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For August 1, 2021:

• Message or Miracle? by Bethany Peerbolte.
• Second Thoughts: Complaining In a Way That Gets Results by Tom Willadsen.
• Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Quantisha Mason-Doll, Chris Keating.
• Worship resources by George Reed.
• Children's sermons: Infinite Bread! by Katy Stenta.

Message or Miracle?
by Bethany Peerbolte
John 6:24-35

In the Scriptures
The crowd around Jesus has become hyper focused on the miracles he has performed. Jesus can sense that they crave astonishing experiences more than they crave the message he is proclaiming. An attempt to shake the crowd is made but the crowd skillfully tracks down Jesus again. The energy of the crowd is feeling more like a mob than of people seeking to be spiritually fed. The frenzy for a messiah who will lead a political rebellion is growing and Jesus is not keen to let those ambitions survive.

Jesus tries to redirect their energy to belief and matters of the heart and spirit but the crowd pushes back with a demand for more miracles. The crowd wants to relive the glory of the miracles during the exile like the manna and water from a rock. These are the stories they have grown up hearing and the chance to live a similar moment has infected them. They can feel that history is being made again and the things they are experiencing are worthy of making it to new stories that will be told for generations.

It is not wrong for them to catch on to the importance of the moment but their desire for signs rather than a willingness to accept life changing teachings is what worries Jesus. The excitement is not for the new covenant or the declaration of God’s favor as it should be. Jesus wants them to be excited by the message and be inspired to put into action the values being taught. The goal was never to gather a bigger and bigger crowd. There has to be a moment when the people go home and embody the message in their towns. The crowd is no longer committed to learning new things and being change makers. They are following Jesus around to support the spectacle.  

Jesus uses the recent feeding miracle involving bread and their request for manna to explain where they have gone astray. He points out that the crowd is looking for physical bread when they should be seeking spiritual bread. They are obsessed with the kind of nourishment they already know. Jesus explains that the bread they are asking for will rot and only sustain them for a little while. The bread Jesus wants them to focus on is the bread of life. A bread unlike anything they have known but one that Jesus has been offering them this whole time. Food that will nourish the whole self, mind, body and soul, without ever running out or deteriorating.

The bread Jesus tries to redirect their attention to is his presence among them. The bread of life is Jesus and it is what Jesus offers to the crowd with and without a physical miracle. One can sense the frustration Jesus is feeling. They would not listen until he performed a few miracles and once he did it is all they want from him. The thing that brought them in and legitimized his ministry is now a threat to the message. The crowds’ motivation for staying with him is challenged and the focus on who Jesus is begins to take focus for the rest of John’s gospel.

In the News
When the Olympics were cancelled in 2020 it was one of the many signs of how severe the global pandemic had become. Anyone who has ever played the game “Pandemic” really freaked out because the Olympics shutting down is a turning point in the game signaling the virus is doing better than humanity can fight. It was the right call for 2020 but the news networks were quick to point out the devastating effects it would have on many.

For athletes who had trained their whole lives the prospects of continuing training for another year convinced many to give up on their Olympic dreams. For the host city it meant millions spent and depths of debt that would have to be endured without the promise of tourists. For Tokyo specifically it was going to be a chance to reintroduce Japan to the world. With the opening ceremonies behind them it looks like it will be more of a nightmare.

Part of the strategy for Tokyo was to invite companies that best represent Japan to be front and center. The planning team understood the power of social media, too. Rio proved that a shift had already happened and the place the world was going to watch the Olympics was on social media. The athletes enjoying local cuisine and unpacking their swag bags got just as much attention as medal ceremonies and big-ticket events. Tokyo learned quickly and planned accordingly.

This year athletes arrived to beds made out of cardboard that were highly customizable to their mattress preferences and height. Instantly videos and posts about the beds where everywhere. Many who were not in Tokyo asked questions and athletes responded in real time, drawing millions of eyes days before the opening ceremonies. The cardboard beds have drawn attention to Tokyo’s focus on sustainability and the chatter about the beds has opened the conversation up for the planning team to point out other initiatives to make this the greenest games yet.

