The ongoing crisis in the Ukraine has seen the re-emergence of international dynamics not experienced since the height of the Cold War, as diplomats and world leaders wrangle over the fate of the Crimea while lobbing charges and threats at one another. In the wake of the overthrow of Ukraine’s dictatorial (but Moscow-aligned) president, Russian forces seem to have skillfully exploited the resulting power vacuum by sending in unmarked troops to occupy the Crimean peninsula -- a historically Russian area that was only added to Ukrainian territory by Soviet leaders in the 1950s -- while fomenting unrest amongst the ethnic majority Russian population (who the faux “militia” is ostensibly “protecting”). The international community has reacted with anger at what it perceives as an invasion of another nation’s sovereignty; meanwhile, Crimea’s parliament has voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, and a referendum is scheduled this Sunday to ratify that decision -- escalating the crisis and causing President Obama to respond by beginning to impose sanctions. Despite the looming specter of more severe sanctions which could seriously damage his nation’s economy, Russian president Vladimir Putin has held firm in the course he has plotted, threatening to retaliate for any economic sanctions by freezing American assets.
As all this swirls around, taking a step back to view the larger picture reveals what may really be Putin’s prime motivation -- the desire to reassert Russia as a great nation while maintaining access to a warm-water naval base on the Black Sea. That raises the question of exactly what it is that makes a great nation... and in the modern age, it’s usually defined in terms of economic and military might -- a superpower that other nations respect and fear. That’s clearly one of the dynamics in play; Russia’s position on the ground seems unassailable and its determination strong enough to withstand global criticism, while President Obama’s measured response is lambasted in many quarters for appearing weak. However, in the next installment of The Immediate Word team member Chris Keating notes that when God tells Abram in this week’s assigned lectionary passage from Genesis that “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you,” he has something very different in mind. Our blessings come from God’s love for us and our faith in him -- not from treading carefully and kowtowing to the power of earthly dominions (or from making others bend to our will). The Psalmist underlines this further, pointing out that our help comes not from those who are strong (or from making ourselves strong); instead, it “comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Chris delves into what that means... and he suggests that rather than coming from a position of strength, the exact opposite is true -- greatness comes from emptying ourselves of our own ambition.
Team member Leah Lonsbury shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and our search for our ultimate identity as children of God. The passage describes Jesus’ encounter with a Pharisee named Nicodemus who -- because thinks he’s already got a handle on everything -- seems utterly incapable of grasping Jesus’ metaphors about being born again. After trying to explain himself, Jesus marvels in exasperation that Nicodemus can’t “understand these things.” Leah discusses how, like Nicodemus, we often look to superficial and trivial things rather than really important matters in framing our identities -- and finds a great example of this in the current cultural fascination with popular Buzzfeed quizzes, which are all the rage on Facebook and other social media. However, Leah notes, perhaps the yearning for a greater understanding of ourselves and the characteristics (and characters) we share with others (an important aspect of the quizzes’ popularity) mirrors the seeking at the heart of our Lenten journey.
Unholy Promises
by Chris Keating
Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121
Like the bitter “polar vortex” that has held much of North America in a vise-like grip of freezing weather this winter, the crisis in the Ukraine sent a deadly chill across the world. In response, diplomats are skating on patchy ice, while some world leaders fumble with their skates.
What’s ahead isn’t going to be easy. Clearly, there will be no easy jumps across this pond.
It was an unexpected postscript to the Sochi Olympic Games, and a story that continues to evolve. At the moment, however, the world is again focused on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. Having already been authorized to use military force in the Ukraine until the “sociopolitical situation is normalized,” Putin is proving that he isn’t worried about winning popularity contests.
Meanwhile, the Crimean parliament voted to join the Russian Federation. The parliament set this Sunday (March 16) as the date for a public referendum on whether to secede from the Ukraine. Putin indicated his endorsement of the proposal, and Russian legislators are said to be “fast-tracking” laws that would facilitate absorbing foreign territories.
Following the bedazzling fireworks of the Olympics, Putin quickly ignited a far more dangerous spectacle by invading a sovereign nation. To borrow a line from Machiavelli, Putin’s actions demonstrate he seemingly prefers to be feared rather than loved.
It is proof that spring is still weeks away.
Clearly, Russia yearns to assert itself as a great nation. The occupation of Crimea reinforces the image of Russia as a mighty superpower -- an image it tried to put front and center during the Olympics. Yet analysts warn that the move is fraught with difficulty, proving this could be another snowflake that won’t unfold.
Putin’s march on Crimea coincides with our Lenten reading of the call of Abraham in Genesis 12, and offers an opportunity to consider anew God’s promise to “make of you a great nation.” Abraham was blessed as he trusted God’s leading -- a response that seems vastly different than Putin’s rather unholy promise to seize a sovereign nation.
