What Will People Say?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
This past weekend's "straw poll" in Iowa -- complete with breathless coverage from the cable news channels, who gave it the full "breaking news" treatment -- officially kicked off the 2012 presidential election season as the Republican candidates began jockeying for position. (Indeed, the poll's results caused one candidate, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, to drop out of the race before a single voter had even cast a ballot.) The allure of the poll for the candidates was not only the opportunity to see where they stood relative to their opponents, but also the chance in their final presentations to fine-tune their message for maximum appeal with fairly immediate feedback. It's really a microcosm of the entire process of campaigning, in which candidates attempt to tailor their personas to present themselves as the answer to people's aspirations and frustrations... and the "science" of polling is at the heart of their methodology. The pollster is a key operative in every campaign, and the avalanche of data generated from mountains of surveys are closely watched to see if the candidates positions on the issues are, as the saying goes, "playing in Peoria." But we see this phenomenon not just in politics but in every phase of life -- we care deeply what others think about us, and we often use the knowledge we pick up as a result to shape and even manipulate human behavior. (This fact of human nature has led to advertising and public relations becoming multibillion-dollar industries.) In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer notes that at first glance we might think Jesus was engaging in similar behavior when he asked his disciples in this week's gospel text about the public perception of the Son of Man. But as Dean points out that, on the contrary, Jesus was not at all interested in shaping his message for greater public appeal or larger "market share." Instead, he was testing the disciples to see how much of his true nature they grasped... and whether they cared more about what people were saying about them then about what people were saying about his underlying message -- a question that Dean reminds us we need to think about as well.
Team member Ron Love shares some additional thoughts on the gospel passage and he suggests that while Peter may have identified Jesus' central identity as the Messiah, that's only one of many answers that we could have to Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?" Like a valuable gem with many facets, Ron tells us that we have many different names for what Jesus represents -- and we can see Jesus in many different roles depending on the context. In the same way, Ron notes, Paul describes in our epistle text how the Church (as the body of Christ) serves many different functions through the variety of spiritual gifts. Thus, Ron points out, we need to determine who Jesus is for us and the role in which we can best serve the needs of the Church and the world. Then we need to tirelessly share the message of who Jesus is in our daily words and actions... for it is through them that we demonstrate our answer to Jesus' query.
What Will People Say?
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 16:13-20
What will people say? My grandparents lived in a small town in southern Indiana and that question haunted their every decision and action. My siblings and I were allowed to walk two blocks down the street to buy a popsicle -- but Grandma would inspect us before we went to make sure we were presentable, in case someone saw us and identified us as her grandchildren.
What will people say? Politicians call them focus groups: groups of people selected because they supposedly represent a cross-section of Americans. The politician says a number of things and the focus group is asked for their reaction, while the politician's handlers accept, reject, or reshape the message to get the desired response from the group. Computer technology has even made it possible to measure the response of the audience and reshape the message as it is being spoken.
But when Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" he's not using them as a focus group and he's not going to reshape his message depending on their response or what people might say. He asks not because he wants to see if he's getting it right but to see if they are. And he's still asking that question to us.
THE WORLD
Every night on the local news where I live, the co-anchors ask an opinion question and invite the viewing audience to choose an answer and vote by calling a telephone number or going online. The producers at the station know (and we know) that this sort of poll is absolutely without scientific value. No effort has been made to ensure that the voting sample is random. People can vote as many times as they like. Yet the newscasters announce the results at the end of the broadcast as though the fate of the world is hanging on the result. What is real, what is true, and what is correct or right is not as important as what people are saying.
The Iowa Straw Poll has launched us into a year of political campaigns -- and the public opinion polls that seem to follow as day follows night. Most of these polls are done by journalistic interests with journalistic goals in mind. How much value are they to the candidates? Those who poll at the head of the pack will claim the polls are a true reflection of what the American people are thinking and saying. Those who are running behind will remind us that polls predicted that Dewey would defeat Truman in 1948 and that Landon would defeat Roosevelt in 1936. Whether they dismiss or celebrate the results of public opinion polls, they all want to know what those results are.
They want to know what people are saying and thinking. "Who do people say that I am?" is an important, even compelling question for them and the answer will help to shape the way they present themselves and their opinions to the public. What people think and say will determine everything from the color of their neckties to how many flag pins they wear on their lapels. In some cases it may shape or even determine the opinions and platforms of the candidates. After all, didn't Abraham Lincoln grow a beard because of one little girl's opinion about how he might mitigate his homely appearance?
Politicians and polling organizations also argue about whether public opinion polls don't just measure public opinion but actually shape it. Can a poll really create a "bandwagon effect"? Does reporting that one candidate is in the lead cause other people to jump on that bandwagon, as some politicians claim? Or does such a report actually create a backlash in favor of the underdog? Or is the effect of polling reports on the voting public negligible, as polling organizations claim?
Word of mouth, what people say about a movie, can turn a lukewarm opening night into a long-running "sleeper" hit. In 2011, Tyler Perry's Jumping the Broom and Justin Bieber's Never Say Never opened with disappointing tickets sales but grew to become huge hits when audiences talked them up. Charles Frazier's first novel, Nickel Mountain, was published with a tiny first release of only 25,000 copies but was loved by small independent booksellers and readers. It went on to win the National Book Award after spending 45 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.
The movie Pretty Woman originally ended as did the novel upon which it was based -- sadly, with Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) driving away and Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) returning in tears to her life as a prostitute. When director Garry Marshall tested that version with preview audiences, they reacted so angrily that he reshot the ending with the happy resolution we have all come to know.
What other people think and say can even determine what church we attend. Megachurches draw large crowds for many reasons but one important reason is that they draw large crowds. People see lots of other people going to a church and they wonder what the buzz is about. They go because lots of other people go.
What people are saying is important to politicians, publishers, movie moguls, journalists, megachurch preachers, and even my grandparents.
THE WORD
Not surprisingly, in Matthew's gospel it seems to be important to Jesus too -- but not too important.
