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3 Reasons Your Church Should Feature Multiple Speakers by JR. Forasteros
Nearly every church I’ve ever been part of (which admittedly have all been some flavor of evangelical) has approached the Sunday morning worship gathering the same way: a welcome, a few songs, collect an offering (probably with another song) and then the sermon, which occupies at least as much space as the previous elements, and then probably a closing prayer and song. Ignoring for the sake of this post the bad assumptions about the nature of humans and our spirituality that format for our worship takes, I want instead to focus on a more subtle problem:
Most churches have one main speaker, usually the senior pastor. Here are (at least) three reasons having only one main speaker is bad worship and bad theology.
1. The one speaker model demonstrates a poor understanding of spiritual gifts.
No other job in the church is restricted to one person. Worship is led by multiple musicians. Many individuals lead small groups or teach Sunday school. All sorts of volunteers work with teens and kids, serve as elders, deacons, ushers and sound technicians.
But not the preaching. Only one person can preach.
We’ve become convinced, somehow, that in every congregation, the Spirit has only gifted one person to teach and preach in the worship context. And this simply isn’t true.
Nowhere does any author in the Bible elevate teaching or preaching as a gift that’s exceedingly rare, or restricted to one person in the church.
That means that—unless your church is comprised of only 10 persons or so—the Spirit has gifted others there to teach and preach. That also means that if your church only uses one preacher, you’ve created a context where others in your congregation—specifically those also gifted to teach and preach—are actively dissuaded from using what the Holy Spirit has given them to serve their church body.
Our preaching should embody a biblical attitude toward the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Identifying, training and engaging those in the congregation who’ve been gifted to teach and preach is a challenging but vital step in that journey.
2. One speaker reinforces the cult of celebrity.
Pastoral transition is so painful these days it’s become its own punchline. The senior pastor leaves, and the next guy or gal who takes over is doomed to fail. Or said pastor has some sort of messy, public moral failing and the church falls apart. Or the congregation gets wrapped up in the pastor’s personality and talents rather than in the work of becoming faithful pictures of Jesus in their community.
I don’t know any Christians who think the cult of celebrity is good. But when we consistently place only one voice in front of a congregation, we reinforce the wrong belief that this person is more spiritual or holy than everyone else. And that’s the beginning of the short fall into celebrity.
Our preaching should embody the priesthood of all believers.
Regularly using multiple speakers shows that we believe no one person is more spiritual than everyone else. It undercuts the very American tendency toward hero-worship.
3. One speaker stifles what the Spirit can teach the congregation.
There’s no such thing as a perfect preacher. We’re all human. We’re all on the journey to being like Jesus, walking away from sin and toward God just like everyone else. That means when you hear my sermons, you hear what God is teaching me, how I’m learning to overcome my own tendency to sin. What I’m reading, what I’m learning through my small group, my marriage. But it’s all coming from me, and from the Spirit’s work in my life.
What I have to offer my church is good. But I’m not the only person the Spirit is teaching. And if I’m the only speaker, I’ve robbed the larger congregation of learning the lessons God is teaching someone else as well.
Our preaching should embody the work God is doing in many lives.
In other words, we all have issues. So make sure others have the chance to air theirs too.
There you have my 3 reasons churches should regularly engage multiple speakers. Of course a multiple-speaker system has its own challenges and drawbacks, but that’s a whole separate post.
In the interest of full-disclosure: I preach 35 Sundays out of 52, which is 2/3. Four other staff fill the remaining 17 weeks. This has been a change in the last two years in our congregation, and the next phase is implementing non-staff preaching. So we aren’t where we want to be yet, but we’re moving that way. Stay tuned!
Your Turn: Do you agree that churches should engage multiple speakers? Why or why not?
This post originally appeared on JR.'s blog at jrforasteros.com.
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Coca-Cola, Conservatives, and Negativity by Shane Raynor
During the Super Bowl, Coca-Cola aired a commercial called “It’s Beautiful,” with scenes of diverse Americans living their lives. The audio track for the ad was “America the Beautiful” and it was pretty obvious that Coke was going for a “feel-good” spot. But the ad created a firestorm on Twitter, mostly from conservatives. The biggest reason? “America the Beautiful” was sung in multiple languages.
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Foolish me, I thought the ad was effective.
I didn’t think Coke was trying to send a message on immigration policy, and I wasn’t offended in the least. I was actually pleasantly surprised that Coke left the word God intact in the song. A few were complaining that there was a gay couple shown in the ad but I didn’t really notice. It wasn’t exactly in your face. No, the big uproar was about singing an American patriotic song in languages other than English. How dare they do that!
Let’s get a couple of things straight.
America is not so much a country as it is an idea. And that idea is freedom. Liberty. America is not here to protect the English language, it’s here to protect and promote freedom. Should immigrants learn English if they’re going to live here? Absolutely. In fact, they’re putting themselves at a major disadvantage if they don’t. But what’s it to you and me if they want to use their native language too? Do we really want the U.S. to become France with our own version of their Toubon Law?
And what’s with some conservatives wanting to boycott Coke products now? Was that Super Bowl ad really indicative of some sinister one-world government agenda that the Coca-Cola company now supports? Is Coke trying to persuade us that open borders are the way to go? Make no mistake, Coke has only one agenda—to sell as many of their products as possible to as many people as possible. When it comes to selling Coke, they’re equal opportunity, and they only see one color: green. Conservatives of all people should get this.
I haven’t blogged about politics much recently, but those who’ve followed my writing over the years know that I’m conservative on most issues, both politically and theologically. One thing that turns me me off about progressives is the way their movement tends to focus on the negative. But if my Twitter feed from last night is any indication, progressives certainly don’t have a monopoly on negativity anymore. And that saddens me.
This year’s Coke ad was supposed to be reminiscent of the positive Coke ads of years gone by. Remember that commercial on the hilltop in Italy? It debuted before I was born, but aired well into my childhood.
I’d like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony,
I’d like to buy the world a Coke
and keep it company.
I’m sure the Archie Bunkers of the world complained about the ad back in 1971, but by most accounts, it was a success, and it no doubt sold a lot of Coke. People remember it fondly because it was positive. A lot like the ad last night.
Some of the folks complaining about the "America the Beautiful" ad, on the other hand, are coming off as negative and whiny. How they can take a positive conservative message like freedom and opportunity and turn it into something negative is beyond me. But they're managing to do it, and their voices are the ones people are hearing. I don't believe most conservatives are xenophobic, but the few who are (and those who appear to be) are poisoning public perceptions of the overall movement.
There's a lesson in this for those of all political persuasions. Choose your battles. If you make everything a big deal, no one's going to know when it's really a big deal.
Stay classy, Coke drinkers.
Shane Raynor is an editor at Ministry Matters and editor of the Converge Bible Studies series from Abingdon Press. Connect with Shane on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook. Sign up to receive Shane's posts free via email.
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7 Warning Signs a Leader is About to Crash by Ron Edmondson
I’ve been there. I’ve faced burnout and frustration in my work. Thankfully, I’ve never “bottomed out”, but I’ve felt near the bottom in my spirit. More than that, I’ve walked through these times with dozens of other leaders.
I’ve learned there are some common indicators that a leader is heading towards burnout. The sooner we can recognize them, the sooner we know to reach out for help.
Here are 7 indicators you’re heading for burnout:
Isolation – When the leader begins to avoid others, something is wrong. Leadership involves people. Not all leaders are overly communicative, but when the leader tries to avoid people who need the leader’s attention, something is wrong. Some leaders begin to question people around them. They struggle with mistrust or fear that others are talking about them, questioning them, or out to get them.
Excuses – When the leader always has an answer why he or she was late, blame others for everything, or can’t see his or her own shortcomings, they are struggling with something. It may be burnout.
Hidden sins – Many people hide in their sins, but burnout causes “secret”, deep sins. These are often new vices hidden from people who normally know you. The person who never drank before…is now drinking often. Someone who never struggled with pornorgraphy before suddenly can’t avoid it…and justifies it as a “release”.
Apathy -When you don’t care anymore. And, you don’t really care that you don’t care anymore.
Indecisiveness – Paralization…Refusal to make decisions. The person in this condition feels like every decision is a major one. And, there are seem to be so many…they make none.
Short-tempered – Normally easy-going people often become shorter fused when under extreme pressure.
Desperation – When every day seems to be a panic day…beware. The leader is in a danger zone. There will be seasons of this in all of our lives, but we can’t live there long. We need periods of calm in our leadership. If the leader always feels this way, something is wrong.
Granted, all of these may be indicators of other problems, but, in my experience, they are good signs of a potential crash.
Be careful. If a few of these are you, regardless of how you label it, now is the time to get help. Now.
(After several requests, I’ll share some ideas of where to get help in a future post, but depending on the severity, if you’re seriously about to give up, grab the closest person to you. Be vulnerable.)
This post originally appeared at RonEdmondson.com.
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Taking Out the Trash by Tricia Brown
We missed trash pick-up the week before Christmas, and then it had to be put out on Christmas Day, and oops, we forgot again! Of course, the following week the trash service was delayed because of the New Year’s holiday. Even though we still put out our weekly recycling, this family of six (and the forty-something guests that came and went over the holidays) created quite a lot of garbage. We filled up our primary can, and two smaller cans, and then started stacking large black lawn bags full of trash. To say that I was sick of trash was an understatement. I couldn’t wait to have it carted off. And today was the day!
The trash truck came and went rather unceremoniously, leaving behind three empty cans, which my sons stacked neatly by the garage door. And I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s amazing how such an ordinary thing made me feel so much better.
It reminded me of life.
There’s a lot of garbage in day-to-day life. It takes a variety of forms.
Sometimes it’s anxiety. We worry about our children, our finances, our marriage, our work, our health, our parent’s health, our children’s education, our government, or world peace.
Sometimes garbage comes in the form of anger. We get angry at the car that stopped short in front of us, at the woman who is holding up the line at the grocery store, at our children for disobeying, or at our spouse for not listening.
Sometimes it’s guilt. We regret bad decisions we made when we were young. We regret the way we handled a situation just yesterday. We regret missed opportunities.
And sometimes it’s fear. We are afraid of the losing our jobs. We are afraid of becoming a victim of crime. We are afraid of a worsening economy or uncertain healthcare. We fear for the future of our children.
Anxiety, anger, guilt, and fear—just a little of the baggage we accumulate each day, and it all adds up to an untidy pile of trash that weighs down our spirits, clutters our thoughts, and contributes to rather stinky attitudes.
I’m so glad that I have a Savior who takes out the trash for me. Psalm 51:10 says,
“Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!”
And the best thing is, I don’t have to wait for a certain day of the week. I can go to my Savior any time, and the more often the better. Then God will not only take away the garbage but also replace it with the peace and joy that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit.
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Studying the Bible
Kimberly MacNeill invites you to read and study along with her as she teaches on Psalm 119. She will be using the
CEB Study Bible.
WATCH VIDEO (3:42): <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EiGqX03mt5I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Introduction to Psalm 119 by Kimberly MacNeill Posted on January 30th, 2014
Kimberly invites you to read and study along with her as she teaches on Psalm 119. She will be using the CEB Study Bible.
Question for Reflection: It's easy to get busy and allow that busyness to crowd out our time with God. Having a set time and place to read and study the Bible can help us to be present to what God is saying in the scriptures to us. When and where is that time and place for you?
Pray Today: God, thank you for your Word. Help me as I begin this study to hear you speaking to me.
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On Visitation by Ed Trimmer
I have been trying to free up time from my full-time vocational employment one afternoon a week to do visitation. It seems to me there are some generational differences around the expectation of the pastor visiting. Those retired seem to not only welcome it but embrace it. Of course, they are also home or can be home in the afternoon.
A wise DS once told me that one visit usually touches at least three other people than the person visited. I am finding that to be true as many of these folks I am visiting are connected with each other and even related to each other. The only downfall seems to be the question of “why haven’t you visited me” which allows me to say to them “okay this week at so and so time”. In the past I have had the telephone tree of the church (not the church secretary but church members) arrange my visits ahead of time which made folks from the church contact church members and usually helped to make sure people were home when I visited.
The visits are spent getting to know a little bit more about them as human beings and disciples of Jesus Christ but often past joys and hurts from the church are recalled. This helps me to get to know the congregation better and can inform both my preaching and my teaching. Additionally, and this may seem crass, if I have to do funerals at least I have met them. I never try and stay too long but I know that sometimes the person one is calling on is so lonely for company it is hard to break away. But this also points to the ministry the church can have in that person’s life.
Those who are a little younger all seem to be working, including both parents, thus calling on them is much more difficult. Many of these “younger adults” are the very ones the larger church is interested in connecting with at a greater level and so how to do that when visitation is not the answer remains murky. To put this in more theological language: how do we build these young adults as Disciples of Jesus Christ if visiting them is lost as an option? Like many pastors I am doing more emailing and texting of young adults, to which some are responding, but others live in such remote areas that cell phones don’t work and internet is not available at their home.
