On The Other Hand
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
In this week’s lectionary reading from the Hebrew scriptures, a clearly frustrated Elijah pleads with the Israelites to rededicate themselves to God rather than continuing to navigate a middle course that attempts to accommodate false deities into their religious practice. Determined to bring matters to a head, he decides to demonstrate the impotence of these gods by provoking a faceoff with the prophets of Baal and calling upon the awesome power of the Lord in a way that will leave no doubt about God’s supreme authority. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer suggests that Elijah’s sentiments might seem familiar to United Methodists as they struggled with thorny issues of human sexuality at their General Conference last week. Amid rumors of impending schism, battle lines were drawn and positions hardened on these matters (especially homosexuality) -- leading the president of the bishops’ council to publicly acknowledge the deep divisions, citing the denomination’s “brokenness” that “surrounds or emanates from matters of human sexuality, interpretation of scripture, how we include our LGBT brothers and sisters.” Complicating the debate is that each side feels their position is grounded in moral and scriptural integrity -- to the point that it seems reminiscent of the divide between the followers of Baal and God. As a result, our church leaders are tasked with somehow discovering a way to maintain Christian unity despite the acrimonious debate. So absent a clear demonstration of God’s power (a la Elijah), how can this be done? As Dean notes, for now the situation remains muddled. Yet this week’s gospel text may offer a way forward, since Jesus sees faith in a Roman centurion -- someone who under normal circumstances would likely be rejected as a representative of an (ungodly) occupying force.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on power, authority, and occupying forces in light of the gospel text. Mary notes the vast difference in the daily lives of those living under the thumb of imperial occupation and those who maintain that authority -- both in the ancient world and today. Needless to say, each group is at the very least wary of the other... and that can color our attitudes about who and what are deserving of mercy and assistance. But as Mary points out, Jesus turns our usual notions on their head -- seeing the centurion as a child of God and reaching out to him despite his status as a visible symbol of a hated occupying military force.
On the Other Hand
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39; Galatians 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10
“How long will you go limping with two different opinions?” Elijah asks the People of God. If YHWH is God, follow YHWH. If Baal is God, follow Baal. For crying out loud, the prophet seems to be saying, just decide.
But the Israelites “did not answer him a word.”
Last week, the United Methodists weren’t so reticent. They did answer Elijah’s burning question about limping along with two different opinions.
Their answer: Oh, about four years.
In the News
At their General Conference meeting from May 10 to May 20, 864 elected delegates from United Methodist conferences around the world were given the authority to make decisions on behalf of the whole church. But faced with the question of whether or not to allow LGBTQ people full inclusion in the life of the church and risk a schism in the denomination, they decided not to decide. To use a painfully mixed metaphor, they both passed the buck and kicked the can another four years down the road.
Like a married couple who has irreconcilable differences but insufficient resources for a divorce, they decided to live together in the same house through four more years of uneasy tension and animosity rather than take the painful and expensive step toward separation.
After spending nearly half their time together debating procedural motions, they instructed the Council of Bishops to appoint yet another commission to study all of the language in the Book of Discipline having to do with human sexuality and to make suggestions about what to do about it by 2018. Then the bishops will study those suggestions for two years and bring their own proposals to the next General Conference, which is scheduled for 2020 in Minneapolis. Although the bishops’ recommendations that were adopted allowed for the possibility of a special session to discuss LGBT inclusion before then, an effort to pass legislation pinpointing the date for a special session failed.
Faced with heavy consequences whatever course they decided on, the delegates became like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, whose inner dialogue bounces almost endlessly between observations “on the other hand.” Afraid to act, the delegates to the General Conference left the denomination to flounder for four years while they examine what’s “on the other hand.”
Across the pond, the 400,000-member Church of Scotland took another limping step regarding this same topic when it voted to let its ministers enter same-sex marriages -- though saying it “maintains its traditional view of marriage between a man and woman.”
Having accepted gay pastors in 2013, the church’s general assembly (meeting in Edinburgh) voted on Saturday to allow congregations to “opt out" from traditional teaching if they wish to appoint a minister or a deacon in a same-sex marriage.
However, “the Kirk” (as the Church of Scotland is affectionately referred to at home) stated that clergy will not be allowed to conduct same-sex weddings. They can be in one, but they can’t conduct one. Debate on that issue will not occur until the church's Theological Forum presents a report next year.
It’s nearly impossible to survey or to even put together a representative sample all of the 12 million United Methodists worldwide, but a 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Study polled more than 35,000 Americans -- and this large sample resulted in over 1,600 Methodists being asked about their religious beliefs and their political views.
According to the Pew survey, about 60% of the 7 million American United Methodists believe that homosexuality should be accepted or at least not discouraged, an increase of 9% from 2007. While that is a significant majority, it is lower than the 69.5% average among Protestants in all “mainline” or “old-line” denominations. American United Methodists, however, must contend with 5 million of their denomination’s global membership (most of whom are in Africa and Asia) who tend to be more conservative on this issue than their American siblings.
In the Scriptures
A thread which runs through the lectionary readings for this Sunday has to do with the issue of authority and how it is used.
In the epistle lesson from Galatians, Paul argues that his authority is greater than those who are “confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” The gospel, he says, is its own authority. Even if an angel from heaven preaches to you, Paul tells us, if the angel’s message is contrary to the gospel, don’t believe it. In the gospel lesson, Luke compares the authority of a centurion in the Roman army to the authority of Jesus who speaks on behalf of God.
But it is to the Hebrew scriptures that we turn this week, and the battle over whose authority is greatest -- the prophets of Baal or the prophet of YHWH.
In the long reading from First Kings, we find ourselves in the third year of a drought. So severe have things become that even the king’s horses are beginning to suffer. So King Ahab and his prime minister, Obadiah, have gone out into the land to see if they can find some potable water.
Obadiah, a good and faithful worshipper of YHWH, runs into the prophet Elijah -- who announces to him that this drought is the fault of the king and his wife Jezebel.
King Ahab is an Israelite, and his queen Jezebel is a Canaanite. He worships YHWH. She worships Baal. So to try and keep the peace at home and around the country, Ahab has said that Israel will worship both gods -- a compromise that, of course, pleases no one.
Jezebel has begun a campaign of persecution against the prophets of YHWH. Only100 of them have survived her pogrom, and that is because Obadiah has hidden them in caves and provided them with food and water until things cool off.
Elijah tells Obadiah that this state of affairs can’t continue, and he calls for a throwdown between himself and the 850 prophets of Baal and Baal’s wife, the fertility goddess Asherah. He tells Obadiah to go back and tell Ahab that they will meet at Mt. Carmel (a holy site for both religions) in the morning for the contest.
Ahab, probably wanting to get this thing settled once and for all, agrees and calls the people of Israel together on Mt. Carmel. Elijah is there, alone. The prophets of Baal number 450. Asherah’s prophets decide to take a pass on this one.