In the gospel lesson for this Sunday he takes a sort of straw poll. "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Or in our modern vernacular: "What are people saying about me?"
The disciples answer that most people outside this small group aren't getting it. They have identified Jesus as one of a bunch of dead prophets, anyone from John the Baptist to Jeremiah. Jesus reacts to this news with a verbal shrug of the shoulders. He lets it go and moves on to the next, more important question: "Who do you say that I am?"
What, he wants to know, are his closest friends, his inner circle, saying and thinking? Has he written an ending to his life and ministry that he will have to rewrite if these guys give the wrong answer? Will he have to change the color of his toga? Trim his beard differently? Change to a different style of sandal? Certainly he will not change his message but how might he change his delivery of it?
Fortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, Peter gets it right. The disciples have not gotten much right up to this point. They have been a resolutely dense and uninsightful bunch. But here, Peter comes up with the right answer.
Or does he? Peter may have the right words and Jesus congratulates him on that but immediately after the words of congratulations and promise, he shuts down any further discussion, telling the disciples to keep this whole "Messiah" thing to themselves.
So where does that leave us? What are people saying about us? Do we care? Should we? And more importantly, what are they saying about the Jesus they see in us?
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The key to this pericope is that (as I noted above) the disciples are not a focus group. Jesus does not ask what people are saying about him -- people far and people near -- to see if he is getting it right, but to see if they are. The wider public, it turns out, is not. The disciples are getting it but in word only. They have not worked out all of the implications of those words.
This little conversation in Caesarea Philippi may indeed be the place where Jesus decides to rewrite the ending of his story. The verses immediately following this reading make that a very real possibility: "From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
This would seem to raise the possibility, at least, that the crucifixion may have not been preordained for Jesus but chosen by him.
Much of pop Christianity focuses on the rewards of discipleship: eternal life, the fellowship of believers, salvation from sin and hell, life in the kingdom, and so on. No matter how we interpret these concepts, they all sound pretty good... and they are.
In his story, however, Matthew calls us to focus less on our own future and present rewards and spend some time listening to what others are saying. Is our message getting communicated effectively? When people watch and listen to us are they seeing and hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? If not, what do we need to change? Our delivery? Our medium? Our language and symbols? When we listen to those to whom we are bringing the good news, we may discover that we need to change something about how we are delivering that message -- and the change may require some sacrifice from us, even as it did from Jesus.
It may require us to leave our comfort zone. It might require us to be less popular. We could lose money or even our job. We might be required to drop a beloved hobby or take up a volunteer position we'd rather not hold. We might find ourselves actually taking up a cross or two in our community or the world... or not. We might discover that we, like Peter, have gotten it right.
We won't know one way or the other until we ask that all-important question: "What are people saying?" Not about us, but about Jesus.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Perspective -- Promotion -- Perseverance
by Ron Love
Matthew 16:13-20; Romans 12:1-8
Rev. Billy Talen, who directs a touring choir promoting humanitarianism, wrote an article this week for Sojourners magazine titled "Have We Christianized Jesus?" Talen opened his article with this line: "The Christianized Jesus -- the turning of a radical into a conservative shadow of his former self -- explains our problem of establishing and celebrating freedom fighters" of society today. According to Talen, pastors, politicians, and community leaders promote policies that are opposed to the teaching of Jesus but are popular with mainstream Christian opinion. Talen concluded that we must understand the radical Jesus "so that we have clearer courage for our own activism."
It seems we still have a concept of Jesus that is reflected in the old Burt Reynolds movies from the time when CB radios were so popular. "Hey, good buddy! What's your handle?" we might announce ourselves to an unknown passerby, waiting for a response followed by a nonsensical conversation. As the shadow of that concept still prevails this day, we would like to ask, "Good buddy Jesus, what's your handle?" Most of us would like to think that's just what Jesus' handle is: "Good Buddy!" But as we know, people like clever CB handles, so Jesus could be "chum" or "pal" or "bro" or "cohort" or "fellow traveler" -- or most simply, "friend."
When Norman Vincent Peale was young he spent time in a Sunday school class taught by his mother. She began her first lesson by discussing the baseball players for the Cincinnati Reds, emphasizing how awesome they were. Of course, she captivated the attention of all the boys in the class. Then she transitioned into discussing how awesome Jesus was and at the conclusion young Norman said, "What a man!" Not to be criticized for using sexist language but Jesus has a lot of machismo. Jesus had the courage and stamina to be a radical in a society of conformists as he thundered forth a message of justice, forgiveness, acceptance, peace, and righteous living. Let's not forget that Jesus' CB handle is "Son of God," "Messiah," "Morning Star," and "Good Shepherd."
It is time we no longer have a grocery store mentality of Jesus, where we go down the aisles of Piggly Wiggly and say I want some ice cream, I want a fillet, and I want a frozen pizza. Instead, it is time we find ourselves at Lowe's to pick up a hammer, a saw, and a portable generator, for we have work to do.
Succumbing to protesters from the liberal website truthout.org that pushes the agenda of separation of church and state, the U.S. Air Force recently stopped teaching a program to missile silo operators that it had been using for 20 years. When you close the door to a missile silo the two occupants, if the orders should come, must be able to say, "I can do that." So the course, taught by chaplains, used scripture and church history to explain the Just War theory. Separation of church and state does not sanction separation of Christian beliefs from life's actions.
So when we are asked, as Peter was, "But who do you say that I am?" we have varied answers for the radical prophet in our midst. In Somalia and the Sudan Jesus would be a humanitarian, feeding the starving children. In London he would be a street-corner preacher, proclaiming peace. In Mexico he would be an advocate for justice against the drug cartels. In Washington DC, he would be a lobbyist for reconciliation. There are many answers to who Jesus is -- and none of them are passive.
