The Authentic Me
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For September 3, 2023:
The Authentic Me
by Dean Feldmeyer
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
Our son, Benny, had chronic earaches when he was little. Nearly every night, for a month, until we finally figured out what was causing them, we would put him to bed and, within an hour, he would be running a high fever, throwing up, and screaming in pain. His little sister, Sarah, distressed by his suffering, would be crying along with him.
When we finally got him to sleep, we were so wrung out we could hardly sleep, ourselves. During the day, we looked toward his bedtime with dread. Watching your child suffer and not being able to do anything about it is one of the worst things a person can experience.
I've never been so stressed.
I was pouring this all out to my mother, one day, when she patted my hand. “I know this is hard for you but I’m sure you and your doctor will get it figured out. And, believe it or not, someday you’ll look back at all this and remember it as the best years of our life.” Yeah, right, I thought. Easy for you to say.
Turns out, she was right.
In the Culture/News
The problem, we eventually discovered, was an extreme allergy to the detergent we were using to wash his bed linen. We changed to a different detergent and, poof, the problem went away.
And, it turns out, Mom was right. Now, at 72 years of age, with my kids in their 40’s, I can look back and say that, truly, I have never lived as fully or authentically as I did when I was living for my kids. When you have kids, everything else comes in second. They are what matters. At least that’s how it was for Jean and me.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s fun being empty-nester retirees with lots of freedom of none of the responsibilities of parenthood. But it was more fun when we had those responsibilities. Life was, somehow, more real. More, well, authentic.
It is in self-sacrifice that we find the real meaning and depth of human living. It is when we forget about ourselves so we can live for others that we reach the highest point of our lives.
Unfortunately, that is a lesson that often seems to be lost in contemporary America.
We are living in a time when, to quote Gordon Gekko, “Greed is good.” Our American value system seems to be constantly tipping toward self, self-fulfillment, self-interest, self-esteem, self-promotion, self-love, self-help, self-determination. The value of change is measured not in how it will affect the community, the country, the world, but how it will affect me.
Thousands of immigrants are fleeing grinding poverty and the tyranny of criminal gangs and corrupt governments, knocking desperately at the door of our country, pleading for safety, protection, and help but few are those among us who are reaching out to them with the love and charity that scripture requires of us.
Instead of asking, “How can I help?” we more often ask, how will this affect me, how will this affect my property values, how will this affect my job, my income, my standard of living?
No reasonable soul can deny the reality of global climate change, much of which can trace its cause to human behavior.
We are choking on the smoke from 2,467 active, Canadian wildfires, which, according to a report by The Guardian, have been the largest and most devastating on record, with nearly 14 million hectares (34 million acres) burned, an area larger than the country of Greece. The fires caused more than a dozen fatalities and thousands of evacuations, and sent a plume of smoke that unfurled as far as Norway and turned the sky above New York City orange.
At this writing, over 115 people have died in the Maui, Hawaii, fire and a thousand are still missing.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last two decades. Wildfires require the alignment of a number of factors, including temperature, humidity, and the lack of moisture in fuels, such as trees, shrubs, grasses, and forest debris. All these factors have strong direct or indirect ties to climate variability and climate change.” All this has contributed to the 87 large wildfires currently burning in the United States, covering just over half a million acres as of August 22, 2023.
Heavy rains across parts of the United States flooded an Ohio highway where people were rescued from their cars, covered the Las Vegas Strip with water and closed a busy airport terminal outside Detroit. Parts of the western United States have been deluged in recent weeks with rain from Tropical Storm Hilary, the first hurricane to hit the western coast of the United States in more than 30 years, and much of the central US was beaten down by deadly sweltering heat.
Meanwhile, candidates for president stand on stage and insist that it’s all a hoax meant to give power to politicians from the other political party. And, while the ocean fills up with micro-plastics that are being found in human blood and breast milk, we whine and complain about the inconvenience it will cause us if we have to give up our single use water bottles and grocery bags. And isn’t having to sort our trash for recycling such a pain?
Environmentalists tell us that much of the problem of plastic pollution could be solved if we were willing to give up all of our single use plastics such as water bottles and grocery bags. And the continuing rise in temperatures that is part of global warming would cease and even be reversed if we just gave up carbon burning fuel and started using electric cars.
But for many of us, these sacrifices, small as they are, are just too great. They’re too inconvenient. Too demanding. Too bothersome. Too expensive.
In the Scripture
In the gospel lesson Jesus reveals to his disciples that his ministry will culminate in self-sacrifice. He will, he says, be going to Jerusalem where he will suffer and die at the hands of the “elders, chief priests, and scribes.” Peter rejects this vision and tries to persuade Jesus to turn from it but Jesus responds that while self-preservation is a human thing, Jesus is about divine stuff and self-sacrifice is a divine thing.
In fact, he points out, the only way to live at the divine level, as authentic followers of Jesus, is through self-sacrifice. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me.” In this context the paradox which follows begins to make sense: “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” We all want to live rich, full, authentic lives, and the key achieving that goal is, quit trying to achieve it. Or, for that matter, trying to achieve anything at all except living like Jesus — in a state of total self-sacrifice.
“Yeah,” we respond. “That all sounds good but what does it look like in the real world where we have to live?”
Paul gives us an idea in Romans 12:9-21. Call it his “14 Ways to Live Like Jesus.”
“Put your own mask on first.”
Every time you fly in a commercial airliner, you hear that admonition in the safety speech made by the flight attendants. If the little plastic masks fall down from above, yank on it to start the flow of oxygen, and put it on your face, like this. If you are traveling with a child or disabled person, put your mask on first, then help them with theirs.
The unspoken message is, of course, that you won’t be of any use or help to anyone if you’re flopping around trying to breathe. So put your mask on first so you’ll be able to help those who need help.
Nowhere in scripture are we told to throw our lives away without thought or discretion. Yes, self-sacrifice is an essential part of living in the gospel but our self-sacrifice will be more effective and helpful and meaningful if we do some basic self-care, some planning and preparation before the need to sacrifice ourselves is before us.
Some years ago, my friend, Larry, was elected to the state legislature as representative from our district and had to start driving to the state capitol about 30 time a year. Because he was a freshman rep, there wasn’t room for him to park in the garage under the capitol building so he received a voucher for a lot nearby.
He and I were having lunch together at a fast-food restaurant one day with some other friends and, when we paid for our lunches, Larry bought about $25 worth of $5 gift cards. Someone in our group asked what those were for and he told us that they were for downtown panhandlers who asked him for money when he walks from his car to the state capitol.
Our friend was astonished. “Are you nuts? Those people are all winos and addicts. They’ll sell those cards for pennies on the dollar and use the money to buy wine and drugs.”
Larry just smiled. “It’s not about who they are. It’s about who I am.”
Our friend smirked. “And what are you, Larry?”
“I’m a kind and generous man.”
As the man walked away, I heard him say, almost under his breath, “You’re an idiot.”
Being kind and generous is the essence of gospel living, but it comes at a price.
SECOND THOUGHTS
A Sacrificial Way of Living
by Elena Delhagen
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
“Intergenerational Injustices”
An article written in the winter of 2020 and posted on www.bushcenter.org (website of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a nonpartisan institution offering insight on issues of the day) is titled, “Our $23 Trillion National Debt: An Inter-generational Injustice.”
