A pair of topics have dominated the news headlines this past week. One is the catapulting of the issue of domestic violence back into the national consciousness, spurred by the release of an explosive video showing star NFL running back Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancée (now-wife). The resulting firestorm led to the termination of Rice’s contract as well as serious questions about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s handling of the entire matter. The week was capped with news of the indictment of another NFL superstar, Adrian Peterson, on charges of violence against a child. Meanwhile on the foreign front, President Obama announced a systematic campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Syria, to be augmented by the introduction of additional U.S. forces. Despite the American public having indicated previously that it’s weary of war, new polls showed robust support for airstrikes -- due both to renewed fear of terrorism as well as revulsion over video clips of two American journalists’ beheadings.
In light of the importance of each of these topics, as well as their connections with this Sunday’s lectionary texts, we’re going to reprise our format from a few weeks back and offer two main articles in this installment of The Immediate Word -- one addressing each topic.
Team member Chris Keating uses the Exodus passage’s account of the Israelites’ complaining to Moses and Aaron over their extended sojourn in the wilderness as a springboard for discussing the U.S.’s extended sojourn in another wilderness -- our nation’s continuing military involvement in the Middle East. Just when we all believed we were on the verge of finally extricating ourselves from entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president’s announcement of a new campaign to deal with the threat posed by ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State means that there is a strong possibility we will be stuck in the region for many more years -- especially if we become involved again in attempts at “nation-building.” Whatever opinion one might have about the merits of this course of action, it seems inevitable that we will remain in the wilderness for some time to come. But as Chris notes, wildernesses are not merely wastelands -- our Exodus text reminds us that they are also places where God’s power can sustain us no matter how bleak the circumstances. That provides us with meaningful hope... something vitally important to remember as we try to cope with whatever wildernesses we find ourselves in as individuals, communities, and nations.
Team member Leah Lonsbury discusses how the epidemic of domestic violence in our country -- back in the headlines due to several high-profile cases involving prominent pro football players -- is something that ought to make us profoundly uncomfortable. As Leah notes, our gospel passage should jar us out of assuming that we can continue to take much of how the world works for granted. Jesus’ parable completely reverses everything we think we know, with equal recompense going to the last as well as the first. That shakeup, Leah points out, is bound to take us out of our comfort zones... and scare us to the depths of our souls. We continually are reminded, Leah tells us, that the values and rewards of the Christian life are not necessarily those of our world -- so we ought to be profoundly fearful. Yet there is hope, as the psalmist offers us a vision of how God can provide even in the midst of upheaval.
Stuck in the Fear-Filled Wilderness
by Chris Keating
Exodus 16:2-15
Getting hungry in the wilderness is not ideal. Getting stuck in a wasteland can be downright dangerous.
As we read in Exodus 16, Israel’s trek through the wilderness of Sin is going about as smoothly as Clark Griswold’s ill-fated family trek to “Walley World” in the movie National Lampoon’s Vacation. The car is overloaded, the desert is hot, the kids are cranky... and it’s only the 15th day of the second month since leaving Egypt. Moses and Aaron are doing their best, but people are getting irritable.
It is just their second month in the wilderness, and they are a long way from their goal. The people are whining and just a tad bitter about their accommodations. “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt,” they snap, “when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread.”
Fleshpots never sounded so good.
The wilderness is not a safe place, as the people of Israel might confirm. Americans, too, know something about the perils of being stuck in the wilderness. For 13 years, the United States has been at war. The events of September 11, 2001 sent this nation into costly combat, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq. One conflict seems to blur into another, as witnessed by President Obama’s commitment to airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or ISIS).
It may feel as though we are off to another wilderness, and like the people of Israel we are hungry and thirsty. Americans are concerned over the rise in Islamic extremism, and seem to be bracing for a long slog through war.
We’ve been in the wilderness for 13 years, with no end in sight. But the wilderness is not only a wasteland -- it becomes a place of provision, and a place where God’s glory is revealed. As our nation gears up for another round of military engagement, we might consider discerning the glory of the Lord that appears like a cloud over the wasted places of human existence.
In the News
Lately, the news from the wilderness in Iraq and Syria has been gruesome.
Ghastly videotapes showing three Westerners -- American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British humanitarian David Haines -- kneeling before their executioner have led to a sea change in public opinion about military intervention against ISIS. The images have stoked political rage, argues Peter Beinart, and prompted cries for revenge.
In spite of being weary of a decade-long war, an overwhelming majority of Americans support airstrikes against Sunni Muslim insurgents. Once again, the sight of brutal terrorism has struck a nerve with the American people.
Voices on both sides of the political aisle are making themselves heard. During his speech to the nation, President Obama outlined a four-point strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. Earlier, Vice-President Joe Biden promised that the United States would pursue ISIS “to the gates of hell,” while Texas Senator Ted Cruz called for the administration to employ “a directed, concerted, overwhelming campaign to take them out.”
