The opening section of Psalm 105 -- the lectionary’s primary psalm selection for this coming week -- praises God for the wonderful works and miracles he has done, and also lifts up God’s covenant with Israel. That covenant is a binding, “everlasting” promise that we are told will last “for a thousand generations.” Such a commitment requires complete faith and trust -- but as team member Leah Lonsbury reminds us in this installment of The Immediate Word, it’s a fool’s errand to place a similar degree of faith and trust in human institutions, even the church. The extent to which we take our security for granted was gruesomely brought home this past week by the shock and horror generated by the downing of a commercial airliner over eastern Ukraine. Evidence is mounting that the plane was targeted by a missile, and that Russia may be directly or indirectly responsible for allowing sophisticated military weapons to fall into the hands of the rebels suspected of launching the missile. There’s outrage around the world that the safety of innocent civilian airline passengers was betrayed by those seeking advantage in a regional conflict, and governments are faced with the question of how to respond -- particularly Europeans who have been skittish about enforcing sanctions on Russia because of their economic ties. Will the West now treat Putin like a pariah, or will governments find it expedient to continue ignoring the Russian proxy war in Ukraine?
As Leah notes, keeping silent in the face of injustice is one of the main ways we break covenant with one another... and there were other grim examples in last week’s headlines, highlighted by charges from a former lawyer and archivist for the Minneapolis archdiocese that the archdiocese’s hierarchy engaged in an active coverup of clergy sex misconduct and the emergence of new documents detailing the extent to which General Motors kept silent about the faulty ignition switches that led to numerous deaths and injuries. Leah suggests that this pattern is not limited merely to large institutions -- all of us are tempted to keep quiet and break covenant with others whose welfare should be our primary concern. By contrast, God never breaks covenant with us -- despite our continuous pattern of willful sin and disobedience.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and its theme of the kingdom of heaven’s hidden treasures -- treasures of great value that are often right in front of us, hidden in plain sight, if we will only be open to discerning their presence. These treasures might be literal, as in the California couple who discovered approximately $10 million worth of vintage gold coins buried in their backyard, or they might be in the form of living in peaceful community with our neighbors -- something that seems impossibly difficult now for the Palestinians living in Gaza and their southern Israeli neighbors. Nevertheless, Mary points to instances of grass roots cooperation and care for one another that attempt to bridge the divide -- treasures which are rarely reported in the media amidst the gruesome destruction and are therefore largely “hidden” from view, but which are a very real part of daily life and offer a significant olive branch of hope and peace. Perhaps, like the tiny mustard seed Jesus refers to, these seeds of faith and peace may grow into large trees that offer refuge from the world’s danger and suffering.
What We Fail to Mention
by Leah Lonsbury
Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. -- Martin Luther King Jr.
In this week’s passage from Genesis, Laban establishes a relationship of trust based on family ties and loyalty with Jacob, but it doesn’t last for long. The two men strike a bargain at Laban’s suggestion, and in a seemingly generous move he offers Jacob the chance to set the terms. Jacob gives of his labor and himself out of love for Rachel and trust in Laban. Laban answers Jacob’s earnest attempts to uphold their relationship and agreement with craftiness and betrayal, and it all hinges on what he fails to mention.
Yeah... that’s not really the way we do things around here. If you really want Rachel, that’ll be another seven years of your life, please.
Psalm 105 sings the praises of a God who is faithful and active “among the peoples” (v. 1). This is a God who is fully present, easily known through deeds and “wonderful works” (v. 2), and mindful of the covenantal relationship that holds it all together. This “everlasting covenant” (v. 10) is God’s straightforward and transparent gift to the people. what they see is what they get. There’s no small print or detail that God fails to mention. And as a result, God’s praises are on the people’s lips, their hearts seek God, and they give thanks. This is how covenant works.
What details do we leave out? What are our sins of omission -- the things we can and ought to do and say but don’t? How does our failure to be fully present and forthcoming, faithful, and trustworthy do damage to our relationships and break the covenants we have established in our families, churches, communities, workplaces, and world? What is the effect of our failure to speak and act?
In the News
Humans -- we don’t measure up in the covenant-keeping department. And when we do honor our commitments to one another and to God, it’s often in the most basic of ways, more in line with mere obligation and without the active, fully present, committed, and loyal character of the divine version. And sometimes silence and inaction is all we offer in a covenant relationship. As long as we’re not blatantly and publicly violating some major hallmark of a covenant relationship, we’re not in the wrong. Right?
Tell that to anyone whose spouse has ever developed an uncomfortable level of intimacy outside of a partnership or marriage. It’s not cheating if you keep your clothes on. Right?
Tell that to the students in our failing schools. They’ve got a school building, some teachers, and assorted books in the library. We’ve met our obligations. They should be able to pass the growing number of standardized tests. Right?
