Walking the Line
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For June 6, 2021:
Walking The Line
by Chris Keating
1 Samuel 8:4-11
Leadership, wrote Ronald Heifetz, is the work of motivating people to take responsibility for change and problems at a rate they can endure. Adaptive leadership stimulates change based on values and progress toward a goal. It seldom as simple as giving people what they want.
In other words, leadership is more like Johnny Cash (“l Walk the Line,”) and less like The Spice Girls (“I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.”)
But encouraging adaptive change is risky, and it generally does not produce political victory. There are plenty of contemporary examples of this, including the ongoing struggles in the Middle East. When President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Hamas had negotiated a cease-fire after days of deadly attacks, he toed the line, waiting until it seemed as though Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on board. Biden was straddling the line between liberal leaning Democrats who champion justice for Palestine and Republicans, including evangelical Christians, who support Israel. Searching for political support for his domestic agenda, Biden walked the line, and even searched for divine intervention. “May God bless you all,” he said. “I pray this continues.”
Long term peace between Israel and Palestine requires prayer and a steady commitment to embracing adaptive change. Whether that happens is a matter of debate.
Debates over leadership are at the heart of this week’s reading from 1 Samuel. Old Samuel would have understood the chasm between quick fixes and long-term solutions. He hears the crowds yelling, “I’ll tell you what we want, what we really, really, want.” They want a king so they can be like all the other really cool countries.
Samuel winces. Being cool is not the same as walking the line of faithfulness. But then God intervenes, setting the stage for the next stage of Israel’s life. As the “Spice Girls” finish their last song, the man in black gets ready to sing.
In the News
Last month’s violence between Israel and the militant Palestinian organization Hamas is rooted in thousands of years of conflict. But the most recent hostilities can be traced to an Israeli police raid of a mosque in Jerusalem in April. The event is symbolic of the entrenched positions on both sides.
On the evening of April 13, the first night of Ramadan, Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s Aqsa Mosque. It was also Israeli Memorial Day, and the president of Israel was scheduled to deliver a speech at the Western Wall, which sits directly below the mosque. According to the New York Times, Israeli officials ordered the raid because they were afraid that prayers from the mosque would drown out the president’s speech honoring Israel’s war dead.
“This was the turning point,” said Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the grand mufti of Jerusalem. “Their actions would cause the situation to deteriorate.”
Hostilities led to the 11 day war between Israel and Hamas. There were at least 240 casualties before a cease-fire was reached. The majority of the deaths occurred in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Hospitals in the crowded territory and other critical infrastructure were decimated by Israel’s response to Hamas’ missile attacks. Israel, as well as the United States, considers Hamas a terrorist group.
While Israel holds that it acted in response to Hamas’ bombings, there have been questions raised about whether its response to the militant group was disproportionate and a violation of international law. A Washington, DC human rights activist holds that the premise behind Israel’s response is morally bankrupt.
“Israelis often refer to this callously as ‘mowing the lawn,’ periodic maintenance it has to do by bombing one of the world’s most densely populated spots, which it also holds under a blockade,” said Yousef Munayyer. “There is no morality in a war whose repetition is preplanned.”
The ancient conflict has become a wedge issue in world politics. Progressive Democrats are growing impatient with the US government’s unquestioned advocacy for Israel, while a majority of evangelicals favor Israel. A recent survey shows that while evangelic support for Israel remains strong, support among younger evangelicals is shrinking.
It’s another indicator of the intractable nature of conflict, as well as a sign that traditional diplomatic solutions will not work.
Fareed Zakaria cuts straight to the chase. Israel’s status as the only superpower in the Middle East leaves it few reasons to compromise. “Israel doesn’t have any practical reasons to make a deal with the Palestinians,” Zakaria wrote last week. “It doesn’t fear for its security…(and) economic boycotts of any significance will not happen.”
Zakaria says that what’s left is the moral solution. “Israel — a powerful, rich and secure nation — is ruling over nearly 5 million people without giving them political rights. This is an almost unique situation in a post-colonial world.”
Systems thinker David Peter Stroh offers a similar view. Stroh offers a careful analysis based on his experience living in Israel and his training in systems learning. Instead of trying to change the other side, Stroh argues that both sides need to engage in the adaptive processes of initiating change from within. He argues that would shift the debate from questions of “Who is to blame?” to “Where is the leverage in the dynamic between the two sides?”
“Each party has a role in creating and perpetuating the conflict and each must take responsibility for doing what it can to resolve it,” he concludes.
Walking the line is hard. Quick fixes are always more appealing. As Samuel tells the elders of Israel, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you…and in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves.”
In the Scripture
Thousands of years before Brene Brown started about the need for leaders to become vulnerable, Samuel was called into a meeting with the elders of Israel who hand him a list of his perceived failures. More than a few pastors have experienced similar meetings. “You’re too old,” the elders tell him (8:5). “Your kids are a mess and don’t do what you tell them.” This is not an impromptu meeting. The elders have been talking, scheming, conspiring. They’ve looked across the border and have determined that the grass is indeed greener in other nations.
There is no hemming or hawing. “Give us a king so that we can be like other nations.” Versions of this logic continue to appear in church personnel committees today. “Other churches have (insert name of program here); we want to be like other churches.”
For Israel, however, the issue is deeper than leadership styles. Israel has always been set apart, unique among the nations. It was Yahweh who called them out of Egypt, who guided them across the wilderness, and who had nurtured them. Israel was not led by a king, but by God. Their request to be like other nations is anathema to Samuel.
There’s a bit of irony folded into the story at this point. Samuel, once the wonderkid of Israel, emerged from the shadowy legacies of his mentor Eli, whose own sons were denounced as scandal-plagued scoundrels (1 Samuel 2). In due time Samuel’s sons Joel and Abijah have become as corrupt as a pair of Chicago judges.
Displeased with the demand for a king, Samuel prays to God. The Lord’s response, scholars note, is slightly surprising. Yahweh points out that impulse for a monarchy is deeper than a political crisis. The people are not rejecting Samuel, they are rejecting God. Forsaking God has become a pattern for Israel, with Israel determined to have its own way no matter what the potential costs.
Yet what is surprising is the way this narrative holds the issues of monarchy in tension. While it is a rejection of God, it nonetheless becomes a vehicle for God. As the extended verses in the appointed pericope point out (11:14-15), this story is a prelude to the anointing of Saul, and of course, the coming of David.
God agrees to the monarchy, but not before ordering Samuel to spell out the fine print. You want to be like other nations? Fine, but buckle up. It’s going to be a rough ride.
From a theological perspective, it seems as though God becomes the one who engages in the work of adaptive change. Exhausted by Israel’s wanton whining, God yields to their request. Israel shall become like other nations. God will not abandon Israel, but neither will God be an authoritarian dictator.
In the Sermon
This week, play a bit of Johnny Cash as you muse over Samuel’s interactions with the elders. Allow Cash’s distinctively calm and centered voice to meld with your reflections on the text. Begin to wonder what it might have felt like for Samuel to “walk the line” with the people of Israel as they yearn to be like other nations. Begin to imagine what it means to see their demands as an adaptive challenge.
“Leadership would be a safe undertaking if your organizations and communities only faced problems for which they already knew the solutions,” wrote Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky in Leadership on the Line (Harvard Business School Press, 2002). They frame these sorts of challenges as adaptive challenges. These challenges require more than a technical knowledge of how to approach change. Instead, they require new ways of learning, being, and relating.
Global problems — peace in the middle east, climate change, racism, the pandemic, or even the National League’s hopes to win the All Star Game — represent a complexity of interconnected, interrelated adaptive challenges (well, except for baseball!). It’s useless and futile to believe that old strategies for achieving lasting peace between Israel and Palestine will be successful.
The challenge for a preacher is finding a way to raise the theological implications of trusting God instead of yearning to be like other nations. An even deeper challenge is being careful not to use 2 Samuel as an indicator of God’s hopes for Israel or for Palestine. These issues divide synagogue and churches alike. The text does not presume the modern situation; however, the text does call upon God’s people to the adaptive challenge of trusting in the ways of God, which are distinctly different than the ways of political leaders.
Israel is bent on finding a king. God calls Saul, a good looking leader with much potential. He does indeed resemble the great kings of the nations — but ultimately he also fails the adaptive challenge. Leadership is never easy, and it takes a lot of effort to walk the line.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Searching For Family
by Chris Keating
Mark 3:20-35
Locked down and socially distanced for more than a year, American families are ready to hit the road this summer. Last week, the coronavirus infection rate fell by 20% nationally for the fifth straight week. While health experts urge caution, millions of Americans celebrated Memorial Day by dropping the masks and meeting with family.
