Grace Uniting Church in Goulburn, New South Wales | Religious centre

Grace Uniting Church

Locality: Goulburn, New South Wales

Address: 43 Goldsmith St 2580 Goulburn, NSW, Australia

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25.01.2022 Sunday 27 September - Sermon - Is the Lord among us or not? (Exodus 17.1-7) God who thirsts, forgive us for not seeing you.... Forgive us for not seeing you through the precious gift of creation, affirmed through incarnation, and brought to devastation, by our lack of consideration for the land. Forgive us for not seeing you in the stranger at our door, who came, seeking something more, but was locked away offshore, because we did not know before, what it was to have no home. But as the flames engulf us now, and all hope at last seems lost: We give thanks, that you are not among the clouds, but here with us, incarnate, God who thirsts.

25.01.2022 Hi all, After Sunday. I'll be on leave for the next two weeks. Supper Church is on a break for school holidays. The Den will still meet via Discord on Friday 9 October. ... We are hoping for an Outdoor Adventure Church gathering in late October. Watch this space. For YOUR Worship guys, feel free to connect in with Goulburn via Zoom (let Julie know) or access Saltbush resources online: https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/ For Dare Cafe, RCA is having regular online gatherings and we strongly encourage you to join in. See you in a few weeks, Daniel

24.01.2022 Peter was so caught up on his own agenda he couldn't imagine Jesus the Messiah acting any other way. But Jesus calls him and us to imagine greater.

22.01.2022 Worship begins at 9am. Join us as we wrestle with the story of the Exodus. https://youtu.be/cXSwI8A69go

21.01.2022 Come and join us for worship this Sunday, 9am, via YouTube, to hear how God might be speaking to us in our period of disruption and change: https://youtu.be/M_bfyT6f5wY

21.01.2022 Our Good Friday Service is on at 9am tomorrow. If you are unable to be with us in person, consider joining us online at: https://youtu.be/QehPHdYr-xo

21.01.2022 We're live now, with worship beginning at 9am.

20.01.2022 Today (Sunday 19 July) New South Wales government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel and social gatherings: People are urged to avoid non-essential travel and gatherings. Of particular concern is transmission in venues such as hotels and restaurants, the gym and social gatherings. We are calling on people across the state to take extra care and follow these steps: Don’t leave home at all if you have any symptoms, except to get tested... At all times stay 1.5 m from other people Don’t go anywhere there is crowding Get tested, even if you have the mildest of symptoms Clean your hands regularly with soap and running water for 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand rub Cough and sneeze into your elbow Don’t host, or go to, a gathering of more than 10 people at home Don’t go to the gym unless the equipment is thoroughly cleaned before and after customer use by supervising staff or yourself, and there is good spacing between machines and customers All venues must have a COVID Safe plan, and ensure physical distancing between customers and staff, good hand hygiene, and check that no staff come to work with symptoms Consider use masks in situations where you are unable to social distance Let us live out our faith, by doing our part to love our neighbours.

19.01.2022 Grace Community News - November 2020 update is available now. https://mailchi.mp//grace-community-news-november-2020-upd

