Immediate Word

For March 21, 2021:

• The Loss Before Life by Bethany Peerbolte — Jesus knew the disciples were how his message would live on and get new life. His public teachings had to end and in their place these gatherings with the disciples were born.
• Second Thoughts: Still Working On It by Tom Willadsen — Jesus says, finally, the hour has come. And, let’s be honest, it’s a beginning, a first step. The kingdom of God has drawn near, but it’s still emerging.
• Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Dean Feldmeyer, Chris Keating.
• Worship resources by George Reed.
• Children's sermon: Becoming a Butterfly by Katy Stenta.

The Loss Before Life
by Bethany Peerbolte
John 12:20-33

In the Scripture
Events are beginning to heat up around Jesus. He raises Lazarus from the dead to the astonishment of the community in Bethany. Word begins to spread about the miracle as more people funnel into Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Jesus’ arrival shows the atmosphere is electric with excitement. The crowd will latch onto anything to fuel their desire to celebrate. The energy in the crowd grows hour by hour.

Not just the Jewish revelers are catching interest in Jesus. Greeks begin to wonder if the stories about Jesus are true. With so many people talking about him, and claiming to have seen this miracle they, too, want a peek. Some of them want to see if they can get a chance to meet Jesus. The news travels up the line from Philip to Andrew and finally Jesus. The disciples expect Jesus to be thrilled. The interest of Greeks gives their message clout and validates the work they have all been doing.

The response from Jesus is less than satisfying. The news that the Greeks are coming on board triggers another realization for Jesus. It is time to begin teaching about the next step. Jesus wastes no time and tells a story about a seed. The seed must fall to the ground a die for the life of the stalk to begin. This realization troubles Jesus and he vocalizes his inner battle knowing this must happen but wondering if there is another way.

Jesus continues to draw connections between death and life. Death is not always the end of a life; there are times when something needs to die in order for life to begin. As Jesus is speaking these new truths a voice breaks out over the crowd from above. Some hear it as thunder and some are better able to makes sense of the noise and hear words from an angel. The voice says “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” Who this reassuring message is for is unclear at first. Jesus may need this message to gain the nerve to continue. The disciples may need this message to carry them through the three days Jesus is in the tomb. The crowd may need it to be their reassurance that Jesus is connected to God and their alert to pay attention.

Jesus says the message is not for him, though this may be a case of “thou doth protest-eth too much.” When our parents give us good advice, we often try to fluff it off as useless and not meant for us. Maybe Jesus’ human side is peaking through. Jesus deflects and insists the message is for the crowd and disciples. He then gives a fuzzy prediction about his death that probably did not make sense at the moment. For us looking back on the moment we can clearly see the imagery but for them in the moment it was more mysterious.

The parable about the seed spoken before this prediction allows us to see the reality of Jesus’ death. Something will die but it will also bring forth a new kind of life that did not exist before. Like the seed going into the ground, Jesus will also go into the ground, and in due time both spring forth a new thing full of life. The thunderous voice called it, it will be glorious.

In the News
The new stimulus checks are bringing new life and new hope to Americans. One such person is Mike Phelps who had a successful business providing generator energy for outdoor concerts and festivals. When Covid hit the cancellations began rolling in. His wife, who is a nurse, has been supporting the household but they are still using credit cards to make ends meet. Mike laments that he is still paying interest on paper towels he has long thrown away. The stimulus checks will save his business and get the household back in the black.

Any congress person who worked on getting that stimulus passed knows some things had to die. The amount went from $2,000 to $600 and back up to $1,400. The criteria for who would get the checks have changed multiple times. There have been wins and there have been losses while this was being debated on the floors of congress. Our hope now is that the things that had to die made way for some life-giving things that will endure.

As the country and the world blinkingly step into the sun of a post-Covid world a similar debate will happen in every facet of life. Families will have to reassess how they interact. Companies will have to sort through the innovations they will keep and the extra steps they will let go when it is safe. Churches will have to decide which program adjustments are assets and which can be forgotten and “remember when we had to…” becomes mumbled in packed hallways.

Forbes recently pointed out how Covid has shaped innovation. Some of the key components of this trend are presented in an article praising the innovators through 2020. Resilience has become much more valuable to companies in this time. Making money and beating out a competitor was put on the back burner and survival became the main focus. The innovations companies have made to increase their resilience should not be thrown out with the last vaccine vial, the article warns. Key to the innovations the companies have thrived because of is all due to their employees. Finding those who are creative and not just company “yes” people has bolstered the agile companies with new ideas and a willingness to listen. Covid has also exposed the futility of being first. Companies became more willing to sit back and watch others fumble through being first in order to learn and find a way to be better. Focusing on quality has become more important than being first.

The light at the end of the tunnel could also be the headlights of a freight train. The decision of whether or not to let go of something will come and go quickly. Let us hope it will be the seed that will make the next iteration of our world possible.  