Its title stopped me in my tracks, halting the scrolling I’d been doing as I researched the connection between Paul’s words in Romans, coupled with Jesus’ in Matthew, and the theme of sacrifice that seems to be woven throughout both passages. Written before the tragedy of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current inflation period we as a nation now find ourselves in, the article was already illuminating the painful truth we all know: there is a money problem in this country, and it is certainly not getting any better. In fact, as of August 2023, the current national debt is $32.78 trillion. As a mother with two children who hopes to leave them a world better than I first found it, the fiscal irresponsibility of our nation surely does feel like an injustice — even a moral failure, to use terms from the article itself.
Yet it is well within our power to right the course. Were we to act immediately, estimates say we would need to sacrifice only one year of growth in the economy in order to stabilize the debt and collectively create a brighter future for the younger generations and those to come. As the article puts it, “Think about this ask in relation to the many great sacrifices that American citizens have made throughout history.”
Then, of course, there is the issue of student loan debt in this country. A January 2021 fact sheet from the Roosevelt Institute names student loan debt as one of the highest sources of debt for Americans (with mortgages being the highest). Predatory lending practices and exorbitant interest rates shackle millions of Americans, a reality that is known to affect mental and physical health, with higher perceived stress and depression, worse self-reported general health, and higher diastolic blood pressure. Conversely, the Center for American Progress, or CAP, reports that targeted student debt cancellation of at least $10,000 will help millions of Americans better manage their budgets, build wealth, and reduce the racial wealth gap, immediately improving financial security and laying the foundation for faster upward economic mobility.
In Jesus’ words to his disciples found in Matthew 16:21-28, he speaks of a worthy life as one that is marked by “taking up one’s cross,” a sacrificial way of living that comes with denial of self. In his foretelling of his own crucifixion, he models this in an extraordinary way. It’s a completely countercultural way of living — and that’s the point. In our country, we celebrate upward mobility and economic growth, and we reap its benefits. But look at the cost. Instead of self-sacrifice and denying our own desires, we have sacrificed the future generations of America on the altars of greed and excess. We were commanded to hate what is evil and cling to what is good, but instead, we’re willing to turn a blind eye to evil as long as it benefits us in some way and we cling to what we have accumulated in our tightly balled fists.
Perhaps a moment like this calls for a sermon on repentance. Show us, O Lord, how to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Exodus 3:1-15
Where Did That Bush Come From?
On an ordinary day, in his usual landscape, Moses encounters God through a burning bush — something unusual in his landscape.
A group of graduate students set out to create a guide to reading landscapes. Their guide includes a favorite of author Rob Walker: “Looking for ghosts and ruins. The guide explains: Ghost landscapes are clues left behind from the past that show what a previous landscape may have looked like and how it was altered to achieve its present state. They can be as noticeable as the remnants of an abandoned highway (i.e. Route 66 across the American West or stretches of Route 38 in California) or as unnoticeable as varied growth patterns in trees — which can signify recent planting or, if grown in parallel lines, traces of an abandoned road. Ruins are similar: “The faded records of the past still apparent on the landscape.”
Rob Walker adds that we encounter ghost landscapes all the time, guides to what once existed. “An old out-of-service pay phone, for instance, is a ruin. It says something about its own environment and surroundings. The persistence of a ruin can also be instructive. Why hasn’t someone torn that old pay phone down and hauled it away? Because of its historic significance? Or simply as a function of neglect? Nobody is making an effort to direct your attention to the ghosts or ruins in any given landscape. But if you want to understand a place more deeply, these are exactly the things you should look for." (From The Art of Noticing for Writers: From The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker)
What did Moses and his bush leave behind?
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
Giving
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord,” Paul writes to the believers in Rome. He suggests doing all that we do from loving motives, and yet rage giving is fueling non-profit groups these days. When the news inspires or enrages people, they can give instantly to a group working on that issue, and “nonprofit industry experts say, rage giving is an extension of activism — where socially conscious citizens not only take to the streets or the phones but also vote their dollars toward organizations they believe will combat social inequities. Though the term “rage” has negative connotations, there’s a sort of hope bundled within rage giving.”
In fact, an app based on Twitter, “Trigger, enables “retaliatory giving” and helps online denizens clap back at political opponents or “triggering” news by tweeting their disagreement and identifying what cause they’re supporting in response, all of it accompanied by the #TriggerGive hashtag. Any US-registered nonprofit with a Twitter account can receive funds via Trigger.”
Hate what is evil, Paul counsels — and the dollars will follow.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
Sacrifice
Both the Romans text and the Matthew story hinge on the idea of sacrificing ourselves to God’s purposes. Esau McCaulley learned from his daughter that he was making the wrong sacrifices.
He notes, “Climbing the economic ladder requires long days to make the grades to get into college and perhaps graduate school. Then come extended hours to get ahead in our careers. Unlike our parents, many of us are not trading time for survival. We sacrifice time for money because we saw that modeled. And no one taught us how to stop. How do we know when we should give up that payday for time? There will always be a better home, a supposedly higher-quality school district.
Though we know time is important, we seem to have trouble finding it. It keeps going missing. And time with our children during their youth is a nonrenewable resource; it only diminishes. I recognized there was a problem in my own family after our then-7-year-old daughter kept asking me, “Dad, do you have to work again today? Do you have to go out of town again?” At first, I pushed away her inquiries, thinking she didn’t understand the complexities of adulthood. The sacrifices were for her and her siblings, weren’t they?”
Then he asked a question. “I asked my 12-year-old daughter, “Would you rather have 20 percent more stuff or 20 percent more time?” She replied quickly, “With you? Time. Where would I put all that stuff, anyway?” If we’re going to make sacrifices, may we be sure they’re the right ones.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
Nature’s Sacrifice
Robin Wall Kimmerer writes eloquently about the sacrificial relationship between nature and humankind, telling the story of two boys one hungry summer. “Heat waves shimmer above the grasses…The boys have been shoeless all summer long, but even so the dry September stubble of 1895 pricks their feet as they trot across the sunburned prairie, lifting their heels like grass dancers…The boys follow the stream from grove to grove, back up toward the home place on the allotment, hoping for a deep pool somewhere, finding nothing. Until one boy stubs his toe on something hard and round hidden in the long grass. There’s one and then another, and then another — so many he can hardly walk!” There’s a wealth of nuts, so many they can’t carry them.
“Mama hollers for them and the boys come running, their skinny legs pumping and their underpants flashing white in the fading light. It looks like they’re each carrying a big forked log, hung like a yoke over their shoulders. They throw them down at her feet with grins of triumph: two pairs of worn-out pants, tied shut with twine at the ankles and bulging with nuts.”
Nature gave them a gift. “The boys may have come home fishless, but they brought back nearly as much protein as if they’d had a stringer of catfish. Nuts are like the panfish of the forest, full of protein and, especially, fat — “poor man’s meat,” they might be called, and those boys were poor.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer adds that one of the skinny boys was her grandfather, and now she has her own ritual. “I only make pecan pie at Thanksgiving, when there are plenty of people around to eat it all. I don’t even like it especially, but I want to honor that tree. Feeding guests its fruit around the big table recalls the trees’ welcome to our ancestors when they were lonesome and tired and so far from home.”
