Sharing Wisdom's Delight In Creation
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Update: After this week's Immediate Word installment was already assembled and was in the process of being posted to the website a devastating tornado struck suburban Oklahoma City yesterday, leaving death and destruction in its path. Even by the standards of "tornado alley," this one seemed especially calamitous -- particularly because it flattened a school and medical center before they could be evacuated. The scenes of dead children and frantic parents separated from those still missing are heartbreaking. How can we speak a meaningful word of comfort when souls are aching? Team member Chris Keating shares a brief meditation on how this Sunday's epistle text from Romans and its theme of the hope that God provides in the midst of our suffering -- a hope that provides a beacon amid all of life's storms -- can help us to address this tragedy.
Shielded by Hope by Chris Keating
Romans 5:1-5
Creating havoc and bringing death, the massive tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, left a widespread trail of suffering in its wake. Schools were toppled and children were killed. God's people were left speechless in the face of pain.
In the face of such suffering, is it even possible for Christians to claim Paul's recipe for hope in Romans 5:15 this Sunday? His equation -- suffering equals endurance, which produces character that results in hope -- may indeed disappoint us. It sounds overly confident, especially in times of widespread disaster. When tornadoes uproot towns, how is it that we can boast in our sufferings?
One has said that "sitting on the edge of darkness is hope". The hope of which Paul speaks is greater than our sufferings, because we are people who have been granted access to God's peace through grace. It is grace that allows our lives to stand, even when the ground beneath quakes, even when the walls around us disintegrate into dust. Grace provides a path forward, offering us endurance. This is the love that we have received in Christ, a hope that shields us in the face of storms. In the darkness of Monday's destruction, there were stories of teachers who threw themselves over their students. They covered their students with hope. Prying a car off a teacher who had shielded her students from the debris, an emotional rescuer was reported to have said, "Good job, teach".
Such hope does not disappoint us.
* * * * * * *
In this installment of The Immediate Word, new team member Chris Keating observes that the lectionary passages for Trinity Sunday from Proverbs and Psalms have an important word to say on the subject of the care and wisdom that we are to exhibit for the earth and all its creatures. Both readings cast humans in the long arc of time, and firmly establish God's place as the author of creation. But the Psalm also notes that humans have been given "dominion over the works of [God's] hands" -- and Chris suggests that our perception of what "dominion" means can lead us astray when we seem more interested in power and control over nature than in being mindful toward it... a mindfulness that the Psalm reminds us that God always displays toward us. If we continue on our present course and avoid taking drastic action, are we demonstrating the wisdom and stewardship that is our call? And what is the church's role in this issue? Chris offers some valuable thoughts on addressing these issues from the pulpit.
Team member Leah Lonsbury offers some additional thoughts on the Proverbs text and its feminine personification of Wisdom -- particularly in light of Trinity Sunday, when we lift up the three-in-one Godhead that is traditionally couched entirely in masculine terms. Leah discusses some of the recent issues regarding women in the military, from moves to redefine the policy preventing women from serving in combat positions to continuing problems with rampant sexual assault. Many of these issues result at least in part from the growing pains as an institution that has been a bastion of masculinity -- and even traditionally hostile to women -- tries to adapt to the new realities of a more modern, inclusive age. But it boils down, as Leah notes, to an evolving mindset that is welcoming to women and women's wisdom... a lesson that's also important for the church to remember. Leah points out that our text holds up Woman Wisdom as a pattern for our lives -- one in which we have a deep reverence for God and his creation.
Sharing Wisdom's Delight in Creation
by Chris Keating
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8
Mother Wisdom calls us from the streets, beckoning us to look at the moon and the stars, the mountains and the sea, the springs and the soil -- and the rising levels of carbon dioxide.
Last week, scientists announced that heat-trapped gas in the earth's atmosphere passed levels not seen for millions of years. Just a few days later, a comprehensive review of decades of research indicated that 97% of scientists researching global warming agree it is a human-created phenomenon. It's a complex issue, but one that certainly invites reflection on the Psalmist's rhetorical questions: "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"
Perhaps God wonders that as well.
It isn't hard to imagine that God might grieve humanity's devouring and polluting of creation. In light of the findings about rising carbon dioxide levels -- as well as other ecological concerns -- it may be time to freshen our understanding of the meaning of humanity's "dominion" over nature. As the church celebrates Trinity Sunday this week, both the Proverbs text and Psalm 8 guide us to reconsider our vocation as stewards of the creation. The pairing of these texts not only point us toward a joyous affirmation of God's creative impulses and majestic power, but also invite us to share in the delight of God's good creation as faithful stewards.
Wisdom is calling, and her cry is to all that live.
Environmental issues, of course, are complex and controversial. The news can be gloomy and depressing. But the headlines guide us toward a deeper sense of connection with the environment, and offer a place to begin conversations that will assist God's people in delighting in creation once more. It's time to start listening for the voice of Lady Wisdom.
In the News
Last week, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's research station in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, noticed something they had hoped they would never find. In a blink of an eye, recorded levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere topped 400 parts per million. Evidence suggests that it has been at least three million years since levels were this high, long before humans were around. While carbon dioxide levels rise and fall seasonally, scientists believe that the moment is coming when readings of 400 parts per million or higher will be the norm.
The results? Warmer oceans, rising seas, and melting glaciers. As CO2 emissions rise, the chance to avoid widespread climate change is doubtful.
"It feels like the inevitable march toward disaster," said Maureen E. Raymo, a scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a unit of Columbia University, as reported by the New York Times.
In one sense, it is just a milestone. But what frustrates many scientists is that these new readings follow decades of interventions designed to lower CO2 emissions, as well as widespread doubts about the issue of global warming. Despite a growing body of scientific evidence, only about half of Americans agree that global warming is the result of human activity. A new report in Science Daily reveals an exhaustive review of thousands of scientific papers linking global warming to humans:
The findings are in stark contrast to the public's position on global warming; a 2012 poll revealed that more than half of Americans either disagree, or are unaware, that scientists overwhelmingly agree that Earth is warming because of human activity. John Cook (lead researcher from the University of Queensland) said: "Our findings prove that there is a strong scientific agreement about the cause of climate change, despite public perceptions to the contrary. There is a gaping chasm between the actual consensus and the public perception. It's staggering given the evidence for consensus that less than half of the general public think scientists agree that humans are causing global warming." ("Scientific Consensus on Anthropogenic Climate Change," May 15, 2013, www.sciencedaily.com)
The impact is everywhere. Even the peak of Mount Everest is melting, shrinking 13% over 50 years. Such melting may seem miniscule, but consider that many smaller glaciers in the Himalayas are also disappearing -- a point of concern since the Tibetan plateau provides the main source of drinking water for at least a billion people in Asia.
All of this is complex and hard to digest. For families concerned with the more immediate facts of life -- paying the electric bill, running the soccer carpool, saving for retirement -- dealing with global warming may not seem to be a pressing issue. That may be the most important reason of all to spend some time listening to the Psalmist's song and to Lady Wisdom's plaintive cry.
In the Scriptures
Proverbs 8 provokes the preacher's imagination with the alluring call of Lady Wisdom. She places her hands to her mouth, calling out on the hills and the byways, the streets and gates. Proverbs personifies wisdom with a female voice and reminds us that she was present with God from the very beginning of creation. From the start, Mother Wisdom has been God's dance partner! In fact, as Jeff Pascal notes, the verb in verse 24 "brought forth" could also be translated as "whirl, dance, writhe" ("Trinity Sunday," Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. III). Wisdom is playful, but not in foolish ways. Instead, Wisdom has been dancing with God in all of creation, "beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always" (v. 30). Wisdom is playful, delighting in God's gift. With that in mind, Proverbs 8 calls us to see creation as the playground of God, a place of true delight and utter joy.