Tell that to the working poor. There’s a minimum wage (in Georgia, where I live, $5.15/hour x 40 hours/week = around $824/month before taxes) and food stamps (in Georgia, the average food stamp recipient receives $4.50/day). They ought to be able to afford housing (the average one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta goes for $911/month), clothes for their kids, healthcare, transportation (a monthly public transport pass in Atlanta -- $95), and entertainment each month. Right?
What’s missing here? What are we failing to say or do that violates the promises we make and the people and relationships we say we value? How are we failing to be forthcoming, faithful, and trustworthy in these and other situations? How are we failing to be fully present and committed to one another? What effect does that have on us and those with whom we have a covenantal relationship?
All these questions could be asked surrounding the sexual abuse scandals swirling around the Catholic church, especially in light of an explosive new affidavit filed by Jennifer Haselberger, the former archivist and lawyer for the Minneapolis archdiocese. The affidavit charges the archdiocese’s hierarchy with orchestrating a widespread coverup of clergy sexual misconduct. In it, Haselberger’s reveals that “the church used a chaotic system of record-keeping” to help conceal the history of guilty priests who were reassigned instead of investigated or punished, and that repeated warnings about the dangers of this way of doing church business were ignored or stifled. This is just the latest development in the Minneapolis archdiocese’s troubles, escalating pressure on Archbishop John C. Nienstedt to resign. Nienstedt has himself been accused of and is under investigation for sexual misconduct.
Then there’s the recent New York Times investigative report about documents obtained from General Motors, detailing the extent to which GM kept silent about what they knew concerning faulty ignition switches in their vehicles that led to numerous injuries and deaths. GM executives have been testifying before Congress and under scrutiny for some time now, but this report sheds new light on how the company misled federal investigators by concealing the cause of the deadly defect.
The Minneapolis archdiocese and GM may have found it easier and more advantageous to protect themselves by not speaking up, but the parallel to that self-protective silence is the untold and immeasurable suffering they allowed to continue and the covenants they violated with those who should have mattered the most to them.
We have trouble enough with basic covenants around community (religious and otherwise), relationships of trust, and bottom-line human rights and needs. But put us in serious international conflict and mix in weapons? Well...
When MH17 was shot down in Russian rebel-held Ukraine, the loss of nearly 300 people aboard was tragic enough. Now stories are emerging about who those passengers were, and the heartbreak cuts even deeper -- a leading AIDS researcher, a teacher, a novelist, a Dutch senator, a graduate student working on Alzheimer’s and cancer treatments, a volunteer foreign election observer from the recent election in Ukraine, a program officer for Amnesty International, new parents, and children.
The rebels who are suspected to be behind this murderous and public act have broken the basic human covenant that honors life and recognizes our common humanity. And now they are complicating the grief of mourning families and thwarting the efforts of investigators seeking to piece together what exactly happened to MH17. The rebels are grabbing headlines with their blatant obstruction, but those in power that back the rebels or who don’t act to stop them are violating our basic human covenant and inflicting their own kind of damage outside of the limelight.
John Kampfner, a former Moscow bureau chief for Britain’s Telegraph newspaper, writes about the price of European powers keeping silent about the Russian proxy war unfolding in the Ukraine. Because of the power of their economic ties, Britain and much of Europe have succumbed to a quiet and “supine embrace” of Russia’s money while more publicly denouncing Putin’s foreign policy. Kampfner calls this posture “hypocritical and self-defeating,” because it’s going to take pursuing sanctions with some real teeth to put the brakes on Putin and his rebel fighters.
This has to happen, according to Kampfner, despite what it might literally cost European nations with Russian money in their banks, companies in their stock exchanges, and oligarchs buying up some of their most prestigious properties. Failing to speak because of what it might do to European wallets is what will allow international violations like the Crimea land grab and atrocities like the downing of MH17 to keep happening. And it appears now that there is also significant unease amongst Russia’s billionaires about Putin’s policies -- but likewise they seem afraid to speak openly about their concerns. If nothing else, perhaps this massive loss of life may force those who have the ability to put the financial squeeze on Putin (and so the rebels) to stop looking away, holding their silence, and counting their proceeds quietly.
Then there’s Israel’s incursion into Gaza, where a recent ceasefire brokered by Egypt was over before it had begun. Israel agreed initially, but Hamas did not, insisting that its demands be met, including an end to the blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory by Israel and Egypt. With the Palestinian death toll climbing past 500, including almost 100 children, it’s hard to believe that deputy Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s remarks in a televised address truly represent the desires of the 1.7 million Gaza inhabitants now under threat of death and devastation by Israeli missile attacks. Haniyeh said, “The world must understand that Gaza has decided to end the blockade by its blood and its heroism.” Israel is equally as determined. “We need to continue to grit our teeth, to shut our ears, to ignore the background noise, and to get the job done,” Israeli columnist Ben Caspit wrote in Ma’ariv.
