In this week’s Romans passage, Paul contrasts God’s law with the constraints of human behavior: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” The relationship between religion and human law(s) is in the news again, highlighted by the Supreme Court’s long-awaited Hobby Lobby decision -- a contentious case that raises several issues related not only to abortion and “Obamacare” but also to whether conscience and moral/religious beliefs allow companies to opt out of governmental requirements. The debate sparked in the wake of the decision is a prime example of how we humans continually argue over what comprises the law and what it means... a disagreement not just in society but in highly contentious antagonism among the justices of the Supreme Court themselves too (as exemplified by the increasingly vitriolic tone of dissenting minority opinions, like that of Justice Ginsburg in the Hobby Lobby case). Though Chief Justice Roberts has tried to forge a consensus on the court where he can (there have been several 9-0 opinions this term), the court remains deeply divided on major issues. Paul argues that this is inherent in the human condition -- after all (in his famous formulation), “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” as opposed to those who “set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Team member Mary Austin delves into the subject in this installment of The Immediate Word -- noting that though human law and jurisprudence is highly temporal, God’s law is stronger and more permanent. As Paul puts it: “the mind that is set on the flesh... does not submit to God’s law -- indeed it cannot.” But what does it mean -- and Mary ponders if we can find it in ourselves to love those on the other side of the divide in the same way that God loves us.
Team member Leah Lonsbury shares some additional thoughts on the Hobby Lobby decision in the context of the Genesis text and Jacob’s manipulation of Esau as he strives to gain advantage for himself. Leah asks us to think about how much we mirror Jacob’s approach in our lives, even in our religious behavior. Do we take an a la carte approach to politics and religion, attempting to opt out of those things that don’t suit us or trying to steal the birthrights of others where it benefits us? Leah also warns us about the dangers of stereotyping and demonizing those on the other side of our sibling squabbles.
Paul Meets Hobby Lobby
by Mary Austin
Romans 8:1-11
The limitations of human law became apparent last week with the Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby). The reasoning in the decision, and the strong reaction, illustrated how imprecise the law is when dealing with a variety of strongly held spiritual and religious beliefs. For Paul, this would have been no surprise. As he writes, human law -- or the ability to rule our own lives -- is deeply flawed. Our laws reveal our limitations. Human law can never come close to satisfying our deepest needs and beliefs.
For Paul, there is an answer, and it’s completely separate from our ability to generate laws.
In the News
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision in favor of Hobby Lobby, organic foods company Eden Foods has renewed its quest to avoid providing any kind of birth control for its 150 employees. In April 2013 Eden Foods president and co-founder (and sole Eden Foods shareholder) Michael Potter cited his Catholic beliefs as a reason for suing the Department of Health and Human Services, calling the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate “blatant government overreach.” As Forbes magazine reports: “In a letter he wrote in response to a shopper complaint that month, Potter described contraceptives as ‘lifestyle drugs’ akin to ‘Viagra, smoking cessation, weight-loss’ tools and other medications. (He also compared birth control to ‘Jack Daniels’ in a contemporaneous interview with Salon.) In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals decided against Potter, ruling that Eden Foods, as a for-profit corporation, couldn’t exercise religion. Now, in the wake of this week’s controversial Supreme Court ruling recognizing craft chain Hobby Lobby’s religious rights, the court has changed its tune. The day after the Justices decided evangelical Hobby Lobby billionaire David Green doesn’t have to cover certain contraceptives for his employees, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment against Eden Foods and sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for further consideration.” The Forbes article quotes Potter’s spokesperson as saying: “In accordance with his Catholic faith, Potter believes that any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation, whether as an end or means -- including abortifacients and contraception -- is wrong.”
These motivations are much in the world and of the world, and include a good dose of all too human inconsistency. Women have noticed quickly that health plans which decline to cover contraception frequently include coverage for Viagra and vasectomies. Hobby Lobby apparently only objects to investing in birth control for its own employees. The strongly held Christian beliefs that apply to employees get a pass when it comes to investments. As CNN reports, “Hobby Lobby’s founders have made it clear that any abortion and certain contraceptives are unacceptable in their eyes, yet the company’s 401(k) plan has millions of dollars invested in funds that own the companies that make birth control methods including Plan B, the so-called ‘morning after’ drug.”
