Finding Words In Speechless Grief
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
This week's lectionary Old Testament and Gospel texts both contain accounts of the death of a widow's son. The pain and grief each woman experienced must have been overwhelming -- not only had they lost a spouse, but now they'd also lost their only offspring... and in the ancient world that meant in addition to the heartache of burying a child they were also facing extreme economic insecurity. In each case, however, there was a happy ending. As we look closer at these stories, the parallels in their narrative arc are striking: Elijah and Jesus were each moved by compassion for a mother's predicament; they acted on that compassion and were able to revive the dead son; and as a result there was a response of faithfulness and acknowledgement of God's power.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Chris Keating notes that pastors are familiar with the challenges posed by situations like these -- sitting with and comforting those who have lost loved ones is a basic part of pastoral work... and it's even more difficult when we're trying to help parents and others make sense of children who have been, as the euphemism goes, "taken before their time." But we don't have the healing/resuscitory power that Elijah and Jesus were able to call on -- so how can we make these stories meaningful for our people when their first impulse may be, like the widow who confronts Elijah, to question God and his representatives? Chris suggests that the answer may be right before us in these stories. Rather than getting distracted by the miraculous revival of the sons, instead we should focus on compassion and its companion impulse to action... and on the insight and faithful response that sees God at work, even when the results aren't easy to digest. Chris notes that compassionate action may do more than we can imagine to elicit a response like that of the widow of Zarephath, who tells Elijah: "Now I know that... the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth."
Team member Mary Austin offers some additional thoughts on the first part of the Old Testament text, in which the Lord provides sustenance for the widow and Elijah. As Mary notes, the Lord's directions come as something of a shock to the widow and her son, who are about to use their last provisions and prepare to die. Her dire predicament, Mary points out, is quite similar to many of the poorest members of our society -- particularly women and children -- who will bear the brunt of proposed cutbacks to food stamps and other social service programs. Yet Elijah assures the widow that the Lord will provide, telling her that her jar of meal and jug of oil will not be emptied. Mary asks us to consider: If we acquiesce to the cuts in food stamps that some of our elected leaders are seeking, are we demonstrating the same compassion that moved Elijah when he saw the widow gathering kindling? Are we as a society (and as individuals) prepared to emulate Elijah and do what we (and the Lord) can to provide for the less fortunate -- or are we perfectly willing to let them go home and suffer (and perhaps even die) without a second thought?
Finding Words in Speechless Grief
by Chris Keating
Luke 7:11-17; 1 Kings 17:17-24
For two hours, the parents watched silently as doctors pummeled their son's chest with cardiac compressions and infused life-saving medicines into his body. Doctors, nurses, and medical technicians surrounded their son, providing the best possible care. Despite this, the doctor looked at them and said the six words they prayed they would never hear: "There's nothing more we can do."
Their son had died.
Both the 1 Kings and Luke passages this week describe the trauma of children dying. The passages remind us of headlines that share the stories of children killed by natural tragedies and wartime atrocities. Cries of mourning parents in Newtown, Connecticut, and Moore, Oklahoma, mingle with the laments of parents of children killed by U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Blogger Lisa Belkin wisely observes that there is no word in the English language for a parent who loses a child. Belkin says, "When our parents die we are orphans. When our spouse dies, we are widowed. When a child dies we are speechless."
Yet it is often during these moments of utter speechlessness that pastors are called to offer words of comfort. Like Elijah, pastors stand in that tenuous space between the reality of death and the promise of God. Like Jesus, we hear the sound of a mother's grief, and are moved to acts of compassion. Our prayers are often filled with the bitter agony of having witnessed death. But soon we may be called to bring a word from the Lord, which raises the question: "When a child dies, how do we witness to the life-giving God?"
In the News
Recent events, including the devastating tornados in Oklahoma, provide glimpses into the unspeakable grief of parents who have lost children. Victims from those storms -- which included ten children -- were buried last week. Like the widow of Zarephath, the parents brought their children to God, searching for words that bring healing. During nine-year-old Antonia Candelaria's funeral, a Catholic deacon noted she was found holding hands with her best friend, forging an eternal bond. "They followed each other into heaven," said Deacon Marti Gulikers, "They will never be alone." At St. Andrew's United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Pastor D.A. Bennett presided over the funerals of a mother and her infant son. Bennett told reporters that the mom instinctively reached out to protect her baby, demonstrating the depth of her love and maternal instinct. "I want people to remember this woman for the love she had for her child," said Bennett. "I think that this was a mother who wanted to do everything possible to protect her child.... It was hard to protect anyone on that day."
A child's death impacts the wider community, forcing the community to join the parents in reconciling not only the loss of life but the loss of dreams. Luke notes that the grieving mother is surrounded by crowds who have joined her in mourning. They accompany the woman through her grief, realizing that they are also vulnerable to the presence of death. In Pakistan, where United States drone strikes have killed more children than "high level" terrorist targets, the death of children creates ripples of fear throughout the community. School attendance has plummeted, either out of fear of more attacks or because children were needed to replace a family member's income. As a 15-year-old boy who lost both legs in a drone strike said: "I used to go to school... I thought I would become a doctor. After the drone strikes, I stopped going to school."
Communal grief is also expressed online, as in the case of 13-year-old Angela Dresch of Staten Island, New York. Dresch was the first victim of Hurricane Sandy in October. Months later, her friends are still posting tributes and messages to her through a Facebook site. Researchers note that posting messages to a person's Facebook page or tribute page becomes a way of providing continued conversation with deceased -- a way of talking about the unspeakable.
When the unspeakable happens, God gathers us close. I witnessed this last September when a little boy in my congregation's parents-day-out program died while attending school. The day started crisp and cool, with kids drawing pictures of apples. After Peter's class had made their pictures, they went out to play. A moment later, Peter looked like he was pretending to be asleep. Yet when the other children continued playing and Peter still did not get up, the teacher knew something was wrong. Peter was barely breathing and had a shallow pulse -- signs we didn't need to start CPR. But it was clear that something was very wrong.
Paramedics arrived as Peter's mom was pulling up to the church. Within seconds, firefighters from an entire engine company boarded the ambulance with Peter. I gave his mother a hug as she climbed into the ambulance's cabin. Our staff watched in silence as the ambulance roared to the hospital.
Two hours later, after valiant resuscitation attempts, Peter was pronounced dead.
In that moment, a community of grief was born. We wondered -- had he been exposed to a poison at church? (Later, we found out that nothing could have prevented Peter's death. He died as the result of an undiagnosed tumor near his heart.) We questioned -- why have you taken this boy from us, God? We prayed -- Lord, have mercy. We cried until there were no more tears.
And we remained close to each other. Like the company of folks who walked with the widow of Nain, we journeyed with Peter's family. We grieved with them during the visitation and funeral. We prayed with them during the holidays and welcomed their family back to the school in April to celebrate Peter's fourth birthday.
In the midst of unspeakable grief, we were drawn into a community that discovers God's intense expression of compassion and mercy.
In the Scriptures
Whether or not one is accompanying a congregation through the traumatic grief of a child, this week's lessons offer an opportunity for exploring issues surrounding grief and loss. Even if a congregation is not mourning the death of a child, these scriptures offer an opportune moment for the preacher to point out how God's compassion draws us into communities of grace and peace.