19.01.2022 Sermon: You are my covenant people (Exodus 20.1-17) Crookwell Uniting Church 7 March 2021 (Lent 3B) Rev. Daniel Mossfield... For over 400 years, the Hebrew people lived under the most horrendous hardship, suffering and exploitation. For they were, you see, slaves in the land of Egypt slaves whose only value was how much labour they could produce to keep the Egyptian economy running. Slaves, whose children were murdered systematically as part of a regime of racial oppression. Slaves who knew no God that could possibly care about them, so cried to the night for some God, any God, to hear their plight And one God did. The God of their ancestors. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God they had long since forgotten in the face of their oppression but the God who had not forgotten them or the covenant made with their ancestors: a promise that they would be a light to the nations. The God who would free them from the land of Egypt. The God who sent Moses and the plagues. The God who split the sea and vowed to lead the people to the promised land. And the God, who having freed the people’s bodies, now called them to Sinai in the wilderness to free their hearts and minds. It is in this context and only in this context that we can begin to hear the 10 words the 10 teachings (often mistranslated by us as the 10 commandments) that God speaks to Israel. ****** For those of us living in a relatively modern, affluent society, I suspect we have been taught to understand the law and the 10 teachings, as an imposition. After all, if we are free, as our politicians so often tell us we are, then anything which tells us what we can or cannot do must by definition be a limit on our freedom, no? Certainly, this is the way we talk about laws and taxes and rules in our culture. And while we generally accept that there are some laws, some rules, which are the price we pay for living in a civilized society and being safe in our homes at night, there is nevertheless a sense that rules restrict us and perhaps even punish us. Hence, we read today’s passage from Exodus, and call these the ten commandments. But, for a people who have been exploited, oppressed and abused to a people who recognize the ways they have been enslaved these words of the covenant God, spoken directly to them, are nothing short of a gift: the gift of a different kind of life. For God comes to this group of runaway slaves and says, ‘You who have suffered violence and oppression at the hands of others you that have been whipped and abused and watched your children torn from your arms you are free from murder. You will not live into cycles of vengeance and coercion and power over. You will not commit violence as others have committed violence against you for their violence does not get to define you. You are my covenant people.’ ‘And you that have barely been given enough rations to survive. You who have known what it is to have nothing, to hunger and to hoard the scraps you find you are free. You will not need to covet your neighbours’ possessions or lust after their wealth for you will have enough. In my kingdom there is enough, and it will be shared justly for all. You are my covenant people.’ ‘And you who have worked your whole lives for no recognition and little reward. You who have been told your value depends on how hard you work, and how much you contribute. You that struggle to know how you should now live when you can’t do the work you used to do. You who have been slaves to an economy that sees you only as a means of profit you are free. You are free to rest. You are free to stop. You are free to keep the Sabbath so that neither you nor my creation should be exploited to the point of collapse. For your value does not depend on what you do or how hard your work. Your value lies in the fact I have chosen you you are my covenant people.’ ‘And you who have known what it is to be unloved. You that have feared that no one and no God could possibly care about you. You that thought no one could see your suffering or hear your cries of anguish. You who are lost and don’t know who you are: I am the Lord your God, who has heard your pain, and brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You are my covenant people.’ ‘You are my covenant people.’ ******* You see, the decalogue, these 10 words, are so much more than commandments. They are 10 gifts that make up a way of life for a community of former slaves to live as the people of God free from violence, economic exploitation and injustice. They are the good news that God frees the covenant people to a different life a holy life. And they are good news not only for the people of God, but for all the world for God says is Exodus 19 that the point of this covenant is that ‘you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ A priestly kingdom. A holy nation. By living into this new kind of life this freedom that God has given them the people of the covenant do not only gain for their own sake but they become a priestly witness and a light for all nations that God’s freedom is real -that God’s freedom is real and is also for them. And while this covenant is, and always will be, addressed to Israel we dare to proclaim that in the life, death and resurrection of an ancient Jewish peasant, who not only spoke this Word of life, but also embodied it in the flesh God has grafted us onto this story this covenant this life. And so, this good news for Israel becomes also good news for us that we too are free. We are free to live a holy life not defined by the values of our society or economies or politics by defined by a God who has called us into a covenant relationship. So, I pray you will know the freedom of being God’s covenant people, that you will live into this life each day, and that God will use your life and our life as the people of God in this place, for the sake of the world. Let us pray Prayer of Confession (From Feasting on the Word Worship Companion. Westminster John Knox Press, Copyright 2013.) Merciful God, we turn your gifts into impositions, and reduce your covenant life to commandments. We fail to hear your promise of a different kind of life, and in so doing fall short of our call as a holy nation and a priestly people. And so we pray: Forgive us for worshiping anyone or anything except you; keep us faithful. Forgive us for failing to honor all our relationships with those closest to us and those who are distant neighbors. Help us to speak words of blessing and kindness, rather than words that belittle or destroy. Turn us away from violence, falsehood, and selfishness. And forgive us for thinking everything depends on our efforts and power, for you are the God who made us, led us out slavery, and has brought us into the community of faith. Help us to depend on you alone and to rest in your peace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

