Gotta Serve Somebody...
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For May 6, 2018:
Gotta Serve Somebody
by Tom Willadsen
Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17
Today’s Epistle and Gospel readings talk of love in a way that 21st century Americans do not. For us, love is mostly a feeling, a warm feeling of affection, even an involuntary feeling of affection. The metaphor is “falling” in love, not choosing to invest one’s social and emotional capital in the well-being of another.
The notion that love is expressed as obedience is also a challenge for us. Bob Dylan won a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his song “Gotta Serve Somebody.”
What would it mean if one substituted “love” for “serve”?
Isn’t loving service what Jesus is trying to get his disciples to feel then do in his farewell discourse in John’s gospel from chapters 13-17?
It is love that motivates one to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
It is love that the disciples experienced as Jesus washed their feet.
It is this love that is commanded of followers of Jesus.
In the News
There are two profoundly different worldviews present in the United States today. The stark contrast in this nation is evidenced in other nations as well. Perhaps it’s a coincidental rise in populism; the inevitable pendulum swing response to a drive for global connection and the integration of societies around the world. We see it in the contrast between a wall and a bridge, but they are mere metaphors for the deep division between engaging in, and withdrawing from, the world.
Our own leader has decided that as Commander in Chief, his role is to put the interests of the United States ahead of everything else. In fairness, he urges other nations to put their own interests first as well. There is a kind of provincialism, if not hubris, in engaging in the global culture this way. Treaties and trade agreements that have taken years, even decades, to be enacted are being unraveled by assessing them solely on whether they are economically beneficial to our nation. The complexity -- that for example what is good for our steel industry may come at a cost to our agricultural interests -- requires a certain sophistication to appreciate, to balance nuance and subtlety and even competing interests and ambiguity that has yet to be demonstrated by our current executive.
One illustration of the peril of going it alone globally is in the limitation of responses we can make as a nation to crises in other parts of the world. The effort to slash the budget of the State Department makes it much more difficult for “soft diplomacy” to be implemented to build relationships and goodwill that may have the effect of reducing civil unrest and instability in other nations, thus making armed conflict less likely. Our interests overseas are protected by stable governments that have the resources to secure and protect themselves. Empty embassies and skeletal staffing in other countries, on the other hand, reduce our options when emergencies arise. “Hard diplomacy” and military options become the only possible response, because other potential approaches have been undermined or abandoned.
A mighty army can (and will) conquer and dominate. That’s not what the Bible instructs followers of Jesus to do. We’re advised to “overcome evil with love.”
The biblical notion of love conquering anything is ludicrous and laughable as a response to societies that must be evil, because we have stopped trying to understand them. The escalation of threats, followed by the escalation of violence, is not only how wars begin, it is how truces remain tenuous and fragile. That is the opposite of abiding in God’s love as expressed in Christ’s life and ministry.
Obedient love is nutty as a response to the evil we fear on the other side of the wall.
The divide between those who would engage in globalism, and those who insist on looking out for our national interest is a barrier built of fear. And fear cannot be reasoned with. The antidote to fear is a desire to understand.
As Rush sang
Or as we see in I John 4:18, “perfect love casts out fear.” (NKJV, et al.)
What if our foreign policy were rooted in a desire to conquer the world, not with superior military force, not with movies and popular culture that portray an idealized vision of life in the United States, but with truly obedient love that conquers enemies by turning them into friends?
In the Scriptures
There is a thread of universalism in this day’s readings.
But before jumping into them, here’s a sample of what scripture tells us about how to treat our enemies.
Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you...
(Matthew 5:44)
…do good to those who hate you.
(Luke 6:27)
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.
(Romans 12:20, based on Proverbs 22:25 NIV)
This last one really sounds like the best way to cause bodily injury to your enemy is to be kind. There are two other potential interpretations that the wise preacher will provide.
Either heaping hot coals on one’s newly-fed enemy will totally get his attention, or the hot coals are a metaphor for the feeling of being flushed with shame at having one’s hostility undone by receiving kindness. (I know camp season is coming, and young hearers of next Sunday’s sermons will be sitting around camp fires in the coming months -- so be sure to be explicit that this image is not to be taken literally!)
Psalm 98 tells us that all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of God. The psalmist cries
It is not only people who will bask in the coming victory of God almighty, it is all of creation, the whole universe. God’s love is strong, deep and infinite!
In the gospel reading, another part of Jesus’ lengthy farewell discourse to his disciples is about joy, and its completion, which is love, to love one another.
There’s a Chinese proverb that says If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap. If you want to be happy for a day, go fishing. If you want to be happy for a month, get married. (Oooh, skip that one! Especially the week before Mothers’ Day!) If you want to be happy for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, help other people.
By obeying Christ’s command to love, His followers abide in God’s presence. “Abide” is a sturdy, secure word. Not only are obedient followers of Christ secure, they also complete the joy that God in Christ intends for all people. This obedience is not, “try it; you’ll like it,” but “try it; it’s good for you and will bring you joy!”
And if Bob Dylan is correct -- whether one serves is not the question, but whom one serves -- then choosing obedience looks like a pretty good option. Being obedient by loving is how one expresses friendship with Christ, and love for God the Creator. (More about that in the I John reading.) Friends are different from servants/slaves, Jesus tells his friends. Servants/slaves do what they’re told. Friends understand why there are to do what they are asked. They’re partners, closer to being equals, than mere servant/slaves. So here’s Jesus not just preparing them for his departure, but giving them a kind of field promotion. Who wouldn’t want to make Christ’s joy complete?
The Acts passage finds Peter in the home of Cornelius who had sent three servants to bring Peter from Caesarea. Cornelius had been praying and Peter had seen a vision saying that no food is unclean that the Lord has declared clean.
Peter finds himself in the presence of Jews, Cornelius and his household, and Gentiles. As Peter is preaching, the Jewish believers are astounded that the Holy Spirit has been poured into Gentiles! Luke uses this term a lot. In his gospel we find Jesus “astounding,” “amazing,” “perplexing,” and “astonishing” people all the time. His miracles are something no one had ever seen before, and he keeps doing these things.
In this scene it is the Holy Spirit that does the astounding, but again here is an undeniable sign of the presence of God Almighty. There’s something irresistible about the action of the Holy Spirit. Last week the Ethiopian eunuch asked, what would prevent him from being baptized, right now!
This time it’s Peter who says, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” It is significant that it is Peter who says there should be no barrier to baptizing these Gentiles. He’s one of Jesus’ inner circle; he’s a pious Jew. He is the ultimate insider. If he says these people should be brought into the fold (pastoral image from a few weeks ago) then by golly, they should be welcomed in!
The I John reading challenges our accepted vision of love as the other readings do, to love God is to obey God’s commandments. This concept of love and obedience, spills over into how we love other people: “we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” (5.2)
Think about this, we’re commanded to love God. Our love for God is confirmed when we love other people (ie. Children of God) and obey God’s commandments. The vertical -- love for God -- and the horizontal -- love for other people -- intersect in this verse, just as the two pieces of the cross intersect. And it is this faith, horizontal and vertical dimensions combined, that conquers the world.
This text also bridges another gap nicely. We saw the victory of faith over death on Easter, several weeks ago. This verse, at the same time, points ahead to Pentecost and the work of the Spirit.
If we’re talking about love conquering (we are!), take a look back at Romans 8. In my opinion this is the strongest passage in scripture. In his letter to the Romans who are fearful of lots of things--hunger, persecution, nakedness, the civil authorities (police), the past the future, things above, things below, death, life, angels, demons--he reminds them that they are more than conquers through the one who proved God’s love for us. None of those things can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can prevent us from conquering the world.
And to conquer is to love is to serve.
In the Sermon
The preacher may want to refer to I Corinthians 13, the ode to love that is read at weddings. Look at the verbs: love hopes, believes, endures…it never ends. The commitment and loyalty described in these verbs -- and lifted up at wedding ceremonies -- is not about goo-goo eyes and holding hands; it’s about acting out the verbs of love for another person. When Jesus tells his disciples to “abide” in His love, as he does throughout the farewell discourse to them from chapters 13 through 17 of John’s gospel, he is inviting them to -- and reminding them -- to trust, live in unity, express the knowledge of the Living God they have gained by walking beside Jesus and to love as he has loved.
Worshippers should be shocked (astounded?) by how counter culturally Christians are called to love. This kind of love, if not perilous; it calls believers to be vulnerable, and to recognize the common humanity we share as children of God.
To love others is to obey God. To love others is to complete the joy that Christ desires for His followers. To love God is to be obedient residents (abiders) in the realm of heaven. And we can do all of this because, as I John reminded us last week -- God started it. We love, because God first loved us.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Some parts of friendship are expected -- eating together, bringing meals, helping out with a home project, picking up kids, and supporting a friend in a crisis. Other ways we give support are unexpected. We stand up in a friend’s wedding in clothes we detest, travel across the country when needed, and raise each other’s kids when life goes awry.
Surely, Michael Cohen, the President’s attorney, never imagined himself needing a lawyer of his own because of his long relationship with the President. After previously denying that he knew about any deal with adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, the President acknowledged the other day that Cohen did represent him in the deal. Both Cohen and Clifford have said that Clifford was paid to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Trump. Cohen has said that he paid Clifford out of his own money, and that he took out a loan to do so. The politics of this are unsavory, but it’s clear that Cohen has gone to extraordinary lengths to serve the President, all along showing tremendous loyalty to him.