What door has this Supreme Court decision opened? Law professor Paul Horwitz writes in the New York Times that the court decided the birth control question for the company, but failed to resolve the larger controversy. Horwitz observes: “Amid this heated talk, it was easy to lose sight of the fact that this was a statutory case, not a case decided under the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of religion. The statute in question, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, states that the government ‘shall not substantially burden’ the exercise of religion without satisfying a demanding legal test.” Horwitz believes that the marketplace was once seen as free from moral and religious questions -- just a place to buy and sell and grow wealthy. Now those questions pervade our culture, and consequently our commerce. He concludes: “A country that cannot even agree on the idea of religious accommodation, let alone on what terms, is unlikely to agree on what to do next. A country in which many states cannot manage to pass basic anti-discrimination laws covering sexual orientation is one whose culture wars may be beyond the point of compromise. And a nation whose marketplace itself is viewed, for better or worse, as a place to fight both those battles rather than to escape from them is still less likely to find surcease from struggle. Expect many more Hobby Lobbies.”
Human law -- even about important moral questions -- is an imprecise tool for navigating questions of faith. Inevitably, since the makers and interpreters of the law are flawed, our laws will be too. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God,” Paul writes to the Romans. Or each other, apparently.
In the Scriptures
In the law, Paul sees our human attempts to organize our lives and moderate our behavior. The law is meant to shape our actions, so our spirits are free for God... and yet it can never succeed. The law is a pale shadow of the fullness of life offered to us in Christ. L. Ann Jervis writes for workingpreacher.org: “Paul is convinced that because of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection a new reality is available for humankind. Paul believes that this new reality is not something people dream about in their heads, or have to work hard to pretend that they are living in. It is not a reality that exists somewhere else or in the future. Paul is certain that it is real, it is here, and it is now.”
Writing about the flesh, Paul means that we see things from a human point of view, full of our human limitations. We’re concerned with things that affect our everyday lives, and we fail to see with God’s perspective. In Jesus, though, we come to understand how God sees the world. “But you,” Paul tells us, “are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” As Christians our perspective widens, and we live in the Spirit, not just in the flesh.
And yet this new and compelling reality is hard to see sometimes. We see so clearly the rule of flesh and law, and this new world of God’s shimmers behind it, elusive. It’s tempting to go back to what we know, to turn toward the sure thing instead of the nebulous and wispy new thing. But Paul urges us forward, sure of this new way of seeing the world.
In the Sermon
We live between times -- seeing some of God’s new reality, and yet with our lives shaped and managed by human desires, rules, and limitations. “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you,” Paul says. The sermon might look at what our lives look like if Christ is in us. How do we change? How do we see others who share our faith, and those who don’t?
Interestingly, Paul uses the word “if” instead of “when” -- so how do we know when the Spirit lives in us?
If the Spirit lived in us completely, we wouldn’t need to sue each other, or to be guided by our spiritually imprecise laws. And yet as citizens of this country we are bound by its laws, though we also see their limitations. How do we live with that tension as people of faith?
Those who “set their minds on the things of the Spirit” live life differently, Paul contends. This is a gift, but also a spiritual discipline; how do we learn to do it better? How do we practice? Paul reminds us that “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” How do we cultivate that peace, when the limitations of the law are enraging?
Paul argues that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If we serve a God this merciful, are we required to show the same kind of mercy, even when we disagree with the people on the opposite side of the question? I fear so, if we believe that this same Spirit lives in us.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Leah Lonsbury
Genesis 25:19-34
Last week’s Supreme Court decision to grant Hobby Lobby and other closely held for-profit corporations the same rights as any person with a religious objection to the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act is just the latest wrestling match between Esau and Jacob. These brothers -- the older and the younger, the right and the left, those currently in power and those currently in the minority -- have been wrangling for power over the other since before they were born. In fact, it got so bad while they were still in utero that mama Rebekah goes to God and asks, “If it has to be this way, then why do I live?”
God’s answer to Rebekah isn’t at all heartening. “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided...”
If there has been this kind of perpetual grasping and stomping and scrambling over one another to get our way since prenatal biblical times, and these wrestling matches have the sticking power to make it all the way to our nation’s highest court, what hope is there for us that we might ever actually agree or live in peace?
None, says New York Times op-ed contributor Paul Horwitz. For one thing, writes Horwitz, we can’t agree on what lengths we should go to accommodate one another in terms of our sacred beliefs, and for another, one thing just leads to, well... another.