Nationwide, about six million people passed through airports, with the largest airports reporting the highest daily passenger numbers for 2021. Overall, travel over 50 miles from home is predicted to be up more than 60 percent from 2020.
We yearn to reunite with family. Of course, after a year of no haircuts or DIY hair coloring, some family members may barely resemble their pre-pandemic selves. Our reunions may begin by paraphrasing Jesus’ words from Mark: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
The dangers of coronavirus have not yet fully passed, but the pull to be with loved ones is stronger than ever. Travel industry research reports indicates that as many as 75 percent of respondents are planning to travel to see family this year.
As Mark recounts the story of Jesus, it appears that Jesus’ family members longed to find him. They were not interested in sharing potato salad and barbecue, of course. They were not interested in trading stories about times gone by but were instead afraid for his well-being. Mary and his brothers are concerned that Jesus is losing his mind.
Those sentiments may resonate within us, making Jesus’ rebuke of his family sound harsh. His words rub against the grain of family bonds and affection. Preaching about Jesus refusing to see his mother and siblings may create mixed emotions within us, especially given this Sunday’s proximity to the American celebrations of Mother’s and Father’s Days.
But the Gospel of Mark is not a story about rekindling fond memories of Jesus’ familial bonds. Mark pays sparse attention to Jesus’ background (see “The Gospel of Mark,” by Donald Juel, 1999). The supernatural aspects of the incarnation and birth are missing, replaced in Mark with what Donald Juel calls an emphasis on Jesus’ ordinariness.
It is precisely this ordinariness that causes him trouble, and results in his family’s concern for his mental status. They have heard he is out of his mind, that he’s been accused of being Beezebul (“Lord of the flies”), or that he’s possessed. Perhaps they just want to stage an intervention and bring him back to Nazareth.
Jesus, however, sees things differently. For him this is a time to cut the apron strings. He is intent on remaining focused on doing the work of proclaiming the kingdom, and in this case that includes a radical reorientation of the meaning of family. Doing the will of God is what ultimately matters.
His family now includes those who are dedicated to seeing the power of God at work in the world. This power reverses the status of the marginalized and brings healing to those held captive by the powers of evil. It is grace to those who have been abandoned by their families: the unclean, the lepers, tax collectors and others. The only reunion Jesus is headed to is the banquet table of the reign of God where all shall feast, and where family relationships have been sorted out in new ways.
These are the siblings of Jesus — the ones who are doing the work of God. The implication is that these are the ones disciples should name as family, especially in a moment when the understanding of family is undergoing change.
Who is our family, our siblings in this new phase of the pandemic? The church where I serve is experiencing increased interest in both our online and in person ministries and worship. In this summer of reuniting, we are finding that the families we are connecting with are broader and more diverse than they were in 2020.
They include an older couple who had just relocated to our area before the pandemic and who are just now getting the opportunity to meet new friends. Our community includes a teenager wrestling with gender identity while adopting new pronouns, and a young mother from another part of the state who was visiting our area when labor started months too soon. She’s living near the hospital where her baby is growing, and has decided we’ll be her surrogate family for now. We promise to try.
Other members of the family share their struggles in private: a woman grieving her brother’s suicide; a young mother’s recent MS diagnosis; a husband with early signs of dementia, and a young man with autism who is feverishly trying to keep up with the ever-changing pandemic protocols. And so on, and so on.
We sometimes call ourselves the closet of broken toys, but I think Jesus would say, “You’re family.”
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Psalm 138
Giving Thanks
“I give thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart,” the psalmist announces. Brother David-Steindl-Rast has devoted his life to the practice of gratitude, and he says there’s a simple process for us to follow to give thanks. It starts with, as he says, “listening and really looking and beholding — that comes in when people ask, “Well, how shall we practice this gratefulness?” And there is a very simple kind of methodology to it: Stop, look, go. Most of us — caught up in schedules and deadlines and rushing around, and so the first thing is that we have to stop, because otherwise we are not really coming into this present moment at all, and we can’t even appreciate the opportunity that is given to us, because we rush by, and it rushes by. So stopping is the first thing. But that doesn’t have to be long. When you are in practice, a split second is enough — “stop.” And then you look: What is, now, the opportunity of this given moment, only this moment, and the unique opportunity this moment gives? And that is where this beholding comes in. And if we really see what the opportunity is, we must, of course, not stop there, but we must do something with it: Go. Avail yourself of that opportunity.”
If we do that, he says, “And if you do that, if you try practicing that at this moment, tonight, we will already be happier people, because it has an immediate feedback of joy.”
Giving thanks with our whole hearts, he says, doesn’t mean being grateful for everything. “You can’t be grateful for war in a given situation, or violence or domestic violence or sickness, things like that. There are many things for which you cannot be grateful. But in every moment, you can be grateful. For instance, the opportunity to learn something from a very difficult experience — what to grow by it, or even to protest, to stand up and take a stand — that is a wonderful gift in a situation in which things are not the way they ought to be. So opportunity is really the key when people ask, “Can you be grateful for everything?” — no, not for everything, but in every moment.”
If we stop, look and go, we’re on the way to giving thanks with our whole hearts.
* * *
Psalm 138
Giving Thanks in Certain Places
Particular places remind us to give thanks to God, as the psalmist urges us to do. “I bow down toward your holy temple,” the psalmist says, locating his gratitude there, and he adds, “and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.” For us, other places stir up our sense of thanksgiving.
Colette Lafia observes that at the end of the day, she and her husband often remark how happy they are to be home. She adds, “As a school librarian, I can see that the library is a special place for many of our students — it’s a refuge, a place of free choice, and a space for curiosity and exploration. Just the other day, I found a drawing that some fifth-grade girls had made for me at the end of last year. It was an 8½ by 14 picture of the library, with shelves filled with books and the words, “I love the library,” and “Thank you, Ms. Lafia!” written down the middle.” She asks, “Have you ever noticed how your favorite bakery, neighborhood park familiar church, or your own living room, can bring you profound gratitude that you feel in your body?”
“Place connects us to gratitude, and gratitude connects us to place. And this gratitude also finds its place in our bodies. As we find gratitude in a sense of place like a retreat center, our home, a park, a library or bookstore, we also find gratitude in a sense of place within our hearts and bodies. Our bodies are speaking to us all the time — and if we pay attention, we hear the gratitude they hold. The expression, “I feel it in my bones,” isn’t a metaphor. Our bodies feel and express gratitude through our tears, laughter, trembling, surprise, relaxation, tenderness, amazement, comfort, love, and more.”
The psalmist extends his gratitude in the direction of the temple, and we may find our own places of thanksgiving at home, or even within our own skin.
* * *
Genesis 3:8-15
Tricked
In a classic line, quoted by husbands everywhere, Adam complains to God that Eve has tricked him into something he didn’t really want to do. "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree,” he says, explaining how none of this was his idea. After a sudden heart attack, Kin Barker had a parallel experience, although his worked out much better.
After a heart attack led to major surgery while on a vacation, he took time off work. Too tired to travel for work, or to work on their ranch, he says that “climbing into and out of bed hurt like crazy; I slept on the couch because I could roll off it easily. My days were even worse. You couldn’t ask me to lift anything. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so weak. I was miserable. [My wife] Stephanie stayed around the house for the first few days after we got home, but eventually one morning, she said, “Hon, they want me back at work now. Try to get in some steps today.” She kissed me and was out the door. Maybe I’ll make it past the fridge today, I thought.”
A few minutes later, Stephanie came rushing back in, holding a tiny puppy, explaining that she found it in the mailbox. “The puppy was all scraggly, with big, goofy feet and pleading eyes. What on earth was Steph thinking? Wasn’t I enough of a burden? Did we really need a puppy too?” His first reaction was not enthusiastic. “I was already in a bad mood. I couldn’t take care of myself, and now I had to babysit this flea-bitten puppy all day? “We’ve got to find a place to take him,” I complained as Steph rushed out the door. “He’s going to the pound tomorrow.” I leaned back in my recliner and wagged my finger at him. “Don’t you give me any trouble today, you hear?” He cocked his head the way puppies do, broke into a grin and waddled over to me. I’m not going to get all soft and gushy over this pup, no matter how cute he is!”
