Just like you can tell a lot about someone’s life by their diary so you can tell a lot about the life of a church by their prayers. It’s a window into the congregation’s values and concerns, hopes and fears.
I realize prayer requests are pretty personal stuff; I’m not trying to bash anyone. Still, it needs to be said: Most prayers offered in most churches would classify our churches as wimpy. Yes, wimpy.
In the churches I attend and visit, the most commonly voiced prayer requests are for:
• People recovering from illness or surgery
• Their caregivers, or sometimes their survivors
• People traveling
• Communities hit by a natural disaster
• The U.S. Military and their families
These kinds of prayer requests make for a wimpy church; they keep us weak and ineffectual. I know I’m going out on a limb here and some of you may be offended. But stick with me.
I want to share with you how and why these kinds of prayers keep us wimpy, plus three ways to transform your church to strong, brave and confident! Finally, I have three tips for how to make the transition gracefully.
The how and why of it
In a word, our prayers tend to be about us: our health, our safety, our comfort.
Of course, no concern is unimportant to a loving, caring God. All of our individual worries, cares and fears are burdens equally shared by God. That’s not the issue. That’s not what makes us wimpy.
What’s wrong with that?
1. We say that we are the hands and feet of Christ, who came for the whole creation, but our prayers reveal that we only care about us — specifically, our health, our safety and our comfort. When did you last pray for the earth’s creatures? Or people groups you have never met?
2. We say we want young people in our churches, but our prayers reveal we don’t care much about the world they live in or will lead. When did you last pray about the causes of teen suicide or the things that bring them joy?
3. We say we follow Christ, but our prayers don’t sound much like his. He prayed for unity, strength under duress, God’s will above his own, God’s kingdom to come, right-sized sustenance, forgiveness for sins and debts as well as the ability to forgive others, guidance to resist temptation and for faith to increase among other things. Other than the Lord’s Prayer, do you pray these things?
Prayers that transform
Ready for prayers that will make your church strong, bold and confident? If so, here are three strategies for you to try.
1. Offer a pastoral prayer that addresses the concerns of the world in the past week. Read the newspaper or watch what topics are trending on Twitter, whether #blacklivesmatter; #iamcharliehebdo; #JeSuiJuif. Don’t shy away from praying about what the rest of the world is talking about.
2. The world is in the midst of a new baby boom with the growth of the digital and millennial generations. What would make the world a better place for these young people to grow up in? Offer prayers that address those concerns.
3. Read the Gospels to see what Jesus prayed. Begin to reflect his concerns in the corporate prayers of the church.
Tips for the transition
Likely you have been praying “us” prayers for a long time. It takes intentionality to make this shift. Here are three tips to help you make a smooth transition:
1. Don’t pray off the top of your head. Instead, prepare ahead of time. Otherwise you are likely to default to prayers that focus on familiar themes. Ask Spirit for courage to sustain you in this new way of praying.
2. Weave personal requests for comfort, health and safety into corporate prayers that reflect the needs of the world, the young and Jesus’ own prayers.
3. Understand that many people in the congregation already have these wider concerns on their hearts and minds. But they are following your lead about what’s “acceptable” to lift up. Your wise words will embolden them.
Church, if we get these things right, then our prayers will no longer weaken our churches. Instead, they’ll make us stronger, braver and more confident! Then watch out. The word is likely to get out.
Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com.
Church leadership has long held a bent toward the “bigger is better” mantra of capitalistic America. We franchise new church plants. We structure our institutions to favor the larger churches. The United Methodist Church itself has long been geared toward starting pastors off in smaller churches to get their feet wet in leadership only to move them to bigger (and often higher paying) churches once they prove themselves as capable leaders.
The flip side of the “bigger is always better” way of viewing our churches is the reality that the vast majority of churches in America (and even around the world) are, in fact, small. Historically this has also been the case. Go back and read Paul’s letters to various churches. They weren’t worshipping 1,000+ on Sundays in a concert hall or amphitheater — they small, tightly-knit communities worshipping in homes.
Now I’m not a hater of the larger church — I’ve actually served in two different large, vibrant, downtown churches. I know the strength of larger churches from their ability to support more diverse ministry to the beauty of worshipping with a large, corporate body. But now that I’m serving a smaller church, I want to point out the unique beauty of small churches. Sometimes we need to be reminded that small churches are, in fact, beautiful and they should spend less time dealing with an inferiority complex because they aren’t as large as other churches.
Instead of trying to mimmick what the large churches in your area are doing (only to come up short of their quality because you don’t have the money or resources to duplicate it), here are five things I believe small churches can uniquely offer the world right where they are:
1. Intergenerational ministry. There is a difference between intergenerational and multigenerational forms of ministry. Just because you have people of different ages gathered in the same space for worship does NOT make it an intergenerational ministry opportunity. Crossing borders between generations takes real effort. And too often larger churches segregate people based on age and stage of life. The small church, however, can’t do that because it’s too small. So instead of bemoaning the fact that you don’t have a youth ministry with 100+ kids in it, think of ways you can put the five to 10 youth you do have in contact with people from a different generation.
Numerous statistical studies actually show that an important factor in youth remaining active in the church is the presence of a deep relationship with someone older than them who is not a member of their immediate family. Segregating children and youth into their own space in the life of the church runs the terrible risk of never allowing them to encounter and forge relationships with a diverse group of people. It also sends the subtle message that they are second-class members of your church when they are not primary in the corporate ministry life of the church. Small churches offer a rich and beautiful opportunity to forge these intergenerational relationships because, well, they have to. There aren’t enough people to segregate everyone into their own corners of the church. And thanks be to God for that!
2. Welcome special needs persons and families with special needs children. One of the quiet struggles churches often don’t recognize is how to incorporate persons with special needs into the life of the church. Small churches offer a unique opportunity to meet this need because they are small enough to warmly welcome and offer the individual attention a family who has a special needs child might need. It’s a daunting thing to take a child with special needs to church for fear of them standing out or somehow disturbing the flow of worship. It’s also very lonely for that child to get lost in the mix of a large, overwhelming children’s program. Small churches can offer love, hospitality and attention to make a family feel welcome. And the truth is, small churches can offer a worship experience that is vibrant but doesn’t necessarily have the overly-produced feel that worship in a larger church might have. This is actually very welcoming to a newcomer who might feel their presence would alter the flow of worship for others. In other words, special needs can be uniquely and lovingly met and welcomed in a small church.
3. More people can help lead worship. Since the small church is often less concerned with production led by professional worship leaders, it can incorporate more laity in the leading of worship. Remember: Nothing says the pastor is supposed to be the sole worship leader. Liturgy is the work of the people. And faithful worship incorporates the efforts of EVERYONE as together we offer ourselves to God in praise and thanksgiving. So find ways to let people pray, read Scripture, serve Communion, sing and maybe even occasionally preach in the small church. One thing we’re doing this coming year in the church I’m serving is we are shifting to laity being the primary servers of communion when we celebrate the sacrament. As pastor I will preside, but we’re asking laity to serve the elements. So we’ve had a sign-up to volunteer for this duty. Again, absolutely nothing says the pastor is supposed to be the primary server of the elements. Give people a chance to lead and serve more; you might be surprised how sharing in the work of worship might begin to transform people.
4. More focus on community outreach. While small churches might bemoan the loss of in-house programs as numbers decline, I say it’s a great blessing. Large churches have to expend a great deal of effort managing and sustaining programs that focus inwardly on the life of the membership. Lots of money is spent on resources of Sunday Schools, youth programs, children’s ministry, etc. It’s really a rat race — just ask any pastor or staff person at a larger church in their most honest moments. Small churches just don’t have the resources to keep up in that race. So why try? There’s a great freedom in not worrying with the inwardly focused programs. You can actually look outwardly on your community and focus time and attention there. How can you open your space to community groups? Can you invite support groups to meet in your building (especially if your small church occupies a large building)? Can you find ways to resource your local community? Can you partner with other small churches or local missional efforts? You see, small church ministry is just ripe for people to finally break out from the inward, program-focused mindset of church and direct their attention to where God is at work outside of the walls of the church more fully.
5. Offer a family feel to others. Look, families aren’t all warm and fuzzy. They have their dysfunction. And so does a small church because if often operates like a big, extended family. However through all of that dysfunction, one thing is (hopefully) certain: People know they are loved. As our world becomes more global, there is a rise to locally-focused relationships in business, commerce and relationships. The small church can offer something that might get lost in a large church where people don’t always know one another by name — you can actually be a part of a family. In our worst moments, that family feel leads us to gossip or insulation from others who aren’t a part of our family. In our best moments, it’s an expression of true love extended to anyone searching for a community who will love them enough to never let them go. Family is tough and it’s messy. But it’s also very beautiful. And so is small church ministry.
Ben Gosden blogs at MastersDust.com.
There are numerous things wrong with this story. The rape, for starters, was atrocious. The victim was unconscious and one of the now-convicted men was her boyfriend at the time. I can't fathom the "how" in this scenario. It seems more like an episode of "Law & Order SVU" than it does a reality.
There were four men involved in some way — four who allegedly participated or watched. Football is a spectator sport, and it seems to these men so is violently sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Aside from the obvious “How could someone do this?” question, I keep asking myself: How many people could've stopped this from happening? How many people serving them drinks could have said, "That's enough."? How many people interacting with them at the bar could have seen the drinking was getting out-of-hand? How many people saw them carrying an unconscious woman into a dorm? How many people saw the victim lying in the hallway unconscious? How many people didn’t stop and consider, "This is wrong. Maybe I should stop it."?
It breaks my heart in a tremendous way — a way that found me weeping in my car alone after I heard the verdicts. I can't adequately describe the emotion I've felt watching this trial, and I cannot begin to comprehend or understand how this victim must have felt as this unfolded. Without knowing her personally, she is one of the bravest and strongest women I will ever know of and someone I will always hold in the highest regard. I don’t think I will ever cease praying for her.
I've heard multiple people argue about her lifestyle or her actions the night of the crime, and this aspect of the trial has enraged me. It does not matter what she was wearing. It doesn’t matter what she had to drink. It doesn’t matter what her sexual history looked like. This was not OK. It is never OK.
I made some incredibly poor decisions in college. I drank too much at times, and I didn't always choose the right friends or the right crowds with whom to spend my time. In this case, the victim was with people she trusted and with people she saw on a daily basis, yet the unimaginable still happened. Perhaps that's the undercurrent of the emotion I've felt while following this trial; perhaps part of me recognizes the reality of what could have happened in my life and the lives of so many other women I knew in college.
Blaming the victim in any capacity should be an abhorred practice and one we, as a society, should end immediately. Many try to justify it with:
What were you wearing...
You were drinking; what did you expect...
Why did you put yourself in that situation...
Maybe if you weren't so promiscuous...
But there is no argument for this type of behavior and to suggest otherwise is nothing short of ludicrous.
The current rape culture keeps victims quiet. It keeps sinister criminals on the street. It causes shame, guilt and remorse for victims when there should be justice, advocacy and healing instead.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, RAINN, 1 in 6 women have been involved in an attempted or completed rape. That's 17 percent of the female population in America. That's someone you know. What about the statistic RAINN offers that 97 of every 100 rapists never see jail time?
In this particular case, there was video and photographic evidence. That’s not typically the story in most rape cases, another contributing factor for silence after an attack. But what if more women felt safe in reporting attacks? What if they didn’t fear judgment or backlash? What if they didn’t fear shame or blame? What if they knew their past wouldn’t be used as a character witness? What if they knew they had an advocate and a chance at winning a case? Would more come forward? Would the culture shift?
A local columnist for The Tennessean wrote, "Justice is harsh because we sometimes need to be reminded how harsh the crimes are to those who are victimized."
We have to stop shaming and blaming victims for rape and sexual crimes. Instead of teaching women how to not get raped, let's educate men on not raping. Let's remind society that 'no' really does mean 'no', and not some challenge to make it a 'yes'. Let's protect victims and stand up for them. Let's stop digging into their past sexual history as a justification for a violent crime. There is never an excuse, never a justification, never a rationalization and never a defense of rape.
Resources:
http://tnvoicesforvictims.org/
https://www.rainn.org/
https://www.notalone.gov/
By Tom Fuerst
Christian just war theory says it is morally permissible to wage war for a just reason. It says, for specific purposes and through specific means, indeed, for the betterment of the world, violence may be a permissible last resort. Just war theory has a long tradition within the church. It is not, strictly speaking, based on the teachings of Jesus. But it attempts to bridge biblical principles from throughout Scripture to modern contexts.
However, if we’re working within Christian just war framework, we must remember that the very Christian principles it uses are secondary to the primary, clear teachings of Jesus in Scripture. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to see our enemies as human beings. He taught us that we not only aren’t permitted to hate our enemies or even call them names. He taught us that we must see our enemies as human beings created in the image of God, to strive for the redemption of our enemies and the reconciliation of our relationship to them. He told us that we must see our enemies as fully human because, even God does not delight in the death of the wicked, but wishes all persons to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Of course, all of this forces the obvious question raised by many pacifists: Can just war advocates remain faithful to these primary teachings of Jesus while killing their enemies? I think this is a worthy discussion, but not one I want to engage here. I want to assume the best and assume that, yes, it is possible to both love your enemy the way Jesus does and also kill them if necessary.
So beginning with the assumption that it is possible to both love your enemies and wage war against them, I have to say that in my near 20 years as a Christian, I’ve seen very few proponents of Christian just war theory actually honoring and defending the primacy of love. I am always hearing defenses of just war theory, which is fine and good, but I hear very little defense of or embodiment of the radical enemy-love that is supposed to go along with the distinctively Christian ethical position.
The Christian response to the recent “American Sniper” book/film sets this on display. I’m not going to argue whether or not Chris Kyle is a Christian. That’s not my job; I don’t get to decide such things. Nor am I arguing that he was participating in an unjust war. Those are important discussions, but not ones I want to engage here.
However, Kyle claims to be both an advocate of just war theory, and a Christian. Which suggests to me that, even if he feels he ethically must kill his enemies, he has a certain framework — a Christian ethical framework — that ought to tell him how he should engage his enemies and his ethics.
It surprised me, then, to read that Kyle then spoke of his enemies — even civilians — as if they were not truly human beings* created in the image of God and therefore persons to be loved. Well, actually it didn’t surprise me … What really surprised me, and continues to surprise me, is how many in the Christian community have lifted Chris Kyle up as a model soldier, citizen and Christian. How many of us have set him up as the exemplar of how our faith and war go together.
But it begs the question: Is he really a role model for how war and faith go together? Do his words embody the fullness of the Christian faith? Does he, while feeling it is necessary to kill his enemies, also speak of his actions as a “last resort,” or does he speak of it as a sport? These are honest, not theoretical questions.
I understand war is brutal. I understand that soldiers do things we civilians can’t even fathom. To that end, I can show grace and deep appreciation. But what I can’t do is pretend like the highest calling of the Christian faith — to love — is somehow negated because of the presence of an enemy. I can’t pretend that the highest calling of the Christian faith is negated because the guy was “on my side.”
Rather, the Christian faith’s call to love is a call that must be enacted in the midst of our enemies, even when that is complicated. And we Christians have a responsibility to critically evaluate the words and actions of our brothers and sisters precisely because they are “on my side.” The Christian community ought to be the most self-reflective community, especially when it comes to something like taking the lives of others. This is not about picking on soldiers or nitpicking about words and actions that I couldn’t possibly understand as a non-soldier.
This is an honest attempt to honor the Christian ethical tradition of Christian just war theory. It’s an attempt to ask whether or not Christian soldiers and we who love them are doing our necessary duty to ask necessary and good questions about both the wars in which we engage and the actions of those we send to engage those wars.
I know plenty of Christian men and women serving in the armed forces. I am not saying their service is illegitimate or unwarranted. I am, however, asking if the Christian community has lost its prophetic voice and, at times, its moral compass. No, not because we participate in war (though, the pacifist might say that), but because we don’t even know how the Christian tradition has said we ought to participate in war.
How many of us even know the components of just war theory, let alone stand up for them? How many of us could even articulate what makes an action in combat just or unjust? And how many of us are even willing to question, let alone outright disagree, with a decision the nation has made to go to war or how it chooses to wage that war?
I appreciate my military friends. I appreciate that they lay down their lives for something bigger than themselves everyday, and in ways I can’t imagine. My dad was a military man. I have respect for all of our service people and want to honor them.
But I have to ask, where is the prophetic voice of the just war community, which exists, not merely to prop up the wars of the nation, but exists to make sure that the nation and its soldiers (especially Christian soldiers) are held to a higher standard? Where is the reminder that we must never forget that the people our nation kills are still people, and that their humanness is not somehow subtracted from the equation just because they wear a turban or live so far away? Where are all the Christian just war advocates who are also telling the Christian community that Chris Kyle doesn’t represent the Christian faith when he speaks the way he does about his enemies in his book?
I think these are questions worthy of our reflection as a Christian community. Though I’m sure many will be angry that I even ask such a question, I press on anyway. That’s what I’m supposed to do as a Christian. That’s what the Christian community is supposed to do. We are not the cheerleaders of the nation; we are prophets and prophetesses called to question, criticize, and offer an alternative way of living — an alternative grounded in cruciform love for enemies.
*Clearly this Storify article has an agenda. My interest posting it is not to push that person’s agenda, but to show you the direct quotes from his Kyle’s book.
Tom Fuerst blogs at Tom1st.com. You can subscribe to his blog via email here.
The Cuban Methodist revival 
By David F. Watson
There aren’t sufficient words to describe what is happening there. On almost any night of the week, Methodist churches are packed full of people of all ages. They are worshipping God, preaching, reading Scripture, singing at the top of their voices, prophesying and praying over one another for blessings, healing and deliverance. In many churches, people are lined up in the aisles, standing at the back of the sanctuary, and even standing on the steps outside. Worship takes place in large churches, small churches and even in grass-roofed pavilions outside the city. People who have generations of atheism or Santeria in their families are coming to Christ. As in the Book of Acts, signs and wonders are abundant. This is a powerful, historic revival which has been going on for over a decade and only seems to be gaining steam.
The spiritual leader of this revival is Bishop Ricardo Pereira, who is a visionary, preacher, pastor and evangelist. In addition to overseeing all of the Methodist churches in Cuba, he also pastors a large congregation in Havana. If you’d like to meet or hear Bishop Pereira in person, he will be one of the keynote speakers at the Aldersgate Renewal Conference this summer.
(Oh, and yes, the classic American cars really are there, and many are in mint condition. Unfortunately, most have been converted to diesel, which contributes a great deal to air pollution in Havana.)
This trip made clearer to me than ever before that revival in the United States will only come by a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. No program, no church growth model, no style of worship will renew the church. I don’t believe we will receive this outpouring, moreover, until we humble ourselves, repent of our self-sufficiency and arrogance, and begin to pray for the renewal and sanctification of our life together.
David F. Watson blogs at davidfwatson.me.
Everyone wants to know: What is love? 
By Courtney T Ball
Perhaps this is old news to you, but I learned today that “What is love?” was the third-highest-ranked “what is” question asked by Google searchers in 2014. It followed behind “What is Ebola?” and “What is ALS?”
Given the crazy viral spread of the ALS ice bucket challenge and the media’s fear-mongering frenzy over the Ebola epidemic, I can see how these searches ended up in the top two slots. But I was truly, pleasantly surprised to discover how so many people wanted to deepen their understanding of love.
Here’s another thing I learned from Google’s review of questions asked in 2014. Even though many of us were irrationally scared of dying from Ebola, the topic “how to kiss” was Googled more times than any other activity, including “how to survive.”
This suggests two things to me. First, I may need to revise the order in my earlier article,“Humanity’s Top Five Searches.” Second, it’s another reminder of just how much time teenagers spend on the internet!
Now, I am a person who takes pride in my openness to new ideas and my willingness to push the envelope. But today, at the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I’m going to make a suggestion to everyone out there searching for an answer to the question “What is love?” (I’ll leave others to address the topic of kissing.)
Here’s my suggestion: Go ahead and ask Google whatever you want, but as you research love, don’t forget to tap into that ancient trove of wisdom we Christians call the Bible, because there is some great stuff in there. Or better yet, use Google to ask what the Bible says love is.
When I did that today, the top result was a link to the Open Bible topic page for “love is,” which displays a list of dozens of Bible quotes, ranked by users as to their helpfulness. At the top of the list (no surprise) is 1 Corinthians 13.
As a former pastor in a college town who performed more than my fair share of weddings, I know this is an overused passage. But just because it’s become cliche doesn’t mean it’s not true. The apostle Paul had his faults. He was irritable and cantankerous and argumentative, but he was also spot-on when it came to teaching others about love. Love is patient and kind and all those other qualities Paul lists. It is the greatest of all virtues.
The best thing about the Bible is that it teaches us so much about love beyond mere romance. It teaches us to sacrifice for our friends, to love our neighbors, even our enemies. And ultimately, all of these activities help us to grow closer in our love toward — and understanding of — God.
So, if you’re one of the millions out there searching for answers to that timeless question, why not start with a timeless source? Whether you’re a teenager, a parent, single, married or somewhere in between, it is good and right to spend time on this question. And if you are a teacher or a pastor or hold some other position that guides people in their learning, remember that a better understanding of love will always be relevant to the lives of those you serve. It’s more than last year’s fad. Google may helpfully remind us of love’s importance, but thankfully, we don’t need an Internet connection to learn how love works. We have each other, and we have the collected wisdom of our most ancient traditions.
You can see more of Courtney's work at CourtneyTBall.com, or sign up to receive his weekly email, “Life and Depth.”
Top Catholics and evangelicals: Gay marriage worse than divorce 
By David Gibson / Religion News Service
Wild dogs and unwatched babies: Why we can't heal the UMC 
By Christy Thomas
A couple of weeks ago, I was in Costa Rica for a Pacific Coast sunset wedding at a small, remote place called Samara Beach. No resort town here, despite the spectacular beach. The long, occasionally tortuous drive from the four-gate airport in Liberia has limited the construction of luxury, all-inclusive resorts to waterfront spots far closer to the airport.
Instead, it’s a small, friendly, sleepy between second and third world town. The only air conditioning spots are found at the two hotels that house the few North American and European tourists. Because of heat and humidity, life is lived outdoors. I wrote about the worship here, but the most impactful part of the week for me was a flash insight as to why fixing or healing or bringing back into any sense of unity to The United Methodist Church has become, I believe, impossible.
Multiple dogs inhabit this beach town. Most are owned, some are not. Hardly any are leashed. All wander freely around the open-air restaurants that populate the beach. Diners casually feed them or ignore them as they wish. Occasionally, owners would take their dogs to the ocean for play with balls and sticks. Generally, when doing so, several of the wild dogs would show up for the fun and games.
They never fight. The dogs don’t feel it necessary to aggressively defend their territories. They simply happily join in their doggie games and then move on when the games are over. Wild and tamed have figured out a way to trust each other.