The point, when seen against the broader arc of Proverbs' instruction, is that God has created and ordered a good world, and that those who listen to wisdom's call shall learn how to fear God, and be blessed with wisdom and abundance. Allowing Lady Wisdom to be our teacher means opening ourselves to the joy of creation, taking delight in what God has made -- not despoiling, polluting, or foolishly wasting the foundations of the earth.
In other words, we should pick up after ourselves, just as our mothers have always said.
If creation is to be our playground, the realm of God's holy wisdom, then it falls to God's people to keep it clean. To delight in creation means protecting the mountains, the hills, the fields, the skies, and even the bits of soil.
Creation themes are likewise found in Psalm 8, which begins with a resounding cry of praise, affirming Yahweh's sovereignty. At the outset, the Psalm is focused on the majesty and glory of God. God's glory is above the heavens; God's majesty is known throughout the earth. Moreover, God has silenced the enemy, the avenger, and all foes. But as Walter Brueggemann has noted in The Message of the Psalms, while the beginning and ending of Psalm 8 is focused entirely on God, the center is focused on humanity. The Psalmist has scanned all creation, absorbed its beauty, and then is moved to wonder:
What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God... you have given them dominion over the works of your hands" (vv. 4-6).
Dominion is the place where we most often fall. We see dominion as an open-ended invitation to do as we please. But as Proverbs makes clear, creation is the realm of God's joyful delight. God places humanity into creation to be caretakers and stewards. We are called to take our place as responsible partners with God in creation. Dominion takes a cue from the life of Jesus Christ, who became a servant that all might find life. The very structure of the Psalm makes this clear: human dominion is a gift; God alone is sovereign. (See J. Clinton McCann, Texts for Preaching, Year C, p. 355.)
Crafting the Sermon
Sharing in Lady Wisdom's delight and the Psalmist's musings on dominion offers numerous homiletical possibilities. The sermon could begin on the slopes of the shrinking Mount Everest or the craggy volcanic recesses of Mauna Loa, where scientists have been studying atmospheric change since the 1950s. Steeped in beauty, we echo the praise of God in Psalm 8. Blending images and the poetry of these texts allows the majesty of God to rise within us so that we may also say, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them?
Bringing the beauty of those locations into the discussion helps bring the science to life in ways that raw data alone cannot. Where do we see beauty and possibility? When has our grasping for power robbed creation of its beauty? Taking a cue from Proverbs by naming the richness of creation helps avoid a simple review of the so-called "data of despair" too often associated with environmental issues. Pay attention to where Lady Wisdom is calling to us. Our preaching can invite our congregations to consider the beauty of creation as well as Yahweh's pure delight of it, so that they may then wrestle with the theological claims of what it means to heed wisdom's call.
Another possibility is to explore the notion of human vocation in Psalm 8. In the face of ecological crisis, what does it mean to have dominion over the earth? In the face of global warming, our exercise of dominion may lead to a renewed humility before our sovereign God. The Psalmist's affirmation of human dominion over nature recalls the Priestly account of creation in Genesis 1, even though the Hebrew words are different. To have dominion means we are called to represent God in the world. Dominion should echo God's delight in the world, and God's love for creation. Dominion is bounded by the greater proclamation of God's sovereignty, the same proclamation that begins and ends the Psalm.
It may also be worthwhile noting that in in Genesis 2, the Yahwist writer offers a different understanding of the human vocation. There, the human is not a ruler but is a farmer, a tiller of soil. As Old Testament scholar Theodore Hiebert notes, the farmer image "emphasizes our dependence on, rather than our dominion over, the earth" ("Reclaiming the World: Biblical Resources for the Ecological Crisis," Interpretation, October 2011, p. 351). We have tended to overemphasize our role as steward-in-chief rather than as humble farmer, yet both are necessary to understand the place human beings have in caring for creation.
These texts invite us to hear wisdom calling us to repair creation. Our task as preachers is to enter the playground of God's delight. We can invite our congregations to share in wisdom's delight of creation by improving our acts of stewardship. Then our voices shall echo the praise of the Psalmist, "O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
ANOTHER VIEW
Where Is Woman Wisdom?
by Leah Lonsbury
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Last Thursday, Lt. Col. Darin Haas turned himself into police on charges of stalking his ex-wife and violating a restraining order she had against him.
Haas is the manager of the sexual assault prevention program at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky, and he is the third U.S. military officer in such a position to be accused of misbehavior in 10 days time. He joins the ranks of Air Force Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, who has been accused of sexual battery, and an unnamed Army sergeant who is being investigated for a host of sexual misconduct charges, including forcing a subordinate into prostitution and assaulting two others.
Haas's arrest happened the day after the deadline the Pentagon set for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines to submit plans for ending the policy that prevents women from serving in combat positions. Now comes the part that takes some real attention -- developing gender-neutral standards so women can qualify for all military jobs. But nobody seems to be in a hurry around this piece of the Pentagon's ruling, because all the branches have until 2016 before they must fully open all positions to women. The Pentagon has also indicated that some specialties may not open up right away (or ever) to women. They might also choose to wait until there is an interested "critical mass" of qualified women so there wouldn't be a single woman serving in a unit.
So what was that deadline about again?
NPR correspondent Larry Abramson interviewed several servicemen on this topic last week. One of them -- Mac Owens, a Naval War College instructor -- had this to say: "Women have done wonderful jobs in the military in many things. I just don't think they are necessary in the infantry."
He went on to tell Abramson that having women in combat would erode "unit cohesion."
He continued, "Cohesion, I think, is based on mutual trust. Sexual tensions and things like that which are possible can undermine that cohesion."
Abramson goes on to point out that women have been serving in combat positions in unofficial capacities in Afghanistan and in other wars for years. He reports that this move will (if the branches and the Pentagon ever get the details worked out and follow through on this ruling) simply give these servicewomen the recognition they have already earned.
Former Marine Captain Zoe Bedell is an example of one of those servicewomen. She served in Afghanistan alongside a combat unit but never received the acknowledgement her male counterparts received. She also initially faced skepticism from her male counterparts. Bedell tells Abramson, "Our experience was that once they saw that we could perform, they treated us just like other Marines."
Abramson ends his report this way: "Serving in combat together could help men see women as equals, and it's hoped that a shift in attitude could help address another big problem facing the Pentagon: sexual assault."
And yet, what will ever change about the military or any institution, congregation, community, or nation that keeps on doing things the way the old boys' club has always done them? What's really different when women are "allowed" in as long as they can fall into old patterns, uphold old standards, and keep from making new waves? Where is the wisdom in that?
How will the estimated 26,000 sexual assaults that happened in the military in 2012 ever be addressed in ways that bring systemic change, healing, and justice when only 3,374 of those victims were able to report their assaults and 62% of the women who did report faced retaliation, dishonorable discharge, and/or changes in their records that blamed the assaults on them and made it difficult or impossible for them to get help through the VA?
What lasting hurdles are women facing in our other institutions, communities, congregations, and nation that seem similarly daunting? How have those problems been similarly kept under wraps and become simply a part of the landscape or "the way we've always done it"?
What must change?
In terms of sexual assault in the military, a bipartisan group of female senators thinks change must happen in in the way these cases are dealt with in the military. The bill they are co-sponsoring would remove the chain of command from the reporting process, because officers in the chain are often the perpetrators and can currently overturn or reduce sentences handed down by military juries.
That's one possible step in the right direction, but what others must be taken?
Perhaps it's time that the military and any other old boys' club (the Church?) stopped treating women as unnecessary or disruptive (and not in the good, Holy Spirit kind of way) as Mac Owens from the Abramson story on NPR has deemed them.
Perhaps it's time that women were understood not just as equals, as former Marine Captain Zoe Bedell suggests, but instead as a unique and essential part of the whole, without which the military or any institution (the Church!) cannot function in holistic, healthy, or just ways.