“I didn’t take the pup to the pound the next day. Instead, we walked. This time, toward the mailbox. But I had to turn back. “Next time, we’ll get there,” I gasped. It was a promise…Before long, I was walking to the mailbox with Cheyenne every day. Pretty soon, I was strong enough to work the ranch again. Cheyenne enjoyed running with the horses. We had both gotten strong.”
The puppy became a pathway back to health, and a loving companion. In this case, the trick worked.
* * *
Mark 3:20-35
House Divided
The phrase “a house divided against itself cannot stand” has wiggled its way into countless political speeches, including one by Abraham Lincoln, and into the popular imagination. Author Isabel Wilkerson, who writes about race in America sees our nation as a house still divided by our different experiences of race. She understands the Great Migration of Black Americans from South to North in the 1940’s and 50’s as “a kind of immigration…this was the only group of Americans who had to act like immigrants in order to be recognized as citizens. They were forced to seek political asylum within the borders of their own country because they were living in a caste system in the South that did not recognize their citizenship. And some of them travelled farther than current day immigrants might, but that was really not the point. The point was that the country actually was kind of two countries in one, and that’s what they had to do…The Great Migration is not about migration, and really, probably no migration is about migration. It’s about freedom and how far people are willing to go to achieve it. This is the means that they feel they must take in order to find freedom wherever they can find it.”
In Northern cities, people “arrived making the least for the hardest work. They arrived consigned to neighborhoods that were declining, but had been declining from the moment they arrived. I mean, I’m talking about the beginning of the Migration, that the subdivisions, the subdivided cold water flats that they were living in, the originating part of where these people were living upon arrival…African Americans were not permitted in any of these cities to live anywhere that they wanted or anywhere that their money would take them. All of us who have been to any city in the North know exactly where the arriving district or arriving neighborhood of people of the Great Migration would be because that’s where — it’s the oldest, broken-down neighborhood in all of these cities, usually not well-positioned, by the railroad tracks or near the factories.”
Wilkerson says, “our country is like a really old house. I love old houses. I’ve always lived in old houses. But old houses need a lot of work. And the work is never done. And just when you think you’ve finished one renovation, it’s time to do something else…And that’s what our country is like. And you may not want to go into that basement, but if you really don’t go into that basement, it’s at your own peril.”
* * *
1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
Bad King / Good King
When the people of Israel ask for a king, through Samuel, God sounds both disappointed and resigned. God warns the people that the kings will take their children and their goods, will use the land for their own gain and will turn the people into servants of the king. Still, the people want to have a king.
Jim Hunter, who writes about servant leadership, says that there are leaders who don’t exploit people for their own gain. Hunter says, “Being a servant leader is not about doing what people want. It’s about doing what people need, and there is a huge difference. It’s not about being a slave, it’s about being a servant. What my children want sometimes is not exactly what they need. What my employees want may not be necessarily what they need. So what servant leaders are about [is] the business of identifying and meeting people’s legitimate needs, seeking their greatest good so that they can grow. So the test of servant leadership is, do people leave you better than they found you? Do you leave things better than you found them?”
Hunter cites Herb Kelleher, formerly of Southwest Airlines, as this kind of leader — the opposite of Israel’s future kings. When he retired, a reporter asked Kelleher, “Which leaders were responsible for your phenomenal success” Kelleher told the reporter, “We’re all leaders at Southwest. We just have different responsibilities, that’s all…as I’m thinking here, those guys changing the tires on the tarmac out there are really important leaders in my company…my most important leaders at Southwest are my flight attendants. They’re influencing thousands of my customers every day, people that I’m never going to talk to.”
Hunter says that leadership is both simple and complex. He tells people, “Everything you need to know about leadership you already know. It all boils down to one simple rule: treat people the way you’d want to be treated. Be the boss you wish your boss would be.” You know that person you want your boss to be? Same person your people want you to be. Be the father you wish your father had been more fully for you. Be the mother you wish your mother had been more fully for you…So if you’re going to be a servant leader, yes, you’ve got to make a little list. What do people need? And I tell people, “If you ever get stuck on your list, just ask yourself a simple question: What do I need? That’ll get you going again. Respect, appreciation, relationship, listening, accountability, rules of the house, clarity — basic things that people need. What do you need from your leader? Then go be that person.”
Perhaps with a change of vision, Israel could have had much better kings.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:
1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
We want a king!
The Israelites’ desire for a king, just like other nations, is a lot like the old vaudeville joke, “I needed a haircut in the worst way…so I went to a rotten barber.” If they had considered how their neighbors were governed, they might have been content with what they had.
* * *
1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
When someone is determined…
The Israelites are determined to have a king, even when Eli lays before them what the king will do
It’s almost like the Israelites are in love with the idea of having a king. With stars in their eyes, they cannot imagine anything better. They were warned!
* * *
1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
The Voice of the People, Vox Populi
When Presbyterians elect leaders we believe that it is the voice of God the Holy Spirit speaking through the people. Presbyterians have three ordered offices: Deacons, Elders and Ministers. People are elected to each office by the body they will serve. For Presbyterians it is almost as if the words of God come out of the mouths of the people. Perhaps a more elegant way to put that is that God’s will is revealed through the voice of the People. This is very similar to the final words that God speaks to Eli on the matter: “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.”
* * *
Mark 3:20-35
Did Jesus have brothers (and sisters)?
Aeiparthenos (Greek ἀειπάρθενος "ever-virgin"), that is that Mary, the mother of Jesus remained a virgin even after giving birth to Jesus. Today’s reading from Mark’s gospel is one that plainly contradicts that idea. There is frankly nothing in scripture that addresses whether Mary remained a virgin. Some argue that Jesus’ sibling mentioned in Mark 3 are Joseph’s children from a prior marriage — which is also never mentioned in scripture, in fact Joseph the Father of Jesus is never mentioned in Mark’s gospel. Others contend that αδελφοι, the Greek term rendered as “brothers and sisters” in the NRSV, could be construed to mean another kind of relative, perhaps a cousin. Again, there is nothing that suggests such a reading. While αδελφοι can be used to mean something along the lines of a spiritual brother, it cannot be rendered as “cousin.”
This and other texts mention Jesus’ siblings without and qualification. He was certainly the oldest of Mary’s children. And everyone knows the difficulty of that birth position (says the younger brother).
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
God leaves the kitchen light on
There is a tradition in some families of always leaving the kitchen light on. Despite the ideas of saving energy and whatnot, this can be a symbol that you can always come home. The relief that no matter what you are going through you can always come home. Our God is one where God always leaves the light on. You can always come home. No matter what, God will welcome you.
I went to college and my second week of school 9/11 (2001) took place. I’ll never forget wandering campus, trying to figure out how to help. I understood why some people wanted to blow things up because it is so hard to feel helpless. However, my friends and I just wanted to do something. And we all felt alone. One of my close friends from college had spent a week laid up with a broken finger, and hadn’t met anyone yet, including me. My heart breaks when he tells me he sat in the dorm lobby, for over 24 hours, just watching the towers explode and the reports about it, over and over again.
A couple of days later he met two of my new friends and we invited him to sit with us at lunch. Our motto as of 9/11 had become “there is always room for one more.” We would first turn our trays sideways to make room, and then take the food off of the trays, or eventually stick all of our food in our laps and back our trays a ways so there was always room for one more. I understand how God says that some of us will react to change and crisis and tragedy by wanting to fight. But I know God is leaving the light on for us, expanding the table, opening the circle and telling us “there is always room for one more” in the house of God.
* * *
The work of grieving
Jesus wept. Jerusalem, O Jerusalem how I’d love to shelter you under my wings. God take this cup away. Evidence is that Jesus did the hard work of grieving. Jesus gives space to grieve. When Jesus dies, he does not return immediately as if it was all a cosmic joke. Instead, Jesus gives everyone time to mourn. When Jesus asks Mary, “Why are you crying?” I hear it as a moment where Jesus sits with Mary in her grief, before commanding her to rejoice. He listens to why she is sad. “Why are you crying.” The evidence is our God is a God of grief. God grieved when we asked for a king. God grieves when we divide the house. I would not want a God who is never sad. Instead, we are created to grieve. Our bodies are connected to our grief. Why are we crying? Because we are made that way.