Besides leading worship it is through this calling/visitation focus that I am being reminded of why I got ordained in the first place. While finding an afternoon each week remains problematic I am enjoying the challenge.
Next up in my interim pastor posting—trying to instill worship changes so that worship is worship and not a town meeting.
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This Sunday
This Sunday, 9 February 2014
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12); Psalm 112:1-9, (10); 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16); Matthew 5:13-20
A Truth About Sin by Raquel Mull Posted on January 21st, 2014
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
One characteristic I notice about children is their complete, and many times unsolicited, honesty, until they are taught some social norms. I can remember walking into the grocery store with my preschool-age son. We had gone through the ritual of “Can I have some of that cereal I saw on TV?” and “If I’m real good, can I have a toy?” dialogue and were walking in relative silence. I was thinking about dinner, and my son was staring at shelves to see what he “needed.”
Suddenly, a man in a wheelchair, with no legs, entered the aisle. Anticipating an outburst from my son, who did not understand the phrase “politically correct,” I glanced down, hoping that he would be so busy checking out the frozen foods that he wouldn’t notice the man wheeling toward us. Maybe the man would be so busy checking out the frozen foods, he wouldn’t notice us! Hope, hope, hope.
Not so. They both looked down the aisle at each other at the same time! Oh, no, I thought, here it comes! Some totally insensitive remark from my four-year-old, which I knew was going to embarrass me and the man.
My son opened his mouth and took a breath, still staring at the man with no legs in the wheelchair. I squeezed and jerked on his hand. Then came the words I knew were going to embarrass us all: “Hey, stop; leggo my hand; you’re hurting me! Mommy!”
The man’s eyes went from my son to me. I was absolutely right in knowing that I would be embarrassed. The words I had feared—“Where are his legs?” or “What is wrong with him?”—were not the words that ultimately caused embarrassment. It was my ineffective, wrong response of avoiding the truth as I tried to control the conversation and the response.
The man had probably been in other situations where he was the first amputee some kid had seen. He handled the whole thing better than I did. I blushed, let go of my son’s hand, and apologized to both of them.
Sometimes the truth is hard to hear, but kids especially don’t have a problem telling people they are fat, or missing their legs, or even that they are nice. It is not that we don’t know the truth; we may not want to acknowledge it. We live in a state of denial. The man knew his legs were gone. The fat person has probably been told before that she is overweight.
In Isaiah 58, the prophet tells the people something they probably already know and don’t want to hear. They are rebellious and do not have the right attitude in their hearts and minds to make their fasts acceptable.
Their worship is unrighteous because the Israelites participate in only the outward actions of worship; they show up at the right times with others to worship and pray. But what about the rest of the week? Do they seek the Lord’s presence and blessing on Tuesday or Thursday? How do they seek God’s face?
Jesus addressed similar problems. In Matthew 6, Jesus gives instructions on how to fast, pray, and give. Don’t bring attention to yourself, that others will praise you and think you are perfect and wonderful, above reproach and judgment.
Now, centuries later, has anything changed? The television tells us that we should look like movie stars—thin and attractive. It is acceptable to be in debt as long as you can make your monthly payments and have the right car in your driveway. If we make sacrifices at all, they should be relatively small so as not to create too much discomfort. It is acceptable to turn away or cross the street in order to avoid the homeless, smelly people. If you are in church on Sunday morning for worship, it is not necessary to go to Sunday school. After all, you plan to be in your pew again next week, unless, of course, you have company.
I fear we are in need of an Isaiah—someone who is bold enough to “shout out” without holding back, to remind us of our sins. I use the word remind because we probably already know we are sinning—we may just hope that, since everyone else is doing it, we are not too bad. We may be pinning our hopes on the fact that we do the right thing most of the time and may even hesitate before breaking any of the ten commandments. That’s ironic, because the first command is to honor the Lord and keep the commandments! I suspect we know in our heart of hearts that we have much in common with those Israelites and first-century believers!
Or perhaps we need a four-year-old. My little boy did not have a clue what he had done to merit a jerked arm and a painfully squeezed hand. The man in the wheelchair did, and I did. I had tried to hide the truth, to control it so that I would not be embarrassed. I was wrong.
So the next question is easy to ask and hard to answer. What are we going to do about it? I believe the first step is to be honest and look at ourselves. In the grocery store, I began with an apology—to my son, to the man, and to God. The issue is not how much we sin; it is when and why. Do we really think that God doesn’t notice, that God allows our standards to be set by the television and popularity contests? Do we really think God can’t handle the truth?
May the Lord, who never abandons us, forgive us through grace and love when we abandon God and God’s ordinances.
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New Medieval Bible Meditation: Isaiah 58:1-12 by Clifton Stringer Isaiah 58:1-12 (Revised Common Lectionary) or Isaiah 58:7-10 (Roman Catholic Lectionary)
At the literal level, this passage is a prophetic encouragement to the people of God (1) to actively do justice for the oppressed and (2) to show mercy to the most vulnerable. The prophet lists these most vulnerable as the hungry, the homeless, and the naked, all of whom, he says, are “your own flesh.” By this last phrase the prophet relies on the teaching of Gen. 1:27 and Gen. 2:21-25; all humans are bone of each-other’s bones and flesh of each-other’s flesh. The prophet understands that all humans are family, for we share a common ancestor. For the prophet, it is only sin that keeps us from acknowledging that we are family, and living as family.
The prophet says that doing such acts of justice and mercy will result in the rapid healing of the people of God. It will result in a renewed and improved relationship with God, in which God’s people communicate with God freely: “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.” God’s people will experience God’s presence.
To ponder an allegorical sense of this scripture, think of Christ’s own example of doing justice and mercy. This passage thus gives the people of God in the Old Testament an early glimpse of the heart and way of Jesus Christ, and it refreshes our vision of the same. Examples abound of Christ doing justice and mercy; bring one or two briefly before the mind’s eye of the congregation. Remind the congregation that it was because of such obedient humility on Christ’s part that God raised him from the dead and highly exalted him. (cf. Phil. 2:5-11.) Similarly, by sharing in Christ’s merciful self-offering, we share in his merits, most especially in the eternal life he has merited.
The moral sense of this passage is on the surface: we must do the works of justice and mercy the Lord’s prophet tells us to do, which patterned on Jesus Christ: both in the things Jesus Christ himself did in the flesh, and in the ways Jesus’ way is multiplied before our imagination by the Christ-patterns of the saints.
The anagogical sense: Surprisingly, the inspired prophet says “your light will break forth like the dawn.” God’s light becomes our light, for the Church is betrothed to Christ. When we do acts of mercy and justice, we genuinely participate in the eternal and intelligible light who is the Holy Trinity. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn. 1:5). Acts of justice and mercy, because they are acts of love, allow us to partake in the divine nature (2. Pet. 1:5). Acts of justice and mercy are acts of worship, by which we glimpse the comforting presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: we sense that “the glory of the Lord” is our “rear guard.” God protects us, and we glimpse his glory (behind us, guiding & protecting us) out of the corner of our eye, though we do not yet see him face to face. We should not miss the opportunity to give acts of justice and mercy to all, especially those in need; for we are most in need ourselves, and God has given us mercy and justification. St. Gregory Nazianzus reminds us that Christians do not just have altars inside church buildings; anytime we see a beggar, there is God’s altar, awaiting our offerings.
***
New Medieval Bible Meditations: Scripture Interpretations for Preachers, Nuns, and other Guilty Bystanders is Clifton Stringer’s contribution to the renewal of the Church’s reading and teaching of the Holy Bible. I try to pick a passage from the lectionary for the coming Sunday, usually one shared by both the Roman Catholic and Protestant (Revised Common) lectionaries.
The premise of this method of interpretation is that Sacred Scripture, since it is divine revelation, has wondrous depths. That Scripture is ‘divine revelation’ means that Scripture is divine truth and wisdom graciously shown to us by God. Scripture is thus a created participation in the divine Word (Jn. 1:1) who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Sacred Scripture is thus, and ultimately, a participation in God’s own knowledge, the very joyful eternal life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Scripture is shared with us out of love that we might become wise and good, and be saved.
Since the infinite God is the author of Sacred Scripture, in addition to Scripture’s “literal or historical” sense, many passages of the Bible will have mystical senses (or spiritual senses). The literal sense is, as it were, the fountain and foundation of these mystical senses. These mystical senses are usually reckoned at three: the allegorical sense, the moral sense, and the anagogical sense.
Here is how St. Bonaventure describes these three other senses: “Allegory occurs when by one thing is indicated another which is a matter of belief” – like when one thing in Scripture prefigures another later thing, or builds on an earlier prefiguration. “The tropological or moral understanding occurs when, from something done, we learn something else which we should do” – like when Christ or an apostle does something holy which we must imitate. “The anagogical meaning, a kind of ‘lifting upwards,’ occurs when we are shown what it is we should desire, that is, the eternal happiness of the blessed” – that is, when we catch a glimpse of the glory of God.
All the senses are effective for preaching, teaching, and training in righteousness, as the Spirit leads.
To reflect further on these senses consider, for example, Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae 1.1.10 or Bonaventure’s Breviloquium, Prologue, section 4.
Also note that, in writing these meditations, I do not do any ‘historical critical’ research into the passage. If you would like to do this, it can add to your understanding of the literal sense, and even sometimes spur your imagination among the other senses. But many modern scholars focus on ‘historical critical’ questions almost exclusively; read their works, insofar as it is helpful for knowing and teaching Christ; there is no need for me to try to reinvent the wheel.
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Worship Elements: February 9, 2014
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12); Psalm 112:1-9, (10); 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16); Matthew 5:13-20
Call to Worship
L: God said, "Let there be light."
P: And there was light.
L: Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."
P: And the light shone in the darkness.
L: Jesus said, "You are the light of the world."
A: And the light shall not be quenched.
Call to Worship
L: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
P: And also with you.
L: O praise the Lord! Happy is the person who fears the Eternal One.
P: We find great joy in God's commandments.
Call to Worship
L: Holy God, we have left our homes and warm beds to be in your presence.
P: We gather in your name to worship and praise you.
L: May this first day of the week . . .
P: be only one of many days in which we sing your praises and worship you.
Invocation
God of wisdom and righteousness, your standards and expectations of us have not changed. Fill us with the desire to know your truth and to follow your commandments. Amen.
Invocation
Eternal Spirit, Creator of all places and peoples, we come together in the name of the Christ. In him you became one with us, that we might become one with one another in the worship of you.
Invocation
Invisible God, you have revealed yourself to us in Jesus Christ, sharing your own Spirit in communion with our spirit. As we come to worship disclose yourself more fully as we hear your written word and pray in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen
Litany
L: God in Christ has shown us the beauty of holiness.
P: We come now to express our gratitude to God with our best gifts.
L: What are these gifts?
P: Our prayers, our praise, and the gifts of our hands.
L: These we should offer unto the Lord, but these are not all the Lord asks. The Lord also asks that we break the yoke of tyranny and let the oppressed go free.
P: We would do all that the Lord asks.
L: The Lord asks that we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and house the homeless.
P: We would do all that the Lord asks.
L: The Lord asks that we attend the afflicted and give ourselves for those in need.
P: We would do all that the Lord asks.
L: Then our light shall rise at midnight and our gloom be as the noonday.
A: We will do all that the Lord asks.
Prayer of Confession
Creator - Restorer - Ruler: We are prone to point the finger at others and to pervert justice by exaggerated charges. We want the rich to feed the hungry, but not to share from our own provisions. We prefer charity in principle, but in practice evade our duty even to our own kin. Some of us live in half-empty houses while there are families crowded into rooms too small for them, if they have rooms at all. Forgive our failure to live up to the best we know and to let the oppressed go free even after you have freed us. Amen.
Declaration of Pardon
Pastor: Friends, hear the Good News! Christ nailed to the cross attests the cost of God's love and forgiveness.
People: Our faith is not built on human wisdom, but on the power of God.
Pastor: Friends, believe the Good News!
People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
Exhortation
You must shed light among your neighbors so that when they see the good you do, they may give praise to your heavenly Father.
Prayer for One Voice
Gracious God, we thank you for the light that shone in Jesus, revealing unto us your holiness and our righteousness. We deplore this gap, yet we rejoice that you chased the darkness that kept it hidden from our eyes. By your light we are both encouraged and condemned. We are reassured to see your face turned in our direction, bidding us to come unto you. But we shudder at the sight of us turning our backs on you, resisting the light that could mirror your glory.
We thank you, O God, for leaving your light in the world even though we have not always heeded your summons to become the light of the world. Instead of illuminating your character, we have blurred it. You have commanded us to love you with all our being, but we have consigned our love to the pigeonhole of religion. You have commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we have been too preoccupied with ourselves to find them. You have called us to be peacemakers, yet we have encouraged the arms makers with our fears and our fortunes. You have summoned us to be wall breakers, yet we have supported the wall makers with our silence and our sympathy. We have seen the light, but we have refused to walk in it.
