Swords Into Highchairs, Spears Into Serving Platters
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For December 1, 2019:
Swords Into Highchairs, Spears Into Serving Platters
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 2:1-5
At the church coffee hour the other day, I asked a church member how her family was doing. “Oh, pastor,” she said, “it’s so awful.” Close to tears, she told me about the civil war in her home country, the closing of schools, the arrests of young adults and the fear that people experience every day, just trying to buy food or get to work. “When I die,” her father has told her, “don’t come here. It’s too dangerous.”
Her story reminded me that in the safety of my daily routine, I forget how many places around the world are consumed with war. I have the luxury of not paying attention.
In Syria, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Israel, in Afghanistan, in Hong Kong, in countless other places, there’s no such ignorance. Conflict shapes everything about daily life, and takes a toll in stress, poor nutrition, lack of health care, denied access to schools, and consistent danger.
Isaiah’s word of peace is as compelling in our world as it was for the people of Israel. We have made our swords into drones, and our spears into computer bots, but our warring world is just as far from peace.
In the Scriptures
Isaiah is the best visionary in the scriptures, painting pictures of God’s world of peace so vivid we can imagine it all for ourselves. This vision of God’s reign of peace comes as a word that Isaiah “saw,” perhaps in some kind of vision from God, and he makes us see it, too, with his clear images. He looks forward to a day that is far off, but not unattainable. Then the mountain of God’s house, Zion, will be the most prominent place. The competition of other gods and powers will fall away. All kinds of people will want to know how to live in God’s way.
This is no Disney kingdom that God promises, though. It involves instruction in living in a new way, and judgment for the nations who don’t do it. Interestingly, the transformation from war into peace for all people only comes after the judgment. We don’t get there without doing substantial work, alongside the God who brings the peace.
This vision is so compelling that it appears twice in the Hebrew scriptures, here and in Micah 4. We don’t know which prophet borrowed it from the other, or if it was a common image in the culture of the day. We can understand the duplication, since the image has such power to inspire, both in Isaiah’s day and now.
In the News
In the very region of the world where Isaiah envisioned a transforming peace, conflict has started again on several fronts, revealing (again) how far we are from God’s promise of harmony. Syria, battered by a brutal civil war for years, is now getting airstrikes from Israel, which says it’s fighting back against Iranian forces located in Syria. “The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the strikes near Damascus were focused on Iranian and Syrian “terror targets,” and noted that a Syrian air defense missile had been fired in retaliation “despite clear warnings to refrain from such fire.” “As a result, a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed,” the statement read. There have been sporadic flare-ups across the old Israeli-Syrian armistice line. Israel has clashed there with Syrian and Iranian forces based in Syria as Iran’s influence has grown in the war-torn nation.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu articulated a deeply different vision from Isaiah’s, saying, “I have made it clear that whoever hurts us — we will hurt him.”
The US has added 14,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region since the spring, hoping to deter further attacks on Saudi oil fields. The US has said that attacks in September came from Iranian drones. Iran is under pressure from US sanctions.
Prospects for peace grew even dimmer when the US changed positions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement on Monday that the United States no longer viewed Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law, coupled with a month’s long deadlock in Israeli politics that may require a new election to resolve, is casting further doubts that a long-awaited proposal from President Trump can resolve the 70-year territorial conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Although Mr. Pompeo said the Trump administration’s view on settlements would make peace easier to achieve, the Palestinians, along with many foreign governments and Israeli politicians, insist the opposite. And if there is an election to determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can keep his job, it would not occur until early next spring.”
One particularly cruel form of warfare between Israel and the Palestinian people of the West Bank has been the widespread destruction of olive trees owned by Palestinians. Olive trees have cultural significance, along with economic value. “The olive harvest in the West Bank lasts roughly October through November, a festive season of family and friends coming together to pick olives, often on groves passed on through generations of ancestral inheritance. In the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 45 percent of agricultural land is planted with olive trees, with the olive oil industry making up a quarter of the region’s gross agricultural income, and supporting the livelihood of about 100,000 families. The olive tree also has broader meanings — historically, the long-living, slow-growing, and drought-resistant olive tree represents peace and resilience for Palestinians, and also holds symbolic value across the religious scriptures of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.” The olive tree, another image of peace, has become an instrument of war.
In the Sermon
As Palestinian families try to harvest olives, observers from around the world have come to lend their presence to the effort. “The politicization of the olive tree is evident at every twist and turn of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including this year’s Israeli election. Days after Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign promise on September 10 to formally annex the Jordan Valley, the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) issued an order to uproot hundreds of olive trees owned by Palestinians in the valley right before a planned harvest. As Israeli settlements continue to expand in the West Bank, clashes between settlers and Palestinians have surged, often manifesting in the targeting of farmers and their properties — particularly during the harvest season. Over 800,000 Palestinian olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli authorities and settlers since 1967, according to research from the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem.” Volunteers come for the harvest, to observe, to deter attacks, and to lend their help. As they pick the olives and nurture friendships (and sometimes endure attacks which leave volunteers injured) they are giving a small bit of life to Isaiah’s dream of peace across the nations.
The sermon might examine ways that we can do the same kind of work for peace. It may not be international travel, but simply traveling across town to a different neighborhood to eat dinner, support a local business, volunteer at a school, visit a church, make a friend or learn more.
Or the sermon might look at what we need to do to end conflict on a smaller scale. We each carry the seeds of prejudice, hatred and mean-spiritedness inside ourselves and it’s easy to slip into a place of judgment or anger. Even if we’re not starting wars, we have the potential to add to the hostility in the world. How do we cultivate Isaiah’s vision on a smaller scale, so we can move toward the larger scale? Setting aside the question of peace among the nations, how do we cultivate peace on Facebook, or between church committees, or between the people who attend the contemporary worship service and the people who love the traditional service? How can the people who decorate before Thanksgiving find harmony with the people who insist on waiting? And how about the divide between the people who want to sing Christmas carols during Advent, and the people who want to wait?
Isaiah holds onto hope in the face of all present evidence to the contrary. He speaks for God to a people beset by larger powers, people who should be afraid of what will happen next. Somehow, Isaiah sees beyond the present to a future transformed by God. As we are similarly beset by ugliness, partisan division and economic inequality, how do we take up Isaiah’s gift of un-reasonable hope? The sermon might look at how we ignore the “evidence” and look toward God’s future.
This is Isaiah’s biggest and best gift — he speaks so firmly for God, and is so deeply anchored in God’s vision, that he speaks words of hope even when they don’t seem warranted. This Advent, we can catch that hope from him again, and pass it on.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Surprise!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 24:36-44
A couple of weeks ago, I was watching some of the impeachment inquiry hearings. What drew me to those long, interminable question and answer sessions was the testimony of provided by Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a man who, it seemed to me, virtually oozed integrity and credibility. A Purple Heart recipient and Iraqi war veteran, serving at the White House, he was testifying before the House Intelligence Committee and, as part of that testimony, he said: "I never thought I would be sitting here testifying in front of this committee and the American public, about my actions. When I reported my concerns, my only thought was to act properly and to carry out duty."
He simply did what he thought was his proper duty and he was surprised to find himself testifying before House Intelligence Committee and millions of television viewers.
I wonder, if a man as well educated and trained, and as honorable and credible as Lt. Col Vindman can be surprised by the vicissitudes of life, are any of us safe?
Surprise!
Vicissitudes
Vicissitudes.
It’s a great word and one that I love to use because it’s an old word. George Washington used it in his first inaugural address. When I use it, it makes me feel smart.
It means changes. In particular, it means the changes that happen in the normal course of events, the many and various changes that come through maturation or growth or development, changes that we should expect but somehow always manage to catch us by surprise.
The vicissitudes of aging have been especially vexatious for me, lately. I have to write out more of my sermons, and I have to make more lists and leave myself more notes because my memory isn’t as crisp and clear as it used to be.
I have to work harder to take off weight that is easier than ever to put on.
