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61

Church planter to take on local mission role

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Church planter Nathan Hedt will be LCA/NZ’s next Pastor for New and Renewing Churches.

Pastor Nathan, who has served the Lakeside church plant at Pakenham in outer suburban Melbourne for the past six years, will take up the role early in 2021. He succeeds Rev Dr Noel Due, who is retiring after being in the position since January 2018 and having been a mentor to Pastor Nathan.

Pastor Nathan will remain based in Melbourne for his new post, which also includes managing the New and Renewing Churches Department of the LCA/NZ’s Local Mission office. While he will be sad to leave Pakenham, he believes God has been preparing him for the new challenge.

‘I think God’s been shaping me towards a role like this for a while’, he said. ‘The church-planting experience is really difficult but is also incredibly joyful and has been really good in shaping me towards this. My heart of an evangelist which wants people to hear and understand the good news for themselves is important in this. And I think also I have an ability to teach and to convey some of the excitement and the content about evangelism and church planting.’

LCA/NZ Executive Officer for Local Mission Dr Tania Nelson said she was excited to have Pastor Nathan join the team in a fulltime capacity.

‘I know God has been at work developing in Nathan the skills required for furthering and inspiring the church-planting movement in the LCA/NZ’, she said. ‘He comes to us with a heart for God’s mission, a good understanding of church planting in action, membership of the former interim Board for Local Mission and the current Committee for New and Renewing Churches and post-grad studies in mission.’

She also paid tribute to Pastor Noel’s service. ‘Noel has been an integral part of the growth in the LCA’s church-planting movement’, she said. ‘He has been a coach, trainer and pastor to many. We thank God for his pastoral care, his theological insights, his wise shepherding and wonderful contribution to local mission resources.’

Married to Yvette with three young adult daughters, Pastor Nathan was ordained as a pastor in the LCA in December 2003. He served Nambour parish on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast from 2004 to 2008, before becoming Pastor for Tertiary and Youth Ministry for the Victoria-Tasmania District from 2008 to 2014.

62

Church@Home December 2020

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CHURCH@HOME www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Blessings from everyday faith-life support

Even as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease around Australia and New Zealand, we know that not everyone has been able to return to in-person worship with their faith family. For this reason, and because even those able to attend face-to-face church services receive blessings through an active home-worship life, we will continue sharing special devotional materials to support LCA/NZ members. Most of these are from the Church@Home resources collection on a special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome. There is also other faith-building content available through this page. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print off some resources and mail or deliver them to those who may otherwise miss out?

–Lisa

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP 

These reflections are from a fresh set of devotions written for our LCA/NZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the Church@Home resources. You can find these and more on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

A divided heart by Chelsea Pietsch

‘You have not lied just to human beings but to God’ (Acts 5:4).

Read Acts 5:1–11.

When Christ calls us to follow him, the call is absolute. Drop everything, come. Jesus shakes up our world.

Understandably, this can cause us some uncertainty or even anxiety. We want to follow Jesus, but we’re also scared about what it will mean for us. We’re nervous about letting go of our place in the world. These fears can lead to hypocrisy. We want to appear to our friends in the church to be trusting Christ, but sometimes the things we do in secret suggest otherwise.

In our passage, we meet a couple, Ananias and Saphira, who struggle with this very thing. They are a wealthy couple who sell a piece of property, and they pretend to bring all of the proceeds to the apostles to distribute according to need, as was the custom in the early church (see Acts 4:32–37 for further context). But in reality, they keep some of the money for themselves.

When Peter asks them directly whether the amount they handed over was the full amount, they lie. He sees their lie and calls it out. But God sees their lie, too, and they fall dead. Their death is a result of their hypocrisy.

Have you ever told a lie to preserve an image of yourself as an upright Christian? What are some things you are reluctant to relinquish for fear of losing your place in the world?

Dear Lord, forgive us when we have lied to ourselves, to others, and you. Protect us from hypocrisy, and let your gospel bear fruit in us. Amen.  

Attitude to authority by Pastor Joshua Pfeiffer

‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God’ (Romans 13:1).

Read Romans 13:1–7.