The President, on the other hand, “downplayed his relationship with Cohen, saying the attorney barely represented him…That undercuts Cohen's case that there might be privileged communications in the evidence seized [from his office and home] by the FBI, which is the reason Cohen's legal team has given for asking a federal judge to appoint a "special master" to review the material -- rather than permitting a Justice Department "filter team" to go through it.”
The President’s comments to Fox News complicated matters for Cohen, as he discussed “the legal situation of Michael Cohen, one of his personal attorneys, who, joined by Trump, is engaged in a legal battle over a hush agreement with Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress and director whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. On Wednesday, Cohen filed an affidavit saying that he wanted to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in those proceedings.”
Apart from the legal wrangling, the case raises questions about loyalty, and whether it has a limit. It also prompts us to think about whether we become like the people to whom we are connected. Everyone who has ever been a teenager has heard some variation of the parental warning that we’re judged by the company we keep, or has lived with the parental fear that we will become like our most impolite, least ambitious friends. Is his connection with the President going to turn out to be part of downward spiral for Mr. Cohen? Or vice versa? “It would have been very easy for Trump to decline to comment on Cohen’s troubles, which have included an FBI raid on his office, his hotel room, and his home...“this crazy Stormy Daniels deal” is so crazy largely because Trump and his lawyers have done pretty much everything they could to make it more public and worse for themselves. It is in keeping with the legal madness that the case in which Cohen says he will remain silent is one that he set in motion -- first by asking an arbitrator to enforce the hush agreement (which Trump, incidentally, never got around to signing…)”
Speaking here as part of his farewell message, Jesus has a higher view of friendship. It grows from the foundation of God’s abiding love for him, and then his for his friends. This is the commandment that he leaves with them -- to love one another. We’re down from ten commandments to just one, which will take care of all the others, if followed. His vision for friendship invites his followers into a close connection with him -- a kind of dwelling in him. From that rootedness, we bear fruit. We also become more like Jesus, as we are so closely joined.
The same rootedness in each other happens in our closest human relationships. In the places where our lives are joined with partners, friends or colleagues, we see how we influence and change each other. Our peaceful friends make us more peaceful, and our dramatic friends bring more drama into our lives. The friends who drink more or swear more get us to do the same. The friends who do volunteer work inspire us in the same direction. When we’re connected to someone, their lives spill over into ours -- for better or worse. After twenty years of marriage, I can see some of the places where being rooted with one particular partner has changed how I see the world. Each of us is still waiting for the other to change how we load the dishwasher, however!
An even deeper process happens as we abide in Jesus. Beginning with love, we find our roots and form our lives in the pattern of Jesus, as we abide in him. His life shapes ours. In our culture, abiding anywhere is spiritual work. With our shortened attention spans, and a thousand choices about how to spend any one moment, we can move from game to chat to book to video and back again, without ever fixing our attention anywhere. Abiding -- staying put somewhere -- is choice we make. Jesus has already chosen us, and invites us to keep choosing to deepen our roots in him. Best of all, he calls us friends.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Acts 10:44-48
God shows up where we’d least expect:
James H. Cone, known as the founder of black liberation theology, died on April 28. Cone understood that the context of theology matters, and that God is often found in surprising places. Perhaps like those who were surprised and astounded by the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out “even on the Gentiles,” would also be surprised and astounded at the breadth of Cone’s gift to the church.
Cone understood that the context of Black theology was a reminder that “God is always found where we don’t expect. With a slave in Egypt. On a cross in Jerusalem. On a lynching tree in the U.S.” Critical of white theologians and institution for upholding white supremacy, Cone believed that just as the Spirit was poured out on Gentiles, so shall overturning structural racism bring redemption even to white oppressors.
“This is a theology that comes from slaves, sharecroppers, janitors, and maids. That was why most people thought it could not be important intellectually or theologically,” Cone said in a lecture at Yale Divinity School in April, 2017. “But they were wrong. Black liberation theology is alive and well and being taught at colleges and seminaries, and being preached in churches, all over the world.”
* * *
1 John 5:1-5
The Spirit of truth:
James Cone’s theology resonated with calls to face the truth regarding racism and white supremacy. Recognizing the Spirit of truth was vital, Cone insisted. His own testimony as a theologian, scholar, and interpreter of faith reflected this commitment of a love which overcomes the world.
"Indeed our survival and liberation depend upon our recognition of the truth when it is spoken and lived by the people. If we cannot recognize the truth, then it cannot liberate us from untruth. To know the truth is to appropriate it, for it is not mainly reflection and theory. Truth is divine action entering our lives and creating the human action of liberation." (Cone, God of the Oppressed.)
* * *
Loving God, obeying God
The writer of the Epistle of John enjoins his audience to seek a love which overcomes the world. That is the sort of hope embodied by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, as well as others who worked to create the National Memorial for Peace and Justice which opened last week in Montgomery, AL. The monument honors the thousands of black persons lynched in the United States, a century’s long horror the New York Times calls “one of the nation’s least recognized atrocities.” Above a cloistered walkway hangs 800 steel columns, each containing the name of an American county and the names of people lynched in the county. For Stevenson, the monument represents an attempt to speak the truth of stories which have often been unheard. There’s no doubt for him that this is an expression of love which could overcome the world. “If I believe that each of us is more than the worst thing he’s ever done,” Stevenson said, “I have to believe that for everybody.”
Others, however, see the monument as promoting hostility. Opponents of the monument describe it as opening “old wounds,” and “putting the emphasis on discrimination and cruelty.” Just a mile away from the monument is the First White House of the Confederacy, which honors the life of Jefferson Davis. The often blatantly racist criticism of the monument provides a reminder of what is involved in keeping a “burdensome” commandment as opposed to loving God and the neighbor, which 1 John says is not burdensome at all.
* * *
John 15:9-17
You’ve got a friend in me:
Somebody cue Randy Newman. Washington, DC was buzzing with ruffles and flourishes for last week’s official state visit by French President, and official best buddy of the United States, Emmanuel Macron. Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Macron dazzled photographers with gowns and heels, but nearly every eye was on the touchy-feely bromantic exchanges between Macron and Donald Trump. As they posed for official photographs, Trump picked a flake of dandruff from Macron’s suit.
“We have a very special relationship, in fact I’ll get that little piece of dandruff off,” Trump declared to reporters as the two leaders posed for photos before a meeting. “We have to make him perfect. He is perfect,” added Trump, flicking his fingers across Macron’s dark-suited shoulder.
All buddy moves aside, France and the United States do enjoy a long history of friendship, symbolized by Macron’s gift of an oak tree which had originally sprouted at the site of a World War I battle in France. But even gifts from your bestie are subject to protocol: after the immigrating tree was planted on the White House lawn by both presidents, it was “unplanted” and taken into quarantine as required by customs and immigration officials.
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From team member Ron Love:
Love
At the age of 103, Sister Agnes-Marie Valois recently died. Valois took her vows as a nun in 1936 and worked as a nurse at the hospital in Dieppe, France. The mayor of the city, Nicolas Langlois, had the city flags lowered to half-staff to pay tribute to “a great lady of our history.” And, Sister Valois was truly a great lady. But, Sister Valois is better known as the “White Angel” by the Canadian soldiers whose wounds she treated in World War Two, after the disastrous Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. The Dieppe Raid is remembered as one of the darkest chapters in Canada’s military history. A 6,000-man force made an amphibious assault on Dieppe, only to be repelled by the superior fire power of the Germans who were defending the beach. Of the nearly 5,000 Canadians who took part, 913 were killed and 2,000 were taken prisoner. Those who were wounded were tended to by the White Angel at the Dieppe hospital.
Application: Jesus instructed us to love one another. Love can take many forms, and for the White Angel it was providing medical treatment for the wounded soldiers who tried to liberate her city.
* * *
Love
The investigation into the death of Prince has been completed. The 57-year-old singer was found dead on April 21, 2016 in the elevator at his Paisley Park studio compound in suburban Minneapolis. An autopsy showed that he died of an accidental dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin. Prince did not know he was taking the dangerous drug, which was laced in counterfeit pills made to look like a generic version of the painkiller Vicodin. Prince protected his privacy, so even those nearest to him were unaware of the seriousness of his addiction to opioids. His hands hurt from his performances, and friends asked him to stop touring. Yet, Prince secretly kept taking opioids so he could continue his energetic shows. His bodyguard knew that Prince was unwell and took him to a doctor. Yet, his addiction remained a secret. Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said that his friends might have prevented Prince’s death, but in their “zeal” to protect his privacy they chose not to intervene. The investigation revealed that Prince died isolated, addicted and in pain.
Application: Sometimes loving our friends means we will intervene in their lives, even when we are not invited.
* * *
Commandments
In the newspaper comic Peanuts, we have Sally sitting at a desk trying to complete a homework assignment. Her brother, Charlie Brown, is standing next to her. Sally, looking down at her paper, says to her brother, “I have to do a paper for school on Ken and Abel.” Then, picking up her report she says, “I’ve been looking all through the Old Testament, and I’ve found Abel, but I can’t find Ken.” Sally then turns and looking directly at her sibling asks. “Do you think maybe I’m using the wrong translation?” Sally, discouraged, now has her chin resting on her hand. Charlie has now placed both his arms on the table and thinks to himself, “I never know what to say…”
Application: Jesus said that in order to understand love we must first understand his commandments. Biblical love demands biblical literacy.