Perhaps it's time that these unique and essential parts be truly empowered and heard by the whole, not just named as such and honored once a year on Mother's Day. For example, imagine how the headlines might have been different this week if the officers managing the sexual assault prevention programs for the different military branches had been women. And what kind of actual change might that Pentagon deadline for making all military position descriptions gender-neutral have made if women in positions of power were implementing it?
The military needs women and women's wisdom. Every institution or community does, especially the Church. But they also need Woman Wisdom from our Proverbs passage for this week, who is found in but not synonymous with women and women's wisdom. They need her because she observed God's intentions for and designing of creation. She was and is God's first beautiful and good idea made manifest, and she accompanied and accompanies each subsequent piece of creation (including the human race) by holding them up, witnessing to their goodness, offering them her wise companionship, and celebrating their potential.
She frames and bears witness to the goodness of creation and holds out as reference, challenge, and call what creation (including humankind) can and is intended to be in God's benevolent designing and dreaming. Like this poetic introduction to a book of proverbs about how to live well, she sings, paints, and dances us into Divine wisdom. She coaxes us toward the patterns and rhythms of life that have been laid down by God that will cause us to thrive and connect us to the Source of All Life.
Woman Wisdom lays the groundwork for a life patterned by a deep reverence, respect, and awe for the Creator and the creation. When we follow these patterns as individuals, in relationships, in our communities, and in our institutions, we see the world and each other differently. We are more conscious and careful about our living, about how it affects others, and how it is received by our Source. When reverence, respect, and awe color the impact we make on the world, there are fewer and fewer black marks that discolor and destroy God's design and a greater chance that we will co-create with God as Woman Wisdom does -- like a "master worker" that daily delights Creation's Mastermind and shares in rejoicing about what ensues.
In "Weekly Seeds", the United Church of Christ's online preaching resource, Kate Huey recalls Douglas Donley's idea that Woman Wisdom is not as foreign as we might think, that she is actually an essential piece of who we are, no matter our gender, as a part of God's masterwork, creation:
Douglas Donley also recognizes the wisdom born of experience, "the perspectives and insights that are part of our core being [and] an aspect of God's presence in our lives," and he urges "people to remember their own wisdom alongside divine Wisdom," to "hear her beauty, acknowledge her integrity, appreciate her fresh perspective."
What might be different about our military, our congregations, our communities, our institutions, or our nation if Woman Wisdom reported to work in our offices, cubicles, studies, and on the front lines? What if she came dressed in our clothes, offering our hands to help, and our hearts in creative understanding?
What if we heeded her call that is within the core of our being and can be heard "on the heights, beside the way, [and] at the crossroads" (v. 2)?
She "takes her stand" and "cries out... to all that live" (vv. 2-4). Will we?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
At the age of 50 movie director Steven Soderbergh retired. The director of numerous acclaimed films, the work he may be best known for is Erin Brockovich. The reason Soderbergh has decided to retire and leave the movie business altogether is, as he explains it, "partially borne out of my failed attempt to take a break last time, that I don't have gears. I have an on/off switch. I can't slow it down."
Application: The wisdom contained in Proverbs is to help us understand ourselves and live a life that is comforting to us and a blessing to others.
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Romans 5:1-5
In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, Angelina Jolie explained why she had a preventative double mastectomy. She learned that she was genetically disposed to breast cancer, which could cause death at a very young age. She experienced the same trauma with her mother, who died of ovarian cancer. There are a number of reasons why Jolie opted for the surgery, with the central one being a concern for her children. She wrote regarding her children, "And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can."
Application: By being proactive, Angelina Jolie has given us all a message of hope.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
Nancy Guthrie wrote a book titled Holding on to Hope: A Pathway Through Suffering to the Heart of God. In three years she had to bury two infants due to a fatal genetic disorder. In her book Guthrie recounts her grief and the comfort she found in her faith. She wrote, "I chose to face it head-on, trudge through it, feel its full weight, and do my best to comfort my feelings of loss and hopelessness with the truth of God's Word at every turn. That's what Job did."
Application: The scriptures will always offer us a word of hope.
* * *
John 16:12-15
A new documentary titled The Ghost Army aired on PBS this week. The film tells the story of a select group of servicemen (one of whom was Bill Blass of women's fashion fame) who were assembled in the summer of 1944 to be a pretend army. The unit had tanks, trucks, and jeeps all made out of rubber. They also had large loudspeakers to simulate the sound of troop movements. The Ghost Army's purpose was to confuse the Germans as to where an attack would actually come.
Application: Sometimes it is very hard for us to understand and comprehend the truth.
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John 16:12-15
When Tammy Wynette released her best-known recording "Stand By Your Man" in 1968, everyone thought that it was her answer to the feminist movement... that's how radio stations, the media, and people in general popularized its message. But in fact Wynette, a hairdresser, was using the song as a vehicle of one troubled woman giving advice to another troubled woman.
Application: We often do not or are unable to comprehend the truth.
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From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Psalm 8
The Eighth Psalm sings praise to God for giving to humans dominion over creation. But there is a difference in dominion and license.
The website lifeonearth.org (www.lifeonearth.org) lists five primary causes of industrial pollution that may come from our inability to distinguish between license and dominion:
1. Prevalence of outdated/inefficient technologies that generate a large amount of waste;
2. Large unplanned industrial conglomerations that have encroached upon and severely polluted their environs;
3. The existence of a large number of small-scale industries that escape land-use and sometimes even environmental regulations;
4. Poor enforcement of pollution control laws; and
5. Lack of resources for implementing pollution control programs.
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Psalm 8
It takes but a stroke of the keyboard to re-interpret Cecil Frances Alexander's poem "Maker of Heaven and Earth" ("All Things Bright and Beautiful") into more inclusive language that does no damage to the poem and makes it more palatable to the modern ear:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
God made their tiny wings.
The rich ones in the castle,
The poor ones at the gate,
God made us -- high and lowly --
The humble and the great.
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them every one.
The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather every day.
God gave us eyes to see them
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God almighty,
Who has made all things well.
* * *
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Any discussion of wisdom inevitably dissolves into a discussion about the difference between knowledge and wisdom. The best explanation of the difference I've ever heard was this: "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad."
* * *
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
An angel appeared at a university faculty meeting and told the school's president that as a reward for exemplary behavior, the Lord was going to give him his choice of wealth, wisdom, or beauty. Being the president of an institution of higher learning, of course he selected wisdom.
"Done!" said the angel, who then disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning.
Now all heads turned toward the president, who sat surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispered, "Say something."
The dean looked at them and said, "I should have taken the money."
-- Betsy Devine and Joel E. Cohen, Absolute Zero Gravity (Simon & Schuster, 1992)
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In Ang Lee's beautiful, Academy Award winning motion picture interpretation of Yan Martel's novel Life of Pi, the title character, Pi Patel, wrestles throughout the film with the notion of hope. Is it possible to simply decide to have hope? Is hope a gift or an achievement?
When he is shipwrecked and lost at sea in a lifeboat with only a wild Bengal tiger as a companion, Pi discovers a survival guide in the hold of the lifeboat. It gives much good advice --which ends, on the last page, with the admonition: "Above all, don't lose hope."
Hope is not a luxury. It is an essential element for survival.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, a crime he didn't commit.
When he arrives in prison, Andy insists that he's innocent and will find a way out of the prison -- but an old con named Red, the narrator of the story, warns Andy that "hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man crazy."
After 20 years of wrongful imprisonment, Andy escapes by way of a tunnel that it has taken him all 20 years to dig. When Red is released at the end of his sentence, he discovers a letter that Andy has hidden for him. In it Andy invites Red to join him at a secret place they both know about and finally answers Red's warning about hope: "Hope is a good thing," Andy says, "maybe the best thing. And good things never die."
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In Dante's epic allegorical poem Divine Comedy, the poet is led on a tour of the afterlife by the Roman poet Virgil. They visit heaven, purgatory, and hell, which is called "Inferno."