As with most situations of prolonged conflict, the extremists or hardliners are usually the ones who come out ahead, or at least get the ear of the international press. This raises the question of how much Hamas and the Netanyahu government are really representing the interests of those they claim to represent, serve, and protect -- or, to use our language, how well they are keeping covenant. Hamas has a long and documented history of being willing to sacrifice the lives of civilians to achieve their objectives, and Israel shows no sign of slowing its deadly attacks as long as the vast majority of casualties and destruction remain on the side of the Palestinians.
With Hamas unwilling to honor a ceasefire agreement while playing fast and loose with Palestinian lives and Israel with its teeth gritted and ears shut, how will a covenant of peace ever be brokered? Forget what we fail to mention. It seems no one’s even being given the opportunity to really be heard, considered, or attended to with any kind of covenantal accountability or faithfulness.
In the Scriptures
This week, our story from Genesis is obviously not a model for contemporary human relationships or covenantal dynamics, but it does contain echoes of the human experience that may resonate with us as we try to figure out how to be in life-giving relationship with one another.
Laban’s failure to speak the whole truth echoes Jacob’s deception of Esau and his father Isaac. Other family dynamics mirror our struggle to live well and keep covenant together too. Jacob’s intense love for Rachel makes him a little less aware of how Laban is plotting, just like Esau’s hunger and Isaac’s old age clouded their ability to really see through to Jacob’s trickery. This snapshot from the family history also sets up what will be a long struggle of sibling rivalry between Leah and Rachel, which is also a struggle for worth (measured in fertility or lack thereof) and affection. Their jealousy and competition is not unlike many of our relationships today -- family or otherwise.
Esther M. Menn of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago writes on workingpreacher.org about this story swirling with emotion and fraught with troubled relationships:
Many in the congregation will identify with the intense emotions in this family tale of inexplicable preference, deception, competition, and jealousy. Women in particular may resonate with the feeling of being judged by their appearance, the despair due to infertility, or the ecstasy over a baby’s birth, all so poignantly depicted. Leah and Rachel’s central roles in the emergence of the people of Israel highlights women’s agency as an important means through which God continues to work today.
What conclusion can we draw from this tangled human mess? John C. Hopkins, professor emeritus at Perkins School of Theology, writes:
Any moral here? Perhaps not. The stories are about tricksters, card sharks, less-than-honest used car salesmen. So it is with the founders of Israel; they are not models for us to emulate. They are rather like us, always ready to get even, always concerned to get the best stuff, always interested in the way to save their own skin. The moral is not “Be like Jacob!” It is rather “You are like Jacob and Laban and Rebekah.” And without the YHWH who chooses you to do a divine work, you would never be anything more than a Grabber [Hopkins’ name for Jacob], concerned far more for self than God.
Let’s give ourselves a little more credit than Hopkins does. We may favor Jacob and Laban and Rebekah, and their deceptive ways may show up in what we fail to mention and do, but we can choose to live differently and toward the more honest and transparent model of covenantal relationship we see in God in Psalm 105. We can seek God and God’s strength to strengthen our connections, both to the divine and to each other. We can follow God’s patterns, imitate God’s faithfulness, work to be continually present to one another, and act in ways that draw others into relationship and give them reasons to celebrate and be grateful. We can show up for one another. If God can be “mindful of [God’s] covenant forever” (v. 8), surely we can work on being consistently available and steadfastly loyal to those with whom we covenant. If God’s judgments cover the earth and what God utters is remembered for generations, surely we can find the nerve and will to act and speak when doing so keeps our promises to sustain our common life.
In the Sermon
This week the preacher might consider...
* how what we fail to say and do breaks our covenants with one another and our wider human family. How can this be made specific for the congregation’s setting, makeup, and character?
* who the Jacobs and Labans and Rebekahs are of our day. What might God’s faithfulness to covenantal living look like today? What are some concrete covenantal changes the people in the pews might consider?
* how we see the family dynamics of Jacob’s clan show up in our own families, congregations, communities, and world today. How might we relate differently in order to establish and maintain life-giving covenants with one another?
* how even our biggest and most entrenched conflicts (Gaza, Ukraine/Russia, immigration, gun violence, church division, family feuds) can only be changed or resolved through healed and reworked relationships. Until that happens, aren’t all our sins sins of omission in the absence of covenantal relationship?
* telling the story of Laban (Whitey, to Hopkins) and Jacob (Grabber, to Hopkins) in a modern-day context. Speak a modern-day solution into being with your storytelling, and hold that possibility out for your congregants to consider for their own lives. Consider doing the same for one or more of our contemporary conflicts mentioned above.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Hidden Treasure
by Mary Austin
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
In a real-life echo of this week’s parables, a California couple found a cache of gold coins on their land as they were out for a walk. A report notes, “The bonanza emerged last year as the man and woman were walking their dog on their property in the Gold Country and noticed the top of a decaying canister poking out of the ground.They dug it out with a stick, took it to their house, and opened it up. Inside was what looked like a batch of discs covered in dirt from holes rotted through the can.” The couple cleaned off the discs and discovered coins datedfrom 1847 to 1894, all gold.