The vicissitudes of parenting required me to slap a smile on my face and stand on the porch waving when my kids moved out even though my heart was breaking.
I had to learn to watch them make mistakes and then be there to help them up after they fell.
I had to get used to being called Pop, my grandkids word for grandpa. I kinda like that particular change.
But even if I didn’t like it, there’s little I could do about it. Life is full of vicissitudes. Just look at the front page of the newspaper or whatever you’re substituting for a newspaper these days.
It’s raining. It’s snowing. The sun is out and then it’s gone. Surprise!
The Dow is up…no, it’s down…no, it’s up…wait, it’s down again. Surprise!
Companies we trusted have cheated us! Food we trusted is bad for us. Beverages we eschewed turn out to be good for us. Surprise!
Or watch the evening news.
New medical advances are becoming commonplace.
The computer I bought two years ago is, my children tell me, hopelessly obsolete. And I just had to replace my cell phone, the one they told me was the last one I’d ever need because it was absolutely worthless. Couldn’t do have the stuff I never thought I’d want a phone to do. So I had to get a new one. But not a thousand dollar one. Even I have limits on the changes I’ll accept.
The vicissitudes of modern life crash in upon and wash over us unbidden and uninvited. Some we enjoy, others not so much
Psychologists tell us that change and surprise can add spice to our lives but we tend to thrive when we know what to expect. Animals in the laboratory do well when they know that they will be rewarded for pushing lever A and punished for pushing lever B. They will avoid B and concentrate on A.
But when we take the predictability out of the equation, when we make the rewards and punishments random the animals soon become fearful and refuse to approach either lever. Eventually, they refuse to move at all.
Fortunately, we are not animals in a lab. We humans can handle a certain amount of randomness, a certain amount of surprise in our lives. In fact, we tend to do better, to live more fully, more authentically when there is some unpredictability and spontaneity to our days.
The key to enjoying the pleasant surprises and mitigating the unpleasant ones is to be ready for them. As oxymoronic as it sounds, you have to be prepared for surprises. You have to be looking for them.
This is true not just when we consider the vicissitudes of everyday life, but even when we consider the deeper things, the things of the spirit. In fact, it may be even truer, then.
Blind Spots
On the first Sunday of Advent we kick off the season of waiting and expectation.
It is the “Sunday of Hope.”
We know that Jesus is returning, not just at the end of time but in every time. Jesus is constantly knocking at the door of our lives, asking us to let him in. Our responsibility, especially in advent, is to be listening for the knock because it comes when we least expect it. Matthew, using the symbolic, poetic language of his time, says:
It can come when we are eating or drinking or when we are at a wedding reception, laughing and dancing.
It can come when we are at work in the field or the factory, in the school or the office.
It can come when things are going well or badly, when we are sick or when we are well, when we are happy or when we are disappointed. When we are up or when we are down.
One of the vicissitudes of aging that vexes me is the fact that I can’t turn my head as far as I used to be able to do so I have blind spots on both sides of the car when I drive. And the mirrors don’t help. No matter what I do I can’t get rid of a certain amount of uncertainty, blind spots beside my car.
So now I can’t just turn my head or glance at the mirror before I change lanes. I have to actually shift in my seat and look back over my shoulder. It’s that or, humiliation upon humiliation, ask my wife to look for me. One way or another, though, I have to look into my blind spots
Grace, says Matthew, always strikes us in our blind spot. That is, the place we aren’t looking and at the time we aren’t looking there.
Listen as theologian Paul Tillich describing that moment in his sermon, “You Are Accepted,” (The Shaking of the Foundations). It is almost a contemporary paraphrase of Matthew:
“It happens; or it does not happen. And, certainly, it does not happen if we try to force it upon ourselves, just as it shall not happen so long as we think, in our self-complacency, that we have no need of it. Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.”
This week Matthew reminds us that the grace of God always comes as a shock. Even when we know it is coming it can still catch us unawares. The prophets alerted us to it. Jesus woke us to it. The church prepares us for it. History tells us of it. And, like the other vicissitudes of life, it still manages to take us by surprise.
If we would receive grace in all of its power, with all of the benefit it provides to our lives, we would do well to work at being prepared, to wake up, to look around, to illuminate our blind spots, to take some time to ready ourselves for the grace of God which is going to break into our lives when we aren’t looking.
The When and the How
Fortunately, Jesus himself tells us how to prepare for his coming. His instructions are found in the very first words he speaks after his baptism by John.
Matthew speaks of them but it is Mark who spins them fully out: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in this good news.” (Mark 1: 14-15)
The first question he answers is, “When?”
The answer is, “Now.”
Jesus is coming! And if this prophetic word is to speak to our lives, if it is to open a door to authentic, Christian living then the answer cannot be only “at the end of time.” The Kingdom is breaking forth right in front of us. Right now! Look, there it is!
In the love of a mother for her infant child. In the laughter of a teenager. In the affection of husband and wife for each other. In the sacrificial living of a missionary doctor. In the courage and the hope and the vision of those who remain in the mission field long after the crisis is over. In the simple lesson of a Sunday School teacher and the complex ruminations of a seminary professor.
Grace is striking all around us, but if we aren’t awake we’ll miss it.
“The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand…” says Mark. Right here. Right now.
That’s when and that’s where.
The only question left is how will we prepare ourselves for this life transforming in-breaking of grace? Again, Jesus answers the question.
“…repent and believe this good news.”
It is with repentance and faith that we best prepare ourselves for the advent of Jesus in our lives.
First, by repentance. We give up our false gods, our idols, our reliance on ourselves, our worship of things we can buy. We turn away from our separation and estrangement, our old hurts and our grudges. We walk away from the things that keep us from loving and forgiving others. We decide to do it and then we do it.
We turn our backs on ways of living that are destructive, consumptive, decadent, violent, wasteful and just plain selfish. And we turn towards those ways that are kind and gentle, loving and forgiving, peaceful and nurturing. In other words, we turn away from the world and toward Jesus.
And then, secondly, we step out in faith.
We take a risk and we resolve to live by the power of Jesus in our lives regardless of the outcome. We live, knowing that even though Christ’s way is the right way, we may not see the payoff that we expect.
In short, we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, the coming of grace, the coming of God into our lives by living as though it has already happened.
The Pacific Islander told the anthropologist, “We do not dance because we are happy; we are happy because we dance.” Likewise, Christians do not receive God’s grace because we live by faith, we live by faith because we receive God’s grace — have received, do receive, and will receive.
This is the word of hope.
This is the word of the first Sunday of Advent.
“The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe this good news.”
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 2:2
In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
In 2019, after 46-year career in show business, Henry Winkler has earned the reputation as the “Nicest Man in Hollywood.” Winkler is best known to us as the “The Fonz,” on Happy Days. The show ran for eleven seasons from, 1974 to 1984, broadcasting 255 half-hour shows. When the show ended Winkler had difficulty securing additional acting roles, as he was permanently typecast as “The Fonz.” When Winkler was growing up in Manhattan, being raised by his German Jewish parents, Lise and Harry, they knew something was physically wrong with their child, they just did not know what. It wasn’t until Winkler was 31 that he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Reflecting on his childhood Winkler said, “I thought I wasn’t smart my whole life. I was failing at everything. My parents called me “dumb dog” in German. There’s an emotional component to the leaning-challenged. You don’t have a sense of self because you’re not keeping up with everybody. I felt terrible about myself. I thought that I was a nobody. But I had a vision [to act], and I never lost sight of it.
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Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Susan Orfanos’s son, Telemachus, narrowly escaped death in the mass shooting at a country-music festival in Los Vegas in October 2017. On November 8, 2018, at 2:15 a.m., she received a phone call about a shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, which was just across town from her home in Thousand Oaks, California. She waited “hours and hours” to learn if her 27-year-old son was safe, injured or killed. She eventually learned that Telemachus was one of the 12 victims who died inside the Borderline. When the news became public, the media showed up at her home. Reflecting back on that encounter Susan said, “When the news van pulled up, it was just a visceral reaction. I walked out and started yelling, ‘I don’t want prayers! I don’t want thoughts! I want gun control!’”