Toddlers also wandered around the bars. They walked barefoot over sharp stones, and explored steep concrete steps and learned how to climb them without falling. They often wore nothing but a t-shirt–the nether ends exposed for easy elimination. Just as I never saw a dog-fight, I also never heard a baby cry the entire week of my residence. My friends there said that adults often “borrowed” babies for a period of time, i.e., caring for them and enjoying their antics and explorations. This, I believe, is a community built on trust, with that trust held together by the Roman Catholic church where nearly everyone gathers for worship weekly.
Please don’t get the idea that I found the Utopian community. All houses have barred windows as a protection against theft. Small houses have multiple people living there. We were warned to guard electronics carefully. The tourist business that does trickle in here sustains the economy and gives the local artisans and shop-owners badly needed income. Medical care is free, but I noticed a big need for more adequate dental care. I’m sure multiple societal problems persist — humans do live here, after all.
Nonetheless, I did perceive a generalized sense of trust. Trust serves as the glue that holds any society together. We trust that others will obey the traffic laws, will pay their fair share of taxes, will be faithful to their spouses, will respect one another’s property, will contribute a proportionate amount to the common good. When that trust is betrayed, the wounds go deep and heal poorly, if at all.
The betrayals hit everyone, no matter what “side” one sits in. To overly simplify the situation in the UMC, the more conservative arm rightly feels betrayed when the Book of Discipline and what they see as clear biblical truth is simply disregarded. The more liberal arm rightly feels betrayed when people of sacred worth are kept from full participation in the church by what they see as inappropriate uses of Scripture, pointing to our past as excluding women and people of color by using a similar hermeneutic grid.
Everyone is right. Everyone is also wrong because in our rightness, we have transgressed the law and broken trust. Now trust is nearly completely lost in The United Methodist Church.
Can it be restored? I doubt it. We’re too big, too spread out for real mutually beneficial dialogue. We have too many written rules, and not enough relationship. We have little of the glue that holds a local community together such as I found in that beachfront town in Costa Rica. The very diversity we have sought is now bringing us down. We’re setting up fortresses against one another rather than building bridges of reconciliation.
I have seen the various proposals to keep us together by forming different jurisdictions — a “separate but equal” solution. And while I very much appreciate the hard work that went intothis particular plan, the “restore and release plan,” it also reminds me of the normal sibling squabbles I used to have with my sister. She and I often unhappily shared a room growing up, and we would periodically draw up a set of rules as to who could touch what in order to try to keep peace between us. Never worked. They never do.
I have often said that what Jesus ultimately did when hanging on that cross was to take upon himself the fullness of betrayal and all the pain it engenders. And then he said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
The act of forgiveness for the deep wounds of betrayal is the greatest Christ-act any of us can ever perform. But anyone who has ever actually forgiven a betrayal knows the complex forest littered with invisible land mines one has to travel to regain a safe level of trust again.
And that is why I say it is probably impossible now. The kind of emotional and spiritual maturity it takes to regain trust is not being displayed on either side of the argument. Betweenbishops doing an “In your face” flouting of the rules to churches taking their marbles home until they get their way, we have sunk into a mire of immaturity and spitefulness.
I have maintained since the Judicial decisions of 2012 that the UMC is no longer fixable. Our theology of grace has been undermined by so many forces, all full of justifying rationales, that we are more than blind. We cannot reach across the divides without bringing out the hidden axes to chop off the hands of those on the other sides of our perceived chasms.
It is fixable only by renewal of spirit, not by reform of rule. Renewal of spirit comes when we humbly repent of our sins: sins of pride, intentional blindness, arrogance, envy, ambition, hubris, to name a few.
I hope I’m wrong but am pretty sure I’m not.
Christy blogs at ChristyThomas.com.
Are miracles real? By Katie Shockley
What is a miracle?
On Friday, January 2, 2015, the plane carrying the Gutzler family from Key West, Florida, to their home in Mount Vernon, Illinois, crashed in the deep woods of Kentucky. Seven-year-old Sailor was the lone survivor. The crash killed her parents, sister and cousin. First responders called Sailor’s survival a miracle.
First, she survived the crash itself. The plane came to rest upside down and was “partly on fire,” according to Sailor. Second, she trekked through rugged terrain to get help. With a broken wrist and wearing a T-shirt, shorts, one sock and no shoes in 38-degree temperatures, she “walked nearly a mile in the dark through ‘fallen trees, creeks, ditches, and blackberry briar.’ ” Her hike included embankments, a hill and a creek bed. She found help at the home of 71-year-old Larry Wilkins, one of only three homes occupied in that area this time of year, which may have been a third miracle.
The term miracle is applied to many things, from the secular to the religious, from sports events to the Creation. One definition of miracle is an event that is considered unusual or extraordinary in that it appears to be contrary to what is currently known of nature. Theologically, the emphasis is on what God has revealed through this event. When we see the unusual, the extraordinary and the supernatural, we are called to look for God’s revelation in the event. We ask, “What does this miracle tell us about God?” and “What does this miracle tell us about ourselves?”
For example, when we read of Jesus healing the sick and lame, we may discuss how and why, but we also look for what is revealed about God’s nature in this healing act. When we read of Jesus exorcising demons and evil spirits, we explore what that tells us about God and about ourselves. The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with a boy’s lunch of fish and bread makes known to us aspects of God’s character and nature. We sell God’s self-revelation to humanity short when we stop at how and why and do not search for what miracles demonstrate about who God is.
The gift of miracles
My friend Reese scores high in “miracles” in the Spiritual Gifts Assessment. Because of this, I asked her what she understands the spiritual gift of miracles to be and what it means for her in her life. Reese says, “I know when something is going to happen. I can’t tell if it’s going to be something good or something bad.” It feels like “an adrenaline rush.” She wishes she could distinguish between when something good or bad is coming so she does not feel so anxious about it being something bad.
Her first and “most intense” experience of a miracle happened after a ski trip with seven friends. While on their way home, she and the driver were the only two people wearing seat belts. Reese “got an odd feeling … I started putting everything underneath the seat so if anything would happen nothing would fly around.” She prayed, “Dear God, please keep us safe,” and she heard a voice in her left ear say, “Don’t worry about anything. Everything is okay.” Then, “we went off an overpass, rolled off, into, and then back across, and landed in the median of the interstate.” Everyone in the car escaped without injury. The intensity of the situation was etched on the faces of the people in the car behind them, who could not even stand after witnessing the wreck. They said, “No one moved,” and “It happened in slow motion.” The witnesses saw no movement inside the car. The state troopers cried because “they thought they would be pulling bodies out of the car.”
Reese lives her daily life in continuous prayer. Each morning when she starts her car, she prays, “Dear Lord, surround me, my family and friends with your presence. Keep us safe.” She does not say “Amen” until she returns home. When something delays her in leaving the house, she understands it as God slowing her down to avoid an accident or some other circumstance. She has learned that if she forgets several things and makes several trips back into her home, she simply needs to stop, sit, and have a cup of coffee to wait it out.
She says, “Receiving a miracle is a great responsibility, but it’s a beautiful gift.” As a responsibility, “you can’t treat it lightly. It’s something you have to acknowledge … Don’t dismiss it as a fluke. There is something behind it.” She thinks that ignoring the gift would be an abuse of the gift. When she senses something, she responsibly acts upon it.
As a gift, it “makes life so much easier.” She has confirmation that “yes, there is a God. You never have to question.” She says she has “seen a glimpse of what is going to happen. You know that there is something, that what comes after this is not going to be bad.” Her glimpse tells her that eternal life is going to be wonderful. “It’s not a scary gift,” she says.
When the miracle does not come
Sometimes we pray for miracles, and the miracle does not occur. We may pray for a loved one to be healed of an illness or disease. When healing does not occur, we may think that our prayers are unanswered. We may wonder if we prayed correctly, if we prayed hard enough or if we prayed with enough faith. We may question God’s ability and why God healed that person but not this person. We read in Scripture that people’s faith made them well, such as when Jesus healed ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. When we pray for a miracle and one does not come, again we ask, “What does that tell us about God and about ourselves?”
In her book “In God’s Presence: Theological Reflections on Prayer,” Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki discusses what it means to pray for healing and offers a way to see God’s hand when the healing we hope for does not come. She points out that a part of being human means that we are mortal. Our lives will come to a definite end. The miracle is that we survive so many illnesses, accidents and crises within that lifetime. Suchocki tells the story of when her mother lay dying in the hospital. Suchocki writes of her frustration when watching a sore on her mother’s stomach, caused by an adhesive bandage, that showed signs of healing, yet cancer continued to eat away her life. She pleaded in her anger, “God, you are healing this stupid sore, but it’s not her sore that’s the problem, it’s her liver; why can’t you do something about that?” Through that experience, Suchocki came to understand that healing takes many forms, sometimes physical and sometimes not. She says, “There is a health that is deeper than death.”
We all stand in need of healing in many different ways. Prayers of healing offered to God may produce results in ways, in places, and in people we did not expect. Sometimes the healing that truly needs to happen is within a hurting family or estranged relationship before our loved one passes. Sometimes the person offering the prayer receives healing by seeing the world or the situation differently. When we pray for healing of a terminal illness, we may be surprised to see healing in other ways. Once again we discover God’s involvement in healing of some type, and we find the miracle after all.
Believing
In 2010, a Pew Forum on Religion survey revealed that “nearly 80%” of Americans “believe in miracles.” One wonders, though, if a definition of the term miracle accompanied the survey. If the definition had included the idea of God revealing something through the event, would the percentage have changed? Or do people assume a supreme being is involved in what we name as miracles?
Paul teaches that miracles are from God and are a spiritual gift given to the church by God. We may not always recognize miracles, since they may appear as something we did not hope for but desperately needed. Miracles, or God’s acts of wonder, are a part of our faith, whether we recognize them or whether we can name them.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
The tragic gap: On being an Advent and Lent people
By Autumn Dennis
This article was originally published at Inspire to Conspire. Used with permission.
Currently, we’re in the season of Epiphany. When I think of Epiphany, images of flashing light come to mind, of the glory of the Lord shining around the Magi, of the incarnation, and of the Fulfilling Hope coming into our midst. It should be a season of brightness; better yet, it should be a season of epiphanies, of coming to realize that which was already in front of you. Justice. Incarnation. Coming restoration. Hope. Love. Peace. Joy.
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” — Matthew 2:10, NIV
Overjoyed. What a foreign idea. I don’t know about you, but these days I’m having an incredibly hard time finding joy anywhere. It’s been like this for months. With every rising news report, my heart gets more and more broken.
“Grand Jury Declines to Indict NYPD Officer in Chokehold Death of Eric Garner”
“Ferguson Cop Darren Wilson Will Not Be Charged for Killing Michael Brown, Grand Jury Decides”
“Already Three Black Trans Women Have Been Brutally Murdered in 2015“
“Warren Hill Faces Execution Despite Numerous Claims He’s Intellectually Disabled”
“Nashville ‘Cold Patrols’ Seek Homeless On a Freezing Night”
There comes a point where I just stop logging onto social media because I know this is what I will see. My heart and mind can’t handle it anymore. With every invite I receive to endless protests and vigils, there comes a point where it all starts to blur together. No, Ms. Security Guard, I don’t know what we’re marching for right now–the only thing I know to do with myself is to show up. No, Mr. Cameraman, you shouldn’t ask me what our demands are. I don’t even know anymore. I can’t remember what I stand for. I can’t remember what I believe in. There comes a grief in my bones that becomes too much to carry. So, I stop going. I stop moving. I stop reading the articles. I stop engaging in conversation. I dread getting out of bed. I flee.
“What I have never gotten used to is the death. The constant closeness with death. It’s like a fog. I can’t see life because of the constant fog of death hanging over us.”
I have sat through dozens of sermons on Easter Sunday where the pastor exhorts, “We are an Easter people!” This notion of having our identity and experience embedded in the reality/metaphor of the resurrection, of living as if every day were Easter…honestly, most days it feels really fake and distant to me. For times like these, Easter is very far off. And I am trapped between Advent — the season of waiting — and Lent — the season of uncertainty. More often than not, the reality I see in the world is that of Advent and Lent. We cling to hope, because most days we cannot, cannot, cannot see any other. It’s fabulous that later on in the season there will be an empty tomb, but right now, all I know is the cold wilderness of waiting, with Herod trying to kill my children, with many miles to go before I inevitably won’t find a room in the inn, and up next on the agenda is ashes, fasting, repentance, and forty more days of — guess what? — wilderness!
This is the “tragic gap”* in which we stand. We’ve got one foot next to the manger, one foot next to the empty tomb, and the rest of us is somewhere in between — in the stretch of waiting, uncertainty, ordinary time.
It takes courage to stand in the tragic gap, to bear this weight on our shoulders like a cross. The weight of suffering. The weight of seeing the empty tomb firsthand, and noticing it seems farther away from us than in moments past. The weight of being present in this struggle instead of solely keeping our hearts and minds in the liturgical calendar and scriptural stories, even. The weight of juggling the already and the not yet.
I’m struggling with this tragic gap, and I don’t think I will ever stop struggling. In the meantime, I will get out of bed and I will join with others. We will go to the meetings, we will go to the marches, we will engage in the hard conversations, we will confront death. We will stand in the tragic gap. We are the Advent people. We are the Lent people. We will support each other in this wilderness.
Parker Palmer discusses the "tragic gap."
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Science vs. religion? It's really a 3-way split
By Cathy Lynn Grossman / Religion News Service
(RNS) Meet the “Post-Seculars” — the one in five Americans who seem to have gone unnoticed before in endless rounds of debates pitting science vs. religion.
They’re more strongly religious than most “Traditionals” (43 percent of Americans), and more scientifically knowledgeable than “Moderns” (36 percent) who stand on science alone, according to two sociologists’ findings in a new study.
“We were surprised to find this pretty big group (21 percent) who are pretty knowledgeable and appreciative about science and technology but who are also very religious and who reject certain scientific theories,” said Timothy O’Brien, co-author of the research study, released Thursday (Jan. 29) in the American Sociological Review.
Put another way, there’s a sizable chunk of Americans out there who are both religious and scientifically minded but who break with both packs when faith and science collide.
Post-Seculars pick and choose among science and religion views to create their own “personally compelling way of understanding the world,” said O’Brien, assistant professor at the University of Evansville in Indiana.
O’Brien and co-author Shiri Noy, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wyoming, examined responses from 2,901 people to 18 questions on knowledge of and attitudes toward science and four religion-related questions in the General Social Surveys conducted in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Many findings fit the usual way the science-religion divide is viewed:
— Moderns, who stand on reason, scored high on scientific knowledge and scored lowest on religion questions regarding biblical authority and the strength of their religious ties.
— Traditionals, who lean toward religion, scored lower on science facts and were least likely to agree that “the benefits of scientific research outweigh the harmful results.”
However, the data turned up a third perspective — people who defied the familiar breakdown. The authors dubbed them “Post-Secular” to jump past a popular theory that Americans are moving way from religion to become more secular, O’Brien said.
Post-Seculars — about half of whom identify as conservative Protestants — know facts such as how lasers work, what antibiotics do and the way genetics affects inherited illnesses.
But when it comes to three main areas where science and Christian-centric religious views conflict — on human evolution, the Big Bang origin of the universe and the age of the Earth — Post-Seculars break away from the pack with significantly different views from Traditionals and Moderns.
Areas where the factions are clear:
The universe began with a huge explosion:
* Traditional: 21 percent
* Modern: 68 percent
* Post Secular: 6 percent
Human beings developed from earlier species of animals:
* Traditional: 33 percent
* Modern: 88 percent
* Post-Secular: 3 percent
The continents have been moving for millions of years and will move in the future:
* Traditional: 66 percent
* Modern: 98 percent
2 things we need to become spiritually fit
By Steve HarperI have never run a marathon, but I have a good friend and members of his family who have. I have noticed two things in particular that teach me some things about spiritual formation.
First, as they run, they take advantage of water stations placed along the race course. Maps tell runners where these stations are located so they can plan their race accordingly. Periodic hydration is essential; without it they cannot finish the course.
In a similar way, we need hydration stations as we run the race set before us. We need to map their locations into the course we set for ourselves. In spiritual formation we call this hydration a Daily Office, Liturgy of the Hours, Quiet Time or some other name to mark those times and places where we find the Water of Life to continue running. We cannot finish the race without them.
But second, marathon runners know they must have something more than periodic watering; they must have sustained nutrition. In the broad sense, nutrition includes food, exercise, sleep, regular running, etc. These are the larger, infrastructural elements which keep them fit for a race whenever it occurs. Without these things, they could not hope to run a marathon.
In terms of spiritual formation, this represents the larger, foundational dimensions of the spiritual life. We call this a life of personal/social holiness, using the inward/outward disciplines (instituted and prudential means of grace) to provide the nutrients we need. And because the soul rides on Brother Donkey (as St. Francis said), we need the physical nutrition that proper food, exercise and sleep provide.
Practically speaking, the hydration aspect means making use of whatever devotional materials you choose for daily formation. The nutrition aspect means having some ongoing practices that do not fluctuate or skip around from day to day.
With the combination of hydration and nutrition, we can be spiritually fit for the race God sets before us.
Steve Harper is the author of “For the Sake of the Bride.” He blogs at Oboedire.
This Sunday, February 8, 2015
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39
STARRY, STARRY NIGHT by Wendy Joyner
Isaiah 40:21-31
Do you remember the first time you looked up into the night sky and really noticed the stars? I do. As a college student, I served as a summer missionary in a small church in Lake Tahoe, California. A native of Atlanta, I had never been west of the Mississippi River and had certainly never lived in a small town surrounded by beautiful national forest. Late one evening, some of my fellow missionaries and I walked down to the shore of the lake. We lay on our backs on the dock and looked up into the clear night sky. I was overwhelmed. It seemed as if there were millions of stars above. I never realized how much the city lights had obstructed my view, but that night out in the wilderness I felt I could see forever. I remember being humbled more than anything — by the splendor of God’s creation and by the thought that the creator of all that my eyes could see knew me by name. I can’t read passages about stars without remembering that night. I read about the majesty and glory of God as it is revealed in the night sky, and I remember how it felt that night in Tahoe to sense the awesomeness of God. That sense of wonder has been an important part of my journey of faith because it helps me to keep the right perspective on things, especially when faced with trouble or adversity.
The writer of today’s Old Testament lesson knew how difficult it is to keep the right perspective when faced with life’s challenges. The prophet was writing to the people of Israel after they had experienced a period of judgment and exile from their homeland. He was addressing people who had undergone great trials and adversity. They were so beaten down by life that they had forgotten that God was still with them. They began to question whether God remembered their plight at all. Isaiah knew their situation, and he knew their hearts, and he challenged their forgetfulness. He wrote to the people and asked a crucial question, “Why do you say, O Jacob, / and speak O Israel, / ‘My way is hidden from the LORD / and my right is disregarded by my God?’ (v. 27).” Isaiah knew that God had not forgotten them, and he offered words of comfort and encouragement.
The most important thing for the Israelites to remember was the identity of the God they served. As Christopher R. Seitz so insightfully writes, “The issue is not God’s grasp, but Israel’s weariness and exhaustion” ("The New Interpreter’s Bible," Volume VI [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001], 344). So Isaiah calls to the Israelites and tells them to look up at the stars.
“Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.” (v. 26)
Isaiah knew that the people would regain their perspective on life if they lifted their eyes to the heavens. Remember, Isaiah writes, that our God formed the heavens. Our creator knows the number of the stars in the sky, and calls them each by name. Think about this wondrous truth and sense the awesomeness of God.
If this is the God that you worship, the God that calls each of you by name, can God not help you in your time of struggle? Isaiah 40:28-29 says look at the stars and remember the power and magnificence of the God you serve. “He does not faint or grow weary; / his understanding is unsearchable. / He gives power to the faint, / and strengthens the powerless.”
What a wonderful promise to a people who were discouraged, beaten down and worn out with life—God can be your strength. God gives us what we need when we think we can’t continue on the journey. So today, when you look at the circumstances of your life, what do you see? Are the problems that are facing you so overwhelming that it seems as if there will be no end to the struggle? Do the obstacles in your path prevent you from imagining what might be possible tomorrow? Do you despair of any hope for true healing to take place? Are the wrong choices of the past more than you can overcome? Are you feeling alone and powerless? Isaiah says to us—lift your eyes to the heavens.
The circumstances of your life may indeed be overwhelming. You might in fact be too weary to take another step. The good news is that you don’t have to do it all alone. Isaiah reminds us that it is when we are most helpless, most despairing and at the ends of our ropes, that we are best able to receive the gifts of God. Our God is strong, and mighty, and all-powerful love. God has not forgotten us and never will. Jesus told his own disciples in a time of great anxiety “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).
Sometimes when life is at its most difficult, we lose perspective. It’s easy to lose sight of the trees because of the immensity of the forest. That’s when we most need to remember. Look at the world around you and rejoice that the creator of the universe knows your situation. God understands your fears, your hopes, your dreams and your pains. God’s wisdom is unsearchable, and God’s power is unmatched. Remember whose you are, and rest in God’s holy presence. Look up at the stars, and receive the gift of perspective.
WORSHIP CONNECTION: FEBRUARY 8, 2015 by Nancy C. Townley
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Color: Green
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: Come, rejoice and sing! God’s love is showered over you this day.
P: We gather to praise God and celebrate God’s presence with us.
L: God shows compassion to all who are weak and downtrodden.
P: Jesus Christ offers healing mercies to our troubled souls.
L: Praise be to God who has called us here.
P: Thanks be to God for God’s eternal love. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Welcome! Open your hearts to God’s love this day!
P: Praise be to God who has called us here!
L: Let the words wash over you and offer you healing and hope.
P: Praise be to God who continually blesses us!
L: Place your hope and trust in God!
P: With joyful hearts, we come to worship and praise God who continually blesses and provides for us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2001, "We Sing to You, O God" , offer the following call to worship, with the choir singing the suggested verses.
Choir: singing verse 1: "We sing to you, O God, the Rock who gave us birth, let our rejoicing sing hour name in all the earth. To you, O God, let songs be raised, in joyful hymns, our feast of praise!"
L: God has called us here
P: We have wandered far. Life has been both joyful and sorrowful.
L: Come and find hope and healing in God’s love.
P: God’s mercy has been a shelter and strength to us.
Choir: singing verse 2: "We wandered far from home out in a desert land, you shielded with your love our fearful pilgrim band. You kept us safe within hour arms and sheltered us against the storm!
L: Great is God and greatly to be praised!
P: We will rejoice with all our spirits and energy.
L: God is our shield and our refuge!
P: God has led us to this place to refresh our souls and prepare our lives for service. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4
L: How wonderful it is to sing our praises to God!
P: Praise the Lord who gathers us together.
L: God’s mercy is given generously to all in need.
P: We are never out of the reach of God’s love.
L: Come, worship and celebrate. God is reaching out to you this day!