Elijah begins the challenge with a speech to the people of Israel, the speech which is paraphrased above: “How long will you go limping with two different opinions?” Elijah asks the People of God -- for crying out loud, just decide. If YHWH is God, follow YHWH. If Baal is God, follow Baal.
But the Israelites “did not answer him a word.”
The rest of the story is familiar to many. Each side is given a bull to sacrifice, with the god who rains down fire to consume the bull being the winner. The prophets of Baal rant and rave and weep and beg and whip themselves from dawn until about 3:00 p.m., while Elijah taunts and insults them and their god. Finally, exhausted, they give up -- and it’s Elijah’s turn.
The prophet takes 12 stones from the altar that was destroyed by Jezebel’s minions and makes a makeshift altar out of those 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel. He digs a trench around the altar, presumably where the blood is to be collected when the bull is killed. Then he piles wood on the altar, kills and cuts the bull into pieces, and lays it on top.
As a final insult to the Baal worshippers, he has 12 water jars (about 15-20 gallons each) dumped on the altar. Finally, he prays a long prayer asking God to vindicate the people of Israel and their faith by sending fire to consume the bull.
YHWH responds by sending enough fire to consume the bull, the wood, the stones, and the water that has collected in the trench around the altar.
The people respond, predictably, by falling down and admitting that YHWH is the only real God, and Elijah orders them to seize the prophets of Baal before they can escape.
In the final verse of the story, a verse that the lectionary leaves out, the 450 false prophets are taken to the Kishon River in the valley of Jezreel and executed there.
Later the drought ends, but Elijah’s troubles have just begun. By ordering the execution of 450 of Jezebel’s prophets, he has made a powerful and dangerous enemy in the queen.
In the Pulpit
Authority is like a bar of soap. The more you use it, the less you have.
I don’t remember where I heard that adage, but it has the ring of truth, doesn’t it? Real authority, the kind that gets things done, doesn’t have to stake its claim with power and might. It simply is. It is, as Edwin Friedman said, “the non-anxious presence in an anxious system.”
Upon seeing the power of YHWH on Mt. Carmel, the people of Israel have no problem accepting the authority of God’s prophet Elijah. When he calls for the 450 prophets of Baal to be executed, the order is carried out without regard to the queen or her wishes.
But authority is rarely that clearly defined. Accepting the authority of one person over another, of one point of view over and other, of one source over another, often feels like a roll of the dice or the flip of a coin.
The debate over homosexuality that is going on in the mainline protestant churches is often identified as a debate over the “authority of scripture.” One side, we are told, believes in a literal interpretation of “God’s Holy Word,” and the other side believes in an interpretation of scripture that is informed by historical and theological scholarship and critical analysis of the text.
In truth, the debate is narrower than that.
Few, indeed, are those in the mainline denominations who actually believe in a literal interpretation of all scripture.
Most of us ignore the rule against eating shellfish (Leviticus 11:10-12). We don’t execute adulterers any more (Leviticus 20:10). We don’t take unruly or disobedient children to the city gate where the elders of the city stone them to death (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
We don’t require women to be silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:33) or to cover their heads when praying (1 Corinthians 11:2). And we don’t allow or condone slavery, even though Paul does (Ephesians 6:5).
And let’s be honest, hardly any of us honor the sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) and keep it holy.
If this is an argument about the authority of scripture, it is about a very narrow few verses of scripture which some insist must, alone, be taken literally -- an argument that is inconsistent in its reasoning and nearly schizophrenic in its application.
For those who call Jesus Lord there is but one authority, and that is the authority of love. It is the rule and plumb line by which we measure our lives. It is the foundation of our morality and our ethic, and only by history will those of us who abide by that authority be judged.
If, when we stand before our God, we are judged to be in error, let it be not because we hated the wrong people but because we loved too much and too well.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Luke 7:1-10
Occupying powers are famous for their brutality.
On the 50th anniversary of the ironically named Tibet Autonomous Region last fall, China celebrated the occasion with a strong critique of the Dalai Lama, calling the Buddhist leader “a violent separatist.” Reuters news service reported: “This year marks several sensitive anniversaries for the remote region that China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950, when Communist troops marched in and took control in what Beijing calls a ‘peaceful liberation.’ It also marked the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama and the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of a young Tibetan who was chosen by the Dalai Lama as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.”
In areas controlled by the Islamic State forces, millions of Syrians and Iraqis have fled the violence and become refugees. Daily life has become a “two-tiered society... starkly different for the occupiers and the occupied.... Foreign fighters and their families are provided free housing, medical care, religious education, and even a sort of militant meals-on-wheels service, according to those interviewed. The militants are paid salaries raised largely from taxes and fees levied on the millions of people they control in an arc of land as big as the United Kingdom. Those whose cities and towns are held by the Islamic State said they face not only the casual savagery of militants who behead their enemies and make sex slaves out of some minority women, but also severe shortages of the basics of daily life. Many residents have electricity for only an hour or two a day, and some homes go days without running water. Jobs are scarce, so many people can't afford food prices that have tripled or more. Medical care is poor, most schools are closed, and bans on most travel outside the Islamic State are enforced at gunpoint.”
The contrast in power between the occupying army and the citizens under their control is dramatic. Against that backdrop, the lives of the centurion and Jesus intersect. The centurion is part of the army occupying, taxing, and controlling Jesus’ homeland. In an odd reversal, now the centurion is the one asking for help and Jesus is the one with the power. The centurion has the power to compel people to do things; but here he’s asking for a favor. Three times in the story he asks someone to help him, making himself vulnerable each time. Power turns out to be useless unless it serves what you most want.
The centurion has spent enough time with the Jewish leaders that he knows them well enough to ask for help. He built their synagogue, and apparently did more than give orders remotely -- becoming involved in the lives of the people in the area. He knows enough about Jesus to ask him for help too. And when Jesus gets near his house, the centurion sends his friends to reassure Jesus that he doesn’t need to come all the way there... a simple word will be enough.
After a lifetime of watching his friends and neighbors suffer at the hands of the Romans, we might expect a stinging critique from Jesus, telling the centurion to stop participating in an oppressive system. But instead, Jesus is willing to set aside his experiences to help this one man. Jesus continually reaches out to the people on the margins, and this time the marginal person is the centurion. He never actually appears in the story, and we’re left to wonder if he feels unworthy of Jesus’ help, or if he expects to be turned down, or if he feels ashamed of how his army treats the local citizens.
Jesus is also a powerful person, and his power comes in a different form from the centurion. He can illuminate, enlighten, inspire, and heal, but he commands only unclean spirits and the forces of death. Still, the man who has all the earthly power defers to the greater power of Jesus.