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Isaiah 2:2
In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Actor-comedian Kevin Hart and two others were involved in a horrific car accident in Calabasas, California on Sunday, September 1, 2019. Hart’s friend, Jared Black, was driving Hart's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda when he lost control of the vehicle. The car went off the road and rolled down an embankment. In the accident Hart fractured his spine in three places.
On October 29 the actor posted a video on Instagram documenting his recovery. The footage shows Hart standing for the first time with the aid of nurses and a walker. Later in the video you see Hart in a physical therapy session. In the video Hart shares that the accident gave him a new perspective on life. Hart told viewers, “I honestly feel like God basically told me to sit down. When you’re moving too fast and doing too much, sometimes you can’t see the things that you’re meant to see. But after my accident, I see things differently; I see life from a whole new perspective.” In the video Hart also said, “My appreciation for life is through the roof. Don’t take today for granted because tomorrow is not promised.”
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Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
With the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s public education was made available for all young boys. This may seem like a noble venture, until the motive is revealed. Education was not vested in the learning of math and reading, but its primary focus was on obedience to authority and punctuality. Education was to prepare boys to serve in the military and live by the time clock in the factory.
* * *
Matthew 24:42
Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
The 1880s were a time of revolutionary international transportation. The railroads were spanning country to country. The Suez Canal opened. The Orient Express line opened. Ocean transportation was becoming commonplace. This emphasis on speedy international travel catapulted an obscure book into popularity. Written in 1873, Jules Verne’s book Around the World in Eighty Days was capturing the imagination of everyone.
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From team member Tom Willadsen:
Happy New Year, TIW subscribers! At midnight, or dusk, last night, the lectionary year changed from Year C to Year A. You might want to break out the confetti, party hats and noisy makers. We’re going to whoop it up in Nebraska, let me assure you. Now, to our texts
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Isaiah 2:1-5
Walking in the light
At the very end of this reading we find
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
The song “Siyahamba” has been very popular in American churches for nearly three decades. It originated as a Zulu folk song in the Republic of South Africa. It was written by Andries Van Tonder, an elder in his church. He passed it on to his great grandchildren, who still have the original paper it was written on in 1952.
Siyahamba was “discovered” by Anders Nyberg, the director of a Swedish Lutheran choir who heard in 1978 when his choir was touring in the Republic of South African state, Natal. Nyberg later arranged the song for four voices, published his arrangement and recorded the song on a collection called “Freedom is Coming: Songs of Protest and Praise from South Africa.”
Siyahamba came stateside in the mid 1990’s: In 1994, GIA Publications included the song (under the title "We Are Marching in the Light of God") in Gather Comprehensive a hymnal widely used in American Catholic parishes. A year later, the United Church of Christ included the song, under the same title, in The New Century Hymnal. The Unitarian Universalist Association included the song in its 2005 supplemental hymnbook, Singing the Journey.
Today, "Siyahamba" is often performed by children's groups in both sacred and secular environments. Occasionally, the translated lyrics are modified for a secular performance: for example, the English translation "We are marching in the light of God" becomes "We are standing in the light of peace."
The song is extremely popular in churches all around the world.
The song’s structure “is cyclic, rather than sequential: the lyrics consist of one phrase, repeated with permutations. Hawn notes that cyclical forms tend to emphasize a spirit of community and allow for physical response during the performance. This cyclical form, along with the meaning of the lyrics, may explain the song's popularity as a processional and offertory as well as a protest or marching song.”
In light of “Marching in the Light of God” coming to the states from South Africa, it’s interesting to note that an American gospel song, “We Shall Overcome” has been exported. Reformers who led the Velvet Revolution in Prague used this song that was an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States as early as the 1950s, in the heady days of 1989.
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Romans 13:11-14
Sleepers, Awake!
In the past 30 years, physiologists have made huge strides in the understanding of sleep. The ease of studying sleepers has been improved by advances in medical technology. Many people who suffer from sleep apnea, for example, get restful, restorative sleep through the use of Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machines.
While sleep needs vary widely from individual to individual, most people are at their best when they get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. On average, Americans are sleep-deprived. It is increasingly difficult to arise from our beds and respond to the salvation Paul promises to the Roman Christians. Most of us would prefer to hit the snooze alarm and get about another 30 minutes of shut-eye.
Improvements in sleep monitoring make it possible for individuals to not only measure how many hours they sleep each night, but also the quality, restfulness of their sleep based on analysis of how much time was spent in each stage of sleep.
It is not too far a stretch that sleep may become a competitive sport. I envision something like a Sleep Decathlon. Some of the events could be
Length of time spent asleep;
Rapidity of falling asleep;
Soundness of sleep — as measured by how loud a noise is required to awaken the sleeper;
Sleep balance — did the sleeper spend appropriate amounts of time in each stage of sleep?
Speed of emerging from sleep into full alertness….
Go ahead and laugh — this is my best chance to be an Olympian!
All kidding aside, it is a great compliment to a congregation whenever someone falls asleep in worship. One can only sleep where one feels safe. Someone who could not sleep at night in the security of their own bed who is able to fall asleep in the presence of other worshippers says, “I feel safe here.” Any congregation should congratulate itself when someone falls asleep in worship.
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A little more about Romans:
Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.
Doesn’t this seem a little off? This notion that reveling, drunkenness, debauchery and licentiousness do not take place during the day is belied by every American college on Memorial Day. It seems that these things were understood to take place at night. When Peter addressed those gathering in Jerusalem on Pentecost he contended that those speaking foreign languages could not be drunk because it was only 9 a.m.
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Matthew 24:36-44
Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
It can be very stressful to always be ready for something dramatic. Being very alert for extended periods of time can lead to anxiety and exhaustion. It is common for people suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder to exhibit hypervigilance. It is hard to know when being alert, ready to respond instantly goes too far and becomes unhealthy. Certainly many Christians have worn themselves to a frazzle when their expectations of Christ’s return have been heightened.
Christ says, “Keep awake…you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” How long can one survive healthily always being awake? This is one of those passages it is best not to take literally.
Christ can’t come back today; it’s already tomorrow in Australia.
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From team member Bethany Peerbolte
Isaiah 2:1-5
Freedom in Learning
This text speaks to the freeing nature of knowledge. The people are excited to go and learn God’s way. The divisions that they have guarded no longer need their swords and spears. The learning the enjoy allows them to feel so safe that they turn their energy to creating. The people begin growing, plowing the fields, and perfecting, pruning the excess, of God’s kingdom. The knowledge sets them free to pursue life in a new way with new goals.
There is significant debate around the issue of prison inmates being allowed to take college courses behind bars. One prison that does offer college level courses to their inmates has also allowed PBS cameras to come film the program. “College Behind Bars” is an inside look at what happens when a prisoner turns their attention to education. The series hopes to show the power of knowledge and the freedom it can bring to even those whose freedom is so limited.
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Isaiah 2:1-5
God’s Classroom
I love the image of going up to the mountain to learn. Not in the sense my father had to go up hill both ways in waist deep snow, but to trek towards something worth climbing. The mountain brings us closer to God and it holds up the knowledge above any earthly wisdom. The mountain top is the perfect environment to learn how to create and live in God’s kingdom.
Two articles caught my eye this week about learning environments. One brought to light how a classroom’s acoustics can affect the learning of the students. Teachers understand that hearing is an important piece to learning. This is why they spend so much time making seating charts and noise level expectations in their classrooms. Some students simply listen better when they are close to the speaker, some can sort through the chaos of whispers and still learn. Going up the mountain is essentially God calling us to sit a little closer so we can learn better.
The other article I saw this week was about outdoor learning classrooms. There is a boom of preschools exclusively taking place outside. Programs plan activities for the toddlers to engage in that will teach them a love of nature. They experience the world first hand, ask questions, and discover their own answers. Much like going to the mountain would allow God’s people to look at the world and begin formulating a plan to amplify the good they see in it.