In the News
There will be no quick and easy solutions to the crisis in the Ukraine, and many feel even Western sanctions will fail to reverse Russia’s movement into Crimea -- or perhaps other parts of Ukraine.
Peter Turchin, a Russian-American scientist who has studied the dynamics of how empires rise and fall, notes that Putin’s motives in bringing Crimea under Russian auspices are more than economic -- though that is surely part of his reasoning. Turchin believes that certain “sacred values” are at stake in the conflict, including staking a claim against NATO’s drive to keep Russia contained. Crimea’s geopolitical importance to Russia is critical, says Turchin. He observes: “Their fears may be exaggerated, but the political class perceives returning Crimea to the Russian orbit as a necessary condition for retaining the status of a great power, which is for many an existential issue.”
Almost as important, says Turchin, is the perception of Crimea’s sacred value to Russia. For centuries Russians battled with Crimean Tatars -- battles seen as heroic and critical to Russian history. Many in Russia felt it was mistake for Crimea to be retained by Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Bringing the peninsula back under Russian control would correct a historical wrong, many believe -- and also secure control of an important warm water naval base.
Modern Ukrainian politics and economic woes thicken the plot too.
Scandals dating back to 2004 had plagued former president Viktor Yanukovich, who has since received Russian asylum. More recently, deteriorating economic conditions led to the ouster of Yanukovich. Just as newly elected leaders in Kiev began assessing the urgency of the country’s ailing economy, the world’s attention quickly shifted to Crimea. In the chaos created by a failing government and a weak economy, pro-Russian forces seized opportunities.
Early this week, as protestors removed the Ukrainian flag from a Crimean military base, Russian forces swept across the peninsula in advance of Sunday’s vote. Russia is calling for peaceful surrender -- while the West is crying foul.
International leaders, including President Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel, have told Putin they believe the upcoming vote is a violation of international law. Merkel concedes that the crisis may cause the G-8 and related trade agreements to crumble. Some in her government believe the battle has already been lost.
With limited options available for reaching a settlement, one could wonder what Russia (and Putin in particular) hopes to gain from this expansion.
Some feel that Putin is merely attempting to protect his nation’s interests and to seek a voice at the economic table. Such voices urge against hasty reactions, calling for restraint from the West. Others put the question of motives more plainly: Putin has done this simply because he can.
Still, apart from restoring Russia’s prestige, what would Russia actually gain from annexing Crimea?
Very little, according to one independent Russian television journalist. Tikhon Dzyadko, deputy editor of the Dozhd network, worries that the situation will only isolate Russia more instead of returning it to some vision of past grandeur:
What does [the Kremlin] get in return? Problems on its own territory. Think of the reckless proclamations about the right of Crimea to self-determination... the Kremlin seems to have forgotten that Japan has a claim out for the Kuril Islands, and that a peace treaty has not yet to be signed with Tokyo. “Don’t chop the branch you’re sitting on” is [a] Russian proverb.
There’s no clear indication that Putin is about to go on a chopping expedition. Still, Chancellor Merkel in particular does believe that Putin is attempting to reclaim a former Soviet-era glory. Others acknowledge that the Russian president has been offended by being characterized as a Hitler-type dictator. His sense of pride may be at stake, according to a report in the Christian Science Monitor:
“I think Putin is truly offended by the threats of sanctions, and people talking about him as if he were some dictator,” says Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a leading Moscow-based foreign policy journal. “Putin’s angry at what he perceives as Western unwillingness to even listen to his arguments. So, he’s reacting to that.”
President Obama has said Russia is not “being strategic,” and that Putin’s meddling in Crimea will only serve to further isolate Russia. Of course, similar arguments have been tossed at the United States from time to time, especially during the invasion of Iraq. All of this provides a launching pad to explore a critical theological question related to this week’s Genesis text: “Just what does it mean to become a great nation?”
In the Scriptures
God calls Abraham to leave the familiar, and to venture toward an unknown destination. While Putin may be motivated by nostalgia, Abraham can harbor no such illusions. First, the checkered past of his ancestors leaves one skeptical about potential greatness emerging any time soon (cf. Genesis 6:11). Secondly, it is God’s promise that Abraham and Sarah will become the progenitors of a great nation -- yet a nation requires offspring.
And Sarah was barren. The beginning of this story reminds us that a great nation will emerge from the most unlikely of places. New life will come from emptiness. God has promised that Abraham’s children will become a great nation, possessing land and innumerable residents. But from the start of this venture there is no clear indication of how that will happen.