Unified in complaints but divided on tactics, politicians have been quick to rally their constituents. Meanwhile, international leaders are attempting to form a coalition to drive the Sunni extremists from power. Leaders from more than 20 nations gathered in Paris on Monday to discuss strategies for eliminating the threat of Islamic insurgents. “There is no time to lose,” French President Francois Hollande told the group. “The Iraqis’ fight against terrorists is also ours,” he said.
The meeting began under the specter of a yet another ISIS beheading. A video released by the Islamic State recorded the apparent execution of 44-year-old British aid worker David Haines, who had been kidnapped in Syria in 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron decried the killing, vowing to “hunt down” the responsible parties. Cameron called Haines a “hero,” and added that the extremists were “monsters.”
In Paris, United States Secretary of State John Kerry announced that a broad coalition -- including ten Muslim nations -- was gathering in support of US-led action against ISIS. Kerry also indicated he has ruled out including Iran, which also views ISIS as a security threat. In the wilderness, unusual partnerships are sometimes formed to survive. For its part, Iran publicly claims it is not interested in helping the United States, and indeed blames the West for creating the conditions under which ISIS has bloomed.
Certainly Americans -- now wary of “mission accomplished” banners and ever-extending troop deployments -- must wonder what the successful “degrading and destroying” of ISIS will look like. There isn’t a clear answer at the moment. Given the difficulty faced in eliminating other terrorist groups, the president’s advisors now seem to be emphasizing the “degrading” rather than the “destroying.”
“Success looks like an [ISIS] that no longer threatens our friends in the region, no longer threatens the United States,” White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “An [ISIS] that can’t accumulate followers, or threaten Muslims in Syria, Iran, Iraq, or otherwise. And that’s exactly what success looks like.”
McDonough later told CNN’s Candy Crowley that the focus for now should not be on whether or not American troops will be on the ground, but rather on building an effective coalition empowered to push back the militants. “What’s most important here,” McDonough said, “is that the Syrian opposition on the ground fighting ISIL can count on American and coalition airpower to supercharge their effort. That’s important and that’s ultimately going to be what is called for in this strategy.”
As McDonough observed, there are risks involved in the wilderness. Military advisors in the region will become kidnapping targets. But he contended the terrorists ultimately do not stand for anything except fear. “ISIL will do anything it can to strike terror and fear into its opponents, but ultimately that’s why we’re going to beat them.”
And so goes the political narrative. America expands its military operations; the wars will continue. The cries from the wilderness shall once again be raised. Because of that, it becomes imperative that people of faith begin to articulate a counter-narrative -- a story of hope, a story of how God shall provide, even in the desperate wilderness of our time.
In the Scriptures
Elim must have seemed like a blessed respite from the desert’s scorching heat. As chapter 16 of Exodus opens, the people of God are once again on the move. Once more the heat and barren space of the wilderness begins to take its toll on Israel. Once more they raise their complaints with Moses -- who is probably beginning to think he should have kept his job tending his father-in-law’s flocks.
The sweetness of the water they tasted in Elim is gone from their memory. The current crisis is related to food, but it soon becomes a crisis of faith (cf. Terence Fretheim, Exodus: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching [Westminster/John Knox, 1991], p. 181). The wilderness is a place where fears and vulnerabilities become quickly exposed, as evidenced by our ongoing fears of terrorism. Fretheim notes that Israel is not yet fully cognizant of its new identity as the “congregation” of Israel, and instead wishes they had remained in Egypt. “If it is finally a choice of places to die, satiety with oppression -- and idealized and selective memory -- is preferred to starvation with freedom” (Fretheim, ibid.).
Camping with Moses is not exactly a weekend retreat.
But the Exodus is not about retreating from reality -- it is about discovering freedom from fear. In response to the people’s complaints, God replies with the promise of provision. Food shall appear -- but only enough for one day, except for the sixth day. Every morning, God’s glory will appear in the wilderness. In the morning there will be flaky manna (the name in Hebrew means “What is it?”). In evening there will be meat. Thus the wilderness becomes a place of astonishing provision, even when the people are frightened, hungry, and angry.
In their frailty Israel became anxious, forgetting that God had consistently provided for their needs. Now they see how, even in the awful wilderness, Yahweh has provided. It was unlike anything they had seen or could possibly imagine. Moreover, the provision of God is sufficient for one day, offering yet another reminder of how Israel is to rely on God’s ability to meet ordinary, daily needs.
W. Eugene March writes that the manna not only provided nourishment, “but it was also a test of the people’s willingness to follow instruction and believe in God’s commitment to them” (Donald L. Griggs and W. Eugene March, Exodus from Scratch [Westminster/John Knox, 2013], p. 32). God is not intent on degrading and destroying the congregation of Israel; instead, God is calling upon Israel to deepen its trust and obedience.
In the Sermon
It is imperative that the story of Exodus be heard as a narrative of hope. The continuing war in Afghanistan and the additional burden of military strikes against ISIS makes it apparent that the United States will be engaged in military action for an indefinite future. By contrast, World War II lasted 44 months. Thirteen years is a very long time to be stuck in the wilderness.
Preaching hope arises from the conviction that God has heard the cries of the people. In this text, God responds to the people’s complaints. The glory of God appears in the wilderness, and the twin crises of hunger and faith are averted. Each day, God provides what is needed -- an essential element if we are to maintain hope in the face of terrorism.