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Psalm 122
Prayer Gives Us a Voice
The prayer that is offered in this Psalm has felt relevant for thousands of years. Some may find it frustrating that God’s people have been praying the same thing for so long. I think it is amazing that God hasn’t gotten tired of us yet. I think of toddlers who say the same thing over and over until their request is recognized. God has been patiently listening and guiding us to be the change we most wish to see in the world. God has never moved to take away our voice. Even when we ask for things we don’t need or pray things we don’t really mean. We always have a voice in prayer.
This week I have been glued to videos of a dog learning to talk. This isn’t vaguely growled “I wuv woo” this dog can talk! Well he can put together words with the help of buttons to get an idea across to his owner. The owner of this wonder dog is a speech pathologist. She has programmed a few dozen buttons to say words which she has slowly taught to her pup. My favorite video is when the dog sees something outside and runs to the button sound board. He presses “look” “outside” multiple times to get his owner to see what is out there. The owner can’t do anything about what is outside but is able to comfort the dog and redirect his attention. The dog has a voice to “say” his concerns just like we can speak through prayer. Sometimes God is able to give us what we ask for, sometimes we just need to be comforted and assured God is still listening.
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Romans 13:8-14
Neighbors helping Neighbors
This passage boils all the rules and laws down to one thing, love your neighbor. One scale one which we should weigh all our actions. Unfortunately, even with a short rule like “love your neighbor” humanity stumbles to live it out. If there was ever a time to renew our hope that we can do it, the holiday season is it. Simply Google search “neighbors helping neighbors” and the options overflow. You will find stories about coat drives, holiday meals open to the public, and volunteer hours filling fast. Something about this time of year reminds us we are called to love. Will there be drunkenness? Yes. Will we all live honorably when the last TV is taken by someone else on black Friday? Maybe not. Thankfully we have the Lord Jesus Christ to “put on” and try again to love as God would love.
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WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: Let us rejoice as we go to the house of God!
People: We lift our voices in songs of rejoicing!
Leader: This is a time of hope as we await he coming Messiah.
People: In faith we look for coming of our Savior.
Leader: Pray that the Reign of God may fully come to Earth.
People: We pray for God’s peace to envelop the whole world.
OR
Leader: Prepare your hearts for the coming Messiah!
People: We open our lives to our Savior who comes to us.
Leader: Be alert! For the Christ comes in many ways.
People: We will look for the Christ in our daily lives.
Leader: Remember that the Christ comes to others through you.
People: We will be open to Christ’s presence through us.
Hymns and Songs:
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELW: 257
W&P: 154
AMEC: 102
STLT: 225
Blessed Be the God of Israel
UMH: 209
H82: 444
CH: 135
ELW: 552/250
W&P: 158
Renew: 128
Seek Ye First
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
Let There Be Peace of Earth
UMH: 431
CH: 677
W&P: 614
Let There Be Light
UMH: 440
NNBH: 450
NCH: 589
STLT 142
Be Thou My Vision
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
Come Down, O Love Divine
UMH: 475
H82: 516
PH: 313
NCH: 289
CH: 582
LBW: 508
ELW: 804
W&P: 330
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
UMH: 540
H82: 524
PH: 441
NNBH: 302
NCH: 312
CH: 274
LBW: 368
W&P: 549
AMEC: 515/517
Arise, Shine
CCB: 2
Renew: 123
He Has Made Me Glad
CCB: 3
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 comes to us in unexpected ways:
Grant us the grace to see that in the midst of conflict
you have placed the seeds of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you come to us in unexpected ways. When we find ourselves in times of conflict help us to perceive the opportunities you offer to change them to times of peace. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we are content to live in conflict when we could live in peace.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have set before us the way of peace but we continually look for ways to divide ourselves from others. We allow past hurts to continue to infect our relationships and poison our spirits. We close our eyes to your presence in the hard places of our lives. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit that we may move from conflict to peace with you. Amen.
Leader: God is here among us even in our times of conflict and separation. God grants us forgiveness and grace so that in the power of the Spirit we may enter into peace.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, who comes to us daily. Your presence is ever among us calling us deeper into your reign.
(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 set before us the way of peace but we continually look for ways to divide ourselves from others. We allow past hurts to continue to infect our relationships and poison our spirits. We close our eyes to your presence in the hard places of our lives. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit that we may move from conflict to peace with you.
We give you thanks for all glories of this creation. We thank you for beauty that surrounds us and for your presence that is never far from us. We thank you that you are ever working to bring about unity and peace within all creation.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who are in conflict whether it be actual war or bitterness because it all poisons our souls.
(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
Here is an option to use children’s time for the Advent wreath.
Read Isaiah 60:1-2.
Talk about how it is the time of the year when it gets dark early and the sun comes up later. The nights are really long and we really look forward to sunny days. We are also preparing for Christmas and we are hoping for lots of things: time with family, church services, big dinners, presents. But most of all we are hoping for the coming of Christ that brings peace and joy to everyone. We light this candle for hope.
Dear God, thank you for the hope you give us. Thank you for sending Jesus to tell us how to live in love so we can have peace and joy. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Let Me Have a Word with You!
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 2:1-5
Have you ever heard someone who was quite upset say, “I just want to have a word with him or her?” It was something I heard my mother say — generally when she was upset at someone. If someone — even her children! — had done something which had upset her, she might say, “Give me a minute to have a word with them!” Sometimes she said it to be funny, but on occasion she truly meant what she said. It was as if she were saying, “I want to have the last word with you!”
Advent is a time for us to listen to the word God wants to have with us — of course God doesn’t want to send us to time out, but instead is sending us Jesus.
Isaiah says that God has given him a word to share. It feels as though God might be saying, “I want to have a word with you!” The word that Isaiah has been given to share is filled with all sorts of images. You may choose to bring pictures of some of the things Isaiah mentions, or perhaps you could place them around the sanctuary for visual impact. “Look!” Isaiah says. “God wants to teach you something. Look around you, and see the violence in the world. Look around and see the many ways that people use things that hurt others into something that can help repair the world.”
The word God wants to have with us is this: “See those swords? They are meant to hurt other people. They damage the good creation I gave you and bring war between people. But if you follow my promise these swords will be bent into farming tools. The people who wanted to bring about war will instead be harvesting food to feed the hungry. And see these spears? They’re meant to hurt others. But if you listen carefully to what I am teaching you, you will find a way to change them into hooks that can be used for harvesting fruit from trees and grapes from vines!”
Isaiah’s word closes with a promise that could be for all people. In fact, it might be a promise we could repeat every Sunday in Advent: “Let us walk in the light of the Lord!”
The children may also be interested in learning about an artist from Liberia who has worked hard to turn bullets from wars into works of art. Benjamin Somah says he “stumbled” on a way to turn violence into art, including lovely crosses made from bullet casings.
The enterprising craftsman collected the spent bullets and began crafting them into figurines. Heʼs dedicated himself to creating art that promotes the message that something good can come from the violence and pain that his country endured for more than 20 years.
“I just wanted to transform some of the materials from the war into something peaceful,” said Somah, 51, who calls himself a bullet designer. “I wanted to create something people havenʼt seen before, especially something from the war.”
You might consider closing with the idea that this is the word Isaiah wants to have with us. In Advent, we walk in the light of the Lord and discover something people have never seen before.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 1, 2019 issue.
Copyright 2019 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.
- Swords Into Highchairs, Spears Into Serving Platters by Mary Austin — Isaiah’s vision of the reign of God, and peace for all people, still speaks to our hearts as Advent begins.
- Second Thoughts: Small Wonder(s) by Dean Feldmeyer — We prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, the coming of grace, the coming of God into our lives by living as though it has already happened.
- Sermon illustrations by Ron Love, Tom Willadsen and Bethany Peerbolte.