Above the entrance to Inferno is printed the following inscription, which describes not so much what is done to those souls who are doomed to hell but what is taken from them. Note especially the last line:
Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
Justice the founder of my fabric moved:
To rear me was the task of Power divine,
Supremest Wisdom, and primeval Love.
Before me things created were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
* * *
From team member Mary Austin:
Psalm 8
Dominion Over the Earth?
Our need for oil and gas has led to the development of more ways to extract them from the ground, including the hotly debated process of fracking, which uses water to force oil or gas from places that were once inaccessible. We think of fracking as something that happens in rural areas, but Peter Pearsall reports in Yes magazine that fracking is now reaching the suburbs.
Pearsall writes: "As rural deposits of fossil fuel grow fewer and farther between, extractive industries are increasingly siting their operations over the next best location: suburban neighborhoods. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, the Marcellus shale formation beneath parts of the Midwest and Appalachia contains literally trillions of cubic feet of natural gas -- the most accessible of which often lies beneath residential neighborhoods." A 2004 Ohio law reduced the power of municipalities to regulate drilling, and wells have appeared all over the state, often surprising people who live nearby.
The article finds a source of hope in the unlikely connections that people have formed around this issue. Pearsall notes, "The spread of fracking into suburbs might seem like a source of despair, but some are hoping that it could lead to bigger and better things by linking groups together into unusual alliances." Suburban neighbors are finding common ground with native people, who are familiar with having their land used this way. People in the suburbs "are now sharing an experience with the marginalized poor and with the residents of Indian reservations, where people have been dealing with similar situations for decades."
Our vocation as people of faith invites us to live on the earth with care and to be in community with our neighbors on the planet. When fracking and drilling come so close to home, we are reminded of both callings.
* * *
Psalm 8
How Much Is the Earth Worth?
The History Channel recently (October 2012) offered a special show answering that very question. Counting the value of the minerals in the earth -- gold, diamonds, lumber, water, and everything they could think of to calculate -- they estimated the value of the earth at $6,873,951,620,979,800... or almost seven quadrillion dollars. That's a lot of money... but the real value of the planet we all call home, and the evidence we have of the handiwork of the Creator, is closer to priceless. Not everything can have a dollar value attached to it, hard as we try.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
A Little Help for a Butterfly
The Texas Butterfly Ranch website tells of the extraordinary care one woman took of the monarch butterfly she found in her backyard.
The story began when Maraleen Manos-Jones, a butterfly lover and the author of The Spirit of Butterflies noticed a monarch caterpillar forming its chrysalis in her butterfly garden last September. She knew that monarchs migrate south in the winter, and that this butterfly would die if it came out of the chrysalis in October, as it would be too cold to fly south. She brought the chrysalis inside, built a net enclosure for it, and pondered how to reunite the butterfly with the others. After the butterfly emerged, she called Southwest Airlines and asked them to transport the butterfly south. Southwest agreed, but then it turned out to be illegal to take butterflies across state lines without a permit. After several phone calls, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted the permit, and Manos-Jones and the butterfly flew to San Antonio, Texas, together, courtesy of Southwest. The butterfly was released into a butterfly garden there.
Why so much effort for one butterfly? Manos-Jones says the butterfly is a symbol of hope. Her actions are as well -- if we can learn to tend the whole world with the care she gave one butterfly, we will have learned a lot about living in the image of our Creator.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens.
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
People: what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Leader: Yet you have made us a little lower than God.
People: You have crowned us with glory and honor.
OR
Leader: Wisdom calls to all her children.
People: May we be able to hear her voice.
Leader: Wisdom abounds in all creation.
People: May we have the eyes and ears to comprehend her lessons.
Leader: Wisdom is the foundation of all that is.
People: May we not confuse knowledge for wisdom.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"All Things Bright and Beautiful"
found in:
UMH: 147
H82: 405
PH: 267
NCH: 61
CH: 61
W&P: 30
AMEC: 434
"This Is My Father's World"
found in:
UMH: 144
H82: 651
PH: 293
AAHH: 149
NNBH: 41
CH: 59
LBW: 554
ELA: 824
W&P: 21
AMEC: 47
"I Sing the Almighty Power of God"
found in:
UMH: 152
H82: 398
PH: 288
NCH: 12
W&P: 31
Renew: 54
"Morning Has Broken"
found in:
UMH: 145
H82: 8
PH: 469
CH: 53
ELA: 556
W&P: 35
STLT: 38
"All Who Love and Serve Your City"
found in:
UMH: 433
H82: 570/571
PH: 413
CH: 670
LBW: 436
ELA: 724
W&P: 625
"O God of Every Nation"
found in:
UMH: 435
H82: 607
PH: 289
CH: 680
LBW: 416
ELA: 713
W&P: 626
"O God Who Shaped Creation"
found in:
UMH: 443
"Bread of the World"
found in:
UMH: 624
H82: 301
PH: 502
NCH: 346
CH: 387
W&P: 693
"As the Deer"
found in:
CCB: 83
Renew: 9
"For the Gift of Creation"
found in:
CCB: 67
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 through Wisdom created all that is, was, and ever shall be: Grant us the grace to seek your Wisdom so that we may live in harmony with you, with others, and with all your creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We offer you our worship and praise, O God, for you created us and all that is through Wisdom. We come not only to worship you but to listen for the Wisdom that you would speak to us today. Open our hearts and our minds that we may live in your Wisdom. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we fail to understand our place in creation.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have given us such wonders and pleasures in this world, and yet we have taken them for granted, wasting and laying waste to your good creation. We have seen ourselves as those who are entitled to use and abuse the earth instead of our intended place as your stewards. Forgive us and call us once more to the divine task of caring for your handiwork. Amen.
Leader: God created in love and in love forgives us and empowers us to live better today than we did yesterday.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for the wonders of this creation that you have offered into our care. We adore you for the love which generated this great gift.
(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. You have given us such wonders and pleasures in this world, and yet we have taken them for granted, wasting and laying waste to your good creation. We have seen ourselves as those who are entitled to use and abuse the earth instead of our intended place as your stewards. Forgive us and call us once more to the divine task of caring for your handiwork.
We give you thanks for creation and for your gifts that you share with us. We thank you for Wisdom and all the gifts that she has bestowed upon us. We are grateful that you have not only created us but you have made us with an ability to receive and act on the gifts of Wisdom.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer up to you the cares of this world. We know that we have contributed to many of the problems around us. Some we have caused through ignorance and some through selfishness. We pray that we may now be better stewards of creation and be better able to bring your healing to those 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
Talk to the children about camping, and how you may start out with a lot of food but you must make good decisions to have enough food left at the end of the trip. We must be wise. We must also be wise about the gifts of creation so that we do not waste them and use them poorly.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Being Full of Hope
Romans 5:1-5
Object: a large deflated balloon
Good morning, boys and girls! In our New Testament reading for today we hear about how God uses our struggles to make us stronger people. The writer tells us that through the hard times in our lives we will learn how to have more hope. What is hope? Can anyone tell me what it means to have hope? (listen for responses) When you have hope, you believe that the best is going to happen. Even when you are having troubles, you decide to believe that everything is going to work out just fine.
I think I can explain this better by using a balloon. See how droopy it is? It doesn't have any bounce in it right now. This balloon is like I am when I get troubled. Whenever I have a hard time with something in my life, I can get very sad. Sometimes I feel empty inside and I have no energy to be happy. When that happens, I am just like this balloon with no air in it.
But look what happens when I blow air into the balloon. (blow up the balloon and tie it) All of a sudden the balloon is light and bouncy. It is not tired and lifeless anymore! Hope is just like that air. When we get sad, hope can fill us up and make us full of life again. Hope gives us the strength we need to be positive -- hope can help us keep on trying and believing that things are going to be okay.