Even with all the planning, Olympic critics have been vocal again this year. One of the major criticisms is the false belief that the games benefit the local economy. For decades whistle blowers have been trying to convince cities that hosting is just not worth it. As sponsors and expectations have risen the cost of the games has skyrocketed. Alongside that ticket sales have not been what they once were. Television, and especially the internet, has made it less of a draw to be in the stands. When the cameras are inches away from the winning athletes who can blame people for not wanting to sit in the rafters?

Critics are vocal about the kind of people events attract. Sex trafficking is notoriously higher around Olympic cities. Drugs are easier to find when athletes begin to relax after their events end. Every year the fall out after the closing ceremonies includes stories of rape, theft, espionage, and more. The shiny new stadiums fall into disrepair and the locals are left to try and reimagine their neighborhood. In 2020 the world decided it was not worth it to hold any Olympic games because of a pandemic of disease. Makes one wonder if there are other pandemics we are overlooking because we so love to watch our countries colors lifted higher than anothers’.

In the Sermon
There is a disconnect in the scripture this week between the show and the message. While I hate to call Jesus’ miracles a “show” that is what they have become to the crowd. What once was essential to Jesus’ ministry is now distracting from more important matters. The astonishment has become addictive, and the crowd cannot see past the physical healings to see the “why” of Jesus’ miracles. They crave more and more extravagance to rival the old stories.

Jesus first tries to remove himself from the situation. Hopefully this will cool down the crowd and rekindle their interest in the teachings. Anyone with a co-dependent ex can see what will happen next. The crowd pops up in the next town and begins right where they left off. Jesus has to be stern and call them out. Jesus gives a stern but loving redirection.

Jesus tells the crowd plainly the miracles are not the main event. Just like the manna was not the main event it was a symptom of a greater trajectory. God cared for Israel. That caring led to manna and quail and water but the point the people were supposed to learn was that God was both protector and provider. No matter where they went they always had what they needed. The miracle was not that manna showed up it was that God provided the manna in every place they found themselves.

The crowd has lost sight of that basic storyline and is missing the point of Jesus’ miracles. The miracles are meant to stand for and reinforce the message, they are not in and of themselves the message. Jesus does not perform them to wow a crowd or prove the same point of control of creation over and over. Jesus uses miracles to drive home the basic points of his message. Jesus is there for the sick and the suffering; he proves that by healing sickness and suffering. Jesus is there for everyone; he shows that by offering miracles to anyone. Jesus is there to give the world the bread of life; he expresses this by providing bread to those who are physically hungry. The miracles are metaphors, yet the crowd is taking them literally.

This disconnect between the message of the Olympics and its current form is experiencing a disconnect, too. The games are supposed to be a way to break down barriers. Competitions are meant to be a good-natured way to interact with strangers and build friendships over similar interests. The reason the Olympics began to travel around the world was to showcase the greatness of different countries. It was an excuse for people to travel to places they may never get another chance or reason to visit. The intentions of global community and cultural celebration has been lost.

We now spend more time deciding if cannabis is bad enough to exclude record breaking athletes from competition. We worry if there is too much sex or if the beds are even sturdy enough to have sex on. Athletes rush to get custom fit shoes with team mates instead of eating with opponents while sharing training advice. The cities do not use the buildings they already have. They dive into national debt to build the newest technological facilities. Those who do travel to the games spend more time at indoor spaces than they do in the local shops or seeing the natural beauty of their destination.

As the Olympics have grown the show has become more important than the message. It is possible that Tokyo’s focus on sustainability will inspire future hosts to pick one of the criticisms of the games and try to improve it. The waste has long been an element of concern around the Olympics. If Tokyo can prove that cleaner games are possible, a new trend may emerge. Let’s hope we can refocus on the message of why we love the Olympics and not get lost in the miraculous achievements we will witness.