In the Sermon
Did you ever get a response to a question that makes you feel like you were not heard correctly in the first place? A roommate of mine once rushed into my room and exclaimed “come see my new toy Yoda!” I was busy writing a paper for class so I got a bit upset and told them it could wait. The look on their face immediately told me I had made a mistake. I just couldn't fathom why I needed to pause my productive work to see some frivolous toy they had just bought. I asked them if it was vintage or special or something and they huffed out of my room. I rolled my eyes and kept working. Later I went out to the living room and said I was available to see they toy. “The toy?” they responded. “Yes the Yoda toy you wanted to show me” I was confused how their excitement had gone from interruption worthy to forgotten in an hour. My roommate figured out the miscommunication before me and started laughing hysterically, like could not breath snorting laughter. When they calmed down they said “I didn’t buy a Yoda toy. I bought a Toyota.”

Jesus’ disciples come to him with what they think is monumental news. A Greek wants to meet him! This meant their message was really getting out there and people were responding to it. Their excitement is not returned from Jesus. Instead he goes into a story about a seed and death and then a thunderous voice from heaven backs up Jesus’ tangent. The disciples must have felt like I did when my friend huffed out of the room. We have missed something.

For Jesus he sees clearly what the Greeks represent. A shift has happened in his work. He is no longer pressing forward and pointing toward a future event, preparing people for what is to come. That moment is here. While his response seems off topic to the disciples he is naturally continuing the message he has been telling all along. Except now it is time to act. The teaching is nearing an end and a shift to the action of salvation will begin.

We are entering a time where we will need to let the BC (before Covid) sacred cows die to make room for the CI (Covid improved) way we have learned. The clamoring for “normal” will begin any day now, if it has not already, but there are some things in the BC normal that need to fall away. As Forbes warns, it is not a time to be first, it is a time to be best — to hold back and honestly think through the why of what we do and find the straight line to how. Churches will need to avoid taking detours to keep those sacred cows alive, but Jesus is also begging us to let them go. Jesus is the reminder that what goes away can come back with greater gifts.

We have not been faithful to Easter if we come out of this tomb the same. Christians know the power a period of being in the tomb can have. Jesus did not come out of the tomb the same. A sermon could unpack that death to life transformation. One could also look at how Jesus had a different way about him. He listened to disciples talk about him and only taught if they asked him to. By doing so Jesus was empowering the next preachers to use their voices for the gospel. Jesus focused on his disciples after his death and resurrection. He met with them to encourage them to take on the ministry themselves. Jesus knew the disciples were the “how” — how the message would live on and get new life. His public teachings had to end and in their place these family type gatherings with the disciples were born. If Jesus’ ministry can change so drastically so can ours. As long as we take the time to examine what needs to fall away and die to make room for the new life God wants for our ministry.


SECOND THOUGHTS
Still Working On It
by Tom Willadsen
John 12:20-33, Hebrews 5:5-10, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51:1-12

In the Scriptures
Today’s lesson from the book of the prophet Jeremiah comes from a portion of that book called “the little book of comforts.” Jeremiah presents unique challenges to interpretation because it is not ordered chronologically, nor with any apparent organizing principle. Chapters 30 and 31 are a collection of prophetic reassurances that the Lord will one day truly get around to redeeming Israel and Judah. The language is intimate, reassuring and comforting. Today’s pericope continues Lent’s theme of covenant, but takes it a step further; the covenant Jeremiah imagines will be hard-wired into people. It will no longer be necessary to instruct the next generation in the covenant of the Lord; the terms of the covenant will be written on our hearts. It’s important to note that the Hebrew understanding of the heart is as the seat of the will, as opposed to the western equation of the heart with love.

The New Covenant, as Jeremiah describes it, is certainly in harmony with the covenants we’ve encountered in the lectionary the last few weeks. It refers back to the Exodus, when the Lord took the Israelites by the hand, which is a nice complement to God’s repeated use of the metaphor “with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” Jeremiah shows a tender side to the Lord’s awesome power. Jeremiah adds another image, describing God as Israel’s husband, to whom the nation was unfaithful, but no matter! The days are surely coming when all people, from the least to the greatest will know the Lord, the Lord will both forgive their sin, and remember it no more.

The days have surely arrived in the reading from John’s gospel. At last, the hour has come. Way back in chapter 2, when his mom pointed out that the wedding at Cana had run out of wine, Jesus resisted bailing out the caterer because his time had not yet come. He came through anyway, because you do things for your mother. Again in chapter 7 some of his followers thought he should take his show on the road from Galilee down to Judea for Succoth, but Jesus demurred saying, “My time has not yet come.” A little later in chapter 7 Jesus was in Jerusalem and talking openly about being the Christ, “Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.” (7:30) In chapter 8, Jesus was speaking at the treasury of the temple, and irritated the Pharisees, but was not arrested because his hour had not yet come.

It isn’t obvious why some Greeks approaching Philip and Andrew were the sign that the time had come for the Son of Man to be glorified. For the record, Jesus does not go to the Greeks at all; his time has come so he’s all about glory and glorifying now. Good thing we’re just a couple weeks from Easter!

Psalm 51 may be the most moving, confessional psalm. Some years my entire Lenten discipline is to read vv. 1-17 each day. Today’s portion cuts off my favorite part: “the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Like the Jeremiah reading, there is deep joy in today’s psalm. Some will recoil at hearing “let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.” Still, the psalm, and today’s portion, end on joy and deliverance. (I omit vv. 18 & 19; they were clearly tacked on by an editor who didn’t know when to leave a good psalm alone.)