When you are sad or overwhelmed by troubles in your life, ask God to help you have hope. Our scripture verse today tells us that hope will not disappoint us, because God has put his love into our hearts. We don't have to be sad people. God has given us all we need to live lives that are full of hope and joy. This is God's promise to us! Remember that the next time you feel empty and droopy like our balloon. Spend some time with God and ask him to fill you up with hope again. He will do it.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for taking care of us. Help us remember to trust you with our lives and help us have the hope we need to keep on believing all the good things that you give. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 26, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 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.
Shielded by Hope by Chris Keating
Romans 5:1-5
Creating havoc and bringing death, the massive tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, left a widespread trail of suffering in its wake. Schools were toppled and children were killed. God's people were left speechless in the face of pain.
In the face of such suffering, is it even possible for Christians to claim Paul's recipe for hope in Romans 5:15 this Sunday? His equation -- suffering equals endurance, which produces character that results in hope -- may indeed disappoint us. It sounds overly confident, especially in times of widespread disaster. When tornadoes uproot towns, how is it that we can boast in our sufferings?
One has said that "sitting on the edge of darkness is hope". The hope of which Paul speaks is greater than our sufferings, because we are people who have been granted access to God's peace through grace. It is grace that allows our lives to stand, even when the ground beneath quakes, even when the walls around us disintegrate into dust. Grace provides a path forward, offering us endurance. This is the love that we have received in Christ, a hope that shields us in the face of storms. In the darkness of Monday's destruction, there were stories of teachers who threw themselves over their students. They covered their students with hope. Prying a car off a teacher who had shielded her students from the debris, an emotional rescuer was reported to have said, "Good job, teach".
Such hope does not disappoint us.
* * * * * * *
In this installment of The Immediate Word, new team member Chris Keating observes that the lectionary passages for Trinity Sunday from Proverbs and Psalms have an important word to say on the subject of the care and wisdom that we are to exhibit for the earth and all its creatures. Both readings cast humans in the long arc of time, and firmly establish God's place as the author of creation. But the Psalm also notes that humans have been given "dominion over the works of [God's] hands" -- and Chris suggests that our perception of what "dominion" means can lead us astray when we seem more interested in power and control over nature than in being mindful toward it... a mindfulness that the Psalm reminds us that God always displays toward us. If we continue on our present course and avoid taking drastic action, are we demonstrating the wisdom and stewardship that is our call? And what is the church's role in this issue? Chris offers some valuable thoughts on addressing these issues from the pulpit.
Team member Leah Lonsbury offers some additional thoughts on the Proverbs text and its feminine personification of Wisdom -- particularly in light of Trinity Sunday, when we lift up the three-in-one Godhead that is traditionally couched entirely in masculine terms. Leah discusses some of the recent issues regarding women in the military, from moves to redefine the policy preventing women from serving in combat positions to continuing problems with rampant sexual assault. Many of these issues result at least in part from the growing pains as an institution that has been a bastion of masculinity -- and even traditionally hostile to women -- tries to adapt to the new realities of a more modern, inclusive age. But it boils down, as Leah notes, to an evolving mindset that is welcoming to women and women's wisdom... a lesson that's also important for the church to remember. Leah points out that our text holds up Woman Wisdom as a pattern for our lives -- one in which we have a deep reverence for God and his creation.
Sharing Wisdom's Delight in Creation
by Chris Keating
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8
Mother Wisdom calls us from the streets, beckoning us to look at the moon and the stars, the mountains and the sea, the springs and the soil -- and the rising levels of carbon dioxide.
Last week, scientists announced that heat-trapped gas in the earth's atmosphere passed levels not seen for millions of years. Just a few days later, a comprehensive review of decades of research indicated that 97% of scientists researching global warming agree it is a human-created phenomenon. It's a complex issue, but one that certainly invites reflection on the Psalmist's rhetorical questions: "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"
Perhaps God wonders that as well.
It isn't hard to imagine that God might grieve humanity's devouring and polluting of creation. In light of the findings about rising carbon dioxide levels -- as well as other ecological concerns -- it may be time to freshen our understanding of the meaning of humanity's "dominion" over nature. As the church celebrates Trinity Sunday this week, both the Proverbs text and Psalm 8 guide us to reconsider our vocation as stewards of the creation. The pairing of these texts not only point us toward a joyous affirmation of God's creative impulses and majestic power, but also invite us to share in the delight of God's good creation as faithful stewards.
Wisdom is calling, and her cry is to all that live.
Environmental issues, of course, are complex and controversial. The news can be gloomy and depressing. But the headlines guide us toward a deeper sense of connection with the environment, and offer a place to begin conversations that will assist God's people in delighting in creation once more. It's time to start listening for the voice of Lady Wisdom.
In the News
Last week, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's research station in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, noticed something they had hoped they would never find. In a blink of an eye, recorded levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere topped 400 parts per million. Evidence suggests that it has been at least three million years since levels were this high, long before humans were around. While carbon dioxide levels rise and fall seasonally, scientists believe that the moment is coming when readings of 400 parts per million or higher will be the norm.
The results? Warmer oceans, rising seas, and melting glaciers. As CO2 emissions rise, the chance to avoid widespread climate change is doubtful.
"It feels like the inevitable march toward disaster," said Maureen E. Raymo, a scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a unit of Columbia University, as reported by the New York Times.
In one sense, it is just a milestone. But what frustrates many scientists is that these new readings follow decades of interventions designed to lower CO2 emissions, as well as widespread doubts about the issue of global warming. Despite a growing body of scientific evidence, only about half of Americans agree that global warming is the result of human activity. A new report in Science Daily reveals an exhaustive review of thousands of scientific papers linking global warming to humans:
The findings are in stark contrast to the public's position on global warming; a 2012 poll revealed that more than half of Americans either disagree, or are unaware, that scientists overwhelmingly agree that Earth is warming because of human activity. John Cook (lead researcher from the University of Queensland) said: "Our findings prove that there is a strong scientific agreement about the cause of climate change, despite public perceptions to the contrary. There is a gaping chasm between the actual consensus and the public perception. It's staggering given the evidence for consensus that less than half of the general public think scientists agree that humans are causing global warming." ("Scientific Consensus on Anthropogenic Climate Change," May 15, 2013, www.sciencedaily.com)
The impact is everywhere. Even the peak of Mount Everest is melting, shrinking 13% over 50 years. Such melting may seem miniscule, but consider that many smaller glaciers in the Himalayas are also disappearing -- a point of concern since the Tibetan plateau provides the main source of drinking water for at least a billion people in Asia.
All of this is complex and hard to digest. For families concerned with the more immediate facts of life -- paying the electric bill, running the soccer carpool, saving for retirement -- dealing with global warming may not seem to be a pressing issue. That may be the most important reason of all to spend some time listening to the Psalmist's song and to Lady Wisdom's plaintive cry.
In the Scriptures
Proverbs 8 provokes the preacher's imagination with the alluring call of Lady Wisdom. She places her hands to her mouth, calling out on the hills and the byways, the streets and gates. Proverbs personifies wisdom with a female voice and reminds us that she was present with God from the very beginning of creation. From the start, Mother Wisdom has been God's dance partner! In fact, as Jeff Pascal notes, the verb in verse 24 "brought forth" could also be translated as "whirl, dance, writhe" ("Trinity Sunday," Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. III). Wisdom is playful, but not in foolish ways. Instead, Wisdom has been dancing with God in all of creation, "beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always" (v. 30). Wisdom is playful, delighting in God's gift. With that in mind, Proverbs 8 calls us to see creation as the playground of God, a place of true delight and utter joy.
The point, when seen against the broader arc of Proverbs' instruction, is that God has created and ordered a good world, and that those who listen to wisdom's call shall learn how to fear God, and be blessed with wisdom and abundance. Allowing Lady Wisdom to be our teacher means opening ourselves to the joy of creation, taking delight in what God has made -- not despoiling, polluting, or foolishly wasting the foundations of the earth.
In other words, we should pick up after ourselves, just as our mothers have always said.