* * *
Do justice
Often times we call for justice. In human terms justice means everyone gets what is due to them. Whether that is reward or punishment. We think of justice as quid pro quo, in terms of transactions. “Give us a King God and we will behave.” Or, “All we want is our fair share of land, and then we will stop fighting.” We humans conceive justice as a thing we receive in return for our actions. God’s justice is transformative. The rains fall on the just and unjust, the cup will overflow, the latecomers will receive the same feast as the early birds. God’s justice is about every single person having enough. There will be justice because no one will be greedy, because everyone will have enough. There will be justice, because no one will be impoverished, because everyone will have enough. Maybe instead of worrying about kings or who is right, we should instead be doing the justice of making sure everyone has enough.
* * *
Blessings and Peace
Abuna Elias Chacour served as ArchBishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in many places including Nazareth and Galilee. He worked tirelessly for peace, reasoning that when he was a child Palestinian Jews, Christians, Muslims and the smaller religious sects lived together in peace — and that they could do it again. He centered this on the texts of the Beatitudes, where Jesus indicates how to be Christian through blessings. One of his accomplishments was to build a school for all children, for he reasoned that the way to build peace would be for children to experience it. In Israel power is controlled by building permits. They ended up building the school without a permit, and ran into problem after problem trying to make it legal. So Elias Chacour reasoned the fastest way to get a permit in Jerusalem, was to go to Washington DC and advocate there.
So he knocked on the door of US Secretary of State James Baker, who was famous for being accessible. When Baker’s wife Susan Baker opened the door she indicated they were busy with a Bible study. Chacour introduced himself as “Another man of Galiliee” and then asked what text they were studying? It turned out to be the Beatitudes. He then said, “Ah that is my favorite text, it is what I have centered my life on, have you heard it translated directly from Jesus and I’s own language of Aramaic.” She had not, he then explained that “blessed” in Aramaic means both a gift and a duty to continue the work. He became prayer partners with both of the Bakers, who ended up supporting his schools and his mission for peace. He has established schools of the Mar Elias Educational Institutes, which serve over 2,000 students.
* * *
Freedom From, Freedom To
When we are freed of God we are freed from sin to follow God. It is a strange kind of freedom. Madeline L’engle describes it as poetry in The Wrinkle in Time: “In your language you have a form of poetry called a sonnet...It is a very strict form of poetry, is it not?
“...There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That's a very strict rhythm or meter, yes?...And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet, is it?'
'No.'
'But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants, doesn't he?'
'Yes.' Calvin nodded again.
'So,' said Mrs. Whatsit.
'So what?'
'Oh, do not be stupid, boy!' Mrs. Whatsit scolded. 'You know perfectly well what I am driving at!'
'You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but with freedom within it?'
'Yes,' Mrs. Whatsit said. 'You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.'
― Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Let us give thanks to God with our whole heart.
All: Before all creation we will sing God’s praises.
One: Even in the midst of trouble, God preserves us.
All: God stretches out the right hand of deliverance.
One: God will never forsake us but will fulfill the divine purpose.
All: God’s steadfast love endures forever.
OR
One: God calls us to life abundant and joyful.
All: We long to enter into the life God offers us.
One: God is the one who desires good for us.
All: We long to find good in the troubles of this life.
One: God longs to lead us and our neighbors into joy.
All: We will listen to God’s voice and call others to join us.
Hymns and Songs
Lead On, O King Eternal
UMH: 580
H82:
PH: 447/448
AAHH: 477
NNBH: 415
NCH: 573
CH: 632
LBW: 495
ELW: 805
W&P: 508
AMEC: 177
Renew: 298
O Worship the King
UMH: 73
H82: 388
PH: 476
NNBH: 6
NCH: 26
CH: 17
LBW: 548
ELW: 842
W&P: 2
AMEC: 12
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
This Is a Day of New Beginnings
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELW: 502
Renew: 106
Ye Servants of God
UMH: 181
H82: 535
PH: 477
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
Jesus Calls Us
UMH: 398
H82: 549/550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171/173
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELW: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/60
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Open My Eyes, That I May See
UMH: 454
PH: 324
NNBH: 218
CH: 586
W&P: 480
AMEC: 285
Trust and Obey
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
I Come with Joy
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELW: 482
W&P: 706
Renew: 195
All Hail King Jesus
CCB 29
Renew 35
Our God Reigns
CCB 33
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who seeks to lead your creation to its fulfillment:
Grant us the wisdom to turn to you as our leader
so that we do not wander into error and sin;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are always calling us to follow you to the fulfillment of all creation. You are our only true guide who seeks our good. Help us to trust in you and to follow you always. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to seek God’s leadership.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You call us to follow you into a life that is abundant and eternal but we insist on going our own way which leads to death and destruction. We claim we are disciples and followers of Jesus but we abandon his teachings for our own. Forgive us for our wrong thinking and give us hearts that desire to follow the good so that we may truly be your children and part of your holy family. Amen.
One: God loves us and always welcomes us back into the flock that we so often desert. Receive God’s loving embrace and share it with those you encounter this week.
Prayers of the People
We praise and adore you, O God, because you are the one who leads us to eternal life. You are the one who never leaves us nor forsakes us.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You call us to follow you into a life that is abundant and eternal but we insist on going our own way which leads to death and destruction. We claim we are disciples and followers of Jesus but we abandon his teachings for our own. Forgive us for our wrong thinking and give us hearts that desire to follow the good so that we may truly be your children and part of your holy family.
We thank you for all the ways in which you call us to new life. We thank you for your faithfulness that never fails. We thank you for those you have given us to remind us of your loving care that seeks only our own good.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have forgotten the way to life that is abundant and joyful. We pray for those who struggle to find their way in the midst of so many voices calling for their attention. We pray for those who find themselves beset by so many offering pain and suffering that they find it difficult to hear the voice of God.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Play a game of ‘follow the leader’ with the children. Talk to them how this game can be fun but it is often silly as the leader takes us on a path that involves silly things for us to do. In real life, God wants to be the leader and God only leads us to do things that help us and those around us.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Thanks
by Dean Feldmeyer
Psalm 138
You will need:
A copy of Psalm 138 as paraphrased, below. A Bible.
When the children have come forward, say:
Good morning.
Did you know that there’s a song book in the Bible? Yes, it’s called the book of Psalms, which means songs. [Show book of Psalms in the Bible] There are 150 songs in this book. But all we have are the words. We don’t know the music. But we could make up some music for them, couldn’t we?
We don’t have to sing the psalms, though. We can read them. Sometimes we read them in the worship service. Sometimes one person reads them but sometimes we read them together with different people reading different parts.
Today, we’re looking at Psalm number 138. This is called a psalm of thanks. When we read or sing this psalm, we are giving thanks to God. And I thought it would be fun to give thanks to God, together, by reading this psalm together.
Here’s how we’re going to do it:
I’m going to read part of the psalm, and whenever I come to the words “Thank you,” I’m going to point my finger at all of you and you are going to shout, “Thank you, God!” Okay, do you think you can do that? Let’s rehearse it, one time. [Point finger at kids a few times until their shouts of “Thank you, God” are sufficiently loud and enthusiastic. If necessary, get the whole congregation to join in.] [If you are musically inclined, you can sing the leader’s part, making up the melody as you go.]
Leader: [Point finger at kids.]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: Everything in me says [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: The angels in heaven say [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: I kneel in church and I say [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: [point]
Kids: Thank you, God…
Leader: …for your love. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God…
Leader: …for your faithfulness. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God…
Leader: …for making my life strong and good. You are good, Lord, and your name is Holy. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: When I needed you, I called out to you and you came to my rescue. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: When the people of the world hear what you have done for all of us, they will say… [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: For all the things you have done and will do, O God, we say [point]
Kids: Thank you, God! [point] Thank you, God! [point]Thank you, God.
When you do something nice for someone and they say “Thank you,” how does that make you feel? Good? Yes, it does, doesn’t it? Well, you know, the Bible says that when we say “Thank you,” to God it makes God feel good and, it also makes us feel good.
So, let’s try to remember to say thank you to God. Okay? Okay!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 6, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Walking The Line by Chris Keating — Samuel warns that a king will not necessarily be a leader, but Israel yearns to be like all the other nations.
- Second Thoughts: Searching for Family by Chris Keating — Jesus ignores his family’s request to see him, and reminds us that the family of God is broader than we imagine.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen, Mary Austin, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Thanks by Dean Feldmeyer.