* * *
Love
During the Civil War, the cadets at the Citadel Military College, located in Charleston, South Carolina, were sent to defend an island off the South Carolina coast. A few months before the war began, the cadets were able to stop a Union resupply mission. After the war began, Union forces were able to seize the island from the students. A solider from Iowa took the Citadel battle flag back to his home state. In 2009 the Iowa State Historical Society realized that the flag that had been donated to them was none other than the “Big Red.” The red flag with the white palmetto tree, the symbol for South Carolina, was the flag the cadets flew while defending the island. Iowa has loaned the flag to South Carolina until 2021, when the state must return the “Big Red” to Iowa. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has written a letter to Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds asking if she would allow “Big Red” to remain permanently at the Citadel. In his letter, McMaster’s asked Reynolds to show “goodwill.”
Application: To love our neighbor involves showing goodwill.
* * *
Love
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the Library of Congress is bringing 444,000 words to Los Angeles. The Library of Congress is going to display 440 photographs at the Anneenberg Space For Photography. The display is being called “Not An Ostrich: And Other Images From America’s Library.” The staff of the library looked at more than 1 million of library’s 14 million photographs, and then selected 440 to be put on display. The show is a picturesque journey across our country, from the birth of photography until the present day. The photographs will be collected and displayed in separate multiple themes. There will be a section for sports, famous people, poverty, scenic scenes, social injustice, politics, humor, to just name a few of the categories. Exhibit curator Anne Wilkes Tucker said, “I’ll be disappointed if somebody can come into this space and not find as least one picture that they love.”
Application: Every day we ought to be able to see something that we love.
* * *
Love
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the Library of Congress is bringing 444,000 words to Los Angeles. The Library of Congress is going to display 440 photographs at the Anneenberg Space For Photography. The display is being called “Not An Ostrich: And Other Images From America’s Library.” The staff of the library looked at more than 1 million of library’s 14 million photographs, and then selected 440 to be put on display. The show is a picturesque journey across our country, from the birth of photography until the present day. The photographs will be collected and displayed in separate multiple themes. There will be a section for sports, famous people, poverty, scenic scenes, social injustice, politics, humor, to just name a few of the categories.
The exhibit will have one reliable photo standby that everyone will enjoy -- the funny cat picture. The one that will be shown in Los Angles was a photograph taken in 1936. It shows an annoyed looking feline dressed to resemble the female warrior Brunhilde. Beverly Brannan, who is the Library of Congress photo curator, said of the picture, “Around the turn of the century, in the early 19-somethings, people liked to make pictures of cats and dogs, putting them at tea tables with dolls, putting clothes on them.” Brannan revealed that at least one aspect of photography hasn’t changed much in the 150 years since its birth.
Application: The meaning and purpose of love has remained constant throughout the history of humanity. This is why Jesus’ teachings on love are still so relevant today.
* * *
Love
In Montgomery, Alabama, an exhibit being displayed for the first time by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. This project was created by the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative, which is a legal advocacy organization in Montgomery. The memorial will be the nation’s first site to document racial inequality from slavery through Jim Crow to the issues of today. The site will include a memorial to the victims of 4,400 “terror lynchings” of black people. These occurred in 800 United States counties from 1877 through 1950. All but 300 were in the South. The number would be much higher if those lynched during the Reconstruction years, which began in 1865 and ended in 1877, were recorded. These were called “terror lynchings” because the purpose of the hangings was to impose fear on blacks and to maintain strict white control. Bryan Stevenson, the director of the program, regarding the importance of the exhibit said, “Most people in this country can’t name a single African-American who was lynched between 1877 and 1950, even though thousands of African-Americans were subjected to this violence.”
Application: To be loving is to recognize the suffering of others.
* * *
Love
In the newspaper comic Peanuts, Snoopy started to befriend birds in the early 1960s. In 1966 the bird Woodstock was introduced. Woodstock became Snoopy’s sidekick and best friend. At first the bird had no name, but in the early 1970s he was named Woodstock, after the 1969 music festival in New York state. Woodstock only speaks with exclamation points to the reader, so Snoopy must always interrupt what the “!!!!!!!” means. In this episode they are both sitting atop of Snoopy’s doghouse. Snoopy tells us that “Woodstock went to this party last night.” In the next frame a few hearts have been inserted in the explanation points, so Snoopy is able to tell us, “There was this cute little Sparrow, see, and he sort of fell for her…” With this news Snoopy has a joyful look upon his face, only to have it turn to a look of confusion in the next frame as the conversation continues, “But then this Blue Jay told him that this Robin who was with this Hummingbird still liked this Sparrow who liked this Canary who liked this Blue Jay, and…” As Woodstock continues to ramble on, Snoopy turns his head and shares his thoughts with us, saying, “Actually, it’s very confusing.”
Application: Love can be very confusing, but it is always joyful.
* * *
Love
Lt. Col. Alfred M Worden was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 moon mission. One of his assignments was to orbit the moon for 74 hours as Col. David R. Scotts and Col. James B. Irwin explored the surface below. Each revolution of the moon took the command module, Endeavor, about two hours -- one hour in light, one hour in dark. Half the journey along the face of the moon was illuminated by the reflection of sunlight; the other half was spent in the utter blackness of deep space. Part of the journey would view the moon, bright and glorious, as all people from earth see it; the return journey would be around the mysterious side never seen from earth. The front side of the moon, the one which always faces the earth, had a surface that was pitted with deep craters contrasted against tall mountains. The terrain was rocky and rugged, difficult to traverse. The back side, or far side of the moon, the side always hidden from earth, was, in the words of Worden, a terrain of “roundness, softness, a kind of fluffiness.” There were many craters, but non-with slopes as sheer as observed on the front side. The front side was jagged: the far side was smooth. What could be the cause of this? Astronaut Worden offered the following explanation: “It seemed that the far side terrain had undergone such relentless meteorite bombardment for billions of years that the early surface features had all been reworked and smoothed out.” The far side of the moon, unprotected, facing an endless outer space constantly bombarded by meteorites. The destructive force of the meteorites actually had a healing effect upon the moon’s far side surface, causing what was once rough to become smooth. Though on the front side, the side of the moon protected by earth, the surface was still tattered.
Application: Being able to accept those who are blemished is love.
* * *
Love
Actress Ann Julian’s struggle with breast cancer and her resulting double mastectomy has been much publicized. The inducement for Ann’s openness was to encourage and support others who are enduring a similar ailment. Ann’s husband, Andy, extends the same sympathy to the public. His sentiment is best expressed in a comment he made after viewing President Reagan on television. The newscast showed the President lugging a potted plant to his wife Nancy, a patient at Bethesda Naval Hospital who also had a mastectomy. Observing Ronald Reagan’s concern for his beloved spouse, Andy concurred, “I felt sorry for him simply a guy, just like you and me. He may be the President of the United States, but at that moment he was a husband worried about his wife.”
Application: Love is being able to understand someone else’s suffering as if it was our own.
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From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
The Myth of Redemptive Violence
In his book, The Powers that Be, Walter Wink introduces a concept that he calls the Myth of Redemptive Violence. It is, he says, an archetypal plot in literature that reaches back to Babylonian mythology in about 1250 BCE and continues in popular entertainment, today.
In the Babylonian myth primal existence is controlled by Tiamat who rules over other, lesser, flawed and ineffective gods through chaos and evil. Marduk offers to slay Tiamat but only if the other gods give him absolute rule over all the gods.
The gods quickly agree and Marduk defeats Tiamat and her minions in a series of violent and grizzly encounters then creates the world from Tiamat’s corpse and humanity from her blood.
All of creation, especially the world and humanity, are redeemed through violence and this same, basic plot continues to play out in comic books, super hero films, television programs, and popular fiction from James Bond to The Outlaw Josey Wales.
God vs. Empire
In his book God and Empire, John Dominic Crossan illustrates how Jesus offered an alternative empire to that of Rome.
In the Roman Empire peace such as that of the Pax Romana, was equated with quiet submission which was achieved through violence and oppression. Violence + Oppression = Peace (quiet submission).
In Jesus’s alternative empire real peace as defined by shalom is achieved through love and justice. Love + Justice = Peace (shalom).
It is this alternative empire that will, eventually, conquer the world.
* * *
Amor Vincit Omnia
“Love conquers all,” is a quote from the Roman poet, Virgil’s earliest work, Eclogues, a series of ten poems that depict two shepherds taking to each other about life, love, and philosophy. Because Eclogues is mired so deeply in ancient Roman mythology and allegory, it is extremely difficult to interpret, today.
These three words are, in fact, the only ones to survive in modern, popular literature.
They appear near the end of Eclogue 10 which is a tribute to Virgil’s mentor and friend, Gaius Cornelius Gallus, a poet and statesman who was an early supporter of the emperor, Augustus. As a reward for his support, Gallus was appointed by Augustus to be prefect of Egypt. After putting down a revolt in Thebes in 29 BCE, Gallus erected a monument to himself and his accomplishments which displeased Augustus who ordered him to return to Rome.
Humiliated by his demotion, Gallus committed suicide.
Virgil concludes his memorial to Gallus with the words, “Amor vincit omnia, et nos cedamus amori.” Love conquers all so we, too, shall submit to love.
It has often been interpreted to mean that if we have true love we can overcome any obstacle. Given the context of the poem, however, others interpret it to mean that Gallus’s great flaw was that he loved Augustus, Rome, and himself too much and this great love led to his tragic downfall. He was, himself, conquered by love and, once you submit to love, you are doomed, as was Gallus.