SECOND THOUGHTS
Complaining In a Way That Gets Results
by Tom Willadsen
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Psalm 51:1-12, Ephesians 4:1-16, John 6:24-35

In the Scriptures
“Thou art the man!” is how Nathan responds to David’s response to Nathan’s moral tale as rendered in the King James Version. It is a piercing accusation, and after Nathan’s jeremiad, David admits the truth: he has sinned. It is a refreshing moment of candor to us in the 21st century. We have become accustomed to officials “doubling down” when caught in lies or deception. David’s recognition that Nathan’s parable had him squarely in the crosshairs, and his admission of guilt appear to end the transaction. Nathan responds to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin….” There would be severe consequences for David, and all that Nathan predicted for David would take place, but in an apparent reprieve, Nathan tells David “you shall not die,” presumably as a consequence of having committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranging for Uriah’s death on the battlefield.

Nathan’s complaint is quite effective.

Psalm 51 should be very familiar; for many of us, reading it daily is the sum total of our annual Lenten devotion. Tradition ascribes it to David: A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone into Bathsheba. (NRSV superscript of Psalm 51) Images of cleanliness equated with truth and purity fill the portion of the psalm that is today’s reading. The reference to hyssop (v. 7) is an allusion to the process for ritually purifying someone with leprosy.

It is unfortunate that the lectionary omits the most revolutionary portion of Psalm 51. Verses 16 and 17 read

For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Like the prophets, David writes that God’s desire is correct living, not sacrifices. The idea that a broken heart and contrite spirit are pleasing to God can be a strong word of solace to the sin-sick soul.

In the News
“I’d like to see the manager, please.” I cannot guess the number of hours I’ve spent the last few months watching videos on the internet of irate, disgruntled, petty customers who have been aggrieved by some slight and who insist on seeing the manager. I suppose the upside of everyone having the capacity to record videos from their phones is a good thing, at times. When the entitled (I’ll unpack that term in a moment) go into “Full Karen,” they are a cringe-inducing fountain of viral entertainment.

There is frequently a racist component to the videos I’ve seen. The white, female customer cannot imagine that the younger (usually) person of color waiting on her is telling her she can’t have things the way she wants them. Certainly the manager, being of similar race (presumably) and social status, will make things work as they should, it’s just a matter of time and persistent pushiness.

The thing about these videos that makes them cringe-inducing is when I recognize myself in the recorded Karen. It is said that everyone’s got a contribution to make to society — even if it’s being a bad exampl. That’s what viral internet video Karens do for me. They hold up a mirror to my most aggrieved, entitled self. So, at one level these videos are helpful to me, I recognize what makes me flip from patiently forbearing patron to venom spewing demon from Hell. [Note to self: “Venom Spewing Demon from Hell” would be a great name for a band.] About 30 seconds after I have patted myself on the back for being patient and understanding, something makes me flip to my Dark Side. Now I know the trigger: when I suffer because of their incompetence. My suffering entitles me (in my own, small-minded opinion) to compensation. At my most noble I am compensated by an abject, groveling apology from the manager I’ve summoned, accompanied by the assurance that the front line employee I’ve just humiliated will be properly trained. It’s usually quicker if the manager simply gives me a steep discount, or comps my purchase completely. When I’ve gone Full Karen I must prevail!

“The package says ‘transparent,’ but this is translucent! What are you going to do about it?!”

Tom’s confession continues….Here’s the thing: winning — prevailing is not satisfying. In the same way that finally getting revenge is disappointing, walking out of True Value with a free, brand new tube of the correct caulk, just does not feel good. I may have saved a couple bucks, but it means I’m in a bad mood the rest of my day, a condition I have inflicted on everyone who crossed my path at the hardware store.

