Team member Chris Keating shares some additional thoughts on the recent suicide of Missouri state auditor (and presumptive gubernatorial candidate) Tom Schweich. Schweich apparently took his life as least partly in frustration over what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch identified as a “whisper” campaign orchestrated by the state party chairman. In this week’s gospel text, John echoes Paul’s themes: “Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” He goes on to note that “people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light.” In his powerful eulogy at Schweich’s funeral, former U.S. Senator John Danforth echoed that formulation, declaring that “politics has gone hideously wrong” and blaming dirty campaign tactics for Schweich’s suicide. Schweich had a reputation for fighting corruption on both sides of the aisle -- and Danforth bluntly pointed out that if Schweich had “gone public [about the whisper campaign], the story would be all about him, and not about the evil he wanted to fight.” Chris suggests that this tragedy should get us to think deeply about what motivates our behavior -- and whether we are willing to “come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that [our] deeds have been done in God.”
Alive Together with Christ
by Leah Lonsbury
Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
In this week’s epistle passage, Paul paints a stark picture of the situation we all face as sinners. “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world,” but now you live, writes Paul, because you are loved by a God of life-saving grace.
This God, who loves and claims us despite the state of our souls, is “rich in mercy” and graciously commutes our death sentence. This pardon is not earned, Paul emphasizes. It is grace. What we do with that gift is up to us.
The current case of Kelly Gissendaner offers us a powerful analogy for studying and preaching this text. Gissendaner is facing execution for planning the murder of her husband, making her the first woman scheduled to be put to death in the state of Georgia in 70 years. Gissendaner’s execution should have already been carried out, but it has been delayed twice -- first due to weather, and then because of problems with the drugs meant to end her life. Some religious leaders see this as an act of God. Jim Wallis of Sojourners has pointed out that this “could be God’s way of giving everyone who is trying to save Kelly’s life more time to do so.”
This week we mine Kelly’s story for the grace that brings life out of death, the love that exchanges dark for light, and the hope that reminds us that we are only truly alive together.
In the News
Why is this death-row inmate garnering so much attention? Why has she inspired a hashtag (#KellyOnMyMind) used by the likes of Shane Claiborne, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and Serene Jones? Why did the New York Times pick up her story? What made noted theologian Jürgen Moltmann agree to become her pen pal and speak at her jailhouse graduation ceremony?
Perhaps the answers to these questions lie in what Kelly has done with the life given to her even as she faces death. Carol Kuruvilla of the Huffington Post writes: “At the heart of the case is a woman who supporters say has become convinced of her guilt and experienced a radical spiritual transformation while on death row.”
In 1998, Kelly was convicted of plotting with her boyfriend to kill her husband for his life insurance money. Her plan was, as psychiatrist Keith Ablow writes for Fox News, “manipulative, horrific, and cold-blooded. She was manipulative, horrific, and cold-blooded. And she was rightfully caged in a penitentiary.”
Then Kelly found God, and things began to change -- in big ways. She met Jennifer McBride (a theologian, assistant professor of religion, and director of Peace and Justice Studies at Wartburg College) and studied theology through a program sponsored by four Atlanta-area seminaries. Through McBride she met Jürgen Moltmann, who is widely known as “the theologian of hope” despite having been a prisoner of war and a German soldier himself. Kelly and Moltmann became pen pals, and he spoke at her graduation from the theology program.
In a recent piece for CNN, McBride writes about spending two hours a week for six months studying theology one-on-one (through a gate in the prison) with Kelly, after a new warden decided that as a death-row inmate Kelly couldn’t continue attending theology classes. They read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s works about “costly grace” together and studied what it meant to seek the kind of forgiveness that sets one free. They also read then-Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ work that “describes healing and restoration as the act of facing our painful memories, ‘the ruins of the past,’ and building from them here and now. Restoration, Williams writes, ‘is going back to the memories of the painful, humiliating past and bringing them to redemption in the present... to Christ [who] comes to repair the devastation.’ ”
McBride continues to write about the effect of that costly grace on Kelly’s life. It “requires rigorously following Jesus in a way that leads to continuous, visible transformation, what the New Testament calls the fruits of redemption.”