Paralleling this is when Paul teaches that we are all members of the body of Christ but each of us has a different job to do. Some tasks may overlap with another's calling and some will be unique unto myself, yourself. In the home we are to be exceptional spouses and parents. In the church we are to be advocates for missions. In the community we are to be the beneficiaries of the poor. As citizens we are to call politicians to accountability. There are many roles but only one calling.
What we need then is "perspective" on who Jesus is and our role in the church. What we need then is to be "promoters" of the gospel message. What we need then is to be "perseverant" until the assigned task is completed.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
I. Perspective -- Discuss the different roles that Jesus played during his public ministry and as members of the body of Christ, we must select our role.
II. Promotion -- Discuss how we must understand, proclaim, and act upon the gospel message.
III. Perseverance -- Note that to be a radical advocate of justice in a society of acquiescence we must undauntedly pursue our assigned task.
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Broadway musical and film 1776 tells the story of the writing, perfecting, and finally the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It depicts how Dr. Lyman Hall, the new delegate to the continental congress from Georgia, is asked at one point to take a stand, to declare himself for or against a resolution declaring independence from England. Hall states that he is troubled about this choice because "Georgia is split right down the middle on this issue. The people are against it and I am for it." Later, when Hall decides to vote for independence regardless of what the people in his state say, he recalls the word of an Englishman, Edmund Burke: "Your representative owes you not his industry only, but judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion."
* * *
"Pastors and other trained professionals of the church have often developed a system of beliefs that is qualitatively different from the faith they communicate to the local congregation." Thus begins Pastor Jack Good's fascinating and controversial book, The Dishonest Church.
In it he makes the argument that pastors are suffering inordinate mental and emotional stress, and congregations are suffering from stunted spiritual growth because their leaders are afraid to be honest with them. Church leaders spend three to four years and thousands of dollars in seminary -- and upon graduation are often told by their mentors that it is professional suicide to share with their congregations the things they have learned. Judicatory officials communicate the same message, if not quite so explicitly.
Grow the congregation, add members, increase the budget, and make sure denominational contributions are kept current. Theology? Well, that's complicated, isn't it? And often dangerous. Best to stay within the safe boundaries of custom and tradition, preach safe sermons, and worry about what color the nursery should be painted.
The tyranny of "what-people-might-say," says Good, binds and gags the pastor, starves the laity, and ultimately poisons the church with dishonesty!
* * *
In Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin, biographer David Evanier tells how the superstar singer, songwriter, actor, and entertainer discovered as an adult that everything his family had told him about himself since he was a child was a lie. His older sister was actually his mother and his mother was actually his grandmother. Darin's response was an unmitigated rage. He had been a sickly child, barely surviving two bouts of rheumatic fever that severely damaged his heart, and the resulting medical bills left his family in a state of perpetual poverty. Even as his career was reaching his zenith, bringing him more money that he could ever spend, he cut his family out of his life and refused to give them even a dime's worth of help.
When Bobby Darin died of rheumatic heart failure at the age of 37, he was an angry, bitter man who was embarrassed by and estranged from his family because he could not abide what people might say if his strange and complicated background were ever to be discovered.
* * *
Who do we say Christ is? The answer to that question will play a very important part in the way we live our lives.
Henry Ford was a genius who literally put America on wheels. He developed the assembly-line method of making cars and he sold them cheaply. He believed in paying his workers, and he always gave them double the going rate. Yet, tragically, history does not remember Henry Ford as a great man. He was very prejudiced. He hated blacks; he hated Jewish people; he hated FDR; he hated the DuPonts. The only person he liked was Adolf Hitler. Henry Ford died broken and disappointed. His only son, Edsel, died of cancer, and Henry was never able to enjoy life again.
Who do we say Christ is? The answer to that question determines what we believe, and what we believe determines the way we live our lives.
* * *
Hoping to find some reason to accuse him, a man asked Gregory of Nazianzus in 381 AD this question: "Who do you say Jesus is?"
Knowing the treachery behind the question, Gregory still gave his honest answer. He said, "Jesus fasted in the wilderness and so began his ministry by being hungry, yet he is the Bread of Life. Jesus was weary, yet he is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet he is our king. Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver, yet he is the owner of the world. Jesus was brought like a sheep to the slaughter, yet he is the Good Shepherd. As Jesus hung on the cross, he said, 'I thirst,' yet he is Living Water. Jesus died, yet he is Life Everlasting. You ask me who I say Jesus is? I say, 'Jesus is my Lord, my Savior, my all in all.' "
* * *
Sometimes we would like to be flies on the wall, hearing what people really think about us without the bounds of social politeness. When our egos are strong, we would like to discover how others really perceive us. A good friend can provide feedback but that is usually through the biased filters of friendship. Who do people say that I am? I once overheard a woman in a restaurant talking about her pastor. She commented on his meaningful sermons, delightful family, and good sense of humor. She said her church was very fortunate to have this pastor and that he was really making a difference. Then she happened to mention the pastor's name and I discovered it was one of my members talking about me. I glowed for a while in response to this overheard positive feedback. I wonder if Jesus glowed in response to the feedback he received from his disciples. It would have been something to be compared to John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Elijah. He would have been joyful to know that at least one person (Peter) saw him as he was.
* * *
Although God communicated with Paul somehow about spiritual gifts, maybe Paul's teaching about spiritual gifts didn't begin with a revelation from God. Perhaps Paul's teaching about spiritual gifts began by his looking at the constructive, helpful things Christians did in serving God. That's the first indication of God's presence in people's lives and service, one that hadn't shown up uniformly in all of Paul's congregations.
In Saint Benedict's rule for monasteries, he included the essentially positive direction that Paul noted about the Christian faith. In line with Paul's recognition of different gifts, Benedict instructed the monastery's abbot to adapt himself to different personalities within the community. Above all, the abbot must wield his authority in ways that are ultimately positive. In exercising his gift of supervision, as Paul would also urge, the abbot "should know that he has undertaken care of sick souls, not tyranny over healthy ones."
* * *
Lots of people become disenchanted with the church. The church is an institution both human and divine. At its very best, it displays Jesus Christ; at its very worst, it is the place where pettiness and hypocrisy are pleased to dwell.