Walking The Lineby Chris Keating
1 Samuel 8:4-11
Leadership, wrote Ronald Heifetz, is the work of motivating people to take responsibility for change and problems at a rate they can endure. Adaptive leadership stimulates change based on values and progress toward a goal. It seldom as simple as giving people what they want.
In other words, leadership is more like Johnny Cash (“l Walk the Line,”) and less like The Spice Girls (“I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.”)
But encouraging adaptive change is risky, and it generally does not produce political victory. There are plenty of contemporary examples of this, including the ongoing struggles in the Middle East. When President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Hamas had negotiated a cease-fire after days of deadly attacks, he toed the line, waiting until it seemed as though Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on board. Biden was straddling the line between liberal leaning Democrats who champion justice for Palestine and Republicans, including evangelical Christians, who support Israel. Searching for political support for his domestic agenda, Biden walked the line, and even searched for divine intervention. “May God bless you all,” he said. “I pray this continues.”
Long term peace between Israel and Palestine requires prayer and a steady commitment to embracing adaptive change. Whether that happens is a matter of debate.
Debates over leadership are at the heart of this week’s reading from 1 Samuel. Old Samuel would have understood the chasm between quick fixes and long-term solutions. He hears the crowds yelling, “I’ll tell you what we want, what we really, really, want.” They want a king so they can be like all the other really cool countries.
Samuel winces. Being cool is not the same as walking the line of faithfulness. But then God intervenes, setting the stage for the next stage of Israel’s life. As the “Spice Girls” finish their last song, the man in black gets ready to sing.
In the News
Last month’s violence between Israel and the militant Palestinian organization Hamas is rooted in thousands of years of conflict. But the most recent hostilities can be traced to an Israeli police raid of a mosque in Jerusalem in April. The event is symbolic of the entrenched positions on both sides.
On the evening of April 13, the first night of Ramadan, Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s Aqsa Mosque. It was also Israeli Memorial Day, and the president of Israel was scheduled to deliver a speech at the Western Wall, which sits directly below the mosque. According to the New York Times, Israeli officials ordered the raid because they were afraid that prayers from the mosque would drown out the president’s speech honoring Israel’s war dead.
“This was the turning point,” said Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the grand mufti of Jerusalem. “Their actions would cause the situation to deteriorate.”
Hostilities led to the 11 day war between Israel and Hamas. There were at least 240 casualties before a cease-fire was reached. The majority of the deaths occurred in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Hospitals in the crowded territory and other critical infrastructure were decimated by Israel’s response to Hamas’ missile attacks. Israel, as well as the United States, considers Hamas a terrorist group.
While Israel holds that it acted in response to Hamas’ bombings, there have been questions raised about whether its response to the militant group was disproportionate and a violation of international law. A Washington, DC human rights activist holds that the premise behind Israel’s response is morally bankrupt.
“Israelis often refer to this callously as ‘mowing the lawn,’ periodic maintenance it has to do by bombing one of the world’s most densely populated spots, which it also holds under a blockade,” said Yousef Munayyer. “There is no morality in a war whose repetition is preplanned.”
The ancient conflict has become a wedge issue in world politics. Progressive Democrats are growing impatient with the US government’s unquestioned advocacy for Israel, while a majority of evangelicals favor Israel. A recent survey shows that while evangelic support for Israel remains strong, support among younger evangelicals is shrinking.
It’s another indicator of the intractable nature of conflict, as well as a sign that traditional diplomatic solutions will not work.
Fareed Zakaria cuts straight to the chase. Israel’s status as the only superpower in the Middle East leaves it few reasons to compromise. “Israel doesn’t have any practical reasons to make a deal with the Palestinians,” Zakaria wrote last week. “It doesn’t fear for its security…(and) economic boycotts of any significance will not happen.”
Zakaria says that what’s left is the moral solution. “Israel — a powerful, rich and secure nation — is ruling over nearly 5 million people without giving them political rights. This is an almost unique situation in a post-colonial world.”
Systems thinker David Peter Stroh offers a similar view. Stroh offers a careful analysis based on his experience living in Israel and his training in systems learning. Instead of trying to change the other side, Stroh argues that both sides need to engage in the adaptive processes of initiating change from within. He argues that would shift the debate from questions of “Who is to blame?” to “Where is the leverage in the dynamic between the two sides?”
“Each party has a role in creating and perpetuating the conflict and each must take responsibility for doing what it can to resolve it,” he concludes.
Walking the line is hard. Quick fixes are always more appealing. As Samuel tells the elders of Israel, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you…and in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves.”
In the Scripture
Thousands of years before Brene Brown started about the need for leaders to become vulnerable, Samuel was called into a meeting with the elders of Israel who hand him a list of his perceived failures. More than a few pastors have experienced similar meetings. “You’re too old,” the elders tell him (8:5). “Your kids are a mess and don’t do what you tell them.” This is not an impromptu meeting. The elders have been talking, scheming, conspiring. They’ve looked across the border and have determined that the grass is indeed greener in other nations.
There is no hemming or hawing. “Give us a king so that we can be like other nations.” Versions of this logic continue to appear in church personnel committees today. “Other churches have (insert name of program here); we want to be like other churches.”
For Israel, however, the issue is deeper than leadership styles. Israel has always been set apart, unique among the nations. It was Yahweh who called them out of Egypt, who guided them across the wilderness, and who had nurtured them. Israel was not led by a king, but by God. Their request to be like other nations is anathema to Samuel.
There’s a bit of irony folded into the story at this point. Samuel, once the wonderkid of Israel, emerged from the shadowy legacies of his mentor Eli, whose own sons were denounced as scandal-plagued scoundrels (1 Samuel 2). In due time Samuel’s sons Joel and Abijah have become as corrupt as a pair of Chicago judges.
Displeased with the demand for a king, Samuel prays to God. The Lord’s response, scholars note, is slightly surprising. Yahweh points out that impulse for a monarchy is deeper than a political crisis. The people are not rejecting Samuel, they are rejecting God. Forsaking God has become a pattern for Israel, with Israel determined to have its own way no matter what the potential costs.
Yet what is surprising is the way this narrative holds the issues of monarchy in tension. While it is a rejection of God, it nonetheless becomes a vehicle for God. As the extended verses in the appointed pericope point out (11:14-15), this story is a prelude to the anointing of Saul, and of course, the coming of David.
God agrees to the monarchy, but not before ordering Samuel to spell out the fine print. You want to be like other nations? Fine, but buckle up. It’s going to be a rough ride.
From a theological perspective, it seems as though God becomes the one who engages in the work of adaptive change. Exhausted by Israel’s wanton whining, God yields to their request. Israel shall become like other nations. God will not abandon Israel, but neither will God be an authoritarian dictator.
In the Sermon
This week, play a bit of Johnny Cash as you muse over Samuel’s interactions with the elders. Allow Cash’s distinctively calm and centered voice to meld with your reflections on the text. Begin to wonder what it might have felt like for Samuel to “walk the line” with the people of Israel as they yearn to be like other nations. Begin to imagine what it means to see their demands as an adaptive challenge.
“Leadership would be a safe undertaking if your organizations and communities only faced problems for which they already knew the solutions,” wrote Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky in Leadership on the Line (Harvard Business School Press, 2002). They frame these sorts of challenges as adaptive challenges. These challenges require more than a technical knowledge of how to approach change. Instead, they require new ways of learning, being, and relating.
Global problems — peace in the middle east, climate change, racism, the pandemic, or even the National League’s hopes to win the All Star Game — represent a complexity of interconnected, interrelated adaptive challenges (well, except for baseball!). It’s useless and futile to believe that old strategies for achieving lasting peace between Israel and Palestine will be successful.
The challenge for a preacher is finding a way to raise the theological implications of trusting God instead of yearning to be like other nations. An even deeper challenge is being careful not to use 2 Samuel as an indicator of God’s hopes for Israel or for Palestine. These issues divide synagogue and churches alike. The text does not presume the modern situation; however, the text does call upon God’s people to the adaptive challenge of trusting in the ways of God, which are distinctly different than the ways of political leaders.
Israel is bent on finding a king. God calls Saul, a good looking leader with much potential. He does indeed resemble the great kings of the nations — but ultimately he also fails the adaptive challenge. Leadership is never easy, and it takes a lot of effort to walk the line.
SECOND THOUGHTSSearching For Family
by Chris Keating
Mark 3:20-35
Locked down and socially distanced for more than a year, American families are ready to hit the road this summer. Last week, the coronavirus infection rate fell by 20% nationally for the fifth straight week. While health experts urge caution, millions of Americans celebrated Memorial Day by dropping the masks and meeting with family.