Hope arises out of the common and ordinary daily tasks of preparing a meal, setting the table, saying grace. Hope arises as stories of the great moments of a family’s faith are shared with children -- just as surely this story was passed from generation to generation. As the preacher recites the story of Israel discovering its daily bread, the congregation can be pointed to its own daily practices of discovering God’s provision -- even in the wilderness of our own time.
Offering a pre-digested meal to a congregation is not the sort of hope I hear arising from this text. Instead, the narrative pushes us to see how -- when life is stretched to its limits -- God provides.
In providing for the congregation of Israel, God demonstrates that the status quo is not sufficient. In his marvelous book Preaching from Memory to Hope, Tom Long suggests that the preacher’s task in declaring hope is to present it eschatologically. It is hope grounded in the experience of Israel’s daily encounter with manna, a hope that is primarily about discovering “a way of seeing the present in the light of hope” (Long, Preaching from Memory to Hope [Westminster/John Knox, 2009], p. 129).
Long concludes his book by recalling an incident from the life of Rabbi Hugo Bryn, who was a widely-known rabbi from Britain. In the darkest days of the Holocaust, Hugo observed his Orthodox father prepare for the Sabbath. He took a string and put it a bit of butter on it to make it into a shabbat candle. Hugo protested, “That is all the butter we have!” Yet his father responded, “Without food we can live for weeks. But we cannot live for a minute without hope” (Preaching from Memory to Hope, p. 132).
Or, as Exodus 16:10 observes: “...they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.”
***************
Are We Scared Yet?
by Leah Lonsbury
Matthew 20:1-16; Psalm 105:1-6, 35-45
Okay, my Christian friends... the convergence of this week’s gospel text and the Ray Rice domestic violence story that is currently keeping the media buzzing ought to scare us a bit. If it doesn’t, then we aren’t paying attention and we aren’t taking seriously the one we profess and intend to follow. And we’re going to need each other, so stick around. Please stick around, even though it’s going to get more than a little uncomfortable when we figure out together what signing on for this “Christian” life and identity really requires of us. Stanley Hauerwas says it this way in Sunday Asylum:
This is not work that can be done by yourself. This can only be done by a community through which you are made part of an ongoing history that you don’t get to make up. Too often American Christians, I think, think that they get to make Christianity up, but it’s received. You get American Christians, oftentimes who think of themselves as very conservative, saying things like “well, I believe that Jesus is Lord but that’s just my personal opinion.” What produced that peculiar speech act?
What produced that peculiar speech act is the distinction between “well, being a Christian that’s my private life, but then I have this public stuff.” Tolerance kills us. I don’t have any private life as a Christian, it’s all public. “Jesus is Lord” is going to make my life quite dysfunctional in relationship to a good deal of American practice. Being a Christian should just scare the hell out of us. It’s like on Sunday you need to rush to gather for protection. That we believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world is craziness, it’s going to make your life really weird, and you need to get together on Sunday to be pulled back into the reality of God’s kingdom. It’s there in baptism, the proclamation of the Word, and eucharistic celebration.
If we’re taking our identity as Christians seriously, then everything we do ought to be about turning the world upside-down and making the last first and the first last. That means taking from the billionaires that control Congress and the laws that it makes, and giving to those whom the law burdens and disadvantages. That means taking from anyone who abuses, violates, controls, traffics, or tears down another human being, and finding a way to rebuild the lives of their victims. That means taking from the money machine of the NFL and the criminals on its bankroll, and giving to Janay Rice (even if she doesn’t want it) and all those who have been made to absorb the NFL’s violence. If that sounds unfair or smacks of the “S” word (socialism) or it makes us personally uncomfortable, then we can refer back to the landowner’s words -- which I often remember as Jesus’: “Am I not allowed to do as I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?”
This kind of work is upsetting and uncomfortable and maybe even dangerous, but it’s our work. And if we need a model about how to lift up and prioritize the diseased, the downtrodden, the ostracized, or the disadvantaged above those who are powerful, rich, and overly comfortable, then we’ve got Jesus. And we’ve got an example to follow in this week’s reading from Psalm 105. God provides for the downtrodden Israelites’ every need as they make their escape. The psalmist instructs us to remember God’s faithful provision, celebrate God’s liberating character, and seek God’s strength and presence to follow suit.
Are we scared yet?
In the News
Two years ago, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed the mother of his child, Kasandra Perkins, and then took his own life at in a building belonging to the team. Belcher was once a part of an organization called Male Athletes Against Violence, and yet he shot his girlfriend nine times while his mother and child were in the house. He then drove to the team’s facility next to Arrowhead Stadium and took his own life in front of head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli. Before committing suicide, Belcher “thanked” Pioli and asked him as well as team owner Clark Hunt to care for his infant daughter Zoey.
