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Friday, March 21st was a beautiful day for us at Ministry Matters: the day we launched our new Premium Library experience! We have been tweaking, nudging, and arm wrestling this new vision for our reference library into existence for quite a while now.
We are so thrilled to be able to introduce it to you for Beta testing. We hope you enjoy the clean look and simplified navigation. While we are in the Beta testing period, the new Library and the current Library will both be available for you to use.
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You Choose Your Child's Religion by Nurya Parish
KJ Dell’Antonia of the New York Times Motherlode blog has a post: ”Children, Choosing Their Religion.” Here are a few salient quotes:"There’s nothing wrong with raising children outside of a religious tradition, and that upbringing doesn’t preclude them from being part of a community or later finding a community of their own… There’s no one religious community that everyone in our family will feel welcome in, and we have faith that our children will find their own way to the community they need, religious or not.
One unsought result of a family identity based in part on shared religion is that throughout history, families have struggled to accept the children who don’t remain within the religious fold…
My children may find their own ways to organized religion, or stick with the pleasant acceptance of its absence that their father and I enjoy. As long as they’re not picketing military funerals, I’ll be fine with whatever they chose. I don’t see our family life as “losing” religion. I see it as gaining an entirely different… trait: that of including whoever they turn out to be in our definition of family."
There are a few points worth noticing in her argument:
Religion, as described by Dell’Antonia, is not a meaning-making language necessary for a full life, not a set of practices for the growth of the soul, not an irreplaceable force for good in the world. Religion is roughly equivalent to “community.”
Because Dell’Antonia understands religion as community, it is optional. People can find their way into any community they choose. There is no significant difference between a religious community and any other community.
The fact that these are her assumptions means that she is just one more example of a seriously deficient system of religious education. She appears to have received some religious education, but not enough, and most likely as a child or teenager.
Dell’Antonia also postulates that families who practice religion have trouble accepting children who, as adults, do not keep the faith of their childhood. When I read between the lines, I wonder whether this statement is born of difficult personal experience: did her parents, or her husband’s, raise issues because they married each other across religious and cultural lines? Perhaps because they (rightly) suspected their grandchildren would not be raised in their religion?
I was raised more or less the same way Dell’Antonia is raising her children: with no exposure to religious experience. I am grateful that my mother has supported my ever-deeper involvement in religious life in my adulthood. (My father died when I was still an atheist.)
I discarded the secularism of my childhood for any number of reasons. Here are a few:
Contrary to Dell’Antonia’s assumptions, “Religion” and ”community” are not synonyms. Religion is a way of making meaning of life. Religions endure because they successfully enable generation after generation to celebrate the beauty and wrestle with the agony of human existence. Nothing else – not shopping, not good friends, not even great dinner parties – substitutes.
Religious communities are not an end in themselves. Their purpose is to practice the religion they profess. By the practice of their faith, they seek a depth of soul and connection to the Divine that is impossible to achieve any other way. Religious communities exist to connect human beings with God, the Eternal. (Religious communities forget this at their peril, but that’s another post.)
Religion provides a connection not only with God but also with the hundreds of human generations who have told the stories, sung the songs, and practiced the rituals over millennia of human existence. A community which transcends time and space and exists for the purpose of intentional spiritual practice is unlike any other.
Religion provides a countercultural force to the militarist greed which is the curse of 21st century America. Religion teaches that you are not defined by your fame, power or fortune, but by your faith: what is your relationship with your Creator?
I am raising my children in a religion because I believe that I would deprive them of something as necessary as food or water if I did not: I would deprive them of a language for life. English works, but it only goes so far. The stories and rituals of Christianity are the truest language I know to describe the purpose and meaning of human existence. There is no doubt in my mind that I would be a smaller and worse person if I had never become a Christian.
I can be (and hope I am) a practicing Christian without condemning or cutting myself off from those who practice other faiths or none. The idea that raising my children in one religion precludes my ability to accept them in adulthood if they choose another is fallacious.
Dell’Antonia believes she is raising her children “outside religion” and that they may choose their own religion later. She does not seem to recognize that she has chosen a religion for them. It is the religion of secularism. I was raised in this religion also. Only in hindsight do I see its tenets:
Organized religion is unnecessary.
God doesn’t really matter.
To be a success in life means that you get a good education and a good job. If you want to get married and have a family, that’s ok too.
Also, be honest and kind.
We celebrate holidays because… we celebrate holidays.
Over that, I’ll take organized religion any day.
Originally posted at churchwork.com January 4, 2013.
Asking the Questions by Timothy Siburg
For me leadership involves a constant willingness to be asking the questions. One of the challenges though that comes with this is figuring out what the questions are that need to be asked.
You can always start with the standard questions that shape and form any story: who, what, where, why, and how? But after those starters, I have a few that I have found work well in many contexts.
Why do we do what we do?
This gets to the ideas and questions related to mission, purpose, and values. If this question cannot be unpacked easily it might suggest that there has been either some sort of mission drift, or most definitely a lack of focus. Some time for reflection and evaluation is needed.
What do we want to do, and why?
This is a question that gets to the values of the organization and the values of those involved with it. It is also a future oriented question. What is our purpose? What need or needs are we responding to? What service(s) do we provide in response to that need or needs? Do we need to pivot from what we are currently doing in order to more closely do what it is we want to be doing? (See: Ries, 149ff).
What do we need to learn and discover to make this possible?
By asking this question you are admitting that you aren't the expert at everything. Not only is this a good thing, it enables collaboration. It also allows one or one's organization to play to its strengths. Where are we lacking in knowledge that is important for us to be successful at doing the work we want to do? How can we go about either gaining that knowledge or reaching out to those who have that knowledge? How can we collaborate with others with other expertise?
Who is our customer and what do they value?
For congregations or nonprofits perhaps a better way to phrase this might be, "Who do we serve, or who participates with us, and what do they value?" It is important to recognize that an organization is not solely about those who work for it. It is also (in fact probably more so) about the people it serves and intends to serve. However these questions are phrased, I need to note that I take them directly from Peter Drucker. I highly recommend that if you have not read, or do not own his book The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask Your Organization, that you quickly lay your hands on that book. It is so simple and succinctly lays out the importance of the questions in constantly evaluating your work, mission, purpose, values, and organization. (See: Drucker, 23ff).
What is our plan?
Again this is a Drucker question. But any one who wants to tackle something whether a small term challenge or a long term vision must do so with a form or an idea of a plan. What is your approach? What is your strategy? Admittedly, this will change over time and need to be reevaluated based on learning and experience. But the need for a plan persists. (See: Drucker, 63ff).
What other questions come to mind as go to questions for leadership? Are there others that you would add to the list of imperatives?
This is adapted from a previous post on Timothy's blog, timothysiburg.wordpress.com
Sources and reading recommendations (more information under Related Products)
Peter F. Drucker, The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008).
Tom Rath & Barry Conchie, Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow, (New York, NY; Gallup Press, 2008).
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, (New York, NY: Crown Business, 2011).
Let the Children Come to Me… Unless They’re Too Loud, Distracting, or Difficult by Tom Fuerst
A few weeks ago I saw a number of articles linked through Facebook regarding the question of whether or not high-end restaurants should be allowed to prohibit children from eating in their establishments.As the debate continued, it occurred to me that such prohibitions are really merely the logical end of the already rampant elitism which makes these places tick to begin with. Inhospitality toward the poor – who can’t pay – only naturally and logically flows into their inhospitality toward another group who cannot pay: children.
Yet regardless of what restaurants do, I’ve wondered recently if the ethics of exclusion embodied in such establishments possibly finds a parallel at work in the church – particularly the church worship service.
From the moment parents arrive at church, our first instinct is to take our children to the children’s ministry. For if we were to bring our children to the service with us, we just know we’d receive looks and whispers once our children started acting up – and acting up is the primary job description of children in quiet places!*
Sure, we don’t have written rules legislating inhospitality toward children. But I’ve been in church services where ushers have come and escorted a screaming baby and her mom out the door – as if the mom was too socially unaware to know her child was screaming! As if she somehow enjoyed disrupting the service with her screaming baby!