The promise is made in the midst of emptiness. Abraham is no conqueror or a hero seeking something that is owed to him. His family is to leave any security behind in order to respond to God’s clear and direct call. God instructs them to leave the trusted, familiar, and reliable for something that has yet to be defined. It is a call, as Walter Bruggemann observes, that comes from a place of relinquishment and renunciation (Genesis [Westminster John Knox Press, 1986], p. 118).
In contrast, Putin’s motives in seeking Crimea seem to emanate from a desire to regain personal pride, or perhaps even a sense that his nation deserves more respect (or territory). It seems that to be a great nation, one must be feared.
Genesis, along with the reading from Psalm 121, offers significant clues as to what constitutes “greatness” from God’s perspective. Abraham’s future is not claimed by a military conquest, or by grabbing mineral rights, or by taking what belongs to someone else. It is built only on Yahweh’s promise -- a promise made in spite of barrenness. Greatness emerges from emptiness, which Christians proclaim as the gift of God in Jesus Christ.
In another article Brueggemann notes, “The text focuses clearly, simply, and abruptly on the new life to which God’s intrusive speech calls them. Understood theologically, new life is evoked from a single source and requires only a single response” (Texts for Preaching, Year A [Westminster John Knox Press, 1995], p. 193).
Likewise, as the Psalm reminds us, our pilgrimage through life is a gracious gift. The promise to Abraham is indeed a gracious blessing -- it is not something that he deserves, or has earned. The promise comes from the Lord “who made heaven and earth,” and not as the result of something Abraham was able to fashion for himself.
A holy promise cannot be grasped after, but only graciously trusted and received. And this is what happens in Genesis 12: “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” The genesis of a great nation comes as the result of faith.
In the Sermon
God’s blessing of Abraham resulted in a blessing for all the families of the earth (v. 3), shattering the barren experiences of the past and creating new life. The greatness of Abraham’s blessing was the result of his faithful discerning of God’s leading. Believing that their help did indeed come from the Lord, and that God would not let their feet slip, Abraham and Sarah journeyed forward.
Such remarkable faith stands in contrast with images of what constitutes contemporary greatness -- whether political or cultural. Putin (and if we are honest, many other political leaders) seeks to build massive empires. That is what defines greatness. Abraham, on the other hand, goes blindly into a future that has few guarantees. Political leaders may manipulate outcomes, but Abraham’s story is one of openness to a future guided only by God.
Consider the power of such astounding promises. A wandering people shall find a home, and a couple who had endured painful infertility shall be the parents of multitudes. The story of Abraham is a call to a new future, and an invitation to be blessed. Great empires are not necessarily blessed empires -- and rarely do we hear of political leaders cast in the mold of Abraham. Yet the hope of Abraham indeed leads us to the new life of Christ.
The image at the center of Abraham’s journey, as Brueggemann suggests, is one of renunciation. In order to become great, Abraham lets go of the security of his known world. Abraham moves forward not in a spirit of conquest, but in faith. He responds to the promise of God’s love, and is blessed in unimaginable ways.
As Ukrainians go to the polls this Second Sunday of Lent, we may wish to imagine what greatness would look like in that country (and others) if attitudes of renunciation and openness to the love of God would supplant self-interest and military aggression. Such is the power of a holy promise.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Leah Lonsbury
John 3:1-17
I have purposely avoided the popular Buzzfeed quizzes that circulate via Facebook and other social media, because honestly I don’t need another distraction or way to fritter away my time. There’s a dog who needs walking, kids who need chasing, work that needs doing, friends who need calling, news that needs reading, and a house that always needs cleaning. It seems, though, that the editors over at Buzzfeed suddenly became aware of my hard-nut-to-crack-quiz-avoider-church-nerd demographic lately, because they issued a quiz to which I couldn’t possibly say no: “Which biblical heroine are you?”
I was hoping to get someone exciting like Rahab (what Baptist preacher wouldn’t want to post that on Facebook?), but Buzzfeed assigned me Mother Mary. And not the radical, exciting Mother Mary... the docile, sensible one. Come on, Buzzfeed.
Naturally, I had to post my results on Facebook to refute them. My mother (first name Mary) had to agree outright. Of course. But then my other Jesus-lovin’ friends started pointing out the aspects of Mother Mary toward which I find myself reaching, like her prophetic, rabble-rousing, movement-leading, soul-singing side. That kind of commentary made me go back and reread Buzzfeed’s description with new eyes. I guess I do also aspire to be calm and sensible, the kind of person others can come to during difficult times for support, and someone who offers unconditional love and finds joy in life’s simple pleasures. But I’m not there yet, Buzzfeed.
What the quiz proposed to do -- name and classify me as a type -- it didn’t and couldn’t. After all, the quiz’s first question was “What is your favorite Disney movie?” What it did do, though, was tap into that part of me that is always searching. Not surprisingly, it took the help of my Spirit-filled friends who know and love me to go beyond the unsatisfying label-slapping enterprise of quizzes like these.