In the News
The lectionary planning calendar says this is the Fifth Sunday in Lent. At the congregation I serve it is the 53rd Sunday in the Season of Covid-19. We have been under the shadow of the pandemic for a little more than a year. As the Grateful Dead famously observed: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” Sometime around Week 7 of the Covid season, our sprint turned into a marathon, and the energy that we derived from rising to a new, unprecedented challenge gave way to something like lethargy, ennui, anomie and weariness. Thoughts turned to what was called “A New Normal.” Most of us imagined that we would come out of the pandemic as suddenly as our lives were shut down in response to it. We’d get back to status quo ante…at some point.

Part of my personal new normal has been checking the Covid-19 infection rates for Sarpy and Douglas County, Nebraska, every day on Covidactnow.com. (I include that primarily because “Sarpy County” is my all-time favorite thing to say out loud!)

No one I know foresaw the effects that being separated, and some of us isolated, would have on society. It crept up so slowly that it took a while for experts to realize that the world had suffered trauma.

The path to the return to “normal” is one with a surprising number of baby steps. The church I serve has been gathering for physically-distanced worship for a month now. Our attendance cap is around 50, depending on how many families — who can sit closer to one another — are among those have RSVP’d. This week we will permit people to sing, while wearing masks. Last month we allowed live musicians to lead worship, moving away from a slim repertoire of recorded choir pieces. This week our Men’s Breakfast group gathered in person, but had to bring in food already prepared because our kitchens are still off limits. We had our opening prayer, but did not hold hands as was our custom.

The anxiety that has hovered over human interaction for the past year has not, and will not, simply disappear. Even as vaccination rates increase and infection rates and hospitalizations decline, we’re still cautious. And it’s hard to know whether we’re overly cautious. This collection of anxieties is nicely captured in this piece from the Washington Post.  
 
In the Sermon
What’s New?

I associate “what’s new?” not with a conversational opening that is really a conversational road block, but with Linda Ronstadt’s classic 1983 album. In this case, what’s new is really something that one could call “old” or, if we’re being kind, “vintage” or “retro.”

What our congregations and society at large are discovering is not that we’re coming into a “new normal,” but rather the “next normal.” Who knows whether we’ll need to keep wearing masks or we’ll need annual vaccinations against Covid-19? Guidelines for businesses, schools, and churches are in constant flux and each district of government has its own set of bench marks that determine when to take the next provisional step toward re-opening.

Contrast this reality that encircles us with the New Covenant that Jeremiah promises. It’s going to be a dramatic break from everything we’ve known. Our sin is erased and forgotten. There will be no need to instruct people in godliness. God’s law and intention for all people will be hard-wired into us.

Jesus says, finally, the hour has come. And, let’s be honest, it’s a beginning, a first step. The kingdom of God has drawn near, but it’s still emerging. We’re still working on it, as the Holy Spirit is working on us.

Hold up the hope of this promise today. The people need to hear it. Hold up the progress we’re making as we emerge, one step at a time, from the pandemic, but remind your congregation, God’s got something much better in store.



ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Dean Feldmeyer:

John 12:20-33
Dying to Live, Killing to Live
“My name’s Gary and I’m an alcoholic.”

“Hi, Gary.”

“Fifteen years ago, I killed my best friend.”

I was at this AA meeting as part of an assignment for a college public speaking class, of all things. We were required to go somewhere in the real world, outside the classroom, and listen to someone make a speech and report back on what we heard, weather it worked or not, and why. Churches, Toastmasters clubs, AA meetings, a few others, were all acceptable venues we could pursue. Since I grew up in the church, I elected to go somewhere I’d never been. I dragged Jean, my girlfriend (now my wife) with me. Gary was the fourth speaker and his opening statement caused an intake of breath from Jean. No one else in the room seemed to react at all.

“My best friend’s name was Bourbon.”

Heads nodded. Several people just mumbled, “Mmmm.”

“At least I thought he was my best friend. We had some great times together, me and Bourbon. Lotta laughs. Buddies. For a lot of years, me and him were inseparable. Where I went, he went. Parties, dances, picnics, holidays, vacations. We were always together. Like this, here.”

He held up his hand, index and middle finger intertwined.

“I didn’t realize it, then, but all the time we were together, he was killing me. I should have seen it. He killed my marriage. He killed my job. He killed my relationships with my kids and most of my friends. His brother, Gin, killed my grandfather and his sister. Wine killed my grandmother. I shoulda seen it coming. But who ever thinks your best friend is trying to kill you, right? We had so much fun together. But, he was. He was killing me. He sure was.

“So, this one day after spending a whole weekend together, just me and my friend, Bourbon, I wake up in the hospital. I won’t give you all the gory details but I was in a real bad way. There was tubes coming in and outa me everywhere I looked. Then, after a couple of days when the tubes have come out and I can sit up, the doc comes in. Many of you, in this room, have probably met this doc or one just like him. Real serious, you know?”

Heads nod. A couple of muffled laughs.

“He says to me, ‘Gary. your drinking’s killing you. You know that, right? You gotta stop.’ And I tell ya, I sat there in that hospital bed and I bawled like a baby. Cause I knew he was right. But I didn’t want to know, you know? ‘Doc,’ I says, ‘Doc, you don’t understand. Bourbon’s the only friend I got left.’