Throughout 1 Kings 17:8-24, the predominant theme is God's steadfast presence with those who suffer. Elijah is called to go to the widow in Zarephath. God tells Elijah that the widow has been commanded to provide him with sustenance. That seems to have come as a surprise to the widow, however. She points out that her cupboard is bare. There is a strong scent of abandonment in the air as the woman indicates that she and her son will soon die.
Yet God's consistent message is one of life, even in a foreign land. Elijah is confident that God will provide and directs the woman to prepare a meal. Despite the drought, and the widow's meager resources, God shall supply what is needed. The woman is obedient and did what Elijah said, and "her household ate for many days."
Despite the provision of God, the woman's son soon becomes gravely ill. Once again, God's ability to offer life in places of death is challenged. The boy is dying; there is no breath left in him, and the mother is beset by grief. She challenges Elijah, upbraiding him for causing her son to die in retribution for her (unnamed) sins. She's angry, and she's searching for answers. In our grief, we may also search for answers. We punch at the air, shouting at God. We may even resent ourselves for living, feeling ashamed or guilty. What did we do wrong? Like the widow, we yearn for answers.
The kernel of gospel truth in both these texts is that God does respond to that deep yearning. Elijah cries out to God, pleading for the child's breath to be restored. Throwing himself on the child, Elijah stands in the place of death.
Likewise, Luke (7:11-17) directs our attention to Jesus' display of compassion toward the widow. For Luke, Jesus comes to mediate God's healing and to fill the hungry with good things (1:53). As Gregory Love notes in Feasting on the Word [Year C, Vol. 3], Luke is sprinkled with accounts of how compassion yields acts of mercy: a Samaritan brings bandages, and a waiting father offers the fatted calf. Here, Jesus raises the child even though the woman does not request his intervention.
In both cases, the women watch as their boys are returned to life. Both the prophet of God and the Son of God have acted in accord with God's desire to bring life in places of death. The result for Luke is fear and amazement; for Elijah, it is a confession of faith as the woman exclaims, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord is your mouth is truth" (1 Kings 17:24).
Crafting the Sermon
The unspeakable experience of a child's death often results in foolish and unhelpful expressions of grief. "God must have needed a new angel," we hear people say. "At least you have other children." But these words will not help grieving parents or grieving communities discover that the word of the Lord in our mouths is truth. Foolish words, however well-intentioned, do not bring healing.
But God's word does. Helping a congregation identify with the helplessness that Elijah feels in response to the widow's grief is a place to begin. His cry to God -- "Have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying?" -- frames a possibility for understanding how lament and even arguing with God leads to new life. Elijah's honesty, coupled with the immediate expression of Jesus' compassion, can help bring a word of hope to the grieving.
Theologically, these texts point to the presence of God with those who suffer. Both Elijah and Jesus stand in the gap between life and death, bringing the promise of hope. Parents who have watched their children die are well acquainted with the absence of God. Their prayers have gone unanswered. They have not witnessed a miracle.
Or have they? When Peter died, I braced myself for my first encounter with the family. I couldn't imagine their pain and was prepared for any response. What I discovered, however, was that this young couple was filled with gratitude that our teacher's loving arms had held Peter as he was dying. With tears in their eyes, they told me how grateful they were that Peter's last minutes were with friends he loved and teachers he adored. They called that a miracle.
Inside these texts are promises of hope that can help our congregations understand the ways God's word is a word of truth in grief. Listen carefully and see if you might find a word that can be offered in times of speechless grief.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
1 Kings 17:8-16
If he showed up today, Elijah would be welcome in many households in America.
The destitute widow of the story from First Kings has her counterpart in today's single parents and struggling poor. A new Pew survey of American families finds that in 40% of households, women are either the primary or the solo breadwinner. As the Daily Beast observes, "That's both good and bad, depending which part of the ladder you're on: At the top, educated women are catching up with men in the workforce, but on the bottom rungs are more single moms than ever -- most of them living near the poverty line." At the bottom end of the economic spectrum, more and more women are in the position of the widow who meets up with Elijah.
In the story, Elijah is on the run and God tells him to head to Zarephath, "for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." This seems to come as a surprise to the widow, who is near the end of her own resources. There's no sense in the story that she expects Elijah -- or that he's welcome. Her circumstances are too desperate to welcome a guest, even one sent by God.
Many women and children in our time are in similar circumstances.
Another recent study (PDF file) looked at why white women without a high school diploma have dramatically shorter lives than their more educated -- and presumably better-off -- sisters. The new study revealed that two things have the greatest effect on mortality -- smoking and not having a job. The New York Times article about the study reports that, "[while] the study raised more questions than it answered... there was some evidence that having a job offered intangible benefits that could improve health, including a sense of purpose and control in life, as well as providing networks that help to reduce social isolation." For people who can find jobs, work offers connection, and sustenance for the spirit as well as for the body.
Meanwhile, in Washington two members of Congress who received government subsidies for family farming operations have voted to cut food stamps. An article in The Hill reports that, "The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday defended fellow lawmakers who have received millions in farm subsidies while also voting this month to cut $20.5 billion from the food stamp program." The committee chair goes on to say that "it is not hypocritical and drawing any connection is unfair." Researcher Donald Carr of the Environmental Working Group, quoted in the same article, said, "It's hypocritical with a capital H. Why are taxpayers funding millions in subsidies for people who are cutting benefits for families who are struggling to put food on the table?"
In an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Cook argues that food stamps make sense as a way to care for individuals who need help, and also as a greater public good. The benefits extend beyond the individual user, as "government and other studies clearly show that food stamps are among the most wisely spent public dollars, providing essential nourishment and public health benefits to low-income people as well as economic stimulus to rural and urban communities. These are returns on spending that you won't find in the corporate tax giveaways and military spending boondoggles routinely supported by both political parties, even as they scream for austerity when it comes to slashing 'entitlements' and food assistance for the poor.... Pushing millions of low-income Americans off food stamps means less nutrition and nourishment, leading to greater human suffering and healthcare costs."
In a world where many people could use an Elijah to show up and make sure there's enough food, Cook adds, "the National Academy of Sciences reported that food stamps helped lift nearly 4 million Americans out of poverty in 2010, while improving basic food and economic security for millions more."
If the fridge at our house is full, we may not understand the impact of food stamps on the millions of people who face food insecurity. In the story, Elijah and the widow become an unlikely community, drawn together by need on both of their parts, and by God's grace to both of them. We are drawn by God into community with all kinds of people -- some are like us, and some have different lives, and different needs. God's grace is sustenance for all of us.
We can be led by politics. As Christopher Cook writes in the piece above, "In the farm bills moving through Congress, the politics of austerity are again being used to undermine food assistance for the poor. As the House and Senate debate how many dollars and people to cut from food stamps, their members should consider the daily realities the poor face. Most are living on a few dollars a day for food and, at best, work in minimum-wage jobs that barely cover rent. Cutting off these basic supports for those at the bottom of our economy is unwise, counterproductive, and shameful."
Or, we can be led by God into a shared life with the people around us, no matter how different. We can follow the example of Elijah and let God work through us so we see, and care for, the people in our lives who are in need. As the story says, "For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth" (1 Kings 17:14). If Elijah isn't coming, perhaps God can work through us to feed our neighbors -- and to be community to each other.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
1 Kings 17:8-24
Billy Graham may have been a great evangelist; unfortunately, he is also a proponent of a very simplistic faith. This easy-to-comprehend theology that requires no thought may have contributed to his popularity. In a recent column, Graham offered the stereotypical understanding of angels. He explained that they are God's invisible helpers that watch over us, protect us, guide us, and intervene on our behalf. And somehow, with their presence, we can avoid all sorrow and hardship, all tragedy and discomfort. In all of his theological rendition, Graham did write one line that correctly corresponds to angels in the world. Graham wrote, "At times, however, God's angels do become visible to us. Sometimes they appear as ordinary men."