* * *
Love Conquers Fear
The November 2010 issue of Psychology Today contains a story entitled "Stealth Superpowers," about how the brain's automatic fear-response systems can unleash hidden mental and physical abilities. In it he relates this story:
"Oh God, do you see that?" his wife said.
Tom Boyle saw it: the crumpled frame of a bike under the car's bumper, and tangled within it a boy, trapped. That's when Boyle got out and started running. For an agonizing eternity the Camaro screeched on, dragging the mass under it. As it slowed to a stop he could hear the bicyclist pounding on the car with his free hand, screaming. Without hesitating Boyle bent down, grabbed the bottom of the chassis, and lifted with everything he had. Slowly, the car's frame rose a few inches. The bicyclist screamed for him to keep lifting. Boyle strained. "It's off me!" the boy yelled. Someone pulled him free, and Boyle let the car back down, having accomplished an almost unthinkable feat of strength.
Author Jeff Wise notes that the world record for dead-lifting a barbell is 1,003 pounds and a stock Camaro weighs 3000 pounds. So how did Boyle do it?
Wise says that we have two kinds of strength – fine motor and gross motor, small muscles and big muscles. As we age our fine motor skills deteriorate but our gross motor strength does not. The body and mind, however, put limits on what we are capable of doing so that we don’t hurt ourselves.
Most people, for instance, use only about 65 percent of their muscles’ maximum theoretical strength. Under stress, as in a competition, they might use as much as 80 percent. In a life and death situation, however, the sky’s the limit. The body releases all of the theoretical strength in the muscles and shuts down the pain response.
So that’s how Tom Boyle was able to lift a 3000 lb. car and it’s how he didn’t realize until later that he had clenched his jaw so tightly that he broke eight molars.
* * *
The Death of Gilbert
William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) was one of the most successful and popular playwrights of his time, the creator of farces, operetta libretti, extravaganzas, fairy comedies, adaptations from novels, translations from the French, and even the occasional serious drama.
He is most famous, however, for being half of the writing team of Gilbert and Sullivan that created fourteen comic operettas including “HMS Pinafore,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” and their most popular work, “The Mikado.”
Few realize, however, that W.S. Gilbert died a hero’s death.
In 1911, at the age of 74, he was teaching two young girls how to swim in Grim’s Dyke, a lake on his country estate. When one of the girls ventured into water that was too deep and began to flounder and call for help, Gilbert dove into the water to swim out and rescue her. He managed to get her to the shallows but the exertion caused him to have a heart attack. He died near the middle of the lake.
* * *
Anchorage to Nome
In January of 1926, six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria, signaling the possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome, Alaska. When the boy passed away a day later, Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum. But it wasn't long before Dr. Welch's supply ran out, and the nearest serum was in Anchorage, Alaska--1000 miles of frozen wilderness away.
Amazingly, a group of trappers and prospectors volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams! Operating in relays from trading post to trapping station and beyond, one sled started out from Nome while another, carrying the serum, started from Anchorage. Oblivious to frostbite, fatigue, and exhaustion, the teamsters mushed relentlessly until, after 144 hours in minus 50-degree winds, the serum was delivered to Nome.
As a result, only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. The sacrifice of the mushers had given an entire town the gift of life. Now, every year in Alaska, the 1000-mile Iditarod dogsled race, run for prize money and prestige, commemorates the original "race" that was run to save lives.
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: O sing to God a new song who has done marvelous things.
People: God’s right hand and holy arm have gotten the victory.
Leader: Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth.
People: Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Leader: Sing praises to God with the lyre and the sound of melody.
People: God will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
OR
Leader: The God of Love comes to embrace us today. People: In joy we find ourselves held in God’s love.
Leader: The God of Love comes to embrace those around us.
People: In God’s name we reach out and embrace them, too.
Leader: The God of Love comes to embrace our enemies.
People: With God’s help we will reach out in love to those we estranged from.
Hymns and Songs:
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
“To God Be the Glory”
UMH: 98
PH: 485
AAHH: 157
NNBH: 17
CH: 39
W&P: 66
AMEC: 21
Renew: 258
“Trust and Obey”
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 56
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart”
UMH: 160/161
H82: 556/557
PH: 145/146
AAHH: 537
NNBH: 7
NCH: 55/71
CH: 15
LBW: 553
ELA: 873/874
W&P: 113
AMEC: 8
“What Does the Lord Require”
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
UMH: 400
H82: 686
PH: 356
AAHH: 175
NNBH: 166
NCH: 459
CH: 16
LBW: 499
ELA: 807
W&P: 68
AMEC: 77
STLT: 126
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
UMH: 404
PH: 315
AAHH: 325
NNBH: 485
NCH: 282
CH: 592
W&P: 481
STLT 208
“I Come With Joy“ (Communion)
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELA: 482
W&P: 706
Renew: 195
“Refiner“s Fire”
CCB: 79
“I’m Goin’a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing”
CCB: 22
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
ELA: 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 is love in its purest form:
Grant us the grace to obey your laws of love
so that we may be true children of the Most High;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the purest expression of love. You have guided us with your commandments so that we can walk in your love. Help us to follow your way that we may be your true children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to obey God’s commandments of love.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to follow your commandment to love as you love. We are quick to ascribe to commandments against things that we do not participate in but we are loathe to commit ourselves to love unconditionally. We have high standards for others but not such stringent ones for ourselves. We hold petty grudges and allow small slights, real or imaginary, to destroy the community we call church. Forgive us our selfish, self-centered ways and call us back to your way of love that embraces everyone. Amen.
Leader: God embraces all of us and invites us to join the way of love and grace. Receive these from God and pass them on to others.
Prayers of the People
We praise you, O God of love, for the extravagant gift of your grace. Your love is so pure and deep that it is beyond our understanding.
(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 failed to follow your commandment to love as you love. We are quick to ascribe to commandments against things that we do not participate in but we are loathe to commit ourselves to love unconditionally. We have high standards for others but not such stringent ones for ourselves. We hold petty grudges and allow small slights, real or imaginary, to destroy the community we call church. Forgive us our selfish, self-centered ways and call us back to your way of love that embraces everyone.
We give you thanks for all the blessings which display your love for us and for all creation. Your presence surrounds us and holds us in your grace and life.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We offer into your arms those who struggle because they feel that they are unloved and unlovable. We pray for those who feel that the hardships of life are because they do not deserve to be loved and cared for. We pray for those who are misused and abused by others. We pray for the grace to reach out in your love to those we come in contact with this week.
(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
Talk to the children about friends that they have. What makes a person a friend? (Playing together, enjoying the same things, etc.) Talk about good friend behavior and bad friend behavior. Good: helping, talking, going with you, etc. Bad: hitting, hurting, saying nasty things. We all want good friends. Jesus is our friends. He always cares for us and is always with us.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Friend of Jesus
by Bethany Peerbolt
John 15:9-17, Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98
No matter what age someone is friends are important. The best of friends share openly with each other about fears, hopes, and concerns. John 15:9-17 says that Jesus calls us friends, which means he shares everything about himself with us. We aren’t the only ones who get to have this relationship. Acts 10:44-48 shows us that even people we wouldn’t expect to know Jesus have the chance to be his friend. This realization shouldn’t bum us out but excite us! We all get to share this amazing experience of being close to Jesus and making a joyful noise to God (Psalm 98).
Say in your way:
I want you all to close your eyes and think of one friend or family member who you can tell anything to. Someone you trust very much, who will be happy with you when you are happy and sad with you when you are sad. Can you picture them in your mind? Ok you can open your eyes. Even thinking of them makes us feel warm and loved doesn’t it. Sometimes we want to be their only friend and can get jealous when we see they have other friends too.
John 15: 9-17 says that when Jesus closes his eyes and thinks of someone who he loves he thinks of us…of you…and you…and you (point to each kid). Jesus said that he thinks of us as his trusted best friends who he can be honest with about who he is.
How many of you think that is a lot of best friends to have? I agree it seems like a lot of work, but Jesus is really good at being best friends with lots of people. In fact, in Acts 10:44-48 one of Jesus’ friends named Peter realizes that Jesus is friends with people he wouldn’t even think Jesus would care about. Instead of being mad or sad or jealous that Jesus has other friends Peter is amazed and happy that more people get to know Jesus like he does. Peter makes sure he helps those people have the best friendship with Jesus and baptizes them and teaches them. They all end up being really happy together. Peter invites them to stay at his place for a while.
I’ll bet they partied and celebrated how cool it was to be friends with Jesus. They might have even sung some songs like Psalm 98 which says we should make a joyful noise for God. What do you think that sounded like, to make a joyful noise? (Encourage the kids to shout joyfully for a little while. Allow them to be silly and have some pure fun in the sanctuary) GREAT JOB! Jesus wants us to join his friends in places like this church to celebrate and to love one another. Now that we have some energy out let’s say a prayer for what we have learned.
Friend and God, thank you for the friends around me. We promise to celebrate together and love each other. In our friend Jesus’ name, Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 6, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 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.
- Gotta Serve Somebody... by Tom Willadsen -- Love is commanded of the followers of Jesus Christ. If we get it right, we conquer the world. What’s up with that?
- Second Thoughts by Mary Austin -- Mary explores how the commandment to love one another by laying down our lives for each other differs from taking a loyalty oath (such as the Mafia’s “omerta” code). Jesus’ act is a selfless act of giving which discloses grace; blind loyalty is an act of self-preservation that conceals the truth.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Ron Love, Dean Feldmeyer that demonstrate the importance of love and obedience.