Dave Zirin of The Nation prophetically wrote about these acts of violence in January of this year:
This should have been a story for our times and a reference point from where we measure every overblown “scandal” in sports. Instead, with a chilling uniformity, the NFL moved on like it was just a commercial break in the action. Every network, with the exception of NBC, barely touched on the horror in their pregame and halftime shows that weekend. The name Kasandra Perkins went unsaid. As for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, he made the Super Bowl media rounds the following month and Jovan Belcher’s name somehow didn’t come up once.
One month after Zirin wrote these words calling the NFL to account, Ray Rice knocked his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator. When the doors opened, he dragged her limp body out of the elevator and dropped her face first on the floor, shoving her with his foot when her body remained in the way of the door where he dumped her. The video that TMZ released this week made it clear that Rice showed no immediate remorse for the left hook he landed on his fiancée’s face. He made no effort to tend to her. She wasn’t able to steady herself in a sitting position or stand until a passerby assisted her.
The timeline of what the NFL knew when is sketchy at best. Rice was initially given a two-game suspension. It wasn’t until after the video (which was actually the second to be made public) of Rice and Palmer was released that the two-game suspension was turned into an indefinite suspension. He is expected to appeal that move this week.
CNN’s Greg Botelho questions the story told by NFL executives about how everything unfolded, and starts his September 12 article this way:
Did NFL executives see video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée inside a casino elevator?
Perhaps as critically: Did they even need to?
Despite all the press and suspicion about how seriously the NFL is taking the issue of domestic violence, the league doesn’t seem to be moving any more transparently, quickly, or resolutely on similar cases. San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald, who was arrested on August 31 for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend, played in the team’s game against Chicago on Sunday. NFL.com tweeted about this: “49ers (are) not hiding behind due process w/Ray McDonald. They believe his version. Will cut him if he’s lying.”
Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was convicted of domestic violence this summer for assaulted his then girlfriend by choking her, dragging her around by her hair, and threatening to kill her. The Panthers did not make the decision to deactivate Hardy until right before game time on Sunday. That was too little, too late for Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch, who tweeted: “Zero applause for the Panthers. They ceded to press/public pressure. It was disgrace it took this long.”
Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson was also moved to deactivated status right before this weekend’s football games. He has been indicted by a grand jury on a child abuse charge for beating his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. What Peterson calls a “whooping” left the child with open wounds on his back, buttocks, legs, and genitalia that the examining doctor reported as consistent with child abuse. Peterson (who is a muscular 6'1" and weighs in at 215 lbs.) also reportedly stuffed the boy’s mouth full of leaves and threatened to punch him if he told anyone about the incident. Despite this, Peterson was reactivated by the Vikings to play this coming Sunday. Then reports surfaced that the player has been investigated surrounding accusations of abuse concerning another one of his sons with a different mother.
Mike Florio of NBC Sports writes of this second charge:
Peterson is presumed innocent in a court of law. The Vikings and the NFL will be presumed inept and immoral in the court of public opinion if either or both continue to hide behind constitutional protections that relate only to the deprivation of a person’s liberty and not to the privilege to play football in exchange for millions of dollars and worldwide fame.
The (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune’s Jim Souhan criticizes the Vikings’ handling of the Peterson case, and then widens it to indict the whole league:
If the Vikings care only about winning games, they can do more than merely welcome back Adrian Peterson.
Why not sign Ray Rice? The former Ravens running back could win an appeal of his suspension, and there is no evidence that he has punched a woman in months.
Why not sign Darren Sharper? The former Vikings safety has been accused of sexual assault in three states, but not in Minnesota. He may be able to intercept a few passes between trials.
By announcing that Peterson would play this week, days after he was arrested because he allegedly beat a 4-year-old with a branch, and shortly after the Vikings lost 30-7 to New England, the Vikings established that winning trumps those hollow words they’ve spit at us over the years about character.
So they might as well bring in every felonious free agent they can find.
There is a pure if unattractive logic in professional sports teams selling their alleged souls to win games. If the Vikings and the NFL had told us all along that they cared only about results, then the Peterson decision would at least be consistent.
There is no consistency, or courage, here.
The Vikings finally bowed to public pressure midweek, particularly from miffed corporate sponsors (including Radisson Hotels, who suspended their sponsorship agreement with the Vikings), and issued a late-night announcement that Peterson would remain inactive and be barred from all team activities until his legal issues are resolved.
The NFL and its media partner CBS showed their lack of courage when they canceled pop star Rihanna’s pregame performance for last Thursday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Until the Ray Rice scandal broke, Rihanna was perhaps the most famous contemporary survivor of domestic violence -- stemming from her assault at the hands of then-boyfriend and fellow pop star Chris Brown.
Dave Zirin writes of the scrambling that ensued to fill the empty on-air spot: “An NFL reeling from the revealed reality that it cares nothing about domestic violence -- or women at all beyond their capacity to buy its crap -- was in a drowning death grip with a CBS network that had spent billions on its new Thursday night NFL package.”
The network quickly filled the hole with what Zirin called “an awkward, hybrid news/sports/entertainment set featuring respected members of its news division alongside the CBS and NFL Network jockocracy. ‘Norah O’Donnell and Deion Sanders break down domestic violence, only on CBS!’ ”
It was an insensitive and sensationalized cacophony until longtime NFL and CBS broadcaster James Brown looked straight into the camera and said the following:
Two years ago I challenged the NFL community and all men to seriously confront the problem of domestic violence, especially coming on the heels of the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins. Yet here we are again dealing with the same issue of violence against women.