Jesus ends up “amazed” by the centurion’s faith, and the centurion may well be amazed that Jesus cares enough to help. The writer Roman Krznaric says that “we should approach empathy as the ultimate form of travel, a means of transporting ourselves into other lives in ways that can illuminate our own. There is no need to limit where we take our journeys. We must extend our empathetic imaginations not just to the dispossessed or disadvantaged, but also to those whose views and actions we might oppose or disdain, from wealthy bankers to bombastic politicians.... There are few better ways of bringing us face to face with our own prejudices, uncertainties, and inconsistencies. That is how empathy can become both a moral guide and a basis for a philosophy of living.” Or, as Jesus says it more succinctly, “love your enemies.” Jesus calls to us from this story, proposing that our enemies deserve another look. He invites us to see the person behind the role, and to be willing to be amazed by what we find there.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
A recent commentary in the Daily Beast on the number of scandals involving pastors noted that “exposing hypocrisy is, as the cliché goes, like shooting fish in a barrel. If you follow the right Twitter accounts, literally every day there’s a new story.” The author then reported on scandals committed by religious leaders just in the previous week. Most disturbing was that those who are committing these offenses are often the most judgmental from the pulpit of those in the pews and society who are doing the very same acts of transgression. The commentary offered a number of reasons for this, but one is most important for our scripture reading: “Psychologically, this is what Freud called ‘reaction formation’ -- essentially, projecting your psychological baggage onto someone else.”
Application: The followers of Baal were trying to project their false beliefs onto others.
*****
Galatians 1:1-12
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni recently wrote on “How Facebook Warps Our Worlds.” Bruni says that while the internet was supposed to expose us to the news of the world from various reporting agencies so that we could make informed decisions, instead it has done just the opposite -- we tend to seek out online people and news that support our preconceived beliefs. Bruni opines that we surrender wisdom “and substitute it with the groupthink of micro-communities.”
Application: Paul cautions us from following those who convey a false message of the gospel.
*****
Galatians 1:1-12
In a recent piece titled “Facebook’s Subtle Empire,” New York Times columnist Ross Douthat discusses the recent discovery that Facebook’s list of “trending topics” (the most important and viewed news events) is not determined by an algorithm but in fact is curated by Facebook employees, and thus often represents their views. The average user is not aware of this media bias, and therefore the user’s views of an event may not be objective. Douthat suggests that allows Facebook “to gently catechize its users into that perspective,” and calls for more vigorous evaluation of the events as reported on Facebook.
Application: Paul cautions us from following those who convey a false message of the gospel.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
The Washington Post recently reported that “people who possess this one thing enjoy better health.” And what is that one thing? Friends. Studies show that people between the ages of 45 and 65 are the loneliest ones in America -- because of divorce, job relocation, the need to care for aging parents, and many other reasons. The Post reported “that feeling isolated and lonely is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Application: When the centurion came to Jesus, Jesus understood the importance of being a friend.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
Europe is experiencing its greatest migrant crisis since the upheavals of 1945 -- and of all the countries receiving the influx of undocumented refuges, France is doing the least to assist them. This has motivated some people in England, located just 20 miles across the English Channel from three refugee camps, to become involved. A number of people have moved to France to be full-time volunteers. As one volunteer said, “I realized I had a capacity to make a difference. And it’s just across the water from me -- it’s just so, so close.”
Application: Jesus realized he had the capacity to make a difference.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
Hettie Colquhoun, one of the English volunteers who have moved to France to assist with refugee camps, says what motivated her actions was a sense that “as much as you close your eyes, it doesn’t stop the world around you from existing.”
Application: Jesus realized he had the capacity to make a difference.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
Clare Moseley, another of the English volunteers who moved to France to assist with refugee camps, was skimming newspapers online when she saw an article in the Daily Mail about refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. This caused her to study the matter further, and she learned about the severe refugee crisis. Moseley said of her decision to become a volunteer and relocate to France, “It was a complete knee-jerk reaction to an emergency, but I just felt like it was massively, massively needed, and so I did it.”
Application: Jesus realized he had the capacity to make a difference.
*****
Memorial Day
According to the Washington Post, there is a new societal trend in the communities in and around Washington, D.C. -- young couples are naming their children after former presidents of the United States. The Post reports that Jesse and Jennifer Nielsen are expecting their fourth child, and everyone they know is asking the same question: What president’s name will be given to their new daughter? The Nielsens’ previous three children have been named Grant (for Ulysses Grant), Madison (for James Madison); and McKinley (for William McKinley). After ruling out Harding, Hoover, and Eisenhower, the Nielsens selected Kennedy... not for his politics, but simply because they liked the name.
Application: We may not want to name our children after a president, but we should respect those who have held that office.
*****
Memorial Day
At an abolitionist meeting held in Boston, the renowned Frederick Douglass was the principal speaker. Disheartened that his black brothers and sisters were still in bondage, and that there appeared to be no means of escape, Douglass declared that only armed rebellion in the South and the shedding of blood could end the appalling institution of slavery. From the audience a woman cried out, “Frederick, is God dead?” Sojourner Truth had awakened the crowd with her shout. It was a sobering thought she interposed that day, a thought which still clung to hope for a peaceful settlement. She had enough faith to continue to trust in the power of the Creator to triumph over evil.
Application: This Memorial Day, let us always remember that God is not dead.
*****
Memorial Day
There is a national memorial known as the “Space Mirror” in Cape Canaveral, Florida, which honors the 24 astronauts who have died in the line of duty since the beginning of the space program. The monument, which cost $6.2 million, stands 45 feet tall, is 50 feet wide, and contains 93 black granite panels. The names of the astronauts have been carved on panels located throughout the memorial, and behind each carved panel is a mirror tilted upward toward the sun. The monument rotates so that the mirrors are always reflecting the light of the sun. The sunlight is reflected through the letters, which creates the impression that the names are emblazoned in the heavens.
Application: This Memorial Day, let us remember.
***************
From team member Chris Keating:
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
Bold Choices
Elijah stands outside of official power circles, yet is still labeled by Ahab as the “troubler” of Israel. As the narrative unfolds, however, it becomes clear that God’s power tends to be found in unlikely places (see chapter 17). The “troubler” of Israel threatens the state power, even as he summons nearly 1,000 prophets of Baal and Asherah to meet him at Mount Carmel. It’s a bold choice, yet the overwhelming power of Yahweh is soon revealed and the false prophets are shown to be the frauds they are. It was an extremely risky move.