* * *
Matthew 16:21-28
Who Are You
Once his friends know that he’s the Messiah, Jesus has to teach them what kind of messiah he is. The second part of the equation is to reveal what kind of disciples they are. For this, the cross becomes the symbol that reveals everything.
Stephanie Cooley says that at her kids’ preschool, the teachers give each child a symbol that shows who they are. “Some new children would wait two to three months for their symbol as their teacher better understood our kids…My first born’s symbol was a chamomile flower. My daughter has always been a calm soul. She can also get excited and talk a bunch and be silly, like sprouts of wildflower spreading its seeds and pollen. While her emotions are strong, she is often attuned to her feelings, and of others. She is also gentle and delicate, like this tiny flower. I was so intrigued and touched by the preschool symbol phenomenon that the reveal for my son’s symbol was more exciting than finding out he was a boy when he was born. His teacher was nervous about telling me.”
“But she was relieved to see tears of joy when I found out he was named… wait for it…A pill bug! Yup, a bug. A freaking insect.” She could have been annoyed, and instead chose to see that “pill bugs in the play yard are the most loved bug among children. I like to think my son was an approachable little human among his peers. And how many times as a kid have you marveled at the idea of this multi-gilled bug rolling itself into a ball for protection? How many of you collected this little harmless bug in your hands and giggled as it tickled your fingers?”
Who are we? Symbols can reveal that, as the symbol and reality of the cross reveal who Jesus is.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Exodus 3:1-15
All-time best Biblical Dad Joke
As today’s reading from the Torah begins, Moses is on the lam tending his father-in-law’s sheep.
* * *
Exodus 3:14
God’s name
The Hebrew rendered I am who I am in the New Revised Standard Version can only be ambiguous. The Hebrew איהוה (Ehyeh) is both present and future tense.
One could faithfully render this name
I am who I am;
I am who I will be;
I will be who I am; and
I will be who I will be.
Que sera, sera!
* * *
Exodus 3:14
In ambiguity is freedom!
The majority of commentators have understood the future tense of Ehyeh. To convey the future tense and to mean: “I will be what tomorrow demands,” that is, God emphasizes that He is capable of responding to human need. This was the message, they say, Moses was to take back to the enslaved people and thereby assure them that the God whom they called YHVH was also “Ehyeh,” who would be ready in the near future to redeem them. (The Torah: A Modern Commentary, New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981, p. 405.)
* * *
Exodus 3:14
Here’s my name, so what?
The Lord reveals the Divine Name to Moses, but Moses never used it! Perhaps the name’s revelation was intended only for Moses. Perhaps God understands exactly what Moses wanted and was vague on purpose.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
About those burning coals, Part 1
Romans 12:20 (NRSVUE) is a troubling passage:
Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
But Paul was citing Proverbs 25:21-22 (NRSVUE)
If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat,
and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink,
for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
and the Lord will reward you.
The first defense of the notion I heard about heaping burning coals on the heads of one’s enemies was that “it would really get their attention.”
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
About those burning coals, Part 2
A more humane defense of this passage is that by showing kindness to one’s enemies they may turn from their hostility. And their faces will burn with shame, a link to the fiery coals that is less literal and physically painful.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:
Romans 12:9-2
If you are to love
Love is a tricky thing. It is a powerful emotion that, if you are not careful, it can transform into something hot and all consuming. If you are to love, love fully. Romans tells us that love is an action that requires effort. When you love — love fully without fear or remorse. There are no stipulations that come along with love as an action. The only thing that we can do is hate evil and cling to good. It is not our responsibility to define what is evil and what is good, we are only to love and love sincerely. When we do love we are shown the difference between what is evil and what is good.
* * *
Exodus 3:1-15
Burn but don’t be consumed
I think at this point we have all been affected in some way, shape, or form by the Canadian wildfires. With the onset of rapid global warming as well as the proliferation of non-native species, wildfires are quickly becoming the norm. The thing about non-native species is that they are not designed for the environment that they find themselves. This is not to say this non-native species can’t thrive there but there is the reality that it cannot weather every storm thrown at it. Some of the ways trees, native to fire-prone areas, are protected is by having thick bark and seeds that thrive in burned out areas. You see this a lot in pine trees. Their bark is extremely thick but flaky bark with a jigsaw like pattern. This is so it can withstand surface fire so once it's put out that burned bark can just flick away revealing a different untouched layer. Their seeds germinate after being ravaged by fire while the blaze itself clears away dead undergrowth that was inhibiting new growth. Be like the bush that burned but was not consumed. Grow a thicker skin that allows for hurt to fall away quickly. Remember that your seeds can grow after being burned.
* * *
Exodus 3:5
Your life is holy ground
Do you take your shoes off indoors? After living in Korea for a while right after college, and now owning my own home, removing one’s shoes is extremely important to the cleanliness of my space. To be frank, the bottom of our outdoor shoes are pretty gross. They are designed to protect our feet from the harsh elements and are breeding grounds for bacteria. It is a courtesy not to track dirt into another’s space. God notes that though Moses cannot see, he is about to crossover into a different place. God’s command to Moses to remove his shoes before stepping closer should signal to all of us that Moses is about to cross the threshold into God’s house — into God’s life. He does not want Moses or us tracking in the hazards of the outside world into this safe and sacred place. We should take the lessons learned here and translate them into the way we interact with each other. As preachers, teachers, and leaders we hold a vast amount of power over those who come to us seeking a connection to the divine. When a stranger comes into your life, we should treat that moment as something sacred. We are a guest in peoples lives. When we are invited in we should take our shoes off because their lives are holy ground.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
Exodus 3:1-15
Holy
When Moses happens upon the burning bush, it is interesting that the bush is on fire and not consumed. Is this what holiness is? It means to have a passion for something, but not to be consumed by it? It means that it is self-sustaining? That it gives you your authentic self? That it requires a sacrifice of the extra, but does not require you to give up more than you can handle? When Moses is called, he is called into his true self. I like to think that is what the burning bush symbolizes. In her book The Nap Ministry, Tricia Hersey talks about how God calls us into sanctuary and rest and DreamSpace — some of what God is calling us into is imagining ourselves into our best selves, and the only way we can do that is if we are well rested. Almost no human being is well rested these days, so she urges people to steal rest, imagination, and play into as many places as possible. She does not urge a discipline, because that is more work. How can we find our holy selves in play? How can we make spaces of sanctuary?