If creation is to be our playground, the realm of God's holy wisdom, then it falls to God's people to keep it clean. To delight in creation means protecting the mountains, the hills, the fields, the skies, and even the bits of soil.
Creation themes are likewise found in Psalm 8, which begins with a resounding cry of praise, affirming Yahweh's sovereignty. At the outset, the Psalm is focused on the majesty and glory of God. God's glory is above the heavens; God's majesty is known throughout the earth. Moreover, God has silenced the enemy, the avenger, and all foes. But as Walter Brueggemann has noted in The Message of the Psalms, while the beginning and ending of Psalm 8 is focused entirely on God, the center is focused on humanity. The Psalmist has scanned all creation, absorbed its beauty, and then is moved to wonder:
What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God... you have given them dominion over the works of your hands" (vv. 4-6).
Dominion is the place where we most often fall. We see dominion as an open-ended invitation to do as we please. But as Proverbs makes clear, creation is the realm of God's joyful delight. God places humanity into creation to be caretakers and stewards. We are called to take our place as responsible partners with God in creation. Dominion takes a cue from the life of Jesus Christ, who became a servant that all might find life. The very structure of the Psalm makes this clear: human dominion is a gift; God alone is sovereign. (See J. Clinton McCann, Texts for Preaching, Year C, p. 355.)
Crafting the Sermon
Sharing in Lady Wisdom's delight and the Psalmist's musings on dominion offers numerous homiletical possibilities. The sermon could begin on the slopes of the shrinking Mount Everest or the craggy volcanic recesses of Mauna Loa, where scientists have been studying atmospheric change since the 1950s. Steeped in beauty, we echo the praise of God in Psalm 8. Blending images and the poetry of these texts allows the majesty of God to rise within us so that we may also say, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them?
Bringing the beauty of those locations into the discussion helps bring the science to life in ways that raw data alone cannot. Where do we see beauty and possibility? When has our grasping for power robbed creation of its beauty? Taking a cue from Proverbs by naming the richness of creation helps avoid a simple review of the so-called "data of despair" too often associated with environmental issues. Pay attention to where Lady Wisdom is calling to us. Our preaching can invite our congregations to consider the beauty of creation as well as Yahweh's pure delight of it, so that they may then wrestle with the theological claims of what it means to heed wisdom's call.
Another possibility is to explore the notion of human vocation in Psalm 8. In the face of ecological crisis, what does it mean to have dominion over the earth? In the face of global warming, our exercise of dominion may lead to a renewed humility before our sovereign God. The Psalmist's affirmation of human dominion over nature recalls the Priestly account of creation in Genesis 1, even though the Hebrew words are different. To have dominion means we are called to represent God in the world. Dominion should echo God's delight in the world, and God's love for creation. Dominion is bounded by the greater proclamation of God's sovereignty, the same proclamation that begins and ends the Psalm.
It may also be worthwhile noting that in in Genesis 2, the Yahwist writer offers a different understanding of the human vocation. There, the human is not a ruler but is a farmer, a tiller of soil. As Old Testament scholar Theodore Hiebert notes, the farmer image "emphasizes our dependence on, rather than our dominion over, the earth" ("Reclaiming the World: Biblical Resources for the Ecological Crisis," Interpretation, October 2011, p. 351). We have tended to overemphasize our role as steward-in-chief rather than as humble farmer, yet both are necessary to understand the place human beings have in caring for creation.
These texts invite us to hear wisdom calling us to repair creation. Our task as preachers is to enter the playground of God's delight. We can invite our congregations to share in wisdom's delight of creation by improving our acts of stewardship. Then our voices shall echo the praise of the Psalmist, "O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
ANOTHER VIEW
Where Is Woman Wisdom?
by Leah Lonsbury
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Last Thursday, Lt. Col. Darin Haas turned himself into police on charges of stalking his ex-wife and violating a restraining order she had against him.
Haas is the manager of the sexual assault prevention program at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky, and he is the third U.S. military officer in such a position to be accused of misbehavior in 10 days time. He joins the ranks of Air Force Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, who has been accused of sexual battery, and an unnamed Army sergeant who is being investigated for a host of sexual misconduct charges, including forcing a subordinate into prostitution and assaulting two others.
Haas's arrest happened the day after the deadline the Pentagon set for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines to submit plans for ending the policy that prevents women from serving in combat positions. Now comes the part that takes some real attention -- developing gender-neutral standards so women can qualify for all military jobs. But nobody seems to be in a hurry around this piece of the Pentagon's ruling, because all the branches have until 2016 before they must fully open all positions to women. The Pentagon has also indicated that some specialties may not open up right away (or ever) to women. They might also choose to wait until there is an interested "critical mass" of qualified women so there wouldn't be a single woman serving in a unit.
So what was that deadline about again?
NPR correspondent Larry Abramson interviewed several servicemen on this topic last week. One of them -- Mac Owens, a Naval War College instructor -- had this to say: "Women have done wonderful jobs in the military in many things. I just don't think they are necessary in the infantry."
He went on to tell Abramson that having women in combat would erode "unit cohesion."
He continued, "Cohesion, I think, is based on mutual trust. Sexual tensions and things like that which are possible can undermine that cohesion."
Abramson goes on to point out that women have been serving in combat positions in unofficial capacities in Afghanistan and in other wars for years. He reports that this move will (if the branches and the Pentagon ever get the details worked out and follow through on this ruling) simply give these servicewomen the recognition they have already earned.
Former Marine Captain Zoe Bedell is an example of one of those servicewomen. She served in Afghanistan alongside a combat unit but never received the acknowledgement her male counterparts received. She also initially faced skepticism from her male counterparts. Bedell tells Abramson, "Our experience was that once they saw that we could perform, they treated us just like other Marines."
Abramson ends his report this way: "Serving in combat together could help men see women as equals, and it's hoped that a shift in attitude could help address another big problem facing the Pentagon: sexual assault."
And yet, what will ever change about the military or any institution, congregation, community, or nation that keeps on doing things the way the old boys' club has always done them? What's really different when women are "allowed" in as long as they can fall into old patterns, uphold old standards, and keep from making new waves? Where is the wisdom in that?
How will the estimated 26,000 sexual assaults that happened in the military in 2012 ever be addressed in ways that bring systemic change, healing, and justice when only 3,374 of those victims were able to report their assaults and 62% of the women who did report faced retaliation, dishonorable discharge, and/or changes in their records that blamed the assaults on them and made it difficult or impossible for them to get help through the VA?
What lasting hurdles are women facing in our other institutions, communities, congregations, and nation that seem similarly daunting? How have those problems been similarly kept under wraps and become simply a part of the landscape or "the way we've always done it"?
What must change?
In terms of sexual assault in the military, a bipartisan group of female senators thinks change must happen in in the way these cases are dealt with in the military. The bill they are co-sponsoring would remove the chain of command from the reporting process, because officers in the chain are often the perpetrators and can currently overturn or reduce sentences handed down by military juries.
That's one possible step in the right direction, but what others must be taken?
Perhaps it's time that the military and any other old boys' club (the Church?) stopped treating women as unnecessary or disruptive (and not in the good, Holy Spirit kind of way) as Mac Owens from the Abramson story on NPR has deemed them.
Perhaps it's time that women were understood not just as equals, as former Marine Captain Zoe Bedell suggests, but instead as a unique and essential part of the whole, without which the military or any institution (the Church!) cannot function in holistic, healthy, or just ways.
Perhaps it's time that these unique and essential parts be truly empowered and heard by the whole, not just named as such and honored once a year on Mother's Day. For example, imagine how the headlines might have been different this week if the officers managing the sexual assault prevention programs for the different military branches had been women. And what kind of actual change might that Pentagon deadline for making all military position descriptions gender-neutral have made if women in positions of power were implementing it?