Application: Elijah was an angel, but truly not one who was invisible. As he lay upon the sick child three times he was conveying more than healing -- he was also providing care and companionship. We should discard the notion of invisible angels, realizing that if God's angels are going to be in the society today they will be seen in you and me.
* * *
1 Kings 17:8-24
There is a serious controversy in the news that has yet to be resolved. A few months ago an 87-year-old woman fell to the floor at the Glenwood Gardens assisted living facility in Bakersfield, California. The attending nurse refused to administer CPR, for the institutional policy forbade her from doing so. When a staff member called 911 and put the attending nurse on the phone, the dispatcher informed her of the dire circumstances if she did not provide medical care. The dispatcher went on to say, "I understand if your boss is telling you, you can't do it. But as a human being, you know, is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?" The nurse answered, "Not at this time."
Application: Elijah never hesitated to bring forth the healing power of God. There are times when humanitarian actions must circumvent all rules and regulation.
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
As Jack Nicklaus sat in the NBC broadcast booth, providing guest commentary on the Honda Classic tournament, discussion turned to Tiger Woods' quest to break Nicklaus' record of 18 titles in golf's major championships. Woods' total is currently 14, but it's been five years since his last win in one of the majors -- and though Woods has regained his ranking as the world's #1 player, his often inconsistent play and advancing age have raised questions over whether he will be able to win the additional four titles he needs to catch Nicklaus. When asked if he thought Woods, at the age of 37, could still beat his record, Nicklaus replied that he still believed Woods had the talent, but commented, "He had better get with it if he's going to do it."
Application: When Paul was converted, he did not return to Jerusalem, but he got with it as he embarked on his missionary journeys.
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
The winner of this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Race was 53 years old. Mitch Seavey -- the oldest musher to win the title -- completed the 1,000-mile race in 9 days, 7 hours, and 39 minutes. On completion of the race, Seavey said, "This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age."
Application: Paul did not allow his age or changed profession to stop him from beginning his journey as a missionary.
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
When Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope, he joked that the cardinals need to look to "the end of the earth" a find a bishop of Rome. Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis to remember the saint who lived a simple life in service to the poor. The 76-year-old pope comes from Latin America -- a region that comprises 40% of the world's Catholics. And if it appears that the 266th pontiff came from obscurity, in the 2005 conclave he received the second highest number of votes.
Application: It may look like God went to the end of the world to find Paul as a missionary to the Gentiles. But all of us are somehow secluded to the end of the world until we allow ourselves to be found by God and called into Christian service.
* * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
As part of my training for ministry, I spent six months as a chaplain in a large metropolitan children's medical center in Ohio. It didn't take long for me to learn that chaplains were rarely called to the room of a patient unless the scientific community had ruled the case to be hopeless.
In my first week of service I was called to such a case in the intensive care unit. When I walked through the doors, the charge nurse hurried to my side and nodded toward a cubicle where parents were weeping beside a bed. She told me the name of the 7-year-old patient, that he was dying, and then she said, "Reye's syndrome."
Reye's syndrome is a rare but serious condition that causes swelling in the liver and brain. It most often affects children and teenagers recovering from a viral infection and has been linked to the use of aspirin. Today, if caught early it can be reversed. In those days we knew very little about it, and it was almost always fatal.
For the next six hours, I was at the side of those parents as they watched their child slowly fade away in death. I stood with them outside the cubicle as the nurses unhooked the IVs, and I wept with them as they said their good-byes to their little boy -- and when there was nothing else left to do, I prayed with them and walked them to their car in the parking lot where I told them again how sorry I was for their loss.
About two weeks later I got a card from them in the mail. It told me how grateful they were for my presence and how they didn't believe they could have made it through that day had I not been there with them.
Looking back, I could not remember saying anything that whole day long except for the prayer and those few words in the parking lot.
* * *
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
I was standing on the veranda of an Indian home darkened by bereavement. My Indian friend had lost his little son, the light of his eyes, in a cholera epidemic. At the far end of the veranda his little daughter, the only remaining child, slept in a cot covered over with a mosquito net. We paced up and down, and I tried in my clumsy way to comfort and console him. But he said, "Well, padre, it is the will of God. That's all there is to it. It is the will of God."
Fortunately, I knew him well enough to be able to reply without being misunderstood, and I said something like this: "Supposing someone crept up the steps into the veranda tonight, while you all slept, and deliberately put a wad of cotton soaked in cholera germ culture over your little girl's mouth as she lay in that cot there on the veranda, what would you think about that?"
"My God," he said, "what would I think about that? Nobody would do such a damnable thing. If he attempted it and I caught him, I would kill him with as little compunction as I would a snake, and throw him over the veranda. What do you mean by suggesting such a thing?"
"But John," I said, quietly, "isn't that just what you have accused God of doing when you said it was his will? Call your little boy's death the result of mass ignorance, call it mass folly, call it mass sin if you like, call it bad drains or communal carelessness, but don't call it the will of God."
Surely we cannot identify as the will of God something for which a man would be locked up in jail or put in a criminal lunatic asylum.
-- from The Will of God, by Leslie Weatherhead
* * *
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
USA Today reports that an online guide to grief and bereavement is available from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
The 45-page document (PDF file) offers sound advice on dealing with many different types of grief and loss, and it includes a special section for parents on the death of a child. It notes that "The death of a child can be one of the most difficult losses to make sense of or find meaning in, whether the child was five years old or fifty."
The document offers four pieces of advice for parents grieving the loss of a child. Here they are in abbreviated form:
* Understand your different grief styles and respect each other's needs.
* Being surrounded by reminders of the child can be difficult. It's okay to make lifestyle changes that ease the grieving process.
* Reach out to others. Consider joining a support group to others.
* Create rituals for remembering your child on special days -- birthdays, anniversaries, holidays.
* * *
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
Jackson Browne debuted his song "For a Dancer" in 1974. It is dedicated to a good friend of his, a dancer who died at an early age in a house fire. My favorite performance version of the song is by Browne with fiddler David Lindley at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2006 -- you can see it on YouTube here.
For a Dancer
by Jackson Browne
Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you'd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found
I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it, as hard as I try
It's like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can't sing
I can't help listening
And I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Crying as they ease you down
'Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(Right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(There's nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone
Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don't let the uncertainty turn you around
(The world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer you have grown
>From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you'll never know
* * *
From team member Leah Lonsbury:
1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 7:11-17
In Charleston, West Virginia, guns will soon be allowed at public pools, parks, recreation centers, sporting events, and concerts thanks to the National Rifle Association's campaign to get state legislatures across the country to limit local control over gun regulations.
West Virginia Delegate Patrick Lane crafted the amendment that makes this kind of local rollback possible and packaged it with an unrelated but popular bill giving Charleston more leeway in how it raises taxes. His reasoning for the rollback and why anyone would want to bring a firearm to a public pool? "Crime could happen anyplace," said Lane. "You obviously want to be able to defend yourself and your family if something happens."
Obviously. Except to opponents of the rollback, like Charleston's Republican mayor Danny Jones, who has fought to keep the city's gun regulations and says he will shut down the public pools if somebody brings a gun along with their sunscreen and beach towel.