In her article “Finding Ourselves,” Central Baptist Seminary’s Molly Marshall writes about this quizzical trend and pursuits like it that tap into our search for ourselves and for meaning. She examines Buzzfeed, and admits to being Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, Vermont from the states quiz, and the biblical heroine I was after -- Rahab. Marshall also points to our culture’s fascination with genealogy (except for in March when we are all obviously Irish) and obsession with the Oscars. What do the Academy’s picks say about our own taste? Why are the fashions on the red carpet such a topic of conversation? Which one would we choose and what would it say about us? Why do we care if JLaw tripped yet again? Does her topple from celebrity heights bring her to our “mortal plain,” as Marshall puts it? Or does it make our blundering ascent that much more possible?
Marshall writes of these quizzes and pursuits as part of our attempt to comprehend who we really are and why it really matters. This quest, she proposes, mirrors the Lenten journey.
These trivial and humorous pursuits probably cloak the deeper search for identity that is the ongoing quest of unfinished humans. Besides being a time suck and too frequent distraction, they remind us how much we really desire to know and be known. They also point to a holy longing to know and accept our true selves.
Entering Lent is a time of stripping away the false self and letting the Spirit of God probe our innermost being. It is also a time of gaining perspective on the shape of our soul and the curve of our sin.
Our text from John’s gospel this week has real resonance with these Lenten questions and desires as well. Nicodemus appears in the limiting shadows, content with the label he has slapped on Jesus, not willing or able to go deeper than what he thinks he already knows. He doesn’t ask a question, but Jesus gives him an answer.
Here’s the answer to the question you’re forgetting to ask, Jesus tells Nic...
If you really want to get it, to be part of this kin-dom, to believe with the whole of your heart and life, you have to let go of your confident knowing and get swept up in the living water and wildly unpredictable Spirit. Give yourself over like a helpless infant to the life of God. Stop your self-assured and misguided forward march and gestate for a bit. Let God grow and ready you for Real Life, the one I came from God to give you.
It’s no coincidence that this story is unique to John. It calls us from darkness and dim understanding to light that exposes the whole of who we are and how we are living -- a through line of the fourth gospel. Living in the light and believing in John are not cerebral or interior concepts we simply know or comprehend. As George Stroup puts it, “In John’s gospel believing and doing are inseparable” (Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 2, pg. 72).
Jesus’ provocative words invite Nicodemus to incarnational faith that is necessitated by our incarnate God (Karoline Lewis, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 2, pg. 73). It requires a whole new kind of embodiment, a rebirth into a new way of being. Lurking in the shadows will not cut it. This faith must be lived in the light of day and given the freedom to change the details and pursuits of our daily lives.
This is God’s work, God’s life-giving and ongoing labor to which we must give ourselves. Our participation requires the opening of our hearts and minds and a willingness to let the whole of our lives be shaped by this rebirth. Sounds a lot like the purposes of Lent, doesn’t it? Molly Marshall writes of this, “Lent is a journey through the wilderness of our lives that makes possible ‘coming to ourselves.’ ”
Remember what last week’s gospel text taught us? God waits to meet, uphold, shape, and rebirth us as our truest selves in the wilderness.
This Lent, let us not get caught up in the minutiae, the quizzes, and what we think we already know about ourselves and God. If we do, we might miss the testimony that changes the whole dialogue of our lives. If we do, our lives and our faith might remain dim and uninhabited by One who comes from God to change everything.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Enemies of Greatness
Our help is in the name of the Lord. But our destruction comes from a thousand directions. Writing for Forbes, Jessica Hagy offers these six things as the most destructive “enemies of greatness”:
1. Availability. We often settle for what’s available, and what’s available isn’t always great. “Because it was there” is an okay reason to climb a mountain, but not a very good reason to take a job or a free sample at the supermarket.
2. Ignorance. If we don’t know how to make something great, we simply won’t. If we don’t know that greatness is possible, we won’t bother attempting it. All too often, we literally do not know any better than good enough.
3. Committees. Nothing destroys a good idea faster than a mandatory consensus. The lowest common denominator is never a high standard.
4. Comfort. Why pursue greatness when you’ve already got 324 channels and a recliner? Pass the dip and forget about your grand designs.
5. Momentum. If you’ve been doing what you’re doing for years and it’s not so great, you are in a rut. Many people refer to these ruts as careers.
6. Passivity. There’s a difference between being agreeable and agreeing to everything. Trust the little internal voice that tells you “this is a bad idea.”
It seems plausible that these enemies of personal greatness would just as effectively influence the greatness of institutions (churches?) and even nations.