Yet we long, O Lord, to keep your law and do your will. We ask forgiveness for our rebellion, not merely for the sake of the joy we have denied ourselves, but also for the joy we have denied others. Keep ever before us the needs of the world into which you sent Jesus and for whose sake he gave himself to the uttermost. Let us feel its pain as our own, seek its good as our own, and work for its transformation in the name and spirit of him who came into the world not to condemn but to redeem it.
We listen now, O God, for your word. Let its message illumine our minds that we may will as Jesus willed. Let its spirit quicken our hearts that we may love as Jesus loved. Let its power speed our steps that we may do as Jesus did.
Benediction
You have called us, O God, to embrace the mission of Jesus as our own. Our sight is not equal to this vision, and our strength is not equal to this task. But you, O Lord, are a merciful God. You give light to those who walk in darkness, and you grant strength to those who carry heavy loads. As we return to the workaday world, let us see your light before us and feel your strength within us.
Benediction
Go, as a forgiven and holy people, to do the will of the one who loves us unconditionally.
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Worship for Kids: February 9, 2014 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12). Isaiah's basic message is that God is more interested in the way we treat other people than in religious observances such as fasting. Before children can understand the passage, they need a thorough explanation of fasting, as it was intended to be practiced and as it was misused. Children are generally interested in the idea of not eating and of wearing sackcloth and ashes in order to focus attention on God. They understand how easy it would be to become "crabby" while fasting and how fasting could be used to draw attention to "what a neat person I am."
Older children need to explore the difference between religious fasts, which focus attention on God, and hunger strikes, which people use to try to force governments or other groups to meet their demands. Because fasting is not part of the Christian experience of many children today, it is easy for them to see the point Isaiah was making to those who were misusing the practice. The challenge is to help children see that we can misuse worship attendance and our other religious activities in the same way.
When exploring the list of activities in verses 6-7, be sure to include some in which children participate.
Psalm: 112:1-9 (10). Psalm 112 is an acrostic which describes the righteous. The lines are a somewhat disjointed series of statements which include abstract vocabulary (gracious, merciful) and unfamiliar phrases (conduct their affairs, deal generously, will never be moved). Older children, if encouraged, can understand a line here and there as the verses are read. In general, children will learn most as the ideas in the psalm are discussed in more familiar terms.
Epistle: I Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16). Children will make little sense of this passage as it is read, but within it are two points about wisdom ("being smart") that they need to hear. To children, "wisdom" is being able to understand what is going on around them and knowing what to do in all situations—"street smarts" for their particular streets is the wisdom they crave.
Paul's point in verses 6-11 is that there is a specifically Christian "wisdom" that is different from what many people today think is wise. Others may suggest that it is wise to cheat, be nice only to people who can help you, grab the things you want and need, and even steal when necessary. But Paul says that wise Christians tell the truth, share, and treat everyone lovingly—especially those who have nothing to give.
In children's words, Paul's message in verses 1-5 is, "I am not a smart person who figured out all this about God on my own. Everything I have told you comes from God. God's wisdom is better than any ideas people have ever come up with."
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20. This passage uses everyday things—salt and light—to encourage people to be disciples and to describe the world's need of disciples. But do not assume that children on their own will be able to list the characteristics of salt or follow what is said about lighting a home at night. They will need to hear these things reviewed in detail.
The discussion of keeping the Law in verses 17-20 requires knowledge of "the righteousness of the Pharisees" that is beyond the understanding of children.
Once they recall the functions of salt and light, children will be ready to compare them with the functions of disciples. They can also appreciate the picture of a world without salt or light and recognize that their discipleship makes a big difference.
Watch Words
Righteous does not have positive connotations among children. They are most likely to have heard it as self-righteous and associate it with unnecessarily strict and prudish approaches to life. They would prefer to be among "disciples" or "people of God" than to be "the righteous."
Do not use fasting without explaining the practice. Clarence Jordan, in Sermon on the Mount (Judson, 1970), defined true fasting as working so hard or being so committed to something that we forget to eat. In this view, fasting is a verb form of the adverb fast and means to move so quickly and intently toward a goal that all else is forgotten. Children enjoy identifying times they have fasted in this sense.
Let the Children Sing
Most hymns about light focus on Jesus as the light and include very difficult vocabulary and concepts for children. Probably the best choice of a discipleship hymn is "Lord, I Want to be a Christian."
If it is familiar, sing "Be Thou My Vision." Consider using the hymn as an outline for a sermon that compares God's wisdom with that of the world.
The Liturgical Child
1. Before reading Isaiah 58:1-12, introduce both the intended practice of fasting and the way people were abusing it. Briefly point out the question/answer format in the passage. Then have the passage read by two readers, one taking the prophet's part, reading accusingly verses 1-2 and 3b-12; the second reader interrupts in the role of the surprised people, to pose the question in verse 3a. Both readers should use voice inflection and facial expression to emphasize both the format and the meaning of the exchange. Practice reading so that the rhetorical questions in verses 5-7 imply their answers.
2. Prayer of Confession: Lord, we can taste the difference salt makes on food, and we can see the difference light makes. We also know that you call us to make a difference in our world, but we confess that much of the time, we would rather not make a difference. We are not brave enough to take a stand for what we know is right. We prefer to stay with our own friends rather than make friends with the friendless. We would rather do what we want to do than take care of others. We want to be one of the crowd and safe. Forgive us. Give us the power to light up the world with your love and to season it with your justice. Amen.
Sermon Resources
1. To explore the significance of Isaiah's message to nonfasting Christians, describe the actions and feelings of a family as the members get ready for, go to, and return from church on Sunday, without ever experiencing or sharing God's love. Include griping about having to go, arguing about what will be worn; children bickering in the car; children calling other children in their class cruel names; adults making negative comments about the sermon; and so forth.
2. Compare the uses of salt with the functions of disciples. Just as salt is used to clean and heal (e.g., gargling with warm salt water), so Christians are to work on healing people who are hurting. Just as salt is spread on sidewalks to melt ice and snow, Christians can work on "melting" the hatred and similar attitudes which make the world dangerous. Just as salt makes popcorn and fries tastier, Christians can make life happier by doing little kindnesses and saying friendly words. Just as salt works with the ice to make unnecessary but delicious ice cream, Christians, out of love, work to provide some of the things people need in order to enjoy life. Christians know that God wants everyone to enjoy some of the good things of this world.
3. Advertise a new product—saltless salt. It looks like salt but does not taste like salt. It shakes and pours like salt, but it does not melt ice or make food tastier. It burns like salt burns on a cut or sore throat, but it does not heal. Compare this useless product with people who claim to be Christian but do nothing to help those who are hurting; who spread bitter feelings instead of happy ones; and so forth. Suggest that such Christians are as useless as saltless salt.
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Sermon Options: February 9, 2014
A NEW CALL TO WORSHIP
ISAIAH 58:1-9a (9b-12)
The setting for this prophetic oracle is probably postexilic Jerusalem or Judah. The community has been restored to home, and yet apparently has not learned from its experience of exile about the importance of just living, of sharing wealth with poor people, of making deeds of mercy the centerpiece of the service of God.
The fast, which is the only ritual act mentioned here, normally suggests sorrow or mourning. Perhaps the people were still pining for the restoration of their former, preexilic lives, for a lifestyle of harmony that had not yet become manifest since their return home. To that ritual petition for a restored way of life, God answers with very specific guidelines for bringing it about.
I. A Call to Worship
Verse 1 could come straight out of a Sunday bulletin. The trumpet, or ram's horn, was customarily used to call the community to worship. In this instance, the prophet may be setting up a poetic device in which two kinds of serving—ritual service and works of mercy—are juxtaposed. If that is what is intended by this "call to worship," then the point is surely not to put down worship (see v. 13) but to lift up the other way in which God is served—through deeds of mercy and justice. The basic charge is laid out in plain view: the people are seeking to draw near to God without practicing holy living with one another.
II. A Call from Self-centeredness
The prophet gives us a glimpse here (vv. 3-4) of some of the specific behaviors manifested by the hearers. In four lines we find four charges against the people that cover a range from personal to corporate: (1) you serve your own interests, (2) you oppress your workers, (3) you quarrel and fight, and (4) you strike one another. We cannot say for certain how closely descriptive this is, but we clearly have the idea that people are worshiping one way and living another.
III. A Call to Righteousness
Then the people bring the word of Yahweh in the form of a question: "Is such the fast that I choose?" (v. 5). Hardly is the question completed before a literal flood of responses pours forth. From verse 6 to the end of the chapter, one after another of the behaviors called for by Yahweh is enumerated. Initially, they are put in terms of the figurative "fast" that God chooses for the people to observe—that is, the fast is to end injustice, to share bread with the hungry, to clothe the naked, and so on. By verse 9b, the moral directives have become simply statements of action and consequence: "If you remove the yoke, offer your food, satisfy the afflicted, ... then your light shall rise, God will guide you, your needs will be satisfied, your ancient ruins will be rebuilt...."
By the chapter's end, no less than eighteen promises have been made to the people who will choose to fast in God's way—that is, by doing justice and showing mercy in every area of their lives and their community. Fred Pratt Green's hymn, "When the Church of Jesus," warns of hearts lifted in worship "high above this hungry, suffering world of ours." His cautionary words echo those of Isaiah: going to God in prayer to work out what is wrong in the world is meaningless, even offensive, unless matched by intentional deeds that work toward making reconciliation happen. (Paul R. Escamilla)
THE MODUS OPERANDI OF EVANGELISM
1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-12 (13-16)
In a church's worship center a cross was prominently displayed behind the pulpit and choir loft. One Sunday when the pastor was on vacation a man, who was much taller than the pastor, preached the sermon. After the service a little boy who usually sat near the front with his family mentioned to his father that he liked their pastor a lot more than the visiting preacher. "Why?" his father asked. "Because he's small enough for me to see the cross."
The child said more than he knew. In order for Jesus to be visible in us, the self-life must be invisible. In order for him to increase, we must decrease ( John 3:30) . No one can impress people with fleshly, or natural, ability and at the same moment present Jesus as the mighty to save. In the second chapter of his letter to the Christians inCorinth, Paul wrote of his practice of remaining small so that Christ would loom large.
I. We Proclaim Christ
Paul commented on the style, content, and purpose of his preaching. His style was intentionally devoid of "lofty words" (v. 1) and "plausible words of wisdom" (v. 4), but included the elements of "weakness," "fear," and "much trembling" (v. 3). Every person who has stood before a crowd to speak knows what Paul is talking about, but professors don't teach this style of delivery in seminary. Apparently, Paul did not mind appearing nervous; it probably accentuated the importance of his message ("this makes me so nervous that I wouldn't be doing it at all if it were not so important"). It was not the beauty of presentation that made his message so powerful; it was the depth of his conviction.
As to the content of his message, he preached the Cross (v. 2). Paul had come to Corinth from Athens where he had tried to meet the philosophers on their own ground. Perhaps his limited success there convinced him to keep his content simple and straightforward.
When a student athlete made four F 's and one D on his report card, his advisor asked the coach what his problem was. The coach said, "Well, it looks as if he's been concentrating too much on one subject." The same accusation could have been made about Paul, and that one subject was Jesus. He exalted Jesus so that the faith of the people "might not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God" (v. 5).
II. We Demonstrate the Spirit's Power
Paul's life and ministry were living examples of what the Holy Spirit could do (v. 5) in and through the life of a human being. People need a demonstration of the Spirit even more than they need an explanation. They need to see the transformation that he has made and is continuing to make in us.
III. We Receive the Revelation of God
God's wisdom is a mystery to those who do not know God (vv. 6-9, 14). But to the saints, it is a mystery that has been revealed (vv. 10-16). Agnostics claim that God is beyond our ability to know or understand. Christians agree, but we add the important qualification that God has revealed himself. Paul argued that no one can know God except the Spirit of God, but it is God's Spirit that we have received! Since God's Spirit is in us, we "may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God" (v. 12). In fact, that is the beginning point of being a Christian.
aul made his points in logical order, but they should be reversed to be in chronological order. First comes revelation, then demonstration, and last proclamation. (N. Allen Moseley)
BETTER THAN THE BEST
MATTHEW 5:13-20
Fred Craddock reminds us of the New York City bus driver who, after sixteen years of the same old route with the same people in the same old bus, on a certain day climbed into the bus and drove to Miami! Who hasn't felt that way? Who hasn't been there? Who hasn't wanted to say, "Let's throw out everything and start all over"?
There were those in the audience to whom Matthew's Gospel was written who wanted to do away with the old way: "The old rules don't work anymore. Let's throw them out and start all over with you, Jesus!" Even Jesus had been accused of laxity in keeping the Sabbath and dietary and fasting laws. Here Jesus corrects that mistaken notion: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished" (vv. 17-18).
I. Faith Builds on the Past
Jesus is saying that we are the children of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Ruth, and John the Baptist. We must carry on in the biblical tradition of the continuing story of God's revelation. Where God's story connects and intersects with our story, there God speaks. We must build on the past. Of course, every generation must construct new structures and forms for ministry and worship. But these new structures must be built with the old stones, as did Nehemiah. In seeking to address a new generation, we cannot throw out the baby with the bath water. In seeking to answer this claim that the old rules don't make it, Jesus—the new Moses—gives us a basic key to the understanding of Matthew's Gospel. Jesus is concerned about preserving the best of the past. And as we shall see, he is concerned about living in the present with moral and ethical integrity.