- Worship resources by George Reed that focus on changing conflict to peace; Messiah comes unexpectedly.
- Children’s sermon: Let Me Have a Word with You! by Chris Keating — Isaiah brings a word with God’s people — setting before them a promise of peace, justice, and social change.
Swords Into Highchairs, Spears Into Serving Plattersby Mary Austin
Isaiah 2:1-5
At the church coffee hour the other day, I asked a church member how her family was doing. “Oh, pastor,” she said, “it’s so awful.” Close to tears, she told me about the civil war in her home country, the closing of schools, the arrests of young adults and the fear that people experience every day, just trying to buy food or get to work. “When I die,” her father has told her, “don’t come here. It’s too dangerous.”
Her story reminded me that in the safety of my daily routine, I forget how many places around the world are consumed with war. I have the luxury of not paying attention.
In Syria, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Israel, in Afghanistan, in Hong Kong, in countless other places, there’s no such ignorance. Conflict shapes everything about daily life, and takes a toll in stress, poor nutrition, lack of health care, denied access to schools, and consistent danger.
Isaiah’s word of peace is as compelling in our world as it was for the people of Israel. We have made our swords into drones, and our spears into computer bots, but our warring world is just as far from peace.
In the Scriptures
Isaiah is the best visionary in the scriptures, painting pictures of God’s world of peace so vivid we can imagine it all for ourselves. This vision of God’s reign of peace comes as a word that Isaiah “saw,” perhaps in some kind of vision from God, and he makes us see it, too, with his clear images. He looks forward to a day that is far off, but not unattainable. Then the mountain of God’s house, Zion, will be the most prominent place. The competition of other gods and powers will fall away. All kinds of people will want to know how to live in God’s way.
This is no Disney kingdom that God promises, though. It involves instruction in living in a new way, and judgment for the nations who don’t do it. Interestingly, the transformation from war into peace for all people only comes after the judgment. We don’t get there without doing substantial work, alongside the God who brings the peace.
This vision is so compelling that it appears twice in the Hebrew scriptures, here and in Micah 4. We don’t know which prophet borrowed it from the other, or if it was a common image in the culture of the day. We can understand the duplication, since the image has such power to inspire, both in Isaiah’s day and now.
In the News
In the very region of the world where Isaiah envisioned a transforming peace, conflict has started again on several fronts, revealing (again) how far we are from God’s promise of harmony. Syria, battered by a brutal civil war for years, is now getting airstrikes from Israel, which says it’s fighting back against Iranian forces located in Syria. “The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the strikes near Damascus were focused on Iranian and Syrian “terror targets,” and noted that a Syrian air defense missile had been fired in retaliation “despite clear warnings to refrain from such fire.” “As a result, a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed,” the statement read. There have been sporadic flare-ups across the old Israeli-Syrian armistice line. Israel has clashed there with Syrian and Iranian forces based in Syria as Iran’s influence has grown in the war-torn nation.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu articulated a deeply different vision from Isaiah’s, saying, “I have made it clear that whoever hurts us — we will hurt him.”
The US has added 14,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region since the spring, hoping to deter further attacks on Saudi oil fields. The US has said that attacks in September came from Iranian drones. Iran is under pressure from US sanctions.
Prospects for peace grew even dimmer when the US changed positions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement on Monday that the United States no longer viewed Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law, coupled with a month’s long deadlock in Israeli politics that may require a new election to resolve, is casting further doubts that a long-awaited proposal from President Trump can resolve the 70-year territorial conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Although Mr. Pompeo said the Trump administration’s view on settlements would make peace easier to achieve, the Palestinians, along with many foreign governments and Israeli politicians, insist the opposite. And if there is an election to determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can keep his job, it would not occur until early next spring.”
One particularly cruel form of warfare between Israel and the Palestinian people of the West Bank has been the widespread destruction of olive trees owned by Palestinians. Olive trees have cultural significance, along with economic value. “The olive harvest in the West Bank lasts roughly October through November, a festive season of family and friends coming together to pick olives, often on groves passed on through generations of ancestral inheritance. In the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 45 percent of agricultural land is planted with olive trees, with the olive oil industry making up a quarter of the region’s gross agricultural income, and supporting the livelihood of about 100,000 families. The olive tree also has broader meanings — historically, the long-living, slow-growing, and drought-resistant olive tree represents peace and resilience for Palestinians, and also holds symbolic value across the religious scriptures of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.” The olive tree, another image of peace, has become an instrument of war.
In the Sermon
As Palestinian families try to harvest olives, observers from around the world have come to lend their presence to the effort. “The politicization of the olive tree is evident at every twist and turn of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including this year’s Israeli election. Days after Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign promise on September 10 to formally annex the Jordan Valley, the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) issued an order to uproot hundreds of olive trees owned by Palestinians in the valley right before a planned harvest. As Israeli settlements continue to expand in the West Bank, clashes between settlers and Palestinians have surged, often manifesting in the targeting of farmers and their properties — particularly during the harvest season. Over 800,000 Palestinian olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli authorities and settlers since 1967, according to research from the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem.” Volunteers come for the harvest, to observe, to deter attacks, and to lend their help. As they pick the olives and nurture friendships (and sometimes endure attacks which leave volunteers injured) they are giving a small bit of life to Isaiah’s dream of peace across the nations.
The sermon might examine ways that we can do the same kind of work for peace. It may not be international travel, but simply traveling across town to a different neighborhood to eat dinner, support a local business, volunteer at a school, visit a church, make a friend or learn more.
Or the sermon might look at what we need to do to end conflict on a smaller scale. We each carry the seeds of prejudice, hatred and mean-spiritedness inside ourselves and it’s easy to slip into a place of judgment or anger. Even if we’re not starting wars, we have the potential to add to the hostility in the world. How do we cultivate Isaiah’s vision on a smaller scale, so we can move toward the larger scale? Setting aside the question of peace among the nations, how do we cultivate peace on Facebook, or between church committees, or between the people who attend the contemporary worship service and the people who love the traditional service? How can the people who decorate before Thanksgiving find harmony with the people who insist on waiting? And how about the divide between the people who want to sing Christmas carols during Advent, and the people who want to wait?
Isaiah holds onto hope in the face of all present evidence to the contrary. He speaks for God to a people beset by larger powers, people who should be afraid of what will happen next. Somehow, Isaiah sees beyond the present to a future transformed by God. As we are similarly beset by ugliness, partisan division and economic inequality, how do we take up Isaiah’s gift of un-reasonable hope? The sermon might look at how we ignore the “evidence” and look toward God’s future.
This is Isaiah’s biggest and best gift — he speaks so firmly for God, and is so deeply anchored in God’s vision, that he speaks words of hope even when they don’t seem warranted. This Advent, we can catch that hope from him again, and pass it on.
SECOND THOUGHTSSurprise!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 24:36-44
A couple of weeks ago, I was watching some of the impeachment inquiry hearings. What drew me to those long, interminable question and answer sessions was the testimony of provided by Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a man who, it seemed to me, virtually oozed integrity and credibility. A Purple Heart recipient and Iraqi war veteran, serving at the White House, he was testifying before the House Intelligence Committee and, as part of that testimony, he said: "I never thought I would be sitting here testifying in front of this committee and the American public, about my actions. When I reported my concerns, my only thought was to act properly and to carry out duty."
He simply did what he thought was his proper duty and he was surprised to find himself testifying before House Intelligence Committee and millions of television viewers.
I wonder, if a man as well educated and trained, and as honorable and credible as Lt. Col Vindman can be surprised by the vicissitudes of life, are any of us safe?
Surprise!
Vicissitudes
Vicissitudes.
It’s a great word and one that I love to use because it’s an old word. George Washington used it in his first inaugural address. When I use it, it makes me feel smart.
It means changes. In particular, it means the changes that happen in the normal course of events, the many and various changes that come through maturation or growth or development, changes that we should expect but somehow always manage to catch us by surprise.