Nationwide, about six million people passed through airports, with the largest airports reporting the highest daily passenger numbers for 2021. Overall, travel over 50 miles from home is predicted to be up more than 60 percent from 2020.
We yearn to reunite with family. Of course, after a year of no haircuts or DIY hair coloring, some family members may barely resemble their pre-pandemic selves. Our reunions may begin by paraphrasing Jesus’ words from Mark: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
The dangers of coronavirus have not yet fully passed, but the pull to be with loved ones is stronger than ever. Travel industry research reports indicates that as many as 75 percent of respondents are planning to travel to see family this year.
As Mark recounts the story of Jesus, it appears that Jesus’ family members longed to find him. They were not interested in sharing potato salad and barbecue, of course. They were not interested in trading stories about times gone by but were instead afraid for his well-being. Mary and his brothers are concerned that Jesus is losing his mind.
Those sentiments may resonate within us, making Jesus’ rebuke of his family sound harsh. His words rub against the grain of family bonds and affection. Preaching about Jesus refusing to see his mother and siblings may create mixed emotions within us, especially given this Sunday’s proximity to the American celebrations of Mother’s and Father’s Days.
But the Gospel of Mark is not a story about rekindling fond memories of Jesus’ familial bonds. Mark pays sparse attention to Jesus’ background (see “The Gospel of Mark,” by Donald Juel, 1999). The supernatural aspects of the incarnation and birth are missing, replaced in Mark with what Donald Juel calls an emphasis on Jesus’ ordinariness.
It is precisely this ordinariness that causes him trouble, and results in his family’s concern for his mental status. They have heard he is out of his mind, that he’s been accused of being Beezebul (“Lord of the flies”), or that he’s possessed. Perhaps they just want to stage an intervention and bring him back to Nazareth.
Jesus, however, sees things differently. For him this is a time to cut the apron strings. He is intent on remaining focused on doing the work of proclaiming the kingdom, and in this case that includes a radical reorientation of the meaning of family. Doing the will of God is what ultimately matters.
His family now includes those who are dedicated to seeing the power of God at work in the world. This power reverses the status of the marginalized and brings healing to those held captive by the powers of evil. It is grace to those who have been abandoned by their families: the unclean, the lepers, tax collectors and others. The only reunion Jesus is headed to is the banquet table of the reign of God where all shall feast, and where family relationships have been sorted out in new ways.
These are the siblings of Jesus — the ones who are doing the work of God. The implication is that these are the ones disciples should name as family, especially in a moment when the understanding of family is undergoing change.
Who is our family, our siblings in this new phase of the pandemic? The church where I serve is experiencing increased interest in both our online and in person ministries and worship. In this summer of reuniting, we are finding that the families we are connecting with are broader and more diverse than they were in 2020.
They include an older couple who had just relocated to our area before the pandemic and who are just now getting the opportunity to meet new friends. Our community includes a teenager wrestling with gender identity while adopting new pronouns, and a young mother from another part of the state who was visiting our area when labor started months too soon. She’s living near the hospital where her baby is growing, and has decided we’ll be her surrogate family for now. We promise to try.
Other members of the family share their struggles in private: a woman grieving her brother’s suicide; a young mother’s recent MS diagnosis; a husband with early signs of dementia, and a young man with autism who is feverishly trying to keep up with the ever-changing pandemic protocols. And so on, and so on.
We sometimes call ourselves the closet of broken toys, but I think Jesus would say, “You’re family.”
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Psalm 138
Giving Thanks
“I give thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart,” the psalmist announces. Brother David-Steindl-Rast has devoted his life to the practice of gratitude, and he says there’s a simple process for us to follow to give thanks. It starts with, as he says, “listening and really looking and beholding — that comes in when people ask, “Well, how shall we practice this gratefulness?” And there is a very simple kind of methodology to it: Stop, look, go. Most of us — caught up in schedules and deadlines and rushing around, and so the first thing is that we have to stop, because otherwise we are not really coming into this present moment at all, and we can’t even appreciate the opportunity that is given to us, because we rush by, and it rushes by. So stopping is the first thing. But that doesn’t have to be long. When you are in practice, a split second is enough — “stop.” And then you look: What is, now, the opportunity of this given moment, only this moment, and the unique opportunity this moment gives? And that is where this beholding comes in. And if we really see what the opportunity is, we must, of course, not stop there, but we must do something with it: Go. Avail yourself of that opportunity.”
If we do that, he says, “And if you do that, if you try practicing that at this moment, tonight, we will already be happier people, because it has an immediate feedback of joy.”
Giving thanks with our whole hearts, he says, doesn’t mean being grateful for everything. “You can’t be grateful for war in a given situation, or violence or domestic violence or sickness, things like that. There are many things for which you cannot be grateful. But in every moment, you can be grateful. For instance, the opportunity to learn something from a very difficult experience — what to grow by it, or even to protest, to stand up and take a stand — that is a wonderful gift in a situation in which things are not the way they ought to be. So opportunity is really the key when people ask, “Can you be grateful for everything?” — no, not for everything, but in every moment.”
If we stop, look and go, we’re on the way to giving thanks with our whole hearts.
* * *
Psalm 138
Giving Thanks in Certain Places
Particular places remind us to give thanks to God, as the psalmist urges us to do. “I bow down toward your holy temple,” the psalmist says, locating his gratitude there, and he adds, “and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.” For us, other places stir up our sense of thanksgiving.
Colette Lafia observes that at the end of the day, she and her husband often remark how happy they are to be home. She adds, “As a school librarian, I can see that the library is a special place for many of our students — it’s a refuge, a place of free choice, and a space for curiosity and exploration. Just the other day, I found a drawing that some fifth-grade girls had made for me at the end of last year. It was an 8½ by 14 picture of the library, with shelves filled with books and the words, “I love the library,” and “Thank you, Ms. Lafia!” written down the middle.” She asks, “Have you ever noticed how your favorite bakery, neighborhood park familiar church, or your own living room, can bring you profound gratitude that you feel in your body?”
“Place connects us to gratitude, and gratitude connects us to place. And this gratitude also finds its place in our bodies. As we find gratitude in a sense of place like a retreat center, our home, a park, a library or bookstore, we also find gratitude in a sense of place within our hearts and bodies. Our bodies are speaking to us all the time — and if we pay attention, we hear the gratitude they hold. The expression, “I feel it in my bones,” isn’t a metaphor. Our bodies feel and express gratitude through our tears, laughter, trembling, surprise, relaxation, tenderness, amazement, comfort, love, and more.”
The psalmist extends his gratitude in the direction of the temple, and we may find our own places of thanksgiving at home, or even within our own skin.
* * *
Genesis 3:8-15
Tricked
In a classic line, quoted by husbands everywhere, Adam complains to God that Eve has tricked him into something he didn’t really want to do. "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree,” he says, explaining how none of this was his idea. After a sudden heart attack, Kin Barker had a parallel experience, although his worked out much better.
After a heart attack led to major surgery while on a vacation, he took time off work. Too tired to travel for work, or to work on their ranch, he says that “climbing into and out of bed hurt like crazy; I slept on the couch because I could roll off it easily. My days were even worse. You couldn’t ask me to lift anything. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so weak. I was miserable. [My wife] Stephanie stayed around the house for the first few days after we got home, but eventually one morning, she said, “Hon, they want me back at work now. Try to get in some steps today.” She kissed me and was out the door. Maybe I’ll make it past the fridge today, I thought.”
A few minutes later, Stephanie came rushing back in, holding a tiny puppy, explaining that she found it in the mailbox. “The puppy was all scraggly, with big, goofy feet and pleading eyes. What on earth was Steph thinking? Wasn’t I enough of a burden? Did we really need a puppy too?” His first reaction was not enthusiastic. “I was already in a bad mood. I couldn’t take care of myself, and now I had to babysit this flea-bitten puppy all day? “We’ve got to find a place to take him,” I complained as Steph rushed out the door. “He’s going to the pound tomorrow.” I leaned back in my recliner and wagged my finger at him. “Don’t you give me any trouble today, you hear?” He cocked his head the way puppies do, broke into a grin and waddled over to me. I’m not going to get all soft and gushy over this pup, no matter how cute he is!”