A... source of controversy is that many people view the Hobby Lobby case as concerning not just reproductive rights but also, indirectly, rights for gays and lesbians. Advocates for same-sex marriage have long insisted that their own marriages need not threaten anyone else’s, but citizens with religious objections to same-sex marriage wonder whether that is entirely true: Will a small-business owner be sued, for instance, for declining to provide services to a same-sex couple? Conversely, and understandably, gay and lesbian couples wonder why they do not deserve the same protections from discrimination granted to racial and other minorities. For both sides, Hobby Lobby was merely a prelude to this dawning conflict.
And, continues Horwitz, the one thing that American Esaus and Jacobs have always relied on to fix all our impasses -- the market -- can no longer be counted on as a neutral deciding party. More and more companies are blurring the lines between faith and morality and the workplace. CVS recently announced that it will no longer sell cigarettes despite any hit its bottom line might suffer, and Hobby Lobby is just one among many other companies seeking to make its owners’ transition between work and home a seamless one when it comes to faith commitments.
“Expect many more Hobby Lobbies,” warns Horwitz.
Maybe we’ll never be in agreement on some pretty fundamental issues and building blocks of our society, but perhaps Esau and Jacob’s story can teach us something about how we might do more than simply survive each other.
The brothers could help all of us (on the right and left) learn the danger involved when we let the characters in our stories become caricatures in our minds, our speech, and our living. This is happening in the squabble over the contraceptive mandate and any other issue when real people of faith on the right and left describe each other and forget that we are siblings in a real human family. Here’s the caricaturing process in biblical terms...
Esau is as red as the clay of the state in which he was born. He’s hairy and manly. He spends his time standing his ground and openly carrying his bow in the field, the one given to his forefathers by God that foreigners and border crossers should venture into at their own peril.
Jacob, on the other hand, is a blueblood who spends his time in the tents. He’s probably a mama’s boy, interested in uppity pursuits of the mind and the finer things in life. He likely spends his time weaving the social safety net, advocating for rights of the servants and the female members of the family, and promoting local food and alternative fuel sources for the family’s four-footed transportation.
Sound familiar? It’s important to remember as we deliberate and decide and wrestle together that this is our brother (and sister) we’re describing, not some caricature. We risk forgetting our common humanity when we turn each other into exaggerated distortions of our real human selves and forget that we are all beloved of God.
Esau and Jacob’s story also reminds us to proceed with caution in these ways...
* We all tend to gravitate toward and appreciate those who are just like us. (Rebecca loves tent-dwelling Jacob, and Isaac loves Esau the gamer.) How might we stretch our understanding of who is “ours” and see the value in differences in background, experience, resources, approach, and lifestyle? How can we fight the dualities built into our culture by investing in truly knowing and understanding each other?
* In the hectic pace of our daily living, we forget and gamble with our birthright -- the struggles of those who went before toward freedom, equity, peace, and justice. How can we find ways to honor and protect that birthright together?
* In a society that is built on the ever more elusive American dream of getting ahead, building wealth, and doing for “me” and “mine,” we need to be attentive to the ways our striving can disadvantage or even manipulate our brothers or sisters. Just as Jacob’s gain is Esau’s undoing, how do our efforts and accumulations affect our brothers and sisters around us and around the world? How is our win someone else’s loss? How might we compromise in ways that invite every person to the table and work for the common good?
Weeks ahead in the lectionary, Jacob and Esau’s story offers us further lessons in seeking God’s help in our sibling strivings; wrestling with our shadow sides to find clarity and self-understanding; acting with humility and taking responsibility for the mess between us; sharing of our selves and blessings; and approaching one another with forgiveness, grace, and mercy.
But those gifts are down the road.
For now, let us wrestle with this part of the story, the truth of our own wrangling we see played out between the brothers, and the reflections of our own shadow sides and darker tendencies and see what comes it.
***
For a look at the ideological and political wrestling that is going on in the current makeup of the Supreme Court despite its surprising number of unanimous decisions, check out this article by Adam Liptak of the New York Times. Liptak expanded on their divisions in this interview about the court’s recently concluded term on public radio’s Fresh Air.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
The Law Is an Ass
Mr. Bumble, the character from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, might have been thinking of some of these examples when he compared the law to a stupid and stubborn animal:
1) In Fairbanks, Alaska, it is illegal to serve alcohol to a moose.