Obviously. Except to Charleston's police chief Brent Webster, who has said he is worried about citizens now being allowed to bring guns to large public gatherings. "You will have some citizens say, 'I can do that now, so I'm going to do that,' " Webster said. "I am greatly concerned. When they're diving off the diving board, is that [gun] going to be in a book bag? Is that going to be lying under their towel and an eight-year-old kid is walking through the pool area and picks it up?"
Two of the city's former police chiefs have also voiced their concern over losing the ban on firearms being allowed in public spaces that are full of kids. "That has nothing to do with the Second Amendment right. It has to do with public safety," former chief Dallas Staples said.
As we decide which side we would fall on in this debate and as we make the many choices that face us each day about how we will live and vote and raise our voices, will we remember to act as Elijah did -- crying out and stretching our bodies to act in compassion for the child and his widowed mother? Will we be moved as Jesus was to defy tradition and convention and give a mother back her son? When someone takes stock of how we have acted for the vulnerable and the young in our midst, will they say, "Now I know that you are a [woman/]man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth" (1 Kings 17:24)?
* * *
1 Kings 17:8-24
In 2013, violence in Afghanistan has risen to a level unseen since the beginning of the U.S.-led war against militants there began in 2001. Last Monday's civilian deaths rose to 16 when a roadside bomb exploded in an eastern province, killing family members and their driver who had gone out to the hills to collect firewood. Two children died in that bombing.
When a U.S. delegation was recently targeted by a suicide bomber in Paktia, the main victims turned out to be nine children between the ages of 10 and 16 who were walking home from school. An Afghan policeman in the area reported that many of the children's bodies were burned beyond recognition.
According to the U.N., planting suicide bombers near schools has become a regular tactic of militants in Afghanistan. Eighty-four percent of recent civilian deaths in the country can now be attributed to such attacks.
What does this mean for Afghanistan's children?
When can we, like the widow of Zarephath, conclude that the deaths of our community or our world's sons and daughters are a result of our sins that must be brought to remembrance (v. 18)? When are we right in such a conclusion, and who will breathe their life back into them (v. 21)?
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
How can we be sure our zealousness is not of human origin but an outpouring of the revelation of Jesus Christ (vv. 11-12), like Paul claims in our passage from Galatians for this week? Perhaps we should consider how it comes to us (through grace), what road it puts us on (toward uncharted territory and underserved audiences in need of Good News), and what or whom it glorifies (God instead of human sources).
The zealousness of 14 state governors in their opposition to the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare will deny available health coverage to 3.6 million poor residents, cut off a huge influx of federal dollars (as much as $4.8 billion), increase state spending on uninsured people's unpaid medical bills, and cost their states $1 billion for programs that partially reimburse medical providers who serve the indigent.
The magnitude of the impact of these governors' decision should make us ask...
How did these governors receive their zealousness?
What road has it taken them down?
What or whom does it glorify?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God! Praise God with all your being!
People: We will praise God as long as we live.
Leader: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
People: happy are those whose hope is in God their God,
Leader: God watches over the strangers; God upholds the orphan and the widow.
People: God will reign forever, our God for all generations. Praise God!
OR
Leader: God is in our midst!
People: Alleluia! Our God never deserts us.
Leader: God is with us in good times and in bad.
People: God is a constant rock and fortress.
Leader: God's love is never failing.
People: Our God is our sure foundation.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past"
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 680
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELA: 632
W&P: 84
AMEC: 61
STLT: 281
"The Care the Eagle Gives Her Young"
found in:
UMH: 118
NCH: 468
CH: 76
"Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life"
found in:
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
"For the Healing of the Nations"
found in:
UMH: 428
NCH: 576
CH: 668
W&P: 621
"Jesu, Jesu"
found in:
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELA: 708
W&P: 273
Renew: 289
"O God Who Shaped Creation"
found in:
UMH: 443
"Fill My Cup, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 641
PH: 350
AAHH: 447
NNBH: 377
CH: 351
CCB: 47
"Jesus, Remember Me"
found in:
CCB: 68
Renew: 227
"Through It All"
found in:
CCB: 61
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 desires our wholeness and our holiness: Grant us the grace to see in all the circumstances of life your loving presence and grace; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We offer to you, O God, the praises of our hearts and voices. We come to hear a word from you so that in the midst of all that life brings us we may be moved to acts of compassion. We pray that we may also be aware of your loving presence in all of life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we fail to perceive God's loving presence in the midst of tragedy.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. When tragedy strikes, whether it is a large catastrophe involving many people or some private problem, too often we find ourselves overwhelmed by it. We forget our place as your disciples and that we are called to be your hands, your voice, and your feet in these times. We forget that you are there in the midst of all the turmoil, and we feel abandoned. Restore us to faith and empower us with your Spirit that we may be true disciples of Jesus. Amen.
Leader: God is always in our midst, even in the midst of our failures. Know God's love and forgiveness in your life so that you can share it with others.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
Praise and glory are yours, O God, for you have created this wonderful world and you are always present in it.
(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. When tragedy strikes, whether it is a large catastrophe involving many people or some private problem, too often we find ourselves overwhelmed by it. We forget our place as your disciples and that we are called to be your hands, your voice, and your feet in these times. We forget that you are there in the midst of all the turmoil, and we feel abandoned. Restore us to faith and empower us with your Spirit that we may be true disciples of Jesus.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which we receive your love and grace. We thank you for family and friends who care for us, and for the church which nurtures and sustains us through your Spirit. We thank you for the opportunities you send us where we can share your love with others in need.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who are overtaken by trouble, whether from natural disaster or visited on them by others or even themselves. We lift them up to your care and compassion.
(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
Ask the children if any of them has ever been lost or felt all alone. (It is a common experience. You might share one of your own.) Tell them that sometimes we feel that way, but we are always in the presence of God. We always can pray.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Compassion
by Wesley T. Runk
Luke 7:1-10
Object: a hospital nurse's ID badge (see if you can borrow one)
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you have ever been hurt so badly that you had to go to the hospital to be cared for by the doctors and nurses? (let the children answer) Some of you have been there. Do you remember how afraid you were? (let them answer) First of all, you hurt pretty badly, and second, you were not sure what was going to happen to you. That would make anyone afraid. Do you remember how nice the nurses were to you that day and every day that you were in the hospital? (let them answer) They were really something special, and they made a lot of the worry and fear go right out of you.
I brought along a nurse's ID badge with me today so that you could think about nurses when I tell you a big word. The word is "compassion," and that is what the nurses feel for you when you come into the hospital. They have compassion for you. That is another word -- a nice, powerful word -- for caring. They not only feel strongly for you, but they also take care of what is hurting you. And the nurses will be there to keep taking care of you until you are well enough to go home.
Jesus was a person who was filled with compassion. He had compassion for all who needed him, and that includes everyone. I remember the story in the Bible about a woman who was walking to the cemetery to bury her son. She had already buried her husband after he died, and now she was all alone. The people who walked with her were carrying the body of her son, and they were all very sad. Jesus watched the people coming toward him, and the Bible said that he had compassion for her. That means that he not only felt sorry for her hurt, but he was going to do something about it.
First, he told her not to cry any more, which is another way of telling her that she would soon have nothing to be sad about. Then he went over to the place where the body was being carried and told the son to wake up, to come back to life. And I am sure that you know what happened. The man who was dead was brought back to life.