Since when has church become inhospitable to those very ones about whom Jesus says, “Let the little ones come to me, for such is the kingdom of God?” We now escort children out of the service or give their parents bad looks when their kids are disruptive, when maybe loud ruckus is exactly what we need in our tame, lame, quiet church services. Maybe what I need, as the preacher, is for a baby to start screaming at me to tell me that my sermon is so boring that it’s bringing him to tears!
I’m not saying children’s church shouldn’t exist. I’m not saying that every parent needs to opt for this – in fact, I don’t.
But I do wonder if most parents feel like they have a real, socially acceptable option here. We have no written rule against children attending the service, but the church culture we have in most churches is, at best, unintentionally exclusive. And at worst, well, the ushers will come escort you out.
On some level, as a perfectionist when it comes to worship services, I am a bit scared to invite children into the service. I know they scream while I’m preaching. I know they distract their parents and the people around them.
But on the other hand, I’ve got to realize that that problem is mine and not theirs, and they have a deep need to be spiritually formed by participating in the larger church gathering.
The church in American has raised a whole generation that has never really been spiritually formed by the larger church gathering.
Think about it: As babies, they were in the nursery. As children they were in children’s church. As youth, they were in youth group Sunday schools. As college students they were in college groups.
For their entire lives, they have been spiritually formed by their peers. And if your church has multiple services, it’s even worse because a kid could legitimately go through from infancy to childhood and never once worship with the larger, intergenerational people of God.
And then we wonder why our kids go off to college and never come back to our church. Maybe we need to consider that it’s not primarily their fault; the decisions they make are really the natural outflow of the decisions we made for them their entire lives.
Sure, as parents, we need to take some responsibility. But people like me, ministers, pastors, youth pastors, and worship leaders, need to see that we are the ones who set up and support structures that are inhospitable to young people. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that they do exactly what we train them to do: Only hangout with people their own age, race, and class.
I don’t give a rip about what restaurants do, but I know lots of churches that are accidentally inhospitable toward children. Services are held where, instead of being welcome guests, kids are seen as distractions and pests. If we’re not doing anything about our accidental exclusivity, it’s going to be awfully hard to argue that someone else shouldn’t be intentionally exclusive.
*That church is primarily a quiet place is something else we ought to rethink. But that’s for another time.
This post originally appeared on Tom's blog, Tom1st.com. Subscribe to his blog to receive new posts via email
Dear Churchgoers... by Joseph Yoo
Dear Churchgoers,This may make me sound like I’m either complaining or not good at my job. Neither is the case, though the latter can be debated. The truth is, I’m not a mind reader. Now I bet some of my colleagues have such a Bat-phone line connection with God that with one look at your face they know your niece's goldfish died. I don’t have such an in with God. I wish I did.
It may be that I’m just not as holy as some of the pastors you see on television who can tell you what God’s will is for your life (for a nominal fee.) I have to rely on a different source. You. Now I understand you might think I should know all the things that are happening with you. I really do want to. Most of my fellow pastors would agree. We love to know the things that are going on in your life. We want to hear all about it. But there’s a good chance that we won’t know if you never tell us.
I’m a lot duller than I’m given credit for. I’d be one of the disciples Jesus would look at incredulously and ask, “Are you so dull?” Because you see, I’m a bit slow. Dense even. I definitely live up to the title associated with my moniker: I’m a dreamer. Now this has its upside—it makes me optimistic. It helps me come up with great ideas. But it also has a terrible downside in that it keeps me inside my own head. When you add my severe introvertedness on top of that — I just need help. From you.
If you don’t tell me that your closest third cousin who lives on the other side of the country passed away, there’s a chance that I won’t know until it works its way through the grapevine of the church. Or if you’re in the hospital for a minor procedure and didn’t tell a soul, and you’re upset with me for not checking up on you, it’s probably because I just didn’t know. I know this sounds like an excuse (it is) but there are other people in the church that, God bless their soul, need me for something. You may be thinking, “Why does my pastor spend so much time with them and not much with me?” Well, there’s a small chance it’s because I don’t like you. ( I know, I know. Horrible. But pastors are people too, and like all people, we’re broken.) But the more likely answer is that it’s because the other folks are probably letting me know when they need to see me.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s a lot a pastor needs to do throughout the week. We can’t always go through the directory to call folks one by one to see how they’re doing. We’d like to be able to do this, but things sometimes happen that take us away from the desk. Like the bathroom flooding. Again.
You’re not bothering me if you’re at the hospital and want a visit. Call me. Don’t think you’re being a burden if you’re struggling and need to talk. Call. I want to have conversations about your faith, God, and your life’s journey. Believe me, I would rather do that than answer emails from the District Superintendent.
Sharing life is one of the best things about ministry, and something I feel honored and privileged to do. But sometimes, I need your help to let me know what’s going on in your life. Don’t give me too much credit and assume that I know everything. I don’t. So let me know. I’ll be grateful that you called to share what’s going on. And I’ll definitely make my way to visit you soon.
Joseph Yoo is a Ministry Matters contributor and pastor of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, CA. He is the author of Practical Prayer and Encountering Grace from the Converge Bible Studies series. He blogs at JosephYoo.com.
Celebrating Women's History Month
Listen in as Old Testament scholar Judy Fentress-Williams speaks with Covenant Bible Study hosts Christine Chakoian and Shane Stanford about the risk Esther took to save her people.http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/video/entry/4860/celebrating-womens-history-month?utm_campaign=Eblast%203262014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=Women%27s%20History%20Month
Listen in as Old Testament scholar Judy Fentress-Williams speaks with Covenant Bible Study hosts Christine Chakoian and Shane Stanford about the risk Esther took to save her people.
To celebrate Women's History Month, we've compiled a special series of articles and devotionals about women in the Bible. The CEB translation and the CEB Study Bible employed more women scholars than any other translation to date, and we're proud of the passion these theologians bring to this project and to inspiring people's faith every day.
In this video, biblical scholar Judy Fentress-Williams speaks with Covenant Bible Study hosts Christine Chakoian and Shane Stanford about the risk Esther took to save her people.
Fentress-Williams is one of the biblical scholars who contributed to Covenant Bible Study, a new in-depth group Bible Study that centers around our relationships with God, with each other, and with the world. Find out more about Covenant Bible Study.
Connect with the CEB on Facebook to join the conversation and for our Women of the Bible art series.
To Question Our Quirks by Laurie Wallin
The idea that gifts exist in you that you’ve never noticed (or maybe even forcefully rejected) may seem strange, or even wrong. You might be thinking, How could these tendencies possibly be OK? Why did God design me like this? I struggle every day with [insert area of weakness here].Every day I hear thoughts like these from friends and clients: laments about how they relate to God and to the world. They overthink issues, worry too much, put things off, argue too much, talk too much, or have any number of other grievances. They fight who they are and beg God to make them different. They mistakenly interpret Scripture, such as the verse that says “those who lose their lives because of me will find them” (Matthew 10:39). They think it means I need to stop being the way I am so I can be more of who God intends me to be or do more of what God has purposed me to do. This often comes out sounding like, “God, please make me more like [insert name of friend you think is perfect].”
Why is this?
Authors Albert Winseman, Donald Clifton, and Curt Liesveld say it’s because we’ve grown up with the “weakness prevention” model, which tells us that to become strong and successful we must correct our weaknesses, develop our areas of nontalent. Then we will be ready to fully serve God and the world.
We’ve all struggled with this ideology—focusing not on our strengths but on our weaknesses—in some form. The idea stems from the school-age question: What about me is OK, and what isn’t? What began as a simple desire we had as kids to understand ourselves, others, and the basic truths of the world became tangled in mixed messages and experiences of loss. Then it twisted into a deep source of pain and shame when we started to assign words like wrong and bad to how we naturally relate to life and people.
I see this happen often in my daughters’ hearts as they progress through school. Most recently my seven-year-old announced, in one of our bedtime-foot-rub moments, that her friends don’t like her because she gets better grades on certain assignments than they do. She’d started getting poor grades in math (her favorite subject) in the month leading up to that conversation, so I took a risk and asked, “Any chance you’re doing the work poorly so they’ll like you more?”