P: Praise be to God who continually heals and forgives us. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
Powerful God, from the very beginning you blessed creation. You have loved and shielded your people through all joys and trials of life. We come to you this day, rejoicing in the many blessings you have given to us. We open our hearts again to hear your word for us and to gather strength and joy for service in your world. Be with us and bless us again, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
How can we look at this world and not sing of your praises, O God? The beauty and majesty of the world is overpowering! Yet we have a tendency to take all that you do for us for granted. We treat the world with callous indifference, using its resources carelessly and with little regard to the future. We insist on war as solutions for problems rather than peaceful striving. We turn our backs on people in need, the weak and downtrodden go unnoticed in our midst. We always believe that someone else will care for those in need. How foolish we are, O God! How ignorant we have become! You have given to us all that we need. You have blessed us with the witness of Jesus Christ who came so that we might learn how you would have us live, in honor and peace. Forgive us. Heal our hearts and spirits. Make us fully aware of all our blessings and our responsibilities. Give us again a spirit of joy in serving you. Help us be agents of peace and hope to others. For we offer this prayer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Jesus has come to heal our spirits and our souls. The demons of arrogance, indifference and apathy are being cast out. New life is offered to you in Jesus Christ. Rejoice! Be Glad! For God’s love is poured out to you this day. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Tragedies abound, O Lord. Our newspapers, television newscasts, and media all report the troubled happenings in our world. War and strife seem to be the order of the day. And we are caught up in the midst of this chaos. Calm our spirits, Lord. Help us to focus on the love you have given to us in Jesus Christ. Remind us again that his healing mercies extend to us this day as surely as they did to the people of long ago. We have gathered on this day to hear your word, to be forgiven and healed, to find ways in which we may serve you in peace. We have lifted names of those near and dear to us who stand in need of your healing mercies and compassionate love. Some names we have spoken aloud; and others we have uttered in our hearts. You have heard all our prayers. You know our needs and concerns before our voices can frame them. Let us accept the love you give to us. Empower us to take that love and use it for good in your world. Let the message of hope and compassion go forth from us again to this world which focuses on tragedy and turmoil. And once again, let us know fully that you are with us. AMEN.
Litany
L: Do you see the wonders of God’s creation?
P: Life is moving too fast. We don’t have time to waste.
L: Do you know the magnificent love of God?
P: We know what we need.
L: Do you see the needs of others?
P: Our own needs dominate our lives.
L: Do you need to be healed?
P: We are fine, just as we are!
L: Really? Have you reached out to others in compassion offering healing and hope?
P: Sometimes.
L: Have you dared to admit your need for God’s love?
P: To admit to a need is to make ourselves vulnerable.
L: Become vulnerable to God. In Jesus Christ, God became vulnerable to the world.
P: We could be hurt.
L: God will heal you.
P: We could be lost and frightened.
L: God will find you and give you comfort.
P: We could become downtrodden and weak.
L: God will lift you up and strengthen you, for that is God’s way of loving.
P: Thanks be to God who will walk with us, heal and protect us. AMEN.
Benediction, Blessing, Commission
We are being sent into a world in need of healing. We have been given all that we need to be God’s messengers of peace. Go now into the world, rejoicing in God’s presence with you. Bring the news of peace and hope to all you meet. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
Note: It is a good idea to write a brief description of the visual presentation in the worship bulletin describing the symbols and their meaning.
This Sunday provides a challenge to the visual artist. The Gospel lesson focuses on the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and many others. Each congregation will have ideas about what symbols represent healing. For some congregations, the use of crutches, braces, wheelchairs, may represent infirmity and the need for healing. Some congregations may want to place pictures of people in need on their worship center. Two options have been offered for artistic elements for this day.
SURFACE: Place several risers on the main worship center. The center riser will be placed for the cross. Place one riser in front of the worship center, to the right.
FABRIC:Green is the traditional color for this season. You may want to cover the entire worship area with green fabric. Another suggestion would be to cover the area with burlap and use about 5-6 yards of green fabric woven across the worship center, down the front and across the front riser. Begin the flow of the green fabric from the riser to the left of the cross.
In option #2, using room darkening fabric, or muslin, cut in 1 yard pieces, approximately 18 inches wide, have people make hand prints, from acrylic paints of different colors and place them on the fabric to represent helping hands. You should have about three pieces of each hand print fabric.
CANDLES: Place 3 large white pillar candles on the riser to the left of the cross. Smaller pillar candles may be placed at other points in the display where you feel they are needed. Candles may be used in both suggested options.
FLOWERS/PLANTS: Aloe plants are wonderful additions to the setting. Many people in your congregation will have these plants. Place one plant to the right of the cross, on a riser. Other plants may be placed throughout the worship setting. These plants may be used in both suggested options.
ROCKS/WOOD: At the base of the aloe plant on the riser, place a collection of rocks and stones. Additional rocks and stones may be placed near the three pillar candles.
OTHER:
Option #1: If you are using crutches, braces, wheelchair to represent the need for healing, place them in the worship center with the wheelchair to the left and in front. Place the crutches and braces against the riser on the right in front of the worship center.
Option #2: If you want to create another design using pictures of people in need, the world in strife, place them on the risers, with the exception of the center riser on the worship table. Place several pictures on the riser in front of the worship table on the riser and on the main floor level. Place the hand print fabric under the pictures so that it drapes down, as though the hands are reaching up to help.
SERMON OPTIONS: FEBRUARY 8, 2015
The High King of Heaven
Isaiah 40:21-31
Chapter 40 was written concerning the close of Israel’s exile in Babylon. It is filled with hope as the prophet is instructed to “comfort my people, says your God” (vv. 1-2). Prophets normally confront people with the Lord’s demands and call for their repentance. Here he is told to “speak tenderly” (literally “speak to the heart”). This is a message of encouragement and reassurance.
The focal passage shows God to be great—incomparable. As the songwriter exclaimed, “How great thou art.”
I. God Is Creator and Lord of History (vv. 21-24)
The Lord is the High King of heaven “who sits above the circle of the earth” (v. 22). The circle is the vault of the heavens above the earth. It appeared to be a dome on which the stars were fixed. (See Job 22:12-14.) God “walks on the dome of heaven.” In Genesis 1 it is called “the firmament” (v. 6). The sky looked to be a dome above the earth to ancient people. They envisioned God living above his creation.
The prophet ridiculed the mighty pagan rulers. He probably had King Cyrus in mind. To God the inhabitants of the earth appear no bigger than grasshoppers—and their princes amount to nothing (v. 23). They are like plants withered and blown away by the hot desert wind (the sirocco). The storm carries them away like stubble (v. 24). The Lord is King of kings.
II. God Is Incomparable (vv. 25-26)
To whom can God be compared? Certainly not to a pagan idol (vv. 18-20). Babylon was a center of star worship or astrology. They believed the stars to be gods. That ancient pagan myth is still very much alive—and still pagan. The prophet contends that the stars are part of God’s creation that line up in the heavens like soldiers on a parade ground and “not one is missing” (v. 26). Don’t worship the stars but the God who created them.
III. God Cares for Us (vv. 27-31)
Captive Israel had grown faint and weary. They had long been a people without a land and they had grown bitter. In verse 27 they accused God of ignoring their plight. The prophet assures them of the heavenly Father’s care. This eternal Creator does not grow weary and there is no limit to his understanding (v. 28). This Almighty God gives power and strength to those who trust in him (v. 29). As J. B. Phillips would say, “Their God was too small.” The prophet shows God to be great and the believer’s source of strength.
Verse 31—portraying eagle wings of faith—is a magnificent climax to the passage. When even the young are exhausted, those who wait on the Lord are empowered. Eagles molted and grew new feathers. Ancient people saw this as a symbol of spiritual renewal: “your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” ( Ps. 103:5) . To wait on the Lord literally means to cling to him as a vine entwines itself around a tree (wisteria). It is a metaphor for trust and dependence on the Lord.
In crisis he delivers us—we mount up with wings like eagles.
In busy times he delivers us—we run and do not grow weary.
In routine times he delivers us—we walk and do not faint.Faith is tough-minded trust in the Eternal. And faith is what results in victory in our lives. (Alton H. McEachern)
The Joy of Personal Evangelism
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
God has chosen people to be the only means of spreading the gospel. Why?
God is glorified in accomplishing the task using the simplest tools. Think of the pyramids of Egypt. People flock to them and stand amazed as they behold them. Because of their size? Hardly. They were built using only the most primitive technology and human labor. The fact that the Egyptians accomplished so much with so little amazes us.
Look around at the Body of Christ today. There are Christians in every nation, among every major language group. Billions of them. Because of angels? No. Because God has used people often no more willing, no more trained, no more gifted than any of us.
Paul recognizes three possibilities regarding our acceptance of our evangelistic mandate.
I. Some Will Never Share the Good News
Paul says the least about this possibility: “Woe to me if I do not.” What does he mean?
First, the person who fails to share the good news will lose the blessings he would have gained by having been a part of God’s work. I quit asking God why he used people the first time he used me to lead someone to Christ.
Paul knew that if he did not share, he would lose the blessing of seeing those he had won to Christ. He would lose the joy of knowing he had done for someone else what had been done for him. He also could be referring to the sorrow he would feel if he saw those left behind he could have helped.
II. Some Will Share the Good News, but Unwillingly
The idea of a reluctant witness is an amazing concept. It could describe some people who really don’t want new people to come into their church, but they allow it. Or perhaps they share unwillingly because they will feel guilty if they don’t.
Still, sharing the gospel unwillingly is a foreign concept to Paul. He doesn’t say much about it, except that there is no reward for sharing strictly out of a sense of obligation.
III. God’s Plan Is for Us to Share the Good News Joyfully
The greatest reward and joy is simply to share the good news freely with everyone. Paul doesn’t have to find out first if someone can afford the gospel, or if they deserve an opportunity.
Paul remembers just how special were the people God used to witness to him, and he delights in being that special to others. We all can remember people who helped us develop and grow: teachers, friends, relatives, and, of course, parents. And we appreciate these people. But the people I appreciate most are those who “risked offending me” by sharing their faith with me. There were several who witnessed to me, invited me to church, and tried to help me. To know someone else feels this way about me makes me feel rather special.
One last thing Paul says in verse 22b: “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.” A multitude of means exist by which we can reach people. Some friends witnessed to me directly. My wife’s mother didn’t think she could, so she offered me Sunday lunch if I would go to church with her. It was her prayers, and her unique approach to “lunchtime evangelism,” that helped me become Christian.
You may have neighbors who will not come to church, but they would come to a Bible study in your home. Maybe they would read a Christian book if you gave them one. If you do not like one method, keep looking for a method that fits you. But whatever the method, share with others what God has done for you! (Bill Groover)
What’s Our Perspective?
Mark 1:29-39
In recording the early part of Jesus ministry, Mark seeks to emphasize the multidimensional nature of who he is and what he has come to do. The healing of Simon’s mother-in-law, the casting out of demons, his teaching, and his statement concerning his preaching ministry all spotlight activities that will become the signposts of his ministry. From the beginning of his portrayal of Jesus, Mark seeks to define the many ways in which Jesus will proclaim and witness to the kingdom of God. Mark also reveals the source of his empowerment as he has Jesus rising early to be alone with God in prayer.
While these passages don’t carry the drama of the feeding of the five thousand or Jesus walking on the water, they do share in a subtle way the connection between the works Jesus does and the source that empowers such work. This is an important connection for Mark, because he wants us to realize that the kingdom that Jesus has been sent to express is a direct revelation of God and God’s activity in a hurting and sinful world. In all of these ways Jesus embodies and proclaims the presence of the kingdom of God.
I. The Kingdom Is Revealed in His Power Over Nature
As Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, then others who are ill, one sees the power of God’s kingdom erupting into everyday life through the person of Jesus. In this Epiphany text, we see how God’s kingdom becomes manifest in the routine and ordinary lives of people.
The miracles of Jesus are not important because of their value as spectacle but because they symbolize the presence of the kingdom in human life. As Jesus moved into lives, so did the kingdom.
II. The Kingdom Is Revealed in His Power Over the Supernatural
Jesus demonstrates power over not just natural phenomena but also supernatural, represented by the demons who possessed people. He held utter authority over them, even to the point of forbidding their speech. They recognized that when Jesus spoke, he did so with the full authority and power of God’s kingdom.
III. The Kingdom Is Revealed in His Presence in Individual Lives
It is interesting to note the response of the people who experience that abiding presence. A woman rises from her illness to serve in a common way. Demons recognize Jesus for who he is when everyone else seems duped. His disciples, who should have trusted him most, act exasperated when they find him alone: they exclaim, “Everyone is searching for you” (v. 37). How strange to hear these stories and the stranger-still responses of those who experience the reality of God’s kingdom.
Jesus seems to stand out in these stories as the one who seems sure, trusting, and empowered to authoritatively and authentically manifest the difference God’s presence makes in the midst of all kinds of life experiences. Although subtle, these passages express the mystery of how God’s kingdom will manifest itself, and the mixed response of those who experience it.
What will be our response as we encounter the manifestation of God’s kingdom in the everyday? Moses at the burning bush; Isaiah in the temple; fisherman by the sea; a woman at a well; Paul on a road to Damascus—all serve to remind us of how God’s manifestation meets us where we are. As a pastor, I can recall haunting, yet powerful moments in ministry when in a hospital room, a nursing home, or in visiting a prospect, God encountered me and those around me and invited us to respond.
In such moments what will be our response? (Travis Franklin)
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: FEBRUARY 8, 2015By Carolyn C. Brown, Worship for KidsFrom a Child's Point of View
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39. The contrast between these healings and the previous one at the synagogue makes it clear that Jesus did not heal to impress big groups of important people. He simply reached out to do what he could for people he met. When he went home with his friend for supper, he healed the man's sick mother-in-law. When people came to the door asking for help, he healed them.
Fifth- and sixth-graders are ready to take responsibility for their own devotional life. They are able to read the Bible on their own and are independent enough set their own disciplines. Many are learning to take responsibility for individual athletic, dance, or music practice. Just as these disciplines help children develop their athletic and artistic power, daily prayer helps them develop their power to live as God's people. The story of Jesus' withdrawal for prayer is attractive to them.
Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31. Children cannot understand this passage as it is read, in any translation. They do, however, empathize with the hopeless exiles. Like the exiles, children often feel overlooked and forgotten. They feel like baggage that is shifted around to suit the adults. Children who are mistreated by the central adults in their lives feel shut out by the whole world. But even those who are loved and well cared for occasionally feel overlooked and overpowered. Isaiah reminds children that God, who created the vast world, pays attention to each creature in it even to them. God notices them and will give them the power they need in even the most hopeless situations.
Psalm: 147:1-11, 20c. This psalm celebrates both the power and the loving care of God. Children can recognize it as a psalm that might have been sung by Peter's family, or by any of the many people Jesus healed.
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23. It is more effective to summarize Paul's point and illustrate it with current examples of people who are doing as he did, than to attempt to explain the significance of living by the Law and becoming "weak." Paul's point is that he is willing to accept rules he does not really need to accept, if living by those rules will help him do his job of telling people about God.
WARNING: It is important to point out the difference between what Paul did and merely going along with the crowd to make them like you.
Watch Words
Do not let speaking of God's power lead you to use omnipotenceor other long "power" words without explaining their meaning.
Let the Children Sing
Both "How Great Thou Art," when sung with feeling by a congregation that loves it, and "For the Beauty of the Earth" describe God's power and love. "All Things Bright and Beautiful," which praises God's attention to both the great and the small, is familiar to most church children.
Though "We Would See Jesus" includes some abstract and obsolete words, older children can sing along. It helps to point out the topic of each verse before the singing begins.
Older children can read and sing the words of "Take Time to Be Holy," in response to Jesus' prayer practices.
The Liturgical Child
1. To emphasize the psalmist's points about God's power and include worshipers in the poet's praising, ask the congregation to say "Praise the Lord!" (1a) to begin Psalms 147, and also after a worship leader reads the following sections of the psalm: 1b, 2-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-9, and 10-11. This might be printed in its entirety in the bulletin.
2. Invite three older children to read the three stories (verses 29-31; 32-34; and 35-39) in the Gospel text. The New Revised Standard Version can be read without difficulty by most fourth- through sixth-graders. Plan one practice session in the sanctuary to be sure they can pronounce all the words easily, know where to stand, and can use the microphone comfortably.
3. Prayer of Confession: Loving God, you have commanded us to love one another, and you have shown us how to do it. When crowds came to the door at the end of a long day, Jesus talked to them and healed them. But when people come to us when we are tired, we say, "Come back tomorrow. Can't you see I'm busy?" or just "Go away!" Forgive us.
When Paul became a missionary, he was willing to try almost anything to persuade people to listen to God's good news. He obeyed the laws the Jews obeyed, so that they would listen when he told them about Jesus. He ate the strange food the Gentiles ate, so that he could tell them about God's love.
But we are not so eager to help others. We are helpful when we feel like it. We serve others when it is convenient and when serving is interesting or fun. We invite to church only the people we like. We are kind to those who are kind to us. Forgive us. Help us to love one another as you commanded. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God loves us even when we are not loving. God loves us even when we are not lovable. God loves and forgives us even when we are at our worst. More than that, God gives us the power to love others when we do not feel like it, to say kind words to people we do not like, even to take care of others when we are tired and want someone to take care of us. When God's power works through us, we are surprised by what can happen. Thanks be to God!
4. As the Benediction, recite Isaiah 40:28-29 and 31. Conclude with, "So go in peace. God is with you."
Sermon Resources
1. To set Paul's point in modern circumstances, tell stories. Tell about teenage American girls who wear skirts instead of shorts while painting a children's home in Jamaica. Because they do not offend the community's customs regarding women's dress, they are able to share God's love with those people.
Tell about an older child who plays little kids' games, maybe "Chutes and Ladders," to care for a younger child. Tell about the eight-year-old who ate barbecued goat when invited to dinner by the Central American refugee boy he befriended at school.
2. Offer specific helps for daily prayer. Name daily devotional guides that have proved useful. If your children's church-school curriculum offers a daily prayer guide, point it out, encourage children to use it, and urge parents to support its use. Another excellent resource is Pockets, a monthly magazine for seven- to twelve-year-olds that includes devotional activities for each day of the coming month. (Order Pockets from The Upper Room, 1908 Grand Ave, P.O. Box 189, Nashville, TN 37202-9929.) Display these resources near the sanctuary.
201 8th Avenue South
However, if we’re working within Christian just war framework, we must remember that the very Christian principles it uses are secondary to the primary, clear teachings of Jesus in Scripture. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to see our enemies as human beings. He taught us that we not only aren’t permitted to hate our enemies or even call them names. He taught us that we must see our enemies as human beings created in the image of God, to strive for the redemption of our enemies and the reconciliation of our relationship to them. He told us that we must see our enemies as fully human because, even God does not delight in the death of the wicked, but wishes all persons to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Of course, all of this forces the obvious question raised by many pacifists: Can just war advocates remain faithful to these primary teachings of Jesus while killing their enemies? I think this is a worthy discussion, but not one I want to engage here. I want to assume the best and assume that, yes, it is possible to both love your enemy the way Jesus does and also kill them if necessary.
So beginning with the assumption that it is possible to both love your enemies and wage war against them, I have to say that in my near 20 years as a Christian, I’ve seen very few proponents of Christian just war theory actually honoring and defending the primacy of love. I am always hearing defenses of just war theory, which is fine and good, but I hear very little defense of or embodiment of the radical enemy-love that is supposed to go along with the distinctively Christian ethical position.
The Christian response to the recent “American Sniper” book/film sets this on display. I’m not going to argue whether or not Chris Kyle is a Christian. That’s not my job; I don’t get to decide such things. Nor am I arguing that he was participating in an unjust war. Those are important discussions, but not ones I want to engage here.
However, Kyle claims to be both an advocate of just war theory, and a Christian. Which suggests to me that, even if he feels he ethically must kill his enemies, he has a certain framework — a Christian ethical framework — that ought to tell him how he should engage his enemies and his ethics.
It surprised me, then, to read that Kyle then spoke of his enemies — even civilians — as if they were not truly human beings* created in the image of God and therefore persons to be loved. Well, actually it didn’t surprise me … What really surprised me, and continues to surprise me, is how many in the Christian community have lifted Chris Kyle up as a model soldier, citizen and Christian. How many of us have set him up as the exemplar of how our faith and war go together.
But it begs the question: Is he really a role model for how war and faith go together? Do his words embody the fullness of the Christian faith? Does he, while feeling it is necessary to kill his enemies, also speak of his actions as a “last resort,” or does he speak of it as a sport? These are honest, not theoretical questions.
I understand war is brutal. I understand that soldiers do things we civilians can’t even fathom. To that end, I can show grace and deep appreciation. But what I can’t do is pretend like the highest calling of the Christian faith — to love — is somehow negated because of the presence of an enemy. I can’t pretend that the highest calling of the Christian faith is negated because the guy was “on my side.”
Rather, the Christian faith’s call to love is a call that must be enacted in the midst of our enemies, even when that is complicated. And we Christians have a responsibility to critically evaluate the words and actions of our brothers and sisters precisely because they are “on my side.” The Christian community ought to be the most self-reflective community, especially when it comes to something like taking the lives of others. This is not about picking on soldiers or nitpicking about words and actions that I couldn’t possibly understand as a non-soldier.
This is an honest attempt to honor the Christian ethical tradition of Christian just war theory. It’s an attempt to ask whether or not Christian soldiers and we who love them are doing our necessary duty to ask necessary and good questions about both the wars in which we engage and the actions of those we send to engage those wars.
I know plenty of Christian men and women serving in the armed forces. I am not saying their service is illegitimate or unwarranted. I am, however, asking if the Christian community has lost its prophetic voice and, at times, its moral compass. No, not because we participate in war (though, the pacifist might say that), but because we don’t even know how the Christian tradition has said we ought to participate in war.
How many of us even know the components of just war theory, let alone stand up for them? How many of us could even articulate what makes an action in combat just or unjust? And how many of us are even willing to question, let alone outright disagree, with a decision the nation has made to go to war or how it chooses to wage that war?
I appreciate my military friends. I appreciate that they lay down their lives for something bigger than themselves everyday, and in ways I can’t imagine. My dad was a military man. I have respect for all of our service people and want to honor them.
But I have to ask, where is the prophetic voice of the just war community, which exists, not merely to prop up the wars of the nation, but exists to make sure that the nation and its soldiers (especially Christian soldiers) are held to a higher standard? Where is the reminder that we must never forget that the people our nation kills are still people, and that their humanness is not somehow subtracted from the equation just because they wear a turban or live so far away? Where are all the Christian just war advocates who are also telling the Christian community that Chris Kyle doesn’t represent the Christian faith when he speaks the way he does about his enemies in his book?
I think these are questions worthy of our reflection as a Christian community. Though I’m sure many will be angry that I even ask such a question, I press on anyway. That’s what I’m supposed to do as a Christian. That’s what the Christian community is supposed to do. We are not the cheerleaders of the nation; we are prophets and prophetesses called to question, criticize, and offer an alternative way of living — an alternative grounded in cruciform love for enemies.
*Clearly this Storify article has an agenda. My interest posting it is not to push that person’s agenda, but to show you the direct quotes from his Kyle’s book.
Tom Fuerst blogs at Tom1st.com. You can subscribe to his blog via email here.
I’ve come across a few articles lately that have given an interesting perspective when it comes to religions crossing paths. The most recent was an NPR article detailing the heroin addiction problem on the island of Zanzibar, where the mostly Muslim population stands in contrast to the majority Christian or indigenous beliefs of the Tanzanian mainland.