What would one do with such an unexpected -- and potentially dangerous -- find? As their attorney describes it, “The first thing the family did after finding all the cans was rebury them in a cooler under their woodpile. They were terrified and had to think about what to do.”
As Jesus talks about the realm of God, he reminds us that often God’s world is about things hidden and found. This week’s lectionary reading is full of parables which show the world of God as a spiritual hide-and-seek. Some things are hidden and found by accident, and others require diligent searching. And we can’t help but notice that, like the hoard of gold coins, the realm of God brings some danger and struggle along with the good news.
The mustard seed is the first of the hidden signs of the realm of God -- a seed so tiny that you would think nothing meaningful can grow from it. And yet it becomes so abundant that it offers shelter to the birds, contributing to their well-being in addition to its own. The kingdom grows not just upward but also outward.
Next the realm of God is seen as like leaven, which mixes with flour to make bread -- leaven was a small piece of fermented dough which worked as the starter for a new loaf. Hidden in the flour, the leaven too is an agent of growth. Leaven, though, was considered unclean -- in other places [Matthew 16:5-12 and Luke 12:1]Jesus warns against the leaven of the Pharisees. The example of the leaven might have surprised the people listening to Jesus. The hidden side of the realm of God is also surprising and uncontrollable.
Then the kingdom of God becomes like a pearl or gold, found at a merchant’s or in a field. The seeker has to work now to make the treasure their own. The realm of God doesn’t just happen -- there’s work to do, and sacrifice to make it our own.
Our own part in this is hidden too. Jesus winds up these parables of surprise with the unsettling news that there is judgment for us all, and we too will be sorted out. Some of us will be assessed as treasure, and some of us less so. “So it will be at the end of the age,” Jesus winds up. “The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Our own hidden nature will be revealed as God sorts us out, just like a catch of fish.
It may be that some people find the realm of God right where they are. Others, though, need to seek and search for the realm of God. The kingdom of God has demands for us too. The demands switch quickly. The realm of God requires the ability to see small things become big, and to find treasure that is hidden. A special kind of spiritual seeing is needed for kingdom hunting.
How might we learn to see the treasure of God’s realm where it’s hidden in our midst?
In every big story of pain and distress, there is a small story of grace hiding. We can develop the eyes and heart to search diligently below the surface until we find the small story of God at work, and then carry it home.
In Mosul, Iraq, Christians were forced to flee the city, but in Baghdad Christians received a show of support from their neighbors as Muslims and Christians gathered together: “The warm scene here was an unusual counterpoint to the wider story of Iraq’s unraveling, as Sunni militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria gain territory and persecute anyone who does not adhere to their harsh version of Islamic law. On Saturday, to meet a deadline by the ISIS militants, most Christians in Mosul, a community almost as old as Christianity itself, left with little more than the clothes they were wearing.”
Equally deep divisions have brought Israel and Gaza to war again. Bombings, civilian deaths in Gaza, and a smaller loss of life for soldiers in the Israeli army have dominated the news. Photos of wreckage and smoke appear daily. But hidden under the surface was a story about Israeli doctors working on Palestinian children. Not just this summer, but every week for 18 years. “Palestinian children have been arriving at Wolfson’s clinic every Tuesday for 18 years for treatment by the politically and religiously nonpartisan international charity Save a Child’s Heart (SACH). In the last few weeks, SACH’s medical team, which might involve an Israeli surgeon, a Palestinian anesthetist, a Tanzanian resident, and a Canadian intern, have, as usual, serviced children from the whole Arab region, including Syria, Iraq, and various African countries. Half are from Gaza and the West Bank. ‘Children are not part of the conflict,’ says SACH’s chief cardiologist, Dr. Akiva Tamir, whose Tuesday clinic takes place rain or shine. Or rockets.”
The latest deadly flare of hostilities comes as part of an old conflict, and many families, both Israeli and Palestinian, have lost loved ones. As the recent attacks began, two parents -- on opposite sides -- took time to call for an end to the escalating violence. Talking to NPR were Robi Damelin, an Israeli whose son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2002, and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian whose daughter Abir was killed in 2007 by Israeli border police. Both are members of the Parents Circle, a group which works for reconciliation. The interviewer asked Robi Damelin: “Robi, you were telling us that... you both are people who have said, after your children were killed, don’t take revenge in the name of my son. I noted that there were family members of the three Israeli teens who have also made this statement. But there are a number of people -- public actors -- who are calling for revenge. And I wanted to ask, what do you think it is that has allowed you to call to stop this cycle of revenge [while] others are not?”