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Greatness in Six Words
As part of their 2012 election coverage, Colorado Public Radio (CPR) asked their listeners to define, in just six words, what makes a nation great.
Some listeners just listed six words: “Freedom, respect, perspective, loyalty, sacrifice, love.”
Some used a phrase: “Working together for the common good.” “Yes, I am my brother’s keeper.”
Others chose a famous quote: “United we stand; divided we fall.”
And some arranged theirs like poetry: “Honest hearts. Clear minds. Working hands.”
What six words would you use to describe a “great nation”?
*****
10,000 Hours to Greatness
In Malcom Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success, he speaks at length about what has become known as the “10,000 Hour Rule.” Roughly, the rule says that it takes 10,000 hours of hard work and/or practice to become a world-class expert in any field. He also adds some caveats to that assertion. The 10,000 hours must be spent in really hard work, not just doing the thing but working at the edge of one’s ability. The rule is more true in areas that require cognitive as well as physical skills. The expertise we’re talking about here is not just common expertise. It is world-class expertise... the kind of expertise so rare that those who have it are often known by one name only: Tiger, Peyton, Venus, Kobe, Oprah.
In other words, he’s talking about greatness and what it takes to achieve it. Talent? Yes, of course. But talent is of no use, Gladwell points out, unless it is coupled with hard work. Generally speaking, 10,000 hours of hard work. Gladwell quotes neurologist Daniel Levitin, who writes: “The emerging picture from such studies is that 10,000 hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert -- in anything.”
Of course, Gladwell and those he quotes in his book have detractors who like to point out people who are very good at what they do but haven’t spent 10,000 hours getting there.
But Gladwell has covered that base already. He’s not talking about very good. He’s not even talking about really, really good. He’s talking about great.
*****
Ruled by Birth Order?
Dr. Joshua K. Hartshorne has spent much of his career studying the effect of birth order on identity and achievement. Writing in Scientific American, he says that revealing this fact usually draws blank stares. Why study that, people ask. Isn’t it pretty obvious?
Well, not necessarily, retorts Dr. Hartshorne.
Most of what we think we absolutely, certainly know about birth order is really just intuited notions gained from casual observation. Is she bossy? Typical oldest child. Is he lazy? Typical youngest child. That kind of thing.
But now, in the wake of some actual scientific studies, it turns out that birth order does contribute to who we are. But not too much. Family size tends to be just as important.
For instance, the more older siblings you have, the lower your IQ probably is. But don’t panic. The difference is so minute as to be insignificant. Birth order also tends to influence who we choose as friends. Oldest kids tend to hang with oldest kids, youngest with youngest. But so what? Right?
As Dr. Hartshorne says about the results of most current birth order studies, “although these effects are reasonably sized by the standards of research, they are small enough that it would not make any sense to organize college admissions or dating pools around birth order, much less NASA applicants.”
*****
Are You Your IQ?
The only people who care about IQ are the ones who have high scores. The rest of us couldn’t care less. Oh, it might be interesting to know what our IQ is -- but we instinctively know that it’s only one small thing that contributes to our overall success or failure, happiness or unhappiness.
Now, the online magazine ListVerse offers eight reasons why we are probably right to not worry too much about it. And here they are:
1. Original Purpose. The original purpose of the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler tests was to discover mental retardation in children under 15 years of age. Once a subject reaches the age of 15, the tests are pretty useless for determining anything like innate intelligence.
2. Unfairness. The answers to many questions on intelligence tests depend upon the ethnic group to which you belong and the geographical location in which you live, and the tests make no allowance for either of these.
3. Bragging Rights. People who get high scores on intelligence tests tend to feel good about themselves, but they don’t seem to get along in life any better than those with average scores.
4. Creativity. Intelligence tests don’t account for creativity, which has proven to be more important than intelligence to success and happiness.
5. Speed. Most intelligence tests are timed, but it has been proven that the speed with which a person answers a question has no bearing on their intelligence. If the answer is correct, it’s right no matter how long it takes a person to come up with it.
6. The Einstein Problem. Most intelligence tests are skewed toward math and science since the answers are obviously right and wrong; but there are other abilities and areas of knowledge that may require high intelligence yet are not easily testable.
7. Definition. It all comes down to how we define “intelligence.” Is it ability? Knowledge? Wisdom? The ability to apply knowledge? If we can’t even define it, how can we ever hope to measure it accurately?
8. Intellect Alone? Once you reach “average,” intelligence, in and of itself, isn’t really all that important. A very high IQ is pretty meaningless if you don’t pair it with drive, desire, ambition, creativity, kindness, and a host of other values and disciplines.