17.01.2022 Here is today's sermon, with thanks to Sarah Agnew : storyteller, poet, minister for the prayer at the end which brought it all together. Sermon: I AM WHO I AM... Proper 19A: Sunday 13 September 2020 Exodus 14.19-31 Rev. Daniel Mossfield (Crookwell Uniting Church) ‘Human life today is in danger’, said German Theologian Jurgen Moltmann in his 2019 book the Spirit of Hope. ‘It is not in danger because it is mortal. Our life has always been mortal. It is in danger because it is no longer loved, affirmed and accepted.’ I wonder if even Moltmann himself would have predicted how pertinent these words would become in just 12 months. For, right now, it really does feel like human existence is under threat. As we speak, the West Coast of the United States is on fire with record, devastating destruction and choking smoke haze eerily identical to that which we witnessed here only 9 months ago. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to run rampant, as politicians and protestors alike claim that their freedom to attend parties, travel across the country, and turn a profit should take precedence over the lives of elderly and vulnerable people who will continue to die of this disease if it is allowed to spread. And this week I have read reports of white Christians in America (and am left praying this isn’t also true of Australia) who have declared they would rather rise up in armed revolt against their government than have people with black and brown skin become their social equals. They would rather die, than give up their privilege and power over others. ******** It is in this climate and context that we hear today’s word from Scripture - the story of Pharaoh and his soldiers pursuing the Israelite slaves, after having let them go free. And there is something about this story that is deeply unsettling. For, Pharaoh has already lost. In the events that we know as the 10 plagues of Egypt, a huge cosmic conflict has played out in the lives of these humans, as I AM WHO I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has systematically defeated Pharaoh’s gods one by one. Hapi, the god of the Nile, defeated when the waters of the river are stained as blood. Heket, the frog-headed goddess of fertility, overcome by God’s ability to conjure a plague of frogs AND dismiss them at will. Ra, the sun god, reduced to irrelevance by God’s decision to blot out the sun for three days and leave the land mirroring the darkness inside Pharaoh’s own heart. Indeed, in the events of the Passover this God of Israel has even demonstrated power over life and death itself a power Pharaoh believed to be his and his alone - by sparing the Hebrews whilst killing the first-born sons of Egypt. And while that 10th plague may be uncomfortable for our modern minds, it does have a poetic justice that Pharaoh, whose predecessor had ordered the first-born sons of the Hebrews killed, has reaped the death of his own children. The one who sows blood, harvests blood. So, Pharaoh, a walking god on earth who believed his own power to be supreme, is crushed by the God who remembers the covenant and has come to set the slaves free. And Pharaoh’s last words to Moses are these: ‘Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites. Go, worship the LORD, as you said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you said, and be gone. And bring a blessing on me too!’ Pharaoh is defeated, humbled before the true power of God. And perhaps if that is where the story ended, we would be more comfortable with it. Behold, the good news, God has saved Israel, and let the slaves go free! ******* Unfortunately for us, Scripture is rarely so neat and tidy, and our wrestling with the text is far from done. For Pharaoh has a change of heart and raises his army to pursue the slaves into the wilderness. For what end is not clear: to recapture them, or simply to leave them lying dead in the desert sun? Either way, this is surely an act of madness. Pharaoh and his armies have seen the power of the God who has come to set the people free. What do they hope to possibly achieve in this course of action? How can we account for such insanity? The answer it seems is that the cosmic battle is not yet done. The forces of chaos and violence, of death and destruction have sunk their claws into their human victims and are not willing to give up quite so easily. Growing up in Germany in the lead up to the Second World War, Moltmann observed the brutal consequences that this worship of death could have: ‘I remember that we had this love of death in Europe some 60 years ago, he said. Viva la muerte, cried an old fascist general in the Spanish Civil War. Long live death! The German SS troops in the Second World War had the saying Death gives, and death takes away and wore the symbol of the skull and bones. It is not possible to deter suicidal assassins, for they have broken the fear of death. They do not love life anymore, and they want to die with their victims [] Death then, becomes a fascinating divinity inflaming a desire for destruction. This apocalyptic religion of death is the real enemy of the will to live, the love of life, and the affirmation of being.’ ******* In the story of the Exodus we see the power of this force of death writ large, as out of fear or spite or a desire for revenge, the forces of Pharaoh enter into the sea of Chaos and are drowned like the Hebrew babes they had slaughtered. You see, the Israelites are not the only victims of Pharaoh’s hardened heart. For when we buy into the madness of Pharaoh, when we get swept up in the way of death in order to preserve our own power, or slay our fears, we too are walking a path that can only end in devastation. Death, or Sin, or Evil, is a real and destructive force in our world. And a warning of this passage is that this seductive power will destroy not only those of us it makes victims, but also those of us it makes oppressors. Privilege, wealth, and property are no protection. Violence begets violence, and death begets death. ******* And so, I am left struggling to find the good news in this passage because, whilst obviously the good news is that God frees Israel and overcomes the powers of chaos, I can’t help wondering where that leaves me. Because, maybe, just maybe, I am more like Pharaoh’s soldiers than I might like to admit. Maybe I have been guilty of profiting from the enslavement of others, making cheap goods for me to consume and dispose of at will. Maybe I have been willing to allow the destruction of God’s good creation for the sake of my own standard of living and comfort. Maybe I have followed Pharaoh’s commands to hate my neighbours from other nations, tribes or ethnicities, and turned a blind eye as Pharaoh locks them away indefinitely. Maybe I have been guilty of fearing Death more than I fear God. And so, I struggle with this passage, and am left with questions for God: Why did you harden Pharaoh’s heart at the end? I know he had hardened his own heart many times before, but why did you have to harden it further? Were they all so far gone, that they had to die? Could you not have redeemed them? Does that mean that I too am beyond redemption? If we are to be followers of the way of life and resurrection, how, God, can we condone these deaths? And, in our own time of chaos and destruction, how can we possibly hold out hope that life will prevail and that we too won’t be overcome by the sea? ********** I AM WHO I AM. I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. I AM the One who called Abraham to take a risk and walk into the wilderness. I AM the One who blessed Isaac and Israel. I AM the One who heard my people’s cries and delivered them from slavery. I AM the One who set my people apart as a holy nation, a priesthood to serve the world. I AM the One who came in flesh, to walk among my creation, and affirm all that is good. I AM the Good Shepherd, the Way of Life. I AM the One who became forsaken on the cross for the sake of the god forsaken. I AM the One that entered the very jaws of death, to burst the gates of hell, and bring life where there is none. I AM the One who rose again. I AM the One that triumphs over death. And I AM the One bringing life, even now. Let us pray Prayer of Confession (Sarah Agnew, Where we stand: stories of liberation, http://praythestory.blogspot.com.) Oh, Holy One, we understand the need for stories of vanquished enemies, of victory for 'us' and defeat for 'them'; the need to name the feeling that we have escaped, to feel certain those who chase can no longer pursue we need to know that we are free. We understand the need for stories that shout our anger, release our fear, inflict our desire for vengeance, enact our hope for justice but, Holy One, we also know that these stories paint you into a box of vengeance, wrath, violence, and we are content to leave you there so we may follow our anger through to action and feel justified, verified, holier than we may actually be. So, Holy One, we are sorry we keep you wrapped in anger, and we are sorry for looking back angry ourselves without seeking a path to peace. Holy One, as we tell the stories passed on to us through time, help us find you in the stories, truly, fully, Holy One of liberation, of promise, of presence, with the oppressed; and help us to see clearly where we stand today, which may be on the other side of the parted, enclosing waters. Amen.