II. Faith Demands Obedience
When there are those who say that the old rules don't work anymore, there are those who will say that there are no rules. To this, Jesus says, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (v. 20). The Pharisees were the best of their day in trying to keep the Law. Jesus says that his children must be better than the best of this world.
There were those then and there are those today who say it doesn't matter what you do. Go ahead and cut the deal even if it hurts or destroys someone. To get ahead, you have to look out for number one. Allan Bloom, in his book The Closing of the American Mind, states that most college freshmen believe that values are relative and that there is no absolute truth. When there are no rules, selfishness reigns.
Jesus says it does matter what you do, because it determines what you are. It is not enough to compare yourself to the worst as if God graded on the curve. As one of God's children, you must be better than the best. That is why it is not enough to refrain from murder, adultery, and lying and to love only your friends. You must refrain from the underlying causes of these destructive actions and replace them with the positive actions of love.
III. Faith Provides a Witness to the World
We are salt and light (vv. 13-15). We are to be God's preserving, penetrating, purifying, and illuminating force in society. We will be so only as we are better than the best of this world. We must follow the example of the One who walked in the way of the Father (5:48). (Gary L. Carver)
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This Sunday, 16 February 2014
Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany - Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37
Aleph by Raquel Mull
Psalm 119:1-8
Psalm 119 is written in praise of Torah, God’s law or teaching. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the book of Psalms, is an alphabetical acrostic that contains praises, laments, meditations, petitions, and assurances of God’s presence. The 176 verses are divided into twenty-two sections, each named after a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Some Bibles show the letters as the subtitles for the divisions.
Hebrew letters differ from the English alphabet because each has a name that is itself a word. Each letter is also a picture or symbol, representing an object, animal, or thing. When people read Hebrew, not only do they understand the sounds of the letters, they know the words they are reading. They also have the added dimension of seeing how the images interact!
The first letter in the Hebrew alphabet is aleph, which means “master.” Aleph is the first and master of the other twenty-one letters. As such, the first verses of Psalm 119 remind us of the blessings we receive when we keep God’s laws.
These pointed reminders of blessing and promise need to be repeated many times for us mortals. The author of 1 John writes in chapter 5 that “the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (v. 3). It would be nice to think that second-century C.E. life was filled with fewer temptations, making the commandments less of a burden, but we know that people throughout history have struggled to follow God’s ordinances. Those who find them light to carry are the saints among us.
I have difficulty obeying some of the laws, especially the one dealing with covetousness. My daughter, the mother of our two beautiful granddaughters, lives in another state. Her father and I have been divorced for many years, but our relationships with each other and our respective new mates have improved since we are now grandparents. Or so I thought.
One day, my daughter called and explained what they were going to do when they visited her father for four days. Four days! They don’t visit us very often, and they never stay for more than two days! We make the seven-hour trip every other month to ensure that our four- and six-yearold granddaughters know their shimmy (Navajo for my mother’s mother) and hosteen (Navajo for old man). My feelings were hurt, and jealousy’s ugly head rose quickly and strongly. I hung up the phone and cried on Hosteen’s shoulder. I decided not to talk to my daughter again that day.
By the next morning, I was much better and had gotten things into perspective. I called my daughter and thanked her for giving me some time to get my house in order. I reassured her that her family is very important to us; visits to us are not a condition for us to be part of their lives. I had reminded myself of the reasons her father is not able to visit them as frequently as we can. I remembered that the girls would be on summer vacation, and we would be at a yearly conference. I had moved from the jealous woman to the loving mother and grandmother. But it was not easy. It took time and effort, and in all honesty, I didn’t even think about the commandment “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17 KJV).
What I did was read Psalm 119:1-4, and I discovered, to my complete astonishment, that I was happy. I had obeyed the commandment and, in doing so, enabled my daughter and her family to be with her father without guilt or worry. We were both free because I finally followed God’s command.
As I mentioned, aleph is the first letter and the master of all other Hebrew letters. It is first and considered by Jewish theologians to actually be made in the image of God. In fact, the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet spell “father,” which is an example of God at the beginning of all things.
Psalm 119 begins by reminding us that we need to conscientiously choose to walk in God’s ways. It does make a difference in our relationships, all of them; our relationships with God as well as with our fellow human beings.
The second half of today’s lection is a prayer seeking God’s help in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Originally this was written in regard to Torah and all of its 613 laws, but we still need help to obey even the two greatest commandments! Our situation has not changed. We are still tempted, and we still forget the Lord’s laws. Even knowing some of the consequences, we forget. Shame is not easy to live with. We feel guilt when we recognize we have done something wrong, but shame is what we feel when we believe something is wrong with us as people.
The God of creation made us in God’s own image and did not want shame to be a part of our lives. The idea that we are not good enough or will never be right is an attack on our faith. God promises we will be heirs because God sees us as sons and daughters. When we follow God’s commandments, never taking our eyes off them, shame will not rest on us. Knowing we are keeping our relationship with God first prevents doubt from creeping into our prayers and enables us to fulfill our destiny as God’s children.
God wants to be first; in the Hebrew alphabet and in our lives. God has given us the pattern to live through God’s Son, Jesus. Let us remember the laws and why we need to follow them. It is not just happiness and blessings; it is love. It’s the love we have for God and the love we are to have for others, which, as promised, becomes stronger when we diligently keep God’s precepts.
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Worship Elements: February 16, 2014 (Option 1) by J. Wayne Pratt
Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37
THEME IDEAS
Today’s readings challenge us to choose life. As the church, we are called to focus on what God’s kingdom requires, what it blesses, and how the worshiping community is to live out its distinct calling to be the body of Christ. Moses reminds the people of their covenant to worship God alone and to walk in the ways of the Lord. Paul helps the congregation at Corinth to understand and reframe its views of leadership, particularly in relation to understanding the gift of growth that comes through the power of the Spirit. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus begins to move his followers from their assumptions about the ways of God: “You have heard that it was said. . .” to the ways of the gospel: “but I say to you. . . .” The teachings of
Jesus confront us with choices, each carrying its own unique consequences. Jesus calls us to choose the practices that will bring God glory and honor.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 119)
Happy are those who walk in God’s ways.
Blessed are those who observe God’s
commandments.
Faithful are those whose eyes are fixed
on righteousness.
Joyful are those whose hearts are filled
with praise.
Come, let us love the Lord our God.
We come to worship the One who leads us
in the ways of life.
Opening Prayer (Deuteronomy 30, Matthew 5)
Holy Spirit, guide us as we walk in faith,
and guard us against the powers
that would draw us away from your love.
Help us live according to your commandments,
that we might live long in the land
you have prepared for us.
Prompt us to seek you with our whole heart
and guide us to walk in your ways,
that we may carry out the vows
of the covenant we share.
May our words and deeds
bring life and faith to others,
as we hold fast to the gift of faith.
Be near us each and every day,
and bless us with your light,
that our days may be filled with grace. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Deuteronomy 30, 1 Corinthians 3)
Loving God, you call us to walk in your ways,
observe your commandments,
and love you as you have loved us.
You offer us a community of abundant blessing,
with rich soil to promote dynamic growth.
Yet we often turn away from you
to satisfy our own wants and desires.
We forsake the way of love and forgiveness,
giving in to petty jealousies and quarreling,
and surrendering our lofty ideals
to our baser inclinations.
Forgive us, O God.
When we flee from your embrace,
draw us into community with you
and with one another.
Shower us with the cleansing waters of humility,
that we may reclaim our purpose
and find nourishment and growth
in labors of love
to bring your kingdom in our midst.
Words of Assurance (Deuteronomy 30, 1 Corinthians 3)
God is alive and at work nurturing our growth,
nourishing our needs, and reconciling us
to one another.
God hears the confessions of our hearts
and forgives generously, sharing love with all
who follow in God’s ways.
It is through God’s amazing grace that we are forgiven.
And all God’s children respond:
Thanks be to God!
Response to the Word (Matthew 5)
O God, send your Spirit upon us and light our path,
that we may travel the road
you have prepared for us.
Having heard your scriptures proclaimed,
and your word revealed,
enable our hearts and minds
to more fully understand
your goodness and your grace.
Help us break free from ideas that no longer bring life,
that we may embrace the life-giving
work of your Spirit.
Challenge us to forsake paths that ask little of us,
and help us resist the evils
and temptations of this world,
that we may truly follow the way
of kingdom living. Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (1 Corinthians 3)
Gracious God,
as we present these offerings,
may we be reminded of the many blessings
you have shared with us as individuals,
and as a community of believers.
You have fed us with the milk of your grace,
and have nurtured us with a love
that knows no limits or boundaries.
May our sharing this day
reveal our priorities and our promises,
for we belong to you and offer you our gifts,
that they may be used
in mission and in ministry
to bring glory to you, our Creator,
Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Invitation to Communion (1 Corinthians 3)
As we gather at the Lord’s table, all are welcome. Having a common purpose, we receive growth from the love of God, and nurture and nourishment from the body and blood of Christ Jesus. At this table, we are redeemed by God, reconciled to one another, and called to labor in God’s fields, where love and forgiveness are sown. The table is ready; the meal is prepared. Come, be fed, and savor the feast of the Lord!
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Deuteronomy 30)
As we journey out into the world,
may each of us walk in the light of God’s ways,
striving to be blameless and just.
May our hearts be vessels of God’s love
and may the Lord bless us in the land
that we are entering.
Hold fast. Do not be led astray,
and may the love of God
be yours this day and forevermore.
Go now in peace. Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Deuteronomy 30)
Love your God,
and walk in God’s ways.
We will love God,
and walk in God’s ways.
Love your God,
and hold fast to God in everything you do.
We will love God,
and walk in God’s ways.
—OR—
Gathering Words (Psalm 119)
Happy are those who seek God in all things,
who turn from wrong and walk with God.
Happy are those who know God’s love,
and live with joy.
Happy are those who share praise
with a heart of pure love.
Happy are those who know God’s love,
and live with joy.
Praise Sentences (Deuteronomy 30)
Choose life! Choose God!
Live in God’s love!
God’s way is good!
Hold fast to God!
(Mary Petrina Boyd)
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Worship Elements: February 16, 2014 (Option 2) by Mary Petrina
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37
THEME IDEAS
God calls us to walk in ways that lead to life and abundance. In his final address, Moses urges the Hebrew people to choose life; the psalmist praises those who walk in God’s ways; and Jesus calls for a deeper, more faithful understanding of God’s laws. Jesus calls us to reconcile with one another, to love faithfully, and to speak truthfully. Lest this lead us to think that salvation comes only through human endeavors, Paul reminds us that God alone gives the growth.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 119)
Happy are those who are without blame.
Blessed are those who walk in God’s way.
Happy are those who are faithful.
Blessed are those who seek God.
We will obey your word, O God.
We will praise you forever!
Opening Prayer (Deuteronomy 30, Psalm 119)
Come, Holy One:
teach us your ways,
lead us in your paths,
guide us on our journey.
Speak to us your words of life,
for you offer us direction and wholeness
when we hear your voice
and follow.
You bless us with your love,
shower us with your grace,
and help us grow in faith.
We seek you, O God,
with all our hearts.
Be near us this day. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Deuteronomy 30, 1 Corinthians 3, Mark 5)
Loving God,
you call us into community,
teach us your ways,
and bless us with abundant life.
Yet we turn aside to follow other paths:
we take the easy way out,
listening to the world’s call
rather than your call to commitment;
we quarrel with one another,
letting differences divide us;
we cherish our resentments,
shutting off our hearts
from forgiveness and reconciliation;
we cling to petty jealousies,
feeling we deserve more than we have.
Forgive us when we wander from your love.
Draw us into community with each other,
and feed us with the milk of your grace,
that we may grow in faithfulness
and work together in peace. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Deuteronomy 30, 1 Corinthians 3)
God is at work, nurturing our growth
and showing us the ways that lead to life.
God is at work, reconciling us to one another
and teaching us the paths of love.
God is at work, hearing our confessions,
forgiving our disobedience,
and blessing us in love.
Thanks be to God!
Passing the Peace of Christ (Matthew 5)
Christ asks that we be reconciled to one another. The love of Christ reaches out to friend and stranger, touching each life with blessing. Share the peace and forgiveness of Christ with one another.
Response to the Word (Deuteronomy 30, Matthew 5)
Caring God,
nurture the life within us.
You have shown us the ways
that lead to life.
You have challenged us
to move beyond easy answers,
to embrace the hard choices
that come with caring deeply for others.
Give us the wisdom and the courage
to resist evil and walk in your ways of love. Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Deuteronomy 30, 1 Corinthians 3)
God has given us growth, guided our steps on the ways that lead to life, and provided companions for our journey. Our very lives are a gift from God. With gratitude and praise, we turn to God with obedient hearts to offer back our gifts, that others may find life and wholeness.