*****
Failure Is Not an Option... It’s a Requirement
Success consists of moving from failure to failure with enthusiasm. Winston Churchill said that, and he should know -- he failed the sixth grade but kept going.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he didn’t have any ideas. Henry Ford failed and went bankrupt five times before he finally succeeded.
Babe Ruth held the career home run record (714) for nearly 40 years (until it was broken by Hank Aaron) -- but he also held the career strikeout record (1,330) for nearly 30 years (until it was broken by Mickey Mantle). Michael Jordan missed about 9,000 shots, lost more than 300 games, and was trusted to hit the game-winning shot but missed 26 times.
As the Japanese axiom has it: “Success is falling down seven times and getting up eight.”
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From team member Mary Austin:
Identity from Letting Go
Identity is as much about what we leave out as what we choose. Columnist David Brooks writes in the New York Times that people who achieve greatness in any field are “masters of renunciation.” They know when to say no to things, he says, to close off options for the sake of something else: “People in public life live in a beckoning world. They have an array of opportunities. They naturally want to keep all their options open. The shrewd strategists tell them to make a series of tepid commitments to see what pans out. Hedge your bets. Play it smart.”
We want to have lots of choice, but they get in the way of focus. “But the shrewd strategy leads to impotence. You spread yourself thin. You dissipate your energies and never put full force behind any cause. You make your own trivial career the object of your attention, not the vision that inspired you in the first place. The public official who does this leaves no mark. Only the masters of renunciation leave an imprint, only those who can say a hundred Nos for the sake of an overwhelming Yes. Only the person who has burned the ships and committed to one issue has the courage to cast aside the advice of the strategists and actually push through change.”
Brooks is talking about public servants, but the same truth applies to all of us, and is especially true in the life of faith. Lent is a season dedicated to turning us into masters of renunciation, for the sake of following Jesus.
*****
Identity Through Art
Who would we be without any family pictures, mementoes, or keepsakes to remind us of the web of relationships around us? Many orphans don’t have any objects to remind them who they are, so art students around the country have been making portraits to give them. As written in Education World: “A past is something most people take for granted. But many children in impoverished countries have no personal histories with which to connect, no one to tell them stories of their early years, no family heirlooms, not even photos of themselves that capture milestones in their lives. Thousands of U.S. students, though, now are involved in building memories for orphaned and disadvantaged children, as well as hope for the future. Through two programs of The Memory Project, high-school art students draw portraits of children with nothing to call their own, and students in other grades write original stories to help children abroad learn English and escape from the fear in their daily lives.”
The Memory Project began with Ben Schumaker, who spent a month in an orphanage in Guatemala as a graduate student. “I met a man who used to live there [at the orphanage] who said it was important to help the kids hang onto keepsakes to honor their identity and heritage,” Schumaker told Education World.
The project also turns out to be meaningful for the students who create the portraits. As the article notes, “advanced art students at McKeel Academy of Technology, a Lakeland, Florida, charter school for grades 6-12, eagerly awaited the photos of Honduran orphans they would sketch this year, said art teacher Kathleen Merriman. She signed up for the program after colleagues told her about [a] CBS News story.... While students will be graded on their portraits, ‘they are working twice as hard on this as they would on something just being graded,’ she added. ‘They want to do the best that they can.... I just think it is a wonderful opportunity for both sides -- for my students as well as the orphans,’ Merriman told Education World. ‘I think they will learn a lot -- they’ve already learned a lot. It’s an awesome opportunity to learn what else is going on in the world and society.’ ”
*****
Greatness as the Fruit of Discipline
We often think that people like Tiger Woods, Warren Buffett, or Beyonce are born with incredible talent, but current research suggests that more than talent is at work. As Jeffery Colvin writes for CNN Money, “Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn’t mean intelligence, motivation, or personality traits. It’s an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well.” What happens to that talent can vary from person to person.
As the same article notes, “The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work. It’s nice to believe that if you find the field where you’re naturally gifted, you’ll be great from day one, but it doesn’t happen. There’s no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice. Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.”
The other requirement is focused practice, aimed at getting better and better.
I wonder what would happen if we managed to apply the same focus to our spiritual lives?
*****
Losing Your Greatest Gift
What if you lose the thing that makes you extraordinary in your chosen field? Star chef Grant Achatz was renowned for unusual flavors and combinations at his Chicago restaurant when -- ironically -- he got cancer of the tongue, and as a result of the radiation treatments lost his ability to taste. As an article on DailyGood.org reports, it was a “cruel outcome for a man whose life’s work depended on perceiving the delicate nuance and shaded subtleties of flavor.” Achatz was determined to keep working, and trained his fellow chefs to think and taste like he had.