- Worship resources by George Reed that focus on love and obedience.
- Friend of Jesus -- Children's sermon by Bethany Peerbolt -- No matter what age someone is friends are important. The best of friends share openly with each other about fears, hopes, and concerns.
Gotta Serve Somebody
by Tom Willadsen
Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17
Today’s Epistle and Gospel readings talk of love in a way that 21st century Americans do not. For us, love is mostly a feeling, a warm feeling of affection, even an involuntary feeling of affection. The metaphor is “falling” in love, not choosing to invest one’s social and emotional capital in the well-being of another.
The notion that love is expressed as obedience is also a challenge for us. Bob Dylan won a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his song “Gotta Serve Somebody.”
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
What would it mean if one substituted “love” for “serve”?
Isn’t loving service what Jesus is trying to get his disciples to feel then do in his farewell discourse in John’s gospel from chapters 13-17?
It is love that motivates one to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
It is love that the disciples experienced as Jesus washed their feet.
It is this love that is commanded of followers of Jesus.
In the News
There are two profoundly different worldviews present in the United States today. The stark contrast in this nation is evidenced in other nations as well. Perhaps it’s a coincidental rise in populism; the inevitable pendulum swing response to a drive for global connection and the integration of societies around the world. We see it in the contrast between a wall and a bridge, but they are mere metaphors for the deep division between engaging in, and withdrawing from, the world.
Our own leader has decided that as Commander in Chief, his role is to put the interests of the United States ahead of everything else. In fairness, he urges other nations to put their own interests first as well. There is a kind of provincialism, if not hubris, in engaging in the global culture this way. Treaties and trade agreements that have taken years, even decades, to be enacted are being unraveled by assessing them solely on whether they are economically beneficial to our nation. The complexity -- that for example what is good for our steel industry may come at a cost to our agricultural interests -- requires a certain sophistication to appreciate, to balance nuance and subtlety and even competing interests and ambiguity that has yet to be demonstrated by our current executive.
One illustration of the peril of going it alone globally is in the limitation of responses we can make as a nation to crises in other parts of the world. The effort to slash the budget of the State Department makes it much more difficult for “soft diplomacy” to be implemented to build relationships and goodwill that may have the effect of reducing civil unrest and instability in other nations, thus making armed conflict less likely. Our interests overseas are protected by stable governments that have the resources to secure and protect themselves. Empty embassies and skeletal staffing in other countries, on the other hand, reduce our options when emergencies arise. “Hard diplomacy” and military options become the only possible response, because other potential approaches have been undermined or abandoned.
A mighty army can (and will) conquer and dominate. That’s not what the Bible instructs followers of Jesus to do. We’re advised to “overcome evil with love.”
The biblical notion of love conquering anything is ludicrous and laughable as a response to societies that must be evil, because we have stopped trying to understand them. The escalation of threats, followed by the escalation of violence, is not only how wars begin, it is how truces remain tenuous and fragile. That is the opposite of abiding in God’s love as expressed in Christ’s life and ministry.
Obedient love is nutty as a response to the evil we fear on the other side of the wall.
The divide between those who would engage in globalism, and those who insist on looking out for our national interest is a barrier built of fear. And fear cannot be reasoned with. The antidote to fear is a desire to understand.
As Rush sang
Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand.
(“Witch Hunt”, from the album “Moving Pictures,” 1981)
Or as we see in I John 4:18, “perfect love casts out fear.” (NKJV, et al.)
What if our foreign policy were rooted in a desire to conquer the world, not with superior military force, not with movies and popular culture that portray an idealized vision of life in the United States, but with truly obedient love that conquers enemies by turning them into friends?
In the Scriptures
There is a thread of universalism in this day’s readings.
But before jumping into them, here’s a sample of what scripture tells us about how to treat our enemies.
Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you...
(Matthew 5:44)
…do good to those who hate you.
(Luke 6:27)
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.
(Romans 12:20, based on Proverbs 22:25 NIV)
This last one really sounds like the best way to cause bodily injury to your enemy is to be kind. There are two other potential interpretations that the wise preacher will provide.
Either heaping hot coals on one’s newly-fed enemy will totally get his attention, or the hot coals are a metaphor for the feeling of being flushed with shame at having one’s hostility undone by receiving kindness. (I know camp season is coming, and young hearers of next Sunday’s sermons will be sitting around camp fires in the coming months -- so be sure to be explicit that this image is not to be taken literally!)
Psalm 98 tells us that all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of God. The psalmist cries
Let the sea and everything in it roar/
Let the floods clap their hands and the hills sing together for joy!
It is not only people who will bask in the coming victory of God almighty, it is all of creation, the whole universe. God’s love is strong, deep and infinite!
In the gospel reading, another part of Jesus’ lengthy farewell discourse to his disciples is about joy, and its completion, which is love, to love one another.
There’s a Chinese proverb that says If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap. If you want to be happy for a day, go fishing. If you want to be happy for a month, get married. (Oooh, skip that one! Especially the week before Mothers’ Day!) If you want to be happy for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, help other people.
By obeying Christ’s command to love, His followers abide in God’s presence. “Abide” is a sturdy, secure word. Not only are obedient followers of Christ secure, they also complete the joy that God in Christ intends for all people. This obedience is not, “try it; you’ll like it,” but “try it; it’s good for you and will bring you joy!”
And if Bob Dylan is correct -- whether one serves is not the question, but whom one serves -- then choosing obedience looks like a pretty good option. Being obedient by loving is how one expresses friendship with Christ, and love for God the Creator. (More about that in the I John reading.) Friends are different from servants/slaves, Jesus tells his friends. Servants/slaves do what they’re told. Friends understand why there are to do what they are asked. They’re partners, closer to being equals, than mere servant/slaves. So here’s Jesus not just preparing them for his departure, but giving them a kind of field promotion. Who wouldn’t want to make Christ’s joy complete?
The Acts passage finds Peter in the home of Cornelius who had sent three servants to bring Peter from Caesarea. Cornelius had been praying and Peter had seen a vision saying that no food is unclean that the Lord has declared clean.
Peter finds himself in the presence of Jews, Cornelius and his household, and Gentiles. As Peter is preaching, the Jewish believers are astounded that the Holy Spirit has been poured into Gentiles! Luke uses this term a lot. In his gospel we find Jesus “astounding,” “amazing,” “perplexing,” and “astonishing” people all the time. His miracles are something no one had ever seen before, and he keeps doing these things.
In this scene it is the Holy Spirit that does the astounding, but again here is an undeniable sign of the presence of God Almighty. There’s something irresistible about the action of the Holy Spirit. Last week the Ethiopian eunuch asked, what would prevent him from being baptized, right now!
This time it’s Peter who says, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” It is significant that it is Peter who says there should be no barrier to baptizing these Gentiles. He’s one of Jesus’ inner circle; he’s a pious Jew. He is the ultimate insider. If he says these people should be brought into the fold (pastoral image from a few weeks ago) then by golly, they should be welcomed in!
The I John reading challenges our accepted vision of love as the other readings do, to love God is to obey God’s commandments. This concept of love and obedience, spills over into how we love other people: “we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” (5.2)
Think about this, we’re commanded to love God. Our love for God is confirmed when we love other people (ie. Children of God) and obey God’s commandments. The vertical -- love for God -- and the horizontal -- love for other people -- intersect in this verse, just as the two pieces of the cross intersect. And it is this faith, horizontal and vertical dimensions combined, that conquers the world.
This text also bridges another gap nicely. We saw the victory of faith over death on Easter, several weeks ago. This verse, at the same time, points ahead to Pentecost and the work of the Spirit.
If we’re talking about love conquering (we are!), take a look back at Romans 8. In my opinion this is the strongest passage in scripture. In his letter to the Romans who are fearful of lots of things--hunger, persecution, nakedness, the civil authorities (police), the past the future, things above, things below, death, life, angels, demons--he reminds them that they are more than conquers through the one who proved God’s love for us. None of those things can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can prevent us from conquering the world.
And to conquer is to love is to serve.
In the Sermon
The preacher may want to refer to I Corinthians 13, the ode to love that is read at weddings. Look at the verbs: love hopes, believes, endures…it never ends. The commitment and loyalty described in these verbs -- and lifted up at wedding ceremonies -- is not about goo-goo eyes and holding hands; it’s about acting out the verbs of love for another person. When Jesus tells his disciples to “abide” in His love, as he does throughout the farewell discourse to them from chapters 13 through 17 of John’s gospel, he is inviting them to -- and reminding them -- to trust, live in unity, express the knowledge of the Living God they have gained by walking beside Jesus and to love as he has loved.
Worshippers should be shocked (astounded?) by how counter culturally Christians are called to love. This kind of love, if not perilous; it calls believers to be vulnerable, and to recognize the common humanity we share as children of God.
To love others is to obey God. To love others is to complete the joy that Christ desires for His followers. To love God is to be obedient residents (abiders) in the realm of heaven. And we can do all of this because, as I John reminded us last week -- God started it. We love, because God first loved us.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Some parts of friendship are expected -- eating together, bringing meals, helping out with a home project, picking up kids, and supporting a friend in a crisis. Other ways we give support are unexpected. We stand up in a friend’s wedding in clothes we detest, travel across the country when needed, and raise each other’s kids when life goes awry.