Damelin answered that, for her, some of the seeds were planted as she grew up in South Africa and was influenced by Desmond Tutu. “I think that revenge is actually a very natural reaction to many things.” But she searched elsewhere for solace. “And I knew very soon afterwards, when I was thinking about it, that this man didn’t kill David because he was David. He killed him because he was a symbol of an occupying army. Please don’t think that that is easy for me to say, but that is the truth. And when looking at that and realizing that maybe I could make a difference -- the minute I met Palestinian mothers and recognized that we shared the same pain, then I knew that we could be this incredible force for making a difference. And so it’s a choice that you make.”
Finding grace hidden in rage and pain is the work of searching for God’s world amidst our world.
Looking for the realm of God, in all its concealed places, is a spiritual discipline. Trusting that small treasures become larger ones, we keep planting and searching, training our eyes and spirits to see God’s kingdom hidden in the world around us.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Keeping Silent
An old joke goes something like this:
A nephew of ours got a job working for an oil company down in South America and he just loves it down there. We haven’t seen him in about four years, but he sends us cards and pictures.
Last year he sent us a live bird -- real pretty, all red and green with a little yellow top notch on its head -- and let me tell you, that bird was delicious. Mom fixed it up for Christmas dinner with some stuffing and sweet potatoes and it was really nice. Better than turkey, if you ask me.
A few weeks after Christmas our nephew called and says, “Did you get my Christmas present?”
I said, “Yeah, we did, and it was delicious.”
He said, “You didn’t eat that bird, did you?”
And I said, “Well yeah, we did.”
He said, “Why, that bird wasn’t supposed to be eaten. That bird cost me near a thousand dollars. He could do all kind of tricks and he could talk in three languages.”
I said, “That bird could talk?”
He said, “Yes he could, in three languages.”
“Well, he should have said something.”
*****
Marfan Doesn’t Mean Martian
Pat Shipman is a paleontologist who writes a blog called “The Animal Connection” for Psychology Today’s website. She writes about a “new perspective on what makes us human.” One of her posts -- titled “Should I Have Said Something?” -- tells of a friend of hers who, upon meeting him, she was almost certain had the genetic disorder Marfan Syndrome.
People with Marfan tend to be very tall and thin, with large hands, feet, and joints. Marfan can affect their hearts and other body parts, and even affect how long they live. Many doctors believe that Abraham Lincoln probably had Marfan Sydrome.
Shipman wondered if she should bring up the disorder to her new friend, but not being a physician and knowing about Marfan only from what she read, she decided to remain silent. Several years later her friend had some health problems, and at the age of 58 he was finally diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome.
He told her that it was like having a light turned on in the dark room of his life. He finally understood things about himself which he only had questions about previously. He understood why his little daughter had died in infancy from a heart malady, probably caused by Marfan. He understood why his knees were shot at such an early age.
Shipman concludes her blog entry with the observation that, had she said something earlier, had she even just raised the question, her friend might have been diagnosed years earlier and known what he knows now so that he might have gotten treatment earlier.
As it is, he finally got the treatment -- but he was still left with “58 years of whys.”
*****
Had to Be Done
This year on July 4th in my community, it rained in the afternoon -- just a shower. It stopped things for about 30 minutes, then the sun come out and the party continued as if nothing had happened. That night we went to the park to hear a band play old-time rock and roll and watch the fireworks, which thanks to the Optimists Club (who raised the money) were spectacular.
On the way back to our car after the show, we were following a young father and his sons who were about the same age as my grandsons, 3 and 6 years old. I could tell by the way the dad was walking -- his slow gait, the slump of his shoulders -- that he was beat. Entertaining two young boys for an entire holiday had worn him out.
Just then they came to a large water puddle left by the shower that afternoon, and the younger of the two boys tore loose from his father’s hand, ran to the puddle, and jumped into it, landing flat-footed and spraying everyone within 20 feet of him with rainwater.
From behind I could see the dad stiffen with anger, and before I could give it a thought I blurted out, “Had to be done, Dad. Had to be done.”
He turned slowly toward me and I thought he was going to let me have it, tell me to mind my own business or something. But instead he smiled, shook his head, and said, “Yes it did, didn’t it?”
It broke the ice. Everyone standing around, even those who got sprayed, laughed and walked on to their cars. A couple of us even stopped to stomp some water puddles of our own.
I was glad I didn’t remain silent. I was glad I had said something.
*****
Kitty Genovese and the Bystander Effect
Fifty years ago, in the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was returning from her job as a bar manager to her home in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens, New York, when she was attacked by serial rapist/killer Winston Moseley. Moseley stabbed her twice and left the scene, returning a few minutes later to rape her and stab her again. She died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Her murder became famous because it was reported in the New York Times that 38 people heard her screams but did nothing to help and did not call the police. One witness famously said, “I didn’t want to get involved.” The accuracy of the New York Times report has since then been seriously questioned and even refuted by numerous researchers and writers, but not before it gave birth to several studies of how bystanders could see something so horrendous and remain silent.