15.01.2022 Is the Lord among us or not? Come and join us for worship from 9am as we ponder this question from the book of Exodus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfzFOXaSp_0&feature=youtu.be

15.01.2022 A reminder YOUR Worship is on tonight, 5.30pm, in the Northern Room (Wesley Centre on Goldsmith St).

14.01.2022 Remember... you are invited to follow the Ordination of Geoff Wellington by the Canberra Region Presbytery and the Inductions of Geoff Wellington and Tim Jensen... into the work of Saltbush within the Synod of NSW & ACT. Join us at 1pm tomorrow (Saturday 28th.) via this Zoom link: https://uca-nswact.zoom.us/j/92018563038 See more

13.01.2022 Here is the link for worship this Sunday, as we ponder where God is in our present circumstances, and how we might be the church today. https://youtu.be/Xs9qYv4obro

13.01.2022 This Sunday, we will mark the start of the Season of Creation in worship using resources provided by Common Grace. Feel free to join us for worship, Sunday 9am. https://youtu.be/jkarc5o4CN4

12.01.2022 Recently Daniel spoke with Rev Mark Faulkner from the Saltbush Community about ministry in the bush, ministry in a secular age, and the future directions to which God might be calling the Church. You can listen here.

10.01.2022 A cold and possibly snowy day here in Crookwell tomorrow. Good thing you can worship with us without leaving the house. Join us for worship from 9am as we ponder 'disobeying Pharaoh'.