Now let’s be clear, this problem is bigger than football. There has been, appropriately so, intense and widespread outrage following the release of the video showing what happened inside the elevator at the casino. But wouldn’t it be productive if this collective outrage, as my colleagues have said, could be channeled to truly hear and address the long-suffering cries for help by so many women? And as they said, do something about it? Like an ongoing education of men about what healthy, respectful manhood is all about?
And it starts with how we view women. Our language is important. For instance, when a guy says, “You throw the ball like a girl” or “You’re a little sissy,” it reflects an attitude that devalues women -- and attitudes will eventually manifest in some fashion. Women have been at the forefront in the domestic violence awareness and prevention arena. And whether Janay Rice considers herself a victim or not, millions of women in this country are.
Consider this: according to domestic violence experts, more than three women per day lose their lives at the hands of their partners. That means that since the night February 15th in Atlantic City [when the elevator incident occurred], more than 600 women have died.
So this is yet another call to men to stand up and take responsibility for their thoughts, their words, their deeds, and, as Deion [Sanders] says, to give help or to get help, because our silence is deafening and deadly.
James Brown has given the NFL, CBS, men of all stripes, and all of us really, a place from which to start --
a place of honesty,
of intentional and radical small changes that build to issue in big results,
of the courage needed to disarm the abusive powerful and resource the abused with power.
In the Scriptures
In this parable that is unique to Matthew’s gospel, the writer interrupts the pattern of Mark’s narrative to make this story shine. Before the parable, Jesus talks with the rich young man who is interested in knowing how to gain eternal life. Jesus tells him to uphold the commandments. “Check,” says the young man. “Now what?”
“Super,” Jesus answers. “Now you’re ready for perfection. Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor. You’re up for that, right?” The rich young man doesn’t see himself as capable of that kind of perfection, but Jesus doesn’t hesitate to ask for the (seemingly) impossible and ludicrously generous act.
Peter panics when he hears this and recounts his sacrifices for Jesus. Then he asks, “What then will we have?”
“There will be rewards for the faithful who have sacrificed,” says Jesus, but then he tacks on that tricky line that will sound familiar for students of this week’s gospel reading. “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Emerson Powery of workingpreacher.org considers this a warning that there will be no special privileges, even for the most faithful disciple or the longest working laborer. God will be generous as God chooses, and we have learned earlier in this gospel that God chooses to make it rain on the unjust and the just (5:45).
Directly following this week’s parable, Jesus predicts his death... again. When Mary begs for an honorable seat for her sons on the right and left of Jesus, Jesus seems to say to her and to her posturing sons, “Did you not hear what I just said? This isn’t going to be a pleasant ride. Are you sure you’re up for it? Oh, and I can’t guarantee you a good seat. God will do what God will do. Remember that line about God and the rain?”
And then there’s our parable, right in the middle of Jesus’ insistence on lose-your-mind generosity with no guarantee of a just or elevated reward on one side and this is no cakewalk and there are definitely no cushy seats on the other. Jesus would never make it as a salesman. But what we find in the middle of these crazy bookends in our parable is a promise that God is the most generous of landowners, the kind who lavishes love and compassion and blessing on us no matter how much or how little we’ve worked in the fields of the kin-dom or how little sense it makes for God to be behaving in this foolish way.
Here, in this parable, right in the middle of these crazy demands for our own generosity, bravery, and foolishness, is our own Divine Fool, our example and source, the one who sees through distorted love goggles and calls into being what seems impossible for us and our neighbors. Through those crazy lenses, God sees how unwisely, counterculturally, and courageously we might act, and God believes it into being through Love.
Because God has loftier aims and more ridiculous love for us than the most biased mother, we ought to be quaking in our boots. Have we any idea what we’re getting into when we go to work for God the landowner? No wonder Annie Dillard writes:
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.
(from Teaching a Stone to Talk [Harper & Row, 1982])
This is the God who is fixated on turning things upside-down (“the last will be first, and the first will be last”) and running the world on crazy love, unchecked compassion, and stupid generosity. That’s going to mean an unseating of those who rule by anything (fists, dollar signs, manipulation, and/or threat) other than Love’s foolishness. This is no small thing. Put on your crash helmets, friends.
Once your helmets are securely fastened, check out the operating instructions found in Psalm 105. Here’s our checklist based on God’s example...
1. Always provide for the downtrodden. That means everything they need.
2. Never stop providing everything the struggling or the oppressed need.
3. Liberate, liberate, liberate.
4. See God’s example of faithfulness, follow suit, then repeat, repeat, repeat.
5. Tap into God’s wild strength and irrational presence, then repeat, repeat, repeat.
Not sure where to start? Start with your helmet, and then pray for a James Brown kickoff. Pray that you might find...
a place of honesty,
a way to make intentional and radical small changes that build to issue in big results,
the courage needed to disarm the abusive powerful and resource the abused with power.