Surely, Michael Cohen, the President’s attorney, never imagined himself needing a lawyer of his own because of his long relationship with the President. After previously denying that he knew about any deal with adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, the President acknowledged the other day that Cohen did represent him in the deal. Both Cohen and Clifford have said that Clifford was paid to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Trump. Cohen has said that he paid Clifford out of his own money, and that he took out a loan to do so. The politics of this are unsavory, but it’s clear that Cohen has gone to extraordinary lengths to serve the President, all along showing tremendous loyalty to him.
The President, on the other hand, “downplayed his relationship with Cohen, saying the attorney barely represented him…That undercuts Cohen's case that there might be privileged communications in the evidence seized [from his office and home] by the FBI, which is the reason Cohen's legal team has given for asking a federal judge to appoint a "special master" to review the material -- rather than permitting a Justice Department "filter team" to go through it.”
The President’s comments to Fox News complicated matters for Cohen, as he discussed “the legal situation of Michael Cohen, one of his personal attorneys, who, joined by Trump, is engaged in a legal battle over a hush agreement with Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress and director whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. On Wednesday, Cohen filed an affidavit saying that he wanted to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in those proceedings.”
Apart from the legal wrangling, the case raises questions about loyalty, and whether it has a limit. It also prompts us to think about whether we become like the people to whom we are connected. Everyone who has ever been a teenager has heard some variation of the parental warning that we’re judged by the company we keep, or has lived with the parental fear that we will become like our most impolite, least ambitious friends. Is his connection with the President going to turn out to be part of downward spiral for Mr. Cohen? Or vice versa? “It would have been very easy for Trump to decline to comment on Cohen’s troubles, which have included an FBI raid on his office, his hotel room, and his home...“this crazy Stormy Daniels deal” is so crazy largely because Trump and his lawyers have done pretty much everything they could to make it more public and worse for themselves. It is in keeping with the legal madness that the case in which Cohen says he will remain silent is one that he set in motion -- first by asking an arbitrator to enforce the hush agreement (which Trump, incidentally, never got around to signing…)”
Speaking here as part of his farewell message, Jesus has a higher view of friendship. It grows from the foundation of God’s abiding love for him, and then his for his friends. This is the commandment that he leaves with them -- to love one another. We’re down from ten commandments to just one, which will take care of all the others, if followed. His vision for friendship invites his followers into a close connection with him -- a kind of dwelling in him. From that rootedness, we bear fruit. We also become more like Jesus, as we are so closely joined.
The same rootedness in each other happens in our closest human relationships. In the places where our lives are joined with partners, friends or colleagues, we see how we influence and change each other. Our peaceful friends make us more peaceful, and our dramatic friends bring more drama into our lives. The friends who drink more or swear more get us to do the same. The friends who do volunteer work inspire us in the same direction. When we’re connected to someone, their lives spill over into ours -- for better or worse. After twenty years of marriage, I can see some of the places where being rooted with one particular partner has changed how I see the world. Each of us is still waiting for the other to change how we load the dishwasher, however!
An even deeper process happens as we abide in Jesus. Beginning with love, we find our roots and form our lives in the pattern of Jesus, as we abide in him. His life shapes ours. In our culture, abiding anywhere is spiritual work. With our shortened attention spans, and a thousand choices about how to spend any one moment, we can move from game to chat to book to video and back again, without ever fixing our attention anywhere. Abiding -- staying put somewhere -- is choice we make. Jesus has already chosen us, and invites us to keep choosing to deepen our roots in him. Best of all, he calls us friends.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Acts 10:44-48
God shows up where we’d least expect:
James H. Cone, known as the founder of black liberation theology, died on April 28. Cone understood that the context of theology matters, and that God is often found in surprising places. Perhaps like those who were surprised and astounded by the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out “even on the Gentiles,” would also be surprised and astounded at the breadth of Cone’s gift to the church.
Cone understood that the context of Black theology was a reminder that “God is always found where we don’t expect. With a slave in Egypt. On a cross in Jerusalem. On a lynching tree in the U.S.” Critical of white theologians and institution for upholding white supremacy, Cone believed that just as the Spirit was poured out on Gentiles, so shall overturning structural racism bring redemption even to white oppressors.
“This is a theology that comes from slaves, sharecroppers, janitors, and maids. That was why most people thought it could not be important intellectually or theologically,” Cone said in a lecture at Yale Divinity School in April, 2017. “But they were wrong. Black liberation theology is alive and well and being taught at colleges and seminaries, and being preached in churches, all over the world.”
* * *
1 John 5:1-5
The Spirit of truth:
James Cone’s theology resonated with calls to face the truth regarding racism and white supremacy. Recognizing the Spirit of truth was vital, Cone insisted. His own testimony as a theologian, scholar, and interpreter of faith reflected this commitment of a love which overcomes the world.
"Indeed our survival and liberation depend upon our recognition of the truth when it is spoken and lived by the people. If we cannot recognize the truth, then it cannot liberate us from untruth. To know the truth is to appropriate it, for it is not mainly reflection and theory. Truth is divine action entering our lives and creating the human action of liberation." (Cone, God of the Oppressed.)
* * *
Loving God, obeying God
The writer of the Epistle of John enjoins his audience to seek a love which overcomes the world. That is the sort of hope embodied by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, as well as others who worked to create the National Memorial for Peace and Justice which opened last week in Montgomery, AL. The monument honors the thousands of black persons lynched in the United States, a century’s long horror the New York Times calls “one of the nation’s least recognized atrocities.” Above a cloistered walkway hangs 800 steel columns, each containing the name of an American county and the names of people lynched in the county. For Stevenson, the monument represents an attempt to speak the truth of stories which have often been unheard. There’s no doubt for him that this is an expression of love which could overcome the world. “If I believe that each of us is more than the worst thing he’s ever done,” Stevenson said, “I have to believe that for everybody.”
Others, however, see the monument as promoting hostility. Opponents of the monument describe it as opening “old wounds,” and “putting the emphasis on discrimination and cruelty.” Just a mile away from the monument is the First White House of the Confederacy, which honors the life of Jefferson Davis. The often blatantly racist criticism of the monument provides a reminder of what is involved in keeping a “burdensome” commandment as opposed to loving God and the neighbor, which 1 John says is not burdensome at all.
* * *
John 15:9-17
You’ve got a friend in me:
Somebody cue Randy Newman. Washington, DC was buzzing with ruffles and flourishes for last week’s official state visit by French President, and official best buddy of the United States, Emmanuel Macron. Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Macron dazzled photographers with gowns and heels, but nearly every eye was on the touchy-feely bromantic exchanges between Macron and Donald Trump. As they posed for official photographs, Trump picked a flake of dandruff from Macron’s suit.
“We have a very special relationship, in fact I’ll get that little piece of dandruff off,” Trump declared to reporters as the two leaders posed for photos before a meeting. “We have to make him perfect. He is perfect,” added Trump, flicking his fingers across Macron’s dark-suited shoulder.
All buddy moves aside, France and the United States do enjoy a long history of friendship, symbolized by Macron’s gift of an oak tree which had originally sprouted at the site of a World War I battle in France. But even gifts from your bestie are subject to protocol: after the immigrating tree was planted on the White House lawn by both presidents, it was “unplanted” and taken into quarantine as required by customs and immigration officials.
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From team member Ron Love:
Love
At the age of 103, Sister Agnes-Marie Valois recently died. Valois took her vows as a nun in 1936 and worked as a nurse at the hospital in Dieppe, France. The mayor of the city, Nicolas Langlois, had the city flags lowered to half-staff to pay tribute to “a great lady of our history.” And, Sister Valois was truly a great lady. But, Sister Valois is better known as the “White Angel” by the Canadian soldiers whose wounds she treated in World War Two, after the disastrous Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. The Dieppe Raid is remembered as one of the darkest chapters in Canada’s military history. A 6,000-man force made an amphibious assault on Dieppe, only to be repelled by the superior fire power of the Germans who were defending the beach. Of the nearly 5,000 Canadians who took part, 913 were killed and 2,000 were taken prisoner. Those who were wounded were tended to by the White Angel at the Dieppe hospital.
Application: Jesus instructed us to love one another. Love can take many forms, and for the White Angel it was providing medical treatment for the wounded soldiers who tried to liberate her city.
* * *
Love
The investigation into the death of Prince has been completed. The 57-year-old singer was found dead on April 21, 2016 in the elevator at his Paisley Park studio compound in suburban Minneapolis. An autopsy showed that he died of an accidental dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin. Prince did not know he was taking the dangerous drug, which was laced in counterfeit pills made to look like a generic version of the painkiller Vicodin. Prince protected his privacy, so even those nearest to him were unaware of the seriousness of his addiction to opioids. His hands hurt from his performances, and friends asked him to stop touring. Yet, Prince secretly kept taking opioids so he could continue his energetic shows. His bodyguard knew that Prince was unwell and took him to a doctor. Yet, his addiction remained a secret. Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said that his friends might have prevented Prince’s death, but in their “zeal” to protect his privacy they chose not to intervene. The investigation revealed that Prince died isolated, addicted and in pain.
Application: Sometimes loving our friends means we will intervene in their lives, even when we are not invited.