A long silence. Then her sweet, quiet, honest “maybe” opened the door for us to figure out how she could enjoy achieving in her favorite subject and encourage the other girls: she could offer to help them, learn how to change the subject, or ask to move seats and ignore their remarks. Whatever we came up with, the point was to separate her tendency to work hard and effectively with numbers from the judgment of her “friends” at school, because there’s no way this mama was going to let any ponytail diva attack my kid’s love for learning! (Did I mention another of my quirks is that I get passionate about things? This has obvious use—and probably more obvious pitfalls.) You and I were created in the image of God. And God says our design is “supremely good.”
You’re not my seven-year-old, but like her, you and I were created in the image of God. And God says our design is “supremely good” (Genesis 1:31). You and your overthinking, overplanning, worrying, quirky self were made on purpose to reveal God to the world around you in a way only you can do.
In your weirdness. Not in spite of it.
How does that work? We find the answer in Scripture, where Paul (a guy with major weirdness issues that we’ll discuss later) writes the message God gave him: “ ‘My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.’ So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). “Weakness,” as translated from the original Greek, refers to our inabilities as frail humans, not our wayward desires or tendencies, as some would have us believe.
And then there’s that scary little word: perfect. It isn’t the same as flawless, as we might be tempted to read—and as we often think God expects us to be. Nowhere in the Bible does the idea of perfection, paired with humanity, mean “faultless.” It means “complete.” Truly, “in God we live, move, and exist,” and “without me,” Jesus said, “you can’t do anything” (Acts 17:28; John 15:5). In God we are complete. Lacking nothing. Perfect. Not in spite of our weaknesses, in them. It’s a completion that God breathes into us by divine power.
It’s in our weakness, in our weirdness, that God’s completeness and power exist. When God is in our tendency to overthink, overanalyze, overplan, get too emotionally wrapped up in life, and constantly think about the future (or never think about it), God’s strength shines brightest and purpose unfolds most clearly. The overthinking becomes strategic planning. The worrier’s tendency to stew over eventualities becomes prayer over possibilities. The chatty one becomes the connector in a group or the one who introduces souls to Christ. The one who doesn’t much consider the future becomes the one who reveals to us worrywarts the joy and beauty of this moment.
You see, God doesn’t want to work around you or your quirks. He wants to work through you—through them.
It isn’t a matter of God’s overriding our weaknesses. Instead, God uses our natural design, pouring strength through our quirks.
As this happens, the weird, annoying, frustrating things about us—the things we’ve perhaps seen as problems or struggled against for years—become the window through which the power of God can shine brightest. Not because God removes them or “heals” us from who we are, but because God empowers us to live as who we are, only better, stronger. It’s what a personal trainer would do with one of our weaker muscles: rather than perform a muscle transplant, he would use weights and exercise to show us how that part’s supposed to work.
In the past few years as a life coach, I’ve seen this truth play out in lives again and again. As clients discover God’s strength folded into their weaknesses and quirks
marriages are healed and spouses begin to see God’s design in their mates’ infuriating quirks;
ministries come to life as people accept who God has made them to be, and they let God’s design make their ministry personal and more effective;
parents find new energy, confidence, and efficacy;
clients leave jobs that drained them for better ones or re-create current jobs to better complement who they are;
organizers discover the peace that comes with keeping their environments— and their thoughts and feelings—arranged in helpful ways;
highly responsible people discover how to master this trait instead of letting it master them;
worriers invest their anxiety in prayer and see miracles happen;
communicators who tend to gossip find ways to spread encouragement and information instead, catalyzing blessing in their neighborhoods.
In every case, clients tell me that one of the biggest wins of our working together is that they can now look in the mirror and recognize the value in their weaknesses and quirks. And that, on a good day, they’re even grateful for them because they’re starting to see God actively at work in their lives in these areas.
These amazing people accomplish all this as they decide to stop fighting the qualities God created in them and instead start asking:
If I’m made in your image, God, what aspects of you am I meant to reflect?
For what purpose did you make me this way?
How do you reveal these attributes—these tendencies that seem weak in me—in a holy, grace-filled way?
Would you please fill my weaknesses with your life and power to replace the brokenness and frustration they often bring now?
It can be a scary shift to stop fighting yourself and start following God, not just in spite of but because of a weakness: to start letting God cultivate those traits as the openings for strength they were always meant to be in you. This change in perspective may even feel as if you’re walking straight into darkness and away from all you thought you understood about character. But if you’ve struggled to find the light in an aspect of yourself that’s been tough to understand or manage, perhaps it’s time to try a new approach. After all, “the quickest way for anyone to reach the sun and the light of day is not to run west, chasing after the setting sun, but to head east, plunging into the darkness until one comes to sunrise,” according to Jerry Sittser, coauthor of When Your Rope Breaks. The journey to make sense of and see value in our weirdness begins when we turn to face what we’ve run from for so long—when we let ourselves examine what we’ve begged God to remove from or change in us.
The journey begins when we stop fighting and let God wield his strength through us—to lead us to the sense of purpose we all crave and to His peace that passes understanding. To discover—and fully, joyfully live—the truth that our weirdness, in God’s hands, is wonderful.
Indeed, it’s like seeing that strange, maybe even initially offensive gift peering out from the fresh-opened box in your hands. But getting to know its value? What power this will unleash in your life!
Ready to take the risk to discover the good that’s hiding in those quirks? Let’s start with a quick mental inventory. Which of your quirks do you doubt could ever have a purpose? Consider your closest friends: Which of their quirks irritate you, and how do the quirks affect your relationship? What challenges have your own weirdnesses created in those relationships?
excerpted from: Why Your Weirdness Is Wonderful: Embrace Your Quirks & Live Your Strengths by Laurie Wallin Copyright©2014 by Abingdon Press. Used with permission.
This Sunday, 30 March 2014
Fourth Sunday in Lent — 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
Victory in Jesus
After he said this, he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smeared the mud on the man’s eyes. Jesus said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (this word means sent). So the man went away and washed. When he returned, he could see. (John 9:6-7)It was a beautiful Saturday night in June, and seventeen-year-old Daniel jumped into his pickup after saying good night to his girlfriend. He had just enough time to make it home before his midnight curfew. It had been an exciting day spent cooling off from the summer sun by swimming. He was driving south on state highway 54, barefoot and still wearing his swimsuit without a T-shirt.
It was dark on the desolate little highway — so dark that Daniel didn’t see the black cow that had wondered onto the pavement. He slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. He hit the cow and the pickup started to flip. Since he wasn’t wearing his seat belt, he was thrown through the windshield. His head hit the pavement, and then, his scantily clad body skidded across the caustic surface. The momentum of the ejection finally slowed, and Daniel came to a stop. He was barely conscious, but he was aware enough to move himself commando style to the side of the road. He wanted to avoid traffic although there was hardly any on the highway so late at night.
In fact, Daniel lay by the side of the highway for forty minutes until someone drove by, saw his truck, and then found him. As they were loading him in the ambulance, his parents drove upon the scene as they were now retracing Daniel’s steps. He was rushed to the hospital thirty miles away.
Daniel’s church was buzzing the next day with the news of the accident. The minister went to the hospital after the service. The first person he saw was Daniel’s grandmother. Her face revealed that she was reliving the experience of another grandson who was paralyzed because of a car wreck about a year earlier.
Daniel was in ICU with severe head trauma. He was alive, but unconscious. The extent of the damage was unknown, but the doctors were hopeful. Over the next few weeks, Daniel began to regain consciousness, but only for brief periods of time. With slurred speech, he would identify the people in the room. He recognized the minister but couldn’t recall his name. He simply called him Preacher. It became apparent that recovery would be a long process. His mind was like that of a child, and he would have to start over with his education. He would probably miss his senior year of high school just to relearn the basics in life such as walking, talking, eating, and dressing. After a month-long stay in the local hospital, Daniel would be transferred to a specialized rehabilitation center in Dallas. As soon as the paperwork was cleared, Daniel was moved.
At the end of the week, the minister was shopping at Walmart with his family. While pushing the cart past the men’s wear section, he was surprised when Daniel’s dad stepped into the aisle. The father was equally surprised to see the minister and his family. He simply asked the minister and family to follow him. He led them to the pharmacy where Daniel was picking up a prescription with his mother and his brother. Daniel had been released from the rehabilitation center. What was supposed to be months of rehabilitation turned out to be a week. The doctors couldn’t explain it. The area on his brain that was bruised had mysteriously cleared up on its own. Daniel’s motor skills were still a little slow, but they were functioning normally.