The story tells of the attempt to bring the 12-step program for addiction and recovery to the island in an effort to combat the heroin problem that thrives on an island serving as a smuggling stop between the Middle East and Europe. Given Zanzibar’s 99% Muslim population, the Christian roots of the recovery program have been met with some resistance. Still, it's having success; according to the article, eleven recovery houses have treated 3,000 addicts over the course of six years.
Some Christians readers might wonder, “What’s the big deal? The 12-step program uses ‘Higher Power’ language, right? So why can’t that be Allah for a Muslim addict?” Well, for some it can. But this question gets interesting when Christians ask themselves if they could take on such a profound spiritual experiment. Doing so gets at the tough work of interfaith learning and exchange.
The resistance to a recovery program based in Christian spirituality seems odd to some until they think about their own openness to learning and experiencing the lessons present in other faith traditions. It’s interesting to watch the appropriation (and misappropriation) of the teachings of other faiths by Christians who would backpedal in a hurry if they realized the roots of those lessons (we’ve all seen the articles about yoga and the secular/spiritual separation). The important thing to realize is that we have much more to lose by ignoring these opportunities than we have to gain by running from them.
The Christian tradition has been doing interfaith work, knowingly or unknowingly, since the beginning of the church catholic. The first followers of Christ were devout Jews in the Middle East. The first major formal relationship between the Christian body and the power of the state was championed by Constantine the Great, a worshipper of several Roman deities. This kind of cultural ebb and flow continued throughout the rise and spread of Christianity, from the lands and peoples of the Roman Empire to those of the modern Americas.
We have to pause here and remember the danger associated with cross-faith and cross-cultural work. The meeting and melding of Rome and Byzantium with Christianity led to more than its fair share of oppression, war and cultural appropriation and/or destruction in the name of Christian imperialism and colonialism. Suleiman Mauly was a Muslim who found guidance and help in the Christian roots of the 12-step program and then brought that wisdom back to his own people. This is a significantly different thing than a Christian pushing Christian wisdom on a Muslim community. Interfaith work requires walking a fine line where we must seek to learn and engage with traditions while not cherry-picking only the things we like so that we can make them “ours.” Christianity and Christians aren’t alone in this problematic behavior by any means, but forgetting our past is a pretty sure way to repeat it.
Given the unpleasant possibilities, it’s no wonder that Abdulrahman Abdullah’s mother worried about the 12-step program being a conversion tool for her son. This is why we have to think carefully about how interfaith work is pursued and what our intentions are when we do. We also have to be prepared to ask how to think about efforts when they work and how we should proceed when they don’t. How might Christian spirituality and teaching be viewed by the community when it fails for someone like Mosi Tamim Khalfani, who left the program two days after telling her story and is believed to have relapsed? How do we keep the dialogue and relationship going in the hardest, most trying moments for interreligious dialogue?
One way is to keep it grounded. The practical work of interreligious dialogue and cross-faith practice is a day-to-day deal. Learning from someone requires patience, an open mind, and lots of trading notes about what works, what doesn’t, and why. Mindful awareness, a tenet of Buddhism, can calm the mind by focusing on the breath and has been shown to help anxiety and depression. It’s not the same thing as contemplative or centering prayer for Christians, but it’s a practice that a Christian can incorporate into their spiritual life in meaningful ways. It's a way to start a conversation with our neighbors (Buddhists, in this case). Like Mauly bringing the 12 steps to Zanzibar, it’s a tangible way to connect and see how inter-faith work can help all involved.
We are a faith of interfaith work. It’s never been easy, as extreme differences, wrapped in political, social and religious garb, have led to conflicts time and time again. We face that same tension today when extremist violence and oppression — whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu or the myriad faith traditions you can name — causes us to question the humanity of those not on “our team.” We wonder if learning from the stranger will cause us to lose our own sure footing. We worry that we’ll get burned if we get too close to the beliefs of the unfamiliar neighbor.
The point is this: just because embracing the wisdom of another faith tradition isn’t easy doesn’t mean that it shouldn't be done, or that it can’t be rewarding and life-changing. Those finding healing in Zanzibar are well aware. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbor in the face of all that is different or scary about that unknown person. We are called to talk with them, share with them, discover with them. We are called to meet them where they are, love who they are as Christ loves us. This is the movement of grace, flowing from Christ through us. And whether we like it or not, there is no deeply loving someone without deeply learning from them.
The story tells of the attempt to bring the 12-step program for addiction and recovery to the island in an effort to combat the heroin problem that thrives on an island serving as a smuggling stop between the Middle East and Europe. Given Zanzibar’s 99% Muslim population, the Christian roots of the recovery program have been met with some resistance. Still, it's having success; according to the article, eleven recovery houses have treated 3,000 addicts over the course of six years.
Some Christians readers might wonder, “What’s the big deal? The 12-step program uses ‘Higher Power’ language, right? So why can’t that be Allah for a Muslim addict?” Well, for some it can. But this question gets interesting when Christians ask themselves if they could take on such a profound spiritual experiment. Doing so gets at the tough work of interfaith learning and exchange.
The resistance to a recovery program based in Christian spirituality seems odd to some until they think about their own openness to learning and experiencing the lessons present in other faith traditions. It’s interesting to watch the appropriation (and misappropriation) of the teachings of other faiths by Christians who would backpedal in a hurry if they realized the roots of those lessons (we’ve all seen the articles about yoga and the secular/spiritual separation). The important thing to realize is that we have much more to lose by ignoring these opportunities than we have to gain by running from them.
The Christian tradition has been doing interfaith work, knowingly or unknowingly, since the beginning of the church catholic. The first followers of Christ were devout Jews in the Middle East. The first major formal relationship between the Christian body and the power of the state was championed by Constantine the Great, a worshipper of several Roman deities. This kind of cultural ebb and flow continued throughout the rise and spread of Christianity, from the lands and peoples of the Roman Empire to those of the modern Americas.
We have to pause here and remember the danger associated with cross-faith and cross-cultural work. The meeting and melding of Rome and Byzantium with Christianity led to more than its fair share of oppression, war and cultural appropriation and/or destruction in the name of Christian imperialism and colonialism. Suleiman Mauly was a Muslim who found guidance and help in the Christian roots of the 12-step program and then brought that wisdom back to his own people. This is a significantly different thing than a Christian pushing Christian wisdom on a Muslim community. Interfaith work requires walking a fine line where we must seek to learn and engage with traditions while not cherry-picking only the things we like so that we can make them “ours.” Christianity and Christians aren’t alone in this problematic behavior by any means, but forgetting our past is a pretty sure way to repeat it.
Given the unpleasant possibilities, it’s no wonder that Abdulrahman Abdullah’s mother worried about the 12-step program being a conversion tool for her son. This is why we have to think carefully about how interfaith work is pursued and what our intentions are when we do. We also have to be prepared to ask how to think about efforts when they work and how we should proceed when they don’t. How might Christian spirituality and teaching be viewed by the community when it fails for someone like Mosi Tamim Khalfani, who left the program two days after telling her story and is believed to have relapsed? How do we keep the dialogue and relationship going in the hardest, most trying moments for interreligious dialogue?
One way is to keep it grounded. The practical work of interreligious dialogue and cross-faith practice is a day-to-day deal. Learning from someone requires patience, an open mind, and lots of trading notes about what works, what doesn’t, and why. Mindful awareness, a tenet of Buddhism, can calm the mind by focusing on the breath and has been shown to help anxiety and depression. It’s not the same thing as contemplative or centering prayer for Christians, but it’s a practice that a Christian can incorporate into their spiritual life in meaningful ways. It's a way to start a conversation with our neighbors (Buddhists, in this case). Like Mauly bringing the 12 steps to Zanzibar, it’s a tangible way to connect and see how inter-faith work can help all involved.
We are a faith of interfaith work. It’s never been easy, as extreme differences, wrapped in political, social and religious garb, have led to conflicts time and time again. We face that same tension today when extremist violence and oppression — whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu or the myriad faith traditions you can name — causes us to question the humanity of those not on “our team.” We wonder if learning from the stranger will cause us to lose our own sure footing. We worry that we’ll get burned if we get too close to the beliefs of the unfamiliar neighbor.
The point is this: just because embracing the wisdom of another faith tradition isn’t easy doesn’t mean that it shouldn't be done, or that it can’t be rewarding and life-changing. Those finding healing in Zanzibar are well aware. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbor in the face of all that is different or scary about that unknown person. We are called to talk with them, share with them, discover with them. We are called to meet them where they are, love who they are as Christ loves us. This is the movement of grace, flowing from Christ through us. And whether we like it or not, there is no deeply loving someone without deeply learning from them.
Where life involves people — whether among family, friends or coworkers — there will be potential for conflict.
Any disagreement there?
Want to fight about it? :)
In fact, if relationships are normal, conflict is inevitable.
But, conflict doesn’t have to destroy relationships. It can actually be used to make relationships better. That takes intentionality, practice — and a whole lot of grace.
In an organizational sense, conflict is certainly a huge part of a leader’s life. Even in a pastor’s life.
It seems to reason that learning to deal with conflict successfully should be one of our goal as leaders.
Here are 10 suggestions for effectively handlling conflict:
Understand the battle. Make sure you understand the real source of the conflict. Many times we address symptoms, but we really aren’t even addressing with the real issue. That wastes time, frustrates people and makes the conflict linger longer. It’s usually a heart issue that is controlling everything being said. (Proverbs 4:23) Discovering that is key. Make sure you ask lots of questions and attempt to clarify the root issue of the conflict. (This is where a third party help is often needed.)
Find the right time and place. When emotions are high is not good timing for dealing with conflict. Personal conflict should not be handled in public. Don’t be afraid to schedule a time to address the conflict.
Examine yourself first. Sometimes the issue is personal to you and you are only blaming others for your problem. That’s not fair, nor does it provide a healthy resolution to conflict. Look carefully at the “plank” in your own eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)
Consider the other side of the conflict. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and consider their viewpoint. (Philippians 2:4) Why would they think the way they think? Is it a difference in personal values or a misunderstanding? What if I were in their situation — how would I respond?
Do not overreact to the issue or overload on emotion. Stick to the issue at hand. When emotions are exaggerated it disarms the other party and a healthy resolution is harder to attain. Control yourself from extremity or absolutes. Avoid phrases like “You always … ” (Proverbs 25:28)
Do not dance around or sugarcoat the issue or disguise it in false kindness. Sometimes we fail to address the conflict because we are afraid of how the other person may respond or we are afraid of hurting feelings. The avoidance usually will cause more conflict eventually. Be kind, but make sure you are clear, direct and helpful.(Proverbs 27:5)
Do not allow the small disagreements to become big disagreements. The way to keep most huge conflict (the kind that destroys relationships) from occurring is by confronting the small conflict along the way. Minor conflict is always easier to handle than major conflict.
Be firm, but gentle. Learn the balance between the two. It’s critical in dealing with conflict. (Consider Jesus’ approach in John 4.)
Work toward a solution. Never waste conflict. Use it to make the organization and/or the relationship better. Everyone wants a win-win situation, and sometimes that’s possible. Getting to the right decision should always be the ultimate goal. (Proverbs 21:3)
Grant forgiveness easily. Healthy conflict makes relationships stronger, but to get there we must not hold a grudge or seek revenge. That never moves conflict forward towards resolution. Learn the art of grace and forgiveness. It’s a keeper of healthy relationships. (Ephesians 4:32)
Conflict is a part of relationships. All relationships. As leaders, we shouldn’t shy away from conflict. We should learn it’s value and how to navigate conflict for the overall good of the team.
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
Rejecting conversion therapy, accepting love 
By Sarah Grove
As a queer theologian, I celebrate my sexual orientation as a beautiful facet of being created in the image of the Divine. Indeed, the culminating moment of coming out to myself was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Undoubtedly, I was able to have that moment of awakening (which in many ways felt like the first moment of my life) because of the support network of friends, family, therapists and a faith community that surrounded and affirmed me.
That said, the process of coming out to myself and then to others was (and in some ways still is) fraught with suffering and struggle. As is true for many queer individuals, I wrestled with implicit and explicit cultural messages about what it means to be a sexual minority – messages that dismissed, denied and pathologized my lived experience, that threatened me with rejection and alienation from my beloved communities, and that engendered fear, disgust, shame, doubt and hatred into spaces where I desperately needed love, acceptance and hope.
Over time and through this wrestling process, I was able to conclude that I was not the problem and that my sexual orientation was not something unsafe, shameful or wrong. In fact, the tables turned. I was able to see that those shaming messages and their messengers were the true problem. These angels of death were the unsafe voices keeping me from living life abundantly. Theirs were the damaging, hateful words that I unquestioningly internalized. They kept me at bay and made me believe there was something wrong with me.
These voices can and do take a variety of forms, and one iteration that has gained recent attention is through the proponents and practitioners of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy consists of non-evidence-based measures that seek to reorient or “repair” LGBT people to a permanent heterosexual, cisgender orientation. The messages of hate and death ring clearly here: queer sexual orientation and gender identity are shameful problems to be fixed. Sadly, many of my queer siblings deeply internalize that message, believe it and seek to comply even when it runs counter to their own best interests. Indeed, little room exists for the whisper of self-love in a world full of voices shouting threats about your “problem.” And, heartbreakingly, I understand. Remember, I’ve been there.
The greater medical community has expressed its disapproval of conversion therapy. This brand of intervention has been rejected by the major American medical and therapeutic associations, and has been found to be in breach of theAmerican Psychological Association’s ethical code to “do no harm.” Yet, what are we to do when we are met with parishioners or clients seeking conversion therapy for themselves or for their children? As a pastoral therapist-in-training, I know that therapeutic work toward client well-being must take a holistic approach to mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I do not take lightly the goal of the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee, Inc., where I am currently interning: we seek to embody God’s healing presence with our clients.
I have heard many individuals speak about their “struggle with same-sex attraction.” Our therapeutic and pastoral response can be to acknowledge that struggle and desire for change as a normal response to the social stigma of being a sexual minority. We can remind our clients that their struggle is just as much external as it is internal. The struggle is wrestling with the dominant voices of a culture seeking to perpetuate the status quo of heteronormativity and sexism. The struggle is also an internal wrestling, a grappling for identity in the face of internalized doubt, hatred and shame. For most, it is the fight for their life. As I’ve written before, pastoral caregivers can offer a therapeutic space that is not of this world, but of the kingdom of heaven and of the Beloved Community – a space of boundless compassion, striving to unmask and consider all of the forces at work in our clients’ lives.
Some of the most vulnerable in the kingdom of heaven are our queer and questioning children and adolescents. As the least of these, our children (in general) are particularly vulnerable to the messages from greater culture and from their primary caregivers. Queer children and adolescents thrive when they are met with parental acceptance. Unfortunately, many live in a world of explicit parental rejection, or of subtle rejection in the form of well-meaning parents, unknowingly motivated by death-dealing impulses and anxieties, seeking to convert their children away from their true selves. In a world already seeking to convert our queer children into the bearers of shame, self-hatred and fear, we can and must protect them from compounded suffering. We must offer them the life abundant found in acceptance, understanding, safety, pride and delight.
Our pastoral response must be to refuse to refer our clients and parishioners to conversion tactics in any form. For our queer siblings, that means refusing to replicate the shame-filled messages that have plagued them throughout their lives. It means acknowledging that the attitudes and assumptions at work to justify and protect the implementation of conversion interventions are toxic and sinful. (That is, they separate us from the love of God and from loving one another.)
Part of my own coming out process was vowing to listen no more to the messages telling me that my queer, female body was wrong, broken, shameful or scary. I vowed instead to live into my own truth as a beloved child of God and to surround myself with the counter-cultural messages of affirmation, love, compassion, acceptance and grace that I always needed. We can surround our queer clients and parishioners with that same sanctuary that silences voices of suffering and death and listens for those divine whispers of life.
Any disagreement there?
Want to fight about it? :)
In fact, if relationships are normal, conflict is inevitable.
But, conflict doesn’t have to destroy relationships. It can actually be used to make relationships better. That takes intentionality, practice — and a whole lot of grace.
In an organizational sense, conflict is certainly a huge part of a leader’s life. Even in a pastor’s life.
It seems to reason that learning to deal with conflict successfully should be one of our goal as leaders.
Here are 10 suggestions for effectively handlling conflict:
Understand the battle. Make sure you understand the real source of the conflict. Many times we address symptoms, but we really aren’t even addressing with the real issue. That wastes time, frustrates people and makes the conflict linger longer. It’s usually a heart issue that is controlling everything being said. (Proverbs 4:23) Discovering that is key. Make sure you ask lots of questions and attempt to clarify the root issue of the conflict. (This is where a third party help is often needed.)
Find the right time and place. When emotions are high is not good timing for dealing with conflict. Personal conflict should not be handled in public. Don’t be afraid to schedule a time to address the conflict.
Examine yourself first. Sometimes the issue is personal to you and you are only blaming others for your problem. That’s not fair, nor does it provide a healthy resolution to conflict. Look carefully at the “plank” in your own eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)
Consider the other side of the conflict. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and consider their viewpoint. (Philippians 2:4) Why would they think the way they think? Is it a difference in personal values or a misunderstanding? What if I were in their situation — how would I respond?
Do not overreact to the issue or overload on emotion. Stick to the issue at hand. When emotions are exaggerated it disarms the other party and a healthy resolution is harder to attain. Control yourself from extremity or absolutes. Avoid phrases like “You always … ” (Proverbs 25:28)
Do not dance around or sugarcoat the issue or disguise it in false kindness. Sometimes we fail to address the conflict because we are afraid of how the other person may respond or we are afraid of hurting feelings. The avoidance usually will cause more conflict eventually. Be kind, but make sure you are clear, direct and helpful.(Proverbs 27:5)
Do not allow the small disagreements to become big disagreements. The way to keep most huge conflict (the kind that destroys relationships) from occurring is by confronting the small conflict along the way. Minor conflict is always easier to handle than major conflict.
Be firm, but gentle. Learn the balance between the two. It’s critical in dealing with conflict. (Consider Jesus’ approach in John 4.)
Work toward a solution. Never waste conflict. Use it to make the organization and/or the relationship better. Everyone wants a win-win situation, and sometimes that’s possible. Getting to the right decision should always be the ultimate goal. (Proverbs 21:3)
Grant forgiveness easily. Healthy conflict makes relationships stronger, but to get there we must not hold a grudge or seek revenge. That never moves conflict forward towards resolution. Learn the art of grace and forgiveness. It’s a keeper of healthy relationships. (Ephesians 4:32)
Conflict is a part of relationships. All relationships. As leaders, we shouldn’t shy away from conflict. We should learn it’s value and how to navigate conflict for the overall good of the team.
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
By Sarah GroveAs a queer theologian, I celebrate my sexual orientation as a beautiful facet of being created in the image of the Divine. Indeed, the culminating moment of coming out to myself was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Undoubtedly, I was able to have that moment of awakening (which in many ways felt like the first moment of my life) because of the support network of friends, family, therapists and a faith community that surrounded and affirmed me.
That said, the process of coming out to myself and then to others was (and in some ways still is) fraught with suffering and struggle. As is true for many queer individuals, I wrestled with implicit and explicit cultural messages about what it means to be a sexual minority – messages that dismissed, denied and pathologized my lived experience, that threatened me with rejection and alienation from my beloved communities, and that engendered fear, disgust, shame, doubt and hatred into spaces where I desperately needed love, acceptance and hope.
Over time and through this wrestling process, I was able to conclude that I was not the problem and that my sexual orientation was not something unsafe, shameful or wrong. In fact, the tables turned. I was able to see that those shaming messages and their messengers were the true problem. These angels of death were the unsafe voices keeping me from living life abundantly. Theirs were the damaging, hateful words that I unquestioningly internalized. They kept me at bay and made me believe there was something wrong with me.
These voices can and do take a variety of forms, and one iteration that has gained recent attention is through the proponents and practitioners of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy consists of non-evidence-based measures that seek to reorient or “repair” LGBT people to a permanent heterosexual, cisgender orientation. The messages of hate and death ring clearly here: queer sexual orientation and gender identity are shameful problems to be fixed. Sadly, many of my queer siblings deeply internalize that message, believe it and seek to comply even when it runs counter to their own best interests. Indeed, little room exists for the whisper of self-love in a world full of voices shouting threats about your “problem.” And, heartbreakingly, I understand. Remember, I’ve been there.
The greater medical community has expressed its disapproval of conversion therapy. This brand of intervention has been rejected by the major American medical and therapeutic associations, and has been found to be in breach of theAmerican Psychological Association’s ethical code to “do no harm.” Yet, what are we to do when we are met with parishioners or clients seeking conversion therapy for themselves or for their children? As a pastoral therapist-in-training, I know that therapeutic work toward client well-being must take a holistic approach to mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I do not take lightly the goal of the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee, Inc., where I am currently interning: we seek to embody God’s healing presence with our clients.
I have heard many individuals speak about their “struggle with same-sex attraction.” Our therapeutic and pastoral response can be to acknowledge that struggle and desire for change as a normal response to the social stigma of being a sexual minority. We can remind our clients that their struggle is just as much external as it is internal. The struggle is wrestling with the dominant voices of a culture seeking to perpetuate the status quo of heteronormativity and sexism. The struggle is also an internal wrestling, a grappling for identity in the face of internalized doubt, hatred and shame. For most, it is the fight for their life. As I’ve written before, pastoral caregivers can offer a therapeutic space that is not of this world, but of the kingdom of heaven and of the Beloved Community – a space of boundless compassion, striving to unmask and consider all of the forces at work in our clients’ lives.
Some of the most vulnerable in the kingdom of heaven are our queer and questioning children and adolescents. As the least of these, our children (in general) are particularly vulnerable to the messages from greater culture and from their primary caregivers. Queer children and adolescents thrive when they are met with parental acceptance. Unfortunately, many live in a world of explicit parental rejection, or of subtle rejection in the form of well-meaning parents, unknowingly motivated by death-dealing impulses and anxieties, seeking to convert their children away from their true selves. In a world already seeking to convert our queer children into the bearers of shame, self-hatred and fear, we can and must protect them from compounded suffering. We must offer them the life abundant found in acceptance, understanding, safety, pride and delight.
Our pastoral response must be to refuse to refer our clients and parishioners to conversion tactics in any form. For our queer siblings, that means refusing to replicate the shame-filled messages that have plagued them throughout their lives. It means acknowledging that the attitudes and assumptions at work to justify and protect the implementation of conversion interventions are toxic and sinful. (That is, they separate us from the love of God and from loving one another.)
Part of my own coming out process was vowing to listen no more to the messages telling me that my queer, female body was wrong, broken, shameful or scary. I vowed instead to live into my own truth as a beloved child of God and to surround myself with the counter-cultural messages of affirmation, love, compassion, acceptance and grace that I always needed. We can surround our queer clients and parishioners with that same sanctuary that silences voices of suffering and death and listens for those divine whispers of life.