“I didn’t take the pup to the pound the next day. Instead, we walked. This time, toward the mailbox. But I had to turn back. “Next time, we’ll get there,” I gasped. It was a promise…Before long, I was walking to the mailbox with Cheyenne every day. Pretty soon, I was strong enough to work the ranch again. Cheyenne enjoyed running with the horses. We had both gotten strong.”
The puppy became a pathway back to health, and a loving companion. In this case, the trick worked.
* * *
Mark 3:20-35
House Divided
The phrase “a house divided against itself cannot stand” has wiggled its way into countless political speeches, including one by Abraham Lincoln, and into the popular imagination. Author Isabel Wilkerson, who writes about race in America sees our nation as a house still divided by our different experiences of race. She understands the Great Migration of Black Americans from South to North in the 1940’s and 50’s as “a kind of immigration…this was the only group of Americans who had to act like immigrants in order to be recognized as citizens. They were forced to seek political asylum within the borders of their own country because they were living in a caste system in the South that did not recognize their citizenship. And some of them travelled farther than current day immigrants might, but that was really not the point. The point was that the country actually was kind of two countries in one, and that’s what they had to do…The Great Migration is not about migration, and really, probably no migration is about migration. It’s about freedom and how far people are willing to go to achieve it. This is the means that they feel they must take in order to find freedom wherever they can find it.”
In Northern cities, people “arrived making the least for the hardest work. They arrived consigned to neighborhoods that were declining, but had been declining from the moment they arrived. I mean, I’m talking about the beginning of the Migration, that the subdivisions, the subdivided cold water flats that they were living in, the originating part of where these people were living upon arrival…African Americans were not permitted in any of these cities to live anywhere that they wanted or anywhere that their money would take them. All of us who have been to any city in the North know exactly where the arriving district or arriving neighborhood of people of the Great Migration would be because that’s where — it’s the oldest, broken-down neighborhood in all of these cities, usually not well-positioned, by the railroad tracks or near the factories.”
Wilkerson says, “our country is like a really old house. I love old houses. I’ve always lived in old houses. But old houses need a lot of work. And the work is never done. And just when you think you’ve finished one renovation, it’s time to do something else…And that’s what our country is like. And you may not want to go into that basement, but if you really don’t go into that basement, it’s at your own peril.”
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1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
Bad King / Good King
When the people of Israel ask for a king, through Samuel, God sounds both disappointed and resigned. God warns the people that the kings will take their children and their goods, will use the land for their own gain and will turn the people into servants of the king. Still, the people want to have a king.
Jim Hunter, who writes about servant leadership, says that there are leaders who don’t exploit people for their own gain. Hunter says, “Being a servant leader is not about doing what people want. It’s about doing what people need, and there is a huge difference. It’s not about being a slave, it’s about being a servant. What my children want sometimes is not exactly what they need. What my employees want may not be necessarily what they need. So what servant leaders are about [is] the business of identifying and meeting people’s legitimate needs, seeking their greatest good so that they can grow. So the test of servant leadership is, do people leave you better than they found you? Do you leave things better than you found them?”
Hunter cites Herb Kelleher, formerly of Southwest Airlines, as this kind of leader — the opposite of Israel’s future kings. When he retired, a reporter asked Kelleher, “Which leaders were responsible for your phenomenal success” Kelleher told the reporter, “We’re all leaders at Southwest. We just have different responsibilities, that’s all…as I’m thinking here, those guys changing the tires on the tarmac out there are really important leaders in my company…my most important leaders at Southwest are my flight attendants. They’re influencing thousands of my customers every day, people that I’m never going to talk to.”
Hunter says that leadership is both simple and complex. He tells people, “Everything you need to know about leadership you already know. It all boils down to one simple rule: treat people the way you’d want to be treated. Be the boss you wish your boss would be.” You know that person you want your boss to be? Same person your people want you to be. Be the father you wish your father had been more fully for you. Be the mother you wish your mother had been more fully for you…So if you’re going to be a servant leader, yes, you’ve got to make a little list. What do people need? And I tell people, “If you ever get stuck on your list, just ask yourself a simple question: What do I need? That’ll get you going again. Respect, appreciation, relationship, listening, accountability, rules of the house, clarity — basic things that people need. What do you need from your leader? Then go be that person.”
Perhaps with a change of vision, Israel could have had much better kings.
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From team member Tom Willadsen:1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
We want a king!
The Israelites’ desire for a king, just like other nations, is a lot like the old vaudeville joke, “I needed a haircut in the worst way…so I went to a rotten barber.” If they had considered how their neighbors were governed, they might have been content with what they had.
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1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
When someone is determined…
The Israelites are determined to have a king, even when Eli lays before them what the king will do
- Conscript their sons into the army (8:11);
- Command the army (8:12);
- Plow their soil, reap their crops (8:12);
- Force them to make weapons (8:12);
- Make their daughters kitchen workers and perfumers (8:13);
- Take the best parts of the harvest (8:14);
- Take a tenth of their grain harvest (8:15);
- Commandeer their slaves and donkeys, forcing them to work for him (8:16);
- Take a tenth of their livestock and slaves (8:17); and
- When they get fed up with all of this, God will not respond.
It’s almost like the Israelites are in love with the idea of having a king. With stars in their eyes, they cannot imagine anything better. They were warned!
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1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)
The Voice of the People, Vox Populi
When Presbyterians elect leaders we believe that it is the voice of God the Holy Spirit speaking through the people. Presbyterians have three ordered offices: Deacons, Elders and Ministers. People are elected to each office by the body they will serve. For Presbyterians it is almost as if the words of God come out of the mouths of the people. Perhaps a more elegant way to put that is that God’s will is revealed through the voice of the People. This is very similar to the final words that God speaks to Eli on the matter: “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.”
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Mark 3:20-35
Did Jesus have brothers (and sisters)?
Aeiparthenos (Greek ἀειπάρθενος "ever-virgin"), that is that Mary, the mother of Jesus remained a virgin even after giving birth to Jesus. Today’s reading from Mark’s gospel is one that plainly contradicts that idea. There is frankly nothing in scripture that addresses whether Mary remained a virgin. Some argue that Jesus’ sibling mentioned in Mark 3 are Joseph’s children from a prior marriage — which is also never mentioned in scripture, in fact Joseph the Father of Jesus is never mentioned in Mark’s gospel. Others contend that αδελφοι, the Greek term rendered as “brothers and sisters” in the NRSV, could be construed to mean another kind of relative, perhaps a cousin. Again, there is nothing that suggests such a reading. While αδελφοι can be used to mean something along the lines of a spiritual brother, it cannot be rendered as “cousin.”
This and other texts mention Jesus’ siblings without and qualification. He was certainly the oldest of Mary’s children. And everyone knows the difficulty of that birth position (says the younger brother).
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From team member Katy Stenta:God leaves the kitchen light on
There is a tradition in some families of always leaving the kitchen light on. Despite the ideas of saving energy and whatnot, this can be a symbol that you can always come home. The relief that no matter what you are going through you can always come home. Our God is one where God always leaves the light on. You can always come home. No matter what, God will welcome you.
I went to college and my second week of school 9/11 (2001) took place. I’ll never forget wandering campus, trying to figure out how to help. I understood why some people wanted to blow things up because it is so hard to feel helpless. However, my friends and I just wanted to do something. And we all felt alone. One of my close friends from college had spent a week laid up with a broken finger, and hadn’t met anyone yet, including me. My heart breaks when he tells me he sat in the dorm lobby, for over 24 hours, just watching the towers explode and the reports about it, over and over again.
A couple of days later he met two of my new friends and we invited him to sit with us at lunch. Our motto as of 9/11 had become “there is always room for one more.” We would first turn our trays sideways to make room, and then take the food off of the trays, or eventually stick all of our food in our laps and back our trays a ways so there was always room for one more. I understand how God says that some of us will react to change and crisis and tragedy by wanting to fight. But I know God is leaving the light on for us, expanding the table, opening the circle and telling us “there is always room for one more” in the house of God.
* * *
The work of grieving
Jesus wept. Jerusalem, O Jerusalem how I’d love to shelter you under my wings. God take this cup away. Evidence is that Jesus did the hard work of grieving. Jesus gives space to grieve. When Jesus dies, he does not return immediately as if it was all a cosmic joke. Instead, Jesus gives everyone time to mourn. When Jesus asks Mary, “Why are you crying?” I hear it as a moment where Jesus sits with Mary in her grief, before commanding her to rejoice. He listens to why she is sad. “Why are you crying.” The evidence is our God is a God of grief. God grieved when we asked for a king. God grieves when we divide the house. I would not want a God who is never sad. Instead, we are created to grieve. Our bodies are connected to our grief. Why are we crying? Because we are made that way.