Two days later, the minister fully expected to see Daniel and his family in worship. He was a little disappointed to walk into the sanctuary as the service started and see their regular pew still empty. But dismay soon turned to a joy. As soon as the congregation began to sing the chorus of the first hymn, the family walked in. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Shivers went up and down many a spine as they sang “O victory in Jesus, my savior forever!”
The doctors couldn’t medically explain Daniel’s recovery. But it was obvious to the church people. After all, they sang about it in the hymn. There is victory in Jesus. In this case, that victory meant the physical healing of a young man. Thanks be to God.
This article originally appeared in Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, Series VI, Cycle A Copyright © 2007 CSS Publishing.
New Medieval Bible Meditation: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 by Clifton Stringer
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 30, 2014
1 Samuel 16:1-13 (Revised Common & Episcopal); 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 (Roman Catholic)
At the literal level, this scripture tells the story of Samuel anointing the second king of Israel, King David, while David is just a boy. The Lord tells Samuel the prophet to stop mourning over King Saul, to take oil and go to the home of Jesse in Bethlehem, for the Lord says: “I have provided for myself” a king among his sons. Samuel is scared of this mission (since Saul will kill him if he learns of it), and the Elders of Jerusalem are themselves scared when Samuel arrives since he is a mighty prophet. He clarifies that he comes “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice” (v.5). Samuel himself consecrates Jesse and his sons, and invites them to the sacrifice.
7 of Jesse’s 8 sons are present. Samuel looks on the first, Eliab, and thinks that surely this is the “Lord’s anointed” standing before him. But the Lord corrects Samuel: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (v.7). Samuel, now discerning in the Lord’s way and with the Lord’s help, likewise looks on each of the other 6 present sons, and says of all 7, “The Lord has not chosen these” (v. 10).
Notice that all the initiative in this passage is from the Lord: the Lord sends Samuel, and the Lord will choose a son of Jesse to be king, though the son the Lord will choose is not a son Jesse would have chosen. God chooses, or elects, the son he will.
And so Samuel asks Jesse if all of his sons are present. Jesse answers that the youngest is not present, but is keeping the sheep. Samuel says, “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” David is brought. He is described as “ruddy” with “beautiful eyes” and “handsome.” The Lord says, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” It is curious that after saying that the Lord judges not as humans judge but by looking at the heart, the young David is described with words like ruddy, beautiful, and handsome. It seems that just as appearances do not always match the heart, yet sometimes there is both outward and inward beauty at the same time. Why, then, did Jesse not consider David? One possibility is David’s youth. Another could be that Jesse his father did not think David had the kind of strong bearing that would make for a good king, or he thought him too inwardly delicate. Possibly Jesse just had an incorrect appraisal of his son David’s inward goodness and outward potential.
Samuel anoints David, the youngest, in the midst of all his older brothers. And “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah” (v. 13), having anointed for Israel the Lord’s chosen king.
At the allegorical level this scripture shows us Jesus Christ. Saul was the first king of Israel. Saul is a figure for Adam, for Saul fell from the Lord’s graces. David is the second king of Israel, and is a figure for Christ. Further, David is the 8th son of Jesse, and Samuel comes to him only after going through all of Jesse’s other 7 sons, and then waiting for him to appear. The 7 sons signify the 7 days of creation; the 8th son signifies Christ, for Christ’s resurrection happened on the 1st day of the week, which is the same as the 8th day. Further, Samuel goes in sequence to reach the 8th son David, just as at Christ’s arrival he sums up all creation in himself, redeeming its fallen nature, giving it a “new creation” in himself (2 Cor. 5:17).
Further, David is spoken of as a “shepherd,” and so signifies Christ the “good shepherd” (Jn. 10:14). In Christ, “the Lord is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1).
After David’s anointing with oil he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is connected to Christ’s baptism at which the Spirit is present. (“Christ” means “anointed one.”) Further, it signifies the Church’s sacrament of confirmation or chrismation, at which we are anointed with oil and sent by the Holy Spirit.
At the moral level, Christ teaches us at least two things through this scripture. First, since God looks at the heart of a person rather than the outward appearance, we should strive to do the same. To do this well, we must seek to rely on the Lord, who sees more than us; we must “walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25) and seek to be guided by the Spirit. This is particularly true in picking leaders. For God often chooses one whom the world (signified now by Jesse) would not choose.
Second, in our anointing in Christ in the sacrament of confirmation or chrismation, we are anointed particularly into a participation in Christ’s office of king. We must take responsibility for the world in the measure the Lord appoints us power; our dominion must be just in a way that is merciful, and ordered to peace. We also must share in Christ’s courage, and find the courage to face Goliath with only the strength of the Lord and the few small stones at hand. We must strive to receive the courage by which he offers his body as a living sacrifice on the cross, an offering holy and pleasing to God, his spiritual act of worship which we imitate in the Eucharist and are called to imitate always (cf. Rom. 12:1-2).
At the anagogical level, we begin by noticing a riddle or mystery the Holy Spirit has left in this text to spur us to contemplation. In v. 11 Samuel says that no one will sit down until David arrives; and yet when David arrives, the Lord says, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he” (v. 12). Why does the Lord say “Arise” if all are already standing? Or why did all sit down if the fearful prophet said all must remain standing? It is rather that this is a clue that we are to arise in the presence of Christ the King not only outwardly, but inwardly. Even in Lent, we arise not only with our feet in outward penance, but we lift our hearts up to fellowship with our King, such that his life, his death, and his resurrection are always taking place in our hearts, making us a new creation. As our hearts “arise,” we have fellowship with the humanity of Christ, which the Lord anoints and has made a sheep gate (Jn. 10:7) for us, by which our shepherd leads us up into the presence of “the three divine persons, whose life is eternally one of shared regard, delight, fellowship, feasting, and joy,”* the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
* quotation from David Bentley Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), viii.
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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, ideally one shared by both Roman Catholic and Protestant (both Revised Common & Episcopalian) lectionaries.
The premise of this method of interpretation is that Sacred Scripture, because 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 mystical 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 that 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.
Aquinas even notes that, since God understands all things through one infinite act of being, God can intend for there to be more than one meaning of a scripture at the literal level.
All four senses (literal, allegorical, moral, anagogical) 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 passages. 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 the gospel of Jesus Christ; there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel.
Worship Elements: March 30, 2014 by Sharon McCart
Fourth Sunday in LentCOLOR: Purple
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
THEME IDEAS
When we see clearly, our lives are transformed. But seeing God clearly, recognizing Christ, and perceiving the anointing of God requires the work and light of the Holy Spirit. When we have the light of the Spirit, we see God and understand things more fully, we see others with the eyes of Christ. God does not value us for what we look like. God sees into our hearts and knows what we feel and believe. Anyone can be called by God to achieve greatness. And everyone is cared for by the Good Shepherd, who gives us all that we need. For we are all “children of light,” created by the One who is light, and in whom there is no darkness at all. Yet, we are also all blind and in need of healing so that we might be the sight of God, clear and undistorted by our sin, our hurts, our agendas, and our prejudices. The light of the world shines, and the darkness that is in the world has not overcome it—not in our individual lives, not in our collective lives, not in the history of the world as a whole. The light will not be extinguished. We must let it shine through us!
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Ephesians 5, John 9)
When the world is dark and full of hate and fear,
when we cannot see God
we will turn on the light.
When we cannot find our way back to love and peace
we will turn on the light.
When our vision dims due to the darkness within
we will turn on the light.
Christ opens our eyes with the gift of sight.
The light of the world is Jesus Christ.
Come and worship the one
who brings sight to the blind.
Hallelujah! Praise God, the light of the world!
Opening Prayer (Ephesians 5, John 9)
Gracious God, who created us in God’s own image,
we are grateful for all that you have done for us,
for all that you are doing in us,
and for all that you will do through us.
Open our eyes to see your presence among us,
moving in powerful ways at all times
and in all places.
Open our ears to hear familiar words in new ways—
ways that will change us and challenge us
to become the people you created us to be.
Grant us the power and the courage
to come out of the darkness
and into the light of Jesus Christ,
that we may serve you by serving others.