2) In Glendale, Arizona, it is illegal to drive a car in reverse, so virtually everyone in a mall parking lot is breaking the law.
3) In San Francisco, it is illegal to wipe your car with used underwear. So is it okay to use clean underwear?
4) In Quitman, Georgia, it’s illegal to change the clothes on a storefront mannequin unless the shades are down.
5) In South Bend, Indiana, it’s illegal for monkeys to smoke cigarettes. Apparently cigars are okay, but only if the monkey goes outside.
6) In New Orleans, it’s against the law to gargle in public.
7) In Boston, it’s illegal to take a bath unless one has been ordered by a physician to do so.
8) In Minnesota, women may face 30 days in jail for impersonating Santa Claus.
9) In Hornytown, North Carolina, it’s illegal to open a massage parlor.
10) In Fargo, North Dakota, it’s illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.
*****
The Law Is an Ass 2.0
Judge John R. Brown of the Fifth Circuit would no doubt agree with Mr. Bumble on the topic of judicial reasoning, a topic he treats with gentle humor.
Consider his examples of unintentional satire occurring when judges found it necessary to define “low tides” very precisely, or to explain the intricacies of “positive testimony,” or to justify a finding of negligence by a chewing tobacco manufacturer in a difficult case:
“Tides which are lower than lower low, and therefore lower than mean lower low, occur at certain seasons and are called extreme low tide” (State v. Edwards, 62 P.2d 1094, 1095 [Wash. 1936]).
“It is a rule of evidence deduced from the experience of mankind and supported by reason and authority that positive testimony is entitled to more weight than negative testimony, but by the latter term is meant negative testimony in its true sense and not positive evidence of a negative, because testimony in support of a negative may be as positive as that in support of an affirmative” (Blackburn v. State, 254 Pac. 467, 472 [Ariz. 1927]).
“We can imagine no reason why, with ordinary care, human toes could not be left out of chewing tobacco, and if toes are found in chewing tobacco, it seems to us that someone has been very careless” (Pillars v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 78 So. 365, 366 [Miss. 1918]).
*****
Bad Law
There is no end of websites and blogs that will be glad to tell you about silly laws. But here is a case not of a silly law but of a bad law.
No one would argue that stepping in to save a child from a home where there is no food, no love, no basic necessities, where children are neglected or abused is a bad thing.
But it may be the case that Scotland has gone too far in defense of children who aren’t being neglected or abused by treating all parents as suspects.
Under Scotland’s Children and Young People Act which will take effect in 2016, the government will appoint a “named person” as soon as a child is born and through the age of 18 to oversee how the child is parented. This “shadow parent” will have rights to see private medical reports, and to request information about that child from other agencies (there is a legal “duty to help named person”). The other aspect of a named person’s role is to propose “interventions.” They will have a role in drawing up a “child’s plan” if a child is found to have a “well-being need”: this plan will outline the “targeted intervention which requires to be provided... in relation to the child.”
In other words, the law assumes that all parents are bad parents unless they have appointed government agents looking over their shoulders.
*****
Three Strikes Makes Bad Law
In April of 2013 Dale Curtis Gaines, who suffers from both mental retardation and mental illness, was in the sixteenth year of a life sentence thanks to California’s three-strikes law. He had never committed a violent crime; his first two strikes, daytime burglaries of empty homes during which he was unarmed, appear to have involved thefts valued at little more than pocket change.
According to court documents, Mr. Gaines’ early childhood was a nightmare, filled with the most savage forms of abuse. His grandmother, a primary caregiver, is said to have beaten him when he urinated or defecated in bed -- and forced him to eat his feces as punishment. Later, as often happens with mentally impaired adolescents, he began to skip school because he was ashamed that he could not keep up with his classmates. He was often homeless.
While serving time for his second crime, he was diagnosed by the prison system itself as both mentally disabled and schizophrenic. He was clearly too impaired to help with his defense, and at one point simply put a blanket over his head and declined to speak to a doctor who was questioning him. His ability to read is comparable to that of a kindergartner.
At the time of his third strike, for receiving stolen computer equipment, Mr. Gaines was getting Social Security and disability benefits because of mental illness and retardation. His mental health history, readily available in the prison record, would probably have been recognized as a mitigating factor and prevented him from being so harshly sentenced. But, according to court documents, his public defender presented no evidence about his disability.