In the midst of difficulty, it can be hard to make bold choices. A look at the contemporary mainline churches reveals symptoms of spiritual drought and theological famine. Attendance is down, congregations are smaller, mission funding is dwindling. As author and congregational consultant Gil Rendle observes, it’s a time of scarcity. Still, he believes the future of denominations and congregations is strong -- but only by making bold choices. His description of bold choices may sound a bit like Elijah resolutely keeping the faith in the face of thousands of false prophets and anxious spectators. As Rendle says:
The bottom line is that we don’t have enough to keep doing what we’ve been doing, but the possibility is that we have enough or more than enough to do what God calls us to do next. It’s only if we trap ourselves into saying that we have to continue what we have that we run into this pessimistic kind of a moment....
What does it mean to live out of a culture of sufficiency? If you think about the future of the denomination, what if we have resources sufficient for what we’re called to do? I’m forever having conversations about how we don’t have enough people and we don’t have enough money to manage the churches and the buildings and so forth. It’s hard to ask people to re?ask the question -- What if we have too much?
What if we have too many buildings? What if we have too many congregations in that area? What if we redeployed our resources for mission? My colleagues want to always remind me not to undersell the crisis. Will our denominations come out looking exactly how we would have them? No, no, they’re going to be reshaped; they’re going to be re-formed.
*****
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
Going “All In”
Alone on the mountain, Elijah made the choice to go “all in” in trusting Yahweh. That was also the message United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power recently shared with Yale University’s class of 2016. “Get close,” she said. “Go all in.” She encouraged seniors to find their passion in the world, and to be deeply involved in order to make an impact. Everyone, she said, has voices in their heads that tell them others are more capable. Power said the trick is not letting those voices hold you back.
Watching the Tiananmen Square uprising during her first year at Yale inspired Power to learn how to get involved:
And that was what I realized at the end of my freshman year: I didn’t want to go through my time at Yale or anywhere else giving myself alibis for not trying to change at least my little slice of the world. Especially when there were people out there who were risking so much more. But my question was: How was I going to do that?... And my message is: No matter what you choose to do with your life, if you truly want to live fully and leave the world a little better than you found it, you have to get close.
*****
Galatians 1:1-12
Not Seeking Human Approval
Paul challenges the Galatians to rethink their choice to depart from the path of the gospel. As he scolds them for accepting a gospel contrary to the one he had proclaimed, he reminds them that he is not a preacher with an attention-seeking deficit. His intent is not to seek human approval, but only to proclaim the truth of Christ. Father Daniel Berrigan, who died recently at age 94, exhibited a similar prophetic view during his protests of the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Throughout his life, Father Berrigan confronted those in the church and nation who, in his words, showed “silence and cowardice in the face of our country’s crimes.” Much like Paul’s strong words to the Galatians, Berrigan was intent on proclaiming the gospel of peace. In reflecting on his life and death, one writer noted that passionate faith -- not only vitriolic activism -- was at the center of Berrigan’s message:
It was evident to me during that brief encounter in Fountain Hill that he spoke as a priest, as a member of a larger band of brothers, some of whom, at times, despised what he was doing and his criticism of the order. Others grew to respect and revere him. It didn’t always go well between him and the Jesuits at large or between him and the church. But he stayed, and there was in that an example of the kind of perseverance he brought to his pursuit of peace and justice.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O sing to God a new song; sing to God, all the earth.
People: Sing to God and bless God’s holy name.
Leader: Great is God, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
People: Ascribe to God glory and strength.
Leader: Worship God in holy splendor; tremble before God, all the earth.
People: Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice.
OR
Leader: The children of God are called to gather.
People: We come as God’s people to worship and praise our God.
Leader: We are called to worship, but we are also called to love.
People: As children of the God of love, we will reflect God’s love.
Leader: Even when the way is rough, we are called to be steadfast.
People: Whatever lies before us, we will serve our God and all of God’s children.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“All People That on Earth Do Dwell”
found in:
UMH: 75
H82: 377, 378
PH: 220, 221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELA: 883
W&P: 61
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
“From All That Dwell Below the Skies”
found in:
UMH: 101
H82: 380
PH: 229
NCH: 27
CH: 49
LBW: 550
AMEC: 69
STLT: 381
“It’s Me, It’s Me, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 352
NNBH: 496
CH: 579
“Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
found in:
UMH: 358
H82: 652, 653
PH: 345
NCH: 502
CH: 594
LBW: 506
W&P: 470
AMEC: 344
“Seek Ye First”
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 15
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”
found in:
UMH: 453
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460
“Trust and Obey”
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“God, You Are My God”
found in:
CCB: 60
“Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
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 pure love: Grant us the wisdom to choose to fully be your children that we may live in love, justice, and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are love. There is nothing in you that is not love. Send your Spirit upon us that we might become fully your children, reflecting your loving ways. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to take a firm stand for Jesus and the Reign of God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are so afraid that we will offend other people that we fail to take a firm stand on who we are as your children. We confuse being nice with being loving. Help us to stand firm as your children, and to work for justice and mercy to fill our world. Amen.
Leader: God in love calls us all to wholeness. Enter into the wholeness of God’s love, and be God’s image in this world.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
Praise and glory are yours by right, O God of love and compassion. Your loving kindness is our very life.
(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 that we will offend other people that we fail to take a firm stand on who we are as your children. We confuse being nice with being loving. Help us to stand firm as your children, and to work for justice and mercy to fill our world.
We thank you for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for those who have declared themselves to be your children and followers of Jesus, even when it meant persecution and death. We thank you for those who have stood for justice and mercy in a world of revenge, hatred, and violence.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for the courage for all of us to look after one another in love.
(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 Lord’s Prayer 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
Do you ever play games where someone gets to choose who is going to be on their side? I remember games like that. I always hated it when the person choosing couldn’t make up their mind about who to choose. I wanted to get started and play the game. God offers us a chance to choose. We can be loving like God, and we can follow Jesus or not. God wants us to choose love.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
by Robin Lostetter
Psalm 96
You will need:
* small statuettes -- if possible, have ones that represent “gods” of ancient cultures: Greek mythological gods, stylized animals, fertility gods, etc.
* four pieces of poster board or cardboard, each with one of the following on them in large print: SING, OFFERING, WORSHIP, LORD GOD
What you’ll say:
Good morning! In our psalm today, we’re told to sing, bless, proclaim, ascribe glory and strength, bring an offering, and join the whole earth in worshiping the Lord!
Wow! What a lot of words -- words we don’t use very often, like “proclaim” and “ascribe.” But there are three words you probably know.
One is “sing” (hold up the sign labeled “SING”). Did we sing today? And what about in Sunday school? Do you ever sing there? I imagine you sometimes sing the words “praise” or “alleluia,” right? Songs of praise to God!
Another is “offering” (hold up the sign labeled “OFFERING”). Did anyone bring an offering today? Let’s look out in the pews... did any adults bring an offering? Those monies represent giving of ourselves, our time, and our work to help others.
And how about “worship”? When you come here in the morning, do you say you’re “going to church” or you’re “going to worship”? Well, both are right. We come to the church building to attend a worship service (hold up the sign labeled “WORSHIP”). And in worship we proclaim and ascribe and sing and listen and bring an offering.