Offering Prayer (Deuteronomy 30, Matthew 5)
Loving God,
you have shown us your ways
and led us in the paths of abundance.
You have blessed us and kept us safe.
In you we see that we are loved.
We offer you our lives,
for we have chosen to follow you.
We offer you our praise,
for your love is great.
Use our gifts, our money, and our hearts
to establish your realm of love upon the earth. Amen.
Invitation to Communion (Matthew 5, 1 Corinthians 3)
This is Christ’s table, where all are welcome. Here we are fed in abundance. Here we gather as Christ’s body. Reconciled to one another, we are God’s people. We are God’s servants, working together. We are God’s field, where love is sown. We are God’s building, a house of love. The feast is prepared; the table is ready. Come! Rejoice and be fed.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Deuteronomy 30)
Go forth to walk in God’s ways.
May our ways be blameless.
Hold fast to God in all you do.
Our hearts belong to God.
May the love of God be yours.
God’s blessings rest upon us.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Deuteronomy 30)
Choose life!
We will love the Lord our God.
Choose life!
We will obey God in all we do.
Choose life!
We will hold fast to our God.
Choose life!
We choose life in God’s love!
Praise Sentences (Deuteronomy 30)
Choose life! Choose God!
Live in God’s love!
God’s way is good!
Hold fast to God!
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Worship for Kids: February 16, 2014 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: Deuteronomy 30:15-20. Elementary-school children learn slowly, through experience, that the choices they make every day have consequences. At this age—as in weak moments later in life—they blame others for the consequences of their decisions. But as they grow, children take more and more responsibility for their actions. This passage speaks to children who are learning to make choices and to accept the consequences.
Moses tells Jews on the edge of the Promised Land that they will need to make choices in their new home. If the children are reminded of all that happened during the Exodus, they will realize that God had clearly shown these people how to make choices. They knew what God promised and what God expected. "Standing in the sandals" of these Jews, older children can begin to identify the choices they faced and what God had shown them about what they were to do.
It is important to point out that Moses did not say that God would punish the people if they made the wrong choices. Rather, Moses insisted that following God's ways leads naturally to good results, while following selfish, wicked ways leads to bad results.
Psalm: 119:1-8. The vocabulary of this psalm makes it almost impossible for children to follow. However, when they know that this is an acrostic made up of short statements about the benefits of following God's ways, children may understand one or two statements. Older children are helped if they are alerted before the reading to the eight words that are used for God's rules in these eight verses: Law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statues, commandments, ordinances, and statutes (repeated).
Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37. Only the most mature children can grasp Jesus' point about living by the Spirit rather than by the letter of the Law. Their understanding begins with recognizing the close connection between strong feelings and actions. Younger children, however, are still learning to understand and live by the rules. For both, it may be more helpful to focus on one of Jesus' three examples.
The first example is the easiest because it deals with a familiar problem: anger. Jesus insists, and children know, that calling brothers and sisters names or being furious with friends (no matter how much the names and fury are deserved) leads to trouble. When we carry angry feelings around with us, eventually they explode into name calling, kicking, punching, and even killing. Because of that, Jesus says it is important to get rid of angry feelings. It is so important that even going to church worship God should be put off until we work out angry problems with others.
Note: Jesus never says that being angry is bad, only that it is dangerous. Children need to be assured that everyone becomes angry and that angry feelings are an important sign that something is terribly wrong. Challenge children to recognize this sign—angry feelings—and find ways to resolve the problem to which it points.
Jesus' second example is adultery—or family loyalty. He presents God's intention that people should live together in marriages and families, and that they should love and trust each other in all things at all times. In today's culture, that is not the norm, so children need to hear Jesus' vision affirmed, while they also need to hear that failed marriages, especially those of their parents, are forgivable. (Just as God forgives us when we fail to be kind or to be peacemakers, God forgives husbands and wives who fail to make their marriages last a lifetime.) But they do need to know that God expects us all to work hard to make our families lifetime commitments, and they need encouragement to dream of lifetime marriages for themselves. Though Jesus speaks of husbands and wives, children also are expected to be loyalty to their families. This includes babysitting with younger siblings (or grandparents), paying attention to and really listening to each other, working to get along together, and so forth.
Though they need adult help to decipher Jesus' third example, children, with their love of elaborate secret club oaths and "cross my fingers, hope to die," understand Jesus' insistence that we simply do what we say we will do. We should be so dependable that oaths are not necessary.
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. The problem in the Corinthian church and the language with which Paul addresses it are beyond the understanding and experience of children. Paul's message about the immaturity of arguing and jealousy, however, does speak clearly to them. Children, often warned not to act like babies, enjoy Paul's telling the adults that they are acting like babies when they fuss and argue. That chuckle opens the door to discussion of our tendency, at all ages, to such behavior, and the challenge to grow beyond it.
Watch Words
Avoid abstract terms such a good and evil or life and death in describing the choices people face. Instead, speak of obeying God's rules or following God's ways.
Instead of speaking of adultery or lust, talk about family and marriage loyalty.
Let the Children Sing
Commit yourselves to making good choices with "Seek ye First" and "Open My Eyes, That I May See." Though it is not familiar to most children and some of its concepts are abstract, the vocabulary of "God of Our Life Through All the Circling Years" is simple enough for older elementary children to read and sing.
Sing about the resolution of angry feelings and bickering with "Let There Be Peace on Earth."
Praise God for the blessings of family and church in the concrete words of "For the Beauty of the Earth."
The Liturgical Child
1. Before reading the Deuteronomy text, set it in context by recounting events from Exodus in which Jews learned what God wants and promises. Invite worshipers to imagine themselves among the crowd gathered near the border of the Promised Land. Then assume the role of Moses, addressing his followers with great passion and dramatic flair. Use your hands to indicate the two options being offered. Point at the crowd as you warn them in verse 17; point to heaven as you call for witnesses in verse 19.
2. Ask eight readers (perhaps an older children's class) to read this psalm, each reader reading one verse. Before the reading, explain that in this acrostic (alphabet poem), each verse is a separate statement about obeying God's rules. In Hebrew, each line begins with the letter Aleph.
3. Build a prayer of confession on our failures to choose God's ways as they are expressed in the Ten Commandments. One leader could read the Commandments, pausing after each one for another leader to offer a brief prayer related to it.
Or a single leader could offer ten prayers, following the same structure: "You have called us to . . . [cite one command], but we have chosen to. . . . Forgive us."
4. Use the Ten Commandments in a responsive affirmation of faith. The congregational response to the reading of each command: "God, we want to choose your ways."
5. If you focus on family loyalty, provide an opportunity for couples to renew their marriage vows, or for members of families to make promises to one another. Informal congregations may enjoy gathering in family groups to hold hands as they make the promises. Be sure to urge those whose families are not present to imagine the other members around them. Then line out promises for family members to repeat.
Just because we live together, that does not mean that we are a family. Loving one another, taking care of one another, and sharing good and bad experiences makes us a family. So now, in the presence of God, who creates all families, I invite you to make these promises to the members of your family:
You are my family. Because I love you, I promise to . . .
• really listen when you talk to me;
• tell you about both the good and the bad things that happen to me;
• make time for us to do things together;
• put up with you when you are crabby and moody; and
• pray for you every day.
Let us pray. Lord, these are not easy promises to keep. Be with us. Help us to keep our promises on happy days when they are easy, and on miserable days when they are had to keep. Help us remember our promises when what is happening to us seems so much more important than what is happening at home. Help us to share your love with one another until it spills over to people beyond our family. Amen.
Sermon Resources
1. Many parenting books speak about disciplining children with the "logical, natural consequences" of other activities. Tell stories about such discipline—perhaps from your own childhood—and compare it to the way God disciplines us.
2. This three-step method of dealing with anger helps people of all ages:
Step One: Work off the angry feelings. Everyone needs to know some safe, satisfactory ways to work off the steam of anger. Children often find that shooting baskets by themselves or some other physical exercise does the job.
Step Two: Think it through. After the angry feelings have been reduced, ask yourself the following questions:
What really happened?
Why did he/she/they do that?
Why did I do that?
What needs fixing?
What can I do to help fix it?
Step Three: Go to work. Decide what you need to do and get any help you need to do it. It often helps for a family member or friend to work with you, especially if you need to talk with the others involved.
3. A story about family loyalty in spite of problems, Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary describes nine-year-old Beezus' difficulties with a very pesky preschool sister. The last chapter tells how Ramona ruined two birthday cakes on Beezus' birthday, and how their mother and her sister told of the problems they had getting along when they were little girls.
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Sermon Options: February 16, 2014
CHOOSE LIFE
DEUTERONOMY 30:15-20
A dedicated, beautiful, popular young woman made a poor choice in her mate for life. Until the day she died at the age of seventy, she felt the negative impact of that decision. Israel had the God-given opportunity to make good choices instead of bad ones. Israel was given the option of either keeping the covenant with the Lord or rejecting the terms of that agreement. God made clear to Israel through Moses that obedience to the covenant would bring blessings and that disobedience would bring curses. Moses' last address to Israel was an admonition to choose wisely. Christians have a covenant with God, also. It is the new testament in the blood of Jesus Christ. Our covenant has parallels to Israel's in regard to the choices involved and their repercussions. God's Word admonishes us to choose wisely.
I. We Can Choose to Disobey God in All of Life
Disobeying God involves turning our hearts away from God. This is the opposite of repentance. It means that our ultimate concerns in life oppose all that God is and all that he desires for us. Also, disobedience, according to our text, consists of turning deaf ears to God's Word, being obstinate and unyielding in regard to the divine will, and opting to worship and serve other gods. Such behavior, Moses cautioned Israel, will result in insecurity and death.
When people turn their backs on the gospel of Jesus Christ, they bring upon themselves eternal punishment ( John 3:36 ; Rev. 20:11-15). When Christians become rebellious toward Christ as Lord, we bring upon ourselves destructive consequences spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically. I have observed again and again Christians who decide to become unfaithful to the local church. Eventually, they lose touch with God and plunge into lifestyles that cause pain and distress to them and to those who love them. Stay yielded to the Lord. Daily deny yourselves, take up your crosses, and follow Jesus. If you do, you will avoid the heartache that follows disobedience.
II. We Can Choose to Obey God in All of Life
Obeying God in all of life consists of loving him, walking in his ways, and obeying his commandments. Since we enjoy the company of those we love, obeying God and walking in his ways give us joy.
When we choose to obey the Lord in all of life, we may expect the Lord's blessings. Though not identical always to those promised and delivered to Israel, they do parallel Israel's and are more desirable. Instead of a home on earth, we are assured of a heavenly home ( John 14:2) . Rather than a large progeny, we receive numerous spiritual fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and children through our involvement in the family of God. In place of a long life on earth, we are given everlasting life in Christ. Better than security in this world, we are told that no one can pluck us out of the Father's hand. I do not suggest that those who obey God in all of life receive no blessings in this life. We certainly do! For example, a married couple were on the verge of divorce until they decided to rededicate their lives to God and attempt to rebuild their marriage according to God's Word. Now, nearly twenty years and two children later, they continue to discover the bliss of a beautiful life together.
The choice of obedience or disobedience to God's overtures to us is ours to make. Also, the consequences are ours to either enjoy or suffer. The choice is yours—choose life! (Jerry E. Oswalt)
ACCOUNTABLE CHRISTIANITY
1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-9
Accountability is not a very popular word in a world defined by convenience. Christian growth involves accountability as a necessary tool that seeks to enable us to be honest about who we are in our relationship with God in Christ. This truth is the tool Paul uses in this passage to confront the Corinthians in response to their frustration at Paul's simple teaching of the gospel.
Paul aggressively encourages the Corinthians to face up to their immature faith. Their criticism of Paul's preaching so simple a gospel becomes the springboard for this great preacher to honestly identify the immaturity of the Corinthians' expression of faith.
I. Immature Faith Majors on Minor Issues
The Corinthian believers were splitting into factions centered on loyalty to various human leaders. The church consisted of "preacher parties." Paul confronts them with the truth that congregations who seek to center their growth and life on personalities are infants in faith who need to grow up. Only God causes growth.
Paul holds this young congregation accountable for their growth in the Christian faith as he addresses a nonissue and turns it into a clear example of their Christian immaturity. Paul would never allow such a hollow, immature nonissue to intimidate the vision of God he has been called to share.
II. Immature Faith Must Be Confronted by Visionary Leaders
Paul dares to respond to the issue by defending the simplistic content of his preaching because it fit the audience to which he preached. The images used here are rich and powerful ones: infants in faith need receive the gospel only on the level they can handle it, as an infant can handle only milk. Paul's boldness with these Corinthians makes preachers' hair stand on the backs of their necks as they imagine such a dialogue in their own congregations over issues that so often are nonissues. How many churches have never been led with God's vision because leaders did not have the courage, with God's leading and grace, to confront the nonissues for what they are?
Paul has no time for such foolishness. Not only does he call their bluff, but he uses their issue as a platform from which to proclaim that they need to grow beyond such spiritual immaturity, led by the God who gives the growth. Walt Kallestad, pastor of the Community Church of Joy, shares in his seminar "How to Grow a Church" that the primary role of the pastor is that of the visionary leader. Stephen Covey, in his breakthrough book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, talks about the need for the visionary leader in any business or institution.