There is a better way. There are probably many better ways. The one that works for me is to define the issue as one that I need the business to ally with me as we solve it together. I enlist the poor clerk, who has no influence over the verbiage on the package, to work with me so that I’m satisfied and so is she. We solved a problem together, maybe even built customer loyalty and employee self-esteem. It all starts with a simple shifting of my perspective. If you want to complain in a way that bears fruit…

In the Sermon
Nathan is the anti-Karen. Nathan knows how to get things done to his (and the Lord’s!) satisfaction. Let’s examine Nathan’s method.

First, the Lord sent Nathan. Nathan, as the Lord’s prophet has access to King David.

Second, Nathan tells David a parable, a story intended to help the hearer measure his own life against.

Third, David reacts to the tale of injustice with appropriate outrage.

Fourth, Nathan turns the injustice and outrage back on David.

Fifth, here’s the part that’s shocking: David recognizes that he is in the wrong. No “doubling down” and insisting that the hurricane could have reached Alabama. David is in the wrong and he owns it.

David is punished severely for his actions, but permitted to live. His life unravels per Nathan’s prediction, the child his adultery produced with Bathsheba dies. Still, there is a sense of balance and even restoration because David accepted responsibility and the consequences of his behavior.

Nathan should be a model for all of us; he knew how to complain in a way that got results, that bore the fruit of repentance and reconciliation.



ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Dean Feldmeyer:

2 Samuel 11-26--12:13a
Truth To Power
In today’s lesson from the Hebrew scriptures, the prophet Nathan comes forward to speak truth to power.  This was not always a safe thing to do. Many prophets suffered for their outspokenness. Some of their torments and deaths are recorded in scripture — others are remembered through oral tradition:

• ISAIAH was murdered by Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah with a wooden saw.
• JOEL, the son of Bethuel, was killed by Ahazia, the son of Amazia, who beat him with a staff.  Ahaziah the son of Amaziah smote him with a staff upon his head; and while his life was yet in him, they brought him to his own land, and after two days he died.
• OBADIAH from the country of Shechem was the captain of fifty of King Ahab's soldiers. He became a disciple of Elijah, and endured “many evil things” from Ahab, because he forsook him and went after Elijah.
• MICAH the Morashthite was murdered by Joram the son of Ahab.
• HABAKKUK was stoned to death him in Jerusalem.
• JEREMIAH was stoned to death in Egypt because he rebuked the Egyptians for worshiping idols.
• EZEKIEL was murdered by the leader of the Jews in Chaldea because he rebuked him for worshiping idols.
• ZECHARIAH was slain by Joash.

* * *

2 Samuel 11-26--12:13a
Rachael Denhollander: Truth To Power 2.0
For many of us, the name Larry Nassar has come to be equated with evil. He was the doctor and college professor at Michigan State University who sexually molested over 200 girls and women while he served as the official physician for the women’s gymnastics team and the US Olympic women’s gymnastics team.

After being sentenced for his crimes in 2019, he committed suicide.

The part of the story we often fail to hear is how testifying against Nassar effected the lives of the courageous girls and women who dared to tell the truth to the powers that control women’s athletics in the United States.

In a New York Times op-ed piece, "The Price I Paid for Taking On Larry Nassar,” published on January 26, 2018, Rachael Denhollander tells how, as a result of her being the first to go public with her accusations of sexual abuse at the hands of Nassar, she lost her church, her closest friends, and her privacy. Also, since she happens to be a lawyer, she was accused of being an ambulance chaser and an opportunist. Despite all of that, she used her freedom (and her privilege), chose frankness, truth and moral duty to speak the truth to so many powers. Because, as she points out, it was not only Nassar who was at fault here, but also all of the institutions (most notably Michigan State University), as well as the many coaches, trainers, and psychologists that colluded to allow him to perpetuate his abuse of girls as young as six.

Rachael Denhollander was the pebble that started the landslide that eventually led to Larry Nassar being convicted and sentenced to prison.