We love you with all our heart, soul, mind,
and strength. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (1 Samuel 16, Ephesians 5, John 9)
Forgiving God, in a world filled with so much pain,
we would rather shut our eyes and be blind
than see things as they really are.
Grant us the courage to face the reality of our world,
and give us the strength to bring your light
to those who walk in darkness.
Help us see others as you see them,
and forgive us when we do not trust you enough
to open our eyes to the possibilities before us.
Heal our self-inflicted blindness, O God,
and lead us in the footsteps
of the Light of the World,
who reveals your glory in his life,
his teachings, and his love.
In his holy name, we pray. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Psalm 23)
Christ came to lead us in paths of righteousness
and to guide us through our lives.
Christ is with us in times of danger and times of peace.
The goodness and mercy of God
are given to us each and every day of our lives.
God forgives us for our failings, upholds us in love,
and leads us to the place
that Christ has prepared for us.
Believe in your heart that God loves you
and forgives you.
We believe! God help our unbelief!
Response to the Word (Ephesians 5, John 9)
In the light of God, all is made clear. We see how much God loves us and how much God loves all people. We see Christ, the Light of the World, in Scripture and in our lives; and although we once were blind, now we see!
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Psalm 23)
God of light and love and peace,
we praise your name
for leading us in paths of righteousness,
that we may come into your presence,
forgiven and free.
We give you thanks for guiding us to this place:
where we may rest beside the still waters
of your grace,
where we are filled with the good gifts
of your goodness and mercy.
We worship you with all that we are,
and we bless your name for all that we will be
as we continue on our journey—
a journey that leads us to your kingdom,
where we will dwell with you forever.
We offer you these gifts,
that you might bless them and send them out
into the valley of the shadow of death,
and everywhere in need of your light. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Psalm 23, Ephesians 5)
Go into the world, carrying the light of Christ
into the darkness!
We go, with hearts full and eyes open!
Receive God’s love and care,
and share that love and care with others!
We go, with eyes reflecting God’s light
and hands open to share it!
May you walk in the light of Christ
all the days of your life!
We will follow Christ wherever he leads us! Amen!
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Psalm 23)
Let’s go to some place green and cool!
But we have to go through that industrial area
to get there!
We’ll just take the shortcut by the river.
And let’s take something to eat!
Good idea! We can share it with the people
over on the other side!
They never have enough to eat!
And tonight we can sleep out under the stars!
We are part of God’s creation
and God will take care of us!
God is good, all the time!
And all the time, God is good!
Praise Sentences (Psalm 23)
God gives us what we need!
God shows us how to live!
Praise God for being with us no matter what!
Love the Lord your God,
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!
Worship Connection: March 30, 2014 by Nancy C. Townley
Fourth Sunday in LentCOLOR: Purple
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
The theme for Lent: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS
Each week a script will be provided, following the gospel lesson, concerning those whom Jesus met.
Fourth Sunday in Lent: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS: THE MAN BORN BLIND
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: Once you lived in darkness.
P: Now the light of God has shone upon us.
L: Find what is pleasing to God and follow God’s ways.
P: The acts of darkness are left behind as we journey to God’s light.
L: Thanks be to God who gives us the light.
P: Open our eyes and our hearts to receive your light of salvation. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2:
L: The Lord is our shepherd; we will have all that we need; we are released from fear.
P: The Shepherd guides us in fruitful living, giving us healing and pardon.
L: Even though difficulties and dangers may lie ahead, we do not need to fear.
P: God’s love and strength are as a rod and staff for us.
L: God will give us abundantly from God’s own love.
P: Surely this goodness and mercy will be with us all of our days, and we will dwell in God’s loving care forevermore. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2058, “Shepherd Me, O God,” the refrain only, offer the following call to worship as directed.]
L: The Lord is my shepherd.
P: I am troubled, O Lord, and fearful. I cannot find my way to you.
L: I will give you what you need.
P: But I am weak; my courage has failed.
Soloist: singing the refrain of “Shepherd Me, O God”
L: You are given healing, beloved child.
P: Take me beyond my wants and burdens.
L: You are invited to dwell in the house of peace forever.
P: Lord, I come to you, seeking your healing love and salvation. AMEN.
Soloist: singing the refrain of “Shepherd Me, O God” Call to Worship #4:
L: We are blind to many things.
P: Lord, cure our blindness.
L: The light of God shines for us today.
P: Lord, pour that light on us.
L: Come, worship God who forgives and heals your blindness.
P: Open our eyes, O Lord, that we might see opportunities to serve you. AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
Source of Light, God of great mercy and love, we come to you this day seeking restoration of our sight. Clear away our blindness, and give us a new vision of all that we can accomplish in your name. Give us strength and confidence to truly witness to your abiding love and faithfulness. For we offer this prayer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
Healing God, we have languished in our blindness. We have chosen to hide in darkness in order to avoid reaching out and risking acceptance. We are afraid of the light, and yet we crave it. In your light, there is healing and hope, restoration and transformation. Forgive our lack of faith and our fearfulness, O Lord. Give us courage to reach out to the light and accept its healing rays. May our lives be transformed by your mercy, for we pray this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Even though you have lived in darkness, God’s light is being poured out for you. Accept the light and love that is freely offered, and be transformed by its healing mercies. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Lord of life, we surely are a stubborn people. We wail and whine about the darkness that seems to claim our lives, yet we persist in creating that darkness to cover our mistakes and our misdeeds. You are merciful and will pardon and heal us. But we are afraid because we cannot forgive ourselves for our own transgressions. Help us let go of the need to continually hide and punish ourselves. Free us from the angry spirit that dwells so deeply in us and in our land. Give us courage and confidence to be people of love, hope and peace; for we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Readers’ Theater: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS: THE MAN BORN BLIND
[The large rough wooden cross is placed in the front of the chancel/worship area. Place burlap at the base to cover the stand. Have the same person read the part of Jesus each week. It should be someone with a good speaking voice. Each person who encounters Jesus will be wearing/carrying a length of cloth. When their encounter with Jesus is complete, they place the cloth over the arm of the cross and leave. The red fabric, worn last week by the woman at the well, is removed from the cross and draped down the left front of the worship center, slightly overlapping the purple fabric of Nicodemus. The color of the fabric for the man born blind is navy blue.]
Narrator: As Jesus walked with his disciples, they saw a man who had been born blind.
The disciples asked Jesus whether the blindness was the fault of the man or of his parents. Jesus responded that it was the fault of neither the man nor his parents but stated that this would be an opportunity for people to see God’s work in this man.
Jesus: I am the light of the world. See, I have spat on the ground, have made a paste with the soil and saliva and have placed it on your eyes. Now, go and wash yourself in the Pool of Siloam.
Narrator: And the man did as Jesus instructed, and immediately his sight was restored. The people who had seen the man begging at the corner were astonished and asked how this would be possible.
Man: There was this man, Jesus, who made the mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash." And I went and washed and received my sight. I do not know where he is right now.
Narrator: Now it was on the Sabbath day when Jesus had performed this miracle; and they brought the previously blind man to the Pharisees to show them what had happened. The man told them about the miracle, but the Pharisees were divided on their understanding. Some thought he might be from God because of the miracle; but others said that he could not be from God, because he had performed the miracle on the Sabbath. The man however was convinced that Jesus was, indeed, a prophet. They went to the parents of the man and asked if he had always been blind. They were afraid of the Pharisees, but answered truthfully that he had always been blind. They did not know how he received his sight or who gave it to him.
Man: I don’t know what else to tell you. I was born blind. I have never had eyesight, and yet this man, this Jesus, made the mud, spread it on my eyes, told me to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. I did. And I received my sight. That’s the honest truth. Perhaps you might want to become his disciples because of the miracle he did. It is an astonishing thing! You do not know where the man comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
Narrator: The Pharisees were so upset over the man’s words that they drove him out of the Temple.
Jesus: Do you believe in the Son of Man?
Man: And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.
Jesus: You have seen him, and the one who is speaking with you is he.
Man: Lord, I believe.
Jesus: I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.
Narrator: Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and asked him if he thought that they were blind.
Jesus: If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, "We see," your sin remains.