The great theologian Karl Barth once observed that living in the church, we are like birds held captive in a cage. It seems that we always find ourselves banging up against the bars, seeking to soar free of the church's human limitations.
The church surely has its problems -- always has, always will. The church often fails to live out the full measure of faithfulness. Yet somewhere deep down... somewhere beneath the lowest level of the foundation... somewhere in the cool and fertile darkness there is rock. The foundation on which the church is truly built is the experience of a living Lord.
* * *
A recent study of congregations and pastors showed an interesting reality. A group of pastors had been trained to renew their congregations. They learned about door-knocking, introducing new worship services, writing a good mission statement, and all sorts of important ingredients for revitalizing a church. Then they went out and did the work -- but five years later, none had revitalized a congregation.
In trying to discover why this happened, the trainers found pastors who had redeveloped ministries and asked them what the keys to their success were. They talked about door-knocking, introducing new worship services, writing a good mission statement, and all the same important ingredients to revitalizing a church that the original training had included. There was just one addition: the pastors who had revitalized congregations said that the prayer life of the people had reconnected them to a living Christ who not only listened to their prayers but also guided them as they sought God's will.
All the techniques in the world could not revitalize the church -- being connected to Jesus Christ was the key to new life in the church.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: If it was not God who was on our side, let's say it together.
People: If it was not God who was on our side,
Leader: we would have been swallowed up alive.
People: The floods would have swept us away.
Leader: Blessed be our God who has not given us away.
People: Our help is in our God who made heaven and earth.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who is One.
People: We worship that God who never changes.
Leader: Come and worship the God comes in many ways.
People: We worship the God who deigns to encounter us in a variety of ways.
Leader: We worship a God of constancy and flexibility.
People: May we be like our God, never changing in our changing.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Maker, in Whom We Live"
found in:
UMH: 88
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 262
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
Renew: 46
"God of Many Names"
found in:
UMH: 105
CH: 13
"Many Gifts, One Spirit"
found in:
UMH: 114
NCH: 177
"God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
"O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee"
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
"Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service"
found in:
UMH: 581
H82: 601
PH: 427
CH: 461
LBW: 423
ELA: 712
Renew: 286
"Sois la Semilla" ("You Are the Seed")
found in:
UMH: 583
NCH: 528
CH: 478
"How Majestic Is Your Name"
found in:
CCB: 21
Renew: 98
"The Steadfast Love of the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 28
Renew: 23
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is ever one yet known in many ways: Grant us the grace to reflect your image by being whole in our character and yet being flexible in reflecting your glory; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise and glorify you, O God, for your constant being. We praise and glorify you for your willingness to meet us in whatever form you need to take in order for us to see you. Help us, your children, to reflect your constancy in our character and your changing form in our flexibility to show others your love in ways that they need to experience it. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the weakness of our character and the rigidity of our ways.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are easily swayed from our beliefs by people or circumstances. Too often we take the easy way out. Yet in our day-to-day actions we are often rigid. We insist that things be a certain way without allowing for any deviation. Forgive us our foolish ways and help us to be firm in our character and flexible in our work with others. Help us, by the power of your Spirit, to reflect you more clearly to others. Amen.
Leader: God's love and forgiveness is constant. God's love is infinite in the ways it appears to us. Let us take heart and resolve to be more like our God.
Prayer for Illumination
Send, O God, your Spirit of Light upon us that we may clearly perceive your nature and your work as your gospel is read and proclaimed among us. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship you, O God, for your constancy that supports us in all the changing ways of life. We praise you, also, for your willingness to meet us where we are in the midst of all our changes.
(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 easily swayed from our beliefs by people or circumstances. Too often we take the easy way out. Yet in our day-to-day actions we are often rigid. We insist that things be a certain way without allowing for any deviation. Forgive us our foolish ways, and help us to be firm in our character and flexible in our work with others. Help us, by the power of your Spirit, to reflect you more clearly to others.
We thank you for all the ways you have come to us and dwelt within and among us. Your never-changing love is shown in a myriad of ways. We thank you for family and friends who have nurtured us and for your church that has shown us your love as it has shown us your Christ.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who do not know you as a God of love and care. We pray for those who are overwhelmed by the things in their lives.
(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
Take an object, like Play-Dough or Silly Putty that you can shape into many forms. You may even give the children some and ask them make something out of it. Then talk about the different shapes. Ask several of the children what their object is made of. There are many different objects, but they all consist of the same stuff. God is like that, in that God is always the God of love and grace. God is constant and unchanging but God is willing to take different shapes. God is willing to be human. God is willing to be a Spirit that dwells within us. We can be like God. We can be constant in being loving and kind, even though that will look different depending on who we are and who we are around.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Jesus' Public Opinion Poll
Matthew 16:13-20
Good morning, boys and girls! Today let's pretend that I am a news reporter who is trying to get some very important information. I will ask you some questions, and I will then write down your answers. It is very important that you tell me exactly how you feel.
Here is my first question: "Do you think that the President of the United States is doing a great job?" (let the children answer) Second question: "Do you like to see cartoons on Saturday morning television or would you rather watch them on school nights?" (let them answer) Third question: "Which are the best teachers, men or women?" The last question is: "Do your parents love you more than anyone else in the whole world?" That is our public opinion poll, and I will turn your answers into our newspaper for their study and information. Thank you.
Television news programs as well as newspapers and magazines run a lot of polls. Americans think that polls are very important and a lot of important decisions are made on the information that is received from people like you.