In the church we understand such vision to come from God. God grows persons from infancy to maturity in faith. Pastors, as the visionary leaders of their churches, share and proclaim God's vision.
III. Immature Faith Must Be Called to Accountability
God's vision demands accountability. The accountability Paul offers is honest. It is an accountability that offers so much more than just judgment; it offers the opportunity for growth and a more mature understanding of the God who enables and empowers such growth. In love and grace, Jesus himself never sacrificed the vision of God for people who needed accountability with the immature faith they sought to share. The vision of growth in faith demands accountability. Those who fail to be held accountable—as well as those who can bring accountability but don't—will discover little, if any, growth in their faith.
The vision of new life in the birth of a baby involves growing up. To remain an infant is to miss the whole point of life. Without effective and honest accountability, growth will be strangled. (Travis Franklin)
DANGER OF HELL'S FIRE
MATTHEW 5:21-37
Jesus says to the crowd around him that anyone who calls a sister or brother a fool stands in danger of hell's fire. To judge by the language and attitudes presented on TV, there aren't many people who still believe that, however. Who could blame them? If you have been listening to the message from pulpits across this country, there has been a constant focus on the grace of God but little attention to the significance of our deeds. We have been promoting a form of Christian salvation that denies any significance of our human initiatives in the drama of life. We have been offering a form of redemption that actually seems to make our human conduct and words insignificant.
A friend commented that the most distressing thing he observed as he grew older was that it became more and more difficult to sin. Walker Percy writes about the desire of a doctor to find one clear and obvious evil. We have been working to eliminate sin. Nobody cares enough to hold us accountable. No one seems to expect anything from anyone anymore, so there can be no betrayal of commitment. We have been so anxious to declare to everyone that God's unconditional love will accept us as we are, that what we have done in the past doesn't matter, God will receive us just where we are. The constant proclamation of God's unconditional love soon becomes the declaration that we as human beings do not matter because nothing we do has any affect on God or on God's love or even can affect our eternal salvation.
Douglas John Hall, in his recent book Professing the Faith, suggested that Helmut Thielicke's description of covert nihilism is the basic attitude of most of North America. It has a basic indifference about life. Covert nihilism practices detachment, noninvolvement, "value free" investigations. It affirms the possibility of objective research. It shuns commitment. It translates into apathy and "psychic numbing." Nothing that we do seems to matter.
The individual approach is to take a personal survival tactic with little conviction about the direction of the future. Covert nihilists are masters of repression. They will not even examine their spiritual emptiness. They are living with a massive loss of meaning for life and for eternity. The gospel of unconditional love confirms this hidden and massive feeling that what I do and how I live have no meaning. The more the Christian faith tells people that forgiveness is simply God's unmerited free acceptance of our sins, the more suspicious people become about the real price of this kind of grace, which is the surrender and sacrifice of the dignity and meaning of our human existence.
God's forgiveness is not just to tell us the past did not matter; the real and powerful purpose of God's forgiveness is to say that we have such an important work to do as God's agents of stewardship of creation that God cannot afford to lose one good worker and so we are given back our future and told to get to work. Jesus Christ never expected those who entered the Kingdom to be pure and perfect when they entered, but he did expect them to strive to become perfect while they stayed.
Perhaps this word from Jesus—about the calling of a brother or sister a fool getting us eternal damnation—ought to remind us that God does expect much from us. God will not deal kindly with people who have seen divine love in Christ, accepted divine grace in Jesus, and done nothing with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a terrible thing for one to stand in danger of the fires of hell, it is an awesome thing to fall into the hands of a righteous God, but there is only one thing worse: to declare a grace that removes forever the possibility of standing in danger of the fires of hell. For the fires of hell and the glories of heaven give some eternal depth and height and glory to our human lives. (Rick Brand)
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Season of Ash and Fire by Blair Gilmer Meeks
Prayers and Liturgies for Lent and Easter
Author Blair Gilmer Meeks
Publisher Abingdon Press
Publication Date 1/2004
Binding Book - Paperback
ISBN 9780687044542
Retail Price $17.99
Discount Price $11.33 (37% discount)
Season of Ash and Fire will help pastors and worship planners prepare for Lent and Easter. The author provides corporate prayers for each Sunday and Holy Day in the Easter Cycle, including: Ash Wednesday, 1st through 5th Sundays in Lent, Passion/Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday Morning, Easter Evening, 2nd through 7th Sundays of Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost.
Additional prayers and liturgies for use during the season by small groups and families help extend and unify the congregation’s celebration.
"Blair Meeks, gifted with an evangelical heart, an emancipated imagination, and a life settled in liturgy, offers a first rate resource as the church learns again to pray. Meeks not only guides the prayer of the church through the depth of Lent and the wonder of Easter, she also interprets and instructs along the way. Out of her long reflection on the mystery of worship, this book will serve pastors and all those in the church who live by faith that is funded through prayer.” --Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary
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This Sunday, 23 February 2014
Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany — Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Psalm 119:33-40; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23; Matthew 5:38-48
Breath of God by Raquel Mull
Psalm 119:33-40
Psalm 119, an alphabetical acrostic, praises Torah, God’s law. It contains praises, laments, meditations, petitions, and assurances of God’s presence. The 176 verses are divided into twenty-two sections, each named after a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
In today’s text, the subtitle is hei, the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The picture associated with this letter is a window because the letter actually has three sides, similar to our n. According to the Talmud, God created the universe with the letter hei. Hei has creative power.
When the Holy Spirit dwells within a person, that person takes on a new identity; the old person passes away and new life is given. It is hei God breathes into Adam to change him from a bit of dirt into a living, breathing human being. God shared breath with Adam and continues to do so with us. The hei has life-changing and life-giving qualities.
I am sure we can look around our congregations and see what changes are reflected in people’s lives when God breathes hei into them. I know a young woman, who would not even talk on the phone to order a pizza, whose life has been transformed through hei. Her confidence and self-esteem grow daily. Through patience, encouragement, some mentoring, and encouraging her to take advantage of opportunities for growth, I have seen a life reborn. The patience and encouragement as well as the giving of time to be with this young mother are also gifts of hei, the Spirit.
Our small town recently hosted the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event. This young woman, because of her involvement with the event and her growing self-confidence, went out to ask for money and door prizes from businesses and made announcements over the loudspeaker. She even surprised herself! What a joy to witness the change in her life and the life of her family as she is less dependent upon others and moves out of her comfort zone to do ordinary and extraordinary things. This is hei.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, Abram is one of the earliest patriarchs whose life is recounted for our faith and instruction. Abram and his wife, Sarai, had wanted children for many years. The couple even tried to take “control” of the situation and at eighty-six years of age, Abram fathered Ishmael, the ancestor of modern-day Arabs, by Hagar, Sarai’s servant. Later, God renewed his covenant with Abram, promising that the land of Canaan would remain in the possession of Abram’s family forever and that Abram would have a son of his own (Genesis 17). At this time, God gave the couple new names—Abram became Abraham, and Sarai became Sarah. Scripture says God talked to Abraham and promised a son through his wife, Sarah.
When God changed their names, God essentially added a letter—hei, the breath of God. It was only after the names were changed and hei was added to their lives that they were able to give birth to a new life through their son, Isaac.
Psalm 119:33-40 reflects Abram’s life. The story of the renewal of the covenant comes right after Ishmael is born, right after Abram sins by not trusting God. The author of this psalm begins this stanza by asking for instruction to know God’s statutes and for the desire to follow the law once he understands it.
Abraham and Sarah had to wait another fourteen years before Isaac was born. Even with hei, they still made mistakes, but their faith that God would not forsake them remained strong. They were willing to move out of their comfort zones many times to be obedient. When they did make mistakes, they confessed and returned to the Lord’s way. “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” is the translation from the New King James version of verse 37. Revive is a verb meaning to restore life. The NRSV uses the phrase “give me life.” Either way, this is a petition for a renewed desire to follow the Lord’s path, for hei to be imparted into a person’s being, and for guidance and wisdom to follow the right direction.
The last verse of our text is another request for revival, this time for righteousness. We have the righteousness of Christ, but, like Abraham and other humans, we forget and lean on our own wisdom, desires, and needs to determine our course. We need hei to revive righteousness in our lives.
My young friend is growing in her faith, her courage, and her self-confidence. She is willing to take on new challenges and experiences, much like Abraham and Sarah. Her life is an example, not only for her children but also for others as to the power of hei. I do not hesitate to tell her that life has many surprises in store for her, both good and bad. I hasten to assure her that she has the inner strength to do what is necessary for her family and for her relationship with God. She has hei—the breath of life!
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Worship Elements: February 23, 2014 by Jamie D. Greening
Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Psalm 119:33-40; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23; Matthew 5:38-48
THEME IDEAS
The first two verses of Leviticus 19 convey the overall emphasis of today’s readings: God is holy and God’s people must be holy. Through prayer, the psalmist depicts holiness as a hunger to know and walk in God’s ways. The epistle reminds us that we belong to God as a holy building, as a temple. The key to this holiness is to be foolish to the world but wise to God. Finally, the parallels between the Gospel reading and our Leviticus text remind us that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was a commentary on Old Testament Law. Moses and Jesus both remind us that holiness is as much about ethics as it is about worship.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Leviticus 19, Psalm 119, 1 Corinthians 3)
Hear the word of God:
“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
We choose holiness and reject futile thinking.
We look today at life and turn our eyes
from the vanities of this world.
We want to be holy, for the Lord is holy.
We affirm that we belong to Christ.
We crave his wisdom and his ways.
(This reading could be followed by the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”
or the praise song “Holiness.”)
Opening Prayer (Psalm 119, Matthew 5)
Almighty Teacher,
instruct us in your statutes today.
Help us turn the other cheek when we are wronged
and do so without bitterness.
Inspire us to give to those in need
and do so without resentment.
Turn our hearts,
that we may learn how to love our neighbor,
even our enemies.
Teach us and show us the way of holiness,
that we may be a holy people. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Leviticus 19, Matthew 5)
(Station Reader 1 at the front of the worship space and Reader 2 at the rear, thereby putting the people in the midst of the prayer.)
Reader 1: Holy God, forgive us for our sins against our community.
Reader 2: We have not provided for the poor or the alien in our land. We have not paid just
wages to those who labor. We have made life difficult for the blind, deaf, and those with
special needs. We have rendered improper judgments about right and wrong. We have
done harm to the environment.
Reader 1: Holy Jesus, forgive our sins against our neighbors.
Reader 2: We have not been generous. We have not prayed for our neighbors’ needs. We have
slandered friends and foes alike. We have loved ourselves more than we love others.
People: Holy Spirit, thank you for the assurance of forgiveness. Help us move beyond our sin, that we may make the world a better place to live. Amen.
Words of Assurance (1 Corinthians 3)
We belong to Christ:
our past belongs to Christ;
our sins belong to Christ.
We belong to Christ:
our right now belongs to Christ;
our moment of forgiveness belongs to Christ.
We belong to Christ:
our future belongs to Christ;
our holy future, free of guilt and shame,
belongs to Christ.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Matthew 5)
That we may all be as daughters and sons of God, our Mother and our Father, let us greet one another with signs of peace and blessing, affirming that God desires love and kindness to all.
Response to the Word (Psalm 119)
By your word, O Lord,
you have taught us.
May your Holy Spirit
grant us understanding and guidance
to live your word.
Lead us in the right paths
of true spirituality.
Turn our hearts and our eyes toward Jesus
and confirm in our souls
the beauty of your ways. Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Leviticus 19, 1 Corinthians 3)
If we learn nothing else from Leviticus, we learn that the Lord cares how we use our financial resources. God cares whether we help the poor, pay just wages, or steal from others. The so-called wisdom of our time is oppressive and power hungry, devaluing benevolence, charity, creation care, and equality. But Christ, in whom we believe, values these things, and so must we. We belong to God, and all we have belongs to the Lord. Let us show what we believe by being holy with our money.
Offering Prayer (Leviticus 19, Matthew 5)
We bring these offerings to you, O Lord,
not because you need them,
but because you are holy.
Through these resources
we ask that he who is without a cloak be clothed,
and she who is hungry be fed.
We bring these offerings before you
and ask that they be used
to fulfill your holy purposes. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Leviticus 19, 1 Corinthians 3)
If you belong to Christ, then you belong to God.
We belong to Christ; we are God’s.
Go and be holy in the world, as God is holy.
We will walk in the way of holiness,
giving glory to God in all we do.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Psalm 119, 1 Corinthians 3)
Have you had enough of the wisdom of the world?
Yes, we’ve had enough!
Do you want to know true wisdom?
Yes, we do!
Do you want to be taught, given, led, and confirmed
in the holiness of Christ Jesus, our Lord?
Yes, we long for this.
Come and embrace the ways of God,
the ways of true life and wisdom.
Praise Sentences (Leviticus 19)
Speak to the congregation.
God is holy.
