As we come home to Earth, Christ, have mercy.
As we seek to love our home, Christ, have mercy.
As we seek to care for our planet, Christ, have mercy.
Glory to God in the highest! And on Earth peace with all creation!
Let us pray.
The community may pray silently. The following collect is said or sung.
God, our Creator, whose glory fills our planet, help us to discern your vibrant presence among us, especially in the wonders of the wild in our Outback. Help us empathise with your Outback creatures who are suffering. Lift our spirits to rejoice with the wild world of the Outback. We ask this in the name of Christ, who reconciles and renews all things in creation. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
mourning of the wild’ — Some may assume that only humans suffer anguish when there is a disaster, whether from nature or war. Joel reminds us that at such times the ground mourns and the creatures of the wild cry out to God.
This is the word of God. Thanks be to God.
16. Psalm 18 verses 1 to 19. ‘The wild forces of creation’ — The psalm writer remembers how God employed the fierce forces of creation to intervene and rescue him.
‘The groaning of creation’ — The gospel message of this text makes it clear that not only human beings are waiting for liberation. Creation is also longing for that day as a mother about to give birth.
18. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew chapter 3 verse 13 to chapter 4 verse 1.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
‘Jesus in the wild of the wilderness’ — When Jesus is baptised, the Spirit that fills all of Earth now fills Christ in a special way. In response, Jesus retires to the wilderness to connect with creation. In Mark’s version the wild animals and the angels join Jesus.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
God creates all things, renews all things and celebrates all things. This we believe.
Earth is a sanctuary, a sacred planet filled with God’s presence, a home for us to share with our kin. This we believe.
God became flesh and blood a piece of Earth, a human being called Jesus Christ, who lived and breathed and spoke among us, suffered and died on a cross, for all human beings and for all creation. This we believe.
The risen Jesus is the Christ at the centre of creation reconciling all things to God, renewing all creation and filling the cosmos. This we believe.
The Holy Spirit renews life in creation groans in empathy with a suffering creation and waits with us for the rebirth of creation. This we believe.
We believe that with Christ we will rise and with Christ we will celebrate a new creation.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Jesus Christ, teach us to be at one with Earth. Make our spirits sensitive to the cries of creation, cries for justice from the hills and the trees. Jesus Christ, make our faith sensitive to the groans of the Spirit from the deserts, the salt plains, the winds. Jesus Christ, make our souls sensitive to the songs of our kin, songs of celebration from the sea, the land, and the air. Christ, teach us to care. Amen.
THE GREETING OF PEACE
Christ has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross. We meet in Christ’s name and share God’s peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.
God, our Creator, through your love you have given us these gifts to share. Accept our offerings as an expression of our deep thanks and signs of our concern for those in need, including our fellow creatures on planet Earth. With all creation, we praise our Creator.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
25. A Prayer of Thanksgiving. The presiding minister takes the bread and wine for the communion, places them on the Lord’s table and says the following or an authorised Prayer of Thanksgiving.
The Creator be with you and all creation. And also with you.
Open your hearts. We open them to our Creator.
Let us give thanks to the Maker of heaven and earth. It is right to join creation in thanking God.
It is right to give you thanks, loving Creator. Your word is the impulse for all things to be, for space, stars and stardust to appear, for Earth to emerge from the deep, for life to be born of Earth and for humans to be born of Earth and the Spirit.
Your Spirit is the life impulse in all things, renewing the barren and healing the wounded, groaning in anticipation of a new creation, stirring a new life born of water and the Spirit.
You chose to be born a human being, to become a part of Earth, to suffer, die and rise from death to redeem humankind, renew creation, and affirm all born of Earth and the Spirit.
Your presence is the living impulse in all things, the Christ deep among us, filling Earth—land, sea and air—filling every element and place, filling the grain and the grape we share with you this day.
Therefore with angels and archangels, ancient voices in the forest, high voices from the sky, deep voices from the sea and the whole company of creation, we proclaim your presence among us.
Holy, holy, holy, God of all life, Earth and sea and sky are full of your presence and glorify your name. Amen.
THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD AND THE COMMUNION
Come, for all things are now ready. Come to the table with all your kin and share with all in need: the gift of healing for those in pain, the gift of forgiveness for those in sin, the gift of assurance for those in doubt, and the gift of hope for those in tears. May we who share these gifts share Christ with one another and all our kin.
Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against God, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against Earth, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away all sin from the world, receive our prayer.
THE SENDING OUT OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us give thanks for this meal.
The people say the following prayer or another suitable prayer.
We thank you, Christ, for the meal we have celebrated with you, and we pray that through your body and blood we may be healed and become agents of healing for Earth. Amen.
Christ calls you to be his disciples, to serve him with love and compassion, to serve Earth by caring for creation, especially the Outback that God has created to evoke in us awe and wonder and praise.
We will follow our crucified Lord, listening for cries of injustice from Earth, and groaning with creation.
We will follow the risen Christ to become partners in healing our planet.
We will care for creation, honouring the Outback, loving our kin and celebrating life.
Now may the penetrating power of Christ’s body and blood reach deep into your heart, your mind and your body to heal your wounds and, through you, to bring healing to Earth, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
or
May the Spirit of God, who is above all and in all and through all, fill you with the knowledge of God’s presence in Earth and the pulsing of Christ in creation, through whom all things are reconciled and renewed. Amen.
Go in peace, serving Christ and loving Earth! We go in peace, serving Christ and tending Earth.
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