By David F. Watson
Earlier this month I had the privilege of traveling to Cuba with a group from United Theological Seminary. We accompanied a mission team from Trinity Family Life Center, a United Methodist Congregation in Pickerington, Ohio, led by Rev. Tim Burden.
The spiritual leader of this revival is Bishop Ricardo Pereira, who is a visionary, preacher, pastor and evangelist. In addition to overseeing all of the Methodist churches in Cuba, he also pastors a large congregation in Havana. If you’d like to meet or hear Bishop Pereira in person, he will be one of the keynote speakers at the Aldersgate Renewal Conference this summer.
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A few years ago Bishop Pereira launched a new seminary in Havana with several extension centers, training both clergy and laity for the work of ministry. The professors in this seminary teach for free. They are utterly dedicated, at times driving for hours across the island to teach at one of the extension centers. The Cuban model of seminary education (at least among Methodists) is different than ours in the United States. In Cuba, if you wish to be a pastor, before enrolling in seminary you must start and lead a church for two years. Then, if the bishop feels you are ready and your congregation has shown sufficient growth, you may start seminary.
In addition to his other gifts, Bishop Pereira has a skill that I have observed among other successful leaders: He is able to identify and empower people with the gifts of leadership. He is raising up a tremendous group of spiritual sons and daughters who will lead the church in subsequent decades. The people on the bishop’s staff are not only intelligent and capable, but kind, humble and deeply committed to Christ and the church.
During our trip, our students and Pastor Tim preached at various churches in and around Havana. We were always greeted warmly and received with gladness. It was a bit of a challenge for many of us, however, because Cuban Methodists are very animated in preaching and worship. Most of us had to amp things up quite a bit. I had the privilege of preaching in Bishop Pereira’s church. I preached through an interpreter to some 900 people, and that morning seven people accepted Christ. At the church of the district superintendent the same morning, 48 people accepted Christ.
At the risk of becoming political, I would be remiss if I didn’t say something about the Cuban embargo, which Cubans call the “blockade.” Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Since that time, the socialist government of Cuba has remained solidly in place. After Fidel could not not rule any longer, he transferred power to his brother, Raul. If the purpose of the embargo was to weaken the Castro government, it hasn’t worked. In fact, I was told when I was there that the socialist government uses the embargo as an excuse for its inability properly to provide the security and equality that socialism promises. The embargo has strengthened the hand of the Castros, not weakened it. The people of Cuba have been hurt by the embargo, but the government has not. I’m very pleased to see relations with Cuba beginning to normalize.
A few years ago Bishop Pereira launched a new seminary in Havana with several extension centers, training both clergy and laity for the work of ministry. The professors in this seminary teach for free. They are utterly dedicated, at times driving for hours across the island to teach at one of the extension centers. The Cuban model of seminary education (at least among Methodists) is different than ours in the United States. In Cuba, if you wish to be a pastor, before enrolling in seminary you must start and lead a church for two years. Then, if the bishop feels you are ready and your congregation has shown sufficient growth, you may start seminary.
In addition to his other gifts, Bishop Pereira has a skill that I have observed among other successful leaders: He is able to identify and empower people with the gifts of leadership. He is raising up a tremendous group of spiritual sons and daughters who will lead the church in subsequent decades. The people on the bishop’s staff are not only intelligent and capable, but kind, humble and deeply committed to Christ and the church.
During our trip, our students and Pastor Tim preached at various churches in and around Havana. We were always greeted warmly and received with gladness. It was a bit of a challenge for many of us, however, because Cuban Methodists are very animated in preaching and worship. Most of us had to amp things up quite a bit. I had the privilege of preaching in Bishop Pereira’s church. I preached through an interpreter to some 900 people, and that morning seven people accepted Christ. At the church of the district superintendent the same morning, 48 people accepted Christ.
At the risk of becoming political, I would be remiss if I didn’t say something about the Cuban embargo, which Cubans call the “blockade.” Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Since that time, the socialist government of Cuba has remained solidly in place. After Fidel could not not rule any longer, he transferred power to his brother, Raul. If the purpose of the embargo was to weaken the Castro government, it hasn’t worked. In fact, I was told when I was there that the socialist government uses the embargo as an excuse for its inability properly to provide the security and equality that socialism promises. The embargo has strengthened the hand of the Castros, not weakened it. The people of Cuba have been hurt by the embargo, but the government has not. I’m very pleased to see relations with Cuba beginning to normalize.
This trip made clearer to me than ever before that revival in the United States will only come by a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. No program, no church growth model, no style of worship will renew the church. I don’t believe we will receive this outpouring, moreover, until we humble ourselves, repent of our self-sufficiency and arrogance, and begin to pray for the renewal and sanctification of our life together.
David F. Watson blogs at davidfwatson.me.
By Courtney T BallPerhaps this is old news to you, but I learned today that “What is love?” was the third-highest-ranked “what is” question asked by Google searchers in 2014. It followed behind “What is Ebola?” and “What is ALS?”
Given the crazy viral spread of the ALS ice bucket challenge and the media’s fear-mongering frenzy over the Ebola epidemic, I can see how these searches ended up in the top two slots. But I was truly, pleasantly surprised to discover how so many people wanted to deepen their understanding of love.
Here’s another thing I learned from Google’s review of questions asked in 2014. Even though many of us were irrationally scared of dying from Ebola, the topic “how to kiss” was Googled more times than any other activity, including “how to survive.”
This suggests two things to me. First, I may need to revise the order in my earlier article,“Humanity’s Top Five Searches.” Second, it’s another reminder of just how much time teenagers spend on the internet!
Now, I am a person who takes pride in my openness to new ideas and my willingness to push the envelope. But today, at the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I’m going to make a suggestion to everyone out there searching for an answer to the question “What is love?” (I’ll leave others to address the topic of kissing.)
Here’s my suggestion: Go ahead and ask Google whatever you want, but as you research love, don’t forget to tap into that ancient trove of wisdom we Christians call the Bible, because there is some great stuff in there. Or better yet, use Google to ask what the Bible says love is.
When I did that today, the top result was a link to the Open Bible topic page for “love is,” which displays a list of dozens of Bible quotes, ranked by users as to their helpfulness. At the top of the list (no surprise) is 1 Corinthians 13.
As a former pastor in a college town who performed more than my fair share of weddings, I know this is an overused passage. But just because it’s become cliche doesn’t mean it’s not true. The apostle Paul had his faults. He was irritable and cantankerous and argumentative, but he was also spot-on when it came to teaching others about love. Love is patient and kind and all those other qualities Paul lists. It is the greatest of all virtues.
The best thing about the Bible is that it teaches us so much about love beyond mere romance. It teaches us to sacrifice for our friends, to love our neighbors, even our enemies. And ultimately, all of these activities help us to grow closer in our love toward — and understanding of — God.
So, if you’re one of the millions out there searching for answers to that timeless question, why not start with a timeless source? Whether you’re a teenager, a parent, single, married or somewhere in between, it is good and right to spend time on this question. And if you are a teacher or a pastor or hold some other position that guides people in their learning, remember that a better understanding of love will always be relevant to the lives of those you serve. It’s more than last year’s fad. Google may helpfully remind us of love’s importance, but thankfully, we don’t need an Internet connection to learn how love works. We have each other, and we have the collected wisdom of our most ancient traditions.
You can see more of Courtney's work at CourtneyTBall.com, or sign up to receive his weekly email, “Life and Depth.”
By David Gibson / Religion News Service
NEW YORK (RNS) A high-profile alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants is set to issue a sweeping manifesto against gay marriage that calls same-sex unions “a graver threat” than divorce or cohabitation, one that will lead to a moral dystopia in America and the persecution of traditional believers.
“If the truth about marriage can be displaced by social and political pressure operating through the law, other truths can be set aside as well,” say the nearly 50 signers of the statement, which is to be published in the March edition of the conservative journal First Things.
“And that displacement can lead, in due course, to the coercion and persecution of those who refuse to acknowledge the state’s redefinition of marriage, which is beyond the state’s competence,” they say.
The declaration adds that some people “are already being censured and others have lost their jobs because of their public commitment to marriage as the union of a man and a woman.”
Social conservatives have rallied around a number of cases that they say herald a gloomy future, including the recent dismissal of the fire chief in Atlanta, who had given employees a copy of his book in which he detailed his beliefs, based on his Christian faith, that homosexuality was “vile.”
Other cases include a New Mexico photographer who lost her fight to opt out of taking pictures of a same-sex wedding; bakers and florists who wanted to turn away gay customers; and an Idaho wedding chapel whose Christian owners wanted to conduct only heterosexual weddings.
This latest statement, “The Two Shall Become One Flesh: Reclaiming Marriage,” comes from the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together, a coalition formed in 1994 under the aegis of former Nixon aide Charles Colson, an evangelical, and the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest.
One of their goals was to encourage the two Christian communities to overcome their historical suspicions and doctrinal differences in order to battle what they saw as a growing moral laxity in the U.S.
Neuhaus died in 2009, and Colson in 2012, but the movement has continued and in some ways has become more focused as Christian conservatives have grown increasingly united in their alarm over the sudden and spreading acceptance of gay rights, especially same-sex marriage.
Discussions on a document on same-sex marriage began in June 2013 — the same month the U.S. Supreme Court required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages — according to Russell Reno, editor of First Things and a member of ECT; Reno provided a copy of the declaration to RNS.
But Reno said the members first had to agree to set aside their differences on the legitimacy of divorce and contraception, for example, and even whether marriage is a sacrament.
That enabled them to focus on the advance of gay marriage, which they say not only betrays religious tradition but, more than any other development, undermines society because “marriage is the primordial human institution, a reality that existed long before the establishment of what we now know as the state.”
“(W)hat the state defines as marriage no longer embodies God’s purposes in creation,” says the 5,000-word statement, which wasfirst reported by Baptist Press. “An easy acceptance of divorce damages marriage; widespread cohabitation devalues marriage. But so-called same-sex marriage is a graver threat, because what is now given the name of marriage in law is a parody of marriage.”
Signers of the statement include popular megachurch pastor Rick Warren and longtime gay marriage foe Maggie Gallagher, as well as prominent conservative Catholic intellectuals George Weigel and Robert George.
Timothy George, a Southern Baptist and dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School; Mark Galli, editor of the evangelical magazine Christianity Today; and J.I. Packer of Regent University also endorsed the statement.
The signers say they “do not dispute the evident fact of hormonal and chromosomal irregularities, nor of different sexual attractions and desires.” But they say that in legitimating same-sex marriage, “a kind of alchemy is performed, not merely on the institution, but on human nature itself.”
“We are today urged to embrace an abstract conception of human nature that ignores the reality of our bodies. Human beings are no longer to be understood as either male or female,” it says. The result, it says, will undermine society by eliminating any moral compass except that which the state declares to be the norm, to the exclusion of all others.
What effect the document might have is unclear. It reads like a declaration of war, but in a battle that even many conservatives see as a lost cause, or one they see no reason to fight. Increasing numbers of Christians, like the rest of society, are more tolerant and accepting of gays and lesbians, according to several surveys.
The document declares, however, that a “faithful Christian witness cannot accommodate itself to same-sex marriage,” and it suggests that believers who accept gay marriage are no longer fully Christian.
The signers themselves do not offer a detailed plan of action to counter gay marriage, which is now legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia, and pending in several others. Reno said the statement was not intended as a road map for political or judicial action, but more as a rallying cry to Christians and “to disabuse folks of the notion that we can just keep on keeping on as we have been.”
The signers raise the possibility — which has been debated among religious conservatives in recent months — that clergy could refuse to sign state marriage licenses as an act of civil disobedience.
But they conclude simply that “whatever courses of action are deemed necessary, the coming years will require careful discernment.” They say that the best strategy is for Christians themselves and others “of good will” to live lives that are faithful examples of traditional marriage. “On this basis alone can we succeed,” they say.
“If the truth about marriage can be displaced by social and political pressure operating through the law, other truths can be set aside as well,” say the nearly 50 signers of the statement, which is to be published in the March edition of the conservative journal First Things.
“And that displacement can lead, in due course, to the coercion and persecution of those who refuse to acknowledge the state’s redefinition of marriage, which is beyond the state’s competence,” they say.
The declaration adds that some people “are already being censured and others have lost their jobs because of their public commitment to marriage as the union of a man and a woman.”
Social conservatives have rallied around a number of cases that they say herald a gloomy future, including the recent dismissal of the fire chief in Atlanta, who had given employees a copy of his book in which he detailed his beliefs, based on his Christian faith, that homosexuality was “vile.”
Other cases include a New Mexico photographer who lost her fight to opt out of taking pictures of a same-sex wedding; bakers and florists who wanted to turn away gay customers; and an Idaho wedding chapel whose Christian owners wanted to conduct only heterosexual weddings.
This latest statement, “The Two Shall Become One Flesh: Reclaiming Marriage,” comes from the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together, a coalition formed in 1994 under the aegis of former Nixon aide Charles Colson, an evangelical, and the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest.
One of their goals was to encourage the two Christian communities to overcome their historical suspicions and doctrinal differences in order to battle what they saw as a growing moral laxity in the U.S.
Neuhaus died in 2009, and Colson in 2012, but the movement has continued and in some ways has become more focused as Christian conservatives have grown increasingly united in their alarm over the sudden and spreading acceptance of gay rights, especially same-sex marriage.
Discussions on a document on same-sex marriage began in June 2013 — the same month the U.S. Supreme Court required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages — according to Russell Reno, editor of First Things and a member of ECT; Reno provided a copy of the declaration to RNS.
But Reno said the members first had to agree to set aside their differences on the legitimacy of divorce and contraception, for example, and even whether marriage is a sacrament.
That enabled them to focus on the advance of gay marriage, which they say not only betrays religious tradition but, more than any other development, undermines society because “marriage is the primordial human institution, a reality that existed long before the establishment of what we now know as the state.”
“(W)hat the state defines as marriage no longer embodies God’s purposes in creation,” says the 5,000-word statement, which wasfirst reported by Baptist Press. “An easy acceptance of divorce damages marriage; widespread cohabitation devalues marriage. But so-called same-sex marriage is a graver threat, because what is now given the name of marriage in law is a parody of marriage.”
Signers of the statement include popular megachurch pastor Rick Warren and longtime gay marriage foe Maggie Gallagher, as well as prominent conservative Catholic intellectuals George Weigel and Robert George.
Timothy George, a Southern Baptist and dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School; Mark Galli, editor of the evangelical magazine Christianity Today; and J.I. Packer of Regent University also endorsed the statement.
The signers say they “do not dispute the evident fact of hormonal and chromosomal irregularities, nor of different sexual attractions and desires.” But they say that in legitimating same-sex marriage, “a kind of alchemy is performed, not merely on the institution, but on human nature itself.”
“We are today urged to embrace an abstract conception of human nature that ignores the reality of our bodies. Human beings are no longer to be understood as either male or female,” it says. The result, it says, will undermine society by eliminating any moral compass except that which the state declares to be the norm, to the exclusion of all others.
What effect the document might have is unclear. It reads like a declaration of war, but in a battle that even many conservatives see as a lost cause, or one they see no reason to fight. Increasing numbers of Christians, like the rest of society, are more tolerant and accepting of gays and lesbians, according to several surveys.
The document declares, however, that a “faithful Christian witness cannot accommodate itself to same-sex marriage,” and it suggests that believers who accept gay marriage are no longer fully Christian.
The signers themselves do not offer a detailed plan of action to counter gay marriage, which is now legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia, and pending in several others. Reno said the statement was not intended as a road map for political or judicial action, but more as a rallying cry to Christians and “to disabuse folks of the notion that we can just keep on keeping on as we have been.”
The signers raise the possibility — which has been debated among religious conservatives in recent months — that clergy could refuse to sign state marriage licenses as an act of civil disobedience.
But they conclude simply that “whatever courses of action are deemed necessary, the coming years will require careful discernment.” They say that the best strategy is for Christians themselves and others “of good will” to live lives that are faithful examples of traditional marriage. “On this basis alone can we succeed,” they say.
“A mine accident leaves five miners alive but trapped with a dwindling supply of oxygen. A wall of rubble separates you from them. Trapped under the rubble is another miner. You have a stick of dynamite. If you dig him out, the five will suffocate. The only way to save them is to blow up the wall, killing the one to save the five. What do you do?”
This is a variation of a classic ethical dilemma: Do we decide our action based on the greatest good for the greatest number, or do we make distinctions between “killing” and “letting die”? While most of us will never face such a situation, movie dramas and popular culture often grapple with this kind of question.
Imagine you wake up after having been drugged, and learn that a group of people has surgically attached a world-renowned classical violinist to you so that he can use your kidneys. He will die if you have him removed, but if you wait a few months, he can be removed with less risk and survive. Are you obligated to leave him attached? What if you will be bedridden for a few years, rather than months? This is the scenario described by Judith Jarvis Thomson in 1971 in her article, “A Defense of Abortion.” When we tweak the story (making the consequences more or less dire, changing the identity of the actors, and so on) people often give different answers about what is right or wrong in this scenario.
The story itself does not answer the real-world issue of abortion, and indeed the framing of the story may have its own problems. Even so, these analogies are valuable because they reveal our internal moral intuitions. We are often inconsistent in our thinking about moral issues. Inconsistency is not necessarily a bad thing. Exploring these stories helps us understand better how we think about life and how we make judgments about what is right and wrong, virtuous or vicious.
I’ve always loved the way science fiction gives us more opportunities to create far-out scenarios to challenge our moral judgments and our ethical principles: Do sentient robots have the same rights as humans? What about aliens? What if you fell in love with an alien member of a species that had three genders, or one, instead of our (assumed) two? How would language be different if we only spoke in metaphor? How would society be different if we were all born from artificial wombs? For some of these questions, science fiction has a way of becoming science fact and continuing to force us to re-examine our philosophical assumptions.
The Pharisees were experts at this kind of ethical exploration. Although anti-Semitic teaching has led many Christians to assume “Pharisee” is a synonym for legalist or hypocrite, Pharisees were excellent philosophers and ethicists, and often created scenarios that may have seemed absurd to outsiders. With self-deprecating humor, the Talmud refers to rabbis arguing over a hypothetical tower that flies in the air. We can only imagine their discussion about airspace and holy space, or work and travel on the Sabbath. This kind of “thought experiment” is not frivolous. It allowed them to figure out the ethical principles in play. None of them expected that one day, air travel would be common! (Muslims face similar issues with praying towards Mecca from space.) Jesus and other Jewish rabbis used parables to help his followers stretch and understand more fully what he meant by the kingdom of God.
As our society and our church continue to debate issues like “enhanced interrogation” (torture), same-sex marriage, abortion, artificial intelligence and stem-cell research, I believe we are missing great opportunities to educate our congregations about how to think about ethics — not to mention exegesis or hermeneutics. Instead of exploring the deep and wide ancient traditions of Jewish and Christian ethics, our religious vocabulary seems thin and stunted, trapped by polarized questions: “What does the Bible say?” and “What would Jesus do?” While these are important starting points, they do not, by themselves, lead us to good answers. After all, the Bible says to stone disobedient children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Jesus calls people fools (Matthew 23:17), even though he says doing so is the same as murder (Matthew 5:22). How we justify departing from the text in these cases demonstrates that other principles and norms are in play.
These principles are not explicitly written in the Bible, though they may be derived from the Bible. For example, while the Bible does not condemn slavery, we have the narrative of the Hebrew slaves in Exodus, the Year of Jubilee, Jesus’ concern for freeing the oppressed, and Paul’s letter to Philemon. So, even though the Bible contains some scriptures that support slavery, we use our reason to give greater weight to principles we derive from it. Similarly, the Bible never talks about the importance of consent in a sexual relationship. In fact, there are plenty of scriptures that seem to indicate consent is barely relevant at all (Deuteronomy 22:24-28). Yet we can derive the importance of consent and respect for the autonomy of persons from the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is important language missing from our discussions of ethics and polity: the language of people being used as ends or means, the importance of consent or autonomy, the role of social power, coercion, or violence and the material conditions that lead to human flourishing. These are surprising omissions if we claim to value tradition and reason as well as Scripture. The Bible is relevant to all of these, but ancient Jewish scholars, recognizing that the Word of God didn’t directly address some of their social concerns, used stories and hypothetical situations to derive ethical principles from Torah that they could then apply to real-world problems. So, instead of only asking “What does Torah say?” Jewish scholars came up with stories about flying towers.
I do not think that questions about abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression, economic policy or torture are easily resolved simply by “thinking harder” about them. But I do believe that part of being a disciple means developing our moral imaginations.
Want to stretch your moral imagination? Try answering Jeremy Stangroom’s compilation of Philosophy Experiments.
You might also try George Dvorsky’s “9 Philosophical Thought Experiments That Will Keep You Up At Night.”
Dave Barnhart is the pastor of Saint Junia UMC in Birmingham, Ala. He blogs at DaveBarnhart.net.
This is a variation of a classic ethical dilemma: Do we decide our action based on the greatest good for the greatest number, or do we make distinctions between “killing” and “letting die”? While most of us will never face such a situation, movie dramas and popular culture often grapple with this kind of question.
Imagine you wake up after having been drugged, and learn that a group of people has surgically attached a world-renowned classical violinist to you so that he can use your kidneys. He will die if you have him removed, but if you wait a few months, he can be removed with less risk and survive. Are you obligated to leave him attached? What if you will be bedridden for a few years, rather than months? This is the scenario described by Judith Jarvis Thomson in 1971 in her article, “A Defense of Abortion.” When we tweak the story (making the consequences more or less dire, changing the identity of the actors, and so on) people often give different answers about what is right or wrong in this scenario.
The story itself does not answer the real-world issue of abortion, and indeed the framing of the story may have its own problems. Even so, these analogies are valuable because they reveal our internal moral intuitions. We are often inconsistent in our thinking about moral issues. Inconsistency is not necessarily a bad thing. Exploring these stories helps us understand better how we think about life and how we make judgments about what is right and wrong, virtuous or vicious.
I’ve always loved the way science fiction gives us more opportunities to create far-out scenarios to challenge our moral judgments and our ethical principles: Do sentient robots have the same rights as humans? What about aliens? What if you fell in love with an alien member of a species that had three genders, or one, instead of our (assumed) two? How would language be different if we only spoke in metaphor? How would society be different if we were all born from artificial wombs? For some of these questions, science fiction has a way of becoming science fact and continuing to force us to re-examine our philosophical assumptions.
The Pharisees were experts at this kind of ethical exploration. Although anti-Semitic teaching has led many Christians to assume “Pharisee” is a synonym for legalist or hypocrite, Pharisees were excellent philosophers and ethicists, and often created scenarios that may have seemed absurd to outsiders. With self-deprecating humor, the Talmud refers to rabbis arguing over a hypothetical tower that flies in the air. We can only imagine their discussion about airspace and holy space, or work and travel on the Sabbath. This kind of “thought experiment” is not frivolous. It allowed them to figure out the ethical principles in play. None of them expected that one day, air travel would be common! (Muslims face similar issues with praying towards Mecca from space.) Jesus and other Jewish rabbis used parables to help his followers stretch and understand more fully what he meant by the kingdom of God.