That was just one sign of Jesus' compassion. Jesus has compassion on lots of people. He cares about us, and he does something about it. Nurses have compassion, and when you see a badge like this, you can remember that the nurses, like many other people, learn their compassion from God.
We should all have compassion, which means that when we see someone who needs us, we should care and do what we can to help them.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 9, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Chris Keating notes that pastors are familiar with the challenges posed by situations like these -- sitting with and comforting those who have lost loved ones is a basic part of pastoral work... and it's even more difficult when we're trying to help parents and others make sense of children who have been, as the euphemism goes, "taken before their time." But we don't have the healing/resuscitory power that Elijah and Jesus were able to call on -- so how can we make these stories meaningful for our people when their first impulse may be, like the widow who confronts Elijah, to question God and his representatives? Chris suggests that the answer may be right before us in these stories. Rather than getting distracted by the miraculous revival of the sons, instead we should focus on compassion and its companion impulse to action... and on the insight and faithful response that sees God at work, even when the results aren't easy to digest. Chris notes that compassionate action may do more than we can imagine to elicit a response like that of the widow of Zarephath, who tells Elijah: "Now I know that... the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth."
Team member Mary Austin offers some additional thoughts on the first part of the Old Testament text, in which the Lord provides sustenance for the widow and Elijah. As Mary notes, the Lord's directions come as something of a shock to the widow and her son, who are about to use their last provisions and prepare to die. Her dire predicament, Mary points out, is quite similar to many of the poorest members of our society -- particularly women and children -- who will bear the brunt of proposed cutbacks to food stamps and other social service programs. Yet Elijah assures the widow that the Lord will provide, telling her that her jar of meal and jug of oil will not be emptied. Mary asks us to consider: If we acquiesce to the cuts in food stamps that some of our elected leaders are seeking, are we demonstrating the same compassion that moved Elijah when he saw the widow gathering kindling? Are we as a society (and as individuals) prepared to emulate Elijah and do what we (and the Lord) can to provide for the less fortunate -- or are we perfectly willing to let them go home and suffer (and perhaps even die) without a second thought?
Finding Words in Speechless Grief
by Chris Keating
Luke 7:11-17; 1 Kings 17:17-24
For two hours, the parents watched silently as doctors pummeled their son's chest with cardiac compressions and infused life-saving medicines into his body. Doctors, nurses, and medical technicians surrounded their son, providing the best possible care. Despite this, the doctor looked at them and said the six words they prayed they would never hear: "There's nothing more we can do."
Their son had died.
Both the 1 Kings and Luke passages this week describe the trauma of children dying. The passages remind us of headlines that share the stories of children killed by natural tragedies and wartime atrocities. Cries of mourning parents in Newtown, Connecticut, and Moore, Oklahoma, mingle with the laments of parents of children killed by U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Blogger Lisa Belkin wisely observes that there is no word in the English language for a parent who loses a child. Belkin says, "When our parents die we are orphans. When our spouse dies, we are widowed. When a child dies we are speechless."
Yet it is often during these moments of utter speechlessness that pastors are called to offer words of comfort. Like Elijah, pastors stand in that tenuous space between the reality of death and the promise of God. Like Jesus, we hear the sound of a mother's grief, and are moved to acts of compassion. Our prayers are often filled with the bitter agony of having witnessed death. But soon we may be called to bring a word from the Lord, which raises the question: "When a child dies, how do we witness to the life-giving God?"
In the News
Recent events, including the devastating tornados in Oklahoma, provide glimpses into the unspeakable grief of parents who have lost children. Victims from those storms -- which included ten children -- were buried last week. Like the widow of Zarephath, the parents brought their children to God, searching for words that bring healing. During nine-year-old Antonia Candelaria's funeral, a Catholic deacon noted she was found holding hands with her best friend, forging an eternal bond. "They followed each other into heaven," said Deacon Marti Gulikers, "They will never be alone." At St. Andrew's United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Pastor D.A. Bennett presided over the funerals of a mother and her infant son. Bennett told reporters that the mom instinctively reached out to protect her baby, demonstrating the depth of her love and maternal instinct. "I want people to remember this woman for the love she had for her child," said Bennett. "I think that this was a mother who wanted to do everything possible to protect her child.... It was hard to protect anyone on that day."
A child's death impacts the wider community, forcing the community to join the parents in reconciling not only the loss of life but the loss of dreams. Luke notes that the grieving mother is surrounded by crowds who have joined her in mourning. They accompany the woman through her grief, realizing that they are also vulnerable to the presence of death. In Pakistan, where United States drone strikes have killed more children than "high level" terrorist targets, the death of children creates ripples of fear throughout the community. School attendance has plummeted, either out of fear of more attacks or because children were needed to replace a family member's income. As a 15-year-old boy who lost both legs in a drone strike said: "I used to go to school... I thought I would become a doctor. After the drone strikes, I stopped going to school."
Communal grief is also expressed online, as in the case of 13-year-old Angela Dresch of Staten Island, New York. Dresch was the first victim of Hurricane Sandy in October. Months later, her friends are still posting tributes and messages to her through a Facebook site. Researchers note that posting messages to a person's Facebook page or tribute page becomes a way of providing continued conversation with deceased -- a way of talking about the unspeakable.
When the unspeakable happens, God gathers us close. I witnessed this last September when a little boy in my congregation's parents-day-out program died while attending school. The day started crisp and cool, with kids drawing pictures of apples. After Peter's class had made their pictures, they went out to play. A moment later, Peter looked like he was pretending to be asleep. Yet when the other children continued playing and Peter still did not get up, the teacher knew something was wrong. Peter was barely breathing and had a shallow pulse -- signs we didn't need to start CPR. But it was clear that something was very wrong.
Paramedics arrived as Peter's mom was pulling up to the church. Within seconds, firefighters from an entire engine company boarded the ambulance with Peter. I gave his mother a hug as she climbed into the ambulance's cabin. Our staff watched in silence as the ambulance roared to the hospital.
Two hours later, after valiant resuscitation attempts, Peter was pronounced dead.
In that moment, a community of grief was born. We wondered -- had he been exposed to a poison at church? (Later, we found out that nothing could have prevented Peter's death. He died as the result of an undiagnosed tumor near his heart.) We questioned -- why have you taken this boy from us, God? We prayed -- Lord, have mercy. We cried until there were no more tears.
And we remained close to each other. Like the company of folks who walked with the widow of Nain, we journeyed with Peter's family. We grieved with them during the visitation and funeral. We prayed with them during the holidays and welcomed their family back to the school in April to celebrate Peter's fourth birthday.
In the midst of unspeakable grief, we were drawn into a community that discovers God's intense expression of compassion and mercy.
In the Scriptures
Whether or not one is accompanying a congregation through the traumatic grief of a child, this week's lessons offer an opportunity for exploring issues surrounding grief and loss. Even if a congregation is not mourning the death of a child, these scriptures offer an opportune moment for the preacher to point out how God's compassion draws us into communities of grace and peace.
Throughout 1 Kings 17:8-24, the predominant theme is God's steadfast presence with those who suffer. Elijah is called to go to the widow in Zarephath. God tells Elijah that the widow has been commanded to provide him with sustenance. That seems to have come as a surprise to the widow, however. She points out that her cupboard is bare. There is a strong scent of abandonment in the air as the woman indicates that she and her son will soon die.
Yet God's consistent message is one of life, even in a foreign land. Elijah is confident that God will provide and directs the woman to prepare a meal. Despite the drought, and the widow's meager resources, God shall supply what is needed. The woman is obedient and did what Elijah said, and "her household ate for many days."