09.01.2022 Grace / Dare Cafe members are invited to Join RCA on Sunday evening from 6.45 for 7pm start

09.01.2022 Sermon: We shall see what becomes of his dreams Proper 14A: Sunday 9 August 2020 Genesis 37.1-28 Rev. Daniel Mossfield Crookwell Uniting Church... (Full service available: https://youtu.be/oDX6dgIqR6w) When Nicki and I are watching television or Netflix, I have a bad habit of getting out of my chair and leaving the room whenever there is an ‘awkward’ scene. I find it particularly hard to watch any tragic, disastrous, or downright stupid situation unfolding that could have been easily avoided if only the characters had acted in a way that was more sensible or considerate. And at first glance, our reading from Genesis today seems one such situation. For here we have the start of the story of Joseph, which carries on until the end of Genesis. And today’s part of the story is one we might know quite well from Sunday School or from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’, though you will notice in our reading today that Joseph’s coat is not described as colourful. It’s a story with all the best foundations for any soap opera. Jealousy. Betrayal. Complex family dynamics. A tragic situation that could easily have been avoided. Indeed, we might find ourselves yelling at the television: ‘Jacob don’t play favourites! Every parent knows that is a bad idea.’ ‘Joseph, why would you tell that dream to your brothers. Don’t you know they already hated you!’ ‘Oh, no! Why would you send him out to report on his brothers?! How could you think that was going to end well!’ ‘If only they had all maintained the status quo! If only Joseph hadn’t rocked the boat. But he brought this on himself!’ ********** When we retell the Joseph story this way, it becomes very tempting for us to see things from the brothers’ point of view and thus to defend their actions. Afterall, Joseph had arrogantly paraded before them his dreams of ruling over them. Jacob had disturbed the natural power balance of the Ancient Near East, by giving preferential treatment to the younger son. Joseph had snitched on his brothers for their bad behaviour and landed them in trouble with their father. This upstart younger brother was daring to dream a dream beyond his station that would have life-altering implications for all of them. So, why shouldn’t the brothers be upset and angry? Why shouldn’t they seek to put him back in his place? And beware! For herein lies the trap. For when the reading says that the brothers ‘conspired’ to kill Joseph, the Hebrew term is perhaps better translated as they ‘caused deceit to themselves.’ ‘They caused deceit to themselves.’ For they convinced themselves that the most heinous and immoral acts were just and justified. They performed ethical aerobics to explain away the most callous crime the murder of a brother. And when the consciences of at least a couple of them niggled away to the point that they realized murder at their own hands was utterly unjustifiable, they instead moved onto other cruelties: They stripped him of his identity and his status, both as their brother and a beloved son, leaving his dignity and humanity laying tattered on the ground with his robe. They threw him into a dark pit of despair, to die at the hands of nature so that they may feel less guilty because they hadn’t plunged the knife in themselves. That is, until they realized they could make more money by selling him into a life of slavery and torment. Why end his life quickly when we can get rich at his longsuffering? And then, they have the gall to believe that enslaving their brother is an act of kindness because at least they did not kill him. That’s one hell of a morality. The brothers valued ‘profit’ over ‘brotherhood’, and then sought to pat themselves on the back for it. ‘They caused deceit to themselves.’ And we do too, if we believe this to be a story of helpless tragedy in which all characters are equally ‘at fault’. Because when we do when we excuse away the actions of the brothers and strip them of their moral agency - we do little more than seek to let ourselves off the hook. For if there is any response, we should be making to the Joseph story, it isn’t a defense of the brothers’ actions. Instead, we should find ourselves asking some hard questions: 1) What price have we been willing to sell our fellow humans for? 2) Who are the ‘upstarts’ whose dreams have we sought to crush and put back in their place? 3) What are the ways we justify violence? And, 4) How do we reconcile ourselves with a national history that involves profiting off stolen land and enslaved peoples? ******* Normally, in a sermon, this would be the moment where I perform some aerobics of my own and bring us from the tension and the trouble to the good news of God’s action in the reading. And while in the rest of the Joseph story we will find such good news, in this passage God seems scarily absent. As evil is perpetrated by brother against brother, God has disappeared, or perhaps been moved aside by the human actors once again. And we are left asking ‘where are you God?’ as the scene ends with Joseph, stripped, in chains, dragged away to a foreign land while his brothers ponder how best to spend the 20 pieces of silver, they earned off his back. Here, now, the presence of God remains a little less than an allusion: a sniff of a hint, pointed at only by Jacob’s move from indignation to pondering the possibility of some greater, transcendent reality unfolding in Joseph’s dreams. And while the discomfort of this moment makes it tempting to get off the couch, change the channel and leave the room, so we don’t have to witness the suffering and sit with the anxiety of a seemingly absent God, looking away now means we might miss the ending. For ironically, the hope in this passage rests in the words of the brothers themselves: ‘We shall see what becomes of his dreams’. Indeed, we shall. Amen.

08.01.2022 Outdoor Adventure Church this week. Sunday 28th 11am Starting point: Marden Weir carpark for a river walk. If anyone would like a lift to the starting point let Berry know and they'll collect you on the way into town.