And then hold on for dear life, because “When we invoke God, we should remember that. We have just taken an immense risk, asking for this God who is not safe, to meet us here. There’s no telling what might happen when we meet God” (Don Polaski, Professor of Religion at William & Mary, preaching this month at Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia).
Or to employ the foolish love found in literature for young people, start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, in which Aslan the Lion represents Jesus:
“Aslan is a lion -- the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh,” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”...
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.... “Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
In the Pulpit
This week the preacher might consider...
* how to get foolish about domestic violence or other forms of abuse that permeate our culture. What kind of crazy love would the landowner unleash on the victims of these crimes? What threat would the landowner pose to those doing the abuse? How can we be like the landowner?
* exploring the scary, untamed, unpredictable, and/or foolish character of God. What does it mean to follow a God who requires a crash helmet?
* how to consider the line “the last will be first, and the first will be last” as more than a promise that those we despise will “get theirs.” What does it mean for our own lives? How does the thought that those in the pews, the faithful, are guaranteed no privilege or award sit with us?
* laying out how we begin to disarm the abusive powerful and resource the abused with power. What intentional and radical small (and large) changes can we make that build to issue in big results? Make plans. Share what you will do. Challenge the congregation to do the same.
* digging into the Hauerwas quote in the introduction to this article. How does our faith “scare the hell out of us” or send us rushing together on Sunday mornings for protection or a kin-dom check? How does our faith in what Jesus was about and calls us to do baffle and shock us? How does it make our lives weird? If these questions don’t make sense, what are we doing wrong?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Exodus 16:2-15
A Contented Wilderness
Alexander Selkirk was 28 years old when in 1704 he fell out with the captain of the Cinque Ports, a privateer vessel upon which on he was sailing as part of the crew, over the seaworthiness of the ship. The captain apparently agreed with Selkirk, because he dropped anchor near a small tropical island about 470 miles from the coast of Chile and had the crew make repairs to the worm-infested boat.
When the work was completed, however, Selkirk still didn’t believe that the ship was seaworthy and chose to stay behind on the island by himself, taking only a musket and ammunition, a Bible, some simple tools, and a few items of clothing. He would not see another human soul for nearly five years.
When an English ship finally discovered him living on the island in 1709, he had built two dwellings near a fresh-water stream and he was wearing goat skins. He reported that he had used the musket to kill wild goats for food and clothing when he first arrived on the island, but when ammunition ran out he learned to outrun them and catch them by hand.
Selkirk reported to his rescuers that his life had been comfortable and peaceful, with much of his time spent reading the Bible and singing hymns. The island on which he lived is officially named Aguas Buenas (Good Waters), but its unofficial name, the one most people know it by, will always be “Robinson Crusoe” -- after Daniel Defoe’s fictional character, whose creation in 1719 was inspired by Selkirk’s island adventures.
*****
Exodus 16:2-15
Unprepared
In his book Into the Wild (Villiard, 1996), author Jon Krakauer tells the story of Christopher Johnson McCandless, who, after graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in May of 1990, set off to live what he imagined would be an idyllic life alone in nature.
After giving away his entire life savings (about $10,000) to Oxfam, McCandless set out on a two-year experiment to test his theory and himself by hiking and hitchhiking around the Western half of the United States, supporting himself with menial and minimum-wage odd jobs.
Nearly two years after beginning his sojourn McCandless made his way to Alaska, which he had imagined to be the perfect, ideal wilderness where he could live alone in the elements. After hiking for two days into the bush with only his backpack full of clothing and books and a used rifle he had recently purchased, he discovered an abandoned school bus and lived there for nearly a month. Even with this rudimentary shelter, however, he was completely unprepared for the reality of Alaska’s brutal and unforgiving wilderness.
His diary reveals that even though he foraged for edible plants and killed an occasional animal for food, his needs were greater than his knowledge or skills. He died of starvation in his sleeping bag in the bus. His final diary entry: “Beautiful blueberries.”
*****
Exodus 16:2-15
A Civilized Wilderness
Charles Vanderbilt, grandson of the shipping tycoon Cornelius, was attracted to western North Carolina in part because of its vast mountain landscape and natural scenery. So enamored was he of the beautiful countryside that he purchased 100,000 acres of the mountain forests to build his now-famous country estate, Biltmore. Once the mansion was built and he had moved in, he often enjoyed making “rustic” excursions deep into the forests. But just because he was going to be roughing it, Vanderbilt didn’t believe that the adventure should be uncivilized. A letter in the Biltmore archives dated May 22, 1894, documents the supplies necessary for one such outing:
2 Platters, 3 Pitchers, 6 Wash Pans, 2 Dish Pans, 4 Gridirons, 1 Flour Can, 2 Coffee Cans, 4 Tea Cans, 2 Vinegar Bottles, 2 Stove Pans, 2 Frying Pans, 60 Plates, 9 Table Spoons, 9 Tea Cups & Saucers, 2 Cooking Spoons, 1 Carving Knife & Fork, 1 Salt Base, 2 Cooking Knives, 1 Cooking Fork, 1 Pepper Base, 1 Can Cutter, 4 Sauce Pans, 12 Enamel Tumblers, 1 Strainer, 1 Sugar Bowl, 12 Coffee Pots, 2 Lanterns, 1 Egg Poacher, 2 Pails, 4 Tin Mugs, 15 Tankards, 6 pairs Boots, 6 Beds, 1 Saddle, 1 Canvas Sheet, 3 Rubber Sheets, 2 Baggage Sacks, 6 Fishing Tackle, and 24 Face Towles [sic].