After treatment, his ability to taste came back, one taste at a time. The article quotes him as saying, “My palate developed just as a newborn -- but I was 32 years old. So I could understand how flavors were coming back and how they synergized together.... It was very educational for me. I don’t recommend it, but I think it made me a better chef because now I really understand how flavor works.”
The article continues: “His loss and the subsequent slow recovery afforded Achtaz a chance to understand the evolution of taste and the chemistry of how different flavors interact, with a visceral purity that few, if any of us, will ever know. His initial loss through the radiation was accompanied by a total and complete annihilation of taste perception, followed by a very gradual relearning of it -- this with a radical new self-awareness. Unlike a newborn, Achatz could actually consciously and proactively tune into the process of taste acquisition underway. He could observe it in ways that were previously indiscernible and that led to fresh insight. Achatz’s experience shows us that with loss can come the opportunity to reacquire and relearn experience with greater consciousness and intention -- in such a way that the inner logic and the natural laws of experience become deeply apparent to you for the first time.”
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From team member Ron Love:
Psalm 121
With the apparent collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange, the entire validity of “bitcoins” -- virtual currency traded over the internet -- has been questioned. Created in 2009, this exotic new form of money was just beginning to receive mainstream acceptance as several large online retailers started accepting it in transactions... but since it does not involve banks, it may not be a secure form of currency. As Campbell Harvey, a business professor at Duke University, put it, the failure of Mt. Cox “reminds us of the downside of decentralized, unregulated currencies. There is no Federal Reserve or IMF to come to the rescue. There is no deposit insurance.”
Application: Unlike the transitory nature of bitcoins, the Psalmist could look to the stability of the hills and realize the unfailing presence of God.
*****
Genesis 12:1-4a
The Confederate flag still flies in the capital of South Carolina. It once flew proudly from atop of the statehouse dome in Columbia, until action by the NAACP in 2000 had it removed. The state’s legislature then moved the flag, which could barely be seen at such a height, to ground level on the north end of the capitol grounds. A recent editorial in a South Carolina newspaper condemns the flag being flown anywhere. The editorial reported: “Flying the Confederate flag is a choice, and if a person or business chooses to do it, that’s their choice. But on the grounds of a government building, it is a collective choice.”
Application: We are a part of the great nation that began with Abram. We cannot act as independent individuals apart from the directions given to Abram, for we are a part of the collective choice that he began.
*****
Genesis 12:1-4a
The first Oscar-nominated film from Egypt, The Square, will not be seen in that country. Government censors there have prevented the showing of the film -- whose title comes from Cairo’s Tahrir (“Liberty”) Square, where the protests against Hosni Mubarak’s regime were staged -- because of its depiction of the nation’s military rulers. The film includes very dramatic footage, because director Jehane Noujaim said she wanted to let viewers 50 and 100 years from now feel “that energy and that spirit of being in the square.”
Application: Centuries after the call of Abram, we can still feel the energy of that moment.
*****
Genesis 12:1-4a
Jamie Coots, a snake-handling preacher from Kentucky who was featured on the National Geographic Channel’s Snake Salvation series, was recently bitten by a rattlesnake during a worship service and died from his wounds. Coots had been bitten several times before, each time depending on prayer rather than medical care for healing. But this time, Coots’ refusal of medication proved fatal -- though those in his church believe that Coots died either because the Holy Spirit left him just prior to the bite and he was too egotistical to put the snake down, or because February 15 was the date appointed by God for him to die (either by a snakebite or by some other cause). At his funeral service, the snake that killed Coots was handled by his wife and daughter, both believing they were safe in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Application: Abram’s response to the calling of God was not a foolish response of faith.
*****
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Franny Beecher, the lead guitarist for Bill Haley and the Comets, recently died. The Comets are an integral part of rock & roll history, recognized for their hit “Rock Around the Clock” and identified as the first group to release a rock & roll song with 1953’s “Crazy Man, Crazy.” Talking about Beecher’s career, his daughter Pauline Grinstead said: “My dad didn’t play music for money. He was no businessman. He played music for music.”
Application: Paul speaks of following Jesus not for any kind of reward, but simply by faith, by a belief in the journey Jesus sets before us.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: We lift up our eyes to the hills -- from where will our help come?
People: Our help comes from God, who made heaven and earth.
Leader: God will not let our foot be moved; God who keeps us will not slumber.
People: God who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Leader: God will keep us from all evil; God will keep our life.
People: God will keep our going out and our coming in from this time on and forevermore.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who is great above all gods.
People: We bow in awe before the God of all creation.
Leader: Come and learn from God the true way to greatness.
People: We open our hearts and minds to the teaching of God.
Leader: Learn from Jesus the greatness of love and sacrifice.
