COCU33B

Readings:
Acts 3: 12-19: Immediately after the healing of the lame man, Peter addresses the crowds, explaining that the power to heal the man came from the same Jesus that they had crucified. Peter then calls the people to turn back to God.
Psalm 4: A plea for God to remember God’s faithful servant, and an affirmation of how God cares for those who trust in God. Finally, a call for people to stop chasing lies and turn back to God.
1 John 3:1-7: Because of God’s love, we are God’s children, and we have hope that when we see Christ we will be like him. Therefore, we resist sin and seek to live in righteousness as Jesus is righteous.
Luke 24: 36b-48: Jesus appears to the disciples, showing them his hands and feet, and eating a piece of bread to prove that he is not a ghost. Then he shows them how he has fulfilled the Scriptures, and he calls them to proclaim repentance and faith in Christ as his witnesses.
(Bible summaries: John van de Laar, Sacredise)

COCU33B.Easter3B.Readings

Micah 4:1-5 (alternate reading)
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, 2and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; 4but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. 5For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

A great story related to Micah 4.3
Artist Melts 1,527 Guns And Turns Them Into Shovels For Planting Trees
story by Amanda Froelich
The project Palas por Pistolas by artist Pedro Reyes seeks to show “how an agent of death can become an agent of life.”
Gun control is a touchy subject – and for good reason. Existing solely to wound or kill, they are a dangerous weapon, one that if not employed for reasons of necessity, may harshly rip families apart.
In Culiacán, Mexico, the city with the highest rate of gun deaths in the nation, many people know the devastating consequences these weapons can contribute to. That’s where creative activist Pedro Reyes comes in. Reyes is an inspired artist who likes to focus on the failures of modern culture in a positive light. He doesn’t believe in failure but instead believes that failure is the outcome of a certain perspective. With this unique perception, he transforms things people see as broken and models them in a new way.
Concerning guns, he felt that something positive could be transformed from their matter, and, therefore, started a campaign asking residents to hand over their guns in exchange for a coupon they could use to buy electronics or household appliances.
After Pedro collected 1,527 guns for the project, Palas pro Pistolas, he had them melted down and transformed into 1,527 shovel heads. These new shovels were then distributed to art institutions and public schools, where people in the community are now using them to plant a minimum of 1,527 trees.
“If something is dying, becoming rotten and smelly, I think there is a chance to make a compost in which this vast catalog of solutions can be mixed in an entirely new way.” In Palas por Pistolas he was aiming to show “how an agent of death can become an agent of life.”
It’s interesting to note that 40% of all the guns Reyes collected were automatics of military caliber. After the collection, they all were transported to a military base and publicly smashed with a steamroller. Then, they were melted and recycled into shovels with wooden handles. Now they exist solely for the purpose of planting trees and creating life!
Some of the shovels have even made their way to the Vancouver Art Gallery, the San Francisco Art Institute, Maison Rouge in Paris and other locations around the world.
A shovel, like a gun, can be used for a productive purpose or a hateful one. But with inspired intent, may these tools always be utilized for the purpose of optimizing land and creating space for something new to flourish.
Guns1 Guns2Gathering words – general

Prayers of Confession – general

Prayers for others – general

Benediction/words of mission – general

Music
Peace be with you

Christ Is Our Peace
Christ is our peace,
Christ is our health,
he the true Word,
his the true wealth –
gifts to be shared by the simple and poor:
peace in your land,
peace at your door.

Peace in your mouth,
Peace in the hands
Open to truth,
to love’s demands:
those who would go with Christ also must bleed –
bright is the flower,
burst is the seed.

Who work for peace
find the true wealth,
who heal the hurt
find their own health –
peace will flow on through the hearts that believe:
this may we know,
thus may we live.
(Source: Shirley Erena Murray, Words © 1992 Hope Publishing Company)
Christ is our peace.ShirleyMurray

About admin

Rev Sandy Boyce is a Uniting Church in Australia Minister (Deacon). This blog may be a help to people planning worship services.
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