* * *
Commandments
In the newspaper comic Peanuts, we have Sally sitting at a desk trying to complete a homework assignment. Her brother, Charlie Brown, is standing next to her. Sally, looking down at her paper, says to her brother, “I have to do a paper for school on Ken and Abel.” Then, picking up her report she says, “I’ve been looking all through the Old Testament, and I’ve found Abel, but I can’t find Ken.” Sally then turns and looking directly at her sibling asks. “Do you think maybe I’m using the wrong translation?” Sally, discouraged, now has her chin resting on her hand. Charlie has now placed both his arms on the table and thinks to himself, “I never know what to say…”
Application: Jesus said that in order to understand love we must first understand his commandments. Biblical love demands biblical literacy.
* * *
Love
During the Civil War, the cadets at the Citadel Military College, located in Charleston, South Carolina, were sent to defend an island off the South Carolina coast. A few months before the war began, the cadets were able to stop a Union resupply mission. After the war began, Union forces were able to seize the island from the students. A solider from Iowa took the Citadel battle flag back to his home state. In 2009 the Iowa State Historical Society realized that the flag that had been donated to them was none other than the “Big Red.” The red flag with the white palmetto tree, the symbol for South Carolina, was the flag the cadets flew while defending the island. Iowa has loaned the flag to South Carolina until 2021, when the state must return the “Big Red” to Iowa. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has written a letter to Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds asking if she would allow “Big Red” to remain permanently at the Citadel. In his letter, McMaster’s asked Reynolds to show “goodwill.”
Application: To love our neighbor involves showing goodwill.
* * *
Love
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the Library of Congress is bringing 444,000 words to Los Angeles. The Library of Congress is going to display 440 photographs at the Anneenberg Space For Photography. The display is being called “Not An Ostrich: And Other Images From America’s Library.” The staff of the library looked at more than 1 million of library’s 14 million photographs, and then selected 440 to be put on display. The show is a picturesque journey across our country, from the birth of photography until the present day. The photographs will be collected and displayed in separate multiple themes. There will be a section for sports, famous people, poverty, scenic scenes, social injustice, politics, humor, to just name a few of the categories. Exhibit curator Anne Wilkes Tucker said, “I’ll be disappointed if somebody can come into this space and not find as least one picture that they love.”
Application: Every day we ought to be able to see something that we love.
* * *
Love
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the Library of Congress is bringing 444,000 words to Los Angeles. The Library of Congress is going to display 440 photographs at the Anneenberg Space For Photography. The display is being called “Not An Ostrich: And Other Images From America’s Library.” The staff of the library looked at more than 1 million of library’s 14 million photographs, and then selected 440 to be put on display. The show is a picturesque journey across our country, from the birth of photography until the present day. The photographs will be collected and displayed in separate multiple themes. There will be a section for sports, famous people, poverty, scenic scenes, social injustice, politics, humor, to just name a few of the categories.
The exhibit will have one reliable photo standby that everyone will enjoy -- the funny cat picture. The one that will be shown in Los Angles was a photograph taken in 1936. It shows an annoyed looking feline dressed to resemble the female warrior Brunhilde. Beverly Brannan, who is the Library of Congress photo curator, said of the picture, “Around the turn of the century, in the early 19-somethings, people liked to make pictures of cats and dogs, putting them at tea tables with dolls, putting clothes on them.” Brannan revealed that at least one aspect of photography hasn’t changed much in the 150 years since its birth.
Application: The meaning and purpose of love has remained constant throughout the history of humanity. This is why Jesus’ teachings on love are still so relevant today.
* * *
Love
In Montgomery, Alabama, an exhibit being displayed for the first time by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. This project was created by the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative, which is a legal advocacy organization in Montgomery. The memorial will be the nation’s first site to document racial inequality from slavery through Jim Crow to the issues of today. The site will include a memorial to the victims of 4,400 “terror lynchings” of black people. These occurred in 800 United States counties from 1877 through 1950. All but 300 were in the South. The number would be much higher if those lynched during the Reconstruction years, which began in 1865 and ended in 1877, were recorded. These were called “terror lynchings” because the purpose of the hangings was to impose fear on blacks and to maintain strict white control. Bryan Stevenson, the director of the program, regarding the importance of the exhibit said, “Most people in this country can’t name a single African-American who was lynched between 1877 and 1950, even though thousands of African-Americans were subjected to this violence.”
Application: To be loving is to recognize the suffering of others.
* * *
Love
In the newspaper comic Peanuts, Snoopy started to befriend birds in the early 1960s. In 1966 the bird Woodstock was introduced. Woodstock became Snoopy’s sidekick and best friend. At first the bird had no name, but in the early 1970s he was named Woodstock, after the 1969 music festival in New York state. Woodstock only speaks with exclamation points to the reader, so Snoopy must always interrupt what the “!!!!!!!” means. In this episode they are both sitting atop of Snoopy’s doghouse. Snoopy tells us that “Woodstock went to this party last night.” In the next frame a few hearts have been inserted in the explanation points, so Snoopy is able to tell us, “There was this cute little Sparrow, see, and he sort of fell for her…” With this news Snoopy has a joyful look upon his face, only to have it turn to a look of confusion in the next frame as the conversation continues, “But then this Blue Jay told him that this Robin who was with this Hummingbird still liked this Sparrow who liked this Canary who liked this Blue Jay, and…” As Woodstock continues to ramble on, Snoopy turns his head and shares his thoughts with us, saying, “Actually, it’s very confusing.”
Application: Love can be very confusing, but it is always joyful.
* * *
Love
Lt. Col. Alfred M Worden was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 moon mission. One of his assignments was to orbit the moon for 74 hours as Col. David R. Scotts and Col. James B. Irwin explored the surface below. Each revolution of the moon took the command module, Endeavor, about two hours -- one hour in light, one hour in dark. Half the journey along the face of the moon was illuminated by the reflection of sunlight; the other half was spent in the utter blackness of deep space. Part of the journey would view the moon, bright and glorious, as all people from earth see it; the return journey would be around the mysterious side never seen from earth. The front side of the moon, the one which always faces the earth, had a surface that was pitted with deep craters contrasted against tall mountains. The terrain was rocky and rugged, difficult to traverse. The back side, or far side of the moon, the side always hidden from earth, was, in the words of Worden, a terrain of “roundness, softness, a kind of fluffiness.” There were many craters, but non-with slopes as sheer as observed on the front side. The front side was jagged: the far side was smooth. What could be the cause of this? Astronaut Worden offered the following explanation: “It seemed that the far side terrain had undergone such relentless meteorite bombardment for billions of years that the early surface features had all been reworked and smoothed out.” The far side of the moon, unprotected, facing an endless outer space constantly bombarded by meteorites. The destructive force of the meteorites actually had a healing effect upon the moon’s far side surface, causing what was once rough to become smooth. Though on the front side, the side of the moon protected by earth, the surface was still tattered.
Application: Being able to accept those who are blemished is love.
* * *
Love
Actress Ann Julian’s struggle with breast cancer and her resulting double mastectomy has been much publicized. The inducement for Ann’s openness was to encourage and support others who are enduring a similar ailment. Ann’s husband, Andy, extends the same sympathy to the public. His sentiment is best expressed in a comment he made after viewing President Reagan on television. The newscast showed the President lugging a potted plant to his wife Nancy, a patient at Bethesda Naval Hospital who also had a mastectomy. Observing Ronald Reagan’s concern for his beloved spouse, Andy concurred, “I felt sorry for him simply a guy, just like you and me. He may be the President of the United States, but at that moment he was a husband worried about his wife.”
Application: Love is being able to understand someone else’s suffering as if it was our own.
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From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
The Myth of Redemptive Violence
In his book, The Powers that Be, Walter Wink introduces a concept that he calls the Myth of Redemptive Violence. It is, he says, an archetypal plot in literature that reaches back to Babylonian mythology in about 1250 BCE and continues in popular entertainment, today.
In the Babylonian myth primal existence is controlled by Tiamat who rules over other, lesser, flawed and ineffective gods through chaos and evil. Marduk offers to slay Tiamat but only if the other gods give him absolute rule over all the gods.
The gods quickly agree and Marduk defeats Tiamat and her minions in a series of violent and grizzly encounters then creates the world from Tiamat’s corpse and humanity from her blood.
All of creation, especially the world and humanity, are redeemed through violence and this same, basic plot continues to play out in comic books, super hero films, television programs, and popular fiction from James Bond to The Outlaw Josey Wales.
God vs. Empire
In his book God and Empire, John Dominic Crossan illustrates how Jesus offered an alternative empire to that of Rome.
In the Roman Empire peace such as that of the Pax Romana, was equated with quiet submission which was achieved through violence and oppression. Violence + Oppression = Peace (quiet submission).
In Jesus’s alternative empire real peace as defined by shalom is achieved through love and justice. Love + Justice = Peace (shalom).
It is this alternative empire that will, eventually, conquer the world.
* * *
Amor Vincit Omnia
“Love conquers all,” is a quote from the Roman poet, Virgil’s earliest work, Eclogues, a series of ten poems that depict two shepherds taking to each other about life, love, and philosophy. Because Eclogues is mired so deeply in ancient Roman mythology and allegory, it is extremely difficult to interpret, today.
These three words are, in fact, the only ones to survive in modern, popular literature.
They appear near the end of Eclogue 10 which is a tribute to Virgil’s mentor and friend, Gaius Cornelius Gallus, a poet and statesman who was an early supporter of the emperor, Augustus. As a reward for his support, Gallus was appointed by Augustus to be prefect of Egypt. After putting down a revolt in Thebes in 29 BCE, Gallus erected a monument to himself and his accomplishments which displeased Augustus who ordered him to return to Rome.
Humiliated by his demotion, Gallus committed suicide.