People: We are disciples of Jesus and seek greatness in his service.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”
found in:
UMH: 57, 58, 59
H82: 493
PH: 466
AAHH: 184
NNBH: 23
NCH: 42
CH: 5
LBW: 559
ELA: 886
W&P: 96
AMEC: 1, 2
Renew: 32
“Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty”
found in:
UMH: 64
H82: 362
PH: 138
AAHH: 329
NNBH: 1
NCH: 277
CH: 4
LBW: 165
ELA: 413
W&P: 136
AMEC: 25
STLT: 26
Renew: 204
“How Great Thou Art”
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELA: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
“This Is My Song”
found in:
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELA: 887
STLT: 159
“Jesu, Jesu”
found in:
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELA: 708
W&P: 273
Renew: 289
“What Wondrous Love Is This”
found in:
UMH: 292
H82: 439
PH: 85
NCH: 223
CH: 200
LBW: 385
ELA: 666
W&P: 257
STLT: 18
“Lord of the Dance”
found in:
UMH: 261
W&P: 118
“Bread of the World”
found in:
UMH: 624
H82: 301
PH: 502
NCH: 346
CH: 387
W&P: 693
“Great Is the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 65
Renew: 22
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”
found in:
CCB: 55
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 awesome and great beyond all description: Grant that as we seek greatness for ourselves and for our nation we may seek it in knowing you and reflecting your image; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We worship you, O God, and bless your Name, for you are great. You call us to be great as persons and as a people by looking to you. Help us so to hear and follow your words to us today that we may find our greatness in you and not in the glitz of this world. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our seeking greatness through things that are not lasting.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look around us at all the glamour and glitz of this world, and we think that is what makes for greatness. We look at the riches and fame that people amass for themselves, and we call them great. We are aware of the power people wield, and we think that is greatness whether it is in the hands of individuals or nations. We forget that true greatness comes in following Jesus to the cross. Forgive our foolishness, and empower us with your Spirit that we may resist the call of the world and truly follow Jesus into your greatness. Amen.
Leader: God is great and expresses that greatness in love and grace, including forgiving us. Receive God’s grace and the power of God’s Spirit so that you may be true disciples of Jesus.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for your greatness. We are in awe of the wonder of your love and grace.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look around us at all the glamour and glitz of this world, and we think that is what makes for greatness. We look at the riches and fame that people amass for themselves, and we call them great. We are aware of the power people wield, and we think that is greatness whether it is in the hands of individuals or nations. We forget that true greatness comes in following Jesus to the cross. Forgive our foolishness, and empower us with your Spirit that we may resist the call of the world and truly follow Jesus into your greatness.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have cared for us and shown us your true greatness. We thank you for the grace which flows so freely from your throne.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all those who are in need. We pray that we may learn to reach out and care for one another so that we may be the kind of self-emptying disciples that our master Jesus showed us we could be.
(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 the recent Olympics. Talk about how long they were on television, and about all the fancy buildings and sites that were built for them. Talk about how neat it must have been to win a gold medal and stand before the whole world as the best at that sport. Ask the children if they can name any of the gold medal winners. Few, if any, will be remembered... if they even noticed any of them at all. Some things seem like greatness, but they don’t last. Only the greatness of God truly lasts -- the greatness built on love and care for one another.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Hit the Bull’s-Eye!
John 3:1-17
Object: a target
Do you know what this thing I have here is? (Show the target and let the children answer.) Yes, this is a target -- and if you were shooting at this, what would you try to hit? (Let them answer.) Yes, you would try to hit the very center, which is called the “bull’s-eye.”
Now, let’s imagine for a moment that you have a laser gun that shows a spot of light right on the place that you will hit if you fire it. If you wanted to hit this bull’s-eye, where would you put that spot of light? (Let them answer.) Of course, you would put it right on the bull’s-eye and pull the trigger. Would it make any sense to aim the gun at some other part of the target if you wanted to hit the bull’s-eye? (Let them answer.) No, it wouldn’t. That would be dumb, and you wouldn’t do that.
Well, do you know what? That’s exactly what a lot of people do when it comes to the subject of getting into heaven. God has told us that he loves us so much that he gave his only Son to die for us, and that he will give heaven as a free gift to anyone who believes in his Son. Who is that Son? (Let them answer.) Yes, it’s Jesus. So if you're aiming to go to heaven, all you have to do is believe in Jesus. That’s like hitting the bull’s-eye. But a lot of people don’t believe God. They think they have to work their way into heaven, and they think they will get there by doing all kinds of good works. That’s like aiming your gun all over the target except at the bull’s-eye, isn’t it? (Let them answer.)
Let’s thank God for making the target so clear that we all know how to get to heaven.
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven: Thank you for loving us so much that you gave your only Son to die for us, and for promising that everyone who believes in him will go to heaven. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, March 16, 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.