Sometimes Christians who claim to surrender to Christ as the Lord of their life are at the same time quite dismissive and even rebellious in their attitude toward other authorities, such as parents, bosses, teachers, or governments. Sadly, I know this from my own life (Psalm 25:7)!

We learn from the Scriptures, however, that our attitude to authority is a spiritual issue. Luther picks up on this in his explanation to the fourth commandment, where we are called to honour our father and mother. He says, ‘we should fear and love God so that we should not despise or anger our parents and other authorities’.

Notice the connection between our life before God and our life before others whom God sets over us.

In our text, St Paul focuses on our attitude toward the governing authorities wherever we live. He says that when we consider how we act toward those in our governments, we do well to remember that all true authority finds its source in God and that the government, and those in authority, have been instituted by God for our good. We are to be subject to them as a fundamental attitude, and this means specific things, too, like paying our taxes. There are, of course, limits to this. For example, if we are asked by the government to engage in something that is an offence to God (Acts 5:29). But it’s quite likely St Paul was writing to Christians who lived under governments far less friendly to them than most of us do.

God is rich in his goodness toward this world. Are we able to recognise that even our governing authorities are, in fact, a gift from God? Through them, he has provided a well-ordered society and protection for the weak and vulnerable. No government will ever do this flawlessly, of course. Still, we owe them our honour as those who exercise authority in this world on God’s behalf.

Heavenly Father, thank you for our government. Please give wisdom to our leaders as they navigate the many complex issues facing our community. Lead us by your Spirit to subject ourselves to them and honour them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Help by Pastor Jim Strelan

‘You are my help and my deliverer’ (Psalm 70:5).

Read Psalm 70.

There are those, both believers and unbelievers, who seem to think that if you are a Christian, then everything will always go well for you. You know that that isn’t true.

You have your share of struggles. In fact, you may well have had more than your share. But if others know that you are a believer, if you have openly spoken about the goodness of God, then you open yourself up to ridicule. Your God is supposed to care about you and he’s supposed to be on your side. So how come you are in this predicament now? And that only makes things even harder.

There comes a time when we can only cry out to God to bring us through. We do not deny our faith when we speak openly and honestly to God and let him hear our anguish. The psalms are full of this kind of thing. In this psalm, the lamenter is desperate for release and so asks God to deliver and to do it quickly. God is not only able to help and deliver, but he is also the help, and he is the deliverer.

That’s his nature. That’s his desire. Not a magic wand waved over you so that it all disappears. Not always an instant cure or an immediate turnaround of circumstances. ‘Quickly’ is what you want, and when you express that, God understands the desperation of your situation. But he is true to himself. He will help, and he will deliver. Those who question your faith (that’s what some believers like to do) and ridicule you will be silenced. In the end, that is why we can rejoice and be glad in him, even while we cry out.

God, help me. Look and see my struggles and deliver me. I put my hope in you. Amen.

God is our source of peace by Kimberley Pfeiffer

‘My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed’ (Isaiah 54:10).

Read Isaiah 54:10–17.

Do you ever dare wonder about the magnitude of God’s love for you? Do you ever wonder why he chooses to focus his steadfast love and compassion on you? Do you wonder why God wants you to prosper and for everything that comes from you, such as your children, to also flourish? Does it ever scare you a little and lead you to think, maybe God loves you more than you can love yourself?

In the text from Isaiah 54, we are reminded that worldly calamities are real, and they can throw us off course. This text talks about natural disasters, violence, and oppression. Here, God offers comfort to the Israelite people, reminding them that his love is true stability and a source of peace.

When life throws us a curveball, we tend to cling to visible things, usually people or possessions. But for us, the church, God has revealed himself as the true source of strength and stability. It is from him that we receive the very good gifts of stability and order in this world, such as loving families, safe homes, and peaceful communities.

When we look for comfort in the things of this world, we will ultimately be disappointed. But when we look to God for comfort, his steadfast love flows into our lives and transforms the way we perceive all reality – even a reality that is frightening. This is the peace that surpasses all understanding that keeps our hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing your true nature to us in the Holy Scriptures. Thank you for sending Christ to fulfil and be the way to your peace. Lord, strengthen us as we grow through hardship, joy, and ordinary times. Bless our hearts in our longing for rest in you. Amen.