Speak to the community.
God is holy.
Speak to the whole world.
God is holy.
God is holy.
God is holy.
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Worship for Kids: February 23, 2014 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
All of today's texts are about getting along with other people.
Old Testament: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18. For children, these are God's directions for getting along with others. The first two verses make it plain that to be one of God's people, one must follow these directions. The Good News Bible offers the clearest translation, but even some of its details require explanation. Children need to be told about the old practice of leaving some of the grain and fruit in the field for the poor. Older children will be interested in the responsibility of serving on a jury or as a witness in a trial. The rules that affect children most are those in verses 11 (do not steal, cheat, or lie); 14 (do not make fun of anyone with a handicap or weakness); 16 (do not tells about people); 17 (do not bear grudges); and 18 (do not try to get even with those who hurt you).
The summary of the rules in verse 19 is familiar to many children. The teaching point here is that love does not refer to how we feel about our neighbors, but about how we treat them. God expects us to treat all people with the same fairness and kindness with which we want to be treated.
Psalm: 119:33-40. All the lines in the section of the acrostic about God's Torah begin with the Hebrew letter hei. They also use the same eight synonyms for Torah that were found in the verses read on the Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany. Of these, only Law, Commandments, and ways make immediate sense to children. Older children who are learning to recognize synonyms at school enjoy using that term in worship. Children will make sense of one or two of the verses as they are read.
Gospel: Matthew 5:38-48. This is one of the "hard sayings" for Christians of all ages. Jesus' point is that following God's directions for getting along with others is easy when we are among friends. The real challenge comes when we are dealing with people who not only will not love us back but probably will take advantage of us and bully us. Jesus insists that as God's people, we are to continue to treat those people well, no matter how they treat us.
For children, "You have heard it said" often refers to the encouragement of adults to learn to stand up for themselves against aggressive children. The challenge to Christian children and their adult guides is (1) not to sink to the level of meanness of those who make life difficult; and (2) to find creative, loving ways to get along with people who hurt you. Children need to know both that this challenge is not easy for Christians of any age and that God expects each of us to work hard at it.
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23. The Corinthian squabble between the followers of Apollos and the followers of Paul is beyond the comprehension of children. But they can explore Paul's insistence that a congregation (both in Corinth and today) is God's temple and that we are to take good care of that temple. Detailing that care by saying we should treat one another with lovingkindness, do the work needed to keep the church going, contribute money to pay church expenses, do the work of the church in the neighborhood and world, and so forth, helps children understand and apply Paul's message.
Watch Words
If you use the term holiness code, take time to explore what it means to be holy. Remember that holy is used today only at church and in cursing.
Avoid uncommon terms such as deal falsely, defraud, revile, slander, and render justice, used in many translations of Leviticus. Instead, speak about lying, cheating, cursing, and being fair.
Vengeance or revenge and retaliation are getting even, in children's words.
Because they perceive enemies as bad, many children will claim to have none. So if you use the term, define it in terms of people who make our lives difficult. Point out that all of us have some enemies, and challenge worshipers to identify theirs. Then proceed to Jesus' teachings about getting along with these folks.
Let the Children Sing
"Lord, I Want to Be a Christian" is the most familiar and best understood hymn for this theme. You may want to improvise new verses based on points of the sermon. "Let There Be Peace on Earth" is another good choice.
Praise God for the blessings of family and friends in the concrete words of "For the Beauty of the Earth."
Sing "We Are the Church" by Avery and Marsh to celebrate God's Temple.
The Liturgical Child
1. Bid worshipers to pray for people with whom they live, work, and play every day. Pray for member of our families, wonderful friends we see every day, friends who live in the other cities or states, people at work or school with whom we must get along, people with whom it is hard to get along, groups of people with whom our community/nation has trouble getting along. After identifying each person or group for whom worshipers are to pray, pause to allow individuals to pray for specific people they know.
Example: Lord, we know that you create every person and love each one. But each of us knows at least one or two people who are very hard to love. They seem to be out to hurt us and make us look bad. They make us want to strike back, or at least protect ourselves. But you expect us to love them. That is not easy. Be with us and hear our prayers for people who hurt us. (silence)
2. Ask eight older children to read the eight verses of Psalm 119:33-40. Individuals may memorize or read their verse. If this is a class project, suggest that the students discuss the meaning of these verses as part of their preparation.
3. Read in unison Psalm 119:33-40 as an affirmation of faith in response to a sermon exploring God's directions for getting along with others.
4. Remind worshipers that I Corinthians is a letter from Paul to a church he had helped start and where now the people were fussing among themselves and criticizing what Paul had done. Read the text imagining that you are Paul, walking the floor as you dictate this letter. Shrug your shoulders and turn your hands palms up as you read verse 3. Stroke your chin or make another thoughtful gesture as you read verse 4a. Raise a finger and come to attention to make the emphatic point of 4b, then on verse 5, point toward the congregation to direct them not to judge.
5. If you celebrate Communion, note that God dreams and works toward a day when all people everywhere will gather around the table. Invite worshipers to imagine gathered at this table both people with whom they get along well and those with whom it is difficult to get along. Recall that God loves and forgives all of us.
Sermon Resource
In Henry and the Clubhouse by Beverly Cleary, ten-year-old Henry confronts several problems with an after-school paper route. One of them is an embarrassing four-year-old girl named Ramona, who tries to follow and help him every day. He tries several ways to discourage her, but never resorts to mean tricks. He is, however, persistent and creative. He is successful when he writes to Sheriff Bob, her TV hero, and asks him to tell her on television not to follow him around. Sheriff Bob does. Find this book in most children's libraries and bookstores.
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Sermon Options: February 23, 2014
The Reward
1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
The Rock opera, Jesus Christ, Superstar, pictures Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God if it is really necessary for him to die on the cross. In deep anguish he prays, among other things, “I’d have to know, I’d have to know, my Lord, if I die, what will be my reward?” We don’t think or talk much about the reward of the Christian life. I suppose we feel reluctant to ask because we think that, if we are being Christian just for what we get out of it, we are probably doing it for the wrong reason. But the question sometimes occurs to most of us, doesn’t it? And in our scripture lessons for today, Paul mentions a reward. So let’s let ourselves ask the question just this once. What is the reward that comes to those who live the Christian life?
There is a reward. When we think about the Christian’s reward, we usually think of something that waits for us beyond this life, something we don’t quite know how to describe because it is hidden behind a veil and probably cannot be adequately described in the words and concepts we have developed to describe things in this life. That expectation has been important to Christians down through the ages. It was important to Paul. Later in his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). The hope for the hereafter has been very important to people in our day, too. Jonathan Kozol wrote a book about the lives of desperately poor people living in a slum of a great city. The book was titled Amazing Grace because the author said the lives of these people were so empty of hope or of promise that they could only find meaning for their lives in the promise of heaven they heard in their little church.1 That promise of a reward in heaven can also mean a lot to people living under oppression or going through debilitating illness and also for most of the rest of us as we approach the end of life. The promise of a reward beyond this life is important.
But there can also be a reward, a wage for work well done and for a life well lived, in this world, too. The Corinthian Christians were interested in that, maybe more interested than they should have been. Corinth was a busy, cosmopolitan city, a center of commerce, a place where people could move up the ladders of affluence and of status. Lots of people were thinking about that sort of thing — and some of them let that kind of thinking get mixed up with their religion. Those who were so interested in “wisdom” were, for the most part, really just looking for an excuse for feeling superior to others. Yes, they were interested in knowing what would be the reward of their righteousness. Finally, Paul said, “Okay, okay. If you want to talk about rewards, we will talk about rewards.”
Paul said that a foundation has been laid and each of us is invited to build upon it. We will be rewarded on the basis of how well we build.
Paul said that he had laid the foundation by preaching to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. If a person or a community builds on any other foundation, they are building something that cannot last. No other foundation can support the structure. So what are we to build on? We are to build on a knowledge that God is, and that God loves us all, and that God is at work in our lives and in our world to save.
As individuals and as churches — and as a universal church — we are called to build something on that foundation. Each of us is to build a life. Together, we are to build a church, and as a whole human race, we are to build a world. We do build those things. We each do build lives. We do build churches — and the church. Yes, and we are the ones who build the world we live in. We might as well accept responsibility for doing the jobs and do them as well as we can.
People and communities build in lots of different ways with lots of different materials. Of course, some don’t think much about building anything. They just kick back and let things happen as they will. But those who do that have to accept responsibility for what gets built in that way.
Of what do we build our lives? Do we build them of commitments to great purposes, of high values, of deep appreciation of beauty and goodness, of integrity and of discipline and of love? Or do we try to build them of the things that magazine advertisements promote?
Of what do we build our churches? Are they built of strong beliefs in eternal truths and of deep commitments to the loving purpose of God for the salvation of the world? Or are they built of the comfortable little services designed to serve its own members and, perhaps, to attract some of the desirable outsiders into membership?
And of what do we build our world? Do we build it of commitments to justice and well-being for all people? Or do we build it of competitions to see who can most effectively exploit others and prosper from it — or out of balances of military power that are designed to oppress and to destroy?
When we get honest, we have to admit that all of us are built of some good stuff and of some stuff that is not good. A song from the ’60s described the lives and the houses that people were building as “little boxes made of ticky-tacky.” Most of us have incorporated a certain amount of ticky-tacky into our structures — but we are likely not to realize it until judgment day comes.
Paul says we will be rewarded for what we have built and built well. Then what is the reward? The reward for building a good life is the good life itself. What we claim to have built is really God’s gift to us. A life built of great commitments and high values and of love will be life in its fullness and there is nothing better that we could ask for in this life. It is not the wealth or the status symbols or the accumulations of pleasure that really make a life, it is the deep wholeness and humanity. No matter how much of those other things a person has or doesn’t have, it is the quality of the life in the center of the circumstances that is the reward.
And the reward for building a church and a world that live up to their highest purposes is that we get to enjoy the benefits of such a church and such a world. We get to enjoy the service of a church that puts us in touch with the living God and enables us to live the good lives God wants for us. The reward of living in a world that is committed to justice and well-being for all is that we get to live in safety and in a life-enriching harmony with all other people. That, too, is the gift that God keeps wanting to give us.
To what extent are we enjoying that reward? To what extent are you enjoying the wages of work well done? We may not really know until some crisis makes it obvious. Paul introduces the idea of a judgment day into our thinking. “... the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done” (1 Corinthians 3:13). Are we talking about the final judgment? Paul may have been. But judgment day can come right in the middle of life when something happens that puts our building to the test, something like a catastrophic illness, or a national crisis like the September 11 tragedy, or maybe some opportunity to do some great good that shows whether or not we are willing to rise to the challenge. Just as a hurricane or an earthquake can test the quality of a building’s construction, so a crisis in our lives, or in the life of our church or nation, can show us how well we have built. If we have incorporated too much “ticky-tacky” into the construction, the structures may not be able to stand and serve. If we have built well, our reward will be that we will be able to cope and to keep on living a good quality of life in the midst of whatever circumstances may come along.
But Paul adds something very interesting. He says that even if the crisis proves the inadequacy of our building, it may still work for our salvation. It can show us what is important and what is not. The “fire” can act as a refiner’s fire and cause us to rebuild and to rebuild better.
Let me tell you a story about a fire. A certain Christian man finally got that big promotion in his profession. He moved to a new city to assume the responsibilities of vice president of a major bank. He and his family were excited about building that fine new home that they had always dreamed of. They built it in an affluent suburb where all of the homes were fine. They brought into it all of the things that they had accumulated and treasured over the years and they carefully selected the new furniture and appliances that would make their home just right. The family was really beginning to enjoy their new home and their new situation in life. Everything looked just right — but no one could see the defective wiring that a careless workman had left as his contribution to their happiness. One night only a few months after moving into the house, the man had a dream that there was a fire in the attic. He woke up in a fright — and discovered that his dream was true. Quickly, he woke up his wife and children and got them out of the house as it burst into flames. As he stood and watched his dream house burn, neighbors came running up to him and asked if there was anything he wanted them to try to save. He shook his head and said, “No. My wife and children are safe and there’s nothing else in the house that is worth the risk of life.” Very quickly, the fire had caused him to put things into perspective. It would be unrealistic to say that they did not suffer some grief because of their loss. But they knew to be grateful that they still had everything that was really important. That was a kind of a salvation.
Many have gone through crisis experiences that helped them to realize that some of the things they thought were very important really weren’t and some of the things they had neglected were the things that really made life worth living. That can indeedbe an experience of salvation — and that, too, is a kind of reward.
But then Paul moves on to enlarge his metaphor and he has a surprise for us. He says, “Do you not know that you [you Christians, you churches] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). If we can keep our lives from being cluttered up with things that distract us from what is important, the Spirit of God will teach us real wisdom and help us catch a new vision of things as they really are. One of the things we will be shown is that since you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God and all things belong to God, then all things belong to you.