It wasn’t until the attorney who prosecuted his case took it on as a public defender in 2011 that the injustice of Mr. Gaines’s case was brought to light. And then it took two years for justice to finally be done. A judge ordered him released in April of last year.
*****
The Lookalike Lawsuit
Money magazine’s “How Stuff Works” website reminds us that “one of the benefits of living in a democratic country with a well-established judicial system is the opportunity to use the courts to achieve justice and set wrongs right. But,” they go on, “there is a drawback: Some folks go to court about things that make most of us shake our heads.” For instance:
Some people might be honored to resemble a famous athlete -- but not Allen Heckard. The Portland, Oregon, man said he had been mistaken for basketball legend Michael Jordan almost every day for 15 years -- and was sick of it. In 2006, he sued the former Chicago Bull along with Nike cofounder Phil Knight (for promoting Jordan) for a combined $832 million, claiming personal injury and emotional pain and suffering. Heckard, an African-American with a shaved head and an earring in his left ear, did look a little like Jordan, but he was also six inches shorter and eight years older than his more famous counterpart. He soon dropped the lawsuit. It was pretty clear that Heckard’s case didn’t have a leg to stand on after he explained why he chose to sue Jordan and Knight for $416 million each: “Well,” Heckard reasoned, “you figure with my age and you multiply that times seven and, ah, then I turn around and, ah, I figure that’s what it all boils down to.”
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From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 25:19-34
A Perilous Rivalry
Jacob’s rivalry with Esau initiated a perilous quest to grab the privileges of being firstborn. In his book But I Don’t See You as Asian, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow explores the dynamic of how privilege contributes to racial oppression. “Privilege,” he writes, “is when we begin to believe that our particular version of the world and experience of reality is the norm. All that comes with that reality becomes expected and feels deserved, to the point where we forget that not everyone in the world is born with the same benefits in life.”
Birthrights can feel like deserved rewards, notes Reyes-Chow. Our distorted understanding of what we deserve leads to a sense of privilege that distorts relationship. He uses an illustration from his own life to describe how this works.
“As one who travels a great deal, I have achieved ‘status’ on an airline carrier, which often translates into an upgrade in my seating.... I’m not gonna lie, it’s nice to sit in first class. And while I do not turn around to face the coach passengers from my extra-wide comfy seat, smile, and clink my real glass with my real utensils, it is difficult not to get used to the luxury and comfort of first class and begin to think that my seating arrangement is a birthright...”
Jacob’s usurping of Esau’s birthright led to a fierce and anguished separation. In time, Jacob was reconciled to his brother -- but only after wrestling with God, and giving up his distorted sense of what constitutes privilege.
*****
Genesis 25:19-34
Celebrity Siblings
Jacob and Esau weren’t the only siblings who struggled through life. Movie star sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were rivals both personally and professionally throughout most of their lives. Hardly close as sisters, the women were driven further apart by their careers. In 1941, both de Havilland and Fontaine received Oscar nominations for best actress. The Hollywood Reporter describes how Fontaine froze when she heard her name called at the awards ceremony:
“I stared across the table, where Olivia was sitting directly opposite me. ‘Get up there, get up there,’ Olivia whispered commandingly. Now what had I done? All the animus we’d felt toward each other as children, the hair-pullings, the savage wrestling watches, the time Olivia fractured my collarbone, all came rushing back in kaleidoscopic imagery. My paralysis was total.”
Other famous sibling rivalries include twin advice columnists Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren; Serena and Venus Williams; NFL coaches and brothers Jim and John Harbaugh, and actresses Emily and Zooey Deschanel.
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Imagining God’s Abundance
Rev. Andy Cooke, campus minister at the University of Georgia’s Presbyterian Student Center, reflected on this parable this week during his keynote address to over 1,000 Presbyterian teenagers attending the Montreat Youth Conference in North Carolina. Emphasizing God’s abundance, Cooke took stacks of dollar bills from his pocket and spread them around like seeds. He reminded the youth that God roots us in a particular place and time, and showers us with abundant gifts. Our receptivity to God’s activity depends on the condition of our soil -- are we open to what God is doing? Are we struggling with “weeds”? Can we envision a hopeful future?