PRAYER

Almighty God,

Our personal suffering leads us to cry out in pain and we shrink in fear when we experience sickness, anxiety or the death of loved ones.

Teach us to trust you, knowing that you bring good into all things.

May the churches we belong to be signs of your providential care.

Make us true disciples of your Son who taught us to listen to your word and to serve one another.

In confidence we ask this in the name of your Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

– From the National Council of Churches in Australia’s
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Biblical Reflections and Prayers

BIBLE TEXTS FOR THESE TIMES

Isaiah 41:10

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

64

Church@Home November 2020

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CHURCH@HOME www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Support to grow faith at home

With some churches and communities still affected by COVID-19 restrictions, we are sharing special devotional materials to help support the home faith-life of LCA/NZ members. Most of these are from the Church@Home resources collection on a special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome. There is also other faith-building content available through this page, including family resources, encouraging messages and Bible studies, as well as family and child safety, and health and wellbeing resource links, information for church workers, and details on how to support your congregation and the wider church’s mission through Regular Electronic Giving. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print off some resources and mail or deliver them to those who may otherwise miss out?

          – Lisa

Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

These reflections are from a fresh set of devotions written for our LCA/NZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we face unsettling times. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the Church@Home resources during this season of uncertainty. You can find these and more on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

God pays attention! by Pastor Peter Bean

‘My God, pay attention and hear me. Open your eyes and see all the terrible things that have happened to us’ (Daniel 9:18a).

Read Daniel 9:1–4,18,20–24.

These texts develop a theme along with readings from Jonah 3–4 and Isaiah 55. Pray what you like and as much as you like, but it’s not your prayer, nor your way of living that sways the Lord. It’s God’s mercy.

God knows, without a doubt, that many of us could pray this prayer.

Some of you will have prayed very similarly at some stage this year. What, with disastrous fires, then floods in some areas, then COVID-19 with its resulting lockdowns, church closures, death of loved ones, border closures, job losses, and so on. How many of us have possibly said or thought, ‘Our lives have been ruined’?

Which of us couldn’t speak of ‘the terrible things that have happened’? We want you, God, to pay attention!

And God has – not because of our entreaties, but because God is God. And because of mercy. We can’t always see it, and mercy can sometimes seem a long way off. But God’s mercy is present. In our lives, our prayers and the answers to our prayers. And, of course, the answers are not always what we want. But they are sufficient. Many years later, the author wrote: ‘I will not send more than you can handle. My grace is sufficient for you’.

So, rest in that grace. Pray your prayers, knowing God hears and answers because of the wonderful gift of mercy and grace.

Thank you, God, for the freedom to ask for your attention. Remind us that you always attend to us. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Amen.

God’s saving advice by Pastor Matthew Bishop

‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down’ (Luke 13:8,9).

Read Luke 13:6–9.

The terra rossa soils deposited over the beautiful Gilbert Valley of South Australia’s Mid North obviously need a helping hand every so often. I know this because my dad grew up just south of Riverton right in the middle of that sublime place. Dad tells the story of Kenny, his dad, occasionally offering his green-thumb of a mum, Alma, a bit of gratuitous gardening advice: ‘It all needs root’n out and load of dung putt’n in’. Kenny, a gentle, yet simple Englishman, was well-meaning, but it wasn’t necessarily received in the intended spirit by his ever industrious and extremely capable Deutsch wife!

It’s just as well that God is happy to keep hearing the pleas of his master gardener, Jesus, when it comes to us who reside in his fig orchard. Even before the master gardener intercedes, God has already given us ample time (three years in the parable), just as he did the children of Israel. Daily observation. Ever-looking for signs. And just when he has had enough, the son steps in, pleading, ‘Let me dig around and add manure. Don’t cut these unproductive souls out of our orchard. Remember that big Easter weekend, my Father! The nails that dug through my hands and feet. The spear that pierced my heart. Let me feed them with my body and blood. Let the Holy Spirit sow my word in their hearts – he’s great at doing that for us!’

And, yes! For those that have ears to hear and outstretched hands to receive, the Son certainly knows there will be an abundant harvest. For his word will not return to him empty (see Isaiah 55:9–11). Is it time for you to be fed and bear his fruit, then?