* * *
Matthew 16:21-28
Hard Truths
My youngest is the best at ignoring us. My middle child and eldest are extroverts and feel like they always have to respond to everything a parent says. However, my youngest has mastered pretending that he simply has not heard you. He is really good at carrying on as if what you have said has not been uttered. This is especially true if something you have stated is emotionally difficult to process. This makes me think of this interchange between Jesus and his disciples. The disciples do not want to contemplate suffering, they would like to ignore it, or react to it out of hand. It makes me think of how good the United States is at ignoring the homeless — what do we do if we see a homeless person? We refuse to look them in the eye. Why? It is, no doubt, because we are embarrassed that they exist, and do not wish to acknowledge them. I have tried, more recently, to look homeless people in the eyes, even if I have to turn them down. It is hard work. Jesus, of course, has no problem addressing this problem head on, saying “Get behind me, Satan!” Naming this ignoring and dismissing of suffering as the evil that it is. Much food for thought. This ignoring of the rules or hard feelings are developmentally appropriate for a child — but my husband and I are working hard to get our youngest to hear, process, and understand the hard things, so that he can grow beyond that. It is not okay for adults to ignore suffering. We need to find safe processes and coping mechanisms to deal with such things. Get behind me, Satan, indeed.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
Among pastors I know many who will do funerals for those without a church but very few who will do weddings. This is because there are a dime a dozen online ordinations and judges who can do a wedding certificate, and it is easy to laugh with those who are laughing. But for a funeral, to weep with those who are weeping — this is a sacred time. This is a moment where much damage can be done by preaching on hell or sin, when love and comfort only are appropriate. This is a moment when the best and the worst of family dynamics can show. This is a moment where money can be spent without a thought, and people are very vulnerable — whether they are very open with their feelings or very closed about them. Thus, many pastors feel called to take very little money (it amounts to less than minimum wage per hour) and to take on the funeral, simply to fulfill their calling to weep with those who are weeping. It is important to sit, to witness, and to do no more and no less, than to be present with those who are doing the hard work of processing their grief. For it is in this way that we can overcome evil with good.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: O give thanks and call on God’s name.
All: We will make known God’s deeds among the peoples.
One: Sing praises to God and tell of all God’s wonderful works.
All: Let the hearts of those who seek God rejoice.
One: Seek God’s strength and presence continually.
All: We will remember all the wonderful words done by our God.
OR
One: Vindicate us, O God, who have walked in our integrity.
All: We have trusted in God without wavering.
One: God’ steadfast love is before our eyes.
All: We will walk in faithfulness to you.
One: O God, I love the house in which you dwell,
All: and the place where your glory abides.
OR
One: God’s own breath became our breath and being.
All: We are in awe of our Creator’s self-giving.
One: Christ’s own life has become our life now and forever.
All: We adore you, O Christ, who gave yourself for us.
One: The Spirit dwells in us as our own heart and soul.
All: Blessed is the Spirit who seals us in salvation.
Hymns and Songs
For the Beauty of the Earth
UMH: 92
H82: 416
PH: 473
GTG: 14
NNBH: 8
NCH: 28
CH: 56
LBW: 561
ELW: 879
W&P: 40
AMEC: 578
STLT: 21
For the Fruits of This Creation
UMH: 97
H82: 424
PH: 553
GTG: 36
NCH: 425
CH: 714
LBW: 563
ELW: 679
W&P: 723
How Like a Gentle Spirit
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
This Is My Father’s World
UMH: 144
H82: 651
PH: 293
GTG: 370
AAHH: 149
NNBH: 41
CH: 59
LBW: 554
ELW: 824
W&P: 21
AMEC: 47
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 439
W&P: 404
Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands
UMH: 273
W&P: 634
Take My Life, and Let It Be
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
GTG: 697
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
The Gift of Love
UMH: 408
GTG: 693
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
Renew: 155
Take Up Thy Cross
UMH: 415
H82: 675
PH: 393
GTG: 718
LBW: 398
ELW: 667
W&P: 351
AMEC: 294
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
GTG: 738
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Make Me a Servant
CCB: 90
We Are His Hands
CCB: 85
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The 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 gives and is ever giving in love:
Grant us the grace to understand we are truly alive
only when we give ourselves to and for others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the Ever Giving One. You pour out your love eternally for all creation. Help us to know that we are living in your image when we give ourselves to and for others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our greed and selfishness.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have made greed into an art form that we worship instead of seeing it as a sin that we are to shun. We place ourselves at the center of our concerns when the one we call Lord empties himself out for the world. We have made a mockery of the word Christian but being the polar opposite of what the Christ proclaimed and called us to live out. We do not even feel shame at our selfishness. Open our eyes to our hypocrisy and wash us of our sin. Restore you image in us and renew a right Spirit within us. Amen.
One: God is the Giving One and continues to give grace upon grace even to us. Receive God’s grace once again and reflect that grace by giving of yourselves to others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory be to you, O God the Giver of all good gifts. We are in awe of your gracious, giving love.
(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. We have made greed into an art form that we worship instead of seeing it as a sin that we are to shun. We place ourselves at the center of our concerns when the one we call Lord empties himself out for the world. We have made a mockery of the word Christian but being the polar opposite of what the Christ proclaimed and called us to live out. We do not even feel shame at our selfishness. Open our eyes to our hypocrisy and wash us of our sin. Restore you image in us and renew a right Spirit within us.
We thank you for all the blessings we receive from you. You pour out your love and your very self in immeasurable ways. Creation sings with the beauty to have created for us. Your love is reflected in the love that we find in family and friends. Your gracious Spirit is given to us in the community of faith. Your Christ continues to pour himself out that we may have life that is full and abundant.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for others in their need. We pray for an end to greed that robs your children of your blessings. We pray for those who suffer because we have claimed too much of what you meant to be for all. We pray for those who are coming after us who will bear the burden of our not caring for others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray 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
Back to School with Peter
by Chris Keating
Matthew 16:21-28
Consider changing things up a bit this Sunday. Instead of inviting the children to come and gather in the front, tell them you have a special “Sunday School Bus” that is coming to them. Pretend to drive a school bus, and “drive” up to the rows where children are seated. “Open” the door to the “bus” and invite them to follow behind you. Makes this into a version of following the leader, and consider inviting some adults to “hop” on the Sunday School bus as well!
Drive the bus around a bit, and then make a last stop at the front of the church. Congratulate the children on starting another school year, and thank them for following you on the bus. Ask them to share stories about following directions at school: what sort of directions do you have to follow? Who gives you instructions? Is it easy or hard to follow directions? Remind them that sometimes even grown ups have a hard time following directions, and sometimes everyone makes mistakes.
But what happens when we do not follow the leader? Have you ever noticed how one person may act up in ways that are not helpful, and sometimes other people want to be like them? That’s a negative part of “following the leader.” But there are positive things we can learn too.
Today we learn about Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples. Even though Peter and Jesus were close friends, Peter did not always follow Jesus’ instructions. Peter was the learner, and Jesus was the teacher. But sometimes Peter made mistakes. In the scripture we read today, Jesus is teaching his disciples important lessons about what God wants him to do. They are hard lessons to learn, and Peter does not like what he hears. He wants to be in charge. He wants to be the leader! But Jesus reminds him that it is only by listening to God’s instructions and following where Jesus leads him that Peter and the others will do what God really wants.
One of Jesus’ followers was named Paul. He also had a hard time learning what it means to follow. Like Peter, and like all of us, he sometimes made mistakes. But he learned that the more he did the things that God wanted him to do, the better he was at following Jesus. He wrote a letter to some people in Rome to tell them what following Jesus means. Paul said to:
Love everyone you meet.
Do good things as much as possible.
Serve God and those in need.
Welcome people — even people you do not know.
Share food with people who are hungry.
Do the best you can.
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The Immediate Word, September 3, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 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.
- The Authentic Me by Dean Feldmeyer — We give to those in need, not because of who they are but because of who we are.
- Second Thoughts: A Sacrificial Way of Living by Elena Delhagen based on Romans 12:9-21 and Matthew 16:21-28.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen, Mary Austin, Quantish Mason-Doll, and Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Back to School with Peter by Chris Keating based on Matthew 16:21-28.