“Gary,” he says, “I’m telling you, your best friend is killing you. And he’s gonna succeed if you don’t kill him first. You gotta find a better class of friends, Gary.”

“The Doc, he gave me this pamphlet, right here.” He holds up a worn, ratty looking paper pamphlet. “And on it is all the meetings going on in the city fifteen years ago. The next day I’m getting ready to check outa the hospital and this guy comes walking in the room and I says, ‘Who are you?” and he goes, “I’m your AA sponsor. Name’s George and I’m an alcoholic.’”

“Me, I’m thinkin’ what the hell?” More nods now, a few even louder laughs. Knowing laughs. “But I figure, whata I got to lose, right? So, I don’t say nothing. We just shake hands, and I go, ‘Okay.’”

“So, long story short. He and the doc were friends and the doc called him and asked him to come over and he did. We went straight from the hospital to a meeting and then, for about two months, I went to a meeting just about every day, sometimes twice a day. Sometimes, with George, sometimes by myself. After the first meeting, me and George, we went back to my rat hole apartment and we dumped my last bottle of Bourbon down the drain. That was when I killed my best friend. And then, I commenced to finding some new friends, a better class of friends. George and me drank a lot of coffee and talked away a lot of hours. And we still do. He’s still my sponsor. But he wasn’t the only new friend I made.”

He looked around the room and smiled. “A bunch of them are right here in this room.”

* * *

John 12:20-33
Dying to our Illusions
Authentic, human living is done in the real world. Illusions block us from being authentic.

Vernon Layne, writing for “Kingdom Ambassadors Empowerment Network” offers these twelve signs that our illusions are blocking us from authentic living.

1. We see the present through our past. We can learn from our past but then we need to move on and not live there.

2. We believe we can control things that are uncontrollable.

3. We see only the bad in our self and others.

4. We believe everything we feel and think. Our thoughts and feelings can and should inform our decisions but not rule them.

5. We search for fulfillment through things. Things are nice but the can’t define us.

6. Our self-worth comes from social media. Depending on social media to feel relevant is a sad and destructive illusion.

7. We think our happiness is our mate’s responsibility. Only I can make me happy.

8. We are convinced everything’s supposed to go your way. That’s self-centeredness, one of the most destructive illusions.

9. We think we don’t need help. The only reward that idea gives us is frustration and exhaustion. God made us to help each other.

10. We believe we can’t change. The ability to grow, learn, and change is one of God’s greatest gifts to human beings.

11. We think our success is solely due to the work we’ve done. If that was so, African women, probably the hardest working people on earth, would all be rich.

12. We feel we’re alone. Get away from yourself for a while. Go outside, walk through nature, listen to children playing on a playground, watch workers building a skyscraper, read a poem, listen to great music, visit an art gallery or a museum. God is all around us, inspiring, supporting, equipping. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

* * *

John 12:20-33
Die to this; Live to that.
Dr. Eugene K. Choi left his job as a successful pharmacist earning six figures to drive cross country, move to Los Angeles and pursue film making.

After living off his savings while he wrote, directed, produced, and edited short films, Dr. Choi had to return to his day job to earn enough so he could continue to pursue his passion, part time. During this time of working one job that made money and another that he loved Dr. Choi discovered that it wasn’t the films that he loved so much as the stories they told. The films were just a way to communicate those inspirational stories to people who needed to hear them.

Today, he uses his storytelling, film making, and writing skills to coach others in how to live more authentically and impactfully. Below are the things he says he learned in making the journey from unhappy pharmacist to happy, successful life coach:

1) Expect great failures, but also expect great growth

2) Take the time to prepare, but become comfortable cith the uncomfortable

3) Brace yourself for a big learning curve

4) Difficult people will always be there so start improving your own relational skills

5) Be open to pivoting your plan

6) Don’t use not knowing what to do as an excuse to do nothing at all

* * *

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Did Jeremiah Invent Natural Law?
While most scholars believe that Aristotle invented the concept of Natural Law, the passage under consideration today might lead us to believe that the prophet, Jeremiah, first introduced the idea of Natural Law in chapter 31 of the biblical book named after him, wherein God says: “I will put my law within them; I will write it on their hearts.”

Natural Law is most often defined as “a theory in ethics and philosophy that says that human beings possess intrinsic values that govern our reasoning and behavior.” Natural law maintains that these rules of right and wrong are inherent in people and are not created by society or court judges. Poetically speaking, one might say that they are “written on the heart.”

Primary takeaways from Natural Law:

1. The theory of natural law says that humans possess an intrinsic sense of right and wrong that governs our reasoning and behavior.
2. The concepts of natural law are ancient, developed and perfected by Plato and Aristotle.
3. Natural law is constant throughout time and across the globe because it is based on human nature, not on culture or customs.
4. Human beings are not taught natural law per se, but rather we “discover” it by consistently making choices for good instead of evil. Some schools of thought believe that natural law is passed to humans via a divine presence.
5. Positive Law is different from Natural Law in that positive laws are created by human beings in human contexts and not inherent in human beings.