For Kelly, the hard work of transformation and redemption manifested itself in the fruits of reconciliation with her children, ministry to fellow inmates who had lost their way or were in despair, and daily concern for those around her. Kelly took seriously Moltmann’s teaching that biblical hope is not one that gives up on this life and waits for something better beyond the grave. Instead, this kind of hope makes manifest the kin-dom of God right now, seeking God’s intended way of being together “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Or, in the words of Kelly's favorite scripture passage, it is a hope that proclaims: “I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17).
Kelly puts it this way --
The theology program has shown me that hope is still alive and that, despite a gate or a guillotine hovering over my head, I still possess the ability to prove that I am human. Labels on anyone can be notoriously misleading and unforgiving things. But no matter the label attached to me, I have the capacity and the unstoppable desire to accomplish something positive and have a lasting impact.... Even prison cannot erase my hope or conviction that the future is not settled for me, or anyone.
This, Dr. Keith Ablow writes, is not the same person who plotted to kill her husband. Thousands of supporters, hundreds of faith leaders, and dozens of wardens, prison guards, and inmates have pleaded with the state of Georgia to grant Kelly clemency for this reason. To execute this transformed person would come very close to executing an innocent person, continues Ablow:
Let us not take on the whole question of whether capital punishment is barbarism. I believe it is; you may not. But can we not agree that when a person has changed as thoroughly as Kelly Gissendaner -- as evidenced by her words and deeds and the profound and positive impression she has made on others -- that executing her is, for all intents and purposes, very close to executing an entirely different person from the one convicted of murder?
Kelly has made her mark, because her story speaks to the condition in which we all find ourselves in one way or another. Her impact is in the potential and hope she inspires in each one of us. Even if another death warrant is issued and her execution happens, she has made change even beyond the confines of her own life. McBride plans to tell Kelly’s story in a book she is writing on theology and women’s prisons. Moltmann has been inspired by The Journey of Hope by Faith, the devotional booklet Kelly wrote as a final project for her theology certificate. He has this to say about what awaits his friend: “If the State of Georgia has no mercy, she has received already the mercy of Heaven.”
In the Scriptures
Understanding Kelly’s redemption and transformation can take us to the heart of the story of Christ, to the central lesson we learn from the one whose love saves us -- that the most sinful of people can be remade and reclaimed “through the love of the Infinite... such that they are as new, as if born, again” (Ablow).
Or in the words of our epistle lesson, Kelly’s new life of good works is that which God in Jesus has created us (v. 10). Her living of this truth brings light, our gospel passage emphasizes (3:21), and it brings eternal life even in the face of death: “For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
God did this because “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). And because God so loved Kelly Gissendaner. And because God so loves each one of us -- for we are all dead through our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1). This death just happens a lot less publicly for most of us.
So what do we do with this story, which we hope is also our story of the move from brokenness and death to transformation and life? Perhaps it will make our nation rethink our justice system, which is often seen as a system of injustice. Jim Wallis suggests that “Kelly’s story will show people across the country that personal transformation does happen, and the death penalty is wrong because it denies fellow human beings that opportunity to repent and be transformed.”
Maybe it will make us mine our Christian traditions for wisdom on justice and transformation, and prayerfully consider how it is we move forward together. Some of us have already begun that work. Candler School of Theology student Brenna Lakeson made a splash on social media about this when she tweeted a picture of herself holding a placard with a quotation from the United Methodist Church’s position: “We believe the death penalty denies the power of CHRIST to redeem, restore, and transform ALL human beings.”
Lakeson’s classmate Jeania Ree Moore wrote for the Huffington Post about Kelly and how she incarnates Love and its power to transform. Moore challenges us as people of faith to see how the denial of clemency for Kelly and the death penalty in general dehumanize all who are involved -- the prisoner, those who are hired and trained to manage and carry out the execution, the prisoner’s family, witnesses, and the wider public. Sentencing a child of God to death breaks the Body of Christ and steals humanity from each of its members. The efforts of the God who is rich in mercy and seeks to make us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5) are thwarted by this “liturgy of death,” and we are torn from each other by the “horrifying parody of justice.”