The Authentic Meby Dean Feldmeyer
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
Our son, Benny, had chronic earaches when he was little. Nearly every night, for a month, until we finally figured out what was causing them, we would put him to bed and, within an hour, he would be running a high fever, throwing up, and screaming in pain. His little sister, Sarah, distressed by his suffering, would be crying along with him.
When we finally got him to sleep, we were so wrung out we could hardly sleep, ourselves. During the day, we looked toward his bedtime with dread. Watching your child suffer and not being able to do anything about it is one of the worst things a person can experience.
I've never been so stressed.
I was pouring this all out to my mother, one day, when she patted my hand. “I know this is hard for you but I’m sure you and your doctor will get it figured out. And, believe it or not, someday you’ll look back at all this and remember it as the best years of our life.” Yeah, right, I thought. Easy for you to say.
Turns out, she was right.
In the Culture/News
The problem, we eventually discovered, was an extreme allergy to the detergent we were using to wash his bed linen. We changed to a different detergent and, poof, the problem went away.
And, it turns out, Mom was right. Now, at 72 years of age, with my kids in their 40’s, I can look back and say that, truly, I have never lived as fully or authentically as I did when I was living for my kids. When you have kids, everything else comes in second. They are what matters. At least that’s how it was for Jean and me.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s fun being empty-nester retirees with lots of freedom of none of the responsibilities of parenthood. But it was more fun when we had those responsibilities. Life was, somehow, more real. More, well, authentic.
It is in self-sacrifice that we find the real meaning and depth of human living. It is when we forget about ourselves so we can live for others that we reach the highest point of our lives.
Unfortunately, that is a lesson that often seems to be lost in contemporary America.
We are living in a time when, to quote Gordon Gekko, “Greed is good.” Our American value system seems to be constantly tipping toward self, self-fulfillment, self-interest, self-esteem, self-promotion, self-love, self-help, self-determination. The value of change is measured not in how it will affect the community, the country, the world, but how it will affect me.
Thousands of immigrants are fleeing grinding poverty and the tyranny of criminal gangs and corrupt governments, knocking desperately at the door of our country, pleading for safety, protection, and help but few are those among us who are reaching out to them with the love and charity that scripture requires of us.
Instead of asking, “How can I help?” we more often ask, how will this affect me, how will this affect my property values, how will this affect my job, my income, my standard of living?
No reasonable soul can deny the reality of global climate change, much of which can trace its cause to human behavior.
We are choking on the smoke from 2,467 active, Canadian wildfires, which, according to a report by The Guardian, have been the largest and most devastating on record, with nearly 14 million hectares (34 million acres) burned, an area larger than the country of Greece. The fires caused more than a dozen fatalities and thousands of evacuations, and sent a plume of smoke that unfurled as far as Norway and turned the sky above New York City orange.
At this writing, over 115 people have died in the Maui, Hawaii, fire and a thousand are still missing.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last two decades. Wildfires require the alignment of a number of factors, including temperature, humidity, and the lack of moisture in fuels, such as trees, shrubs, grasses, and forest debris. All these factors have strong direct or indirect ties to climate variability and climate change.” All this has contributed to the 87 large wildfires currently burning in the United States, covering just over half a million acres as of August 22, 2023.
Heavy rains across parts of the United States flooded an Ohio highway where people were rescued from their cars, covered the Las Vegas Strip with water and closed a busy airport terminal outside Detroit. Parts of the western United States have been deluged in recent weeks with rain from Tropical Storm Hilary, the first hurricane to hit the western coast of the United States in more than 30 years, and much of the central US was beaten down by deadly sweltering heat.
Meanwhile, candidates for president stand on stage and insist that it’s all a hoax meant to give power to politicians from the other political party. And, while the ocean fills up with micro-plastics that are being found in human blood and breast milk, we whine and complain about the inconvenience it will cause us if we have to give up our single use water bottles and grocery bags. And isn’t having to sort our trash for recycling such a pain?
Environmentalists tell us that much of the problem of plastic pollution could be solved if we were willing to give up all of our single use plastics such as water bottles and grocery bags. And the continuing rise in temperatures that is part of global warming would cease and even be reversed if we just gave up carbon burning fuel and started using electric cars.
But for many of us, these sacrifices, small as they are, are just too great. They’re too inconvenient. Too demanding. Too bothersome. Too expensive.
In the Scripture
In the gospel lesson Jesus reveals to his disciples that his ministry will culminate in self-sacrifice. He will, he says, be going to Jerusalem where he will suffer and die at the hands of the “elders, chief priests, and scribes.” Peter rejects this vision and tries to persuade Jesus to turn from it but Jesus responds that while self-preservation is a human thing, Jesus is about divine stuff and self-sacrifice is a divine thing.
In fact, he points out, the only way to live at the divine level, as authentic followers of Jesus, is through self-sacrifice. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me.” In this context the paradox which follows begins to make sense: “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” We all want to live rich, full, authentic lives, and the key achieving that goal is, quit trying to achieve it. Or, for that matter, trying to achieve anything at all except living like Jesus — in a state of total self-sacrifice.
“Yeah,” we respond. “That all sounds good but what does it look like in the real world where we have to live?”
Paul gives us an idea in Romans 12:9-21. Call it his “14 Ways to Live Like Jesus.”
- Don’t fake love, keep it real.
- Be good friends who love deeply.
- Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.
- When things get hard, don’t quit, pray harder.
- Help needy Christians; be creative and inventive in hospitality.
- Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.
- Laugh with your friends when they're happy; cry with them when they’re down.
- Get along with each other.
- Don’t be stuck up, make friends with nobodies.
- Don't hit back.
- Try to get along with everybody.
- Don't insist on getting even.
- Be kind to people who don’t like you.
- Fight evil by doing good. (Based on The Message Bible, by Eugene Peterson.)
“Put your own mask on first.”
Every time you fly in a commercial airliner, you hear that admonition in the safety speech made by the flight attendants. If the little plastic masks fall down from above, yank on it to start the flow of oxygen, and put it on your face, like this. If you are traveling with a child or disabled person, put your mask on first, then help them with theirs.
The unspoken message is, of course, that you won’t be of any use or help to anyone if you’re flopping around trying to breathe. So put your mask on first so you’ll be able to help those who need help.
Nowhere in scripture are we told to throw our lives away without thought or discretion. Yes, self-sacrifice is an essential part of living in the gospel but our self-sacrifice will be more effective and helpful and meaningful if we do some basic self-care, some planning and preparation before the need to sacrifice ourselves is before us.
Some years ago, my friend, Larry, was elected to the state legislature as representative from our district and had to start driving to the state capitol about 30 time a year. Because he was a freshman rep, there wasn’t room for him to park in the garage under the capitol building so he received a voucher for a lot nearby.
He and I were having lunch together at a fast-food restaurant one day with some other friends and, when we paid for our lunches, Larry bought about $25 worth of $5 gift cards. Someone in our group asked what those were for and he told us that they were for downtown panhandlers who asked him for money when he walks from his car to the state capitol.
Our friend was astonished. “Are you nuts? Those people are all winos and addicts. They’ll sell those cards for pennies on the dollar and use the money to buy wine and drugs.”
Larry just smiled. “It’s not about who they are. It’s about who I am.”
Our friend smirked. “And what are you, Larry?”
“I’m a kind and generous man.”
As the man walked away, I heard him say, almost under his breath, “You’re an idiot.”