Benediction
Lord, give us such sight, that we may see the many ways of serving you by helping others. Help us bring sight to others who dwell in deep darkness. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for today is: Purple; and I have added “character” colors to the worship setting.
SURFACE: There are no risers on the worship center.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with purple cloth. On the left side of the worship center there should be the black cloth of Satan, the purple cloth of Nicodemus, the red cloth of the Samaritan woman at the well. Those strips of cloth should puddle to the floor. [Note: You may be approaching the middle of the table, which is OK because you will want the fabric to go across the entire worship center by the time we get to Holy Thursday.]
CANDLES: Place two candles on either side of the open Bible.
FLOWERS/PLANTS: Not necessary for this setting.
ROCKS/WOOD: Not necessary for this setting.
OTHER: Place an open Bible on the center of the worship table.
Worship for Kids: March 30, 2014 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of ViewOld Testament: I Samuel 16:1-13. This story of Samuel anointing David king gives children hope. God did not select the oldest or most grown-up, but the one his family considered too young to come to the sacrificial feast. Children who eat in the kitchen while adults eat in the dining room, or who are left at home with a baby-sitter while parents go to interesting-sounding parties and movies, appreciate God's choice of someone like them.
God's message to Samuel about how God "sees" or judges a person offers children both security and a challenge. The security is that God sees them as they really are. Teachers, coaches, other kids, and even parents may misjudge their behavior. But God knows who they really are, appreciates good intentions that come out all wrong, and empathizes with their internal struggles with problems that others discount. The challenge is to use God's standards in judging others. God sees beyond what a person looks like and does, to what a person thinks and feels. We are to try to do the same.
Psalm: 23. This psalm of trust in God's care and protection is based on two images—the shepherd and the banquet table. Children who attend church school throughout childhood collect the details of shepherd life (pastures, still waters, rods, staffs) and explore the figure of the shepherd as one who is devoted to the sheep and can be depended upon to care for them. These children recognize at an early age that in the Bible sheep often stand for God's people in the same way the American eagle stands for Americans. The unchurched urban child, however, is likely to identify a shepherd as a fierce guard dog, and thus be baffled by the psalm.
Among the banquet images, the overflowing cup needs to be introduced as a continually refilled cup. There are children for whom an overflowing cup at the dinner table rates a scolding for clumsiness. And the only sensible response to having oil poured on your head is gratitude that you do not live in the day when that was considered a treat.
Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-14. Light and darkness are rich images, based in experiences shared by people of all ages. When children are in bed, they are afraid of what they think they may see in the dark. They also worry about bumping into things or falling down if they try to move about in the dark. Based on such experiences, they prefer to be children of light rather than children of the dark. Younger children accept the designation of God's people as the children of light in the same way they accept the name and symbol of their sport team. Older children can begin to identify ways that God's people are like light for the world: We light up the world by loving instead of hating and by caring for those who need help.
Those children who hide in the darkness under the covers, in the closet, or in a clubhouse, to do things they know they should not be doing, understand Paul's instructions to do only those things that can be done without shame in full daylight.
Gospel: John 9:1-41. This story is long and complicated. After hearing it read, few children will be able to retell it in any detail. They will depend on the preacher to raise a few key points and retell the related parts of the story.
Chief among those points is that Jesus loved the blind man enough to do what he could (in Jesus' case, to heal him!). Everyone else was sitting around feeling sad about the man's blindness and wondering why he was blind. We can expect God to respond to our problems with action, just as we are to follow Jesus' example in responding to the needs of others.
Older children enjoy exploring the comparison of the physical blindness of the man with the blindness of the religious leaders (their refusal to see who Jesus was and what God was doing). With help, they can identify other attitudes as blindness: racial or ethnic prejudice (refusal to see certain groups as children of God); hatred of individuals (refusal to see even disagreeable people as God's children); and greedy self-centeredness (refusal to see anyone's needs but our own).
Watch Words
Be careful about "shepherd" vocabulary. Rods and staffs, in particular, may need explanation.
Let the Children Sing
Choose a hymn version of Psalm 23 that is familiar to your congregation and follows the biblical text closely.
Beware of the confusing light images and difficult light language of many hymns focused on light. To sing about our mission to the world, try "God of Grace and God of Glory." Younger children will pick up the repeated phrases.
If your children are familiar with "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," sing it to celebrate Jesus' loving action.
If you focus on David's character, sing of other faith heroes with "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God."
The Liturgical Child
1. If you use candles in your Sunday morning worship, take time to point out their significance in relation to today's texts about light.
2. To help children keep up with the story in John 9, ask a group to pantomime the story as it is read. Since this requires at least ten players (2 disciples, 2 neighbors, 2 Pharisees, the blind man, his 2 parents, and Jesus), it may be a good project for a youth class. Because there is so much movement, plan for at least one good rehearsal. Costumes would be nice but are not essential.
3. Offer a Confession of Sin based on light and dark:
Lord, you have called us to be children of light, but we live more like children of darkness. We allow dark, unhappy feelings to run our lives. We do, in secret, things we want to hide from everyone—especially from you. And we openly say and do things that make people's lives dark and miserable. Forgive us. Help us to soak up so much of your light and love that we cannot help shining for others. We pray in the name of Jesus, who is the light of the whole world. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," and he said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world." The Bible promises us that "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not put it out." So we are forgiven and are called to be the children of light.
Sermon Resources
1. David is often referred to as "a man after God's own heart." Explore Psalm 23 to learn what God might have liked about the person who wrote it, and what God might want to see in us:
Verses 1-2: David did not worry about what he would eat or wear. He trusted God's loving care.
Verse 3b: David expected God to tell him what to do. He knew that God would help him know right from wrong. Note his response when Nathan pointed out his murder of Uraih.
Verse 4: David was brave. Nothing frightened him when he was doing God's work. Cite as an example his killing of Goliath.
Verse 5: David was willing to live with some enemies around, and he expected that life would be good in spite of them.
Verse 6a: David enjoyed life as God's good gift and expected it to be good and happy.
Verse 6b: David wanted to be near God every day, especially in worship. Point to his writing of psalms and the abandon with which he danced before the Ark of the Covenant.
Sermon Options: March 30, 2014
A KID AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART1 SAMUEL 16:1-13
Question: What do the following stories have in common? Noah building an ark. Abraham setting out to sacrifice Isaac. Rahab harboring the spies. It's true they're all Old Testament stories about early heroes, but that's not the answer. They're all stories about God, first and foremost. Bible stories aren't so much about the characters as they are about the God who works divine purposes through them and sometimes in spite of them.
I. God Selects His Servants
The story before us isn't so much about David as it is about God. God tells Samuel to anoint a new king. God warns against trusting outward appearances. God chooses David. God is the leading actor in this story.
II. God Doesn't Select as We Would
Samuel is to anoint a new king from among Jesse's sons. Eliab, the eldest, is striking, but he is not God's choice. Neither are the others. Samuel asks, "You don't have any other sons?"
"Well, just a shepherd boy."
"Go get him."
David enters, and Samuel announces, "You're the one." Young David is anointed Israel's next king. What a selection—not just that God selects an insignificant shepherd, but David was the last of eight sons.
Psychologists note that a person's birth order impacts personality; for example, firstborns might be passive and those born second might be aggressive, and so forth. David was the eighth of eight boys. In psychological terms, he had to fight for even one chicken leg at dinner, and he could forget about using the telephone.
David was twelve, maybe thirteen. At an age when most kids think about making the team, David was selected king. An adolescent king? Do you remember Mark Twain's line? "When kids become teenagers, parents should put them in a barrel and feed them through the knot hole. When they become sixteen, plug the knot hole."
David was a teenager. Remember? A time of changing voices and bodies, pimples, and girls towering over boys. It was in this stage of life that God named David as Israel's king.
Of course, God has done this kind of thing more than once. God called Jeremiah before he began shaving. God chose the teenager Mary to carry the Messiah. And when Jesus was twelve, his parents found him in the Temple discussing theology.
It's not just in biblical times. In 1947, two shepherd boys were grazing their flocks in the Middle East. One of the animals strayed off, so Muhammed el-Dib went searching, hoping to find his sheep. He found something else—the Dead Sea Scrolls, the greatest archaeological find ever.
III. God Selects Servants Based on What's Inside
So, God picked an adolescent for king. Why?