* * *

2 Samuel 11-26--12:13a
Dr. Anthony Fauci: Truth To Power 3.0
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health since 1984, advising seven presidents on domestic and global health issues.

His research into HIV helped develop treatments to enable carriers of the virus to live long lives. In 2003, he helped launch the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief under the George W. Bush administration, which the NIH credits with saving millions of lives in the developing world.

On Monday, February 15th of this year, he received a prestigious $1 million Israeli prize, along with six other researchers who shared two additional $1 million prizes for their contributions to health and medicine.

The Dan David Prize, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, honored Fauci for his career in public health and "speaking truth to power" during the politicized Covid-19 crisis.  Fauci "is the consummate model of leadership and impact in public health," the awards committee said in a statement.

Fauci became a household name in the US after appearing in televised presidential briefings on the coronavirus. He was a trusted authority for the public on preventive measures against Covid-19, even as former President Donald Trump downplayed the virus and blocked Fauci from appearing on several television programs. Trump called Fauci part of a group of "idiots" and suggested he might fire him after the presidential election, which Trump lost.

* * *

Ephesians 4:1-16
Windsock Theologians
When I was a kid, we used to, from time to time, visit the little, rural airport in southern Indiana where my dad worked when he was in college, and where he subsequently learned to fly and received his pilot’s license. (He stopped flying after he got married because it worried my mother.)

The airport was a little thing with one runway and two hangars and a windsock that told pilots who were taking off and landing which way the wind was blowing. My father explained that it was absolutely necessary for pilots to know which way and how hard the wind was blowing when landing or taking off. “Otherwise, they could crash,” he said.

I didn’t think about that airport very much until I was in college and heard someone described as a “windsock politician” or a “wind cock politician” or even a “weathervane politician.”  Whichever one the speaker used the meaning was clear. They were describing a politician who had no opinions of their own, no convictions, no passions, no character. They simply checked the direction of the current political wind and then adopted that direction as their own — lest they crash on election day.

“What are the majority of people against? I’m against it. What are the majority of people for? I’m for it.”

In argumentation theory, this is called argumentum ad populum (Latin for "appeal to the people") and is a fallacious argument that concludes that a proposition must be true because many or most people believe it.

It is just as fallacious when it is carried over from politics to theology. A theological proposition is true because it is true, not because lots of people believe or have believed it to be so.

* * *

John 6:24-35
The Bread Of Life
Jesus uses bread as a metaphor in today’s gospel text, referring to himself as the “bread of life.” But, in fact, there was no bread that wasn’t the bread of life.

According to the Ancient Hebrew Research Center, about three-fourths of the people live entirely upon either bread or upon bread-like foods that were made from wheat or barley flour. It was unquestionably the principal food of the ancient East.

Phrases like “eating bread” or “breaking bread” were biblical euphemisms for eating food. In Genesis 43, when it says that "The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews" it means that they could not eat a meal with them at all.

Two kinds of bread were in use in biblical times: tough, grainy, barley bread that had been eaten for centuries and the newer, softer, wheat bread that didn’t come on the scene until the early decades of the Roman Empire. Both of these are still in use in Palestine today. Barley bread, which is cheaper and more course, was and is used by the poorer classes, while wheat bread is considered a staple of the wealthy and comfortable classes.

The lad who shared his five barley loaves and two fishes with Jesus must have come from the poorer class, but his humble contribution made a great miracle possible, and the crowd was satisfied with that common kind of bread.

* * * * * *

From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:

Ephesians 4:1-16
It takes effort
I think the most poignant part of this letter to the Ephesians is the verse where it states “[make] every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” I cannot help but ask myself what would happen if I actually made every effort to preserve the bonds of God’s peace. What would my life look like if I put the Spirit first? It is hard to be gentle. It is hard to be patient. It is hard to bear love in your heart for another that deems you as somehow less than. I remember being told that unlearning generational trauma and social conditioning was going to be the most difficult thing I or anyone could do with their life. This work requires great effort on the behalf of the individual as well as the community that helped shape the individual. We are gifted with God’s grace yet we often forget that grace is unlimited. So why are we purposefully hoarding our Christ-given gift? Being called to lead a life worthy of God’s call means emulating Christ in all ways. How do we reconcile the division found within ourselves and our wider community and not just within the church?