Despite the provision of God, the woman's son soon becomes gravely ill. Once again, God's ability to offer life in places of death is challenged. The boy is dying; there is no breath left in him, and the mother is beset by grief. She challenges Elijah, upbraiding him for causing her son to die in retribution for her (unnamed) sins. She's angry, and she's searching for answers. In our grief, we may also search for answers. We punch at the air, shouting at God. We may even resent ourselves for living, feeling ashamed or guilty. What did we do wrong? Like the widow, we yearn for answers.
The kernel of gospel truth in both these texts is that God does respond to that deep yearning. Elijah cries out to God, pleading for the child's breath to be restored. Throwing himself on the child, Elijah stands in the place of death.
Likewise, Luke (7:11-17) directs our attention to Jesus' display of compassion toward the widow. For Luke, Jesus comes to mediate God's healing and to fill the hungry with good things (1:53). As Gregory Love notes in Feasting on the Word [Year C, Vol. 3], Luke is sprinkled with accounts of how compassion yields acts of mercy: a Samaritan brings bandages, and a waiting father offers the fatted calf. Here, Jesus raises the child even though the woman does not request his intervention.
In both cases, the women watch as their boys are returned to life. Both the prophet of God and the Son of God have acted in accord with God's desire to bring life in places of death. The result for Luke is fear and amazement; for Elijah, it is a confession of faith as the woman exclaims, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord is your mouth is truth" (1 Kings 17:24).
Crafting the Sermon
The unspeakable experience of a child's death often results in foolish and unhelpful expressions of grief. "God must have needed a new angel," we hear people say. "At least you have other children." But these words will not help grieving parents or grieving communities discover that the word of the Lord in our mouths is truth. Foolish words, however well-intentioned, do not bring healing.
But God's word does. Helping a congregation identify with the helplessness that Elijah feels in response to the widow's grief is a place to begin. His cry to God -- "Have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying?" -- frames a possibility for understanding how lament and even arguing with God leads to new life. Elijah's honesty, coupled with the immediate expression of Jesus' compassion, can help bring a word of hope to the grieving.
Theologically, these texts point to the presence of God with those who suffer. Both Elijah and Jesus stand in the gap between life and death, bringing the promise of hope. Parents who have watched their children die are well acquainted with the absence of God. Their prayers have gone unanswered. They have not witnessed a miracle.
Or have they? When Peter died, I braced myself for my first encounter with the family. I couldn't imagine their pain and was prepared for any response. What I discovered, however, was that this young couple was filled with gratitude that our teacher's loving arms had held Peter as he was dying. With tears in their eyes, they told me how grateful they were that Peter's last minutes were with friends he loved and teachers he adored. They called that a miracle.
Inside these texts are promises of hope that can help our congregations understand the ways God's word is a word of truth in grief. Listen carefully and see if you might find a word that can be offered in times of speechless grief.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
1 Kings 17:8-16
If he showed up today, Elijah would be welcome in many households in America.
The destitute widow of the story from First Kings has her counterpart in today's single parents and struggling poor. A new Pew survey of American families finds that in 40% of households, women are either the primary or the solo breadwinner. As the Daily Beast observes, "That's both good and bad, depending which part of the ladder you're on: At the top, educated women are catching up with men in the workforce, but on the bottom rungs are more single moms than ever -- most of them living near the poverty line." At the bottom end of the economic spectrum, more and more women are in the position of the widow who meets up with Elijah.
In the story, Elijah is on the run and God tells him to head to Zarephath, "for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." This seems to come as a surprise to the widow, who is near the end of her own resources. There's no sense in the story that she expects Elijah -- or that he's welcome. Her circumstances are too desperate to welcome a guest, even one sent by God.
Many women and children in our time are in similar circumstances.
Another recent study (PDF file) looked at why white women without a high school diploma have dramatically shorter lives than their more educated -- and presumably better-off -- sisters. The new study revealed that two things have the greatest effect on mortality -- smoking and not having a job. The New York Times article about the study reports that, "[while] the study raised more questions than it answered... there was some evidence that having a job offered intangible benefits that could improve health, including a sense of purpose and control in life, as well as providing networks that help to reduce social isolation." For people who can find jobs, work offers connection, and sustenance for the spirit as well as for the body.
Meanwhile, in Washington two members of Congress who received government subsidies for family farming operations have voted to cut food stamps. An article in The Hill reports that, "The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday defended fellow lawmakers who have received millions in farm subsidies while also voting this month to cut $20.5 billion from the food stamp program." The committee chair goes on to say that "it is not hypocritical and drawing any connection is unfair." Researcher Donald Carr of the Environmental Working Group, quoted in the same article, said, "It's hypocritical with a capital H. Why are taxpayers funding millions in subsidies for people who are cutting benefits for families who are struggling to put food on the table?"
In an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Cook argues that food stamps make sense as a way to care for individuals who need help, and also as a greater public good. The benefits extend beyond the individual user, as "government and other studies clearly show that food stamps are among the most wisely spent public dollars, providing essential nourishment and public health benefits to low-income people as well as economic stimulus to rural and urban communities. These are returns on spending that you won't find in the corporate tax giveaways and military spending boondoggles routinely supported by both political parties, even as they scream for austerity when it comes to slashing 'entitlements' and food assistance for the poor.... Pushing millions of low-income Americans off food stamps means less nutrition and nourishment, leading to greater human suffering and healthcare costs."
In a world where many people could use an Elijah to show up and make sure there's enough food, Cook adds, "the National Academy of Sciences reported that food stamps helped lift nearly 4 million Americans out of poverty in 2010, while improving basic food and economic security for millions more."
If the fridge at our house is full, we may not understand the impact of food stamps on the millions of people who face food insecurity. In the story, Elijah and the widow become an unlikely community, drawn together by need on both of their parts, and by God's grace to both of them. We are drawn by God into community with all kinds of people -- some are like us, and some have different lives, and different needs. God's grace is sustenance for all of us.
We can be led by politics. As Christopher Cook writes in the piece above, "In the farm bills moving through Congress, the politics of austerity are again being used to undermine food assistance for the poor. As the House and Senate debate how many dollars and people to cut from food stamps, their members should consider the daily realities the poor face. Most are living on a few dollars a day for food and, at best, work in minimum-wage jobs that barely cover rent. Cutting off these basic supports for those at the bottom of our economy is unwise, counterproductive, and shameful."
Or, we can be led by God into a shared life with the people around us, no matter how different. We can follow the example of Elijah and let God work through us so we see, and care for, the people in our lives who are in need. As the story says, "For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth" (1 Kings 17:14). If Elijah isn't coming, perhaps God can work through us to feed our neighbors -- and to be community to each other.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
1 Kings 17:8-24
Billy Graham may have been a great evangelist; unfortunately, he is also a proponent of a very simplistic faith. This easy-to-comprehend theology that requires no thought may have contributed to his popularity. In a recent column, Graham offered the stereotypical understanding of angels. He explained that they are God's invisible helpers that watch over us, protect us, guide us, and intervene on our behalf. And somehow, with their presence, we can avoid all sorrow and hardship, all tragedy and discomfort. In all of his theological rendition, Graham did write one line that correctly corresponds to angels in the world. Graham wrote, "At times, however, God's angels do become visible to us. Sometimes they appear as ordinary men."