Do you remember Cinderella's story? She lives with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella does all the work. Then the invitation comes for the royal ball. Cinderella dreams of going but can't. Later, her fairy godmother grants her wish. The prince falls in love with her, but she flees at midnight and he's left with her glass slipper. He searches for her everywhere. The stepsisters and the stepmother try the slipper on, but with no luck. The prince asks if others live there. "No one else, just Cinderella."
"Bring her here at once."
"But why? She's a nobody."
"Bring her here."
Remember? The prince slides it on her foot, looks into her eyes, and says, "You're the one."
What was it God saw in David? A heart. David was a kid after God's own heart. Of course, that can happen at any age and to anyone. A crown that fit. A slipper that fit. God looks into your eyes and says, "You're the one." (Mike Graves)
LIFE IN THE LIGHT
EPHESIANS 5:8-14
First-century Christian gatherings had different nuances from our contemporary worship traditions. This text may give us insight into the worship and faith of the first-century churches. The exhortations in verses 8-12 rest on the principles of verses 13-14. The principle is, everything exposed by light becomes visible as a result of the light.
This is a truth taken from the natural world. This is also true in the spiritual realm because Christ is the light. Verse 14 may very well be a baptismal hymn used in first-century worship. The hymn exhorts the new believers as they emerge in baptism, symbolizing their movement from death into life: "Rise from the death of your dark sins, and Christ our light will shine upon you!" If this is the understanding of the initial steps in faith, then Paul's exhortations in verses 8-12 take on great significance.
I. We Share a Dark Past
Paul tells his readers that at one time they were darkness. Before conversion, believers abode in the dark chaos to which blindness is the best analogy. Before faith in Christ, improper judgment without discernment was the guiding force. This darkness is that of disobedience, and Paul states to even mention the specific deeds of people in darkness would be shameful (v. 12). The spiritual blindness of disobedience is magnified in that those abiding in the spiritual darkness do not have a desire to know their faults or shortcomings. We must be careful at this point, lest we look too harshly at persons disobedient in Paul's day or in ours. Though sinful deeds make us blush with shame for them, we cannot be judgmental because Paul began by noting "once you were darkness." The point is for us to marvel at the grace of God in our lives, to "awake" us from our spiritual death and heal us from our spiritual blindness to see the light of the world, Jesus Christ.
II. We Are Called to Life in the Light
Life in the darkness is fruitless and is to be avoided by children of God (v. 11). As "children of light," we are to bear fruit in contrast to the barrenness of our former disobedience. Three commands outline how our lives should bear fruit of being children of light.
First, Paul says we are to "live as children of light" (v. 8). Children bear a resemblance to their parents: facial features, character flaws, attitudes, life views, and so on. As children of light, we must bear in us the likeness or image of the source of life, Jesus Christ. As children grow in the image of their parents, so we are to grow spiritually, being shaped into the image and likeness of Christ. With John the Baptist we must decidedly declare, "I must decrease that he might increase." Elsewhere Paul viewed this as a daily death to self, but a rebirth in the nature of Christ.
The fruit of light that we are to bear is all goodness, righteousness, and truth. These three general aspects of Christ's nature should be growing in our lives. Those who are willing to die to self, as symbolized in baptism, can be resurrected in Christ's life, bearing the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth.
Second, Paul makes clear that children of light should "find out" what pleases the Lord (v. 10). Darkness is a good place to hide—no one can see our faltering. We are brought out of the dark to be obedient children of God who are willing to know what God desires in our lives. When in darkness, we had no desire to please God, but as children of light, we should be looking to find those things God desires.
Finally, Paul exhorts us to avoid those deeds of darkness that once plagued our lives (v. 11). New Testament conversion always anticipated a change in character. A clear and radical change in nature, character, and deeds was assumed to be normative. Paul now encourages believers to avoid those deeds associated with the past. Although it is not popular today, the New Testament is as clear about personal holiness as salvation. Our nature, character, and deeds are to be transformed by the Holy Spirit who moves us from our death of sin into the enlightened resurrected life of faith. We are to heed the Spirit's work, "Wake up, O sleeper." (Joseph Byrd)
A BLIND MAN AS A WITNESSING GUIDE
JOHN 9:1-41
Let's get the basic picture of this fascinating story. Jesus is teaching in the Temple when the Jews take up stones to kill him. He manages to escape them, melting into the crowd and making his way out of the Temple precincts. But in passing out of the Temple area he sees a man who has been born blind—the only case in all the Gospels of one who was so disabled and healed. Jesus stops. It is instructive that Jesus stops and notices the man under the circumstances, fleeing from his enemies who would kill him. And what happens after that is a marvelous lesson in witnessing.
Let this blind man be our witnessing guide. But you say, "Wait a minute! That's not fair. My conversion is not at all like his conversion experience. His was dramatic; mine was prosaic." Remember that whether your conversion was a slow turning to Christ as a child in the bosom of the church or a dramatic shattering of an old life, in both cases the same Christ has brought salvation. Remember that we are alike in that we all have a need that we bring to Christ. This man's need was not only physical blindness but also spiritual—he needed acceptance; he needed to know somebody cared. He needed to know that God cared. And Jesus filled his need. Jesus fills that need in all of our lives. When Jesus met that need for this blind man, it made a difference in his life. Look with me at the differences.
I. A Genuine Conversion Raises Questions About You
Look at verses 8-9. His neighbors, those who formerly knew the man, that he was blind, said, "This is not the blind man, is it?" And some people said, "Oh, yes, this is he." Others said, "No, this is not the blind man—it just looks like him." The man himself insisted, "Wait a minute. It is I!" The tragedy is that we overlook people, and that's why they didn't really know whether he was the blind man or not. The physical change was very small. His eyes were shut, and now they were open. Why did they suddenly not know a man because his eyes were open?
Because they didn't notice him when his eyes were shut! But there was a definite change in the man who had been blind, not a big one physically, but very real—something definitely happened. He was running around, he was seeing, he was talking to people—he was different. And they were asking questions about it.
A genuine conversion experience ought to make changes. When you and I become Christians, there ought to be an obvious dimension of difference in our lives, an attractive difference, a good difference. I read of a little fellow who got converted and then went a week or so later to a camp. It was not a church camp but one sponsored by a community or civic club. Afterward he was unpacking and said to his mother, "Mom, we were there a whole week, and not one of them found out I was a Christian." I'm afraid that's all too true. They asked questions not just about the man himself but also about Jesus: "Where is the man who did this? Tell us about him." It's good to see a crowd of people wanting to see Jesus without rocks in their hands. They were going to build their idea about the man who healed the blindness on the basis of what the healed man said and how he acted. That's worth noticing. It's really all the world has to go on.
II. A Genuine Conversion Leaves Room to Grow
Questions were left in the mind of the man who had been blind, too. They said to him, "Where is he?" (v. 12). And he said, "I don't know." The Pharisees criticized Jesus. "This man is a sinner," they said. "Give credit to God" (v. 24). The man's response was that he didn't know whether Jesus was a sinner or not. The fellow didn't have all the answers.
In witnessing there are two heresies. The first is to say you know it all—that is neither biblical nor true, and it damages your witness to say such. The other heresy is to say that since you became a Christian, all problems are gone, and all is sweetness, peace, and light. That's not true. The man still didn't know why he was born blind. Think about that. Jesus only told him what he was going to do with the blindness—glorify God. The man did not find out why Jesus picked him of all the people there on that particular Sunday afternoon who needed healing. You do not have to know everything to be a good witness.
III. A Genuine Conversion Brings Varying Responses
We also find that his sharing of what happened to him brought forth varying responses from the people around him. When the man was brought to the Pharisees and questioned, they were divided. Some said, "This man Jesus can't be from God. He healed on the Sabbath." Others said, "What do you mean? A man cannot do these things unless he's from God!" The Pharisees came back to the once blind man and said, "Well, what do you say? He healed you, you say. What do you think about it?" "He's a prophet." Then they laughed in his face, and it was clear they really didn't believe he had ever been blind.