The military needs women and women's wisdom. Every institution or community does, especially the Church. But they also need Woman Wisdom from our Proverbs passage for this week, who is found in but not synonymous with women and women's wisdom. They need her because she observed God's intentions for and designing of creation. She was and is God's first beautiful and good idea made manifest, and she accompanied and accompanies each subsequent piece of creation (including the human race) by holding them up, witnessing to their goodness, offering them her wise companionship, and celebrating their potential.
She frames and bears witness to the goodness of creation and holds out as reference, challenge, and call what creation (including humankind) can and is intended to be in God's benevolent designing and dreaming. Like this poetic introduction to a book of proverbs about how to live well, she sings, paints, and dances us into Divine wisdom. She coaxes us toward the patterns and rhythms of life that have been laid down by God that will cause us to thrive and connect us to the Source of All Life.
Woman Wisdom lays the groundwork for a life patterned by a deep reverence, respect, and awe for the Creator and the creation. When we follow these patterns as individuals, in relationships, in our communities, and in our institutions, we see the world and each other differently. We are more conscious and careful about our living, about how it affects others, and how it is received by our Source. When reverence, respect, and awe color the impact we make on the world, there are fewer and fewer black marks that discolor and destroy God's design and a greater chance that we will co-create with God as Woman Wisdom does -- like a "master worker" that daily delights Creation's Mastermind and shares in rejoicing about what ensues.
In "Weekly Seeds", the United Church of Christ's online preaching resource, Kate Huey recalls Douglas Donley's idea that Woman Wisdom is not as foreign as we might think, that she is actually an essential piece of who we are, no matter our gender, as a part of God's masterwork, creation:
Douglas Donley also recognizes the wisdom born of experience, "the perspectives and insights that are part of our core being [and] an aspect of God's presence in our lives," and he urges "people to remember their own wisdom alongside divine Wisdom," to "hear her beauty, acknowledge her integrity, appreciate her fresh perspective."
What might be different about our military, our congregations, our communities, our institutions, or our nation if Woman Wisdom reported to work in our offices, cubicles, studies, and on the front lines? What if she came dressed in our clothes, offering our hands to help, and our hearts in creative understanding?
What if we heeded her call that is within the core of our being and can be heard "on the heights, beside the way, [and] at the crossroads" (v. 2)?
She "takes her stand" and "cries out... to all that live" (vv. 2-4). Will we?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
At the age of 50 movie director Steven Soderbergh retired. The director of numerous acclaimed films, the work he may be best known for is Erin Brockovich. The reason Soderbergh has decided to retire and leave the movie business altogether is, as he explains it, "partially borne out of my failed attempt to take a break last time, that I don't have gears. I have an on/off switch. I can't slow it down."
Application: The wisdom contained in Proverbs is to help us understand ourselves and live a life that is comforting to us and a blessing to others.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, Angelina Jolie explained why she had a preventative double mastectomy. She learned that she was genetically disposed to breast cancer, which could cause death at a very young age. She experienced the same trauma with her mother, who died of ovarian cancer. There are a number of reasons why Jolie opted for the surgery, with the central one being a concern for her children. She wrote regarding her children, "And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can."
Application: By being proactive, Angelina Jolie has given us all a message of hope.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
Nancy Guthrie wrote a book titled Holding on to Hope: A Pathway Through Suffering to the Heart of God. In three years she had to bury two infants due to a fatal genetic disorder. In her book Guthrie recounts her grief and the comfort she found in her faith. She wrote, "I chose to face it head-on, trudge through it, feel its full weight, and do my best to comfort my feelings of loss and hopelessness with the truth of God's Word at every turn. That's what Job did."
Application: The scriptures will always offer us a word of hope.
* * *
John 16:12-15
A new documentary titled The Ghost Army aired on PBS this week. The film tells the story of a select group of servicemen (one of whom was Bill Blass of women's fashion fame) who were assembled in the summer of 1944 to be a pretend army. The unit had tanks, trucks, and jeeps all made out of rubber. They also had large loudspeakers to simulate the sound of troop movements. The Ghost Army's purpose was to confuse the Germans as to where an attack would actually come.
Application: Sometimes it is very hard for us to understand and comprehend the truth.
* * *
John 16:12-15
When Tammy Wynette released her best-known recording "Stand By Your Man" in 1968, everyone thought that it was her answer to the feminist movement... that's how radio stations, the media, and people in general popularized its message. But in fact Wynette, a hairdresser, was using the song as a vehicle of one troubled woman giving advice to another troubled woman.
Application: We often do not or are unable to comprehend the truth.
* * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Psalm 8
The Eighth Psalm sings praise to God for giving to humans dominion over creation. But there is a difference in dominion and license.
The website lifeonearth.org (www.lifeonearth.org) lists five primary causes of industrial pollution that may come from our inability to distinguish between license and dominion:
1. Prevalence of outdated/inefficient technologies that generate a large amount of waste;
2. Large unplanned industrial conglomerations that have encroached upon and severely polluted their environs;
3. The existence of a large number of small-scale industries that escape land-use and sometimes even environmental regulations;
4. Poor enforcement of pollution control laws; and
5. Lack of resources for implementing pollution control programs.
* * *
Psalm 8
It takes but a stroke of the keyboard to re-interpret Cecil Frances Alexander's poem "Maker of Heaven and Earth" ("All Things Bright and Beautiful") into more inclusive language that does no damage to the poem and makes it more palatable to the modern ear:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
God made their tiny wings.
The rich ones in the castle,
The poor ones at the gate,
God made us -- high and lowly --
The humble and the great.
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them every one.
The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather every day.
God gave us eyes to see them
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God almighty,
Who has made all things well.
* * *
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Any discussion of wisdom inevitably dissolves into a discussion about the difference between knowledge and wisdom. The best explanation of the difference I've ever heard was this: "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad."
* * *
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
An angel appeared at a university faculty meeting and told the school's president that as a reward for exemplary behavior, the Lord was going to give him his choice of wealth, wisdom, or beauty. Being the president of an institution of higher learning, of course he selected wisdom.
"Done!" said the angel, who then disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning.
Now all heads turned toward the president, who sat surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispered, "Say something."
The dean looked at them and said, "I should have taken the money."
-- Betsy Devine and Joel E. Cohen, Absolute Zero Gravity (Simon & Schuster, 1992)
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In Ang Lee's beautiful, Academy Award winning motion picture interpretation of Yan Martel's novel Life of Pi, the title character, Pi Patel, wrestles throughout the film with the notion of hope. Is it possible to simply decide to have hope? Is hope a gift or an achievement?
When he is shipwrecked and lost at sea in a lifeboat with only a wild Bengal tiger as a companion, Pi discovers a survival guide in the hold of the lifeboat. It gives much good advice --which ends, on the last page, with the admonition: "Above all, don't lose hope."
Hope is not a luxury. It is an essential element for survival.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, a crime he didn't commit.
When he arrives in prison, Andy insists that he's innocent and will find a way out of the prison -- but an old con named Red, the narrator of the story, warns Andy that "hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man crazy."
After 20 years of wrongful imprisonment, Andy escapes by way of a tunnel that it has taken him all 20 years to dig. When Red is released at the end of his sentence, he discovers a letter that Andy has hidden for him. In it Andy invites Red to join him at a secret place they both know about and finally answers Red's warning about hope: "Hope is a good thing," Andy says, "maybe the best thing. And good things never die."
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
In Dante's epic allegorical poem Divine Comedy, the poet is led on a tour of the afterlife by the Roman poet Virgil. They visit heaven, purgatory, and hell, which is called "Inferno."
Above the entrance to Inferno is printed the following inscription, which describes not so much what is done to those souls who are doomed to hell but what is taken from them. Note especially the last line:
Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
Justice the founder of my fabric moved:
To rear me was the task of Power divine,
Supremest Wisdom, and primeval Love.
Before me things created were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
* * *
From team member Mary Austin:
Psalm 8
Dominion Over the Earth?