Throughout the letter to the Ephesians, Paul stresses the importance of reconciliation. He isn’t just teaching about our reconciliation with God, but also with each other. Kyle Fever of workingpreacher.org writes about setting a new course for our lives via reconciliation. It changes everything about how we live, especially how we live with and relate to our human family. It’s as if we have taken up residence in a new house, he offers:
One sets up a house according to everyday living habits, preferences, and things we take for granted. And the setup reinforces these everyday habits. We put the toothpaste in a certain drawer; we place pots and pans in certain places because of how and why we use them. This is more than just “ways” or “course” of the house. It’s an entire environment that makes for certain ways of going about the details.
When we choose to be transformed, redeemed, and reconciled to God and one another, we choose to dwell together in a new place and live a new, common life. From Fever:
This new house under the Lordship of Jesus has no place for divided humanity. The “other” is no longer the “other” but sister/brother. We have been saved and remade in Christ for this, for the “good works” that are simply part of the mode of life in the new house under the benevolent and gracious house Lord. We’re not saved by good works, but saved so that the good works that reconcile and are evidence of reconciliation would be our mode of life. It’s not for us; it’s for the reconciliation of the world (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
In other words, Kelly has made and we also must make this move to really live, because we are only “made... alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). This is how we live as one Body created and saved by grace for a life of good works (2:10).
In the Sermon
This week the preacher might consider...
* inviting the congregation to consider the ways we are dying alone and how we could come alive together.
* how we are called to mirror the mercy we receive from God and work for justice in a culture of vengeance. The trial that just opened for the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the Department of Justice’s recently released report on racial bias in the Ferguson, Missouri police department might provide working examples to consider beyond Gissendaner’s case.
* how Lent can be a time to turn from the death sentence we march towards in our sinfulness as we seek to join in the transformation and generous clemency we find in Easter.
* encouraging the people in the pews to become theologians of hope. How might we change our lives to reflect that hope and release ourselves and others from our prisons of brokenness?
* how we make the move to the new “house” in which Kelly Gissendaner now resides. What do we pack? What do we leave behind in this move? What are some practical ways we establish this new house as our true home? What will our new routines look like in this home?
SECOND THOUGHTS
Whispered Condemnation
by Chris Keating
John 3:14-21
Sometimes whispering is louder than shouting.
A politician’s career can take off like a rocket following a rousing speech. But a few sotto voce comments later and the same politician can be knee-deep in damage control... or worse.
Example: Barack Obama is not and never has been a Muslim. At one time, however, nearly one in five Americans believed that was true.
Example: Senator John McCain did not father an African-American child out of wedlock. Yet a rumor that he did may have cost him the 2000 Republican primary in South Carolina.
Example: Tom Schweich, the Missouri state auditor who died recently, was an Episcopalian. Last month, however Schweich took his own life. At the time, he believed some from his own party were engaged spreading rumors that he was Jewish in an attempt to derail his gubernatorial hopes.
“It is not what they say about you,” the actor Errol Flynn once said, “it’s what they whisper.” In Tom Schweich’s case, it is possible the whispers may have contributed to his suicide. His political mentor believed that to be true. Former United States Senator John Danforth, in a eulogy for his friend, decried bully politics by saying “words do hurt. Words can kill. That has been proven right here in our home state.”
Jesus bore witness to that same truth. Perhaps Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, was worried about his own reputation. Standing there in the shadows, he listened to Jesus’ words that “all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.”
It’s pretty hard to walk in the light if you prefer whispering in the darkness.
In the News
Questions about Schweich’s death on February 26th emerged soon after the news broke that the recently re-elected Republican state auditor had killed himself. His death sent shock waves across the Missouri political spectrum. Republicans and Democrats united in expressing sympathy and appreciation for Schweich’s tenacity as the state’s leading watchdog.
His death has also led to calls from within the party to rethink the increasing acrimony and bigotry in Missouri politics, especially among self-styled consultants who have trended toward a “take no prisoners” attitude in recent political campaigns.
According to Danforth, Schweich (who had been Danforth’s chief of staff during the senator’s investigation of the Branch Davidian incident in Waco, Texas) was a model public servant. As auditor, Schweich was known for nosing out corruption in government. He called out school boards for maintaining too-cozy relationships with bonding companies, and was not afraid of telling members of his own party when they had crossed ethical boundaries. He challenged the Republican-led state legislature to tighten regulations.