We do this to worship God, who made everything (hold up the sign labeled “LORD GOD”) --like the trees... and what else? (Affirm the children’s answers.)
But the person who wrote this psalm, this poem, said: “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”
He said this because some people worshiped idols... like these miniature statues (display the statuettes). And he said there’s a difference. We worship the God who made everything, including us -- including people who can make statues. But some people are foolish and worship statues they have made with their hands, statues that can do nothing. How silly is that?
Let’s have a prayer.
Dear God, we praise you for this beautiful world you have made. Help us always to worship only you with our singing and our offerings, our praise and our prayers. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 29, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on power, authority, and occupying forces in light of the gospel text. Mary notes the vast difference in the daily lives of those living under the thumb of imperial occupation and those who maintain that authority -- both in the ancient world and today. Needless to say, each group is at the very least wary of the other... and that can color our attitudes about who and what are deserving of mercy and assistance. But as Mary points out, Jesus turns our usual notions on their head -- seeing the centurion as a child of God and reaching out to him despite his status as a visible symbol of a hated occupying military force.
On the Other Hand
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39; Galatians 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10
“How long will you go limping with two different opinions?” Elijah asks the People of God. If YHWH is God, follow YHWH. If Baal is God, follow Baal. For crying out loud, the prophet seems to be saying, just decide.
But the Israelites “did not answer him a word.”
Last week, the United Methodists weren’t so reticent. They did answer Elijah’s burning question about limping along with two different opinions.
Their answer: Oh, about four years.
In the News
At their General Conference meeting from May 10 to May 20, 864 elected delegates from United Methodist conferences around the world were given the authority to make decisions on behalf of the whole church. But faced with the question of whether or not to allow LGBTQ people full inclusion in the life of the church and risk a schism in the denomination, they decided not to decide. To use a painfully mixed metaphor, they both passed the buck and kicked the can another four years down the road.
Like a married couple who has irreconcilable differences but insufficient resources for a divorce, they decided to live together in the same house through four more years of uneasy tension and animosity rather than take the painful and expensive step toward separation.
After spending nearly half their time together debating procedural motions, they instructed the Council of Bishops to appoint yet another commission to study all of the language in the Book of Discipline having to do with human sexuality and to make suggestions about what to do about it by 2018. Then the bishops will study those suggestions for two years and bring their own proposals to the next General Conference, which is scheduled for 2020 in Minneapolis. Although the bishops’ recommendations that were adopted allowed for the possibility of a special session to discuss LGBT inclusion before then, an effort to pass legislation pinpointing the date for a special session failed.
Faced with heavy consequences whatever course they decided on, the delegates became like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, whose inner dialogue bounces almost endlessly between observations “on the other hand.” Afraid to act, the delegates to the General Conference left the denomination to flounder for four years while they examine what’s “on the other hand.”
Across the pond, the 400,000-member Church of Scotland took another limping step regarding this same topic when it voted to let its ministers enter same-sex marriages -- though saying it “maintains its traditional view of marriage between a man and woman.”
Having accepted gay pastors in 2013, the church’s general assembly (meeting in Edinburgh) voted on Saturday to allow congregations to “opt out" from traditional teaching if they wish to appoint a minister or a deacon in a same-sex marriage.
However, “the Kirk” (as the Church of Scotland is affectionately referred to at home) stated that clergy will not be allowed to conduct same-sex weddings. They can be in one, but they can’t conduct one. Debate on that issue will not occur until the church's Theological Forum presents a report next year.
It’s nearly impossible to survey or to even put together a representative sample all of the 12 million United Methodists worldwide, but a 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Study polled more than 35,000 Americans -- and this large sample resulted in over 1,600 Methodists being asked about their religious beliefs and their political views.
According to the Pew survey, about 60% of the 7 million American United Methodists believe that homosexuality should be accepted or at least not discouraged, an increase of 9% from 2007. While that is a significant majority, it is lower than the 69.5% average among Protestants in all “mainline” or “old-line” denominations. American United Methodists, however, must contend with 5 million of their denomination’s global membership (most of whom are in Africa and Asia) who tend to be more conservative on this issue than their American siblings.
In the Scriptures
A thread which runs through the lectionary readings for this Sunday has to do with the issue of authority and how it is used.
In the epistle lesson from Galatians, Paul argues that his authority is greater than those who are “confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” The gospel, he says, is its own authority. Even if an angel from heaven preaches to you, Paul tells us, if the angel’s message is contrary to the gospel, don’t believe it. In the gospel lesson, Luke compares the authority of a centurion in the Roman army to the authority of Jesus who speaks on behalf of God.
But it is to the Hebrew scriptures that we turn this week, and the battle over whose authority is greatest -- the prophets of Baal or the prophet of YHWH.
In the long reading from First Kings, we find ourselves in the third year of a drought. So severe have things become that even the king’s horses are beginning to suffer. So King Ahab and his prime minister, Obadiah, have gone out into the land to see if they can find some potable water.
Obadiah, a good and faithful worshipper of YHWH, runs into the prophet Elijah -- who announces to him that this drought is the fault of the king and his wife Jezebel.
King Ahab is an Israelite, and his queen Jezebel is a Canaanite. He worships YHWH. She worships Baal. So to try and keep the peace at home and around the country, Ahab has said that Israel will worship both gods -- a compromise that, of course, pleases no one.
Jezebel has begun a campaign of persecution against the prophets of YHWH. Only100 of them have survived her pogrom, and that is because Obadiah has hidden them in caves and provided them with food and water until things cool off.
Elijah tells Obadiah that this state of affairs can’t continue, and he calls for a throwdown between himself and the 850 prophets of Baal and Baal’s wife, the fertility goddess Asherah. He tells Obadiah to go back and tell Ahab that they will meet at Mt. Carmel (a holy site for both religions) in the morning for the contest.
Ahab, probably wanting to get this thing settled once and for all, agrees and calls the people of Israel together on Mt. Carmel. Elijah is there, alone. The prophets of Baal number 450. Asherah’s prophets decide to take a pass on this one.
Elijah begins the challenge with a speech to the people of Israel, the speech which is paraphrased above: “How long will you go limping with two different opinions?” Elijah asks the People of God -- for crying out loud, just decide. If YHWH is God, follow YHWH. If Baal is God, follow Baal.
But the Israelites “did not answer him a word.”
The rest of the story is familiar to many. Each side is given a bull to sacrifice, with the god who rains down fire to consume the bull being the winner. The prophets of Baal rant and rave and weep and beg and whip themselves from dawn until about 3:00 p.m., while Elijah taunts and insults them and their god. Finally, exhausted, they give up -- and it’s Elijah’s turn.