St. Thomas Aquinas believed that natural law and religion were inextricably connected. He believed that natural law "participates" in the divine "eternal" law. Aquinas thought eternal law to be that rational plan by which all creation is ordered, and natural law is the way that human beings participate in the eternal law. He further posited that the fundamental principle of natural law is that we should do good and avoid evil.

* * *

Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51:1-12
Whatever Happened to Sin?
Google the phrase “Whatever Happened to Sin?” and we uncover a treasure trove of sermons, essays, columns, and rants by preachers, theologians, and pundits lamenting the sorry state of the world that could be resolved if only people would recapture and surrender to the good, old fashioned notion of sin. They would love today’s lections from the Hebrew scriptures.

In the Jeremiah text, the prophet concludes his sermon with a quote from YHWH: “I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.” Today’s psalm is a song of repentance that begs God to forgive sins and wash the sinner clean with grace.

But how do we preachers make the indicative of grace believable to a generation that does not, in large part, believe that sin is a thing? Moralistic, therapeutic deism, the pop theology of our time has deemphasized the idea of sin nearly out of existence, insisting that what is important is whether or not people are basically, “nice.”

Most people are decent, or trying to be, we are told. They obey the law, or at least the big laws, the ones that really make a difference. They pay their taxes, they feed and shelter their families, they give to charity, they loan their hedge clippers to their next-door neighbor, and they give up their seat on the bus to old ladies and cripples. Most people aren’t really all that bad, so why drag a judgmental, archaic notion like sin into it. Isn’t life hard enough as it is?

In his sermon, “You are Accepted,” theologian Paul Tillich offers a different word for sin, a word that works, that people can relate to when sin, as being bad, may not speak to the reality it was originally meant to communicate. The new word that Tillich suggests is “separation” or “estrangement.”

Like “Sin” and “sins,” separation is a state before it is an act and it describes the concrete misery that afflicts and poisons the human condition. And it is the condition that can only be undone by reconciliation through grace.

* * * * * *

From team member Mary Austin:

Jeremiah 31:31-34
New Covenant
In his book Love is the Way, Bishop Michael Curry tells about the church finding a way into the old unseen covenant of embedded racism, and into the hope of a new covenant.

In 2016, one year after his election as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) held a gathering in Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans. The diocese had been engaging in deep work around racial justice and reconciliation. Bishop Curry says, “To change the future, you first have to reckon with the past. In the cathedral in New Orleans, as in all Episcopal cathedrals, there’s a chair called the bishop’s cathedra, which is where only the bishop sits. But the one in New Orleans had troubled origins. It was originally the chair of Bishop Leonidas Polk, a secessionist who, as an ordained clergyman, joined the Confederate Army, becoming General Polk, the “fightin’ bishop.” The chair was carved and assembled by slaves, and now was a physical artifact of the church’s racist past.” 

Instead of throwing the chair out, and starting anew, Bishop Thompson [of New Orleans] “saw an opportunity to reclaim it, to redeem the past and point toward a reconciling future. He invited me to participate in the liturgical tradition of the seating of the bishop. To seat me, the descendant of slaves, in that chair seemed to him to say something that words alone never could.” 

When the service began, Bishop Thompson opened the service by saying, “Today we gather with the heirs of the African Diaspora, in the Union of Black Episcopalians, to celebrate, to grieve, to confess, and to move a step closer toward God’s vision of reconciliation and wholeness.” More than six hundred people of all races filled the cathedral that day. After the procession in, the bishop turned to me and said, “My brother, on behalf of the clergy and people of this diocese, please be seated, that today we may continue the work of reconciliation, that this symbol of authority may be redeemed as a true symbol of unity in this house of worship.” And then I sat, in the beautiful wooden chair. I gave the Eucharistic prayer, asking that God unite the whole human people in the bonds of love. It was a moment of heightened awareness for everybody — awareness of the horror of our history and of the hope that we don’t have to be what we were. Me sitting in that chair was welcomed. It was meaningful. Still, it wasn’t a moment of giddy happiness. It was a moment of recommitment to the hard work of redemption and reconciliation, which starts with honesty about ourselves.” 

By God’s surpassing grace, a new covenant is always possible.

* * *

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Math Covenant
In Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado tells about a covenant that got him through high school math. He says that he realized he was not wired for success in algebra. Just as Jeremiah proclaims, speaking for God, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts,” the math teacher promised to write the material on their hearts. Lucado says, “My brain scans reveal a missing region marked by the sign “Intended for Algebra.” I can remember sitting in the class and staring at the textbook as if it were a novel written in Mandarin Chinese. Fortunately I had a wonderful, patient teacher.” The teacher in essence made a covenant with the students, “He issued this invitation and stuck to it. “If you cannot solve a problem, come to me and I will help you.” I wore a trail into the floor between his desk and mine. Each time I had a question, I would approach his desk and remind him, “Remember how you promised you would help?” When he said yes, instant gratitude and relief kicked in.” Lucado says, “I still had the problem, mind you, but I had entrusted the problem to one who knew how to solve it.”

* * *

John 12:20-33
Seeds Falling Into the Ground
Anticipating his death, Jesus says, “I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” His instruction is about the spiritual life, and yet physical seeds can bear much fruit in unanticipated ways. Most of us don't think about cities and trees at the same time, and yet “the trees that line city streets and surround apartment complexes across the US hold great value, in part because of their proximity to people. “Per tree, you’re getting way more value for an urban tree than a tree out in the wild,” says Mark McPherson, founder and director of a Seattle nonprofit called City Forest Credits. In an increasingly urbanizing world, cities are, after all, “right where people live and breathe and recreate.” Trees — and urban trees in particular — provide enormous benefits.”