The Harvard-trained lawyer had already announced his intention to run for governor in 2016, noting that his campaign would focus on toughening ethics laws. In announcing his intentions early, Schweich framed what would have been a tough battle for the GOP nomination. Former United States attorney Catherine Hanaway had already begun campaigning, and was receiving sizable donations from wealthy ultra-conservative investor Rex Sinquefeld.
In many ways, the contest was shaping up to be an ugly political battle -- even by Missouri standards. In February, an ad paid for by a lawyer with connections to Hanaway’s political team compared Schweich to Barney Fife. The House of Cards-themed ad used a Kevin Spacey impersonator to suggest that Democrats were behind Schweich’s campaign. The Frank Underwood-sounding actor threatened that “once Schweich obtains the Republican nomination, we will quickly squash him like a bug that he is and put our candidate... in the governor’s mansion.”
But what truly angered Schweich were rumors about his Jewish lineage. He believed that state GOP chair John Hancock had been telling conservative donors that he was Jewish in an effort to galvanize anti-Semitic feelings. It was a clear indicator that anti-Jewish feelings still run rampant in parts of Missouri. Schweich’s grandfather was Jewish, and while the auditor was Episcopalian, he remained proud of his family heritage. Political reporter Tony Messenger recounted that Schweich was adamant in standing up to anti-Semitism.
Shortly before his death, Schweich had been in contact with reporters. He seemed ready to come forward with the story, and was increasingly agitated and upset. Days earlier, Danforth said that his protégé had called him to discuss the issue. “He said he must oppose this wrong, that he must confront it publicly by going before the media where he would present several witnesses,” said Danforth, who is also an Episcopalian priest. Danforth continued:
Tom called this anti-Semitism, and of course it was. The only reason for going around saying that someone is Jewish is to make political profit from religious bigotry. Someone said this was no different than saying a person is a Presbyterian. Here’s how to test the credibility of that remark: When was the last time anyone sidled up to you and whispered into your ear that such and such a person is a Presbyterian?
It was, said Danforth, an act of political bullying -- a chilling reminder of the darkness and evil that runs rampant in our world.
In the Scriptures
It’s a scripture passage so well known that it has become cliché -- yet Jesus’ discourse remains a powerfully appropriate response to the shadowy precincts of the world. Like Nicodemus, we may find ourselves in the shadowy places, longing for light that only God can bring. Like Nicodemus, we may be worried about the whispers we’ve heard, or even the condemnation we have experienced.
In response to Nicodemus’ questions, Jesus engages in a discourse that reinforces his coming as the true light of God. Yet, as John will continually remind us, even though Jesus is the light of the world not all persons will be attracted to that light. Employing a reference to the Numbers text, John reminds us that the Son of Man must be lifted up (vv. 14-17) so that eternal life may be offered to all. The bronze serpent’s salvific power comes as it is raised. Jesus too will be raised -- and will draw all people to himself.
The point so often missed in our reading of this text comes in verse 17. It is God’s love for the entire world that has resulted in the incarnation. Jesus is God with us to reveal the light which shines for all people. In contrast to bully politicians whose message is couched in terms of fear, God’s light is offered to all. It is divine compassion -- not condemnation -- that characterizes Jesus’ invitation to step forward from the shadows. God’s love is not limited, as some would have us believe, but is instead a deep and abiding love for all creation.
In the Sermon
John’s gospel calls us to walk in the light, and to discover the new life that Jesus offers by turning away from the shadows. John’s invitation encourages us to turn from politics of bigotry and destruction towards an abundant life lived in relationship with Jesus. A sermon could explore how Lent calls us to live in this rich abundance.
Whispers of condemnation are evident all around us. John suggests that those who love the darkness are already condemned. That is a reminder that bigotry, in whatever fashion we encounter it, runs counter to the gospel. This is what makes Tom Schweich’s story so tragic -- in the end, he was overwhelmed by forces we cannot understand.
Ironically, it is possible that many of the politicians who opposed him were raised in environments where John 3:16 would have been frequently quoted. That is why it isn’t enough to preach just on John 3:16 -- the sermon must surely address Jesus’ words in verses 17-21 as well.