As our society and our church continue to debate issues like “enhanced interrogation” (torture), same-sex marriage, abortion, artificial intelligence and stem-cell research, I believe we are missing great opportunities to educate our congregations about how to think about ethics — not to mention exegesis or hermeneutics. Instead of exploring the deep and wide ancient traditions of Jewish and Christian ethics, our religious vocabulary seems thin and stunted, trapped by polarized questions: “What does the Bible say?” and “What would Jesus do?” While these are important starting points, they do not, by themselves, lead us to good answers. After all, the Bible says to stone disobedient children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Jesus calls people fools (Matthew 23:17), even though he says doing so is the same as murder (Matthew 5:22). How we justify departing from the text in these cases demonstrates that other principles and norms are in play.
These principles are not explicitly written in the Bible, though they may be derived from the Bible. For example, while the Bible does not condemn slavery, we have the narrative of the Hebrew slaves in Exodus, the Year of Jubilee, Jesus’ concern for freeing the oppressed, and Paul’s letter to Philemon. So, even though the Bible contains some scriptures that support slavery, we use our reason to give greater weight to principles we derive from it. Similarly, the Bible never talks about the importance of consent in a sexual relationship. In fact, there are plenty of scriptures that seem to indicate consent is barely relevant at all (Deuteronomy 22:24-28). Yet we can derive the importance of consent and respect for the autonomy of persons from the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is important language missing from our discussions of ethics and polity: the language of people being used as ends or means, the importance of consent or autonomy, the role of social power, coercion, or violence and the material conditions that lead to human flourishing. These are surprising omissions if we claim to value tradition and reason as well as Scripture. The Bible is relevant to all of these, but ancient Jewish scholars, recognizing that the Word of God didn’t directly address some of their social concerns, used stories and hypothetical situations to derive ethical principles from Torah that they could then apply to real-world problems. So, instead of only asking “What does Torah say?” Jewish scholars came up with stories about flying towers.
I do not think that questions about abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression, economic policy or torture are easily resolved simply by “thinking harder” about them. But I do believe that part of being a disciple means developing our moral imaginations.
Want to stretch your moral imagination? Try answering Jeremy Stangroom’s compilation of Philosophy Experiments.
You might also try George Dvorsky’s “9 Philosophical Thought Experiments That Will Keep You Up At Night.”
Dave Barnhart is the pastor of Saint Junia UMC in Birmingham, Ala. He blogs at DaveBarnhart.net.
By Christy ThomasA couple of weeks ago, I was in Costa Rica for a Pacific Coast sunset wedding at a small, remote place called Samara Beach. No resort town here, despite the spectacular beach. The long, occasionally tortuous drive from the four-gate airport in Liberia has limited the construction of luxury, all-inclusive resorts to waterfront spots far closer to the airport.
Instead, it’s a small, friendly, sleepy between second and third world town. The only air conditioning spots are found at the two hotels that house the few North American and European tourists. Because of heat and humidity, life is lived outdoors. I wrote about the worship here, but the most impactful part of the week for me was a flash insight as to why fixing or healing or bringing back into any sense of unity to The United Methodist Church has become, I believe, impossible.
Multiple dogs inhabit this beach town. Most are owned, some are not. Hardly any are leashed. All wander freely around the open-air restaurants that populate the beach. Diners casually feed them or ignore them as they wish. Occasionally, owners would take their dogs to the ocean for play with balls and sticks. Generally, when doing so, several of the wild dogs would show up for the fun and games.
They never fight. The dogs don’t feel it necessary to aggressively defend their territories. They simply happily join in their doggie games and then move on when the games are over. Wild and tamed have figured out a way to trust each other.
Toddlers also wandered around the bars. They walked barefoot over sharp stones, and explored steep concrete steps and learned how to climb them without falling. They often wore nothing but a t-shirt–the nether ends exposed for easy elimination. Just as I never saw a dog-fight, I also never heard a baby cry the entire week of my residence. My friends there said that adults often “borrowed” babies for a period of time, i.e., caring for them and enjoying their antics and explorations. This, I believe, is a community built on trust, with that trust held together by the Roman Catholic church where nearly everyone gathers for worship weekly.
Please don’t get the idea that I found the Utopian community. All houses have barred windows as a protection against theft. Small houses have multiple people living there. We were warned to guard electronics carefully. The tourist business that does trickle in here sustains the economy and gives the local artisans and shop-owners badly needed income. Medical care is free, but I noticed a big need for more adequate dental care. I’m sure multiple societal problems persist — humans do live here, after all.
Nonetheless, I did perceive a generalized sense of trust. Trust serves as the glue that holds any society together. We trust that others will obey the traffic laws, will pay their fair share of taxes, will be faithful to their spouses, will respect one another’s property, will contribute a proportionate amount to the common good. When that trust is betrayed, the wounds go deep and heal poorly, if at all.
The betrayals hit everyone, no matter what “side” one sits in. To overly simplify the situation in the UMC, the more conservative arm rightly feels betrayed when the Book of Discipline and what they see as clear biblical truth is simply disregarded. The more liberal arm rightly feels betrayed when people of sacred worth are kept from full participation in the church by what they see as inappropriate uses of Scripture, pointing to our past as excluding women and people of color by using a similar hermeneutic grid.
Everyone is right. Everyone is also wrong because in our rightness, we have transgressed the law and broken trust. Now trust is nearly completely lost in The United Methodist Church.
Can it be restored? I doubt it. We’re too big, too spread out for real mutually beneficial dialogue. We have too many written rules, and not enough relationship. We have little of the glue that holds a local community together such as I found in that beachfront town in Costa Rica. The very diversity we have sought is now bringing us down. We’re setting up fortresses against one another rather than building bridges of reconciliation.
I have seen the various proposals to keep us together by forming different jurisdictions — a “separate but equal” solution. And while I very much appreciate the hard work that went intothis particular plan, the “restore and release plan,” it also reminds me of the normal sibling squabbles I used to have with my sister. She and I often unhappily shared a room growing up, and we would periodically draw up a set of rules as to who could touch what in order to try to keep peace between us. Never worked. They never do.
I have often said that what Jesus ultimately did when hanging on that cross was to take upon himself the fullness of betrayal and all the pain it engenders. And then he said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
The act of forgiveness for the deep wounds of betrayal is the greatest Christ-act any of us can ever perform. But anyone who has ever actually forgiven a betrayal knows the complex forest littered with invisible land mines one has to travel to regain a safe level of trust again.
And that is why I say it is probably impossible now. The kind of emotional and spiritual maturity it takes to regain trust is not being displayed on either side of the argument. Betweenbishops doing an “In your face” flouting of the rules to churches taking their marbles home until they get their way, we have sunk into a mire of immaturity and spitefulness.
I have maintained since the Judicial decisions of 2012 that the UMC is no longer fixable. Our theology of grace has been undermined by so many forces, all full of justifying rationales, that we are more than blind. We cannot reach across the divides without bringing out the hidden axes to chop off the hands of those on the other sides of our perceived chasms.
It is fixable only by renewal of spirit, not by reform of rule. Renewal of spirit comes when we humbly repent of our sins: sins of pride, intentional blindness, arrogance, envy, ambition, hubris, to name a few.
I hope I’m wrong but am pretty sure I’m not.
Christy blogs at ChristyThomas.com.
What is a miracle?
On Friday, January 2, 2015, the plane carrying the Gutzler family from Key West, Florida, to their home in Mount Vernon, Illinois, crashed in the deep woods of Kentucky. Seven-year-old Sailor was the lone survivor. The crash killed her parents, sister and cousin. First responders called Sailor’s survival a miracle.
First, she survived the crash itself. The plane came to rest upside down and was “partly on fire,” according to Sailor. Second, she trekked through rugged terrain to get help. With a broken wrist and wearing a T-shirt, shorts, one sock and no shoes in 38-degree temperatures, she “walked nearly a mile in the dark through ‘fallen trees, creeks, ditches, and blackberry briar.’ ” Her hike included embankments, a hill and a creek bed. She found help at the home of 71-year-old Larry Wilkins, one of only three homes occupied in that area this time of year, which may have been a third miracle.
The term miracle is applied to many things, from the secular to the religious, from sports events to the Creation. One definition of miracle is an event that is considered unusual or extraordinary in that it appears to be contrary to what is currently known of nature. Theologically, the emphasis is on what God has revealed through this event. When we see the unusual, the extraordinary and the supernatural, we are called to look for God’s revelation in the event. We ask, “What does this miracle tell us about God?” and “What does this miracle tell us about ourselves?”
For example, when we read of Jesus healing the sick and lame, we may discuss how and why, but we also look for what is revealed about God’s nature in this healing act. When we read of Jesus exorcising demons and evil spirits, we explore what that tells us about God and about ourselves. The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with a boy’s lunch of fish and bread makes known to us aspects of God’s character and nature. We sell God’s self-revelation to humanity short when we stop at how and why and do not search for what miracles demonstrate about who God is.
The gift of miracles
My friend Reese scores high in “miracles” in the Spiritual Gifts Assessment. Because of this, I asked her what she understands the spiritual gift of miracles to be and what it means for her in her life. Reese says, “I know when something is going to happen. I can’t tell if it’s going to be something good or something bad.” It feels like “an adrenaline rush.” She wishes she could distinguish between when something good or bad is coming so she does not feel so anxious about it being something bad.
Her first and “most intense” experience of a miracle happened after a ski trip with seven friends. While on their way home, she and the driver were the only two people wearing seat belts. Reese “got an odd feeling … I started putting everything underneath the seat so if anything would happen nothing would fly around.” She prayed, “Dear God, please keep us safe,” and she heard a voice in her left ear say, “Don’t worry about anything. Everything is okay.” Then, “we went off an overpass, rolled off, into, and then back across, and landed in the median of the interstate.” Everyone in the car escaped without injury. The intensity of the situation was etched on the faces of the people in the car behind them, who could not even stand after witnessing the wreck. They said, “No one moved,” and “It happened in slow motion.” The witnesses saw no movement inside the car. The state troopers cried because “they thought they would be pulling bodies out of the car.”
Reese lives her daily life in continuous prayer. Each morning when she starts her car, she prays, “Dear Lord, surround me, my family and friends with your presence. Keep us safe.” She does not say “Amen” until she returns home. When something delays her in leaving the house, she understands it as God slowing her down to avoid an accident or some other circumstance. She has learned that if she forgets several things and makes several trips back into her home, she simply needs to stop, sit, and have a cup of coffee to wait it out.
She says, “Receiving a miracle is a great responsibility, but it’s a beautiful gift.” As a responsibility, “you can’t treat it lightly. It’s something you have to acknowledge … Don’t dismiss it as a fluke. There is something behind it.” She thinks that ignoring the gift would be an abuse of the gift. When she senses something, she responsibly acts upon it.
As a gift, it “makes life so much easier.” She has confirmation that “yes, there is a God. You never have to question.” She says she has “seen a glimpse of what is going to happen. You know that there is something, that what comes after this is not going to be bad.” Her glimpse tells her that eternal life is going to be wonderful. “It’s not a scary gift,” she says.
When the miracle does not come
Sometimes we pray for miracles, and the miracle does not occur. We may pray for a loved one to be healed of an illness or disease. When healing does not occur, we may think that our prayers are unanswered. We may wonder if we prayed correctly, if we prayed hard enough or if we prayed with enough faith. We may question God’s ability and why God healed that person but not this person. We read in Scripture that people’s faith made them well, such as when Jesus healed ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. When we pray for a miracle and one does not come, again we ask, “What does that tell us about God and about ourselves?”
In her book “In God’s Presence: Theological Reflections on Prayer,” Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki discusses what it means to pray for healing and offers a way to see God’s hand when the healing we hope for does not come. She points out that a part of being human means that we are mortal. Our lives will come to a definite end. The miracle is that we survive so many illnesses, accidents and crises within that lifetime. Suchocki tells the story of when her mother lay dying in the hospital. Suchocki writes of her frustration when watching a sore on her mother’s stomach, caused by an adhesive bandage, that showed signs of healing, yet cancer continued to eat away her life. She pleaded in her anger, “God, you are healing this stupid sore, but it’s not her sore that’s the problem, it’s her liver; why can’t you do something about that?” Through that experience, Suchocki came to understand that healing takes many forms, sometimes physical and sometimes not. She says, “There is a health that is deeper than death.”
We all stand in need of healing in many different ways. Prayers of healing offered to God may produce results in ways, in places, and in people we did not expect. Sometimes the healing that truly needs to happen is within a hurting family or estranged relationship before our loved one passes. Sometimes the person offering the prayer receives healing by seeing the world or the situation differently. When we pray for healing of a terminal illness, we may be surprised to see healing in other ways. Once again we discover God’s involvement in healing of some type, and we find the miracle after all.
Believing
In 2010, a Pew Forum on Religion survey revealed that “nearly 80%” of Americans “believe in miracles.” One wonders, though, if a definition of the term miracle accompanied the survey. If the definition had included the idea of God revealing something through the event, would the percentage have changed? Or do people assume a supreme being is involved in what we name as miracles?
Paul teaches that miracles are from God and are a spiritual gift given to the church by God. We may not always recognize miracles, since they may appear as something we did not hope for but desperately needed. Miracles, or God’s acts of wonder, are a part of our faith, whether we recognize them or whether we can name them.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
By Autumn DennisThis article was originally published at Inspire to Conspire. Used with permission.
Currently, we’re in the season of Epiphany. When I think of Epiphany, images of flashing light come to mind, of the glory of the Lord shining around the Magi, of the incarnation, and of the Fulfilling Hope coming into our midst. It should be a season of brightness; better yet, it should be a season of epiphanies, of coming to realize that which was already in front of you. Justice. Incarnation. Coming restoration. Hope. Love. Peace. Joy.
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” — Matthew 2:10, NIV
Overjoyed. What a foreign idea. I don’t know about you, but these days I’m having an incredibly hard time finding joy anywhere. It’s been like this for months. With every rising news report, my heart gets more and more broken.
“Grand Jury Declines to Indict NYPD Officer in Chokehold Death of Eric Garner”
“Ferguson Cop Darren Wilson Will Not Be Charged for Killing Michael Brown, Grand Jury Decides”
“Already Three Black Trans Women Have Been Brutally Murdered in 2015“
“Warren Hill Faces Execution Despite Numerous Claims He’s Intellectually Disabled”
“Nashville ‘Cold Patrols’ Seek Homeless On a Freezing Night”
There comes a point where I just stop logging onto social media because I know this is what I will see. My heart and mind can’t handle it anymore. With every invite I receive to endless protests and vigils, there comes a point where it all starts to blur together. No, Ms. Security Guard, I don’t know what we’re marching for right now–the only thing I know to do with myself is to show up. No, Mr. Cameraman, you shouldn’t ask me what our demands are. I don’t even know anymore. I can’t remember what I stand for. I can’t remember what I believe in. There comes a grief in my bones that becomes too much to carry. So, I stop going. I stop moving. I stop reading the articles. I stop engaging in conversation. I dread getting out of bed. I flee.
If I could flee far enough into the wilderness of these Tennessee hills, away from the city lights, I might see that star rising. The Star of Hope that always is rising, if only we would look up and see. But until then, my gaze is captured by the endless stream of bodies, of news reports, of marches, of organizing meetings. None of which I feel emotionally capable of tending to adequately. But it’s like watching a train crash — you can’t look away.
Doubts 2 / Photo courtesy John Kraus via Flickr
Recently, I saw the film "Selma." While the film gave me some energy in my exhaustion, I most identified with this line that Coretta says in an argument with Martin:“What I have never gotten used to is the death. The constant closeness with death. It’s like a fog. I can’t see life because of the constant fog of death hanging over us.”
I have sat through dozens of sermons on Easter Sunday where the pastor exhorts, “We are an Easter people!” This notion of having our identity and experience embedded in the reality/metaphor of the resurrection, of living as if every day were Easter…honestly, most days it feels really fake and distant to me. For times like these, Easter is very far off. And I am trapped between Advent — the season of waiting — and Lent — the season of uncertainty. More often than not, the reality I see in the world is that of Advent and Lent. We cling to hope, because most days we cannot, cannot, cannot see any other. It’s fabulous that later on in the season there will be an empty tomb, but right now, all I know is the cold wilderness of waiting, with Herod trying to kill my children, with many miles to go before I inevitably won’t find a room in the inn, and up next on the agenda is ashes, fasting, repentance, and forty more days of — guess what? — wilderness!
This is the “tragic gap”* in which we stand. We’ve got one foot next to the manger, one foot next to the empty tomb, and the rest of us is somewhere in between — in the stretch of waiting, uncertainty, ordinary time.
It takes courage to stand in the tragic gap, to bear this weight on our shoulders like a cross. The weight of suffering. The weight of seeing the empty tomb firsthand, and noticing it seems farther away from us than in moments past. The weight of being present in this struggle instead of solely keeping our hearts and minds in the liturgical calendar and scriptural stories, even. The weight of juggling the already and the not yet.
I’m struggling with this tragic gap, and I don’t think I will ever stop struggling. In the meantime, I will get out of bed and I will join with others. We will go to the meetings, we will go to the marches, we will engage in the hard conversations, we will confront death. We will stand in the tragic gap. We are the Advent people. We are the Lent people. We will support each other in this wilderness.
Parker Palmer discusses the "tragic gap."
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By Cathy Lynn Grossman / Religion News Service(RNS) Meet the “Post-Seculars” — the one in five Americans who seem to have gone unnoticed before in endless rounds of debates pitting science vs. religion.
They’re more strongly religious than most “Traditionals” (43 percent of Americans), and more scientifically knowledgeable than “Moderns” (36 percent) who stand on science alone, according to two sociologists’ findings in a new study.
“We were surprised to find this pretty big group (21 percent) who are pretty knowledgeable and appreciative about science and technology but who are also very religious and who reject certain scientific theories,” said Timothy O’Brien, co-author of the research study, released Thursday (Jan. 29) in the American Sociological Review.
Put another way, there’s a sizable chunk of Americans out there who are both religious and scientifically minded but who break with both packs when faith and science collide.
Post-Seculars pick and choose among science and religion views to create their own “personally compelling way of understanding the world,” said O’Brien, assistant professor at the University of Evansville in Indiana.
O’Brien and co-author Shiri Noy, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wyoming, examined responses from 2,901 people to 18 questions on knowledge of and attitudes toward science and four religion-related questions in the General Social Surveys conducted in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Many findings fit the usual way the science-religion divide is viewed:
— Moderns, who stand on reason, scored high on scientific knowledge and scored lowest on religion questions regarding biblical authority and the strength of their religious ties.
— Traditionals, who lean toward religion, scored lower on science facts and were least likely to agree that “the benefits of scientific research outweigh the harmful results.”
However, the data turned up a third perspective — people who defied the familiar breakdown. The authors dubbed them “Post-Secular” to jump past a popular theory that Americans are moving way from religion to become more secular, O’Brien said.
Post-Seculars — about half of whom identify as conservative Protestants — know facts such as how lasers work, what antibiotics do and the way genetics affects inherited illnesses.
But when it comes to three main areas where science and Christian-centric religious views conflict — on human evolution, the Big Bang origin of the universe and the age of the Earth — Post-Seculars break away from the pack with significantly different views from Traditionals and Moderns.
Areas where the factions are clear:
The universe began with a huge explosion:
* Traditional: 21 percent
* Modern: 68 percent
* Post Secular: 6 percent
Human beings developed from earlier species of animals:
* Traditional: 33 percent
* Modern: 88 percent
* Post-Secular: 3 percent
The continents have been moving for millions of years and will move in the future:
* Traditional: 66 percent
* Modern: 98 percent
* Post-Secular: 80 percent
“Post-Seculars are smart. They know what scientists think. They just don’t agree on some key issues, and that has impact on their political views,” said O’Brien.
When the authors looked at views on the authority of the Bible and how strongly people said they were affiliated with their religion, Post-Seculars put the most faith in Scripture and were much more inclined to say they were strongly religious. And where science and faith conflict on hot-button issues, they side with the religious perspective.
For example, Moderns are the most supportive of embryonic stem cell research and abortion rights for women, but Post-Seculars, who are nonetheless largely positive about science and society, are more skeptical in both areas, O’Brien said.
Candidates running in the 2016 elections might take note.
Where people fall in these three groups can predict their attitudes on political issues where science and religion both have claims, O’Brien said, even after accounting for the usual suspects — social class, political ideology or church attendance.
“Post-Seculars are smart. They know what scientists think. They just don’t agree on some key issues, and that has impact on their political views,” said O’Brien.
When the authors looked at views on the authority of the Bible and how strongly people said they were affiliated with their religion, Post-Seculars put the most faith in Scripture and were much more inclined to say they were strongly religious. And where science and faith conflict on hot-button issues, they side with the religious perspective.
For example, Moderns are the most supportive of embryonic stem cell research and abortion rights for women, but Post-Seculars, who are nonetheless largely positive about science and society, are more skeptical in both areas, O’Brien said.
Candidates running in the 2016 elections might take note.
Where people fall in these three groups can predict their attitudes on political issues where science and religion both have claims, O’Brien said, even after accounting for the usual suspects — social class, political ideology or church attendance.
By Steve HarperI have never run a marathon, but I have a good friend and members of his family who have. I have noticed two things in particular that teach me some things about spiritual formation.First, as they run, they take advantage of water stations placed along the race course. Maps tell runners where these stations are located so they can plan their race accordingly. Periodic hydration is essential; without it they cannot finish the course.
In a similar way, we need hydration stations as we run the race set before us. We need to map their locations into the course we set for ourselves. In spiritual formation we call this hydration a Daily Office, Liturgy of the Hours, Quiet Time or some other name to mark those times and places where we find the Water of Life to continue running. We cannot finish the race without them.
But second, marathon runners know they must have something more than periodic watering; they must have sustained nutrition. In the broad sense, nutrition includes food, exercise, sleep, regular running, etc. These are the larger, infrastructural elements which keep them fit for a race whenever it occurs. Without these things, they could not hope to run a marathon.
In terms of spiritual formation, this represents the larger, foundational dimensions of the spiritual life. We call this a life of personal/social holiness, using the inward/outward disciplines (instituted and prudential means of grace) to provide the nutrients we need. And because the soul rides on Brother Donkey (as St. Francis said), we need the physical nutrition that proper food, exercise and sleep provide.
Practically speaking, the hydration aspect means making use of whatever devotional materials you choose for daily formation. The nutrition aspect means having some ongoing practices that do not fluctuate or skip around from day to day.
With the combination of hydration and nutrition, we can be spiritually fit for the race God sets before us.
Steve Harper is the author of “For the Sake of the Bride.” He blogs at Oboedire.
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Lectionary Scriptures:
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
Lectionary Texts:
Isaiah 40:21 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded?
22 God inhabits the earth’s horizon—
its inhabitants are like locusts—
stretches out the skies like a curtain
and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling.
23 God makes dignitaries useless
and the earth’s judges into nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
the windstorm carries them off like straw.
25 So to whom will you compare me,
and who is my equal? says the holy one.
Power for the weary
26 Look up at the sky and consider:
Who created these?