Being kind and generous is the essence of gospel living, but it comes at a price.
SECOND THOUGHTSA Sacrificial Way of Living
by Elena Delhagen
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
“Intergenerational Injustices”
An article written in the winter of 2020 and posted on www.bushcenter.org (website of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a nonpartisan institution offering insight on issues of the day) is titled, “Our $23 Trillion National Debt: An Inter-generational Injustice.”
Its title stopped me in my tracks, halting the scrolling I’d been doing as I researched the connection between Paul’s words in Romans, coupled with Jesus’ in Matthew, and the theme of sacrifice that seems to be woven throughout both passages. Written before the tragedy of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current inflation period we as a nation now find ourselves in, the article was already illuminating the painful truth we all know: there is a money problem in this country, and it is certainly not getting any better. In fact, as of August 2023, the current national debt is $32.78 trillion. As a mother with two children who hopes to leave them a world better than I first found it, the fiscal irresponsibility of our nation surely does feel like an injustice — even a moral failure, to use terms from the article itself.
Yet it is well within our power to right the course. Were we to act immediately, estimates say we would need to sacrifice only one year of growth in the economy in order to stabilize the debt and collectively create a brighter future for the younger generations and those to come. As the article puts it, “Think about this ask in relation to the many great sacrifices that American citizens have made throughout history.”
Then, of course, there is the issue of student loan debt in this country. A January 2021 fact sheet from the Roosevelt Institute names student loan debt as one of the highest sources of debt for Americans (with mortgages being the highest). Predatory lending practices and exorbitant interest rates shackle millions of Americans, a reality that is known to affect mental and physical health, with higher perceived stress and depression, worse self-reported general health, and higher diastolic blood pressure. Conversely, the Center for American Progress, or CAP, reports that targeted student debt cancellation of at least $10,000 will help millions of Americans better manage their budgets, build wealth, and reduce the racial wealth gap, immediately improving financial security and laying the foundation for faster upward economic mobility.
In Jesus’ words to his disciples found in Matthew 16:21-28, he speaks of a worthy life as one that is marked by “taking up one’s cross,” a sacrificial way of living that comes with denial of self. In his foretelling of his own crucifixion, he models this in an extraordinary way. It’s a completely countercultural way of living — and that’s the point. In our country, we celebrate upward mobility and economic growth, and we reap its benefits. But look at the cost. Instead of self-sacrifice and denying our own desires, we have sacrificed the future generations of America on the altars of greed and excess. We were commanded to hate what is evil and cling to what is good, but instead, we’re willing to turn a blind eye to evil as long as it benefits us in some way and we cling to what we have accumulated in our tightly balled fists.
Perhaps a moment like this calls for a sermon on repentance. Show us, O Lord, how to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Exodus 3:1-15
Where Did That Bush Come From?
On an ordinary day, in his usual landscape, Moses encounters God through a burning bush — something unusual in his landscape.
A group of graduate students set out to create a guide to reading landscapes. Their guide includes a favorite of author Rob Walker: “Looking for ghosts and ruins. The guide explains: Ghost landscapes are clues left behind from the past that show what a previous landscape may have looked like and how it was altered to achieve its present state. They can be as noticeable as the remnants of an abandoned highway (i.e. Route 66 across the American West or stretches of Route 38 in California) or as unnoticeable as varied growth patterns in trees — which can signify recent planting or, if grown in parallel lines, traces of an abandoned road. Ruins are similar: “The faded records of the past still apparent on the landscape.”
Rob Walker adds that we encounter ghost landscapes all the time, guides to what once existed. “An old out-of-service pay phone, for instance, is a ruin. It says something about its own environment and surroundings. The persistence of a ruin can also be instructive. Why hasn’t someone torn that old pay phone down and hauled it away? Because of its historic significance? Or simply as a function of neglect? Nobody is making an effort to direct your attention to the ghosts or ruins in any given landscape. But if you want to understand a place more deeply, these are exactly the things you should look for." (From The Art of Noticing for Writers: From The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker)
What did Moses and his bush leave behind?
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
Giving
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord,” Paul writes to the believers in Rome. He suggests doing all that we do from loving motives, and yet rage giving is fueling non-profit groups these days. When the news inspires or enrages people, they can give instantly to a group working on that issue, and “nonprofit industry experts say, rage giving is an extension of activism — where socially conscious citizens not only take to the streets or the phones but also vote their dollars toward organizations they believe will combat social inequities. Though the term “rage” has negative connotations, there’s a sort of hope bundled within rage giving.”
In fact, an app based on Twitter, “Trigger, enables “retaliatory giving” and helps online denizens clap back at political opponents or “triggering” news by tweeting their disagreement and identifying what cause they’re supporting in response, all of it accompanied by the #TriggerGive hashtag. Any US-registered nonprofit with a Twitter account can receive funds via Trigger.”
Hate what is evil, Paul counsels — and the dollars will follow.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
Sacrifice
Both the Romans text and the Matthew story hinge on the idea of sacrificing ourselves to God’s purposes. Esau McCaulley learned from his daughter that he was making the wrong sacrifices.
He notes, “Climbing the economic ladder requires long days to make the grades to get into college and perhaps graduate school. Then come extended hours to get ahead in our careers. Unlike our parents, many of us are not trading time for survival. We sacrifice time for money because we saw that modeled. And no one taught us how to stop. How do we know when we should give up that payday for time? There will always be a better home, a supposedly higher-quality school district.
Though we know time is important, we seem to have trouble finding it. It keeps going missing. And time with our children during their youth is a nonrenewable resource; it only diminishes. I recognized there was a problem in my own family after our then-7-year-old daughter kept asking me, “Dad, do you have to work again today? Do you have to go out of town again?” At first, I pushed away her inquiries, thinking she didn’t understand the complexities of adulthood. The sacrifices were for her and her siblings, weren’t they?”
Then he asked a question. “I asked my 12-year-old daughter, “Would you rather have 20 percent more stuff or 20 percent more time?” She replied quickly, “With you? Time. Where would I put all that stuff, anyway?” If we’re going to make sacrifices, may we be sure they’re the right ones.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28
Nature’s Sacrifice
Robin Wall Kimmerer writes eloquently about the sacrificial relationship between nature and humankind, telling the story of two boys one hungry summer. “Heat waves shimmer above the grasses…The boys have been shoeless all summer long, but even so the dry September stubble of 1895 pricks their feet as they trot across the sunburned prairie, lifting their heels like grass dancers…The boys follow the stream from grove to grove, back up toward the home place on the allotment, hoping for a deep pool somewhere, finding nothing. Until one boy stubs his toe on something hard and round hidden in the long grass. There’s one and then another, and then another — so many he can hardly walk!” There’s a wealth of nuts, so many they can’t carry them.
“Mama hollers for them and the boys come running, their skinny legs pumping and their underpants flashing white in the fading light. It looks like they’re each carrying a big forked log, hung like a yoke over their shoulders. They throw them down at her feet with grins of triumph: two pairs of worn-out pants, tied shut with twine at the ankles and bulging with nuts.”