Jesus once had a public opinion poll of his disciples. He asked all of the disciples what they had heard about him. He wanted to know what people were thinking about him and who they thought that he was. He asked each disciple. Some of them said that he was the prophet Elijah and others thought that he was the prophet Jeremiah. Some were talking about him being John the Baptist. There were a lot of different ideas of who Jesus really was and each of these people that the disciples talked about was important people in Jewish history. Jesus listened very carefully to what the people thought, but then he asked one more question. He asked the disciples who they thought he was. This was really an important question. You would have thought that it would have taken a lot of thought and some real time. But Peter was listening to Jesus, and he just said in a hurry what was on the tip of his tongue: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." That was a mouthful. He was right and Jesus told him that he was right. But he also told Peter that he did not think up that answer on his own. That answer came from God the Father in heaven, and it was given for Peter to say. It was something that no one would ever forget. The answer that Peter gave was the thing that Christians have been saying for almost 2,000 years when people have asked who Jesus is.
The next time that you hear about a poll that was taken, I hope you think about the one that Jesus took one day while he was walking through a town called Caesarea Philippi. It was Peter's answer that we will always remember. Jesus is Christ, the Son of the Living God.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 21, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Ron Love shares some additional thoughts on the gospel passage and he suggests that while Peter may have identified Jesus' central identity as the Messiah, that's only one of many answers that we could have to Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?" Like a valuable gem with many facets, Ron tells us that we have many different names for what Jesus represents -- and we can see Jesus in many different roles depending on the context. In the same way, Ron notes, Paul describes in our epistle text how the Church (as the body of Christ) serves many different functions through the variety of spiritual gifts. Thus, Ron points out, we need to determine who Jesus is for us and the role in which we can best serve the needs of the Church and the world. Then we need to tirelessly share the message of who Jesus is in our daily words and actions... for it is through them that we demonstrate our answer to Jesus' query.
What Will People Say?
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 16:13-20
What will people say? My grandparents lived in a small town in southern Indiana and that question haunted their every decision and action. My siblings and I were allowed to walk two blocks down the street to buy a popsicle -- but Grandma would inspect us before we went to make sure we were presentable, in case someone saw us and identified us as her grandchildren.
What will people say? Politicians call them focus groups: groups of people selected because they supposedly represent a cross-section of Americans. The politician says a number of things and the focus group is asked for their reaction, while the politician's handlers accept, reject, or reshape the message to get the desired response from the group. Computer technology has even made it possible to measure the response of the audience and reshape the message as it is being spoken.
But when Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" he's not using them as a focus group and he's not going to reshape his message depending on their response or what people might say. He asks not because he wants to see if he's getting it right but to see if they are. And he's still asking that question to us.
THE WORLD
Every night on the local news where I live, the co-anchors ask an opinion question and invite the viewing audience to choose an answer and vote by calling a telephone number or going online. The producers at the station know (and we know) that this sort of poll is absolutely without scientific value. No effort has been made to ensure that the voting sample is random. People can vote as many times as they like. Yet the newscasters announce the results at the end of the broadcast as though the fate of the world is hanging on the result. What is real, what is true, and what is correct or right is not as important as what people are saying.
The Iowa Straw Poll has launched us into a year of political campaigns -- and the public opinion polls that seem to follow as day follows night. Most of these polls are done by journalistic interests with journalistic goals in mind. How much value are they to the candidates? Those who poll at the head of the pack will claim the polls are a true reflection of what the American people are thinking and saying. Those who are running behind will remind us that polls predicted that Dewey would defeat Truman in 1948 and that Landon would defeat Roosevelt in 1936. Whether they dismiss or celebrate the results of public opinion polls, they all want to know what those results are.
They want to know what people are saying and thinking. "Who do people say that I am?" is an important, even compelling question for them and the answer will help to shape the way they present themselves and their opinions to the public. What people think and say will determine everything from the color of their neckties to how many flag pins they wear on their lapels. In some cases it may shape or even determine the opinions and platforms of the candidates. After all, didn't Abraham Lincoln grow a beard because of one little girl's opinion about how he might mitigate his homely appearance?
Politicians and polling organizations also argue about whether public opinion polls don't just measure public opinion but actually shape it. Can a poll really create a "bandwagon effect"? Does reporting that one candidate is in the lead cause other people to jump on that bandwagon, as some politicians claim? Or does such a report actually create a backlash in favor of the underdog? Or is the effect of polling reports on the voting public negligible, as polling organizations claim?
Word of mouth, what people say about a movie, can turn a lukewarm opening night into a long-running "sleeper" hit. In 2011, Tyler Perry's Jumping the Broom and Justin Bieber's Never Say Never opened with disappointing tickets sales but grew to become huge hits when audiences talked them up. Charles Frazier's first novel, Nickel Mountain, was published with a tiny first release of only 25,000 copies but was loved by small independent booksellers and readers. It went on to win the National Book Award after spending 45 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.
The movie Pretty Woman originally ended as did the novel upon which it was based -- sadly, with Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) driving away and Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) returning in tears to her life as a prostitute. When director Garry Marshall tested that version with preview audiences, they reacted so angrily that he reshot the ending with the happy resolution we have all come to know.
What other people think and say can even determine what church we attend. Megachurches draw large crowds for many reasons but one important reason is that they draw large crowds. People see lots of other people going to a church and they wonder what the buzz is about. They go because lots of other people go.
What people are saying is important to politicians, publishers, movie moguls, journalists, megachurch preachers, and even my grandparents.
THE WORD
Not surprisingly, in Matthew's gospel it seems to be important to Jesus too -- but not too important.
In the gospel lesson for this Sunday he takes a sort of straw poll. "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Or in our modern vernacular: "What are people saying about me?"
The disciples answer that most people outside this small group aren't getting it. They have identified Jesus as one of a bunch of dead prophets, anyone from John the Baptist to Jeremiah. Jesus reacts to this news with a verbal shrug of the shoulders. He lets it go and moves on to the next, more important question: "Who do you say that I am?"
What, he wants to know, are his closest friends, his inner circle, saying and thinking? Has he written an ending to his life and ministry that he will have to rewrite if these guys give the wrong answer? Will he have to change the color of his toga? Trim his beard differently? Change to a different style of sandal? Certainly he will not change his message but how might he change his delivery of it?
Fortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, Peter gets it right. The disciples have not gotten much right up to this point. They have been a resolutely dense and uninsightful bunch. But here, Peter comes up with the right answer.
Or does he? Peter may have the right words and Jesus congratulates him on that but immediately after the words of congratulations and promise, he shuts down any further discussion, telling the disciples to keep this whole "Messiah" thing to themselves.
So where does that leave us? What are people saying about us? Do we care? Should we? And more importantly, what are they saying about the Jesus they see in us?
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The key to this pericope is that (as I noted above) the disciples are not a focus group. Jesus does not ask what people are saying about him -- people far and people near -- to see if he is getting it right, but to see if they are. The wider public, it turns out, is not. The disciples are getting it but in word only. They have not worked out all of the implications of those words.
This little conversation in Caesarea Philippi may indeed be the place where Jesus decides to rewrite the ending of his story. The verses immediately following this reading make that a very real possibility: "From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
This would seem to raise the possibility, at least, that the crucifixion may have not been preordained for Jesus but chosen by him.
Much of pop Christianity focuses on the rewards of discipleship: eternal life, the fellowship of believers, salvation from sin and hell, life in the kingdom, and so on. No matter how we interpret these concepts, they all sound pretty good... and they are.
In his story, however, Matthew calls us to focus less on our own future and present rewards and spend some time listening to what others are saying. Is our message getting communicated effectively? When people watch and listen to us are they seeing and hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? If not, what do we need to change? Our delivery? Our medium? Our language and symbols? When we listen to those to whom we are bringing the good news, we may discover that we need to change something about how we are delivering that message -- and the change may require some sacrifice from us, even as it did from Jesus.
It may require us to leave our comfort zone. It might require us to be less popular. We could lose money or even our job. We might be required to drop a beloved hobby or take up a volunteer position we'd rather not hold. We might find ourselves actually taking up a cross or two in our community or the world... or not. We might discover that we, like Peter, have gotten it right.
We won't know one way or the other until we ask that all-important question: "What are people saying?" Not about us, but about Jesus.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Perspective -- Promotion -- Perseverance
by Ron Love
Matthew 16:13-20; Romans 12:1-8
Rev. Billy Talen, who directs a touring choir promoting humanitarianism, wrote an article this week for Sojourners magazine titled "Have We Christianized Jesus?" Talen opened his article with this line: "The Christianized Jesus -- the turning of a radical into a conservative shadow of his former self -- explains our problem of establishing and celebrating freedom fighters" of society today. According to Talen, pastors, politicians, and community leaders promote policies that are opposed to the teaching of Jesus but are popular with mainstream Christian opinion. Talen concluded that we must understand the radical Jesus "so that we have clearer courage for our own activism."
It seems we still have a concept of Jesus that is reflected in the old Burt Reynolds movies from the time when CB radios were so popular. "Hey, good buddy! What's your handle?" we might announce ourselves to an unknown passerby, waiting for a response followed by a nonsensical conversation. As the shadow of that concept still prevails this day, we would like to ask, "Good buddy Jesus, what's your handle?" Most of us would like to think that's just what Jesus' handle is: "Good Buddy!" But as we know, people like clever CB handles, so Jesus could be "chum" or "pal" or "bro" or "cohort" or "fellow traveler" -- or most simply, "friend."
When Norman Vincent Peale was young he spent time in a Sunday school class taught by his mother. She began her first lesson by discussing the baseball players for the Cincinnati Reds, emphasizing how awesome they were. Of course, she captivated the attention of all the boys in the class. Then she transitioned into discussing how awesome Jesus was and at the conclusion young Norman said, "What a man!" Not to be criticized for using sexist language but Jesus has a lot of machismo. Jesus had the courage and stamina to be a radical in a society of conformists as he thundered forth a message of justice, forgiveness, acceptance, peace, and righteous living. Let's not forget that Jesus' CB handle is "Son of God," "Messiah," "Morning Star," and "Good Shepherd."
It is time we no longer have a grocery store mentality of Jesus, where we go down the aisles of Piggly Wiggly and say I want some ice cream, I want a fillet, and I want a frozen pizza. Instead, it is time we find ourselves at Lowe's to pick up a hammer, a saw, and a portable generator, for we have work to do.
Succumbing to protesters from the liberal website truthout.org that pushes the agenda of separation of church and state, the U.S. Air Force recently stopped teaching a program to missile silo operators that it had been using for 20 years. When you close the door to a missile silo the two occupants, if the orders should come, must be able to say, "I can do that." So the course, taught by chaplains, used scripture and church history to explain the Just War theory. Separation of church and state does not sanction separation of Christian beliefs from life's actions.
So when we are asked, as Peter was, "But who do you say that I am?" we have varied answers for the radical prophet in our midst. In Somalia and the Sudan Jesus would be a humanitarian, feeding the starving children. In London he would be a street-corner preacher, proclaiming peace. In Mexico he would be an advocate for justice against the drug cartels. In Washington DC, he would be a lobbyist for reconciliation. There are many answers to who Jesus is -- and none of them are passive.
Paralleling this is when Paul teaches that we are all members of the body of Christ but each of us has a different job to do. Some tasks may overlap with another's calling and some will be unique unto myself, yourself. In the home we are to be exceptional spouses and parents. In the church we are to be advocates for missions. In the community we are to be the beneficiaries of the poor. As citizens we are to call politicians to accountability. There are many roles but only one calling.
What we need then is "perspective" on who Jesus is and our role in the church. What we need then is to be "promoters" of the gospel message. What we need then is to be "perseverant" until the assigned task is completed.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
I. Perspective -- Discuss the different roles that Jesus played during his public ministry and as members of the body of Christ, we must select our role.
II. Promotion -- Discuss how we must understand, proclaim, and act upon the gospel message.
III. Perseverance -- Note that to be a radical advocate of justice in a society of acquiescence we must undauntedly pursue our assigned task.