Thank you, Lord God, for planting me to serve you and bear your fruit. I would be lost without your patience. Yet, even as I know you are patient, I know your need for harvest is urgent. Draw me to take your feeding deep through my roots so that your fruit may abound in all I do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 Healing words by Norma Koehne

‘But say the word and my servant will be healed’ (Luke 7:7).

Read Luke 7:1–10.

What an interesting man this Roman centurion is. It certainly would not seem to be normal for a Roman centurion to, first of all, be so close to the people he had authority over, and secondly, to hear about Jesus and have faith in him. We get a picture of a man of compassion, with concern for his servant, and a man of humility. He does not deserve to have Jesus come under his roof, and does not even consider himself worthy to come to Jesus himself, but sends his friends, the Jewish elders, to plead his case.

As well as his compassion and humility before Jesus, the centurion recognises the authority and power that Jesus has. As a commander of men, the centurion gives an order and others obey. It is interesting to consider what he believes Jesus has authority over. He believes that Jesus has the ability to heal sickness, perhaps even the power over life and death. And this power does not need any special act; it only requires the word of Jesus. No-one on earth can speak with such authority. Our rulers and politicians may think their words matter, and there is no doubt that what they say can cause both great distress and great good. But none of them can say the word and heal a person on the brink of death or from the sickness of sin.

As we consider our faith in Christ, we acknowledge, in humility, that it is created and sustained by God for our healing. It is formed through the words of baptism and maintained through holy communion and God’s word.

Lord, create in us such faith that we may believe that your word has a saving and healing power in our lives. Amen. 

A fitting response by Kathy Matuschka

‘The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son’ (Matthew 22:2).

Read Matthew 22:1–14.

What is a fitting response to God’s generous invitation to join ‘the banquet’?

What sort of a person doesn’t accept an invitation to a royal wedding? Today one would assume that such a person was a republican; someone who does not accept the king’s authority and prefers to keep open his or her options for whom they will follow.

In today’s story the king starts by inviting the most obvious guests to his son’s wedding. But he’s not put off in his intention to hold a banquet when they decline his invitation and even kill his messengers.

The king is prepared to invite anyone and everyone. They needn’t worry that they don’t have something suitable to wear because the king will even supply their outfit.

As recipients of such generosity, what are the guests expected to do in response? Simply accept his generosity. One man prefers a little autonomy and wears his own clothes. The trouble is that what he chooses to wear will never get him into the great hall.

Of course, the king in this story represents God and the banquet is God’s kingdom, both here on earth and in heaven forever. Those who first heard this parable would have known that those invited first were the Jewish people and that the messengers represented their prophets, whose voices the people had rejected.

God invites us to the banquet and provides what we need to join the feast: we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. What is a fitting response to God’s generosity?

We simply turn up.

Dear loving God, I know that there is no way I can ever repay your invitation to ‘the banquet’. Nevertheless, I pray that you will help me to grow in my loving response to your kindness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

PRAYER

Lord, we stand with our sisters and brothers who are suffering from weakness and illness.

We know that by your wounds they are healed.

We pray for the strength to overcome this hardship together as your body;

We pray for the protection of all people who are in the frontline against COVID-19;

We pray for the speedy recovery and healing of those who are fighting off the disease;

We pray for calm, comfort, and rational action in quelling panic and allaying fears;

We pray for solidarity within our global human family in this distressing situation.

Let your peace dwell in us.

In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

– From the Christian Conference of Asia resource ‘God heal us as we are vulnerable’, as part of a request to all the churches of Asia to join in praying for the victims of COVID-19. 

Romans 8:37

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

65

Church leaders report on ordination deliberations

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The LCA/NZ’s governance and pastoral leaders have issued a report to members after meeting about the division within the church over women’s ordination.

Earlier this year, the General Church Board (GCB) and the College of Bishops (CoB) held a joint meeting on the issue.

This was their second such combined meeting since the 2018 General Convention of Synod, at which a resolution to allow the ordination of women in the LCA/NZ received majority support but failed to garner the two-thirds majority of delegates required for such a change to church practice and teaching.

The result was similar to those of ballots at three previous General Conventions since 2000, in which more than 50 per cent of delegates were in favour of women’s ordination.