Nature gave them a gift. “The boys may have come home fishless, but they brought back nearly as much protein as if they’d had a stringer of catfish. Nuts are like the panfish of the forest, full of protein and, especially, fat — “poor man’s meat,” they might be called, and those boys were poor.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer adds that one of the skinny boys was her grandfather, and now she has her own ritual. “I only make pecan pie at Thanksgiving, when there are plenty of people around to eat it all. I don’t even like it especially, but I want to honor that tree. Feeding guests its fruit around the big table recalls the trees’ welcome to our ancestors when they were lonesome and tired and so far from home.”
* * *
Matthew 16:21-28
Who Are You
Once his friends know that he’s the Messiah, Jesus has to teach them what kind of messiah he is. The second part of the equation is to reveal what kind of disciples they are. For this, the cross becomes the symbol that reveals everything.
Stephanie Cooley says that at her kids’ preschool, the teachers give each child a symbol that shows who they are. “Some new children would wait two to three months for their symbol as their teacher better understood our kids…My first born’s symbol was a chamomile flower. My daughter has always been a calm soul. She can also get excited and talk a bunch and be silly, like sprouts of wildflower spreading its seeds and pollen. While her emotions are strong, she is often attuned to her feelings, and of others. She is also gentle and delicate, like this tiny flower. I was so intrigued and touched by the preschool symbol phenomenon that the reveal for my son’s symbol was more exciting than finding out he was a boy when he was born. His teacher was nervous about telling me.”
“But she was relieved to see tears of joy when I found out he was named… wait for it…A pill bug! Yup, a bug. A freaking insect.” She could have been annoyed, and instead chose to see that “pill bugs in the play yard are the most loved bug among children. I like to think my son was an approachable little human among his peers. And how many times as a kid have you marveled at the idea of this multi-gilled bug rolling itself into a ball for protection? How many of you collected this little harmless bug in your hands and giggled as it tickled your fingers?”
Who are we? Symbols can reveal that, as the symbol and reality of the cross reveal who Jesus is.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:Exodus 3:1-15
All-time best Biblical Dad Joke
As today’s reading from the Torah begins, Moses is on the lam tending his father-in-law’s sheep.
* * *
Exodus 3:14
God’s name
The Hebrew rendered I am who I am in the New Revised Standard Version can only be ambiguous. The Hebrew איהוה (Ehyeh) is both present and future tense.
One could faithfully render this name
I am who I am;
I am who I will be;
I will be who I am; and
I will be who I will be.
Que sera, sera!
* * *
Exodus 3:14
In ambiguity is freedom!
The majority of commentators have understood the future tense of Ehyeh. To convey the future tense and to mean: “I will be what tomorrow demands,” that is, God emphasizes that He is capable of responding to human need. This was the message, they say, Moses was to take back to the enslaved people and thereby assure them that the God whom they called YHVH was also “Ehyeh,” who would be ready in the near future to redeem them. (The Torah: A Modern Commentary, New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981, p. 405.)
* * *
Exodus 3:14
Here’s my name, so what?
The Lord reveals the Divine Name to Moses, but Moses never used it! Perhaps the name’s revelation was intended only for Moses. Perhaps God understands exactly what Moses wanted and was vague on purpose.
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
About those burning coals, Part 1
Romans 12:20 (NRSVUE) is a troubling passage:
Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
But Paul was citing Proverbs 25:21-22 (NRSVUE)
If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat,
and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink,
for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
and the Lord will reward you.
The first defense of the notion I heard about heaping burning coals on the heads of one’s enemies was that “it would really get their attention.”
* * *
Romans 12:9-21
About those burning coals, Part 2
A more humane defense of this passage is that by showing kindness to one’s enemies they may turn from their hostility. And their faces will burn with shame, a link to the fiery coals that is less literal and physically painful.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:Romans 12:9-2
If you are to love
Love is a tricky thing. It is a powerful emotion that, if you are not careful, it can transform into something hot and all consuming. If you are to love, love fully. Romans tells us that love is an action that requires effort. When you love — love fully without fear or remorse. There are no stipulations that come along with love as an action. The only thing that we can do is hate evil and cling to good. It is not our responsibility to define what is evil and what is good, we are only to love and love sincerely. When we do love we are shown the difference between what is evil and what is good.
* * *
Exodus 3:1-15
Burn but don’t be consumed
I think at this point we have all been affected in some way, shape, or form by the Canadian wildfires. With the onset of rapid global warming as well as the proliferation of non-native species, wildfires are quickly becoming the norm. The thing about non-native species is that they are not designed for the environment that they find themselves. This is not to say this non-native species can’t thrive there but there is the reality that it cannot weather every storm thrown at it. Some of the ways trees, native to fire-prone areas, are protected is by having thick bark and seeds that thrive in burned out areas. You see this a lot in pine trees. Their bark is extremely thick but flaky bark with a jigsaw like pattern. This is so it can withstand surface fire so once it's put out that burned bark can just flick away revealing a different untouched layer. Their seeds germinate after being ravaged by fire while the blaze itself clears away dead undergrowth that was inhibiting new growth. Be like the bush that burned but was not consumed. Grow a thicker skin that allows for hurt to fall away quickly. Remember that your seeds can grow after being burned.
* * *
Exodus 3:5
Your life is holy ground
Do you take your shoes off indoors? After living in Korea for a while right after college, and now owning my own home, removing one’s shoes is extremely important to the cleanliness of my space. To be frank, the bottom of our outdoor shoes are pretty gross. They are designed to protect our feet from the harsh elements and are breeding grounds for bacteria. It is a courtesy not to track dirt into another’s space. God notes that though Moses cannot see, he is about to crossover into a different place. God’s command to Moses to remove his shoes before stepping closer should signal to all of us that Moses is about to cross the threshold into God’s house — into God’s life. He does not want Moses or us tracking in the hazards of the outside world into this safe and sacred place. We should take the lessons learned here and translate them into the way we interact with each other. As preachers, teachers, and leaders we hold a vast amount of power over those who come to us seeking a connection to the divine. When a stranger comes into your life, we should treat that moment as something sacred. We are a guest in peoples lives. When we are invited in we should take our shoes off because their lives are holy ground.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:Exodus 3:1-15
Holy
When Moses happens upon the burning bush, it is interesting that the bush is on fire and not consumed. Is this what holiness is? It means to have a passion for something, but not to be consumed by it? It means that it is self-sustaining? That it gives you your authentic self? That it requires a sacrifice of the extra, but does not require you to give up more than you can handle? When Moses is called, he is called into his true self. I like to think that is what the burning bush symbolizes. In her book The Nap Ministry, Tricia Hersey talks about how God calls us into sanctuary and rest and DreamSpace — some of what God is calling us into is imagining ourselves into our best selves, and the only way we can do that is if we are well rested. Almost no human being is well rested these days, so she urges people to steal rest, imagination, and play into as many places as possible. She does not urge a discipline, because that is more work. How can we find our holy selves in play? How can we make spaces of sanctuary?