The prophet takes 12 stones from the altar that was destroyed by Jezebel’s minions and makes a makeshift altar out of those 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel. He digs a trench around the altar, presumably where the blood is to be collected when the bull is killed. Then he piles wood on the altar, kills and cuts the bull into pieces, and lays it on top.
As a final insult to the Baal worshippers, he has 12 water jars (about 15-20 gallons each) dumped on the altar. Finally, he prays a long prayer asking God to vindicate the people of Israel and their faith by sending fire to consume the bull.
YHWH responds by sending enough fire to consume the bull, the wood, the stones, and the water that has collected in the trench around the altar.
The people respond, predictably, by falling down and admitting that YHWH is the only real God, and Elijah orders them to seize the prophets of Baal before they can escape.
In the final verse of the story, a verse that the lectionary leaves out, the 450 false prophets are taken to the Kishon River in the valley of Jezreel and executed there.
Later the drought ends, but Elijah’s troubles have just begun. By ordering the execution of 450 of Jezebel’s prophets, he has made a powerful and dangerous enemy in the queen.
In the Pulpit
Authority is like a bar of soap. The more you use it, the less you have.
I don’t remember where I heard that adage, but it has the ring of truth, doesn’t it? Real authority, the kind that gets things done, doesn’t have to stake its claim with power and might. It simply is. It is, as Edwin Friedman said, “the non-anxious presence in an anxious system.”
Upon seeing the power of YHWH on Mt. Carmel, the people of Israel have no problem accepting the authority of God’s prophet Elijah. When he calls for the 450 prophets of Baal to be executed, the order is carried out without regard to the queen or her wishes.
But authority is rarely that clearly defined. Accepting the authority of one person over another, of one point of view over and other, of one source over another, often feels like a roll of the dice or the flip of a coin.
The debate over homosexuality that is going on in the mainline protestant churches is often identified as a debate over the “authority of scripture.” One side, we are told, believes in a literal interpretation of “God’s Holy Word,” and the other side believes in an interpretation of scripture that is informed by historical and theological scholarship and critical analysis of the text.
In truth, the debate is narrower than that.
Few, indeed, are those in the mainline denominations who actually believe in a literal interpretation of all scripture.
Most of us ignore the rule against eating shellfish (Leviticus 11:10-12). We don’t execute adulterers any more (Leviticus 20:10). We don’t take unruly or disobedient children to the city gate where the elders of the city stone them to death (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
We don’t require women to be silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:33) or to cover their heads when praying (1 Corinthians 11:2). And we don’t allow or condone slavery, even though Paul does (Ephesians 6:5).
And let’s be honest, hardly any of us honor the sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) and keep it holy.
If this is an argument about the authority of scripture, it is about a very narrow few verses of scripture which some insist must, alone, be taken literally -- an argument that is inconsistent in its reasoning and nearly schizophrenic in its application.
For those who call Jesus Lord there is but one authority, and that is the authority of love. It is the rule and plumb line by which we measure our lives. It is the foundation of our morality and our ethic, and only by history will those of us who abide by that authority be judged.
If, when we stand before our God, we are judged to be in error, let it be not because we hated the wrong people but because we loved too much and too well.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Luke 7:1-10
Occupying powers are famous for their brutality.
On the 50th anniversary of the ironically named Tibet Autonomous Region last fall, China celebrated the occasion with a strong critique of the Dalai Lama, calling the Buddhist leader “a violent separatist.” Reuters news service reported: “This year marks several sensitive anniversaries for the remote region that China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950, when Communist troops marched in and took control in what Beijing calls a ‘peaceful liberation.’ It also marked the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama and the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of a young Tibetan who was chosen by the Dalai Lama as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism.”
In areas controlled by the Islamic State forces, millions of Syrians and Iraqis have fled the violence and become refugees. Daily life has become a “two-tiered society... starkly different for the occupiers and the occupied.... Foreign fighters and their families are provided free housing, medical care, religious education, and even a sort of militant meals-on-wheels service, according to those interviewed. The militants are paid salaries raised largely from taxes and fees levied on the millions of people they control in an arc of land as big as the United Kingdom. Those whose cities and towns are held by the Islamic State said they face not only the casual savagery of militants who behead their enemies and make sex slaves out of some minority women, but also severe shortages of the basics of daily life. Many residents have electricity for only an hour or two a day, and some homes go days without running water. Jobs are scarce, so many people can't afford food prices that have tripled or more. Medical care is poor, most schools are closed, and bans on most travel outside the Islamic State are enforced at gunpoint.”
The contrast in power between the occupying army and the citizens under their control is dramatic. Against that backdrop, the lives of the centurion and Jesus intersect. The centurion is part of the army occupying, taxing, and controlling Jesus’ homeland. In an odd reversal, now the centurion is the one asking for help and Jesus is the one with the power. The centurion has the power to compel people to do things; but here he’s asking for a favor. Three times in the story he asks someone to help him, making himself vulnerable each time. Power turns out to be useless unless it serves what you most want.
The centurion has spent enough time with the Jewish leaders that he knows them well enough to ask for help. He built their synagogue, and apparently did more than give orders remotely -- becoming involved in the lives of the people in the area. He knows enough about Jesus to ask him for help too. And when Jesus gets near his house, the centurion sends his friends to reassure Jesus that he doesn’t need to come all the way there... a simple word will be enough.
After a lifetime of watching his friends and neighbors suffer at the hands of the Romans, we might expect a stinging critique from Jesus, telling the centurion to stop participating in an oppressive system. But instead, Jesus is willing to set aside his experiences to help this one man. Jesus continually reaches out to the people on the margins, and this time the marginal person is the centurion. He never actually appears in the story, and we’re left to wonder if he feels unworthy of Jesus’ help, or if he expects to be turned down, or if he feels ashamed of how his army treats the local citizens.
Jesus is also a powerful person, and his power comes in a different form from the centurion. He can illuminate, enlighten, inspire, and heal, but he commands only unclean spirits and the forces of death. Still, the man who has all the earthly power defers to the greater power of Jesus.
Jesus ends up “amazed” by the centurion’s faith, and the centurion may well be amazed that Jesus cares enough to help. The writer Roman Krznaric says that “we should approach empathy as the ultimate form of travel, a means of transporting ourselves into other lives in ways that can illuminate our own. There is no need to limit where we take our journeys. We must extend our empathetic imaginations not just to the dispossessed or disadvantaged, but also to those whose views and actions we might oppose or disdain, from wealthy bankers to bombastic politicians.... There are few better ways of bringing us face to face with our own prejudices, uncertainties, and inconsistencies. That is how empathy can become both a moral guide and a basis for a philosophy of living.” Or, as Jesus says it more succinctly, “love your enemies.” Jesus calls to us from this story, proposing that our enemies deserve another look. He invites us to see the person behind the role, and to be willing to be amazed by what we find there.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
A recent commentary in the Daily Beast on the number of scandals involving pastors noted that “exposing hypocrisy is, as the cliché goes, like shooting fish in a barrel. If you follow the right Twitter accounts, literally every day there’s a new story.” The author then reported on scandals committed by religious leaders just in the previous week. Most disturbing was that those who are committing these offenses are often the most judgmental from the pulpit of those in the pews and society who are doing the very same acts of transgression. The commentary offered a number of reasons for this, but one is most important for our scripture reading: “Psychologically, this is what Freud called ‘reaction formation’ -- essentially, projecting your psychological baggage onto someone else.”