The church remains divided on this issue and, despite years of theological study and respectful dialogue and debate, there is no indication that consensus will be reached. The GCB and CoB met to consider what steps might be taken to address this impasse.

After considering all the information they had received, to make the task manageable, GCB and CoB confined the task to considering three potential scenarios, while acknowledging that there may also be others:

Scenario 1: A single LCA/NZ synod, with one teaching and two practices

Scenario 2: A single LCA/NZ synod, with the current teaching upheld

Scenario 3: Multiple LCA/NZ synods – we can no longer stay together (we separate).

The GCB and CoB have assessed each scenario against a number of criteria, including church unity, confessional and biblical identity/integrity, and the impact on gospel proclamation.

The report is now available for church members to read and discuss. A copy has been sent to all pastors, parish and congregation chairs and General Synod delegates.

LCA/NZ Bishop John Henderson said all members of the GCB and the CoB remained committed to the one LCA/NZ, ‘our unity as a synod and our common purpose in Christ. We are Lutheran, and we want to remain so, but first of all we are Christ’s … If we hurt each other, it is really him we hurt’.

You can access the report via the LCA website at www.lca.org.au

66

Church@Home

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CHURCH@HOME   www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Fostering a life of faith

With some churches still affected by COVID-19 restrictions, we are sharing special devotional materials with the aim of helping to foster the home faith-life of LCA/NZ members. Most of these are from the Church@Home resources collection on a special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome. There is also other faith-building content available through this page, including family resources, encouraging messages and Bible studies, as well as family and child safety, and health and wellbeing resource links, information for church workers, and details on how to support your congregation and the wider church’s mission through Regular Electronic Giving. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print off some resources and mail or deliver them to those who may otherwise miss out?

       – Lisa

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

These reflections are from a fresh set of devotions written for our LCA/NZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we face unsettling times. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the Church@Home resources during this season of uncertainty. You can find these and more on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

To know Christ by Ruth Olsen

‘I want to know Christ’ (Philippians 3:10a).

Read Philippians 3:7–16.

Paul was willing to set aside the status of being ‘a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, and considering himself faultless regarding legalistic righteousness’; it’s all worth nothing in comparison with knowing Christ Jesus. He’d rather have been living in union with Christ through faith than still trying to achieve righteousness through the law, having discovered the righteousness gifted by God and received by faith.

Knowing Jesus personally is very different from knowing about Jesus. We start hearing of and knowing about Jesus, and then it’s a growth process, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. As we learn to take God at his word, believing that he means what he says, we start to mature or grow into who and what he has called us to be.

A child in a family will grow up into that family culture. As the child becomes an adult, there will be some things to leave behind, especially to press on in learning to be what the Lord has called him or her to be in this earthly life, using God-given gifts and abilities to serve and encourage others. For a child of God, that involves learning, letting go, receiving and taking up, sifting, sorting, discerning, training, stretching, applying, equipping – all guided by the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper, our Counsellor, our Trainer and our Enabler. He stirs in us the willingness needed and empowers us to ‘just do it’ in our daily life. For it is God who works in us to will and to act (do) according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13).

Lord, help me willingly recognise your training, equipping, and onward call each day. Amen.

Pay it forward! by Sal Huckel

‘When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that happened’ (Matthew 18:31).

Get set for a wild ride of forgiveness, grace and mercy as we tackle a challenging lectionary scripture on these themes. Pray for discernment and new insights as we read together.

Read Matthew 18:21–35.

This passage is about God’s grace and forgiveness freely given to us, even though we have our own account with him that rightly should be settled, and is, by Jesus on the cross. Whatever way you do the maths, this kind of forgiveness feels too hard. Many modern-day messages say it’s okay to cut people off when they wrong us, and it’s perhaps easier to do that than ever before.

Today let’s consider the different ‘players’ or roles in the story. We have Peter asking the question. Is he wondering how long it is before he can be let off the hook, forgiving the same person time and time again? Are we?

We also have the king, settling accounts between his servants and offering grace and forgiveness for a sizeable debt. We can easily see God in this story, doing so with our own accounts with him. The unmerciful servant himself is forgiven a large debt, but rather than ‘paying it forward’ or passing that forgiveness on, he seizes his debtor for a much lesser amount.