(from Biltmore Traditions: A Collection of Recipes, Menus, and Stories [Biltmore Company, 2012], p. 63)
*****
Matthew 20:1-16
A Slave to Generosity
In Scrooge, the 1970 British film musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, the ill-tempered, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is played to perfection by Albert Finney. In the opening scene Scrooge is seen rudely dismissing his nephew when the young man comes to invite him to Christmas dinner. He then insults two fellow businessmen who come to solicit a charitable donation to services for the poor, and he threatens some children who dare to sing Christmas carols outside his door.
Finally it’s time to close up the shop, and while complaining bitterly, Scrooge reluctantly allows that Bob Cratchit may take Christmas Day off with pay... but “be here all the earlier next morning.” Cratchit departs, thanking his boss, and Scrooge replies in all seriousness: “Yes, that’s my weakness. I’m a slave to my own generosity.”
*****
Matthew 20:1-16
Generosity Fit for a King
The story is told of Alexander the Great, that on one of his military campaigns he was riding triumphantly through the capital city of yet another conquered country when a blind beggar called out for him, imploring his assistance.
Alexander’s aides and officers were surprised and appalled that this beggar would dare speak to their leader, whom they considered nearly divine -- but Alexander, nonplussed, tossed some gold coins to the beggar.
An aide who was riding next to Alexander told him that he had thrown gold coins to the beggar unnecessarily, as a few copper coins would have been more than sufficient to meet the beggar’s needs. It is said that Alexander replied: “Copper coins might be sufficient for a beggar’s needs, but they would not be sufficient for Alexander’s generosity.”
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Exodus 16:2-15
Tim Cook took over the position of Apple CEO after the unfortunate death of Steve Jobs -- becoming leader of a company that has been the target of speculation and criticism from investors, many of whom believe that Apple’s best days are behind it. Financially, they speculate, Apple will never again reach the prominence it once had on the stock market. Cook responded to these criticisms at a public forum by saying, “I don’t mind taking blows; frankly, my skin is so thick now that I’m a bit of a rhinoceros from that point of view.”
Application: One wonders, with all the complaints that Moses had to endure after leaving Egypt, if his skin became as thick as a rhinoceros.
*****
Exodus 16:2-15
The United Kingdom is currently composed of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland -- but depending on the outcome of a referendum this week, the United Kingdom may soon undergo a major configuration change. If Scotland votes to leave the confederation and become a separate nation, it would end a 307-year-old relationship. British prime minister David Cameron is adamantly opposed to Scotland’s succession. He cautions that this ballot is not like a general election, where in five years you can change your mind and position. If Scotland votes to leave, Cameron said, “there is no going back.” The prime minister went on to say: “This is a decision about not the next five years, it’s a decision about the next century.”
Application: When the Israelites decided to leave Egypt, they made a decision that has affected millenniums.
*****
Exodus 16:2-15
John Mulligan, the chief financial officer for Target, recently discussed some of the problems confronting the retailer. They have experienced a loss of sales due to the procedure in which they purchased products to be sold, they lost focus on their mission statement “expect more, pay less,” and there was the notorious security breach of their online data. Mulligan said about the company, “We just got very bureaucratic and afraid to change.”
Application: When the Israelites were confronted with uncertain conditions in the desert, they became afraid of change and pleaded to return to the bureaucracy of Egypt.
*****
Philippians 1:21-30
In recent interview, Gladys Knight, who just turned 70, said her singing debut occurred when she was 4 years old at her Baptist church. At home her parents would “sit us down and read Bible stories.” This established for her a lifelong meaningful relationship with the Lord. Knight said every time she performs she is “always guided by the spirit. That’s always been the best and most important part of my life. I take it with me every time I step on stage.”
Application: Paul instructs us to stand firm in the spirit.
*****
Matthew 20:1-16
The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup is the most lucrative of all golfing competition. Billy Horschel, this year’s winner, banked a cool $10 million bonus merely for coming in first place among the 29 players who qualified for the final tournament. When asked what he would do with the money if he won, Bubba Watson responded: “First thing I would do is look for a charity I could help out. Without even a question I’d give a million away for charity, to churches I go to, that I attended, without even thinking about it.”
Application: In the service of the Lord we all receive the same reward despite the age we begin our service. In the secular world, as demonstrated in Jesus’ parable by those who complained over what they thought was an unfair distribution of wages, service is measured by a different standard. Whatever income we receive in the secular world, the same dynamics must apply as in the sacred world -- and that is that we must be generous givers to our Lord.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O give thanks to God, call on God’s name.
People: We will make known God’s deeds among the peoples.