The vicissitudes of aging have been especially vexatious for me, lately. I have to write out more of my sermons, and I have to make more lists and leave myself more notes because my memory isn’t as crisp and clear as it used to be.
I have to work harder to take off weight that is easier than ever to put on.
The vicissitudes of parenting required me to slap a smile on my face and stand on the porch waving when my kids moved out even though my heart was breaking.
I had to learn to watch them make mistakes and then be there to help them up after they fell.
I had to get used to being called Pop, my grandkids word for grandpa. I kinda like that particular change.
But even if I didn’t like it, there’s little I could do about it. Life is full of vicissitudes. Just look at the front page of the newspaper or whatever you’re substituting for a newspaper these days.
It’s raining. It’s snowing. The sun is out and then it’s gone. Surprise!
The Dow is up…no, it’s down…no, it’s up…wait, it’s down again. Surprise!
Companies we trusted have cheated us! Food we trusted is bad for us. Beverages we eschewed turn out to be good for us. Surprise!
Or watch the evening news.
New medical advances are becoming commonplace.
The computer I bought two years ago is, my children tell me, hopelessly obsolete. And I just had to replace my cell phone, the one they told me was the last one I’d ever need because it was absolutely worthless. Couldn’t do have the stuff I never thought I’d want a phone to do. So I had to get a new one. But not a thousand dollar one. Even I have limits on the changes I’ll accept.
The vicissitudes of modern life crash in upon and wash over us unbidden and uninvited. Some we enjoy, others not so much
Psychologists tell us that change and surprise can add spice to our lives but we tend to thrive when we know what to expect. Animals in the laboratory do well when they know that they will be rewarded for pushing lever A and punished for pushing lever B. They will avoid B and concentrate on A.
But when we take the predictability out of the equation, when we make the rewards and punishments random the animals soon become fearful and refuse to approach either lever. Eventually, they refuse to move at all.
Fortunately, we are not animals in a lab. We humans can handle a certain amount of randomness, a certain amount of surprise in our lives. In fact, we tend to do better, to live more fully, more authentically when there is some unpredictability and spontaneity to our days.
The key to enjoying the pleasant surprises and mitigating the unpleasant ones is to be ready for them. As oxymoronic as it sounds, you have to be prepared for surprises. You have to be looking for them.
This is true not just when we consider the vicissitudes of everyday life, but even when we consider the deeper things, the things of the spirit. In fact, it may be even truer, then.
Blind Spots
On the first Sunday of Advent we kick off the season of waiting and expectation.
It is the “Sunday of Hope.”
We know that Jesus is returning, not just at the end of time but in every time. Jesus is constantly knocking at the door of our lives, asking us to let him in. Our responsibility, especially in advent, is to be listening for the knock because it comes when we least expect it. Matthew, using the symbolic, poetic language of his time, says:
It can come when we are eating or drinking or when we are at a wedding reception, laughing and dancing.
It can come when we are at work in the field or the factory, in the school or the office.
It can come when things are going well or badly, when we are sick or when we are well, when we are happy or when we are disappointed. When we are up or when we are down.
One of the vicissitudes of aging that vexes me is the fact that I can’t turn my head as far as I used to be able to do so I have blind spots on both sides of the car when I drive. And the mirrors don’t help. No matter what I do I can’t get rid of a certain amount of uncertainty, blind spots beside my car.
So now I can’t just turn my head or glance at the mirror before I change lanes. I have to actually shift in my seat and look back over my shoulder. It’s that or, humiliation upon humiliation, ask my wife to look for me. One way or another, though, I have to look into my blind spots
Grace, says Matthew, always strikes us in our blind spot. That is, the place we aren’t looking and at the time we aren’t looking there.
Listen as theologian Paul Tillich describing that moment in his sermon, “You Are Accepted,” (The Shaking of the Foundations). It is almost a contemporary paraphrase of Matthew:
“It happens; or it does not happen. And, certainly, it does not happen if we try to force it upon ourselves, just as it shall not happen so long as we think, in our self-complacency, that we have no need of it. Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.”
This week Matthew reminds us that the grace of God always comes as a shock. Even when we know it is coming it can still catch us unawares. The prophets alerted us to it. Jesus woke us to it. The church prepares us for it. History tells us of it. And, like the other vicissitudes of life, it still manages to take us by surprise.
If we would receive grace in all of its power, with all of the benefit it provides to our lives, we would do well to work at being prepared, to wake up, to look around, to illuminate our blind spots, to take some time to ready ourselves for the grace of God which is going to break into our lives when we aren’t looking.
The When and the How
Fortunately, Jesus himself tells us how to prepare for his coming. His instructions are found in the very first words he speaks after his baptism by John.
Matthew speaks of them but it is Mark who spins them fully out: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in this good news.” (Mark 1: 14-15)
The first question he answers is, “When?”
The answer is, “Now.”
Jesus is coming! And if this prophetic word is to speak to our lives, if it is to open a door to authentic, Christian living then the answer cannot be only “at the end of time.” The Kingdom is breaking forth right in front of us. Right now! Look, there it is!
In the love of a mother for her infant child. In the laughter of a teenager. In the affection of husband and wife for each other. In the sacrificial living of a missionary doctor. In the courage and the hope and the vision of those who remain in the mission field long after the crisis is over. In the simple lesson of a Sunday School teacher and the complex ruminations of a seminary professor.
Grace is striking all around us, but if we aren’t awake we’ll miss it.
“The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand…” says Mark. Right here. Right now.
That’s when and that’s where.
The only question left is how will we prepare ourselves for this life transforming in-breaking of grace? Again, Jesus answers the question.
“…repent and believe this good news.”
It is with repentance and faith that we best prepare ourselves for the advent of Jesus in our lives.
First, by repentance. We give up our false gods, our idols, our reliance on ourselves, our worship of things we can buy. We turn away from our separation and estrangement, our old hurts and our grudges. We walk away from the things that keep us from loving and forgiving others. We decide to do it and then we do it.
We turn our backs on ways of living that are destructive, consumptive, decadent, violent, wasteful and just plain selfish. And we turn towards those ways that are kind and gentle, loving and forgiving, peaceful and nurturing. In other words, we turn away from the world and toward Jesus.
And then, secondly, we step out in faith.
We take a risk and we resolve to live by the power of Jesus in our lives regardless of the outcome. We live, knowing that even though Christ’s way is the right way, we may not see the payoff that we expect.
In short, we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, the coming of grace, the coming of God into our lives by living as though it has already happened.
The Pacific Islander told the anthropologist, “We do not dance because we are happy; we are happy because we dance.” Likewise, Christians do not receive God’s grace because we live by faith, we live by faith because we receive God’s grace — have received, do receive, and will receive.
This is the word of hope.
This is the word of the first Sunday of Advent.
“The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe this good news.”
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:Isaiah 2:2
In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
In 2019, after 46-year career in show business, Henry Winkler has earned the reputation as the “Nicest Man in Hollywood.” Winkler is best known to us as the “The Fonz,” on Happy Days. The show ran for eleven seasons from, 1974 to 1984, broadcasting 255 half-hour shows. When the show ended Winkler had difficulty securing additional acting roles, as he was permanently typecast as “The Fonz.” When Winkler was growing up in Manhattan, being raised by his German Jewish parents, Lise and Harry, they knew something was physically wrong with their child, they just did not know what. It wasn’t until Winkler was 31 that he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Reflecting on his childhood Winkler said, “I thought I wasn’t smart my whole life. I was failing at everything. My parents called me “dumb dog” in German. There’s an emotional component to the leaning-challenged. You don’t have a sense of self because you’re not keeping up with everybody. I felt terrible about myself. I thought that I was a nobody. But I had a vision [to act], and I never lost sight of it.