Wealthier neighborhoods tend to have more trees. “In the absence of trees, these urban areas tend to be concrete — either buildings or sidewalks or streets. These impervious surfaces absorb heat during the day and then release it at night, preventing the relief of cooling temperatures, and creating urban heat islands.”

The non-profit group Trees Forever is planting other kinds of seeds. “Trees Forever pays a starting rate of $10 an hour — higher than the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 — and then bumps it up to $15 an hour for crew leaders. In addition, Trees Forever provides teens with professional development resources such as resume-building, mock interviews, financial literacy courses, stress management tools, and shadowing professionals in green jobs. Although Covid-19 has paused some of these activities, the organization sees this multifaceted support as an investment in a local workforce that will then have the knowledge and skills to continue the important work of tree-planting for building healthier communities.”

* * *

John 12:20-33
Seeds of the New
Chue and Tou Lee have experience planting seeds, and growing not just a new crop, but new understanding. The two farmers started growing a crop new to their area: sticky rice in North Carolina. “When Chue Lee first started selling Laotian sticky rice at the East Asheville, North Carolina, farmers market, she didn’t have much luck. The rice was unfamiliar to customers and cost quite a bit more than what you could get at the supermarket. People just didn’t know what to make of it. “Well, the first year was like, ‘OK, it’s my foot in the door. Just get my foot in the door, introduce people to new things, and see how the second year goes.’ The rice at the market is like $3.50, and people are thinking it’s too expensive. But a few customers buy it. And then they come back and they say, ‘Oh my gosh, I paid $3.50, and it’s worth more than that!’ ” Seven years later, Lee’s sticky rice — and other varieties she sells with her husband, Tou Lee — has become a hit at farmers markets in Asheville and nearby Black Mountain. It can even be found in several upscale restaurants in the Asheville area.”

The Lees, who are Hmong immigrants, grow their rice on several small plots of land, with the collaboration of family members. “Many people are surprised to learn that you can grow rice in the mountains, the Lees say. The vast majority of rice grown in the US — your basic white or brown variety — comes from just four regions: the Mississippi Delta, the Arkansas Grand Prairie, the Gulf Coast, and the Sacramento Valley. The crop has a rightful reputation for growing in hot, flat areas that can be easily flooded. As it turns out, though, heirloom rice from the Laotian highlands grows very well in parts of the Southern Appalachians, with its similarly hot days and cool nights. An “upland” rice, it grows on drier ground and consumes less water than standard varieties, and it can be planted like corn.” The Hmong population in the Carolinas is relatively small so they first shipped the rice to Minnesota and California before expanding into the farmer’s market in their area.

The Lees also believe that they are growing more than rice. “At this point, they see education as just as much a part of their calling” as growing rice. She and Tou say they never tire of explaining the ins and outs of Asian pears, Thai eggplant, sweet sticky rice, and their many other offerings. “I can have 1,000 customers. And about 60% of them asking the same question during the whole market. And I’m willing to explain the same thing, even when the other person is no more than 5 feet behind them,” Tou says. The seeds that fall into the ground give new life in many ways.

* * *

John 12:20-33
Dying to the Old
In Myanmar, amid the recent military crackdown, protesters are inviting people into a movement forcing the old ways to die, and new patterns of government to be born. Correspondent Richard Horsey says, “It's hard to describe the incredible energy. The people who join cut across all classes of society and generations, but the preponderance are really quite young, energetic people who feel their futures have been stolen. Young people in Myanmar have grown up under the past ten years of relative liberalisation, 4G connection to the world and consistent economic growth. This period has been one of the first times in the last 50 years when a generation has felt that tomorrow will be better than today. They feel that the coup has robbed them of that hope.”

He adds that the protesters are using humor as their tool, noting “Another aspect perhaps not seen from the outside is how positive the energy is in the protests…there’s also a really strong element of Burmese culture present, where quick, cutting satire is a response to all kinds of things. For instance, people have been stopping their cars in the streets, pretending they’ve broken down, raising their bonnets and telling the police: “I don't know what's going on, since the coup my car's CDM warning light is flashing and it’s breaking down all the time!” (CDM is the acronym for the civil disobedience movement.) Of course, the police started cracking down on this, and so the next day people started driving really, really slowly. When the police got wise to that, protestors did something else, almost slapstick humour. Someone bought a big bag of onions, but made sure there was a hole in the bottom. The person then went out onto an intersection and of course the onions started coming out of the bottom. And like in any market in Myanmar, everyone rushed over to help pick them up, and put them back in the bag. But of course, they kept coming back out. And soon there was a gridlock backed up for blocks. At the same time, they had a very serious objective, which was to frustrate the ability of the police to move around town and intercept other protests.”

With their humor, the protesters are helping the old patterns die, so the new can be born.