08.01.2022 What we call normal today is recent.

07.01.2022 Happy Friday. A reminder we are worshiping together again this Sunday (in person and online) from 9am. For those looking to join us online, here is the link: https://youtu.be/2-t3QGTTYNk

06.01.2022 Sermon: At the hands of these women (Judges 4.1-10) Proper 28A 8 November 2020 Rev. Daniel Mossfield... Through the history of the Church, whenever male leaders have wanted to keep women out of positions of power, they have been quick to cite a verse from the 1st letter to Timothy in the New Testament: ‘I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent.’ (1 Timothy 2.12) It seems apparent to me that whoever wrote this passage was unfamiliar with the story of Deborah from the book of Judges. For here we have a woman imbued with authority, discernment, wisdom and leadership: a woman described as a prophet and judge who helps lead the Israelites into battle against their enemies. Yet, I wonder how many of us are familiar with this part of Scripture? When we did a series on women in the Old Testament during Bible Study last year, a constant lament by those who attended was, ‘why have we never heard of these women before? Why have we never heard these passages preached on a Sunday?’ It is a question worth reflecting on. Why is it that most of us in the Church would be comfortable naming male prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah and Jeremiah, but would struggle to name the female prophets Miriam, Deborah and Huldah? Why do we know the apostles Peter and Paul, and the deacon Phillip, but not the apostle Junia or the deacon Phoebe? And why is it that the book of Judges only comes up on our lectionary once every three years? This is it. This is the only time you will hear any reading from Judges in Church unless the preacher decides to go off lectionary for a few weeks and I have already extended the reading beyond what the lectionary actually sets out. I wonder how much poorer we have been as a Church for our ignorance of these stories. ********* So, given this may be the only time you hear the book of Judges read in worship for a while, let me give you a quick summary. The book of Judges is defined by a cyclical theology with which we may be uncomfortable. It goes like this: First, Israel does evil, breaks the covenant and abandons God. As a consequence, God sends or allows a foreign army to conquer and oppress Israel. After some time of suffering, Israel then remembers God and cries out to God for help. God then raises up a judge not a judge in our modern sense, but a ruler or governor or military leader to deliver the Israelites from their bondage. The Israelites then enjoy a time of peace and prosperity, until the judge dies, they forget who they are, and do evil again. And so, the cycle continues. Basically, the theology of Judges is do good and God will look after you; do bad, God will punish you. Not the most Jesus like sentiment. However, while we may disagree with this general theology of Judges, the text isn’t without grace. For when Israel realises their plight and cries for help, God hears. And when God hears, God sends deliverance to the people through the words and actions of human agents. And in our passage today, the 3rd such cycle in the book of Judges, the leader God has raised up for Israel is the prophet Deborah. ********** At this point, we hear, that the Israelites have been suffering for 20 years under the iron rule of King Jabin and his general Sisera. Imagine how desperate you might feel after 20 years of oppression. Perhaps even desperate enough to pray? Well, the people finally cry out to God, and God sends them Deborah to speak on God’s behalf to Barak. ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, Go, take position at Mount Tabor I will draw out Sisera and I will give him into your hand. But Barak refuses to ride to battle unless Deborah rides at the front of the army with him. It is unclear why Barak won’t go without Deborah. Some have seen in Barak’s words a sign of deep respect for Deborah’s leadership that he was unable or unwilling to lead the army without her present. Others instead interpret Barak’s actions as a sign of cowardice an unwillingness to trust that this word is from God. Perhaps, he thinks, that if something goes wrong and the battle is lost, he can lay blame more easily at Deborah’s feet. If this is Barak’s plan, however, he will find himself disappointed for Deborah makes clear that if she rides to battle with him then God will deliver Sisera, not into Barak’s hands, but ‘into the hands of a woman.’ And this is precisely what happens. Yet, ironically, the woman who ultimately drives a tent peg through Sisera’s temple and ends his reign of terror over Israel is not Deborah, but a nobody called Jael. And this is the good news of this passage that God delivers Israel at the hands of these women Deborah the prophet and Jael the nobody. *********** Of course, if this story was set in the Church in more recent times, with the people of God suffering and in need of God’s deliverance, I suspect it might have a different ending. For when Deborah rose up to speak on God’s behalf, no doubt some male pastor would have stood up and shouted her down with the words, ‘I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man.’ And even in the Uniting Church, where we have had the ordination of women since before union in 1977, I still encounter these attitudes amongst many men in the Church. I have watched female colleagues be disrespected, ignored and talked over. I have heard congregations question their authority, their clothing and even their sex lives in ways that I as a male minister have never had to experience. And just in case we were tempted to see such treatment of women only as an object of the past, just this week the news has been filled with women in others workplaces being subjected to sexual harassment and power games, and then having their voices dismissed as they tried to speak up. And as I hear the story of Deborah, I can’t help but wonder whether we would have listened or instead would have chosen to stay in this place of oppression rather than acknowledge God was moving in a way we had as yet not anticipated. For if we fail to listen, we may fail to be delivered. So, what then should we do with the words of the author of the 1st letter to Timothy, that he ‘does not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man’? Well, he may not permit it, but God doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo. For the good news is that God delivers Israel at the hands of these women. The good news is that God speaks and acts through all people, regardless of their gender. And the good news is that God may just deliver us through the voice of the one whose story we have ignored. So, to my fellow men, may we have the humility to listen. And to the women of this congregation and across all times, hear the good news that the failure of men to listen to you, does not prevent God from speaking powerfully and authoritatively through you. So, please, let your stories be heard our very liberation may depend on it. Amen.