Suicide -- which is a leading cause of death among young people -- is always excruciating, and typically cannot be reduced to a single cause. We often do not know what to say, because it is a difficult topic to address. Yet John 3:17 gives us a solid place to begin. Never fail to mention that the light always shines in the darkness, and that God’s love extends to all persons. Never miss a moment to help those pondering the deep darkness of the world remember that hope persists.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Ephesians 2:1-10
Rich in Mercy
God, who is rich in mercy, is always up to something new in our lives.
In Kenya, 90-year-old great-grandmother Priscilla Sitienei is finally going to primary school, after never having an opportunity until now. The BBC reports that Sitienei, affectionately known as “Gogo” (a word meaning “grandmother” in the local Kalenjin language), wants to learn to read and write so she can read the Bible, but also to serve as an inspiration for young people: “Gogo says she confronts children who are not in school and asks them why. ‘They tell me they are too old,’ she says. ‘I tell them, “Well, I am at school and so should you.” I see children who are lost, children who are without fathers, just going round and round, hopeless. I want to inspire them to go to school.’ ”
Sitienei has delivered many of her schoolmates, along with their parents, during her 65-year career as a midwife. Expectant mothers still seek out Sitienei for her expertise. The article reports that “Gogo says she also wanted to learn how to read and write so she could help pass on her midwifery skills and write down her knowledge of herbal medicines. ‘I want to say to the children of the world, especially girls, that education will be your wealth, don’t look back and run to your father,’ she says. ‘With education you can be whatever you want, a doctor, lawyer, or a pilot.’ ”
*****
Ephesians 2:1-10
Being Agents of Mercy
Sister Marilyn Lacey is the founder of Mercy Beyond Borders, and she has a passion for extending the bounds of welcome beyond our usual comfort zones. She writes for Awakin.org that extending hospitality is a form of mercy. As she says, “One way of measuring whether our love is genuine, however, is to examine how far we’ve extended the boundaries that determine whom we are willing to be in relationship with. When these borders reach out as far as they can go, there will be no one left outside, there will be no one cursed. There will be no more strangers. Everyone will be welcome.”
Lacey adds that the experience of being left out shows a lack of mercy: “Reflect for a minute on what it feels like to be welcomed. The word means simply ‘come and be well’ in my presence. It’s a fundamental human experience, and a very crucial one. When I am welcomed, I feel good. I can be myself. I relax and feel unself-conscious, energized, happy. On the other hand, when I am not welcomed, I doubt myself, turn inward, shrivel up. I feel excluded, not accepted, and not acceptable. This is painful. If it happens often enough, I will question my own self-worth.”
Hospitality, done well, shows mercy.
*****
John 3:14-21
An Economy Born of Spirit
Traditional economies revolve around money, but Yes! magazine recently examined alternative economies, which function on a network of connections and shared values. As the magazine reports, “a diverse and energetic new generation of business models has cropped up in response to urgent, unmet needs. We’re talking about innovations like worker-owned cooperatives, credit unions, community-supported agriculture, sharing platforms and businesses, and community energy enterprises.”
A team of economists set out to measure the impact of these alternative economies, and discovered: “One key lesson that emerges about these innovations is the importance of good, old-fashioned, face-to-face relationships in developing strong place-based initiatives. If some of the old economy’s hallmarks are faceless call centers and centralized headquarters, successful future economy initiatives are investing in human relationships.” These “new” ways of doing business rely on connections between people, which build bridges in a way that money alone can’t.
*****
John 3:14-21
Born-Again Time Management
Successful leaders have learned how to reshape the way they use their time, according to Harvard Business Review. The article notes: “ ‘Those we label natural born leaders know how to leverage their time,’ writes Warren Blank in The 108 Skills of Natural Born Leaders (Amacom, 2001).” If this is not innate we can learn it, re-creating how we work.
Along the way, we need to pay close attention to our weaknesses: “If you always delegate the tasks you don’t do well, your weak points will haunt you. Acknowledge your weaknesses, but use structure to shore them up.... ‘Most people manage their lives by crises,’ writes Stephen Covey in Principle-Centered Leadership (Summit Books, 1991). ‘The only priority setting they do is between one problem and another.’ But effective managers focus on opportunities, he adds, and they structure their schedules accordingly.”