* * * * * *

From team member Chris Keating:

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Astonishing forgiveness
Jeremiah proclaims an astonishing covenant of forgiveness, especially considering Israel’s shoddy track record of faithfulness. Not only will God act to nullify the terms of the old covenant, but God will go one step further by centering the covenant in acts of redemption. “I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.”

Netflix’ recent true crime series “Murder Among the Mormons” retells the 1980s saga of Mark Hoffman, an infamous forger and murderer who bilked his victims out of thousands of dollars in an effort to discredit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though he was a member of the church, Hoffman had stopped believing in its tenets and concocted a scheme that sought to undermine the story of Joseph Smith. As his scheme to devolve, Hoffman deployed two homemade pipe bombs that killed two persons.

The series follows the typical pattern of a true-crime docuseries. It tracks down Hoffman’s motives and details his plans. But it omits an equally convoluted tale of forgiveness and grace. It’s a story of hope emerging out of the ugliness of Hoffman’s numerous broken covenants.

Some 15 years following Hoffman’s conviction, his son turned 19 and began making preparations for his two year missionary service. Meanwhile, Hoffman’s ex-wife Dorie begins working in a building where the judge who sentenced Hoffman has opened a private mediation practice. She soon strikes up a friendship with the judge. “I got to know him,” Dorie told a Salt Lake City newspaper, “and I would come and say hi to him if he was there and talk with him for a few minutes, and he would tell me some things about what happened. He would share some stories and talk to me. He was very supportive and very friendly.”

Knowing the judge would be interested in her son’s activities, Dorie mentions the pending missionary assignment. She offhandedly said she was uncertain how she would get the money to pay for all the supplies Mormon missionaries need for their endeavors. The judge had an idea. “Let me make a call to Mac Christensen.”

Christensen, the founder of a chain of stores specializing in outfitting LDS missionaries, was also the father of one of Hoffman’s victims. The judge contact Christensen and told him about an anonymous missionary whose single mother was struggling to pay for his supplies. Immediately Christensen offered to pick up the tab. But then the judge revealed the son’s identity.

Christensen was silent for a long time, eventually telling the judge “I need to talk to my family about this.” A few days later, the store owner called back and said the family would be glad to pay for the young man’s clothing and essentials. Dorie soon went to Christensen’s store, where his son waited on her. Years later, Mac Christensen, the father of the man killed, reflected on the process of forgiving Hoffman.

“I’ve forgiven him,” Mac told the Deseret News in 2011. “I wouldn’t ask them to let him out, but I’ve forgiven him. That’s what you have to do. You have to forgive and just help people.”

The son who helped Dorie that day at the store explained that while Hoffman’s son received free clothing, the Christensen’s received something invaluable. “That young man may have received free clothing, but the gift I received was priceless,” Spencer Christensen wrote. “I felt no anger or hatred towards his father; that burden was not mine to carry. This was about doing what the Savior would do.”

* * *

Hebrews 5:5-10
An offering of prayers
Hebrews continues the theme of Jesus’ glorification articulated by John, describing Christ’s priestly offerings of prayers and supplications “with loud cries and tears.” In this way, the writer reminds us, Christ showed his priestly obedience.

In the year since the pandemic upturned life across the planet, similar offerings of sufferings, loud cries and tears have been made to God. It’s wise to not declare the deaths of more than 500,000 Americans as redemptive, of course, but there are ways of honoring their lives and finding hope.

In New York City, where more than 30,000 persons died, memorial services were held last week a year after the first person died. Images of those who had died were projected on the Brooklyn Bridge, evoking reminders of the tragedy the city had endured.  A virtual memorial was also streamed across the city’s official website and across social media platforms.

“We constantly talk about moving forward and our recovery, but we’ve got to take time to remember the people we’ve lost,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio at a news conference.

* * *

John 12:20-33
Unless a grain of wheat dies
John begins the story of Jesus’ passion with the arrival of Greeks who were searching after Jesus, a reminder that as Jesus gives up his life, he does so for the sake of the entire world. John is hinting at the resurrection, which is the culminating sign of Jesus’ glorification in the Gospel. In the words of Natalie Sleeth’s hymn, “In the bulb, there is a flower…in cocoons a hidden promise.”

It’s a promise a Minnesota woman discovered while caring for her father as he battled with Lewy body dementia, a disease associated with abnormal deposits of the alpha-synuclein protein in the brain. Nancy Pollard detailed her experience as her father’s caregiver in a book, “Dancing with Lewy.” Pollard wrote the book to help other families in the excruciating journey of dementia. She says that even during her father’s struggles with dementia there were sometimes hidden and unexpected gift revealed.

“He was a very determined, independent man, very private,” Poland said in a newspaper interview. “I really had some issues with some of the things he did. Now I know more. As a family we ‘danced’ around the issues, never directly called them out. But I learned so much about love and faith, how to provide for them. I had some really great moments with him, spent more time with him and learned more stories. There were many positive things about it too.”


* * * * * *

WORSHIP
by George Reed

Call to Worship:
One: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
All: Wash me and cleanse me from my sin.
One: You, O God, desire truth in the inward being.
All: Teach us wisdom in the secret place of our hearts.
One: O God, open our lips, and our mouths will declare your praise.
All: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit.