Our need for oil and gas has led to the development of more ways to extract them from the ground, including the hotly debated process of fracking, which uses water to force oil or gas from places that were once inaccessible. We think of fracking as something that happens in rural areas, but Peter Pearsall reports in Yes magazine that fracking is now reaching the suburbs.
Pearsall writes: "As rural deposits of fossil fuel grow fewer and farther between, extractive industries are increasingly siting their operations over the next best location: suburban neighborhoods. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, the Marcellus shale formation beneath parts of the Midwest and Appalachia contains literally trillions of cubic feet of natural gas -- the most accessible of which often lies beneath residential neighborhoods." A 2004 Ohio law reduced the power of municipalities to regulate drilling, and wells have appeared all over the state, often surprising people who live nearby.
The article finds a source of hope in the unlikely connections that people have formed around this issue. Pearsall notes, "The spread of fracking into suburbs might seem like a source of despair, but some are hoping that it could lead to bigger and better things by linking groups together into unusual alliances." Suburban neighbors are finding common ground with native people, who are familiar with having their land used this way. People in the suburbs "are now sharing an experience with the marginalized poor and with the residents of Indian reservations, where people have been dealing with similar situations for decades."
Our vocation as people of faith invites us to live on the earth with care and to be in community with our neighbors on the planet. When fracking and drilling come so close to home, we are reminded of both callings.
* * *
Psalm 8
How Much Is the Earth Worth?
The History Channel recently (October 2012) offered a special show answering that very question. Counting the value of the minerals in the earth -- gold, diamonds, lumber, water, and everything they could think of to calculate -- they estimated the value of the earth at $6,873,951,620,979,800... or almost seven quadrillion dollars. That's a lot of money... but the real value of the planet we all call home, and the evidence we have of the handiwork of the Creator, is closer to priceless. Not everything can have a dollar value attached to it, hard as we try.
* * *
Romans 5:1-5
A Little Help for a Butterfly
The Texas Butterfly Ranch website tells of the extraordinary care one woman took of the monarch butterfly she found in her backyard.
The story began when Maraleen Manos-Jones, a butterfly lover and the author of The Spirit of Butterflies noticed a monarch caterpillar forming its chrysalis in her butterfly garden last September. She knew that monarchs migrate south in the winter, and that this butterfly would die if it came out of the chrysalis in October, as it would be too cold to fly south. She brought the chrysalis inside, built a net enclosure for it, and pondered how to reunite the butterfly with the others. After the butterfly emerged, she called Southwest Airlines and asked them to transport the butterfly south. Southwest agreed, but then it turned out to be illegal to take butterflies across state lines without a permit. After several phone calls, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted the permit, and Manos-Jones and the butterfly flew to San Antonio, Texas, together, courtesy of Southwest. The butterfly was released into a butterfly garden there.
Why so much effort for one butterfly? Manos-Jones says the butterfly is a symbol of hope. Her actions are as well -- if we can learn to tend the whole world with the care she gave one butterfly, we will have learned a lot about living in the image of our Creator.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens.
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
People: what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Leader: Yet you have made us a little lower than God.
People: You have crowned us with glory and honor.
OR
Leader: Wisdom calls to all her children.
People: May we be able to hear her voice.
Leader: Wisdom abounds in all creation.
People: May we have the eyes and ears to comprehend her lessons.
Leader: Wisdom is the foundation of all that is.
People: May we not confuse knowledge for wisdom.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"All Things Bright and Beautiful"
found in:
UMH: 147
H82: 405
PH: 267
NCH: 61
CH: 61
W&P: 30
AMEC: 434
"This Is My Father's World"
found in:
UMH: 144
H82: 651
PH: 293
AAHH: 149
NNBH: 41
CH: 59
LBW: 554
ELA: 824
W&P: 21
AMEC: 47
"I Sing the Almighty Power of God"
found in:
UMH: 152
H82: 398
PH: 288
NCH: 12
W&P: 31
Renew: 54
"Morning Has Broken"
found in:
UMH: 145
H82: 8
PH: 469
CH: 53
ELA: 556
W&P: 35
STLT: 38
"All Who Love and Serve Your City"
found in:
UMH: 433
H82: 570/571
PH: 413
CH: 670
LBW: 436
ELA: 724
W&P: 625
"O God of Every Nation"
found in:
UMH: 435
H82: 607
PH: 289
CH: 680
LBW: 416
ELA: 713
W&P: 626
"O God Who Shaped Creation"
found in:
UMH: 443
"Bread of the World"
found in:
UMH: 624
H82: 301
PH: 502
NCH: 346
CH: 387
W&P: 693
"As the Deer"
found in:
CCB: 83
Renew: 9
"For the Gift of Creation"
found in:
CCB: 67
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 through Wisdom created all that is, was, and ever shall be: Grant us the grace to seek your Wisdom so that we may live in harmony with you, with others, and with all your creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We offer you our worship and praise, O God, for you created us and all that is through Wisdom. We come not only to worship you but to listen for the Wisdom that you would speak to us today. Open our hearts and our minds that we may live in your Wisdom. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we fail to understand our place in creation.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have given us such wonders and pleasures in this world, and yet we have taken them for granted, wasting and laying waste to your good creation. We have seen ourselves as those who are entitled to use and abuse the earth instead of our intended place as your stewards. Forgive us and call us once more to the divine task of caring for your handiwork. Amen.
Leader: God created in love and in love forgives us and empowers us to live better today than we did yesterday.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for the wonders of this creation that you have offered into our care. We adore you for the love which generated this great gift.
(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. You have given us such wonders and pleasures in this world, and yet we have taken them for granted, wasting and laying waste to your good creation. We have seen ourselves as those who are entitled to use and abuse the earth instead of our intended place as your stewards. Forgive us and call us once more to the divine task of caring for your handiwork.
We give you thanks for creation and for your gifts that you share with us. We thank you for Wisdom and all the gifts that she has bestowed upon us. We are grateful that you have not only created us but you have made us with an ability to receive and act on the gifts of Wisdom.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We offer up to you the cares of this world. We know that we have contributed to many of the problems around us. Some we have caused through ignorance and some through selfishness. We pray that we may now be better stewards of creation and be better able to bring your healing to those 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
Talk to the children about camping, and how you may start out with a lot of food but you must make good decisions to have enough food left at the end of the trip. We must be wise. We must also be wise about the gifts of creation so that we do not waste them and use them poorly.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Being Full of Hope
Romans 5:1-5
Object: a large deflated balloon
Good morning, boys and girls! In our New Testament reading for today we hear about how God uses our struggles to make us stronger people. The writer tells us that through the hard times in our lives we will learn how to have more hope. What is hope? Can anyone tell me what it means to have hope? (listen for responses) When you have hope, you believe that the best is going to happen. Even when you are having troubles, you decide to believe that everything is going to work out just fine.
I think I can explain this better by using a balloon. See how droopy it is? It doesn't have any bounce in it right now. This balloon is like I am when I get troubled. Whenever I have a hard time with something in my life, I can get very sad. Sometimes I feel empty inside and I have no energy to be happy. When that happens, I am just like this balloon with no air in it.
But look what happens when I blow air into the balloon. (blow up the balloon and tie it) All of a sudden the balloon is light and bouncy. It is not tired and lifeless anymore! Hope is just like that air. When we get sad, hope can fill us up and make us full of life again. Hope gives us the strength we need to be positive -- hope can help us keep on trying and believing that things are going to be okay.
When you are sad or overwhelmed by troubles in your life, ask God to help you have hope. Our scripture verse today tells us that hope will not disappoint us, because God has put his love into our hearts. We don't have to be sad people. God has given us all we need to live lives that are full of hope and joy. This is God's promise to us! Remember that the next time you feel empty and droopy like our balloon. Spend some time with God and ask him to fill you up with hope again. He will do it.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for taking care of us. Help us remember to trust you with our lives and help us have the hope we need to keep on believing all the good things that you give. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, May 26, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 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.