* * *
Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Susan Orfanos’s son, Telemachus, narrowly escaped death in the mass shooting at a country-music festival in Los Vegas in October 2017. On November 8, 2018, at 2:15 a.m., she received a phone call about a shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, which was just across town from her home in Thousand Oaks, California. She waited “hours and hours” to learn if her 27-year-old son was safe, injured or killed. She eventually learned that Telemachus was one of the 12 victims who died inside the Borderline. When the news became public, the media showed up at her home. Reflecting back on that encounter Susan said, “When the news van pulled up, it was just a visceral reaction. I walked out and started yelling, ‘I don’t want prayers! I don’t want thoughts! I want gun control!’”
* * *
Isaiah 2:2
In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Actor-comedian Kevin Hart and two others were involved in a horrific car accident in Calabasas, California on Sunday, September 1, 2019. Hart’s friend, Jared Black, was driving Hart's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda when he lost control of the vehicle. The car went off the road and rolled down an embankment. In the accident Hart fractured his spine in three places.
On October 29 the actor posted a video on Instagram documenting his recovery. The footage shows Hart standing for the first time with the aid of nurses and a walker. Later in the video you see Hart in a physical therapy session. In the video Hart shares that the accident gave him a new perspective on life. Hart told viewers, “I honestly feel like God basically told me to sit down. When you’re moving too fast and doing too much, sometimes you can’t see the things that you’re meant to see. But after my accident, I see things differently; I see life from a whole new perspective.” In the video Hart also said, “My appreciation for life is through the roof. Don’t take today for granted because tomorrow is not promised.”
* * *
Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
With the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s public education was made available for all young boys. This may seem like a noble venture, until the motive is revealed. Education was not vested in the learning of math and reading, but its primary focus was on obedience to authority and punctuality. Education was to prepare boys to serve in the military and live by the time clock in the factory.
* * *
Matthew 24:42
Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
The 1880s were a time of revolutionary international transportation. The railroads were spanning country to country. The Suez Canal opened. The Orient Express line opened. Ocean transportation was becoming commonplace. This emphasis on speedy international travel catapulted an obscure book into popularity. Written in 1873, Jules Verne’s book Around the World in Eighty Days was capturing the imagination of everyone.
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From team member Tom Willadsen:Happy New Year, TIW subscribers! At midnight, or dusk, last night, the lectionary year changed from Year C to Year A. You might want to break out the confetti, party hats and noisy makers. We’re going to whoop it up in Nebraska, let me assure you. Now, to our texts
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Isaiah 2:1-5
Walking in the light
At the very end of this reading we find
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
The song “Siyahamba” has been very popular in American churches for nearly three decades. It originated as a Zulu folk song in the Republic of South Africa. It was written by Andries Van Tonder, an elder in his church. He passed it on to his great grandchildren, who still have the original paper it was written on in 1952.
Siyahamba was “discovered” by Anders Nyberg, the director of a Swedish Lutheran choir who heard in 1978 when his choir was touring in the Republic of South African state, Natal. Nyberg later arranged the song for four voices, published his arrangement and recorded the song on a collection called “Freedom is Coming: Songs of Protest and Praise from South Africa.”
Siyahamba came stateside in the mid 1990’s: In 1994, GIA Publications included the song (under the title "We Are Marching in the Light of God") in Gather Comprehensive a hymnal widely used in American Catholic parishes. A year later, the United Church of Christ included the song, under the same title, in The New Century Hymnal. The Unitarian Universalist Association included the song in its 2005 supplemental hymnbook, Singing the Journey.
Today, "Siyahamba" is often performed by children's groups in both sacred and secular environments. Occasionally, the translated lyrics are modified for a secular performance: for example, the English translation "We are marching in the light of God" becomes "We are standing in the light of peace."
The song is extremely popular in churches all around the world.
The song’s structure “is cyclic, rather than sequential: the lyrics consist of one phrase, repeated with permutations. Hawn notes that cyclical forms tend to emphasize a spirit of community and allow for physical response during the performance. This cyclical form, along with the meaning of the lyrics, may explain the song's popularity as a processional and offertory as well as a protest or marching song.”
In light of “Marching in the Light of God” coming to the states from South Africa, it’s interesting to note that an American gospel song, “We Shall Overcome” has been exported. Reformers who led the Velvet Revolution in Prague used this song that was an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States as early as the 1950s, in the heady days of 1989.
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Romans 13:11-14
Sleepers, Awake!
In the past 30 years, physiologists have made huge strides in the understanding of sleep. The ease of studying sleepers has been improved by advances in medical technology. Many people who suffer from sleep apnea, for example, get restful, restorative sleep through the use of Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machines.
While sleep needs vary widely from individual to individual, most people are at their best when they get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. On average, Americans are sleep-deprived. It is increasingly difficult to arise from our beds and respond to the salvation Paul promises to the Roman Christians. Most of us would prefer to hit the snooze alarm and get about another 30 minutes of shut-eye.
Improvements in sleep monitoring make it possible for individuals to not only measure how many hours they sleep each night, but also the quality, restfulness of their sleep based on analysis of how much time was spent in each stage of sleep.
It is not too far a stretch that sleep may become a competitive sport. I envision something like a Sleep Decathlon. Some of the events could be
Length of time spent asleep;
Rapidity of falling asleep;
Soundness of sleep — as measured by how loud a noise is required to awaken the sleeper;
Sleep balance — did the sleeper spend appropriate amounts of time in each stage of sleep?
Speed of emerging from sleep into full alertness….
Go ahead and laugh — this is my best chance to be an Olympian!
All kidding aside, it is a great compliment to a congregation whenever someone falls asleep in worship. One can only sleep where one feels safe. Someone who could not sleep at night in the security of their own bed who is able to fall asleep in the presence of other worshippers says, “I feel safe here.” Any congregation should congratulate itself when someone falls asleep in worship.
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A little more about Romans:
Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.
Doesn’t this seem a little off? This notion that reveling, drunkenness, debauchery and licentiousness do not take place during the day is belied by every American college on Memorial Day. It seems that these things were understood to take place at night. When Peter addressed those gathering in Jerusalem on Pentecost he contended that those speaking foreign languages could not be drunk because it was only 9 a.m.
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Matthew 24:36-44
Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
It can be very stressful to always be ready for something dramatic. Being very alert for extended periods of time can lead to anxiety and exhaustion. It is common for people suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder to exhibit hypervigilance. It is hard to know when being alert, ready to respond instantly goes too far and becomes unhealthy. Certainly many Christians have worn themselves to a frazzle when their expectations of Christ’s return have been heightened.
Christ says, “Keep awake…you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” How long can one survive healthily always being awake? This is one of those passages it is best not to take literally.
Christ can’t come back today; it’s already tomorrow in Australia.
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From team member Bethany PeerbolteIsaiah 2:1-5
Freedom in Learning
This text speaks to the freeing nature of knowledge. The people are excited to go and learn God’s way. The divisions that they have guarded no longer need their swords and spears. The learning the enjoy allows them to feel so safe that they turn their energy to creating. The people begin growing, plowing the fields, and perfecting, pruning the excess, of God’s kingdom. The knowledge sets them free to pursue life in a new way with new goals.
There is significant debate around the issue of prison inmates being allowed to take college courses behind bars. One prison that does offer college level courses to their inmates has also allowed PBS cameras to come film the program. “College Behind Bars” is an inside look at what happens when a prisoner turns their attention to education. The series hopes to show the power of knowledge and the freedom it can bring to even those whose freedom is so limited.
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Isaiah 2:1-5
God’s Classroom
I love the image of going up to the mountain to learn. Not in the sense my father had to go up hill both ways in waist deep snow, but to trek towards something worth climbing. The mountain brings us closer to God and it holds up the knowledge above any earthly wisdom. The mountain top is the perfect environment to learn how to create and live in God’s kingdom.
Two articles caught my eye this week about learning environments. One brought to light how a classroom’s acoustics can affect the learning of the students. Teachers understand that hearing is an important piece to learning. This is why they spend so much time making seating charts and noise level expectations in their classrooms. Some students simply listen better when they are close to the speaker, some can sort through the chaos of whispers and still learn. Going up the mountain is essentially God calling us to sit a little closer so we can learn better.