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Cultivating Soil
Summertime means Vacation Bible School time for churches. Congregations are quick to cultivate the soil of faith among children -- often spending big bucks on pre-packaged curriculum with video-game like names. This year’s crop includes titles like Blast Off, Weird Animals, Jungle Safari, and (I’m not making this up) even a Duck Dynasty-themed program called Willie’s Redneck Rodeo. What’s next? Dog the Bounty Hunter? America’s Next Top Preacher?
The kits are glitzy and packed with crafts and plenty of ideas. But perhaps the best way to cultivate faithful imagination with children is as old-fashioned as summer camp. Traditional camps provide a way to overcome what Richard Louv calls “nature deficit disorder” by providing an encounter with God’s creation. It’s the type of fertile environment envisioned by the parable -- a receptive place for growth, a place for faith to take root.
Summer camp, writes Mallory McDuff, was a place of forming life-commitments. Aside from fleeting teenage crushes, McDuff says that camp was an integrative experience. “What can I say? As a teenager, I felt closer to God, God’s creation, and God’s people -- surrounded by Christians in this natural community... I gained a more enduring lifelong commitment to God’s earth. Summer camp integrated me into a Christian community that sought to reconcile humans with creation.”
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Gardening Leadership
Another way of looking at the parable of the sower is to apply it to the life of the community of faith. As we follow our seed-throwing God, who is seemingly reckless about casting seed in all directions, what sorts of soil is the church busy preparing? Susan Shapiro offers this insight for leaders:
Gardening may be the best metaphor for your organization. Gardeners have no illusion of control. We create the right growing conditions, nurture healthy soil, plant a diverse variety of sturdy, healthy plants that coexist, and watch them grow. We adjust as we go along, removing excess weeds, mulching, preventing insects, watering, and fertilizing. The end result usually includes some failures, and some surprising successes, but we don’t have control.
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From team member Ron Love:
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Joe Riley has been the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, for 39 years, having been elected to 10 consecutive terms. He first took office in December 1975, and now at the age of 71 he is still a vibrant leader. In a profile of Riley, Frank Bruni of the New York Times says that the reason for his success is the realization that people do not want lofty words from government but concrete results. “Mayors -- ever accountable, ever answerable -- tend to remember that and to wed themselves to a practicality that’s forgotten in Washington, where endless ideological tussles accommodate the preening that too many lawmakers really love best.”
Application: If we sow on good soil we will have an effective ministry in any occupation we choose.
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Charleston mayor Joe Riley believes that government ought to represent the people of the city, mindful of ethnic diversity. He learned this lesson as a young boy when he answered a question from a black waiter with the words, “Yes, sir.” His parents sternly corrected him, telling him that one should never address a Negro as “sir.” Riley said even at that young age he knew that such “rules were phony.”
Application: If we sow on good soil we will have an effective ministry in any occupation we choose.
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Early in his administration, Charleston mayor Joe Riley realized that as long as the Confederate flag flew over South Carolina’s capitol building in Columbia the state would not see economic growth. In 2000, Riley organized a five-day, 120-mile march form Charleston to Columbia to protest the flag’s continuing presence. He walked the entire distance, arriving in the state capital with bandaged, bleeding feet. But the flag did come down from the capitol dome.
Application: If we sow on good soil we will have an effective ministry in any occupation we choose.
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Charleston mayor Joe Riley is now 71, yet he is still a vibrant leader. He intends to leave office in 2015 when he will have served in office 40 years, but there is still one last project to be completed. He has plans to build an African-American museum along the city’s waterfront. Riley realizes that Charleston played a central role in the slave trade, with four of every ten slaves coming to America processed through the city. Regarding the museum he said, “It’s a profound opportunity to honor the African-Americans who were brought here against their will and helped build this city and helped build this country.”
Application: If we sow on good soil we will have an effective ministry in any occupation we choose.
*****
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Joe Riley has been the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, for 39 years, having been elected to 10 consecutive terms. The reason he gives for his success in summed up in one line: “You can’t have a great successful city unless it’s just a city.”
Application: If we sow on good soil we will have an effective ministry in any occupation we choose.
(Note: For the astute reader who is ever watchful for good illustrations, one article can yield five dynamic illustrations that can be filed for future use.)
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
People: We have sworn to observe your righteous ordinances.
Leader: Accept our offerings of praise, O God.
People: Teach us your ordinances.
Leader: Your decrees are our heritage forever.
People: They are the joy of our heart.
OR
Leader: Come to Jesus who is our way.
People: We come to follow Jesus in the way of God.
Leader: Come to Jesus who is our truth.