* * *

Ephesians 4:1-16
When you speak truth to power speak it with love
Our lesson today has us contemplating what it means when the writer to the Ephesians says that they, and us by proxy, must grow by “speaking the truth in love.” I think we all, at one time or another, have heard someone say that they are speaking truth to power and that concept seems vague. As we try to navigate this increasingly difficult world of social justice and social activism it would be in our best interest to look toward where we have come from for inspiration on what it means to speak truth through love. Using those lessons to then further our call to faithful action.

Robert Parris Moses was called home to be with the Lord on July 25th, 2021. For those of you who do not know the story of Robert Moses, he spent his life as an educator and civil rights activist. He is most notably known for his work on voter education and registration in Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Much like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Moses chose non-violence and education as a means of subverting white supremacy. He was a man that faced ruthless violence, relentless harassment, and saw firsthand what can happen when power and privilege goes unchecked. Yet in spite of the reality in front of him, Moses chose to stay and fight for justice. He understood himself to be called to work toward ending racial disfranchisement and the uplifting of the wider community. He was one of the first people to call out white violence and demanded that people be held accountable for their actions. Moses understood that redemption was possible only if the right effort was put forth.

* * *

John 6:24-35
Give us this bread always
I want to hazard a guess that a lot of people at the beginning of Covid-19 lockdowns baked bread or at least flirted with the idea of baking bread. There is something cathartic about watching four basic ingredients come together and form something so soothing. Watching the yeast make flour and water into a natural balloon and then once it is done baking it is this perfect golden orb. Of course, there were 100’s of failed loaves that each taught you something in their failure. Maybe loaf number 7 had too much water and not enough salt. Yet, if you are like me, you ate it anyway simply because you made it by hand and you were proud of it, even in its failure. Unlike the recipe you might be perfecting, what Jesus is offering us is the recipe that is tried and true. It is the bread of life that never fails to rise. It is the bread the feeds eternally. Yet, though this recipe might seem easy, it requires great effort on the behalf of the baker. The success or failure of what the Lord has to offer is contingent on your belief and your willingness to act on that belief. You can not demand the bread of life because it is something that is freely given. The question at hand is do you believe that it is yours for the taking?

* * * * * *

From team member Chris Keating:

2 Samuel 11:26--12:13
Bathsheba’s silence
The only thing we hear from Bathsheba this week is the sound of her tears at the news that her husband Uriah had been killed. She does not speak when David brings her into the palace. She does not speak when she bears David’s child. Bathsheba never speaks, yet for generations we have considered this to be a story of two consenting adults.

Or perhaps even the story of a temptress out to seduce the king. That’s the assumption behind the 1951 movie “David and Bathsheba,” claim Baylor University scholars David E. Garland and Diana R. Garland.

“Taking remarkable license with the story, the screen writers changed Bathsheba from the one who is ogled by David into David’s stalker,” write the Garlands in their book Flawed Families of the Bible. “She is the femme fatale who initiates things, knowing full well what she wants and what the consequences will be.”

But the sound of her lamentations are reminders that many victims of sexual assault never talk about their experiences. Sexual assault researchers have long wondered why victims are reluctant to report their assaults. While approximately two-thirds of females who have been raped do tell a friend or trusted instructor, only 6-20% or fewer report it to college authorities. Less than 5% ever file a police report. (Here’s a link to a recently reported survey on campus sexual assault.)

Researchers Sandra Caron and Deborah Mitchell were able to record interviews with students who had never told anyone about their rape. Their interviews revealed a series of common themes.