The other article I saw this week was about outdoor learning classrooms. There is a boom of preschools exclusively taking place outside. Programs plan activities for the toddlers to engage in that will teach them a love of nature. They experience the world first hand, ask questions, and discover their own answers. Much like going to the mountain would allow God’s people to look at the world and begin formulating a plan to amplify the good they see in it.
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Psalm 122
Prayer Gives Us a Voice
The prayer that is offered in this Psalm has felt relevant for thousands of years. Some may find it frustrating that God’s people have been praying the same thing for so long. I think it is amazing that God hasn’t gotten tired of us yet. I think of toddlers who say the same thing over and over until their request is recognized. God has been patiently listening and guiding us to be the change we most wish to see in the world. God has never moved to take away our voice. Even when we ask for things we don’t need or pray things we don’t really mean. We always have a voice in prayer.
This week I have been glued to videos of a dog learning to talk. This isn’t vaguely growled “I wuv woo” this dog can talk! Well he can put together words with the help of buttons to get an idea across to his owner. The owner of this wonder dog is a speech pathologist. She has programmed a few dozen buttons to say words which she has slowly taught to her pup. My favorite video is when the dog sees something outside and runs to the button sound board. He presses “look” “outside” multiple times to get his owner to see what is out there. The owner can’t do anything about what is outside but is able to comfort the dog and redirect his attention. The dog has a voice to “say” his concerns just like we can speak through prayer. Sometimes God is able to give us what we ask for, sometimes we just need to be comforted and assured God is still listening.
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Romans 13:8-14
Neighbors helping Neighbors
This passage boils all the rules and laws down to one thing, love your neighbor. One scale one which we should weigh all our actions. Unfortunately, even with a short rule like “love your neighbor” humanity stumbles to live it out. If there was ever a time to renew our hope that we can do it, the holiday season is it. Simply Google search “neighbors helping neighbors” and the options overflow. You will find stories about coat drives, holiday meals open to the public, and volunteer hours filling fast. Something about this time of year reminds us we are called to love. Will there be drunkenness? Yes. Will we all live honorably when the last TV is taken by someone else on black Friday? Maybe not. Thankfully we have the Lord Jesus Christ to “put on” and try again to love as God would love.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: Let us rejoice as we go to the house of God!
People: We lift our voices in songs of rejoicing!
Leader: This is a time of hope as we await he coming Messiah.
People: In faith we look for coming of our Savior.
Leader: Pray that the Reign of God may fully come to Earth.
People: We pray for God’s peace to envelop the whole world.
OR
Leader: Prepare your hearts for the coming Messiah!
People: We open our lives to our Savior who comes to us.
Leader: Be alert! For the Christ comes in many ways.
People: We will look for the Christ in our daily lives.
Leader: Remember that the Christ comes to others through you.
People: We will be open to Christ’s presence through us.
Hymns and Songs:
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
UMH: 211
H82: 56
PH: 9
AAHH: 188
NNBH: 82
NCH: 116
CH: 119
LBW: 34
ELW: 257
W&P: 154
AMEC: 102
STLT: 225
Blessed Be the God of Israel
UMH: 209
H82: 444
CH: 135
ELW: 552/250
W&P: 158
Renew: 128
Seek Ye First
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
Let There Be Peace of Earth
UMH: 431
CH: 677
W&P: 614
Let There Be Light
UMH: 440
NNBH: 450
NCH: 589
STLT 142
Be Thou My Vision
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
Come Down, O Love Divine
UMH: 475
H82: 516
PH: 313
NCH: 289
CH: 582
LBW: 508
ELW: 804
W&P: 330
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
UMH: 540
H82: 524
PH: 441
NNBH: 302
NCH: 312
CH: 274
LBW: 368
W&P: 549
AMEC: 515/517
Arise, Shine
CCB: 2
Renew: 123
He Has Made Me Glad
CCB: 3
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 comes to us in unexpected ways:
Grant us the grace to see that in the midst of conflict
you have placed the seeds of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you come to us in unexpected ways. When we find ourselves in times of conflict help us to perceive the opportunities you offer to change them to times of peace. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we are content to live in conflict when we could live in peace.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have set before us the way of peace but we continually look for ways to divide ourselves from others. We allow past hurts to continue to infect our relationships and poison our spirits. We close our eyes to your presence in the hard places of our lives. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit that we may move from conflict to peace with you. Amen.
Leader: God is here among us even in our times of conflict and separation. God grants us forgiveness and grace so that in the power of the Spirit we may enter into peace.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, who comes to us daily. Your presence is ever among us calling us deeper into your reign.
(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 set before us the way of peace but we continually look for ways to divide ourselves from others. We allow past hurts to continue to infect our relationships and poison our spirits. We close our eyes to your presence in the hard places of our lives. Forgive us and renew us with your Spirit that we may move from conflict to peace with you.
We give you thanks for all glories of this creation. We thank you for beauty that surrounds us and for your presence that is never far from us. We thank you that you are ever working to bring about unity and peace within all creation.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who are in conflict whether it be actual war or bitterness because it all poisons our souls.
(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
Here is an option to use children’s time for the Advent wreath.
Read Isaiah 60:1-2.
Talk about how it is the time of the year when it gets dark early and the sun comes up later. The nights are really long and we really look forward to sunny days. We are also preparing for Christmas and we are hoping for lots of things: time with family, church services, big dinners, presents. But most of all we are hoping for the coming of Christ that brings peace and joy to everyone. We light this candle for hope.
Dear God, thank you for the hope you give us. Thank you for sending Jesus to tell us how to live in love so we can have peace and joy. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMONLet Me Have a Word with You!
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 2:1-5
Have you ever heard someone who was quite upset say, “I just want to have a word with him or her?” It was something I heard my mother say — generally when she was upset at someone. If someone — even her children! — had done something which had upset her, she might say, “Give me a minute to have a word with them!” Sometimes she said it to be funny, but on occasion she truly meant what she said. It was as if she were saying, “I want to have the last word with you!”
Advent is a time for us to listen to the word God wants to have with us — of course God doesn’t want to send us to time out, but instead is sending us Jesus.
Isaiah says that God has given him a word to share. It feels as though God might be saying, “I want to have a word with you!” The word that Isaiah has been given to share is filled with all sorts of images. You may choose to bring pictures of some of the things Isaiah mentions, or perhaps you could place them around the sanctuary for visual impact. “Look!” Isaiah says. “God wants to teach you something. Look around you, and see the violence in the world. Look around and see the many ways that people use things that hurt others into something that can help repair the world.”
The word God wants to have with us is this: “See those swords? They are meant to hurt other people. They damage the good creation I gave you and bring war between people. But if you follow my promise these swords will be bent into farming tools. The people who wanted to bring about war will instead be harvesting food to feed the hungry. And see these spears? They’re meant to hurt others. But if you listen carefully to what I am teaching you, you will find a way to change them into hooks that can be used for harvesting fruit from trees and grapes from vines!”
Isaiah’s word closes with a promise that could be for all people. In fact, it might be a promise we could repeat every Sunday in Advent: “Let us walk in the light of the Lord!”
The children may also be interested in learning about an artist from Liberia who has worked hard to turn bullets from wars into works of art. Benjamin Somah says he “stumbled” on a way to turn violence into art, including lovely crosses made from bullet casings.
The enterprising craftsman collected the spent bullets and began crafting them into figurines. Heʼs dedicated himself to creating art that promotes the message that something good can come from the violence and pain that his country endured for more than 20 years.
“I just wanted to transform some of the materials from the war into something peaceful,” said Somah, 51, who calls himself a bullet designer. “I wanted to create something people havenʼt seen before, especially something from the war.”
You might consider closing with the idea that this is the word Isaiah wants to have with us. In Advent, we walk in the light of the Lord and discover something people have never seen before.
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The Immediate Word, December 1, 2019 issue.
Copyright 2019 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.