The result of those studies has been the identification of a phenomenon known as “The Bystander Effect.” Psychology Today says this:
The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others hinders an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. Social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley popularized the concept following the infamous 1964 Kitty Genovese murder in Kew Gardens, New York. Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment three times, while bystanders who observed the crime did not step in to assist or call the police. Latané and Darley attributed the bystander effect to the diffusion of responsibility (onlookers are more likely to intervene if there are few or no other witnesses) and social influence (individuals in a group monitor the behavior of those around them to determine how to act). In Genovese’s case, each onlooker concluded from their neighbors’ inaction that their own personal help was not needed.
*****
Human Treasures Hidden in Plain Sight
You’re schlepping through the local mall trying to do some Christmas shopping. You’re hot and tired and hungry, and of course that thing you were planning to buy your grandson is sold out at every store. You’re wondering if this whole Christmas thing is worth all the trouble.
And now, as if it wasn’t loud enough already, some nut in the middle of the food court has turned on his boombox at max level playing some song you’ve never heard, what your dad used to call “longhair” classical music. You start to say something to the guy standing next to you in line, but before you can get the words out the guy bursts out singing. At first you’re annoyed, but then you realize that he has a really good voice.
And so does that lady, the one with the toddler. She’s singing too now, in a clear, velvety soprano. And before her beautiful voice has completely registered on you, the guy in the Elmer Fudd hat and plaid coat is singing the tenor part, and then the two women with the Macy’s shopping bags provide the alto, and before long about a third of the people in the food court are belting out some chorus number from an opera, a number that sounds kind of familiar but you don’t know the name of it.
Then as quickly as it began, it crescendos and then ends. Song over. And all those singers turn and blend into the shopping crowd and go about what they were doing before they started singing.
It’s called a flash mob, a spontaneous act of culture -- song, dance, theater -- meticulously planned and given away as a surprise to those who are there to experience it. And when they do experience it, they realize that these people standing around -- looking for all the world like normal, everyday shoppers or students or office workers -- are really treasures, hidden in plain sight.
(To see a flash mob in action, simply type the words “flash mob” into the search bar on YouTube -- there are countless possibilities. Here’s one famous example.)
*****
Aphrodite Found
On April 3, 1820, Theodoros Kentrotas was with other farmers on the Greek island of Milos, gathering stones to be used in building houses, when he stumbled upon what he immediately realized was a broken yet valuable remnant of an ancient statue.
He hid the statue and tried to keep it in his home, but word leaked out and Turkish officials came and seized it. Sometime later, a French naval officer named Julius Dumont d’Urville saw it and thought that it might be valuable. He offered to buy it, and the Turkish government accepted his offer and sold it to the French sailor, who took it to the Louvre where it can still be seen in its incomplete and broken yet beautiful form.
Carved in about 150 BC by Alexandros of Antioch, it was a statue of Aphrodite though we know it as Venus de Milo.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Genesis 29:15-28
Early in July a new Harry Potter-themed ride opened at Universal Orlando Resort. Located in the park’s new Diagon Alley section, “Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts” had a seven-hour waiting time on the first day. The second day the wait time in line was five hours, with personnel posting signs that the wait would be 300 minutes.
Application: If we can wait seven hours for an amusement ride, could we work for seven years twice over as Jacob did for love and obedience to God?
*****
Romans 8:26-39
The big news in sports is that basketball superstar LeBron James is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, after abandoning his hometown team for the Miami Heat four years ago. The people of Cleveland are excited, with many holding signs that read “The King Has Returned.” But a title in any sport has eluded the city of Cleveland for fifty years, so his return may only be a sentimental one.
Application: Paul assures us that our favorite Son will never abandon us.
*****
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
This past week, on July 20th, we remembered a sacred event that took place on the surface of the moon in 1969. Buzz Aldrin, a Presbyterian elder, one of the first two men to land on the moon, celebrated the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
Application: Buzz Aldrin’s celebration of the Eucharist may seem like a small event, but it was a large and lasting statement of faith. Jesus’ reference to the mustard seed and yeast may seem small, but they are a large and lasting statement of faith.
*****
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Archie Andrews has died. The famous redhead character, who has appeared in comic books for 73 years, was killed off this past week with the release of Life with Archie No. 36, when he intervened in an assassination attempt on Senator Kevin Keller, the first openly homosexual character in the series. Chris Cummins, an expert on comic book culture, wrote: “This is a publicity stunt for sure, but one with heart that will have permanent ramifications.”
Application: What Jesus taught and did has permanent ramifications, but he never did anything as a publicity stunt.
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Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Dave St. Peter, the president of the Minnesota Twins, was pleased that major league baseball’s 2014 All-Star game was played at the Twins’ home stadium, Target Field. When Minnesota’s selection to host the game was announced, St. Peter said: “One of the greatest things about All-Star week is it’s going to be a showcase for the nation that this isn’t necessarily the icebox twelve months of the year that people think it is.”
Application: Jesus used items and events from the culture of the people to showcase the meaning of the Kingdom of God.