What we’re not born with we can always make a part of our lives.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Numbers 21:4-9
Ellen Pao’s sexual discrimination lawsuit has been headline news for the last several weeks. Pao is suing a start-up venture capitalist firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, for $16 million for sexual harassment and being unjustly terminated because she is female. Whether or not her case has merit must still be determined by the courts. But the case is newsworthy because it highlights that Silicon Valley firms are predominately white and male. Testimony in the case has demonstrated abusive behavior and sexist language. For instance, when it was brought to the attention that more women were needed in the firm, one individual said, “Why don’t we put (male partner) Chi-Hua Chien in a skirt?”
Application: Perhaps the white males of Silicon Valley need to look to the staff of Moses and be cured of their snake bites.
*****
Numbers 21:4-9
The Ringling Brothers Circus has announced that they will be retiring elephants from their show. The 13 elephants currently performing will be sent to a 200-acre facility near Orlando, Florida, where they will be housed and cared for with 30 other elephants. The reason for this decision is twofold: pressure from animal activist groups like PETA along with laws by local municipalities made showcasing of the elephants nearly impossible. Kenneth Feld, Ringling Brothers CEO, said of the retirement: “The symbol of the ‘Greatest Show’ is the elephant, and that’s what we’ve been known for throughout the world for more than a hundred years.”
Application: Symbols are important because they give us an important message.
*****
John 3:14-21
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is on trial for the Boston Marathon bombing. The trial judge has allowed victims to give graphic testimony, as well as prosecutors to present pictures and videos, of the horror that Tsarnaev and his brother caused that day. One victim who testified was William Richard, whose family was at the finish line getting ice cream when two bombs exploded. His 6-year-old daughter Jane had her leg blown off; his 11-year-old son Henry still has hearing loss; his wife Denise had surgery to remove shrapnel from her eye; and his 8-year-old son Martin died. In recounting the event, William said he looked down at Martin and knew “that there was no chance.”
Application: The world does dwell in darkness and is in need of the light of Christ.
*****
John 3:14-21
CSI: Cyber has recently reached our television screens. But according to Robert Bianco of USA Today, CBS has used the successful CSI series formula so often that “old looks old.” The show may have been updated to deal with cyber-attacks, but the plot lines and graphics are still the same. The only real change is that though murder may be remote from most of us, the show wants to emphasize that we are vulnerable to a cyber-attack. Still, Bianco maintains, the characters and the dialogue remain unchanged from other CSI shows.
Application: We have heard John 3:16 so often that it has become as old to us as a new CSI show.
***************
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Seasonally SAD
Living in darkness can make us sad. Not just kind of sad either... really sad.
Medical science takes the sadness that comes from living in the dark seriously enough that they gave it its own name. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder. Here’s what the Mayo Clinic website has to say about it: “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons -- SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer. Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), psychotherapy, and medications. Don’t brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the ‘winter blues’ or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year. Seasonal affective disorder is a subtype of major depression that comes and goes based on seasons.”
Symptoms that tend to indicate the presence of SAD may include:
* Irritability
* Tiredness or low energy
* Problems getting along with other people
* Hypersensitivity to rejection
* Heavy, “leaden” feeling in the arms or legs
* Oversleeping
* Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
* Weight gain
Ways to avoid SAD include exercise, eating light meals, using brighter lights indoors, and going outside when the sun is shining.
Click here for more information on Seasonal Affective Disorder.
*****
Blind as a... Fish?
They live in caves all over the world, but they are prominent and easy to see in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave. They are called Amblyopsidae, or more commonly cave fish. The interesting thing about them is that they live in the absolute darkness of caves -- and because they are never, never in the light, they have evolved without eyes. It’s not that they grow blind; they are born that way. Neither do they have pigmentation in their bodies. Existing in darkness for thousands of years, they have become totally sightless and nearly transparent.
Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica website has to offer on this interesting and preachable phenomenon: “Cave fish are any of the pale, blind, cave-dwelling fishes of the genera Amblyopsis and Typhlichthys, family Amblyopsidae. Cave fishes are small, growing to about 10 centimeters (4 inches) long, and are found in fresh water in dark limestone caves of the United States. There are three species: Typhlichthys subterraneus, Amblyopsis rosae, and A. spelaea. The first two lack pelvic fins; the third, the blind fish of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, possesses these fins. All have small but non-functional eyes and tactile organs that are sensitive to touch; these are arranged over the body, head, and tail, and enable the fish to feel what it cannot see.”