It was almost like a broken record when you heard the different experiences that women had with sexual assault,” said Mitchell. “They would come up with almost the same 10 reasons why they didn’t report it to anyone.”

Mitchell and Caron’s study, ‘I’ve Never Told Anyone’, was published in June, 2021 in the online journal Violence Against Women.

* * *

2 Samuel 11:26--12:13
Speaking to power
In the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) knew Congress would soon be called to vote on authorizing a military response. What she didn’t know was how she was going to vote.

“I was at the National Cathedral in Washington,” Lee told a reporter in 2001. “I went to the memorial service on the Friday after the attacks and I prayed. I said to myself, ‘You’ve got to figure this one out.’”

“I was dealing with all the grief and sorrow and the loss of life, and it was very personal because a member of my staff had lost a cousin in the Pennsylvania crash. I was thinking about my responsibility as a member of Congress to try to ensure that this never happens again.”

During the memorial service she was struck when a clergy person prayed, “As we act, let us not become the evil we deplore.” When the resolution came up for a vote, Lee cast the sole vote in opposition.

Her concern was giving the president a “blank check” to attack anyone. The late Congressman John Lewis said, “She was right.”

A documentary film, “Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power” debuts August 20th in theaters and on iTunes/Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. The film details the Congresswoman’s career as a civil rights activist and advocate.

Throughout her career Lee has worked to address poverty, raising the minimum wage, and hunger issues. “Social justice, that’s always been just part of who I am,” Congresswoman Lee says, “making sure people have something to eat.”

* * *

Ephesians 4:1-16
The bond of peace
A strange and unexpected friendship emerged in 1971 during a fierce battle over the integration of public schools in Durham, North Carolina. When city leaders reached an impasse over the issue, consultant Bill Riddick was called in to lead an highly organized stakeholder-based mediation process known as a charrette.

For two members of the Durham community, the charrette proved to be an experience of growing up “in every way…into Christ.” In planning the community conciliation process, Riddick enlisted the help of an energetic Black activist Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis, leader of a Durham branch of the Ku Klux Klan and an avowed racist.

Riddick enlisted the two opponents to be co-chairs of the charrette process, but often had to invent mundane tasks like stapling papers just to get them to sit side by side.

“Ultimately,” Riddick wrote in 2019, “to my surprise, and to theirs, their conversations led them to realize that there were many things that they shared in common. Ann made C.P. see and understand that the hate that he had learned was wrong, and he ended up denouncing the KKK and the two of them became lifelong friends. Ann even gave the eulogy at C.P.’s funeral. I am still astonished and completely blown away by what happened that summer of 1971. But it really happened.”

Atwater and Ellis’s story was portrayed in the 2019 movie, “The Best of Enemies,” now available for streaming. The two life-long friends would often appear at speaking engagements together.

Note: Critics note that the movie missed the mark in several ways, including an over focus on Ellis as a white savior and less on the deplorable conditions and situations faced by Black children in Durham. The most powerful parts of the movie appear at the end as the real-life Atwater and Ellis appear in interviews.


* * * * * *

WORSHIP
by George Reed

Call to Worship
One: Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love.
All: In your abundant mercy blot out our transgressions.
One: Create in us a clean heart, O God.
All: Put a new and right spirit within us.
One: Restore to us the joy of your salvation.
All: Sustain in us a willing spirit.

OR

One: The God of all creation calls us together.
All: We hear God’s call and offer ourselves to our God.
One: God calls us in love and compassion.
All: We rejoice that God calls us the beloved.   
One: Fulfill God’s love by sharing that love with others.
All: We will share God’s love with everyone we meet.