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Broadway musical and film 1776 tells the story of the writing, perfecting, and finally the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It depicts how Dr. Lyman Hall, the new delegate to the continental congress from Georgia, is asked at one point to take a stand, to declare himself for or against a resolution declaring independence from England. Hall states that he is troubled about this choice because "Georgia is split right down the middle on this issue. The people are against it and I am for it." Later, when Hall decides to vote for independence regardless of what the people in his state say, he recalls the word of an Englishman, Edmund Burke: "Your representative owes you not his industry only, but judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion."
* * *
"Pastors and other trained professionals of the church have often developed a system of beliefs that is qualitatively different from the faith they communicate to the local congregation." Thus begins Pastor Jack Good's fascinating and controversial book, The Dishonest Church.
In it he makes the argument that pastors are suffering inordinate mental and emotional stress, and congregations are suffering from stunted spiritual growth because their leaders are afraid to be honest with them. Church leaders spend three to four years and thousands of dollars in seminary -- and upon graduation are often told by their mentors that it is professional suicide to share with their congregations the things they have learned. Judicatory officials communicate the same message, if not quite so explicitly.
Grow the congregation, add members, increase the budget, and make sure denominational contributions are kept current. Theology? Well, that's complicated, isn't it? And often dangerous. Best to stay within the safe boundaries of custom and tradition, preach safe sermons, and worry about what color the nursery should be painted.
The tyranny of "what-people-might-say," says Good, binds and gags the pastor, starves the laity, and ultimately poisons the church with dishonesty!
* * *
In Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin, biographer David Evanier tells how the superstar singer, songwriter, actor, and entertainer discovered as an adult that everything his family had told him about himself since he was a child was a lie. His older sister was actually his mother and his mother was actually his grandmother. Darin's response was an unmitigated rage. He had been a sickly child, barely surviving two bouts of rheumatic fever that severely damaged his heart, and the resulting medical bills left his family in a state of perpetual poverty. Even as his career was reaching his zenith, bringing him more money that he could ever spend, he cut his family out of his life and refused to give them even a dime's worth of help.
When Bobby Darin died of rheumatic heart failure at the age of 37, he was an angry, bitter man who was embarrassed by and estranged from his family because he could not abide what people might say if his strange and complicated background were ever to be discovered.
* * *
Who do we say Christ is? The answer to that question will play a very important part in the way we live our lives.
Henry Ford was a genius who literally put America on wheels. He developed the assembly-line method of making cars and he sold them cheaply. He believed in paying his workers, and he always gave them double the going rate. Yet, tragically, history does not remember Henry Ford as a great man. He was very prejudiced. He hated blacks; he hated Jewish people; he hated FDR; he hated the DuPonts. The only person he liked was Adolf Hitler. Henry Ford died broken and disappointed. His only son, Edsel, died of cancer, and Henry was never able to enjoy life again.
Who do we say Christ is? The answer to that question determines what we believe, and what we believe determines the way we live our lives.
* * *
Hoping to find some reason to accuse him, a man asked Gregory of Nazianzus in 381 AD this question: "Who do you say Jesus is?"
Knowing the treachery behind the question, Gregory still gave his honest answer. He said, "Jesus fasted in the wilderness and so began his ministry by being hungry, yet he is the Bread of Life. Jesus was weary, yet he is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet he is our king. Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver, yet he is the owner of the world. Jesus was brought like a sheep to the slaughter, yet he is the Good Shepherd. As Jesus hung on the cross, he said, 'I thirst,' yet he is Living Water. Jesus died, yet he is Life Everlasting. You ask me who I say Jesus is? I say, 'Jesus is my Lord, my Savior, my all in all.' "
* * *
Sometimes we would like to be flies on the wall, hearing what people really think about us without the bounds of social politeness. When our egos are strong, we would like to discover how others really perceive us. A good friend can provide feedback but that is usually through the biased filters of friendship. Who do people say that I am? I once overheard a woman in a restaurant talking about her pastor. She commented on his meaningful sermons, delightful family, and good sense of humor. She said her church was very fortunate to have this pastor and that he was really making a difference. Then she happened to mention the pastor's name and I discovered it was one of my members talking about me. I glowed for a while in response to this overheard positive feedback. I wonder if Jesus glowed in response to the feedback he received from his disciples. It would have been something to be compared to John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Elijah. He would have been joyful to know that at least one person (Peter) saw him as he was.
* * *
Although God communicated with Paul somehow about spiritual gifts, maybe Paul's teaching about spiritual gifts didn't begin with a revelation from God. Perhaps Paul's teaching about spiritual gifts began by his looking at the constructive, helpful things Christians did in serving God. That's the first indication of God's presence in people's lives and service, one that hadn't shown up uniformly in all of Paul's congregations.
In Saint Benedict's rule for monasteries, he included the essentially positive direction that Paul noted about the Christian faith. In line with Paul's recognition of different gifts, Benedict instructed the monastery's abbot to adapt himself to different personalities within the community. Above all, the abbot must wield his authority in ways that are ultimately positive. In exercising his gift of supervision, as Paul would also urge, the abbot "should know that he has undertaken care of sick souls, not tyranny over healthy ones."
* * *
Lots of people become disenchanted with the church. The church is an institution both human and divine. At its very best, it displays Jesus Christ; at its very worst, it is the place where pettiness and hypocrisy are pleased to dwell.
The great theologian Karl Barth once observed that living in the church, we are like birds held captive in a cage. It seems that we always find ourselves banging up against the bars, seeking to soar free of the church's human limitations.
The church surely has its problems -- always has, always will. The church often fails to live out the full measure of faithfulness. Yet somewhere deep down... somewhere beneath the lowest level of the foundation... somewhere in the cool and fertile darkness there is rock. The foundation on which the church is truly built is the experience of a living Lord.
* * *
A recent study of congregations and pastors showed an interesting reality. A group of pastors had been trained to renew their congregations. They learned about door-knocking, introducing new worship services, writing a good mission statement, and all sorts of important ingredients for revitalizing a church. Then they went out and did the work -- but five years later, none had revitalized a congregation.