Leader: Sing to God, sing praises; tell of all God’s wonderful works.
People: We will glory in God’s holy name.
Leader: Seek God and God’s strength.
People: We will seek God’s presence continually.
OR
Leader: Come to worship the God who leads us through the wilderness.
People: We come from the wildness of our lives and our world.
Leader: Know that God is God and holds us in love and safety.
People: We need the knowledge that God is able.
Leader: Rest in the arms of the Eternal One.
People: We worship our God and trust in God’s care.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“From All That Dwell Below the Skies”
found in:
UMH: 101
H82: 380
PH: 229
NCH: 27
CH: 49
LBW: 550
AMEC: 69
STLT: 381
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
found in:
UMH: 110
H82: 687, 688
PH: 260
AAHH: 124
NNBH: 37
NCH: 439, 440
CH: 65
LBW: 228, 229
ELA: 503, 504, 505
W&P: 588
AMEC: 54
STLT: 200
“Out of the Depths I Cry to You”
found in:
UMH: 515
H82: 666
PH: 240
NCH: 483
CH: 510
LBW: 295
ELA: 600
“Stand By Me”
found in:
UMH: 512
NNBH: 318
CH: 629
W&P: 495
AMEC: 420
“How Firm a Foundation”
found in:
UMH: 529
H82: 636, 637
PH: 361
AAHH: 146
NNBH: 48
NCH: 407
CH: 618
LBW: 507
ELA: 796
W&P: 411
AMEC: 433
“We Shall Overcome”
found in:
UMH: 533
AAHH: 542
NNBH: 501
NCH: 570
CH: 630
W&P: 512
STLT: 169
“Be Still, My Soul”
found in:
UMH: 534
AAHH: 135
NNBH: 263
NCH: 488
CH: 566
W&P: 451
AMEC: 426
“What Does the Lord Require”
found in:
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“Through It All”
found in:
CCB: 61
“You Are Mine”
found in:
CCB: 58
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
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who sustained your people in the wilderness: Grant us the faith to trust that you will keep us in all the wilderness experiences of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We worship you, O God, for your faithfulness to your wilderness people. As we praise you and listen to your word, help us to once again trust ourselves and those we love to your never-ending love and care. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to trust God in all the wildness of our lives.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look around at our world and we are overwhelmed with all the violence, hatred, and death. We see our own lives in turmoil and our loved ones dealing with all types of issues, and we begin to despair. We forget that you are the One who led us in the wilderness and brought food and drink to satisfy our hunger and to slake our thirst. Forgive our lack of faith, and call us back that we might stand in the power of your Spirit. Amen.
Leader: God knows our frame and our weaknesses. God is able to hold us in his everlasting arms. Receive God’s love, forgiveness, and eternal life.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, faithful God, for you have led your people through the wilderness to the promised land. In all of life you have always been with us.
(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 at our world and we are overwhelmed with all the violence, hatred, and death. We see our own lives in turmoil and our loved ones dealing with all types of issues, and we begin to despair. We forget that you are the One who led us in the wilderness and brought food and drink to satisfy our hunger and to slake our thirst. Forgive our lack of faith, and call us back that we might stand in the power of your Spirit.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have held us in your loving embrace. We thank you for those around us who have cared for us in your name. We thank you for parents, teachers, and friends who have watched over us in love and care.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who are overcome by the wildness of their lives and the world around them. We pray for those who have been betrayed by those who they trusted to care for them but who received violence and abuse instead.
(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 being lost. It is a terrifying experience, especially for a child. What a joy it is when you see a familiar face. It is good to know there is someone who will take care of you. The people in the wilderness thought they were lost. They forgot that God is always them. And God is always with us.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
That’s Not Fair!
Matthew 20:1-16
Object: money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and a dollar bill)
I’ve decided that I will give everybody some money today. Do you all think that’s a good idea? Would you all like to get some money? (Let the children answer.) Good! Hold out your hands, and let me give each of you some money. (Give each child a coin, and give one child the dollar bill.) Now, you all got some money, didn’t you? How do you feel about the money you got? (Let
them answer. There will be some complaints that some got more than others. If this doesn’t happen, lead them by asking one who got a penny how he or she feels about the one getting a dollar.)
I suppose you could say it is unfair that some get more money than others, but remember that it is my money and I can do what I want with it. If you feel envious that some got more than others, you should think about the fact that I didn’t have to give anybody anything. I may have some reason for giving different amounts to different people, reasons that you know nothing about.
God gives his gifts much like I gave out the money today. Some people are blessed to be born with Christian parents, and they live their whole lives as Christians trying to do the things God wants them to do. Others don’t know anything about God and they live very sinful lives, but when they are old and ready to die, they hear about Jesus and believe in him. God gives each of these people eternal life in Heaven. Does that seem fair to you? (Let them answer.) We have no way of knowing why God does all the things he does, but we have to understand that we can’t know why he does all that he does. We just need to be grateful that God gives us eternal life with him in Heaven. Let’s thank God for that.
Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven: We’re sorry that we are sometimes envious of what you do for others. Please forgive us and make us thankful for all the things that you do for us. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 21, 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.