There was also the response of withdrawal as his parents backed off in fear of the authorities. People are that way, even about their religion. And some folks get downright angry. The man was summoned again by the Pharisees who said, "Well, fellow, you might as well admit that this man's a sinner." That was when he got angry and suggested that they were supposed to know the answers: "You don't even know where he is from, and he healed me!" Their reply was to kick him out of the synagogue!
IV. A Genuine Conversion Gives a Natural Testimony
People say, "I don't know how to share what God has done for me. I don't know how to talk about it." Just share it as this man did. It was very natural—he just told what had happened to him. He told them, to the best of his ability, who did it. He didn't embellish it. He just told what happened. People are interested in your story and my story; they want to know what happened to us when we met Jesus. The man witnessed naturally because he had been genuinely converted.
V. A Genuine Conversion Gives an Unshakable Assurance
Finally, here is a man who, because he was genuinely converted, had an unshakable assurance. He said, "Whether this man is a sinner or not, I don't know." He had a beautiful disregard for theological hairsplitting. Sinner or not, I don't know, but one thing I do know! Unshakable assurance. I was blind and now I see. One thing I do know—my life is not what it was or what it would have been without him.
So often you and I think that because we weren't saved from the very gutter, from the gates of hell itself, we are not different from what we would have been, but we are. I am not a child of the devil; I am a child of God. I am going to heaven. Change has been made, and because we love God, and because we pray, and because we study God's Word, and because we want to have fellowship with others who trust him—we have the assurance, as John says in his letters, that we have been born again. (Earl E. Davis)
The Journey of Lent by Kasey Hitt
Lent: A Yearly Reminder of the Daily Call to Come Home is a series of seven writings that incorporate guided imagery, prayer, and questions to use in worship or in your small group.Imagine
Stopping and turning toward home is only the beginning of the journey. Like Israel in the desert and Jesus in the wilderness, we, too, will experience difficulty after our journey home begins.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself coming to a wilderness or desert place soon after you've started the journey home to the heart of God. Take in the surroundings with all of your senses. Become aware of your thirst and hunger. Notice your vulnerability in this place and any temptations presenting themselves.
Now invite Jesus to join you here. He has experience with being in a place of thirst, hunger, and temptation. Is there anything He wants to say to you or show you? Anything He wants to offer you in this place?
Allow the scene to unfold for a few moments and then close with this prayer.
Pray
God, sometimes the journey home to You is hard. We may discover how far away we are from Your path of Life or how the path of Life doesn't always look like it. We may realize how thirsty and hungry our souls really are and find ourselves in places of vulnerability and temptation.
In the silence we allow ourselves to become aware of this now—If there are no words, simply allowing the ache of our thirst and hunger. If there are words, perhaps naming what we are deeply thirsting and hungering for and where we feel vulnerable and tempted at this time in our life.
(20 seconds or ~ of silence)
We need Your help, God, not just helping us to begin or welcoming us at the end of the journey but along the way, too. Help us have the strength to invite You to join us, whether in our personal wilderness or in our community's desert place. Help us to trust that You are with us giving us what we need and reminding us that this desert time, this wilderness, will pass.
Amen.
Reflect
Having begun your journey home to the heart of God during Lent, what desert or wilderness place(s) are you discovering in your life? In the life of your church community? What temptations are found there at this time? How can you join Moses in Exodus 17:4 by crying out and listening to God in this desert place?
Whether through purposeful fasting or the difficult experiences life brings, how might places of thirst, hunger, vulnerability, and temptation deepen trust in God? Why is this important for the journey home?
In your moments of hunger, thirst, vulnerability and temptation, what do you need to remember? In Matthew 4, when in the desert, Jesus remembered who He and His Father were through the words of Scripture. What words do you need to drink deeply, what images do you need to feast on this week?
The complete series and audio are available here.
Psalm 23 by Simon Peter Iredale
It’s pretty difficult to write about a psalm that is so well known and so much loved. What more can be said, you may wonder, about words that have given strength to generations of people in the midst of trouble and hope to those who are beginning to struggle? Well, may I just simply direct your attention anew to a few things?How do you imagine “the valley of the shadow of death”?
I suppose many of us would immediately picture a bleak and frightening landscape charged with unknown threats. When I lived in Germany (stationed there with the Royal Air Force), I used to find those vast German pine forests oppressive and vaguely threatening. It was something to do with their stillness and the way, even in the fullest sunlight, there was always a dark heart to them just a hundred yards or so off the track.
However, let’s turn this on its head. Perhaps what we should concentrate on in the phrase “valley of the shadow of death” is the transitory nature of the created world. Sometimes things are all the more beautiful exactly because they are temporary. The blossom that appears briefly on a tree tells us what point we have reached in the spring or summer. It is all the more beautiful because we know that it will last, at its best, only a short time. Hence, perhaps we can imagine the psalmist’s valley as a very beautiful place indeed, the most perfect realization of God’s creation, but touched in every respect with inevitable change. Our part in this is to thank God for what surrounds us but not to stop, not to try to hang on to what is by its nature ephemeral, but to continue on in pilgrimage to the One who never changes.
It is Christ, after all, who is our Shepherd. Our task, as those in his care, is simply to follow. But how difficult that simple thing appears! We are the most wrong-headed sheep imaginable. We seem convinced that we know the way we need to go with only occasional reference to our Shepherd. It’s the problem of free will. God does not expect us simply to follow orders. We are valued far too much for that and have been given the supreme gifts of self-awareness and a moral sense. What is required is to make choices according to our redeemed nature; that is, to discern the purpose of God working in our lives and to set ourselves in harmony with Christ.
Let’s think of the curious image of the table (verse 5). This is not designed, surely, to make one relax, sitting down in the presence of one’s enemies to have a meal. Surely this is guaranteed to interfere with the digestion! We didn’t mention that even though the valley of the shadow of death might be very beautiful, there is still danger within in it. After all, the serpent lurked in the beauty of Eden’s garden. We are constantly surrounded by enemies, but not necessarily human ones. Christians, while on life’s pilgrimage, are never free from the offer of false choices, false directions, spiritual precipices, and dead ends. For me, the image of the table—God conferring honor on us as members of the divine household—is a demonstration of power and grace. It is the victory of the cross made plain in our own lives, to the rage and confusion of all who would wish to destroy us, whether human or spiritual foes. This is the significance of the anointing—sharing in the chrismation (or sacrament of anointing) of God’s Son, whose very name means “anointed one.”
There’s movement and stillness in this psalm. The movement is of pilgrimage, setting aside with thankfulness the temporary and pressing on toward the permanent. Especially it means not being tempted to wander off the path through the valley, blazed by Christ himself, to an unknown fate in the shadows. The stillness comes from the blessed realization that God has made us members of the divine household. We sit with Christ at the table where he takes the bread and pours the wine. So nothing really can hurt us in a permanent way as far as our eternal destiny is concerned. Certainly our enemies can make it pretty hot for us (especially if we let them), but that particular battle has been fought and won on the hill of Calvary. With this marvelous assurance in our pilgrim’s backpack, we can march on, knowing that we “shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
For Reflection
To whom do you instinctively turn when troubles arise: to your own mind and powers or to Christ your Shepherd?
Prayer
Loving Shepherd, be patient with my wanderings and bring me joyfully into your heavenly fold. Amen.
excerpt from: My Strength and My Song: A Year With the Psalms by Simon Peter Iredale. Copyright©2013 by Abingdon Press. Used with permission.
God's Gift of Life
A Lenten Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary
God's Gift of Life
Author Larry F. Beman
Author Nan Duerling
Publisher Abingdon Press
Publication Date 12/2013
Binding Book - Paperback
ISBN 9781426768002
Retail Price $8.99
Discount Price $5.66 (37% discount)
Lent is an ideal time to pray and reflect on the gift of life God offers to us through Jesus Christ. Traditionally, it is a time of repentance, fasting, and preparation for the coming of Easter. In God’s Gift of Life, Larry Beman invites us to create a holy space for Bible study and to open our hearts and minds through self-examination and reflection so that we might grow in our faith. He brings a relaxed and invitational tone to the study of the Scriptures and includes personal stories that help us to apply them to our daily lives.Through the study of the Revised Common Lectionary texts for Year A, Larry Beman helps readers experience the blessings of the life given to us through the ministry, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A Leader Guide by Nan Duerling, with Bible background and suggestions for group activities, is included in this book.
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