Application: Elijah was an angel, but truly not one who was invisible. As he lay upon the sick child three times he was conveying more than healing -- he was also providing care and companionship. We should discard the notion of invisible angels, realizing that if God's angels are going to be in the society today they will be seen in you and me.
* * *
1 Kings 17:8-24
There is a serious controversy in the news that has yet to be resolved. A few months ago an 87-year-old woman fell to the floor at the Glenwood Gardens assisted living facility in Bakersfield, California. The attending nurse refused to administer CPR, for the institutional policy forbade her from doing so. When a staff member called 911 and put the attending nurse on the phone, the dispatcher informed her of the dire circumstances if she did not provide medical care. The dispatcher went on to say, "I understand if your boss is telling you, you can't do it. But as a human being, you know, is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?" The nurse answered, "Not at this time."
Application: Elijah never hesitated to bring forth the healing power of God. There are times when humanitarian actions must circumvent all rules and regulation.
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
As Jack Nicklaus sat in the NBC broadcast booth, providing guest commentary on the Honda Classic tournament, discussion turned to Tiger Woods' quest to break Nicklaus' record of 18 titles in golf's major championships. Woods' total is currently 14, but it's been five years since his last win in one of the majors -- and though Woods has regained his ranking as the world's #1 player, his often inconsistent play and advancing age have raised questions over whether he will be able to win the additional four titles he needs to catch Nicklaus. When asked if he thought Woods, at the age of 37, could still beat his record, Nicklaus replied that he still believed Woods had the talent, but commented, "He had better get with it if he's going to do it."
Application: When Paul was converted, he did not return to Jerusalem, but he got with it as he embarked on his missionary journeys.
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
The winner of this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Race was 53 years old. Mitch Seavey -- the oldest musher to win the title -- completed the 1,000-mile race in 9 days, 7 hours, and 39 minutes. On completion of the race, Seavey said, "This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age."
Application: Paul did not allow his age or changed profession to stop him from beginning his journey as a missionary.
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
When Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope, he joked that the cardinals need to look to "the end of the earth" a find a bishop of Rome. Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis to remember the saint who lived a simple life in service to the poor. The 76-year-old pope comes from Latin America -- a region that comprises 40% of the world's Catholics. And if it appears that the 266th pontiff came from obscurity, in the 2005 conclave he received the second highest number of votes.
Application: It may look like God went to the end of the world to find Paul as a missionary to the Gentiles. But all of us are somehow secluded to the end of the world until we allow ourselves to be found by God and called into Christian service.
* * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
As part of my training for ministry, I spent six months as a chaplain in a large metropolitan children's medical center in Ohio. It didn't take long for me to learn that chaplains were rarely called to the room of a patient unless the scientific community had ruled the case to be hopeless.
In my first week of service I was called to such a case in the intensive care unit. When I walked through the doors, the charge nurse hurried to my side and nodded toward a cubicle where parents were weeping beside a bed. She told me the name of the 7-year-old patient, that he was dying, and then she said, "Reye's syndrome."
Reye's syndrome is a rare but serious condition that causes swelling in the liver and brain. It most often affects children and teenagers recovering from a viral infection and has been linked to the use of aspirin. Today, if caught early it can be reversed. In those days we knew very little about it, and it was almost always fatal.
For the next six hours, I was at the side of those parents as they watched their child slowly fade away in death. I stood with them outside the cubicle as the nurses unhooked the IVs, and I wept with them as they said their good-byes to their little boy -- and when there was nothing else left to do, I prayed with them and walked them to their car in the parking lot where I told them again how sorry I was for their loss.
About two weeks later I got a card from them in the mail. It told me how grateful they were for my presence and how they didn't believe they could have made it through that day had I not been there with them.
Looking back, I could not remember saying anything that whole day long except for the prayer and those few words in the parking lot.
* * *
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
I was standing on the veranda of an Indian home darkened by bereavement. My Indian friend had lost his little son, the light of his eyes, in a cholera epidemic. At the far end of the veranda his little daughter, the only remaining child, slept in a cot covered over with a mosquito net. We paced up and down, and I tried in my clumsy way to comfort and console him. But he said, "Well, padre, it is the will of God. That's all there is to it. It is the will of God."
Fortunately, I knew him well enough to be able to reply without being misunderstood, and I said something like this: "Supposing someone crept up the steps into the veranda tonight, while you all slept, and deliberately put a wad of cotton soaked in cholera germ culture over your little girl's mouth as she lay in that cot there on the veranda, what would you think about that?"
"My God," he said, "what would I think about that? Nobody would do such a damnable thing. If he attempted it and I caught him, I would kill him with as little compunction as I would a snake, and throw him over the veranda. What do you mean by suggesting such a thing?"
"But John," I said, quietly, "isn't that just what you have accused God of doing when you said it was his will? Call your little boy's death the result of mass ignorance, call it mass folly, call it mass sin if you like, call it bad drains or communal carelessness, but don't call it the will of God."
Surely we cannot identify as the will of God something for which a man would be locked up in jail or put in a criminal lunatic asylum.
-- from The Will of God, by Leslie Weatherhead
* * *
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
USA Today reports that an online guide to grief and bereavement is available from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
The 45-page document (PDF file) offers sound advice on dealing with many different types of grief and loss, and it includes a special section for parents on the death of a child. It notes that "The death of a child can be one of the most difficult losses to make sense of or find meaning in, whether the child was five years old or fifty."
The document offers four pieces of advice for parents grieving the loss of a child. Here they are in abbreviated form:
* Understand your different grief styles and respect each other's needs.
* Being surrounded by reminders of the child can be difficult. It's okay to make lifestyle changes that ease the grieving process.
* Reach out to others. Consider joining a support group to others.
* Create rituals for remembering your child on special days -- birthdays, anniversaries, holidays.
* * *
1 Kings 17:17-24; Luke 7:11-17
Jackson Browne debuted his song "For a Dancer" in 1974. It is dedicated to a good friend of his, a dancer who died at an early age in a house fire. My favorite performance version of the song is by Browne with fiddler David Lindley at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2006 -- you can see it on YouTube here.
For a Dancer
by Jackson Browne
Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you'd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found
I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it, as hard as I try
It's like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can't sing
I can't help listening
And I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Crying as they ease you down
'Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(Right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(There's nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone
Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don't let the uncertainty turn you around
(The world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer you have grown
>From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you'll never know
* * *
From team member Leah Lonsbury:
1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 7:11-17
In Charleston, West Virginia, guns will soon be allowed at public pools, parks, recreation centers, sporting events, and concerts thanks to the National Rifle Association's campaign to get state legislatures across the country to limit local control over gun regulations.
West Virginia Delegate Patrick Lane crafted the amendment that makes this kind of local rollback possible and packaged it with an unrelated but popular bill giving Charleston more leeway in how it raises taxes. His reasoning for the rollback and why anyone would want to bring a firearm to a public pool? "Crime could happen anyplace," said Lane. "You obviously want to be able to defend yourself and your family if something happens."
Obviously. Except to opponents of the rollback, like Charleston's Republican mayor Danny Jones, who has fought to keep the city's gun regulations and says he will shut down the public pools if somebody brings a gun along with their sunscreen and beach towel.
Obviously. Except to Charleston's police chief Brent Webster, who has said he is worried about citizens now being allowed to bring guns to large public gatherings. "You will have some citizens say, 'I can do that now, so I'm going to do that,' " Webster said. "I am greatly concerned. When they're diving off the diving board, is that [gun] going to be in a book bag? Is that going to be lying under their towel and an eight-year-old kid is walking through the pool area and picks it up?"