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From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 29:15-28
Redefining Marriage
Within the Genesis story, marriage is considered payment of wages due to a worker. After Jacob and Laban negotiate the deal, Laban pulls a fast one and exchanges one sister for another. It’s a tale of deception and subterfuge. What is clear is that God’s idea of covenant faithfulness is quite different from the prevailing understanding of marriage as a contract. Theologian Miraslov Volf provides an understanding of the differences between marriage as a contract and marriage as a covenant (“Married Love,” The Christian Century, June 5, 2002):
A good marriage is not a contract, but a covenant. Contracts are conditional; we are obliged to keep the terms only if our partners are doing the same. Covenants, however, are unconditional. We are obliged to keep them even if the partners break the terms. Contracts are governed by the pursuit of one’s interests. Covenants are governed by the demands of love.
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Genesis 29:15-28
A Family that Plays Ball Together Stays Together
As Frederick Buechner observes, Rachel’s life was never an easy one. Not only did she have a bargain dealer for a father, but she was also married to Israel’s deceiver-in-chief. And then there was her sister Leah. And as Buechner says, imagine what it would be like to be married to sisters at the same time.
The story of Rachel and Leah’s rivalry is quite different from the story of professional basketball players Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. The two sisters recently faced off against each other in the WNBA All-Star game, the first time they have ever played each other in competition. But they’re rivals only on the court, where Chiney plays for the Connecticut Sun and Nneka plays for the Los Angeles Sparks. When they’re not playing basketball, the two sisters work together raising money for education projects in Nigeria. They hope to create safe environments so that girls from Nigeria may have access to education. “We are extremely lucky that we get to be paid to do something we love like playing basketball,” Nneka said. “But we know there is a lot more out there. This isn’t forever. It is a good platform for us, and one we can use to bring awareness.”
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Genesis 29:15-28
Sister Wives
Jacob’s polygamous marriage is prominent in the Old Testament, but it doesn’t hold a candle to reality television. The fifth season of TLC’s Sister Wives premiered on July 20, bringing back plural marriage advocate Kody Brown and his four wives. It’s all about “honoring the commitment” they have made to each other, said Brown.
“I think both beautiful things and things that make you struggle or troubling things in a marriage are amplified by plural marriage,” Brown said. Wife Christine Brown added: “These are four separate marriages. Each one we are just as committed. It’s an eternal commitment that we’ve made to each other, and a lot of monogamist marriages are like that.”
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Romans 8:26-39
Hardship, Distress, or Persecution...
An agreement between Malaysia and the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic was struck Monday to hand over bodies of the victims of flight MH 17, as well as the plane’s flight data recorders (colloquially known as “black boxes”). The remains of nearly three hundred persons were strewn over a large area in Ukraine as the result of the airliner’s crash. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak made the announcement -- making it clear that he felt pain and frustration in the aftermath of the disaster. “In recent days, there were times I wanted to give greater voice to the anger and grief that the Malaysian people feel. And that I feel. But sometimes, we must work quietly in the service of a better outcome,” he said.
The prime minister, speaking from his weakness, offered what could be a parallel voice to the words of Paul: “[W]e do not know how to pray as we ought.” Indeed, in the face of this tragedy, as well as other world events, we would do well to prayerfully consider the way Paul gives “greater voice” to the anguish of God’s people: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Treasure on a Beach
Jesus spoke of the joy of discovering treasure hidden in a field, an experience contemporary treasure hunters may understand. Using metal detectors to reclaim all types of lost items, the hunters are part archeologists and part private investigators. In one case, while the recovered treasure had no monetary value, it was still considered priceless.
Two years ago, treasure hunter Dave Efron plunged into the icy waters near Jones Beach, New York, to search for a veteran’s missing dog tags. Efron said that the Iraq and Afghanistan war vet had lost the dog tags in the water three days before and was desperate to find them. Using his high-tech metal detector, Efron recovered the tags. According to the New York Post:
The vet was elated. “The guy was crying, I was crying. I didn’t know what to do, so I started crying! Two years later, we’re still in touch,” says Efron. “Some people look at metal detecting like a geek running around, but we do a public service,” says Efron.
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 to God; tell of all God’s wonderful works.
People: We will glory in God’s holy name and our hearts will rejoice.
Leader: Seek God and God’s strength; seek God’s presence continually.
People: We will remember the wonderful works God has done.
OR
Leader: Our covenant God calls us together to rejoice.
People: We lift our voices in joyful praise to God.
Leader: The one who created us comes to share our lives.
People: We invite God into our lives to guide us and direct us.
Leader: God never leaves us or forsakes us.