* * *
Do justice
Often times we call for justice. In human terms justice means everyone gets what is due to them. Whether that is reward or punishment. We think of justice as quid pro quo, in terms of transactions. “Give us a King God and we will behave.” Or, “All we want is our fair share of land, and then we will stop fighting.” We humans conceive justice as a thing we receive in return for our actions. God’s justice is transformative. The rains fall on the just and unjust, the cup will overflow, the latecomers will receive the same feast as the early birds. God’s justice is about every single person having enough. There will be justice because no one will be greedy, because everyone will have enough. There will be justice, because no one will be impoverished, because everyone will have enough. Maybe instead of worrying about kings or who is right, we should instead be doing the justice of making sure everyone has enough.
* * *
Blessings and Peace
Abuna Elias Chacour served as ArchBishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in many places including Nazareth and Galilee. He worked tirelessly for peace, reasoning that when he was a child Palestinian Jews, Christians, Muslims and the smaller religious sects lived together in peace — and that they could do it again. He centered this on the texts of the Beatitudes, where Jesus indicates how to be Christian through blessings. One of his accomplishments was to build a school for all children, for he reasoned that the way to build peace would be for children to experience it. In Israel power is controlled by building permits. They ended up building the school without a permit, and ran into problem after problem trying to make it legal. So Elias Chacour reasoned the fastest way to get a permit in Jerusalem, was to go to Washington DC and advocate there.
So he knocked on the door of US Secretary of State James Baker, who was famous for being accessible. When Baker’s wife Susan Baker opened the door she indicated they were busy with a Bible study. Chacour introduced himself as “Another man of Galiliee” and then asked what text they were studying? It turned out to be the Beatitudes. He then said, “Ah that is my favorite text, it is what I have centered my life on, have you heard it translated directly from Jesus and I’s own language of Aramaic.” She had not, he then explained that “blessed” in Aramaic means both a gift and a duty to continue the work. He became prayer partners with both of the Bakers, who ended up supporting his schools and his mission for peace. He has established schools of the Mar Elias Educational Institutes, which serve over 2,000 students.
* * *
Freedom From, Freedom To
When we are freed of God we are freed from sin to follow God. It is a strange kind of freedom. Madeline L’engle describes it as poetry in The Wrinkle in Time: “In your language you have a form of poetry called a sonnet...It is a very strict form of poetry, is it not?
“...There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That's a very strict rhythm or meter, yes?...And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet, is it?'
'No.'
'But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants, doesn't he?'
'Yes.' Calvin nodded again.
'So,' said Mrs. Whatsit.
'So what?'
'Oh, do not be stupid, boy!' Mrs. Whatsit scolded. 'You know perfectly well what I am driving at!'
'You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but with freedom within it?'
'Yes,' Mrs. Whatsit said. 'You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.'
― Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Let us give thanks to God with our whole heart.
All: Before all creation we will sing God’s praises.
One: Even in the midst of trouble, God preserves us.
All: God stretches out the right hand of deliverance.
One: God will never forsake us but will fulfill the divine purpose.
All: God’s steadfast love endures forever.
OR
One: God calls us to life abundant and joyful.
All: We long to enter into the life God offers us.
One: God is the one who desires good for us.
All: We long to find good in the troubles of this life.
One: God longs to lead us and our neighbors into joy.
All: We will listen to God’s voice and call others to join us.
Hymns and Songs
Lead On, O King Eternal
UMH: 580
H82:
PH: 447/448
AAHH: 477
NNBH: 415
NCH: 573
CH: 632
LBW: 495
ELW: 805
W&P: 508
AMEC: 177
Renew: 298
O Worship the King
UMH: 73
H82: 388
PH: 476
NNBH: 6
NCH: 26
CH: 17
LBW: 548
ELW: 842
W&P: 2
AMEC: 12
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
This Is a Day of New Beginnings
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELW: 502
Renew: 106
Ye Servants of God
UMH: 181
H82: 535
PH: 477
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
Jesus Calls Us
UMH: 398
H82: 549/550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171/173
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELW: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/60
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Open My Eyes, That I May See
UMH: 454
PH: 324
NNBH: 218
CH: 586
W&P: 480
AMEC: 285
Trust and Obey
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
I Come with Joy
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELW: 482
W&P: 706
Renew: 195
All Hail King Jesus
CCB 29
Renew 35
Our God Reigns
CCB 33
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who seeks to lead your creation to its fulfillment:
Grant us the wisdom to turn to you as our leader
so that we do not wander into error and sin;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are always calling us to follow you to the fulfillment of all creation. You are our only true guide who seeks our good. Help us to trust in you and to follow you always. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to seek God’s leadership.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You call us to follow you into a life that is abundant and eternal but we insist on going our own way which leads to death and destruction. We claim we are disciples and followers of Jesus but we abandon his teachings for our own. Forgive us for our wrong thinking and give us hearts that desire to follow the good so that we may truly be your children and part of your holy family. Amen.
One: God loves us and always welcomes us back into the flock that we so often desert. Receive God’s loving embrace and share it with those you encounter this week.
Prayers of the People
We praise and adore you, O God, because you are the one who leads us to eternal life. You are the one who never leaves us nor forsakes us.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You call us to follow you into a life that is abundant and eternal but we insist on going our own way which leads to death and destruction. We claim we are disciples and followers of Jesus but we abandon his teachings for our own. Forgive us for our wrong thinking and give us hearts that desire to follow the good so that we may truly be your children and part of your holy family.
We thank you for all the ways in which you call us to new life. We thank you for your faithfulness that never fails. We thank you for those you have given us to remind us of your loving care that seeks only our own good.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have forgotten the way to life that is abundant and joyful. We pray for those who struggle to find their way in the midst of so many voices calling for their attention. We pray for those who find themselves beset by so many offering pain and suffering that they find it difficult to hear the voice of God.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Play a game of ‘follow the leader’ with the children. Talk to them how this game can be fun but it is often silly as the leader takes us on a path that involves silly things for us to do. In real life, God wants to be the leader and God only leads us to do things that help us and those around us.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONThanks
by Dean Feldmeyer
Psalm 138
You will need:
A copy of Psalm 138 as paraphrased, below. A Bible.
When the children have come forward, say:
Good morning.
Did you know that there’s a song book in the Bible? Yes, it’s called the book of Psalms, which means songs. [Show book of Psalms in the Bible] There are 150 songs in this book. But all we have are the words. We don’t know the music. But we could make up some music for them, couldn’t we?
We don’t have to sing the psalms, though. We can read them. Sometimes we read them in the worship service. Sometimes one person reads them but sometimes we read them together with different people reading different parts.
Today, we’re looking at Psalm number 138. This is called a psalm of thanks. When we read or sing this psalm, we are giving thanks to God. And I thought it would be fun to give thanks to God, together, by reading this psalm together.
Here’s how we’re going to do it:
I’m going to read part of the psalm, and whenever I come to the words “Thank you,” I’m going to point my finger at all of you and you are going to shout, “Thank you, God!” Okay, do you think you can do that? Let’s rehearse it, one time. [Point finger at kids a few times until their shouts of “Thank you, God” are sufficiently loud and enthusiastic. If necessary, get the whole congregation to join in.] [If you are musically inclined, you can sing the leader’s part, making up the melody as you go.]
Leader: [Point finger at kids.]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: Everything in me says [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: The angels in heaven say [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: I kneel in church and I say [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: [point]
Kids: Thank you, God…
Leader: …for your love. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God…
Leader: …for your faithfulness. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God…
Leader: …for making my life strong and good. You are good, Lord, and your name is Holy. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: When I needed you, I called out to you and you came to my rescue. [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: When the people of the world hear what you have done for all of us, they will say… [point]
Kids: Thank you, God!
Leader: For all the things you have done and will do, O God, we say [point]
Kids: Thank you, God! [point] Thank you, God! [point]Thank you, God.
When you do something nice for someone and they say “Thank you,” how does that make you feel? Good? Yes, it does, doesn’t it? Well, you know, the Bible says that when we say “Thank you,” to God it makes God feel good and, it also makes us feel good.
So, let’s try to remember to say thank you to God. Okay? Okay!
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The Immediate Word, June 6, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