Virgil concludes his memorial to Gallus with the words, “Amor vincit omnia, et nos cedamus amori.” Love conquers all so we, too, shall submit to love.
It has often been interpreted to mean that if we have true love we can overcome any obstacle. Given the context of the poem, however, others interpret it to mean that Gallus’s great flaw was that he loved Augustus, Rome, and himself too much and this great love led to his tragic downfall. He was, himself, conquered by love and, once you submit to love, you are doomed, as was Gallus.
* * *
Love Conquers Fear
The November 2010 issue of Psychology Today contains a story entitled "Stealth Superpowers," about how the brain's automatic fear-response systems can unleash hidden mental and physical abilities. In it he relates this story:
"Oh God, do you see that?" his wife said.
Tom Boyle saw it: the crumpled frame of a bike under the car's bumper, and tangled within it a boy, trapped. That's when Boyle got out and started running. For an agonizing eternity the Camaro screeched on, dragging the mass under it. As it slowed to a stop he could hear the bicyclist pounding on the car with his free hand, screaming. Without hesitating Boyle bent down, grabbed the bottom of the chassis, and lifted with everything he had. Slowly, the car's frame rose a few inches. The bicyclist screamed for him to keep lifting. Boyle strained. "It's off me!" the boy yelled. Someone pulled him free, and Boyle let the car back down, having accomplished an almost unthinkable feat of strength.
Author Jeff Wise notes that the world record for dead-lifting a barbell is 1,003 pounds and a stock Camaro weighs 3000 pounds. So how did Boyle do it?
Wise says that we have two kinds of strength – fine motor and gross motor, small muscles and big muscles. As we age our fine motor skills deteriorate but our gross motor strength does not. The body and mind, however, put limits on what we are capable of doing so that we don’t hurt ourselves.
Most people, for instance, use only about 65 percent of their muscles’ maximum theoretical strength. Under stress, as in a competition, they might use as much as 80 percent. In a life and death situation, however, the sky’s the limit. The body releases all of the theoretical strength in the muscles and shuts down the pain response.
So that’s how Tom Boyle was able to lift a 3000 lb. car and it’s how he didn’t realize until later that he had clenched his jaw so tightly that he broke eight molars.
* * *
The Death of Gilbert
William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) was one of the most successful and popular playwrights of his time, the creator of farces, operetta libretti, extravaganzas, fairy comedies, adaptations from novels, translations from the French, and even the occasional serious drama.
He is most famous, however, for being half of the writing team of Gilbert and Sullivan that created fourteen comic operettas including “HMS Pinafore,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” and their most popular work, “The Mikado.”
Few realize, however, that W.S. Gilbert died a hero’s death.
In 1911, at the age of 74, he was teaching two young girls how to swim in Grim’s Dyke, a lake on his country estate. When one of the girls ventured into water that was too deep and began to flounder and call for help, Gilbert dove into the water to swim out and rescue her. He managed to get her to the shallows but the exertion caused him to have a heart attack. He died near the middle of the lake.
* * *
Anchorage to Nome
In January of 1926, six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria, signaling the possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome, Alaska. When the boy passed away a day later, Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum. But it wasn't long before Dr. Welch's supply ran out, and the nearest serum was in Anchorage, Alaska--1000 miles of frozen wilderness away.
Amazingly, a group of trappers and prospectors volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams! Operating in relays from trading post to trapping station and beyond, one sled started out from Nome while another, carrying the serum, started from Anchorage. Oblivious to frostbite, fatigue, and exhaustion, the teamsters mushed relentlessly until, after 144 hours in minus 50-degree winds, the serum was delivered to Nome.
As a result, only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. The sacrifice of the mushers had given an entire town the gift of life. Now, every year in Alaska, the 1000-mile Iditarod dogsled race, run for prize money and prestige, commemorates the original "race" that was run to save lives.
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: O sing to God a new song who has done marvelous things.
People: God’s right hand and holy arm have gotten the victory.
Leader: Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth.
People: Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Leader: Sing praises to God with the lyre and the sound of melody.
People: God will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
OR
Leader: The God of Love comes to embrace us today. People: In joy we find ourselves held in God’s love.
Leader: The God of Love comes to embrace those around us.
People: In God’s name we reach out and embrace them, too.
Leader: The God of Love comes to embrace our enemies.
People: With God’s help we will reach out in love to those we estranged from.
Hymns and Songs:
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
“To God Be the Glory”
UMH: 98
PH: 485
AAHH: 157
NNBH: 17
CH: 39
W&P: 66
AMEC: 21
Renew: 258
“Trust and Obey”
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 56
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart”
UMH: 160/161
H82: 556/557
PH: 145/146
AAHH: 537
NNBH: 7
NCH: 55/71
CH: 15
LBW: 553
ELA: 873/874
W&P: 113
AMEC: 8
“What Does the Lord Require”
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
UMH: 400
H82: 686
PH: 356
AAHH: 175
NNBH: 166
NCH: 459
CH: 16
LBW: 499
ELA: 807
W&P: 68
AMEC: 77
STLT: 126
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
UMH: 404
PH: 315
AAHH: 325
NNBH: 485
NCH: 282
CH: 592
W&P: 481
STLT 208
“I Come With Joy“ (Communion)
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELA: 482
W&P: 706
Renew: 195
“Refiner“s Fire”
CCB: 79
“I’m Goin’a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing”
CCB: 22
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
ELA: 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 is love in its purest form:
Grant us the grace to obey your laws of love
so that we may be true children of the Most High;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the purest expression of love. You have guided us with your commandments so that we can walk in your love. Help us to follow your way that we may be your true children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to obey God’s commandments of love.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to follow your commandment to love as you love. We are quick to ascribe to commandments against things that we do not participate in but we are loathe to commit ourselves to love unconditionally. We have high standards for others but not such stringent ones for ourselves. We hold petty grudges and allow small slights, real or imaginary, to destroy the community we call church. Forgive us our selfish, self-centered ways and call us back to your way of love that embraces everyone. Amen.
Leader: God embraces all of us and invites us to join the way of love and grace. Receive these from God and pass them on to others.
Prayers of the People
We praise you, O God of love, for the extravagant gift of your grace. Your love is so pure and deep that it is beyond our understanding.
(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 failed to follow your commandment to love as you love. We are quick to ascribe to commandments against things that we do not participate in but we are loathe to commit ourselves to love unconditionally. We have high standards for others but not such stringent ones for ourselves. We hold petty grudges and allow small slights, real or imaginary, to destroy the community we call church. Forgive us our selfish, self-centered ways and call us back to your way of love that embraces everyone.
We give you thanks for all the blessings which display your love for us and for all creation. Your presence surrounds us and holds us in your grace and life.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We offer into your arms those who struggle because they feel that they are unloved and unlovable. We pray for those who feel that the hardships of life are because they do not deserve to be loved and cared for. We pray for those who are misused and abused by others. We pray for the grace to reach out in your love to those we come in contact with this week.
(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
Talk to the children about friends that they have. What makes a person a friend? (Playing together, enjoying the same things, etc.) Talk about good friend behavior and bad friend behavior. Good: helping, talking, going with you, etc. Bad: hitting, hurting, saying nasty things. We all want good friends. Jesus is our friends. He always cares for us and is always with us.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Friend of Jesus
by Bethany Peerbolt
John 15:9-17, Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98
No matter what age someone is friends are important. The best of friends share openly with each other about fears, hopes, and concerns. John 15:9-17 says that Jesus calls us friends, which means he shares everything about himself with us. We aren’t the only ones who get to have this relationship. Acts 10:44-48 shows us that even people we wouldn’t expect to know Jesus have the chance to be his friend. This realization shouldn’t bum us out but excite us! We all get to share this amazing experience of being close to Jesus and making a joyful noise to God (Psalm 98).
Say in your way:
I want you all to close your eyes and think of one friend or family member who you can tell anything to. Someone you trust very much, who will be happy with you when you are happy and sad with you when you are sad. Can you picture them in your mind? Ok you can open your eyes. Even thinking of them makes us feel warm and loved doesn’t it. Sometimes we want to be their only friend and can get jealous when we see they have other friends too.
John 15: 9-17 says that when Jesus closes his eyes and thinks of someone who he loves he thinks of us…of you…and you…and you (point to each kid). Jesus said that he thinks of us as his trusted best friends who he can be honest with about who he is.
How many of you think that is a lot of best friends to have? I agree it seems like a lot of work, but Jesus is really good at being best friends with lots of people. In fact, in Acts 10:44-48 one of Jesus’ friends named Peter realizes that Jesus is friends with people he wouldn’t even think Jesus would care about. Instead of being mad or sad or jealous that Jesus has other friends Peter is amazed and happy that more people get to know Jesus like he does. Peter makes sure he helps those people have the best friendship with Jesus and baptizes them and teaches them. They all end up being really happy together. Peter invites them to stay at his place for a while.
I’ll bet they partied and celebrated how cool it was to be friends with Jesus. They might have even sung some songs like Psalm 98 which says we should make a joyful noise for God. What do you think that sounded like, to make a joyful noise? (Encourage the kids to shout joyfully for a little while. Allow them to be silly and have some pure fun in the sanctuary) GREAT JOB! Jesus wants us to join his friends in places like this church to celebrate and to love one another. Now that we have some energy out let’s say a prayer for what we have learned.
Friend and God, thank you for the friends around me. We promise to celebrate together and love each other. In our friend Jesus’ name, Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 6, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 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.