Two of the city's former police chiefs have also voiced their concern over losing the ban on firearms being allowed in public spaces that are full of kids. "That has nothing to do with the Second Amendment right. It has to do with public safety," former chief Dallas Staples said.
As we decide which side we would fall on in this debate and as we make the many choices that face us each day about how we will live and vote and raise our voices, will we remember to act as Elijah did -- crying out and stretching our bodies to act in compassion for the child and his widowed mother? Will we be moved as Jesus was to defy tradition and convention and give a mother back her son? When someone takes stock of how we have acted for the vulnerable and the young in our midst, will they say, "Now I know that you are a [woman/]man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth" (1 Kings 17:24)?
* * *
1 Kings 17:8-24
In 2013, violence in Afghanistan has risen to a level unseen since the beginning of the U.S.-led war against militants there began in 2001. Last Monday's civilian deaths rose to 16 when a roadside bomb exploded in an eastern province, killing family members and their driver who had gone out to the hills to collect firewood. Two children died in that bombing.
When a U.S. delegation was recently targeted by a suicide bomber in Paktia, the main victims turned out to be nine children between the ages of 10 and 16 who were walking home from school. An Afghan policeman in the area reported that many of the children's bodies were burned beyond recognition.
According to the U.N., planting suicide bombers near schools has become a regular tactic of militants in Afghanistan. Eighty-four percent of recent civilian deaths in the country can now be attributed to such attacks.
What does this mean for Afghanistan's children?
When can we, like the widow of Zarephath, conclude that the deaths of our community or our world's sons and daughters are a result of our sins that must be brought to remembrance (v. 18)? When are we right in such a conclusion, and who will breathe their life back into them (v. 21)?
* * *
Galatians 1:11-24
How can we be sure our zealousness is not of human origin but an outpouring of the revelation of Jesus Christ (vv. 11-12), like Paul claims in our passage from Galatians for this week? Perhaps we should consider how it comes to us (through grace), what road it puts us on (toward uncharted territory and underserved audiences in need of Good News), and what or whom it glorifies (God instead of human sources).
The zealousness of 14 state governors in their opposition to the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare will deny available health coverage to 3.6 million poor residents, cut off a huge influx of federal dollars (as much as $4.8 billion), increase state spending on uninsured people's unpaid medical bills, and cost their states $1 billion for programs that partially reimburse medical providers who serve the indigent.
The magnitude of the impact of these governors' decision should make us ask...
How did these governors receive their zealousness?
What road has it taken them down?
What or whom does it glorify?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Praise God! Praise God with all your being!
People: We will praise God as long as we live.
Leader: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
People: happy are those whose hope is in God their God,
Leader: God watches over the strangers; God upholds the orphan and the widow.
People: God will reign forever, our God for all generations. Praise God!
OR
Leader: God is in our midst!
People: Alleluia! Our God never deserts us.
Leader: God is with us in good times and in bad.
People: God is a constant rock and fortress.
Leader: God's love is never failing.
People: Our God is our sure foundation.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale"
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past"
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 680
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELA: 632
W&P: 84
AMEC: 61
STLT: 281
"The Care the Eagle Gives Her Young"
found in:
UMH: 118
NCH: 468
CH: 76
"Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life"
found in:
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
"For the Healing of the Nations"
found in:
UMH: 428
NCH: 576
CH: 668
W&P: 621
"Jesu, Jesu"
found in:
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELA: 708
W&P: 273
Renew: 289
"O God Who Shaped Creation"
found in:
UMH: 443
"Fill My Cup, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 641
PH: 350
AAHH: 447
NNBH: 377
CH: 351
CCB: 47
"Jesus, Remember Me"
found in:
CCB: 68
Renew: 227
"Through It All"
found in:
CCB: 61
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 desires our wholeness and our holiness: Grant us the grace to see in all the circumstances of life your loving presence and grace; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We offer to you, O God, the praises of our hearts and voices. We come to hear a word from you so that in the midst of all that life brings us we may be moved to acts of compassion. We pray that we may also be aware of your loving presence in all of life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we fail to perceive God's loving presence in the midst of tragedy.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. When tragedy strikes, whether it is a large catastrophe involving many people or some private problem, too often we find ourselves overwhelmed by it. We forget our place as your disciples and that we are called to be your hands, your voice, and your feet in these times. We forget that you are there in the midst of all the turmoil, and we feel abandoned. Restore us to faith and empower us with your Spirit that we may be true disciples of Jesus. Amen.
Leader: God is always in our midst, even in the midst of our failures. Know God's love and forgiveness in your life so that you can share it with others.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
Praise and glory are yours, O God, for you have created this wonderful world and you are always present in it.
(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. When tragedy strikes, whether it is a large catastrophe involving many people or some private problem, too often we find ourselves overwhelmed by it. We forget our place as your disciples and that we are called to be your hands, your voice, and your feet in these times. We forget that you are there in the midst of all the turmoil, and we feel abandoned. Restore us to faith and empower us with your Spirit that we may be true disciples of Jesus.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which we receive your love and grace. We thank you for family and friends who care for us, and for the church which nurtures and sustains us through your Spirit. We thank you for the opportunities you send us where we can share your love with others in need.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who are overtaken by trouble, whether from natural disaster or visited on them by others or even themselves. We lift them up to your care and compassion.
(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
Ask the children if any of them has ever been lost or felt all alone. (It is a common experience. You might share one of your own.) Tell them that sometimes we feel that way, but we are always in the presence of God. We always can pray.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Compassion
by Wesley T. Runk
Luke 7:1-10
Object: a hospital nurse's ID badge (see if you can borrow one)
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you have ever been hurt so badly that you had to go to the hospital to be cared for by the doctors and nurses? (let the children answer) Some of you have been there. Do you remember how afraid you were? (let them answer) First of all, you hurt pretty badly, and second, you were not sure what was going to happen to you. That would make anyone afraid. Do you remember how nice the nurses were to you that day and every day that you were in the hospital? (let them answer) They were really something special, and they made a lot of the worry and fear go right out of you.
I brought along a nurse's ID badge with me today so that you could think about nurses when I tell you a big word. The word is "compassion," and that is what the nurses feel for you when you come into the hospital. They have compassion for you. That is another word -- a nice, powerful word -- for caring. They not only feel strongly for you, but they also take care of what is hurting you. And the nurses will be there to keep taking care of you until you are well enough to go home.
Jesus was a person who was filled with compassion. He had compassion for all who needed him, and that includes everyone. I remember the story in the Bible about a woman who was walking to the cemetery to bury her son. She had already buried her husband after he died, and now she was all alone. The people who walked with her were carrying the body of her son, and they were all very sad. Jesus watched the people coming toward him, and the Bible said that he had compassion for her. That means that he not only felt sorry for her hurt, but he was going to do something about it.
First, he told her not to cry any more, which is another way of telling her that she would soon have nothing to be sad about. Then he went over to the place where the body was being carried and told the son to wake up, to come back to life. And I am sure that you know what happened. The man who was dead was brought back to life.
That was just one sign of Jesus' compassion. Jesus has compassion on lots of people. He cares about us, and he does something about it. Nurses have compassion, and when you see a badge like this, you can remember that the nurses, like many other people, learn their compassion from God.
We should all have compassion, which means that when we see someone who needs us, we should care and do what we can to help them.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 9, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