Application: The followers of Baal were trying to project their false beliefs onto others.
*****
Galatians 1:1-12
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni recently wrote on “How Facebook Warps Our Worlds.” Bruni says that while the internet was supposed to expose us to the news of the world from various reporting agencies so that we could make informed decisions, instead it has done just the opposite -- we tend to seek out online people and news that support our preconceived beliefs. Bruni opines that we surrender wisdom “and substitute it with the groupthink of micro-communities.”
Application: Paul cautions us from following those who convey a false message of the gospel.
*****
Galatians 1:1-12
In a recent piece titled “Facebook’s Subtle Empire,” New York Times columnist Ross Douthat discusses the recent discovery that Facebook’s list of “trending topics” (the most important and viewed news events) is not determined by an algorithm but in fact is curated by Facebook employees, and thus often represents their views. The average user is not aware of this media bias, and therefore the user’s views of an event may not be objective. Douthat suggests that allows Facebook “to gently catechize its users into that perspective,” and calls for more vigorous evaluation of the events as reported on Facebook.
Application: Paul cautions us from following those who convey a false message of the gospel.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
The Washington Post recently reported that “people who possess this one thing enjoy better health.” And what is that one thing? Friends. Studies show that people between the ages of 45 and 65 are the loneliest ones in America -- because of divorce, job relocation, the need to care for aging parents, and many other reasons. The Post reported “that feeling isolated and lonely is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Application: When the centurion came to Jesus, Jesus understood the importance of being a friend.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
Europe is experiencing its greatest migrant crisis since the upheavals of 1945 -- and of all the countries receiving the influx of undocumented refuges, France is doing the least to assist them. This has motivated some people in England, located just 20 miles across the English Channel from three refugee camps, to become involved. A number of people have moved to France to be full-time volunteers. As one volunteer said, “I realized I had a capacity to make a difference. And it’s just across the water from me -- it’s just so, so close.”
Application: Jesus realized he had the capacity to make a difference.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
Hettie Colquhoun, one of the English volunteers who have moved to France to assist with refugee camps, says what motivated her actions was a sense that “as much as you close your eyes, it doesn’t stop the world around you from existing.”
Application: Jesus realized he had the capacity to make a difference.
*****
Luke 7:1-10
Clare Moseley, another of the English volunteers who moved to France to assist with refugee camps, was skimming newspapers online when she saw an article in the Daily Mail about refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. This caused her to study the matter further, and she learned about the severe refugee crisis. Moseley said of her decision to become a volunteer and relocate to France, “It was a complete knee-jerk reaction to an emergency, but I just felt like it was massively, massively needed, and so I did it.”
Application: Jesus realized he had the capacity to make a difference.
*****
Memorial Day
According to the Washington Post, there is a new societal trend in the communities in and around Washington, D.C. -- young couples are naming their children after former presidents of the United States. The Post reports that Jesse and Jennifer Nielsen are expecting their fourth child, and everyone they know is asking the same question: What president’s name will be given to their new daughter? The Nielsens’ previous three children have been named Grant (for Ulysses Grant), Madison (for James Madison); and McKinley (for William McKinley). After ruling out Harding, Hoover, and Eisenhower, the Nielsens selected Kennedy... not for his politics, but simply because they liked the name.
Application: We may not want to name our children after a president, but we should respect those who have held that office.
*****
Memorial Day
At an abolitionist meeting held in Boston, the renowned Frederick Douglass was the principal speaker. Disheartened that his black brothers and sisters were still in bondage, and that there appeared to be no means of escape, Douglass declared that only armed rebellion in the South and the shedding of blood could end the appalling institution of slavery. From the audience a woman cried out, “Frederick, is God dead?” Sojourner Truth had awakened the crowd with her shout. It was a sobering thought she interposed that day, a thought which still clung to hope for a peaceful settlement. She had enough faith to continue to trust in the power of the Creator to triumph over evil.
Application: This Memorial Day, let us always remember that God is not dead.
*****
Memorial Day
There is a national memorial known as the “Space Mirror” in Cape Canaveral, Florida, which honors the 24 astronauts who have died in the line of duty since the beginning of the space program. The monument, which cost $6.2 million, stands 45 feet tall, is 50 feet wide, and contains 93 black granite panels. The names of the astronauts have been carved on panels located throughout the memorial, and behind each carved panel is a mirror tilted upward toward the sun. The monument rotates so that the mirrors are always reflecting the light of the sun. The sunlight is reflected through the letters, which creates the impression that the names are emblazoned in the heavens.
Application: This Memorial Day, let us remember.
***************
From team member Chris Keating:
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
Bold Choices
Elijah stands outside of official power circles, yet is still labeled by Ahab as the “troubler” of Israel. As the narrative unfolds, however, it becomes clear that God’s power tends to be found in unlikely places (see chapter 17). The “troubler” of Israel threatens the state power, even as he summons nearly 1,000 prophets of Baal and Asherah to meet him at Mount Carmel. It’s a bold choice, yet the overwhelming power of Yahweh is soon revealed and the false prophets are shown to be the frauds they are. It was an extremely risky move.
In the midst of difficulty, it can be hard to make bold choices. A look at the contemporary mainline churches reveals symptoms of spiritual drought and theological famine. Attendance is down, congregations are smaller, mission funding is dwindling. As author and congregational consultant Gil Rendle observes, it’s a time of scarcity. Still, he believes the future of denominations and congregations is strong -- but only by making bold choices. His description of bold choices may sound a bit like Elijah resolutely keeping the faith in the face of thousands of false prophets and anxious spectators. As Rendle says:
The bottom line is that we don’t have enough to keep doing what we’ve been doing, but the possibility is that we have enough or more than enough to do what God calls us to do next. It’s only if we trap ourselves into saying that we have to continue what we have that we run into this pessimistic kind of a moment....
What does it mean to live out of a culture of sufficiency? If you think about the future of the denomination, what if we have resources sufficient for what we’re called to do? I’m forever having conversations about how we don’t have enough people and we don’t have enough money to manage the churches and the buildings and so forth. It’s hard to ask people to re?ask the question -- What if we have too much?