Hymns and Songs
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELW: 414
W&P: 138

From All That Dwell Below the Skies
UMH: 101
H82: 380
PH: 229
NCH: 27
CH: 49
LBW: 550
AMEC: 69
STLT: 381

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
UMH: 154/155
H82: 450/451
PH: 142/143
AAHH: 292/293/294
NNBH: 3/5
NCH: 304
CH: 91/92
LBW: 328/329
ELW: 634
W&P: 100/106
AMEC: 4/5/6         
Renew: 45

Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404

Break Thou the Bread of Life
UMH: 599
PH: 329
AAHH: 334
NNBH: 295
NCH: 321
CH: 321
LBW: 235
ELW: 515
W&P: 665
AMEC: 209  

Wonderful Words of Life
UMH: 600
AAHH: 332
NNBH: 293
NCH: 319
CH: 323
W&P: 668
AMEC: 207  

O Word of God Incarnate
UMH: 598
PH: 327
NNBH: 296
NCH: 315
CH: 322
LBW: 231
ELW: 514
W&P: 670
Renew: 97

Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
UMH: 559
H82: 518
PH: 416/417
NCH: 400
CH: 275
LBW: 367
ELW: 645  
AMEC: 518  

In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557

The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519  

Open Our Eyes, Lord
CCB: 77
Renew: 91

Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188

Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
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
ELW: 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 came to us in the form of a peasant baby:
Grant us the wisdom to seek true humility
so that we may live into the truth of who we are
as your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

OR

We praise you, O God, because you came to us as a baby born into a peasant family. You show us that true greatness embraces humility. Help us to be humble so that we may find the truth of who we are as your beloved children. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our seeking for power and pride.

All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us in Jesus what a true child of God should look like. We see how Jesus knew who he was as your child and yet did not seek power and he lived in humility washing the disciples feet. Forgive us our arrogance and pride and renew your Spirit within us so that we may live as your children. Amen.

One: God in love claims each one of us as beloved children. Claim you place in God’s family by helping others know they are beloved, too.

Prayers of the People
Blessed and glorious are you, O God, who created out of the abundance of your love. 

(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. You have shown us in Jesus what a true child of God should look like. We see how Jesus knew who he was as your child and yet did not seek power and he lived in humility washing the disciples feet. Forgive us our arrogance and pride and renew your Spirit within us so that we may live as your children.

We thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us. You have blessed us with an abundant creation filled with beauty and wonder. You have given us your own Spirit so that we might know that we are your beloved children. You sent Jesus to show us how to live into the fullness of our creation. We thank you for the many ways you show your love for us. 

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for one another in our need and for those, anywhere, who struggle to find meaning in their lives. We pray for those who are victims of others need to dominate to feel good about themselves. We pray for all your children to come to the knowledge that they are your beloved.

(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 Our Father 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
Who are you? There are many ways to answer that question. We can give our name, tell who our parents are, or tell where we live. We can talk about how tall we are, our eye color, or the color of our skin. All of these things can help identify us but what really tells who we truly are is to know we are God’s beloved children, all of us.


* * * * * *

CHILDREN'S SERMONS
Infinite Bread!
by Pastor Katy Stenta
John 6:24-35

This is the story of some important people who were trying to figure Jesus out.

They came to Jesus and said Jesus, what are you doing here?

And Jesus said, “What are you doing here? You are not hungry for God, you are very important and get enough to eat. But I’ll tell you a secret, I know how to give you infinite food.”

“Infinite food? How do we do the work to earn infinite food!”

Who doesn’t want infinite food?!

What is your favorite food?

Wouldn’t it be fun to have infinity of it?

Jesus said, “I am infinite food, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

It was then that these important people realized that Jesus was talking about a different kind of food, the food that nourishes the soul. It’s better than having the tastiest food forever, because it's being with friends and family and people you love forever.

When you do the work of God, when you help people or do loving acts of kindness, your soul gets fed. What are ways to follow Jesus that you can think of? How do you feel after you do these things? Why do you think these things are ways to follow Jesus?

Let us pray

Dear God,
Help us
to follow Jesus
and nourish us
with the infinite bread
of life
we pray
Amen.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


The Immediate Word, August 1, 2021 issue.

Copyright 2021 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.