Now, there is a vision we may have a hard time catching. We are an awful lot like the Corinthians. They were so preoccupied with who has wisdom and who doesn’t and who has wealth and who doesn’t and who has status and who doesn’t and which house church has the most attractive pastor and which has the truest doctrine that they were missing the magnificent vision of the whole that was there before them. We do that, too. We divide our lives up like we divide our property into little gated communitieswith guards at the gates or like pieces of turf with “keep out” signs on the fences. Then we exhaust ourselves with being defensive of what is ours and jealous of what is not. Paul says to forget that foolishness. Everything good is yours. Does that come as a surprise? Can you take it in?
Some of our songwriters have caught the vision. An old spiritual that came to us from a group of people who had nothing at all in this world said, “All around me looks so shine, asked the Lord if all was mine. Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart, I will pray.” Another hymn describes the beauty that surrounds us when “morning has broken” and how that beauty takes on eternal significance. Then it says, “Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning born of the one light Eden saw play! Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!” You don’t have to own a sunrise or a sunset to enjoy it. You just have to claim it and take it in before it slips away. It was put there for you. It is yours. God gave it to you.
You can feel the same way about the wisdom and the accomplishments and the goodness of other people. They are yours, too, because ultimately they are God’s. In just that same way, every bit of the beauty and goodness and truth and nobility and aliveness and joy that are to be found in this world, in all of life, yes, and in death too, are yours. Don’t try to own them in some way that hoards them and keeps them away from others. That won’t work. That will spoil it. But simply move through life with arms and heart wide open to embrace and to share every good thing that is there for you. And when the time comes for you to leave this life, approach the great unknown beyond this life in the same way. Everything good is yours. God has freely given it to you. And that is your reward just for allowing the Spirit of God to show you that you are beloved children of God.
The Offense Of Grace
Matthew 5:38-48
Victor Hugo begins Les Miserables with the story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex-convict who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for stealing bread to feed his sister’s children. As he reenters society, no one will house him or give him work because of his criminal record — that is until he stumbles into the bishop’s house. Much to Valjean’s bewilderment, the bishop treats him with kindness and hospitality. Seizing the moment, Valjean steals the bishop’s silver plates and, then, flees into the night.
The bishop’s reaction to Valjean’s treachery is not what we might expect. Instead of being angry and offering condemnation, the bishop examines his own behavior and finds himself lacking in charity. “I have for a long time wrongfully withheld this silver; it belonged to the poor. Who was this man? A poor man evidently,” he reasons to himself. So when the police arrive with the captured Valjean, the bishop’s silver in his possession, the bishop calmly greets the thief and says, “But I gave you the candlesticks also ... why did you not take them along with the plates?” The police, surprised and confused, reluctantly let the thief go.
Like Joseph’s brothers cowering in fear before the one they have wronged, Jean Valjean expects blame and condemnation for his actions. Instead, he receives forgiveness and mercy. He expects hatred, and, instead, he receives love, and at that moment evil is transformed into good.
Our story today is a true story of grace, and as such it is God’s story. In fact, it summarizes the gospel — the good news which we have received, and the good news which we are called to live.
Though Jesus’ words and Joseph’s words focus on how we are to treat others, they are based upon the way God treats us. Loving enemies, forgiving negative experiences, giving and expecting nothing in return, offering mercy instead of blame and condemnation — this is God’s story. After all, God put a rainbow promise in the sky, even though we hadn’t earned it. God made manna to fall from heaven, even though the wandering Israelites had done nothing but complain and whine. In Jesus’ most difficult parable, the vineyard owner, who is God, pays the one-hour workers the same as the eight-hour workers, and thus gives them — and us — not what we deserve but what we need. And in the archetypal tale of the Prodigal Son, we meet a God who rejoices when a sinner comes home.
Yes, again and again and again, God gives us grace instead of grief. God gives us blessing instead of blame. God gives us comfort instead of condemnation. And in the serendipity of those surprising moments we are changed. Yet, it is one thing for God to be gracious to us. After all, that is what God is for. It’s quite another for us to do the same. After all, we live in the real world, and we must be practical, cautious, and sensible. Loving our enemies and turning the other cheek is dangerous business — foolhardy and contrary to our best interests. No, we need to be right, to be safe, to be number one, always to be in control of the situation — this is the only way to preserve one’s skin. And so we, the worldly people of the twenty-first century, live not in a world of grace, but instead in a world of hostility. We live in a world where if we get robbed or mugged, we press charges. We live in a world where, in order to maintain national superiority, we can never admit that the United States is wrong. We live in a world where eighty percent of Americans believe in legalized revenge — better known as capital punishment. We live in a world where, after parents die and sibling rivalries turn into warfare, millions of dollars and thousands of emotional hours are spent contesting wills and fighting over family heirlooms.
Yes, resentment and retaliation, judgment and blame are tightly woven into the fabric of our human nature. This negative reaction to the bad things in life is learned behavior in a world where self
comes first. It is part of the original sin of seeing ourselves as the center of the universe. And it is the disease of the soul which Jesus comes to heal. When he eats with Zacchaeus, when he forgives and empowers the woman at the well, when he breaks bread with Judas, and when he gives authority to faithless Peter, Jesus gives them — and gives us — grace. He gives us the benefit of the doubt, the gift of a second chance, the lavish and generous blessing of unconditional love. And then Jesus asks us to do the same — to take the risk, to make the decision, yes, to follow him. He asks us to be foolish enough to spurn the ways of the world, and to do things in a new way.
The writer and surgeon Bernie Siegel tells the story of Wild Bill, an inmate of a concentration camp, who after six years of serving the enemy as an interpreter, was still full of energy and physical health and a gentle positive spirit. To the other prisoners, he was a beacon of hope, an agent of reconciliation, one who was constantly urging them to forgive each other and the enemy. This man’s positive spirit was all the more amazing because of the horror which he himself had experienced at the beginning of the war — watching his own family: his wife, his two daughters, his three little boys, shot before his very eyes by Nazi soldiers in Warsaw.
When asked to explain his lack of bitterness, Wild Bill responded, “I had to decide right then whether to let myself hate the soldiers who had done this. It was an easy decision, really. I was a lawyer. In my practice I had seen too often what hate could do to people’s minds and bodies. Hate had just killed the six people who matter most to me in the world. I decided then that I would spend the rest of my life — whether it was a few days or many years — loving every person I came in contact with.”
A new ethic — to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to forgive and love no matter what — it is what Jesus asks. But does it make sense? And does it work? Or is it an offense in our dog-eat-dog world? Is it realistic to expect the families of Timothy McVeigh’s victims to forgive him and to love him? Is it appropriate to ask a battered wife to pray for the one who abuses her, to offer the other cheek to the husband who has struck the first one? Yes, God sends sun and rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike — but are we called to love and be merciful to people who take us for granted and use us for their own advantage? These selfless, idealistic values may be fine for a Messiah, but for those of us who are victims and victimizers in the real world, they are offensive and dangerous.
Unless, of course, we look at them in a new way. Years ago I read a book about Christian assertiveness, and these puzzling words from Matthew were offered as guidelines for healthy assertive behavior. You see, to love our enemy is to take charge of the situation, to refrain from just reacting as a victim of their behavior. To love our enemy is to change the situation, to take the initiative to relate to our victimizers in a new way — literally to take the power out of their hands and to put it in ours in a positive way. To love the enemy does not mean to like the enemy. Instead it means to understand them as human beings — troubled and sinful human beings who have hurt us because they themselves hurt inside. It means to make a decision to respond to them in ways which will benefit them and perhaps lead to healing.
This is not to suggest that we passively sit back and ask for more abuse. It does not mean that the abused wife continues to live with the husband who beats her. No, the loving thing to do, the thing that is in the best interests of the one who is doing the hurting, may be to blow the whistle, to press charges, to get help for a sickness that is out of control. You see, to do good, to love and forgive those who offend us, is to refrain from hurting them in the same way they have hurt us. It is to initiate a new form of confrontation and healing that will lead to the well-being of all the parties involved. An ethic of grace — far from being an offense — is an invitation to take the offensive, to live positively instead of negatively, to stop playing the role of victim, and to start living a life of proactive discipleship.
Martin Luther King, Jr., once wrote:
Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship ... We must recognize that the evil deed of the enemy neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy.
King concludes that when Jesus asks us to love our enemies he is pleading with us to offer understanding and creative good will to all people. This is the only way we can truly be children of a loving God.
My friends, an ethic of grace is different from an ethic of justice. Instead of reacting to the sin of others, instead of basing our response on reward or revenge or reciprocity, we can, instead, initiate a new relationship based on love and hope. And, by taking the high road, we can become fertile ground for abundant life to grow, both for our enemy and for our selves.
I was once offered the gift of grace from an enemy, and it was a transforming moment in my life. Years ago, when my husband and I were called to be co-pastors of a church in New Jersey, the pastoral nominating committee was split. Seven members of the committee were favorable to our candidacy, but four members were opposed. Though it is usually a bad idea to accept a call to a church when there is that kind of split, we were assured that the committee itself was so conflicted that no candidate could have fared better. One of the members who was opposed to us was Pearl, a strong-minded, fairly conservative elder who also happened to be clerk of session. She didn’t like our theology, she didn’t like the idea of a clergy couple, and she definitely didn’t like the idea of a clergywoman. Fortunately, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to call us as their co-pastors, but that still didn’t convince Pearl. She just didn’t like us, and she wasn’t about to accept us as her pastors.
A few weeks after we moved and started our ministry, I was feeling particularly low. Though the congregation had been welcoming, I was still feeling like a stranger, still feeling like people were suspicious, still feeling like my husband was the more acceptable pastor. In fact, I was feeling like we had made a terrible mistake, when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. I went to open the door, and there stood Pearl, holding a broom, a loaf of bread, and a shaker of salt. She smiled at me and said, “I come from German stock, and there is an old tradition in our family. Whenever someone moves into a new home they are given three gifts: a broom to sweep away the evil spirits, a loaf of bread to make their house into a home, and a pinch of salt to bring good luck. I want to welcome you to your new home — and to welcome you as my new pastor.”
Well, Pearl and I never saw eye to eye on theology. But that day Pearl took the offensive and changed a relationship of hostility into a relationship of grace. That day she decided to love her enemy, and I felt like I had finally come home.
These words in Matthew are not spoken to the world at large. Jesus knew that secular people could neither understand nor honor such a difficult ethic. No, these words in Matthew are spoken to the disciples, to believers who have decided to follow Jesus. These words are spoken to us, people who have chosen to be the yeast in a world that needs the fullness of grace. This day may we hear these words, and do them, all to the glory of God.
May it be so — for you and for me. Amen.
Psalm 119:33-40
Like last week’s selection from the opening portion of this same psalm, today’s selection celebrates the joy that comes of following God’s Law, the Torah. As is usually the case with psalm selections in the lectionary, it amplifies the First Lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures — which this week happens to be Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18.
Reading through verses 9-18 of the Leviticus passage, we quickly discover that following God’s Law transcends mere legalism: at the root of each of these commandments is a deep and abiding ethical concern for the well-being of others. The command to leave something in the field for the gleaners (Leviticus 19:9-10) honors the needs of the poor. The prohibition against stealing has a human face: “You shall not defraud your neighbor” (v. 13a). “You shall not keep the wages of a laborer until morning” (v. 13b) is among the earliest examples of fair-labor legislation — the workers, after all, need their salaries if they are to feed their families. There is concern for the disabled (v. 14), and an admonition to treat everyone equally: “You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great” (v. 15). Ultimately, there comes a prohibition against hate itself (v. 17), followed by the greatest commandment of all: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 18).
“Give me understanding,” pleads the psalmist, “that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:34). Perhaps the most important aspect of this understanding is the discovery that God’s Law is about much more than statutes and regulations and ordinances and codicils. With love at its very heart, it is the concrete manifestation of the Lord’s desire that we live in harmony with others, and even with ourselves. The law the psalmist begs to understand has, in the very deepest sense, a human face. “Turn my eyes from looking at vanities,” he pleads; “give me life in your ways” (v. 37). Far from being a dead letter, the law is life-giving.
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Season of Ash and Fire by Blair Gilmer Meeks
Prayers and Liturgies for Lent and Easter
Author Blair Gilmer Meeks
Publisher Abingdon Press
Publication Date 1/2004
Binding Book - Paperback
ISBN 9780687044542
Retail Price $17.99
Discount Price $11.33 (37% discount)
Season of Ash and Fire will help pastors and worship planners prepare for Lent and Easter. The author provides corporate prayers for each Sunday and Holy Day in the Easter Cycle, including: Ash Wednesday, 1st through 5th Sundays in Lent, Passion/Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday Morning, Easter Evening, 2nd through 7th Sundays of Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost.
Additional prayers and liturgies for use during the season by small groups and families help extend and unify the congregation’s celebration.
"Blair Meeks, gifted with an evangelical heart, an emancipated imagination, and a life settled in liturgy, offers a first rate resource as the church learns again to pray. Meeks not only guides the prayer of the church through the depth of Lent and the wonder of Easter, she also interprets and instructs along the way. Out of her long reflection on the mystery of worship, this book will serve pastors and all those in the church who live by faith that is funded through prayer.” --Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary
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