But why are the ‘other servants’ here? They don’t seem essential to the plot. But Jesus’ words are never wasted! The servants witness the generosity and forgiveness of the master and the subsequent injustice. The servants petition for justice and the master acts. How can we put ourselves in their place once we have considered our own accounts? What are we witnessing? Just as in the reconciliation procedures in the previous passage (verses 15–20), the body is called in. Are you witnessing injustice and unforgiveness that may need to involve your action – naming it, praying to God for justice and doing more than simply looking on?

Lord, help me to keep a short account with you and with others. Remind me to pass on the forgiveness I receive from you as we pray so familiarly. Help me to discern the right approach where I witness a lack of mercy and forgiveness in others, and to bring it before you in prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Love like Jesus by Pastor Chris Mann

‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44).

Read Matthew 5:38–48.

What’s the thing I love most about following Jesus? That there is no-one else like him.

What’s the thing I find hardest about following Jesus? That there is no-one else like him.

No-one else loves us as Jesus loves us – unconditionally, graciously, constantly.

But then Jesus goes and asks me, asks us, to do the same – to love unconditionally, graciously, constantly. It’s why we can say both ‘I am simply a forgiven sinner’ and ‘I shine Christ’s light into the darkness’.

We are called to be in the world, but not of the world, to be salt, light and a city on a hill. And if you ever want to stand out, if you ever want to be remarkable, if you ever want to have everyone look at you, then there is simply one thing to do: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

It’s what Jesus did when he went to the cross. And it is Jesus, in us, who helps us do it. And it is because we are God’s children that we can do it. Let’s love our enemies, as hard as it may be, just as Christ loves us.

Heavenly Father, I find it hard to love my enemies. It’s hard enough sometimes to love my own family, friends and others. Yet, you call me to follow you, to do what you do, to live how you lived – and still live. You ask me to do it because you have made me in your image, placed Christ in me and given me your Holy Spirit. Help me to live according to who I truly am – as your child. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A bigger table by Pastor Reid Matthias

‘If, then, God gave [the Gentiles] the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?’ (Acts 11:17).

Read Acts 11:1–18.

I vividly remember the ringing of the phone.

It was annoying because I was young and hungry. On the table in front of us was the holiday turkey, the potatoes and all the trimmings. The smell made us salivate and all that I wanted to do was dig in.

But the phone interrupted our hunger. It was the fire department and a local house had caught on fire. My grandfather and my uncle were volunteer firefighters; thus, they were called into action even though dinner was on the table.

So, we waited, staring at the food, hoping that they’d hurry up. And then the phone rang again. This time it was my grandfather. My grandma’s face was serious. She nodded a few times and then said, ‘Well, bring them over. There’s plenty to eat and plenty of room’.

She cradled the phone and then announced to everyone that Grandpa and Uncle Dale were bringing home the family whose house had just burned. I looked at the table, stacked with food, but already stuffed with chairs and I thought, ‘There’s no room for anyone else’.

Almost as if reading my thoughts, Grandma said, ‘It’s alright, everyone, there’s always more room at the table’.

So it was for the first believers in Christ. The feast had been served. All the good gifts of heaven are displayed before the Jewish Christians who wanted to keep the meal for themselves. God had another thing in mind:

There is always more room at my table.

God’s welcome to the meal, which is a foretaste of the feast to come, is open to all people regardless of past or even present.

How have you felt God’s grace opened to you?

Thank you, Jesus, for giving me eyes to see a grace larger than I could have ever imagined. Help me enjoy the gift. Amen.

BIBLE TEXTS FOR THESE TIMES

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.

Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit.

PRAYER

Gracious God, trusting in your providence and presence, we bring our prayer for an end to this pandemic. We pray for your strengthening of those offering costly leadership during this crisis. We pray for all who are ill. We pray for those anxious about getting ill. We pray for those full of grief. We remember those who have died. We pray for your grace to sustain us as we do what we can in our context. We ask these things, as you encourage us so to do. ‘Ask and it will be given you’ (Matt 7:7). In resurrection faith, we offer our heartfelt prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

– From a National Council of Churches in Australia
initiative for a special time of prayer
focused on the COVID-19 pandemic