OR

One: God calls us to new and everlasting life.
All: We long for life that is full and stable.       
One: To receive this new life, we must let go of the old one.
All: It is scary to let go of what we know.
One: The God of eternal love invites us to this task.
All: We will trust in our God and let go that we might receive.

Hymns and Songs:
What Wondrous Love Is This
UMH: 292
H82: 439
PH: 85
NCH: 223
CH: 200
LBW: 385
ELW: 666
W&P: 257
STLT: 18
Renew: 277

Abide with Me
UMH: 700
H82: 662
PH: 543
AAHH: 459
NNBH: 247
NCH: 99
CH: 636
LBW: 272
ELW: 629
W&P: 307
AMEC: 495
STLT: 101

Hymn of Promise/In the Bulb There Is a Flower
UMH: 707
NCH: 433
CH: 638
W&P: 515

If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
NCH: 410         
LBW: 453
ELW: 769
W&P: 429

I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath
UMH: 60
H82: 429
PH: 253
CH: 20  

Out of the Depths I Cry to You
UMH: 515
H82: 666
PH: 240
NCH: 483
CH: 510
LBW: 295
ELW: 600

Beams of Heaven as I Go
UMH: 524
NNBH: 271
NCH: 447
AMEC: 382

Be Still, My Soul
UMH: 534
AAHH: 135
NNBH: 263
NCH: 488
CH: 566
W&P: 451
AMEC: 426

This Is a Day of New Beginnings
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355

Lord of the Dance (Not in many hymnals but readily available)
UMH: 261
W&P: 118

Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79          

Change My Heart, O God
CCB: 56
Renew: 143

Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship

Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is life that knows no limits and no end:
Grant us the faith to trust in you as we face the death of the old
so that we may embrace the life that is coming in the new;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We praise you, O God, because you are life that knows no limits and has no end. In the midst of death you bring forth new life. Help us to trust you enough to believe that when things around us are dying that you will bring forth wondrous new life. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our fear to let go of the old so that we can embrace the new.

All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are so afraid of death that we cannot even let ideas and programs die easily. We so fear the future that we cling to the past beyond all reason. Even as we are preparing for Easter we have forgotten that you are the God who brings life out of death, the new out of the old. Forgive us and renew our faith that we might truly believe the resurrection is sure to come. Amen.

One: God is the ever-renewing God who brings life out of death and the new out of the old. Receive the newness of God’s grace as you offer others new life, as well.

Prayers of the People
We praise you, O God of life, for the life you give to all your creation. Your life is eternal and can never be defeated.

(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 are so afraid of death that we cannot even let ideas and programs die easily. We so fear the future that we cling to the past beyond all reason. Even as we are preparing for Easter we have forgotten that you are the God who brings life out of death, the new out of the old. Forgive us and renew our faith that we might truly believe the resurrection is sure to come.
      
We thank you for the wonders of this life and with the glory of the life you have given us in Christ. We thank you for those who have held us up when we thought that there was no hope. We thank you for the constant message of the Gospel that gives us life.

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
      
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who feel themselves stuck in the old without any hope of things getting better. We pray for those who are weighed down with the prospect of sickness and death. We pray for those who are caught in the whirlpool of grief. We pray for ourselves that as we find ourselves in similar situations we might be able to share hope with others.

(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
With the Gospel lesson’s recounting of Jesus talking about seeds dying and bringing more new life, it might be a good time to bring out the bean seeds to plant. If you use clear plastic cups you can have the children plant the seeds along the side of the cup and then they can see the roots and shoot begin to develop even before the shoot breaks through the soil. Talk about how God is always bringing good out of bad and new out of old and life out of death. You can keep the planting for discussion next week or send them home with the children.


* * * * * *

CHILDREN'S SERMON
Becoming a Butterfly
by Katy Stenta
John 12:20-33

Supplies: Caterpillar: leaves, apples, flowers, cocoon, branch (real or picture), butterfly (or wings to put upon the caterpillar)

Talking about us as a resurrection people is similar to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We have to transform ourselves to become who we want to be just as a caterpillar must change some big things in order to become a butterfly.

The evolution of the butterfly:

Caterpillar: We all start out as caterpillars, we are learning and consuming as much as we can. We are discovering what is good for us and what is not. We are trying to grow as people.

Cocoon on a branch: Then after we learn enough, we spend time with ourselves, we deconstruct (that’s a big word that means take apart) — take ourselves apart in order to put ourselves back together again. It is easier to do this not by ourselves but with friends, family, mentors and God to help us to grow into our full potential. In this cocoon is just a jello-like, liquid version of the caterpillar.

Butterfly: Then we become our full selves. The caterpillar is still there, but changed into an even more vibrant and real version of itself. That is what it means when we say we are a resurrection people. We are trying to work with God to become butterflies, here on earth and in heaven. The cool thing is all the work we do on earth counts — all the learning and changing we do here and now helps. And then God helps us to make the changes that need to be made.

What are some changes that you wish could be made? What would make life more beautiful or help us to value one another better? (answers might range greatly, try to affirm every answer and repeat it back)

Let’s Pray (repeat after me)

Dear God,

Thank you, for working with us
as we become changed
into a beautiful
resurrection people.

Help us to see
and celebrate
whenever good changes happen.
Amen.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


The Immediate Word, March 21, 2021 issue.

Copyright 2021 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.

All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.