In trying to discover why this happened, the trainers found pastors who had redeveloped ministries and asked them what the keys to their success were. They talked about door-knocking, introducing new worship services, writing a good mission statement, and all the same important ingredients to revitalizing a church that the original training had included. There was just one addition: the pastors who had revitalized congregations said that the prayer life of the people had reconnected them to a living Christ who not only listened to their prayers but also guided them as they sought God's will.
All the techniques in the world could not revitalize the church -- being connected to Jesus Christ was the key to new life in the church.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: If it was not God who was on our side, let's say it together.
People: If it was not God who was on our side,
Leader: we would have been swallowed up alive.
People: The floods would have swept us away.
Leader: Blessed be our God who has not given us away.
People: Our help is in our God who made heaven and earth.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who is One.
People: We worship that God who never changes.
Leader: Come and worship the God comes in many ways.
People: We worship the God who deigns to encounter us in a variety of ways.
Leader: We worship a God of constancy and flexibility.
People: May we be like our God, never changing in our changing.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Maker, in Whom We Live"
found in:
UMH: 88
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 262
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
Renew: 46
"God of Many Names"
found in:
UMH: 105
CH: 13
"Many Gifts, One Spirit"
found in:
UMH: 114
NCH: 177
"God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
"O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee"
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
"Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service"
found in:
UMH: 581
H82: 601
PH: 427
CH: 461
LBW: 423
ELA: 712
Renew: 286
"Sois la Semilla" ("You Are the Seed")
found in:
UMH: 583
NCH: 528
CH: 478
"How Majestic Is Your Name"
found in:
CCB: 21
Renew: 98
"The Steadfast Love of the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 28
Renew: 23
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is ever one yet known in many ways: Grant us the grace to reflect your image by being whole in our character and yet being flexible in reflecting your glory; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise and glorify you, O God, for your constant being. We praise and glorify you for your willingness to meet us in whatever form you need to take in order for us to see you. Help us, your children, to reflect your constancy in our character and your changing form in our flexibility to show others your love in ways that they need to experience it. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the weakness of our character and the rigidity of our ways.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are easily swayed from our beliefs by people or circumstances. Too often we take the easy way out. Yet in our day-to-day actions we are often rigid. We insist that things be a certain way without allowing for any deviation. Forgive us our foolish ways and help us to be firm in our character and flexible in our work with others. Help us, by the power of your Spirit, to reflect you more clearly to others. Amen.
Leader: God's love and forgiveness is constant. God's love is infinite in the ways it appears to us. Let us take heart and resolve to be more like our God.
Prayer for Illumination
Send, O God, your Spirit of Light upon us that we may clearly perceive your nature and your work as your gospel is read and proclaimed among us. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship you, O God, for your constancy that supports us in all the changing ways of life. We praise you, also, for your willingness to meet us where we are in the midst of all our changes.
(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 easily swayed from our beliefs by people or circumstances. Too often we take the easy way out. Yet in our day-to-day actions we are often rigid. We insist that things be a certain way without allowing for any deviation. Forgive us our foolish ways, and help us to be firm in our character and flexible in our work with others. Help us, by the power of your Spirit, to reflect you more clearly to others.
We thank you for all the ways you have come to us and dwelt within and among us. Your never-changing love is shown in a myriad of ways. We thank you for family and friends who have nurtured us and for your church that has shown us your love as it has shown us your Christ.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who do not know you as a God of love and care. We pray for those who are overwhelmed by the things in their lives.
(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
Take an object, like Play-Dough or Silly Putty that you can shape into many forms. You may even give the children some and ask them make something out of it. Then talk about the different shapes. Ask several of the children what their object is made of. There are many different objects, but they all consist of the same stuff. God is like that, in that God is always the God of love and grace. God is constant and unchanging but God is willing to take different shapes. God is willing to be human. God is willing to be a Spirit that dwells within us. We can be like God. We can be constant in being loving and kind, even though that will look different depending on who we are and who we are around.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Jesus' Public Opinion Poll
Matthew 16:13-20
Good morning, boys and girls! Today let's pretend that I am a news reporter who is trying to get some very important information. I will ask you some questions, and I will then write down your answers. It is very important that you tell me exactly how you feel.
Here is my first question: "Do you think that the President of the United States is doing a great job?" (let the children answer) Second question: "Do you like to see cartoons on Saturday morning television or would you rather watch them on school nights?" (let them answer) Third question: "Which are the best teachers, men or women?" The last question is: "Do your parents love you more than anyone else in the whole world?" That is our public opinion poll, and I will turn your answers into our newspaper for their study and information. Thank you.
Television news programs as well as newspapers and magazines run a lot of polls. Americans think that polls are very important and a lot of important decisions are made on the information that is received from people like you.
Jesus once had a public opinion poll of his disciples. He asked all of the disciples what they had heard about him. He wanted to know what people were thinking about him and who they thought that he was. He asked each disciple. Some of them said that he was the prophet Elijah and others thought that he was the prophet Jeremiah. Some were talking about him being John the Baptist. There were a lot of different ideas of who Jesus really was and each of these people that the disciples talked about was important people in Jewish history. Jesus listened very carefully to what the people thought, but then he asked one more question. He asked the disciples who they thought he was. This was really an important question. You would have thought that it would have taken a lot of thought and some real time. But Peter was listening to Jesus, and he just said in a hurry what was on the tip of his tongue: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." That was a mouthful. He was right and Jesus told him that he was right. But he also told Peter that he did not think up that answer on his own. That answer came from God the Father in heaven, and it was given for Peter to say. It was something that no one would ever forget. The answer that Peter gave was the thing that Christians have been saying for almost 2,000 years when people have asked who Jesus is.
The next time that you hear about a poll that was taken, I hope you think about the one that Jesus took one day while he was walking through a town called Caesarea Philippi. It was Peter's answer that we will always remember. Jesus is Christ, the Son of the Living God.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 21, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