What if we have too many buildings? What if we have too many congregations in that area? What if we redeployed our resources for mission? My colleagues want to always remind me not to undersell the crisis. Will our denominations come out looking exactly how we would have them? No, no, they’re going to be reshaped; they’re going to be re-formed.
*****
1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39
Going “All In”
Alone on the mountain, Elijah made the choice to go “all in” in trusting Yahweh. That was also the message United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power recently shared with Yale University’s class of 2016. “Get close,” she said. “Go all in.” She encouraged seniors to find their passion in the world, and to be deeply involved in order to make an impact. Everyone, she said, has voices in their heads that tell them others are more capable. Power said the trick is not letting those voices hold you back.
Watching the Tiananmen Square uprising during her first year at Yale inspired Power to learn how to get involved:
And that was what I realized at the end of my freshman year: I didn’t want to go through my time at Yale or anywhere else giving myself alibis for not trying to change at least my little slice of the world. Especially when there were people out there who were risking so much more. But my question was: How was I going to do that?... And my message is: No matter what you choose to do with your life, if you truly want to live fully and leave the world a little better than you found it, you have to get close.
*****
Galatians 1:1-12
Not Seeking Human Approval
Paul challenges the Galatians to rethink their choice to depart from the path of the gospel. As he scolds them for accepting a gospel contrary to the one he had proclaimed, he reminds them that he is not a preacher with an attention-seeking deficit. His intent is not to seek human approval, but only to proclaim the truth of Christ. Father Daniel Berrigan, who died recently at age 94, exhibited a similar prophetic view during his protests of the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Throughout his life, Father Berrigan confronted those in the church and nation who, in his words, showed “silence and cowardice in the face of our country’s crimes.” Much like Paul’s strong words to the Galatians, Berrigan was intent on proclaiming the gospel of peace. In reflecting on his life and death, one writer noted that passionate faith -- not only vitriolic activism -- was at the center of Berrigan’s message:
It was evident to me during that brief encounter in Fountain Hill that he spoke as a priest, as a member of a larger band of brothers, some of whom, at times, despised what he was doing and his criticism of the order. Others grew to respect and revere him. It didn’t always go well between him and the Jesuits at large or between him and the church. But he stayed, and there was in that an example of the kind of perseverance he brought to his pursuit of peace and justice.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O sing to God a new song; sing to God, all the earth.
People: Sing to God and bless God’s holy name.
Leader: Great is God, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
People: Ascribe to God glory and strength.
Leader: Worship God in holy splendor; tremble before God, all the earth.
People: Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice.
OR
Leader: The children of God are called to gather.
People: We come as God’s people to worship and praise our God.
Leader: We are called to worship, but we are also called to love.
People: As children of the God of love, we will reflect God’s love.
Leader: Even when the way is rough, we are called to be steadfast.
People: Whatever lies before us, we will serve our God and all of God’s children.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“All People That on Earth Do Dwell”
found in:
UMH: 75
H82: 377, 378
PH: 220, 221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELA: 883
W&P: 61
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
“From All That Dwell Below the Skies”
found in:
UMH: 101
H82: 380
PH: 229
NCH: 27
CH: 49
LBW: 550
AMEC: 69
STLT: 381
“It’s Me, It’s Me, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 352
NNBH: 496
CH: 579
“Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
found in:
UMH: 358
H82: 652, 653
PH: 345
NCH: 502
CH: 594
LBW: 506
W&P: 470
AMEC: 344
“Seek Ye First”
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 15
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”
found in:
UMH: 453
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460
“Trust and Obey”
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“God, You Are My God”
found in:
CCB: 60
“Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
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 pure love: Grant us the wisdom to choose to fully be your children that we may live in love, justice, and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are love. There is nothing in you that is not love. Send your Spirit upon us that we might become fully your children, reflecting your loving ways. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to take a firm stand for Jesus and the Reign of God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are so afraid that we will offend other people that we fail to take a firm stand on who we are as your children. We confuse being nice with being loving. Help us to stand firm as your children, and to work for justice and mercy to fill our world. Amen.
Leader: God in love calls us all to wholeness. Enter into the wholeness of God’s love, and be God’s image in this world.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
Praise and glory are yours by right, O God of love and compassion. Your loving kindness is our very life.
(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 that we will offend other people that we fail to take a firm stand on who we are as your children. We confuse being nice with being loving. Help us to stand firm as your children, and to work for justice and mercy to fill our world.
We thank you for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for those who have declared themselves to be your children and followers of Jesus, even when it meant persecution and death. We thank you for those who have stood for justice and mercy in a world of revenge, hatred, and violence.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for the courage for all of us to look after one another in love.
(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 Lord’s Prayer 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
Do you ever play games where someone gets to choose who is going to be on their side? I remember games like that. I always hated it when the person choosing couldn’t make up their mind about who to choose. I wanted to get started and play the game. God offers us a chance to choose. We can be loving like God, and we can follow Jesus or not. God wants us to choose love.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
by Robin Lostetter
Psalm 96
You will need:
* small statuettes -- if possible, have ones that represent “gods” of ancient cultures: Greek mythological gods, stylized animals, fertility gods, etc.
* four pieces of poster board or cardboard, each with one of the following on them in large print: SING, OFFERING, WORSHIP, LORD GOD
What you’ll say:
Good morning! In our psalm today, we’re told to sing, bless, proclaim, ascribe glory and strength, bring an offering, and join the whole earth in worshiping the Lord!
Wow! What a lot of words -- words we don’t use very often, like “proclaim” and “ascribe.” But there are three words you probably know.
One is “sing” (hold up the sign labeled “SING”). Did we sing today? And what about in Sunday school? Do you ever sing there? I imagine you sometimes sing the words “praise” or “alleluia,” right? Songs of praise to God!
Another is “offering” (hold up the sign labeled “OFFERING”). Did anyone bring an offering today? Let’s look out in the pews... did any adults bring an offering? Those monies represent giving of ourselves, our time, and our work to help others.
And how about “worship”? When you come here in the morning, do you say you’re “going to church” or you’re “going to worship”? Well, both are right. We come to the church building to attend a worship service (hold up the sign labeled “WORSHIP”). And in worship we proclaim and ascribe and sing and listen and bring an offering.
We do this to worship God, who made everything (hold up the sign labeled “LORD GOD”) --like the trees... and what else? (Affirm the children’s answers.)
But the person who wrote this psalm, this poem, said: “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”
He said this because some people worshiped idols... like these miniature statues (display the statuettes). And he said there’s a difference. We worship the God who made everything, including us -- including people who can make statues. But some people are foolish and worship statues they have made with their hands, statues that can do nothing. How silly is that?
Let’s have a prayer.
Dear God, we praise you for this beautiful world you have made. Help us always to worship only you with our singing and our offerings, our praise and our prayers. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 29, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