People: We pledge ourselves in faithful covenant to our God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“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
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 680
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELA: 632
W&P: 84
AMEC: 61
STLT: 281
“God Will Take Care of You”
found in:
UMH: 130
AAHH: 137
NNBH: 52
NCH: 460
AMEC: 437
“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
found in:
UMH: 121
H82: 469, 470
PH: 298
NCH: 23
CH: 73
LBW: 290
ELA: 587, 588
W&P: 61
AMEC: 78
STLT: 213
“Hope of the World”
found in:
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
“Spirit Song”
found in:
UMH: 347
AAHH: 321
CH: 352
W&P: 352
CCB: 51
Renew: 248
“Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”
found in:
UMH: 361
H82: 685
AAHH: 559
NNBH: 254
NCH: 596
CH: 214
LBW: 327
ELA: 623
W&P: 384
AMEC: 328
“Standing on the Promises”
found in:
UMH: 374
AAHH: 375
NNBH: 257
CH: 552
AMEC: 424
“The Steadfast Love of the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 28
Renew: 23
“All I Need Is You”
found in:
CCB: 100
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is steadfastly faithful to your creation: Grant us the faith to trust in your promises so that we may be faithful in our relationships; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
You, O God, are the faithful One. You have never deserted your people or your promises to us. As we praise you this day, help us to deepen our faith in you so that we may also be faithful in all of our relationships. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways in which we are unfaithful, often by being silent or doing nothing.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are an unfaithful people. We fail to keep faith with you and our commitment to walk as Jesus’ disciples. We fail to keep faith with one another and our call to care for each other. Often our faithlessness takes the form of keeping silent. When someone gossips or speaks inappropriately about others, we let it go so as to “not offend” the speaker. But we know that in our silence we are condoning their speech. We see injustice around us, but we do not speak up and we do not act because it may cause a stir or it might make us uncomfortable. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may reflect your faithfulness in our relationships. Amen.
Leader: God is faithful and welcomes us back to the fold no matter how often we stray. God’s love and compassion is forever. Receive God’s love and forgiveness, and live it out in your daily life.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, Our Faithful God, for your steadfast love and grace. Your promises are sure and true.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are an unfaithful people. We fail to keep faith with you and our commitment to walk as Jesus’ disciples. We fail to keep faith with one another and our call to care for each other. Often our faithlessness takes the form of keeping silent. When someone gossips or speaks inappropriately about others, we let it go so as to “not offend” the speaker. But we know that in our silence we are condoning their speech. We see injustice around us, but we do not speak up and we do not act because it may cause a stir or it might make us uncomfortable. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may reflect your faithfulness in our relationships.
We give you thanks for all the blessings we have received from your hand. When those around us fail us, you are faithful and sure. We give you thanks for all the times you have walked with us through the dark times, even though sometimes we doubted your presence. You never let our doubt drive you away.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift up to you the needs of your creation. We remember today those who have been abandoned and deserted by those they trusted. We remember those who have been misused and abused by those they thought they could count on. The faithless acts of others sometimes make us doubt your faithfulness. Help us to be your faithful people so that others may come to trust in you more fully.
(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 some hypothetical incidents where people might be hurt if they don’t speak up: warning others that a mean dog was loose in the front yard as they were getting ready to go out, or telling others that a board on a bridge was broken before they walked across it. We know we shouldn’t sic a dog on someone or push them off a bridge where they would get hurt, but we also need to speak up when we can to warn others. It is part of being faithful, just as God is faithful to us.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
God’s Hidden Treasure
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Object: a treasure map in the shape of a person, with an “X” over the person’s heart
You’ve probably heard stories about people looking for buried treasure. When they find treasure, it often includes gold coins and jewels. Today I want to talk about a buried treasure that is different than the kind you are used to hearing about. What can you tell me about this treasure map? (Show your map and let the children answer.) My treasure map shows the outline of a person. The treasure on this map is found in the person’s heart.
The treasure in this map is God’s kingdom. When found, it gives you God’s love. This is the same thing as finding a hidden treasure.
Jesus told his disciples a story about finding God’s kingdom. Does anyone know where Jesus said that God’s kingdom could be found? (Let them answer.) Jesus said that God’s kingdom is found wherever God’s love lives inside of people. When God’s love gets inside you, you begin to live in a brand-new way. That’s why my map shows that the treasure can be found in this person’s heart.
Jesus said that God’s kingdom is the most wonderful place to be. He said that it is like a hidden treasure of jewels found in a field. He told his disciples that if someone found a treasure one day while digging in a field, the person would want it so badly that he would go and buy the entire farm just to have the treasure hidden on it.
Jesus explained God’s kingdom in another way. He compared it to an expensive pearl. The person who would want the pearl would sell everything that he owned just to buy it. Can you imagine selling everything that you own just to buy one pearl? (Let them answer.) It may be difficult to imagine that.
The thing I want you to remember this week is that God’s kingdom and God’s love are very wonderful. God’s kingdom and love are as wonderful as anything you can name. They are more valuable than a real hidden treasure. When you find God’s kingdom you will experience God’s love. You will live in a brand-new way.
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The Immediate Word, July 27, 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.