If we choose to live in utter darkness, one of the things that happens to us is we lose our ability to see at all, even when the lights are turned on.
*****
Ugly Words
Robert E. Wolverton Sr., a Mississippi State classics professor, occasionally asks his students to vote on the most beautiful and the ugliest words in English. In 2009, the words “vomit,” “moist,” “puke,” “phlegm,” “slaughter,” “snot,” “ugly,” “damp,” and “mucus” topped the list for ugliest. What makes one word uglier than another? Wolverton says a variety factors probably influence people’s perception of a word, from the word’s language of origin to the number of syllables it contains.
The associations people make between words and their meanings probably play a role in perception as well. When people hear the word “mucus,” they might first think of a slimy organic mixture secreted by glands throughout the body before considering the possibly hidden beauty of the word. Also, some words just don’t roll off the tongue.
The website altalang.com compiled its own list of the ugliest English words from a survey conducted via Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Here is their list of the 20 ugliest words in the English language, in no particular order:
smegma
phlegm
pus
pregnant
rural
moist
juror
regurgitate
crotch
bunion
pulchritude
schmear
scab
sticktoitiveness
discharge
blog
synergy
crepuscular
ointment
chunk
*****
Beautiful Words
Ask my 3rd grade Sunday school teacher the most beautiful words in the English language, and you probably would have received a list of words with strong, positive emotional or altruistic attachment. Words like love and kind and help would have figured highly in Mrs. Ramsey’s list. Certainly this was the case when in 2004 the British foreign office asked that question to 40,000 non-native English speakers in 46 countries. Their top ten list:
mother
passion
smile
love
eternity
fantastic
destiny
freedom
liberty
tranquility
Distinguished lexicographer Wilfred Funk, who originated the Reader’s Digest column “It Pays to Enrich Your Word Power,” compiled this list of beautiful words based solely on rhythm, flow, vowel/consonant arrangement -- in other words, how they sound:
asphodel
fawn
dawn
chalice
anemone
tranquil
hush
golden
halcyon
camellia
bobolink
thrush
chimes
murmuring
lullaby
luminous
damask
cerulean
melody
marigold
jonquil
oriole
tendril
myrrh
mignonette
gossamer
alysseum
mist
oleander
amaryllis
rosemary
*****
Words that Include vs. Words that Exclude
Jargon is that special language known only by a few people -- and it can be used to facilitate quick communication, but it can also be used to exclude people from the conversation. It says to those listening in: “We know what these words mean, but you don’t.”
Probably one of the most pervasive forms of jargon is the acronym. Acronyms tend to divide groups into “those who know what this means” and “those who don’t.” Occasionally, however, an acronym slips through and becomes part of the common language. Here are a few acronyms that you probably didn’t know were acronyms:
* Scuba: The earliest record of scuba in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1952, where it appeared as SCUBA -- a snappy way of referring to self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
* Laser: We probably all know what a laser is (what would a James Bond film be without one?), but did you know that the word, first identified in 1960, is an acronym of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation?
* Care package: The “care” in care package originally stood for the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe, which sent out aid in the aftermath of World War II.
* Sim: You might have anticipated that sim (often heard in sim card) was an acronym, but perhaps you didn’t know quite what it was. The letters stand for subscriber identity module, or subscriber identification module: in other words, a microprocessor in a mobile phone holding details of the user’s network registration, etc.
* Alphabet: Alphabet isn’t strictly an acronym, but it is close to an initialism, where the word is pronounced as separate letters rather than as one word -- such as OED for Oxford English Dictionary. In this instance, the initialism comes from the first two letters of the ancient Greek alphabet -- alpha and beta. That is to say, the word “alphabet” is formed in much the same way that we might refer to the English alphabet as the ABC.
Not that they’re sticklers for details or anything, but the OED wants you to know that there is also something called a backronym, which occurs when someone retrospectively creates an appropriate acronym for an existing word, and it is so convincing that people mistakenly believe the word was originally an acronym. A good example is “posh.” You might have heard, for instance, that posh is an acronym for “port out, starboard home,” in reference to the more comfortable accommodation on a ship sailing from England to India -- but the evidence to support this suggestion has yet to be discovered.
