NOTE: This sermon was preached on the occasion of the departure of the Haire family from the parish.
Malcolm and his partner Paull Garrett, together with Malcolm's cousin, Stephen, were going to Queensland and Simon, his wife linda and their two children, Caitlin and Emily, were returning to South Australia.

Every Sunday we gather here at St Luke's to celebrate what we call the Eucharist. The word means Thanksgiving, and the thanks we give are for the new life we have together in Christ Jesus. We give thanks by being here, we give thanks by hearing the story of God at work in the world, we give thanks by following his command to share bread and wine together; we give thanks by singing, by praying and taking part in the liturgy.

We also give thanks by sharing our lives. For some people, the Sunday worship is the time when they share their lives with the people of God; other people share in small groups meting for prayer and mutual support, some people take part in the various missionary activities of the church, such as the Op Shop and the Friendship Group; while others again are administrators, being part of Parish Council or serving as Wardens. There are cleaners and flower arrangers, musicians and singers, servers and gardeners, as well as those who organise social events, the Wardens Dinner, Dinners for 6, Lunches and special occasions. When you start to think about it, there is an amazing amount of human activity which goes towards making a church a community, and for which we give thanks today.

Malcolm and Paull have been part of this church community for 25 years, and in that time, they have been part of almost every possible church activity, and maybe some impossible ones as well. In our Eucharistic thanksgiving today we celebrate Paull and Malcolm's time with us.

The first bible reading we heard today (Exodus 16:2-15) reminds us that God's people are always on the move. The book of Exodus describes the journey of God's people from Egypt to the promised land. It was a long and tiring journey, forty years of rejoicing and complaining, of struggle in a dry land and of learning to trust God and God's goodness. In that forty years, a whole generation died and a new generation grew up, so that none of those who left Egypt entered the promised land. We can compare that experience with the life of St Luke's church; people join the congregation and journey for a while, for years, or tens of years, or a life time, and then they move on. We pray that St Luke's is a place where people can find refreshment, food for their journey, both worldly and spiritual, just as God fed his people in their journey through the wilderness. So it is quite appropriate that we should gather for a barbecue and share food after this Eucharist where we share the spiritual food and drink of the body and blood of Christ.

The second Bible reading we heard is from St Paul's letter to the Philippian church. (Philippians 1:21-30) He reminds them and us that our journey is more than sharing food and drink together, physical and spiritual. It is about living a new kind of life; a life which Paul says is to be lived "in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." As we live together we learn to respect and love each other, we learn to use the gifts God has given to us through the Holy Spirit, gifts which St Paul described as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." These are the gifts we a trying to learn at St Luke's, teaching each other and being taught by each other. Paull and Malcolm have been our teachers and our fellow students. There have been fights and disagreements, arguments which have threatened the whole life of the St Luke's community, that cannot be denied, but such distress is also part of the learning process. Paul describes the process as a gift of God. He says, "God has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well."

Today we give thanks that St Luke's is a place for learning to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, and we thank God that Malcolm and Paull, together with all who have come to this church, are part of our learning. Our third Bible reading, from the Gospel according to Matthew, (Matthew 20:1-16) is a parable, a story used by Jesus to describe the kingdom of heaven. It is about rewards and payment for labourers in the vineyard. The vineyard is a very old way of talking about the community of faith, the people of God, and the image appears many, many, times on the Old Testament; Jesus used it many times as well. We are all labourers in the vineyard, each one of us has something to contribute to the kingdom of heaven. Not every one does the same job, nor does everyone work for the same time, people come early and late to the kingdom, but each is given God's reward for their labours. The parable sounds unjust, even Jesus declared that it sounds unjust, but the point is that God is generous with his rewards and gives those rewards to all. God not reward us for how much or how little we have done, but rather for the faithfulness with which we do what God has called us to do. You will remember that Jesus said that even those who give a cup of water to someone in need will not lack their reward.

I would like to end as I began, with the Eucharist, the Thanksgiving. I give thanks to God to all God's faithful people who have served in the community of St Luke's in the past, as well as those who serve God faithfully now, and those who will serve God faithfully in the future. If I mention Paull and Malcolm now it is because they are leaving us - God who knows all our hearts will know how to reward them and us at the end.

I give thanks for the journey we are all on together, whether we travel side by side or in different states. I give thanks for God who gives us companions for the journey and food and drink to sustain us on our way, and I give thanks for the faithful promises of God who rewards all who are faithful to God. Amen.