The one who brings out their attendants one by one,
summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
and mighty power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob,
and declare, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord
my God ignores my predicament”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
29 giving power to the tired
and reviving the exhausted.
30 Youths will become tired and weary,
young men will certainly stumble;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
they will walk and not be weary.
Psalm 147:1 Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, gathering up Israel’s exiles.
3 God heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 God counts the stars by number,
giving each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great and so strong!
God’s knowledge can’t be grasped!
6 The Lord helps the poor,
but throws the wicked down on the dirt!
7 Sing to the Lord with thanks;
sing praises to our God with a lyre!
8 God covers the skies with clouds;
God makes rain for the earth;
God makes the mountains sprout green grass.
9 God gives food to the animals—
even to the baby ravens when they cry out.
10 God doesn’t prize the strength of a horse;
God doesn’t treasure the legs of a runner.
11 No. The Lord treasures the people
who honor him,
the people who wait for his faithful love.
20 God hasn’t done that with any other nation;
those nations have no knowledge of God’s rules.[a]
Praise the Lord![Footnotes:
Psalm 147:20 LXX, Tg, DSS (11QPsa) God hasn’t let those nations know his rules.]
1 Corinthians 9:16 If I preach the gospel, I have no reason to brag, since I’m obligated to do it. I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel. 17 If I do this voluntarily, I get rewarded for it. But if I’m forced to do it, then I’ve been charged with a responsibility. 18 What reward do I get? That when I preach, I offer the good news free of charge. That’s why I don’t use the rights to which I’m entitled through the gospel.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them. 20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law). 21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ). 22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means. 23 All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
Mark 1: Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law
29 After leaving the synagogue, Jesus, James, and John went home with Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. 31 He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them.
Jesus’ ministry spreads
32 That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered near the door. 34 He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.
35 Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer. 36 Simon and those with him tracked him down. 37 When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you!”
38 He replied, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too. That’s why I’ve come.” 39 He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 40:21-31
Verse 21
[21] Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Known — God to be the only true God, the maker and governor of the world.
Verse 22
[22] It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Sitteth — Far above this round earth, even in the highest heavens; from whence he looketh down upon the earth, where men appear to him like grasshoppers. As here we have the circle of the earth, so elsewhere we read of the circle of heaven, Job 22:14, and of the circle of the deep, or sea, Proverbs 8:27, because the form of the heaven, and earth and sea is circular.
Spreadeth — For the benefit of the earth and of mankind, that all parts might partake of its comfortable influences.
Verse 24
[24] Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
Sown — They shall take no root, for planting and sowing are in order to taking root. They shall not continue and flourish, as they have vainly imagined, but shall be rooted up and perish.
Verse 26
[26] Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Bringeth — That at first brought them out of nothing, and from day to day brings them forth, making them to rise and set in their appointed times.
Faileth — Either to appear when he calls them; or to do the work to which he sends them.
Verse 27
[27] Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
What — Why dost thou give way to such jealousies concerning thy God, of whose infinite power and wisdom, and goodness, there are such evident demonstrations.
Is hid — He takes no notice of my prayers and tears, and sufferings, but suffers mine enemies to abuse me at their pleasure. This complaint is uttered in the name of the people, being prophetically supposed to be in captivity.
Judgment — My cause. God has neglected to plead my cause, and to give judgment for me against mine enemies.
Verse 30
[30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
The youths — The youngest and strongest men, left to themselves.
Verse 31
[31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Wait — That rely upon him.
Renew — Shall grow stronger and stronger.Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
Verse 4
[4] He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
Calleth them — He exactly knows them as we do those whom we can call by name.
Verse 9
[9] He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
Ravens — Which he mentions because they were most contemptible, especially to the Jews, to whom they were unclean: and because they are not only neglected by men, but also forsaken by their dams as soon as ever they can fly, and so are wholly left to the care of Divine providence.
Verse 10
[10] He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
Delighteth not — As if he needed either the one or the other for the accomplishment of his designs.1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Verse 17
[17] For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
Willingly — He seems to mean, without receiving anything. St. Paul here speaks in a manner peculiar to himself. Another might have preached willingly, and yet have received a maintenance from the Corinthians. But if he had received anything from them, he would have termed it preaching unwillingly. And so, in the next verse, another might have used that power without abusing it. But his own using it at all, he would have termed abusing it.
A dispensation is intrusted to me — Therefore I dare not refrain.
Verse 18
[18] What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
What then is my reward — That circumstance in my conduct for which I expect a peculiar reward from my great Master? That I abuse not - Make not an unseasonable use of my power which I have in preaching the gospel.
Verse 19
[19] For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
I made myself the servant of all — I acted with as self-denying a regard to their interest, and as much caution not to offend them, as if I had been literally their servant or slave. Where is the preacher of the gospel who treads in the same steps?
Verse 20
[20] And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
To the Jews I became as a Jew — Conforming myself in all things to their manner of thinking and living, so far as; I could with innocence.
To them that are under the law — Who apprehend themselves to be still bound by the Mosaic law.
As under the law — Observing it myself, while I am among them. Not that he declared this to be necessary, or refused to converse with those who did not observe it. This was the very thing which he condemned in St. Peter, Galatians 2:14.
Verse 21
[21] To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
To them that are without the law — The heathens.
As without the law — Neglecting its ceremonies.
Being not without the law to God — But as much as ever under its moral precepts.
Under the law to Christ — And in this sense all Christians will be under the law for ever.
Verse 22
[22] To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
I became as weak — As if I had been scrupulous too.
I became all things to all men — Accommodating myself to all, so far as I could consistent with truth and sincerity.Mark 1:29-39
Verse 29
[29] And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Matthew 8:14; Luke 4:38.
Verse 32
[32] And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
When the sun was set — And, consequently, the Sabbath was ended, which they reckoned from sunset to sunset.
Verse 33
[33] And all the city was gathered together at the door.
And the whole city was gathered together at the door — O what a fair prospect was here! Who could then have imagined that all these blossoms would die away without fruit?
Verse 34
[34] And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
He suffered not the devils to say that they knew him — That is, according to Dr. Mead's hypothesis, (that the Scriptural demoniacs were only diseased persons,) He suffered not the diseases to say that they knew him!
Verse 35
[35] And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Rising a great while before day — So did he labour for us, both day and night. Luke 4:42.____________________________
Upper Room Daily Reflections, a ministry of Global Board of Discipleship
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
____________________________
Sermon Story "The Infant Jesus Presented in the Temple" by Gary Lee Parker with Sermon Test for Monday, 2 February 2015
Scripture Texts: Luke 2:22 When the time came for their ritual cleansing, in accordance with the Law from Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (23 It’s written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord.”) 24 They offered a sacrifice in keeping with what’s stated in the Law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.[a]
Simeon’s response to Jesus
25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous and devout. He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus’ parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the Law. 28 Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,
29 “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word,
30 because my eyes have seen your salvation.
31 You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.
32 It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and a glory for your people Israel.”
33 His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him. 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “This boy is assigned to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that generates opposition 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your innermost being too.”
Anna’s response to Jesus
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old. After she married, she lived with her husband for seven years. 37 She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Jesus as a child in Nazareth
39 When Mary and Joseph had completed everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown, Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child grew up and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.[Footnotes:
Luke 2:24 Lev 12:8; 5:11 LXX
Joseph and Mary was good Jews. They were married even though they both had a vision that Mary would be pregnant without any help from a man, but conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. We know that Joseph followed the Law or torah because when he heard that Mary was pregnant, but not by him, he wanted to put her away quietly without her being stoned for adultery until God revealed to him that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit of God. Now, Mary and joseph both knew that the first child born to a woman, even though Joseph was not the physical father, that the child was given to the Lord for God's Holy puposes. After 40 days of being unclean according to the Torah, they went to the Temple to give the burnt offerings as required by the Torah to make Mary, the woman, clean according to the Torah. At this time, they were surprised by an old man, Simeon, and an old woman, Anna. First, simeon say Mary and Joseph with the infant Jesus saying that God can let him dy because he has seen the Promise Messiah of God who will redeem His people, Israel, from their sins. He went on to prophesy that Jesus would cause many Israelites to rise or fall according to their own faith that Jesus is the Messiah. Then, he turned to Mary and said that the suffering of Jesus would pierce her own heart, but be not afraid. Next, Anna came and began to prophesy of Jesus being the Messiah and blessing Mary and Joseph as Simeon did. How would you respond if your were in Mary and Joseph's shoes? How would you respond if you were in Simeon or Anna's shoes? How do you respond to Jesus as the Messiah for the Jews and all the Gentiles as well? We come to sing the Hymn "Long-Awaited Holy One" by Delores Dufner, O.S.B. (b.1939)
Scripture Texts: 1 Corinthians 9:16 If I preach the gospel, I have no reason to brag, since I’m obligated to do it. I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel. 17 If I do this voluntarily, I get rewarded for it. But if I’m forced to do it, then I’ve been charged with a responsibility. 18 What reward do I get? That when I preach, I offer the good news free of charge. That’s why I don’t use the rights to which I’m entitled through the gospel.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them. 20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law). 21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ). 22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means. 23 All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
We have the Apostle teaching about the call of God upon his life to preach the Gospel of the Messiah. Yes, we know from Paul's testimony that he was called to be a religious within Judaism as a Pharisee and held true to his word defending The Torah where fringe groups would abuse the Torah as he thought the Messianics were doing until Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. He spoke as though he was destined to preach the Good News of the Pronised Messiah to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. He says that God has allowed him to cross boundaries to become as other people are that some would come to a redemptive knowledge of Jesus, whether Jews or any Gentile people group. How do understnd what Paul was saying to the Messianic community in Corinth? How do you understand his call and the people of Corinth's call? How about now, are you able to grasp your call for proclaiming the Message of Jesus as a preacher, teacher, or other employment opportunity or even in your everyday life? There was a young man I knew who received a call from God to prepare for pastoral ministry to reach the counter-cultural or marginalized people with the Message of Jesus. This man did not realize until after graduating from a seminary and returning to the city and state where he first received God's call his life that this God Vision could not be done by one man or one group of people or even one church or even one denomination, but this meant to embrace the Vision of God to allow two denominations with the Wesleyan Theological background to work together for the growth of the Kingdom of God to reach the counter-cultural and marginalized, but especially the people who are differently abled to be fully involved in the church as clergy or laity to proclaim the Message of Jesus to all other people no matter what culture or sexual orientation or immigrant status or Ability. How do you see this as crossing boundaries as the Apostle Paul was talking about himself being as other people to allow them to become redemptive people of Jesus? We will sing this Hymn "Ye servants of God! Your Master proclaim" by Charles Wesley (1744)
Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
____________________________
Lectionary Scriptures:
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
Lectionary Texts:
Isaiah 40:21 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded?
22 God inhabits the earth’s horizon—
its inhabitants are like locusts—
stretches out the skies like a curtain
and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling.
23 God makes dignitaries useless
and the earth’s judges into nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
the windstorm carries them off like straw.
25 So to whom will you compare me,
and who is my equal? says the holy one.
Power for the weary
26 Look up at the sky and consider:
Who created these?
The one who brings out their attendants one by one,
summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
and mighty power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob,
and declare, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord
my God ignores my predicament”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
29 giving power to the tired
and reviving the exhausted.
30 Youths will become tired and weary,
young men will certainly stumble;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
they will walk and not be weary.
Psalm 147:1 Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, gathering up Israel’s exiles.
3 God heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 God counts the stars by number,
giving each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great and so strong!
God’s knowledge can’t be grasped!
6 The Lord helps the poor,
but throws the wicked down on the dirt!
7 Sing to the Lord with thanks;
sing praises to our God with a lyre!
8 God covers the skies with clouds;
God makes rain for the earth;
God makes the mountains sprout green grass.
9 God gives food to the animals—
even to the baby ravens when they cry out.
10 God doesn’t prize the strength of a horse;
God doesn’t treasure the legs of a runner.
11 No. The Lord treasures the people
who honor him,
the people who wait for his faithful love.
20 God hasn’t done that with any other nation;
those nations have no knowledge of God’s rules.[a]
Praise the Lord![Footnotes:
Psalm 147:20 LXX, Tg, DSS (11QPsa) God hasn’t let those nations know his rules.]
1 Corinthians 9:16 If I preach the gospel, I have no reason to brag, since I’m obligated to do it. I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel. 17 If I do this voluntarily, I get rewarded for it. But if I’m forced to do it, then I’ve been charged with a responsibility. 18 What reward do I get? That when I preach, I offer the good news free of charge. That’s why I don’t use the rights to which I’m entitled through the gospel.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them. 20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law). 21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ). 22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means. 23 All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
Mark 1: Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law
29 After leaving the synagogue, Jesus, James, and John went home with Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. 31 He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them.
Jesus’ ministry spreads
32 That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered near the door. 34 He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.
35 Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer. 36 Simon and those with him tracked him down. 37 When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you!”
38 He replied, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too. That’s why I’ve come.” 39 He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 40:21-31
Verse 21
[21] Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Known — God to be the only true God, the maker and governor of the world.
Verse 22
[22] It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Sitteth — Far above this round earth, even in the highest heavens; from whence he looketh down upon the earth, where men appear to him like grasshoppers. As here we have the circle of the earth, so elsewhere we read of the circle of heaven, Job 22:14, and of the circle of the deep, or sea, Proverbs 8:27, because the form of the heaven, and earth and sea is circular.
Spreadeth — For the benefit of the earth and of mankind, that all parts might partake of its comfortable influences.
Verse 24
[24] Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
Sown — They shall take no root, for planting and sowing are in order to taking root. They shall not continue and flourish, as they have vainly imagined, but shall be rooted up and perish.
Verse 26
[26] Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Bringeth — That at first brought them out of nothing, and from day to day brings them forth, making them to rise and set in their appointed times.
Faileth — Either to appear when he calls them; or to do the work to which he sends them.
Verse 27
[27] Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
What — Why dost thou give way to such jealousies concerning thy God, of whose infinite power and wisdom, and goodness, there are such evident demonstrations.
Is hid — He takes no notice of my prayers and tears, and sufferings, but suffers mine enemies to abuse me at their pleasure. This complaint is uttered in the name of the people, being prophetically supposed to be in captivity.
Judgment — My cause. God has neglected to plead my cause, and to give judgment for me against mine enemies.
Verse 30
[30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
The youths — The youngest and strongest men, left to themselves.
Verse 31
[31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Wait — That rely upon him.
Renew — Shall grow stronger and stronger.Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
Verse 4
[4] He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
Calleth them — He exactly knows them as we do those whom we can call by name.
Verse 9
[9] He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
Ravens — Which he mentions because they were most contemptible, especially to the Jews, to whom they were unclean: and because they are not only neglected by men, but also forsaken by their dams as soon as ever they can fly, and so are wholly left to the care of Divine providence.
Verse 10
[10] He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
Delighteth not — As if he needed either the one or the other for the accomplishment of his designs.1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Verse 17
[17] For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
Willingly — He seems to mean, without receiving anything. St. Paul here speaks in a manner peculiar to himself. Another might have preached willingly, and yet have received a maintenance from the Corinthians. But if he had received anything from them, he would have termed it preaching unwillingly. And so, in the next verse, another might have used that power without abusing it. But his own using it at all, he would have termed abusing it.
A dispensation is intrusted to me — Therefore I dare not refrain.
Verse 18
[18] What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
What then is my reward — That circumstance in my conduct for which I expect a peculiar reward from my great Master? That I abuse not - Make not an unseasonable use of my power which I have in preaching the gospel.
Verse 19
[19] For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
I made myself the servant of all — I acted with as self-denying a regard to their interest, and as much caution not to offend them, as if I had been literally their servant or slave. Where is the preacher of the gospel who treads in the same steps?
Verse 20
[20] And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
To the Jews I became as a Jew — Conforming myself in all things to their manner of thinking and living, so far as; I could with innocence.
To them that are under the law — Who apprehend themselves to be still bound by the Mosaic law.
As under the law — Observing it myself, while I am among them. Not that he declared this to be necessary, or refused to converse with those who did not observe it. This was the very thing which he condemned in St. Peter, Galatians 2:14.
Verse 21
[21] To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
To them that are without the law — The heathens.
As without the law — Neglecting its ceremonies.
Being not without the law to God — But as much as ever under its moral precepts.
Under the law to Christ — And in this sense all Christians will be under the law for ever.
Verse 22
[22] To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
I became as weak — As if I had been scrupulous too.
I became all things to all men — Accommodating myself to all, so far as I could consistent with truth and sincerity.Mark 1:29-39
Verse 29
[29] And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Matthew 8:14; Luke 4:38.
Verse 32
[32] And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
When the sun was set — And, consequently, the Sabbath was ended, which they reckoned from sunset to sunset.
Verse 33
[33] And all the city was gathered together at the door.
And the whole city was gathered together at the door — O what a fair prospect was here! Who could then have imagined that all these blossoms would die away without fruit?
Verse 34
[34] And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
He suffered not the devils to say that they knew him — That is, according to Dr. Mead's hypothesis, (that the Scriptural demoniacs were only diseased persons,) He suffered not the diseases to say that they knew him!
Verse 35
[35] And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Rising a great while before day — So did he labour for us, both day and night. Luke 4:42.____________________________
Upper Room Daily Reflections, a ministry of Global Board of Discipleship
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
____________________________
Sermon Story "The Infant Jesus Presented in the Temple" by Gary Lee Parker with Sermon Test for Monday, 2 February 2015
Scripture Texts: Luke 2:22 When the time came for their ritual cleansing, in accordance with the Law from Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (23 It’s written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord.”) 24 They offered a sacrifice in keeping with what’s stated in the Law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.[a]
Simeon’s response to Jesus
25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous and devout. He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus’ parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the Law. 28 Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,
29 “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word,
30 because my eyes have seen your salvation.
31 You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.
32 It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and a glory for your people Israel.”
33 His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him. 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “This boy is assigned to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that generates opposition 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your innermost being too.”
Anna’s response to Jesus
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old. After she married, she lived with her husband for seven years. 37 She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Jesus as a child in Nazareth
39 When Mary and Joseph had completed everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown, Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child grew up and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.[Footnotes:
Luke 2:24 Lev 12:8; 5:11 LXX
Joseph and Mary was good Jews. They were married even though they both had a vision that Mary would be pregnant without any help from a man, but conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. We know that Joseph followed the Law or torah because when he heard that Mary was pregnant, but not by him, he wanted to put her away quietly without her being stoned for adultery until God revealed to him that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit of God. Now, Mary and joseph both knew that the first child born to a woman, even though Joseph was not the physical father, that the child was given to the Lord for God's Holy puposes. After 40 days of being unclean according to the Torah, they went to the Temple to give the burnt offerings as required by the Torah to make Mary, the woman, clean according to the Torah. At this time, they were surprised by an old man, Simeon, and an old woman, Anna. First, simeon say Mary and Joseph with the infant Jesus saying that God can let him dy because he has seen the Promise Messiah of God who will redeem His people, Israel, from their sins. He went on to prophesy that Jesus would cause many Israelites to rise or fall according to their own faith that Jesus is the Messiah. Then, he turned to Mary and said that the suffering of Jesus would pierce her own heart, but be not afraid. Next, Anna came and began to prophesy of Jesus being the Messiah and blessing Mary and Joseph as Simeon did. How would you respond if your were in Mary and Joseph's shoes? How would you respond if you were in Simeon or Anna's shoes? How do you respond to Jesus as the Messiah for the Jews and all the Gentiles as well? We come to sing the Hymn "Long-Awaited Holy One" by Delores Dufner, O.S.B. (b.1939)
1. Long-awaited Holy One,
Simeon hailed you as God’s Son.
Anna welcomed you with praise,
Glad fulfillment of her days.
2. Light of all the nations, shine!
Show, to those who wait, a sign:
God on earth, our host and guest,
In our flesh made manifest.
3. Radiance of God’s holy face,
Shine your love in ev’ry place.
Splendor of God’s glory bright,
Lead us to eternal light!
Sermon Story "Called to Go Beyond the Boundaries" by Gary Lee Parker with Sermon Test for Sunday, 8 February 2015Scripture Texts: 1 Corinthians 9:16 If I preach the gospel, I have no reason to brag, since I’m obligated to do it. I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel. 17 If I do this voluntarily, I get rewarded for it. But if I’m forced to do it, then I’ve been charged with a responsibility. 18 What reward do I get? That when I preach, I offer the good news free of charge. That’s why I don’t use the rights to which I’m entitled through the gospel.
19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them. 20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (though I myself am not under the Law). 21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ). 22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means. 23 All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.
We have the Apostle teaching about the call of God upon his life to preach the Gospel of the Messiah. Yes, we know from Paul's testimony that he was called to be a religious within Judaism as a Pharisee and held true to his word defending The Torah where fringe groups would abuse the Torah as he thought the Messianics were doing until Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. He spoke as though he was destined to preach the Good News of the Pronised Messiah to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. He says that God has allowed him to cross boundaries to become as other people are that some would come to a redemptive knowledge of Jesus, whether Jews or any Gentile people group. How do understnd what Paul was saying to the Messianic community in Corinth? How do you understand his call and the people of Corinth's call? How about now, are you able to grasp your call for proclaiming the Message of Jesus as a preacher, teacher, or other employment opportunity or even in your everyday life? There was a young man I knew who received a call from God to prepare for pastoral ministry to reach the counter-cultural or marginalized people with the Message of Jesus. This man did not realize until after graduating from a seminary and returning to the city and state where he first received God's call his life that this God Vision could not be done by one man or one group of people or even one church or even one denomination, but this meant to embrace the Vision of God to allow two denominations with the Wesleyan Theological background to work together for the growth of the Kingdom of God to reach the counter-cultural and marginalized, but especially the people who are differently abled to be fully involved in the church as clergy or laity to proclaim the Message of Jesus to all other people no matter what culture or sexual orientation or immigrant status or Ability. How do you see this as crossing boundaries as the Apostle Paul was talking about himself being as other people to allow them to become redemptive people of Jesus? We will sing this Hymn "Ye servants of God! Your Master proclaim" by Charles Wesley (1744)
1. You servants of God, your Master proclaim,
and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name all-victorious of Jesus extol;
his kingdom is glorious and rules over all.
2. God rules in the height, almighty to save;
though hid from our sight, his presence we have;
the great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus our King.
3. "Salvation to God, who sits on the throne!"
let all cry aloud, and honor the Son;
the praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces and worship the Lamb.
4. Then let us adore and give him his right:
all glory and power, all wisdom and might,
all honor and blessing with angels above
and thanks never ceasing for infinite love.
____________________________Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
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Isaiah 40:21-31
Do you remember the first time you looked up into the night sky and really noticed the stars? I do. As a college student, I served as a summer missionary in a small church in Lake Tahoe, California. A native of Atlanta, I had never been west of the Mississippi River and had certainly never lived in a small town surrounded by beautiful national forest. Late one evening, some of my fellow missionaries and I walked down to the shore of the lake. We lay on our backs on the dock and looked up into the clear night sky. I was overwhelmed. It seemed as if there were millions of stars above. I never realized how much the city lights had obstructed my view, but that night out in the wilderness I felt I could see forever. I remember being humbled more than anything — by the splendor of God’s creation and by the thought that the creator of all that my eyes could see knew me by name. I can’t read passages about stars without remembering that night. I read about the majesty and glory of God as it is revealed in the night sky, and I remember how it felt that night in Tahoe to sense the awesomeness of God. That sense of wonder has been an important part of my journey of faith because it helps me to keep the right perspective on things, especially when faced with trouble or adversity.