06.01.2022 The Uniting Church is holding an online course each Thursday from September 3 to December 3. Exploring the New Testament is an opportunity for bible study groups or faith communities to spend time together. It also can lead to accreditation as a Lay Preacher for individuals. Morning and evening sessions are available. The course will be conducted safely via Zoom. If you are interested, there is more information at https://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/event/expl-nt-via-zoom-202009/ The course costs $40, and registrations close August 27th.

06.01.2022 30 August 2020 - Sermon - Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep Exodus 3.1-15 & Romans 12.9-21

06.01.2022 Sermon: Disobeying Pharaoh Proper 16A: Sunday 23 August 2020 Exodus 1.8-2.10 Rev. Daniel Mossfield (Crookwell Uniting Church)... Last week we heard the story of how, by being attentive to God’s dreams and visions, Joseph had managed to save his family, and the entire nation of Egypt from a severe famine that struck the land. We discovered together how God used an upstart younger brother, who had been stripped of his dignity and humanity and sold into slavery, to liberate and save the very ones that had imprisoned and oppressed him in the first place. You would think then that the story of Joseph might act as a cautionary tale a warning against oppressing others lest we find ourselves working against the very saving acts of God. Perhaps, even acting against our own salvation. Yet, our reading this week once again begins with a tale of violence and oppression. Some time has passed, and a new Pharaoh has risen in the land. And this Pharaoh has not bothered to learn from history. It is either beneath him or inconvenient to his lust for power. But we are told that this Pharoah, is ignorant of how God had used an Israelite a foreigner an outsider to save his people in generations past. Instead, he has elected to sow seeds of fear and paranoia; and reap a harvest of blood. For Pharaoh, the most powerful person in the land, who commands the army, the treasury and the very gods of Egypt themselves, has decided that his power is threatened by this group of foreigners. And so he stands up in the halls of power and proclaims, ‘we are in danger of being swamped by Israelites.’ ************** Now, whether Pharaoh believes in his own delusions is unclear. The reading does not tell us whether Pharaoh is genuinely made paranoid and afraid by his lust for power, or if indeed this is simply a cynical political ploy to appeal to the worst instincts of his people. Perhaps it doesn’t matter. The fruits of his rhetoric are just as deadly, either way: ruthlessly imprisoning and enslaving an entire group of people; and, ordering the vile murder of any Hebrew boys. Once you choose to demonize an entire group of people, seeking to purge them from existence is only a small step away. And if this story sounds familiar to you, perhaps it should. For, such acts of demonization, oppression and violence are not the sole ownership of any one Pharaoh but the common tool of empire throughout history. Spain, during the Inquisition. Germany, during the 1930s. Bethlehem, with the birth of a small baby fleeing the murderous intentions of Herod. Today, closer to home ‘History does not repeat itself,’ Mark Twain is reputed to have said. ‘But it often rhymes.’ And that, ironically, might be good news. Because, as the story of Joseph revealed to us, our God has a history of showing up in unexpected ways, when oppression is at its very worst, subverting it for the sake of the Kingdom. So, why not now? *********** Yet, upon hearing of the plight of the Israelites in today’s reading, one would not blame them for losing hope. From circumstances beyond their control, they have found themselves prisoners to a system of injustice in which they have no voice and no power. For those of you who are parents, or grandparents, imagine for a moment the utter grief - the tearing apart of your chest - as your newborn child is ripped from your arms as a matter of government policy. Wouldn’t you collapse in a screaming heap of agony? Wouldn’t you curl up in a ball of rage? I think I might simply cease functioning as a person. And I’m pretty sure I would find myself wondering where the hell God could possibly be in the midst of this: ‘Where is this God who promised us a land in Canaan? Where is this God who promised us children and descendants? Where is this God who promised to make us a great nation, not just a race of enslaved animals?’ ******** And for this reason, I am deeply captured by the faith of two women in this story, the names of whom most of us have probably never heard: Shiphrah and Puah. These two women we are told, are Hebrew midwives. And to be clear, in the context of a passage all about the enslavement of the Hebrew people, this also means these midwives are slaves. They have no status. No power. To disobey the commands of a master, for them almost certainly means death. And these two women these nobodies are brought before the most powerful man in Egypt a walking god and given the command to kill all the baby Israelite boys. And not only do they actively disobey Pharaoh, but they also outwit and trick him, lying to his face about what they have done. For these women, Shiphrah and Puah, who have everything to lose, are not afraid of Pharaoh for they fear God. They understand where true power rests, and that it isn’t in the paranoid ramblings of a man who would be king, but in the compassion of a God who has called them to be a people. So, these women perform the one, simple act of defiance open to them, at great risk to themselves, because it is the right thing to do. And in this, they are not alone. For there are another 2 women and a young girl in this story who each actively disobey Pharaoh’s orders: including Pharaoh’s own daughter. ******** But I wonder if we would Would we be willing to break the law for the sake of God’s justice? Would we be willing to risk death at the hands of those more powerful than us? Would we disobey our own government, and families, to save the life of even one foreign child who had been scapegoated for political gain? There is a time when being faithful means disobeying Pharaoh. And that’s utterly terrifying. For, in the face of evil and injustice, we can feel too small, too powerless, and too unskilled to act. And more than that many of us were raised to believe that being a good Christian meant being an obedient citizen. In Western Christendom, being a faithful Christian meant being a ‘good’ Australian, or American, or Brit (or wherever you happened to call home). The idea that being a person of faith might sometimes mean disobeying the law, seems utterly outrageous, and at the very least may leave us feeling deeply uncomfortable. One of my great fears, is that we as humans lack the discernment to know when we should obey the law, and when we should break it. When are we truly acting for God’s justice in the world, and when are we instead acting out of our own selfishness, or comfort, or lust for power, as I suspect is the case around some of the dialogue about masks during this COVID crisis? Yet, despite our objections, these fierce, faithful women dared to disobey Pharaoh. And we are forced to wrestle with this reality, by what God does next. For God does not condemn the women for their acts of defiance. Instead, God ‘deals well’ with them, and uses the fruit of their labour, a child called Moses, to liberate all of Israel from Pharaoh’s violence. And this is the good news of this passage: God takes these simple acts of disobedience by those without power and transforms them into acts of God’s own salvation. *************** Of course, this still might not sound like good news to those of us who have always benefited from Pharaoh and his laws. It certainly does not answer our questions or overcome many of our objections. It may not leave us feeling any wiser, or more empowered to act. But for those of us who are currently enslaved and oppressed, or for those that we as a nation have played a part in demonizing and dehumanizing, it is nothing short of the promise of God’s presence and deliverance. It is a revelation that Pharaoh’s reign of cruelty is doomed to come undone at the hands of God’s compassion. And it is the truth, that we can only be the people of God by the grace of a God who takes who we are, and what we do, and transforms us for the sake of Christ’s Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. So, may we find God at work in the smallest acts of justice; for Pharaoh’s violent reign is ended, and God’s people are free. Amen.

05.01.2022 20 September 2020 - SERMON - Then the quail came (Exodus 16.2-15) God's provision in the wilderness is perhaps as unsatisfying as worship via Youtube. But, maybe, just maybe, it is enough.

04.01.2022 For those joining us online for worship this morning (especially given the wet weather), here is the link: https://youtu.be/6WKR8DFzZiM

03.01.2022 We're live. Join us as we worship God and celebrate the Season of Creation https://youtu.be/jkarc5o4CN4

01.01.2022 Come and join us for worship this Sunday from 9am, as we wrestle with a difficult text: the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers (with beauti...ful music from Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, The Many, and Heather Price; and the reading brought to us by Glenda). https://youtu.be/oDX6dgIqR6w See more

01.01.2022 Advent in Two Minutes An oldie but still a goodie! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC0FGQLBp7w