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Matthew 16:21-28
Hard Truths
My youngest is the best at ignoring us. My middle child and eldest are extroverts and feel like they always have to respond to everything a parent says. However, my youngest has mastered pretending that he simply has not heard you. He is really good at carrying on as if what you have said has not been uttered. This is especially true if something you have stated is emotionally difficult to process. This makes me think of this interchange between Jesus and his disciples. The disciples do not want to contemplate suffering, they would like to ignore it, or react to it out of hand. It makes me think of how good the United States is at ignoring the homeless — what do we do if we see a homeless person? We refuse to look them in the eye. Why? It is, no doubt, because we are embarrassed that they exist, and do not wish to acknowledge them. I have tried, more recently, to look homeless people in the eyes, even if I have to turn them down. It is hard work. Jesus, of course, has no problem addressing this problem head on, saying “Get behind me, Satan!” Naming this ignoring and dismissing of suffering as the evil that it is. Much food for thought. This ignoring of the rules or hard feelings are developmentally appropriate for a child — but my husband and I are working hard to get our youngest to hear, process, and understand the hard things, so that he can grow beyond that. It is not okay for adults to ignore suffering. We need to find safe processes and coping mechanisms to deal with such things. Get behind me, Satan, indeed.
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Romans 12:9-21
Among pastors I know many who will do funerals for those without a church but very few who will do weddings. This is because there are a dime a dozen online ordinations and judges who can do a wedding certificate, and it is easy to laugh with those who are laughing. But for a funeral, to weep with those who are weeping — this is a sacred time. This is a moment where much damage can be done by preaching on hell or sin, when love and comfort only are appropriate. This is a moment when the best and the worst of family dynamics can show. This is a moment where money can be spent without a thought, and people are very vulnerable — whether they are very open with their feelings or very closed about them. Thus, many pastors feel called to take very little money (it amounts to less than minimum wage per hour) and to take on the funeral, simply to fulfill their calling to weep with those who are weeping. It is important to sit, to witness, and to do no more and no less, than to be present with those who are doing the hard work of processing their grief. For it is in this way that we can overcome evil with good.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: O give thanks and call on God’s name.
All: We will make known God’s deeds among the peoples.
One: Sing praises to God and tell of all God’s wonderful works.
All: Let the hearts of those who seek God rejoice.
One: Seek God’s strength and presence continually.
All: We will remember all the wonderful words done by our God.
OR
One: Vindicate us, O God, who have walked in our integrity.
All: We have trusted in God without wavering.
One: God’ steadfast love is before our eyes.
All: We will walk in faithfulness to you.
One: O God, I love the house in which you dwell,
All: and the place where your glory abides.
OR
One: God’s own breath became our breath and being.
All: We are in awe of our Creator’s self-giving.
One: Christ’s own life has become our life now and forever.
All: We adore you, O Christ, who gave yourself for us.
One: The Spirit dwells in us as our own heart and soul.
All: Blessed is the Spirit who seals us in salvation.
Hymns and Songs
For the Beauty of the Earth
UMH: 92
H82: 416
PH: 473
GTG: 14
NNBH: 8
NCH: 28
CH: 56
LBW: 561
ELW: 879
W&P: 40
AMEC: 578
STLT: 21
For the Fruits of This Creation
UMH: 97
H82: 424
PH: 553
GTG: 36
NCH: 425
CH: 714
LBW: 563
ELW: 679
W&P: 723
How Like a Gentle Spirit
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
This Is My Father’s World
UMH: 144
H82: 651
PH: 293
GTG: 370
AAHH: 149
NNBH: 41
CH: 59
LBW: 554
ELW: 824
W&P: 21
AMEC: 47
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
GTG: 734
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 439
W&P: 404
Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands
UMH: 273
W&P: 634
Take My Life, and Let It Be
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
GTG: 697
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
The Gift of Love
UMH: 408
GTG: 693
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
Renew: 155
Take Up Thy Cross
UMH: 415
H82: 675
PH: 393
GTG: 718
LBW: 398
ELW: 667
W&P: 351
AMEC: 294
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
GTG: 738
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Make Me a Servant
CCB: 90
We Are His Hands
CCB: 85
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The 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 gives and is ever giving in love:
Grant us the grace to understand we are truly alive
only when we give ourselves to and for others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the Ever Giving One. You pour out your love eternally for all creation. Help us to know that we are living in your image when we give ourselves to and for others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our greed and selfishness.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have made greed into an art form that we worship instead of seeing it as a sin that we are to shun. We place ourselves at the center of our concerns when the one we call Lord empties himself out for the world. We have made a mockery of the word Christian but being the polar opposite of what the Christ proclaimed and called us to live out. We do not even feel shame at our selfishness. Open our eyes to our hypocrisy and wash us of our sin. Restore you image in us and renew a right Spirit within us. Amen.
One: God is the Giving One and continues to give grace upon grace even to us. Receive God’s grace once again and reflect that grace by giving of yourselves to others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory be to you, O God the Giver of all good gifts. We are in awe of your gracious, giving love.
(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. We have made greed into an art form that we worship instead of seeing it as a sin that we are to shun. We place ourselves at the center of our concerns when the one we call Lord empties himself out for the world. We have made a mockery of the word Christian but being the polar opposite of what the Christ proclaimed and called us to live out. We do not even feel shame at our selfishness. Open our eyes to our hypocrisy and wash us of our sin. Restore you image in us and renew a right Spirit within us.
We thank you for all the blessings we receive from you. You pour out your love and your very self in immeasurable ways. Creation sings with the beauty to have created for us. Your love is reflected in the love that we find in family and friends. Your gracious Spirit is given to us in the community of faith. Your Christ continues to pour himself out that we may have life that is full and abundant.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for others in their need. We pray for an end to greed that robs your children of your blessings. We pray for those who suffer because we have claimed too much of what you meant to be for all. We pray for those who are coming after us who will bear the burden of our not caring for others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray 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.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONBack to School with Peter
by Chris Keating
Matthew 16:21-28
Consider changing things up a bit this Sunday. Instead of inviting the children to come and gather in the front, tell them you have a special “Sunday School Bus” that is coming to them. Pretend to drive a school bus, and “drive” up to the rows where children are seated. “Open” the door to the “bus” and invite them to follow behind you. Makes this into a version of following the leader, and consider inviting some adults to “hop” on the Sunday School bus as well!
Drive the bus around a bit, and then make a last stop at the front of the church. Congratulate the children on starting another school year, and thank them for following you on the bus. Ask them to share stories about following directions at school: what sort of directions do you have to follow? Who gives you instructions? Is it easy or hard to follow directions? Remind them that sometimes even grown ups have a hard time following directions, and sometimes everyone makes mistakes.
But what happens when we do not follow the leader? Have you ever noticed how one person may act up in ways that are not helpful, and sometimes other people want to be like them? That’s a negative part of “following the leader.” But there are positive things we can learn too.
Today we learn about Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples. Even though Peter and Jesus were close friends, Peter did not always follow Jesus’ instructions. Peter was the learner, and Jesus was the teacher. But sometimes Peter made mistakes. In the scripture we read today, Jesus is teaching his disciples important lessons about what God wants him to do. They are hard lessons to learn, and Peter does not like what he hears. He wants to be in charge. He wants to be the leader! But Jesus reminds him that it is only by listening to God’s instructions and following where Jesus leads him that Peter and the others will do what God really wants.
One of Jesus’ followers was named Paul. He also had a hard time learning what it means to follow. Like Peter, and like all of us, he sometimes made mistakes. But he learned that the more he did the things that God wanted him to do, the better he was at following Jesus. He wrote a letter to some people in Rome to tell them what following Jesus means. Paul said to:
Love everyone you meet.
Do good things as much as possible.
Serve God and those in need.
Welcome people — even people you do not know.
Share food with people who are hungry.
Do the best you can.
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The Immediate Word, September 3, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 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.