The writer of today’s Old Testament lesson knew how difficult it is to keep the right perspective when faced with life’s challenges. The prophet was writing to the people of Israel after they had experienced a period of judgment and exile from their homeland. He was addressing people who had undergone great trials and adversity. They were so beaten down by life that they had forgotten that God was still with them. They began to question whether God remembered their plight at all. Isaiah knew their situation, and he knew their hearts, and he challenged their forgetfulness. He wrote to the people and asked a crucial question, “Why do you say, O Jacob, / and speak O Israel, / ‘My way is hidden from the LORD / and my right is disregarded by my God?’ (v. 27).” Isaiah knew that God had not forgotten them, and he offered words of comfort and encouragement.
The most important thing for the Israelites to remember was the identity of the God they served. As Christopher R. Seitz so insightfully writes, “The issue is not God’s grasp, but Israel’s weariness and exhaustion” ("The New Interpreter’s Bible," Volume VI [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001], 344). So Isaiah calls to the Israelites and tells them to look up at the stars.
“Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.” (v. 26)
Isaiah knew that the people would regain their perspective on life if they lifted their eyes to the heavens. Remember, Isaiah writes, that our God formed the heavens. Our creator knows the number of the stars in the sky, and calls them each by name. Think about this wondrous truth and sense the awesomeness of God.
If this is the God that you worship, the God that calls each of you by name, can God not help you in your time of struggle? Isaiah 40:28-29 says look at the stars and remember the power and magnificence of the God you serve. “He does not faint or grow weary; / his understanding is unsearchable. / He gives power to the faint, / and strengthens the powerless.”
What a wonderful promise to a people who were discouraged, beaten down and worn out with life—God can be your strength. God gives us what we need when we think we can’t continue on the journey. So today, when you look at the circumstances of your life, what do you see? Are the problems that are facing you so overwhelming that it seems as if there will be no end to the struggle? Do the obstacles in your path prevent you from imagining what might be possible tomorrow? Do you despair of any hope for true healing to take place? Are the wrong choices of the past more than you can overcome? Are you feeling alone and powerless? Isaiah says to us—lift your eyes to the heavens.
The circumstances of your life may indeed be overwhelming. You might in fact be too weary to take another step. The good news is that you don’t have to do it all alone. Isaiah reminds us that it is when we are most helpless, most despairing and at the ends of our ropes, that we are best able to receive the gifts of God. Our God is strong, and mighty, and all-powerful love. God has not forgotten us and never will. Jesus told his own disciples in a time of great anxiety “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).
Sometimes when life is at its most difficult, we lose perspective. It’s easy to lose sight of the trees because of the immensity of the forest. That’s when we most need to remember. Look at the world around you and rejoice that the creator of the universe knows your situation. God understands your fears, your hopes, your dreams and your pains. God’s wisdom is unsearchable, and God’s power is unmatched. Remember whose you are, and rest in God’s holy presence. Look up at the stars, and receive the gift of perspective.
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Color: Green
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: Come, rejoice and sing! God’s love is showered over you this day.
P: We gather to praise God and celebrate God’s presence with us.
L: God shows compassion to all who are weak and downtrodden.
P: Jesus Christ offers healing mercies to our troubled souls.
L: Praise be to God who has called us here.
P: Thanks be to God for God’s eternal love. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Welcome! Open your hearts to God’s love this day!
P: Praise be to God who has called us here!
L: Let the words wash over you and offer you healing and hope.
P: Praise be to God who continually blesses us!
L: Place your hope and trust in God!
P: With joyful hearts, we come to worship and praise God who continually blesses and provides for us. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2001, "We Sing to You, O God" , offer the following call to worship, with the choir singing the suggested verses.
Choir: singing verse 1: "We sing to you, O God, the Rock who gave us birth, let our rejoicing sing hour name in all the earth. To you, O God, let songs be raised, in joyful hymns, our feast of praise!"
L: God has called us here
P: We have wandered far. Life has been both joyful and sorrowful.
L: Come and find hope and healing in God’s love.
P: God’s mercy has been a shelter and strength to us.
Choir: singing verse 2: "We wandered far from home out in a desert land, you shielded with your love our fearful pilgrim band. You kept us safe within hour arms and sheltered us against the storm!
L: Great is God and greatly to be praised!
P: We will rejoice with all our spirits and energy.
L: God is our shield and our refuge!
P: God has led us to this place to refresh our souls and prepare our lives for service. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4
L: How wonderful it is to sing our praises to God!
P: Praise the Lord who gathers us together.
L: God’s mercy is given generously to all in need.
P: We are never out of the reach of God’s love.
L: Come, worship and celebrate. God is reaching out to you this day!
P: Praise be to God who continually heals and forgives us. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
Powerful God, from the very beginning you blessed creation. You have loved and shielded your people through all joys and trials of life. We come to you this day, rejoicing in the many blessings you have given to us. We open our hearts again to hear your word for us and to gather strength and joy for service in your world. Be with us and bless us again, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
How can we look at this world and not sing of your praises, O God? The beauty and majesty of the world is overpowering! Yet we have a tendency to take all that you do for us for granted. We treat the world with callous indifference, using its resources carelessly and with little regard to the future. We insist on war as solutions for problems rather than peaceful striving. We turn our backs on people in need, the weak and downtrodden go unnoticed in our midst. We always believe that someone else will care for those in need. How foolish we are, O God! How ignorant we have become! You have given to us all that we need. You have blessed us with the witness of Jesus Christ who came so that we might learn how you would have us live, in honor and peace. Forgive us. Heal our hearts and spirits. Make us fully aware of all our blessings and our responsibilities. Give us again a spirit of joy in serving you. Help us be agents of peace and hope to others. For we offer this prayer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Jesus has come to heal our spirits and our souls. The demons of arrogance, indifference and apathy are being cast out. New life is offered to you in Jesus Christ. Rejoice! Be Glad! For God’s love is poured out to you this day. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Tragedies abound, O Lord. Our newspapers, television newscasts, and media all report the troubled happenings in our world. War and strife seem to be the order of the day. And we are caught up in the midst of this chaos. Calm our spirits, Lord. Help us to focus on the love you have given to us in Jesus Christ. Remind us again that his healing mercies extend to us this day as surely as they did to the people of long ago. We have gathered on this day to hear your word, to be forgiven and healed, to find ways in which we may serve you in peace. We have lifted names of those near and dear to us who stand in need of your healing mercies and compassionate love. Some names we have spoken aloud; and others we have uttered in our hearts. You have heard all our prayers. You know our needs and concerns before our voices can frame them. Let us accept the love you give to us. Empower us to take that love and use it for good in your world. Let the message of hope and compassion go forth from us again to this world which focuses on tragedy and turmoil. And once again, let us know fully that you are with us. AMEN.
Litany
L: Do you see the wonders of God’s creation?
P: Life is moving too fast. We don’t have time to waste.
L: Do you know the magnificent love of God?
P: We know what we need.
L: Do you see the needs of others?
P: Our own needs dominate our lives.
L: Do you need to be healed?
P: We are fine, just as we are!
L: Really? Have you reached out to others in compassion offering healing and hope?
P: Sometimes.
L: Have you dared to admit your need for God’s love?
P: To admit to a need is to make ourselves vulnerable.
L: Become vulnerable to God. In Jesus Christ, God became vulnerable to the world.
P: We could be hurt.
L: God will heal you.
P: We could be lost and frightened.
L: God will find you and give you comfort.
P: We could become downtrodden and weak.
L: God will lift you up and strengthen you, for that is God’s way of loving.
P: Thanks be to God who will walk with us, heal and protect us. AMEN.
Benediction, Blessing, Commission
We are being sent into a world in need of healing. We have been given all that we need to be God’s messengers of peace. Go now into the world, rejoicing in God’s presence with you. Bring the news of peace and hope to all you meet. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
Note: It is a good idea to write a brief description of the visual presentation in the worship bulletin describing the symbols and their meaning.
This Sunday provides a challenge to the visual artist. The Gospel lesson focuses on the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and many others. Each congregation will have ideas about what symbols represent healing. For some congregations, the use of crutches, braces, wheelchairs, may represent infirmity and the need for healing. Some congregations may want to place pictures of people in need on their worship center. Two options have been offered for artistic elements for this day.
SURFACE: Place several risers on the main worship center. The center riser will be placed for the cross. Place one riser in front of the worship center, to the right.
FABRIC:Green is the traditional color for this season. You may want to cover the entire worship area with green fabric. Another suggestion would be to cover the area with burlap and use about 5-6 yards of green fabric woven across the worship center, down the front and across the front riser. Begin the flow of the green fabric from the riser to the left of the cross.
In option #2, using room darkening fabric, or muslin, cut in 1 yard pieces, approximately 18 inches wide, have people make hand prints, from acrylic paints of different colors and place them on the fabric to represent helping hands. You should have about three pieces of each hand print fabric.
CANDLES: Place 3 large white pillar candles on the riser to the left of the cross. Smaller pillar candles may be placed at other points in the display where you feel they are needed. Candles may be used in both suggested options.
FLOWERS/PLANTS: Aloe plants are wonderful additions to the setting. Many people in your congregation will have these plants. Place one plant to the right of the cross, on a riser. Other plants may be placed throughout the worship setting. These plants may be used in both suggested options.
ROCKS/WOOD: At the base of the aloe plant on the riser, place a collection of rocks and stones. Additional rocks and stones may be placed near the three pillar candles.
OTHER:
Option #1: If you are using crutches, braces, wheelchair to represent the need for healing, place them in the worship center with the wheelchair to the left and in front. Place the crutches and braces against the riser on the right in front of the worship center.
Option #2: If you want to create another design using pictures of people in need, the world in strife, place them on the risers, with the exception of the center riser on the worship table. Place several pictures on the riser in front of the worship table on the riser and on the main floor level. Place the hand print fabric under the pictures so that it drapes down, as though the hands are reaching up to help.
The High King of Heaven
Isaiah 40:21-31
Chapter 40 was written concerning the close of Israel’s exile in Babylon. It is filled with hope as the prophet is instructed to “comfort my people, says your God” (vv. 1-2). Prophets normally confront people with the Lord’s demands and call for their repentance. Here he is told to “speak tenderly” (literally “speak to the heart”). This is a message of encouragement and reassurance.
The focal passage shows God to be great—incomparable. As the songwriter exclaimed, “How great thou art.”
I. God Is Creator and Lord of History (vv. 21-24)
The Lord is the High King of heaven “who sits above the circle of the earth” (v. 22). The circle is the vault of the heavens above the earth. It appeared to be a dome on which the stars were fixed. (See Job 22:12-14.) God “walks on the dome of heaven.” In Genesis 1 it is called “the firmament” (v. 6). The sky looked to be a dome above the earth to ancient people. They envisioned God living above his creation.
The prophet ridiculed the mighty pagan rulers. He probably had King Cyrus in mind. To God the inhabitants of the earth appear no bigger than grasshoppers—and their princes amount to nothing (v. 23). They are like plants withered and blown away by the hot desert wind (the sirocco). The storm carries them away like stubble (v. 24). The Lord is King of kings.
II. God Is Incomparable (vv. 25-26)
To whom can God be compared? Certainly not to a pagan idol (vv. 18-20). Babylon was a center of star worship or astrology. They believed the stars to be gods. That ancient pagan myth is still very much alive—and still pagan. The prophet contends that the stars are part of God’s creation that line up in the heavens like soldiers on a parade ground and “not one is missing” (v. 26). Don’t worship the stars but the God who created them.
III. God Cares for Us (vv. 27-31)
Captive Israel had grown faint and weary. They had long been a people without a land and they had grown bitter. In verse 27 they accused God of ignoring their plight. The prophet assures them of the heavenly Father’s care. This eternal Creator does not grow weary and there is no limit to his understanding (v. 28). This Almighty God gives power and strength to those who trust in him (v. 29). As J. B. Phillips would say, “Their God was too small.” The prophet shows God to be great and the believer’s source of strength.
Verse 31—portraying eagle wings of faith—is a magnificent climax to the passage. When even the young are exhausted, those who wait on the Lord are empowered. Eagles molted and grew new feathers. Ancient people saw this as a symbol of spiritual renewal: “your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” ( Ps. 103:5) . To wait on the Lord literally means to cling to him as a vine entwines itself around a tree (wisteria). It is a metaphor for trust and dependence on the Lord.
In crisis he delivers us—we mount up with wings like eagles.
In busy times he delivers us—we run and do not grow weary.
In routine times he delivers us—we walk and do not faint.Faith is tough-minded trust in the Eternal. And faith is what results in victory in our lives. (Alton H. McEachern)
The Joy of Personal Evangelism
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
God has chosen people to be the only means of spreading the gospel. Why?
God is glorified in accomplishing the task using the simplest tools. Think of the pyramids of Egypt. People flock to them and stand amazed as they behold them. Because of their size? Hardly. They were built using only the most primitive technology and human labor. The fact that the Egyptians accomplished so much with so little amazes us.
Look around at the Body of Christ today. There are Christians in every nation, among every major language group. Billions of them. Because of angels? No. Because God has used people often no more willing, no more trained, no more gifted than any of us.
Paul recognizes three possibilities regarding our acceptance of our evangelistic mandate.
I. Some Will Never Share the Good News
Paul says the least about this possibility: “Woe to me if I do not.” What does he mean?
First, the person who fails to share the good news will lose the blessings he would have gained by having been a part of God’s work. I quit asking God why he used people the first time he used me to lead someone to Christ.
Paul knew that if he did not share, he would lose the blessing of seeing those he had won to Christ. He would lose the joy of knowing he had done for someone else what had been done for him. He also could be referring to the sorrow he would feel if he saw those left behind he could have helped.
II. Some Will Share the Good News, but Unwillingly
The idea of a reluctant witness is an amazing concept. It could describe some people who really don’t want new people to come into their church, but they allow it. Or perhaps they share unwillingly because they will feel guilty if they don’t.
Still, sharing the gospel unwillingly is a foreign concept to Paul. He doesn’t say much about it, except that there is no reward for sharing strictly out of a sense of obligation.
III. God’s Plan Is for Us to Share the Good News Joyfully
The greatest reward and joy is simply to share the good news freely with everyone. Paul doesn’t have to find out first if someone can afford the gospel, or if they deserve an opportunity.
Paul remembers just how special were the people God used to witness to him, and he delights in being that special to others. We all can remember people who helped us develop and grow: teachers, friends, relatives, and, of course, parents. And we appreciate these people. But the people I appreciate most are those who “risked offending me” by sharing their faith with me. There were several who witnessed to me, invited me to church, and tried to help me. To know someone else feels this way about me makes me feel rather special.
One last thing Paul says in verse 22b: “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.” A multitude of means exist by which we can reach people. Some friends witnessed to me directly. My wife’s mother didn’t think she could, so she offered me Sunday lunch if I would go to church with her. It was her prayers, and her unique approach to “lunchtime evangelism,” that helped me become Christian.
You may have neighbors who will not come to church, but they would come to a Bible study in your home. Maybe they would read a Christian book if you gave them one. If you do not like one method, keep looking for a method that fits you. But whatever the method, share with others what God has done for you! (Bill Groover)
What’s Our Perspective?
Mark 1:29-39
In recording the early part of Jesus ministry, Mark seeks to emphasize the multidimensional nature of who he is and what he has come to do. The healing of Simon’s mother-in-law, the casting out of demons, his teaching, and his statement concerning his preaching ministry all spotlight activities that will become the signposts of his ministry. From the beginning of his portrayal of Jesus, Mark seeks to define the many ways in which Jesus will proclaim and witness to the kingdom of God. Mark also reveals the source of his empowerment as he has Jesus rising early to be alone with God in prayer.
While these passages don’t carry the drama of the feeding of the five thousand or Jesus walking on the water, they do share in a subtle way the connection between the works Jesus does and the source that empowers such work. This is an important connection for Mark, because he wants us to realize that the kingdom that Jesus has been sent to express is a direct revelation of God and God’s activity in a hurting and sinful world. In all of these ways Jesus embodies and proclaims the presence of the kingdom of God.
I. The Kingdom Is Revealed in His Power Over Nature
As Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, then others who are ill, one sees the power of God’s kingdom erupting into everyday life through the person of Jesus. In this Epiphany text, we see how God’s kingdom becomes manifest in the routine and ordinary lives of people.
The miracles of Jesus are not important because of their value as spectacle but because they symbolize the presence of the kingdom in human life. As Jesus moved into lives, so did the kingdom.
II. The Kingdom Is Revealed in His Power Over the Supernatural
Jesus demonstrates power over not just natural phenomena but also supernatural, represented by the demons who possessed people. He held utter authority over them, even to the point of forbidding their speech. They recognized that when Jesus spoke, he did so with the full authority and power of God’s kingdom.
III. The Kingdom Is Revealed in His Presence in Individual Lives
It is interesting to note the response of the people who experience that abiding presence. A woman rises from her illness to serve in a common way. Demons recognize Jesus for who he is when everyone else seems duped. His disciples, who should have trusted him most, act exasperated when they find him alone: they exclaim, “Everyone is searching for you” (v. 37). How strange to hear these stories and the stranger-still responses of those who experience the reality of God’s kingdom.
Jesus seems to stand out in these stories as the one who seems sure, trusting, and empowered to authoritatively and authentically manifest the difference God’s presence makes in the midst of all kinds of life experiences. Although subtle, these passages express the mystery of how God’s kingdom will manifest itself, and the mixed response of those who experience it.
What will be our response as we encounter the manifestation of God’s kingdom in the everyday? Moses at the burning bush; Isaiah in the temple; fisherman by the sea; a woman at a well; Paul on a road to Damascus—all serve to remind us of how God’s manifestation meets us where we are. As a pastor, I can recall haunting, yet powerful moments in ministry when in a hospital room, a nursing home, or in visiting a prospect, God encountered me and those around me and invited us to respond.
In such moments what will be our response? (Travis Franklin)
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39. The contrast between these healings and the previous one at the synagogue makes it clear that Jesus did not heal to impress big groups of important people. He simply reached out to do what he could for people he met. When he went home with his friend for supper, he healed the man's sick mother-in-law. When people came to the door asking for help, he healed them.
Fifth- and sixth-graders are ready to take responsibility for their own devotional life. They are able to read the Bible on their own and are independent enough set their own disciplines. Many are learning to take responsibility for individual athletic, dance, or music practice. Just as these disciplines help children develop their athletic and artistic power, daily prayer helps them develop their power to live as God's people. The story of Jesus' withdrawal for prayer is attractive to them.
Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31. Children cannot understand this passage as it is read, in any translation. They do, however, empathize with the hopeless exiles. Like the exiles, children often feel overlooked and forgotten. They feel like baggage that is shifted around to suit the adults. Children who are mistreated by the central adults in their lives feel shut out by the whole world. But even those who are loved and well cared for occasionally feel overlooked and overpowered. Isaiah reminds children that God, who created the vast world, pays attention to each creature in it even to them. God notices them and will give them the power they need in even the most hopeless situations.
Psalm: 147:1-11, 20c. This psalm celebrates both the power and the loving care of God. Children can recognize it as a psalm that might have been sung by Peter's family, or by any of the many people Jesus healed.
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23. It is more effective to summarize Paul's point and illustrate it with current examples of people who are doing as he did, than to attempt to explain the significance of living by the Law and becoming "weak." Paul's point is that he is willing to accept rules he does not really need to accept, if living by those rules will help him do his job of telling people about God.
WARNING: It is important to point out the difference between what Paul did and merely going along with the crowd to make them like you.
Watch Words
Do not let speaking of God's power lead you to use omnipotenceor other long "power" words without explaining their meaning.
Let the Children Sing
Both "How Great Thou Art," when sung with feeling by a congregation that loves it, and "For the Beauty of the Earth" describe God's power and love. "All Things Bright and Beautiful," which praises God's attention to both the great and the small, is familiar to most church children.
Though "We Would See Jesus" includes some abstract and obsolete words, older children can sing along. It helps to point out the topic of each verse before the singing begins.
Older children can read and sing the words of "Take Time to Be Holy," in response to Jesus' prayer practices.
The Liturgical Child
1. To emphasize the psalmist's points about God's power and include worshipers in the poet's praising, ask the congregation to say "Praise the Lord!" (1a) to begin Psalms 147, and also after a worship leader reads the following sections of the psalm: 1b, 2-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-9, and 10-11. This might be printed in its entirety in the bulletin.
2. Invite three older children to read the three stories (verses 29-31; 32-34; and 35-39) in the Gospel text. The New Revised Standard Version can be read without difficulty by most fourth- through sixth-graders. Plan one practice session in the sanctuary to be sure they can pronounce all the words easily, know where to stand, and can use the microphone comfortably.
3. Prayer of Confession: Loving God, you have commanded us to love one another, and you have shown us how to do it. When crowds came to the door at the end of a long day, Jesus talked to them and healed them. But when people come to us when we are tired, we say, "Come back tomorrow. Can't you see I'm busy?" or just "Go away!" Forgive us.
When Paul became a missionary, he was willing to try almost anything to persuade people to listen to God's good news. He obeyed the laws the Jews obeyed, so that they would listen when he told them about Jesus. He ate the strange food the Gentiles ate, so that he could tell them about God's love.
But we are not so eager to help others. We are helpful when we feel like it. We serve others when it is convenient and when serving is interesting or fun. We invite to church only the people we like. We are kind to those who are kind to us. Forgive us. Help us to love one another as you commanded. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God loves us even when we are not loving. God loves us even when we are not lovable. God loves and forgives us even when we are at our worst. More than that, God gives us the power to love others when we do not feel like it, to say kind words to people we do not like, even to take care of others when we are tired and want someone to take care of us. When God's power works through us, we are surprised by what can happen. Thanks be to God!
4. As the Benediction, recite Isaiah 40:28-29 and 31. Conclude with, "So go in peace. God is with you."
Sermon Resources
1. To set Paul's point in modern circumstances, tell stories. Tell about teenage American girls who wear skirts instead of shorts while painting a children's home in Jamaica. Because they do not offend the community's customs regarding women's dress, they are able to share God's love with those people.
Tell about an older child who plays little kids' games, maybe "Chutes and Ladders," to care for a younger child. Tell about the eight-year-old who ate barbecued goat when invited to dinner by the Central American refugee boy he befriended at school.
2. Offer specific helps for daily prayer. Name daily devotional guides that have proved useful. If your children's church-school curriculum offers a daily prayer guide, point it out, encourage children to use it, and urge parents to support its use. Another excellent resource is Pockets, a monthly magazine for seven- to twelve-year-olds that includes devotional activities for each day of the coming month. (Order Pockets from The Upper Room, 1908 Grand Ave, P.O. Box 189, Nashville, TN 37202-9929.) Display these resources near the sanctuary.
Nashville, Tennessee 37202 United States
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