People: We come seeking the truth that sets all people free.
Leader: Come to Jesus who is our life.
People: We come to Jesus knowing that only in God is there life.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
“Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
found in:
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELA: 414
W&P: 138
“Spirit of the Living God”
found in:
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 113
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
“O Come and Dwell in Me”
found in:
UMH: 388
“Lord, I Want to Be a Christian”
found in:
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
W&P: 457
AMEC: 282
Renew: 145
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
found in:
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“For the Healing of the Nations”
found in:
UMH: 428
NCH: 576
CH: 668
W&P: 621
“This Is My Song”
found in:
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELA: 887
STLT: 159
“Make Me a Servant”
found in:
CCB: 90
“God, You Are My God”
found in:
CCB: 60
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 provides you law that we may be healed: Grant us the wisdom to seek wholeness through your guidance rather than through the imposing of our own rules; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for showing us the way to wholeness. Open our hearts and minds to your word that we may be healed. Help us to seek the healing of our world through your salvation rather than through our own rules and punishments. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our attempts to control others by rules and punishment.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look around and we are dismayed by the evil and violence we see. We want things to be better for us and for others. We have the truth, the life, and the way in Jesus and his teachings, but we try to make things better by enacting harsh laws and punishments that do little to change people for the better. Often our misguided ways only make things worse. Call us back to Jesus and his way that we may truly help heal your creation. Amen.
Leader: God desires our healing and the healing of all creation. Receive God’s love, healing, and forgiveness so that you may be an instrument of wholeness for others.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
O Great Healer, we come to worship you and praise your name. You are the one who created us, and you are the one who knows what we need in order to be made whole.
(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 look around and we are dismayed by the evil and violence we see. We want things to be better for us and for others. We have the truth, the life, and the way in Jesus and his teachings, but we try to make things better by enacting harsh laws and punishments that do little to change people for the better. Often our misguided ways only make things worse. Call us back to Jesus and his way that we may truly help heal your creation.
We give you thanks for those who serve the healing arts. Some of them are medical or psychology professionals. Some of them work in mediation and conflict resolution. Some are just folks who know how to help us get along with others or get along better with ourselves. Most of all we thank you for Jesus, who came to teach us the path of wholeness and healing so that we and all your creation may be made whole.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who are broken and can find no source of healing. We pray for those who need healing in their bodies, minds, spirits, or relationships. We pray for those who are subjected to the brokenness of the world that contributes to their brokenness. We pray for the power and will to be involved in your healing work in the world around us.
(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
Have you ever not gotten along with someone? Maybe a brother or sister or someone at school? Did an adult ever have to make rules for you? Maybe you had to have time out or you weren’t allowed to play with someone for a while? Rules can be very helpful, especially when things are not going well with another person. But if we can learn to get along with that person, it is even better. God has rules to help us get along, so we know how to treat each other. But we know that when we love each other and take care of each other, the rules are not very important because we are already doing what needs to be done.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
The Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Objects: two small containers of soil (one moist and the other rocky and dry) and a package of seeds
Here is a package of seeds. (Show the seeds.) What would we have to do with these seeds in order for them to grow? (Let the children answer.) Yes, of course, we have to plant them in the ground. Seeds aren’t going to grow if we leave them in the package. They have to be planted in the ground.
Now here are two containers of soil. (Show the containers.) Which of these two containers would you want to plant the seeds in? (Let them answer.) Yes, I would certainly plant them in this one that has good, moist soil. The other one is rocky and dry, and the seeds would have a hard time growing there.
Jesus tells us that the Word of God is like a seed. God spreads his word around and he wants it to grow. That means God wants it to make people believe in Jesus and all the things that he teaches us. But some people are like this rocky, dry soil. They hear God’s word, but they don’t let it grow in them. They reject it and even make fun of it. Others are like this good soil. They hear the word and believe in Jesus and all that he teaches us. The word grows in them and produces a lot of good things in their lives.
Now, which kind of soil do you want to be? Do you want to be good soil or rocky soil? (Let them answer.) Yes, we want to be good soil, and to do that we must listen to God’s word and let it grow in us. That means coming to church and Sunday school regularly. Let’s ask God to help us be good soil.
Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven: Please help us to be good soil where Your word will grow and make us strong in faith. Clear away the rocks and the weeds from our minds so that we can hear Your word clearly. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, July 13, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 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.