*****
Grace in the Shadow of War
If you saw the movie Jaws, you may remember the scene where three men are drinking in the hold of Quint’s fishing boat and Quint tells them about being one of the survivors of the USS Indianapolis. It is an intriguing story, made even more so by the fact that writer John Milius was brought into the film project to write that scene with the charge of making it absolutely accurate -- and it was, with only a couple of small and inconsequential mistakes. Here is, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story:
The USS Indianapolis, led by Captain Charles McVay, was ordered to head toward Guam by going through the Leyte Gulf. What the U.S. Navy didn’t tell him was the Leyte Gulf at the time was a haven for Japanese submarines, and that ships passing through should do so with extreme caution.
Lacking the intel that he was in unfriendly waters and exercising his order to perform evasive maneuvers “at his discretion,” McVay told the crew to just head straight forward and bid them a good night. Unfortunately the Japanese submarine I-58, captained by Mochitsura Hashimoto, noticed the Indianapolis heading straight toward it and immediately sank it.
McVay survived and World War II ended, but soon thereafter he found himself court-martialed for negligence in the sinking of his ship (probably as a scapegoat to cover for the other Navy guys who completely botched the Indianapolis’ travel instructions and subsequent rescue). In the trial, the U.S. Navy made the fairly unprecedented step of bringing in Hashimoto -- the captain of the Japanese sub -- as a witness for the prosecution, expecting him to talk about the gross incompetence of the American captain. When Hashimoto took the stand, however, he defended McVay, stating that no matter what McVay had done the Indianapolis still would have been hit by his torpedoes. The U.S. Navy found McVay guilty regardless of Hashimoto’s testimony, demoting him and ruining his naval career -- even though Admiral Nimitz promoted McVay back to his old rank soon thereafter, and was promoted to rear admiral when he retired in 1949. (McVay never recovered from the guilt he felt at losing so many of his men on the Indianapolis. He continued to receive hate mail from the families of some of those who died, and in 1968, at the age of 70, he used his Navy-issue revolver to commit suicide. He was found with a toy sailor in his hand.)
The trial decision stood -- that is, until Hashimoto decided to help McVay out again. In 1999 Hashimoto sent a letter to Senator John Warner, an action that helped lead to McVay being exonerated. In October 2000, the United States Congress passed a resolution that Captain McVay’s record should state that “he is exonerated for the loss of the Indianapolis.” President Bill Clinton signed the resolution, which noted that although several hundred ships of the U.S. Navy were lost in combat in World War II, McVay was the only captain to be court-martialed for the sinking of his ship. In July 2001, the Secretary of the Navy ordered McVay’s record cleared of all wrongdoing.
*****
Grace on the River Kwai
In The Christian Leader, Don Ratzlaff retells a story Vernon Grounds came across in Ernest Gordon’s Miracle on the River Kwai. Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarous behavior, but one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot. It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Finally one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first checkpoint. The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! The incident had a profound effect. The men began to treat each other like brothers. When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors and (instead of attacking their captors) insisted: “No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness.”
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O give thanks to God, for God is good.
People: God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Leader: Let us give thanks thank for God’s steadfast love.
People: Let us give thanks for God’s wonderful works to humankind.
Leader: Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving.
People: Let us tell of God’s deeds with songs of joy.
OR
Leader: Come, you who were dead in sin and wickedness.
People: We come, acknowledging our lostness.
Leader: Receive from God the mercy and life none of us deserve.
People: With gratitude, we accept God’s gracious gifts.
Leader: Share that grace in the good works you were created to perform.
People: By God’s grace, we will share life and light with all.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
“I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light”
found in:
UMH: 206
H82: 409
ELA: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
found in:
UMH: 121
H82: 469, 470
PH: 298
NCH: 23
CH: 73
LBW: 290
ELA: 587, 588
W&P: 61
AMEC: 78
STLT: 213
“Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies”
found in:
UMH: 173
H82: 6, 7
PH: 462, 463
LBW: 265
ELA: 553
W&P: 91
“Freely, Freely”
found in:
UMH: 389
Renew: 192
“I Am Thine, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
ELA: 408
W&P: 283
“Lord, Speak to Me”
found in:
UMH: 463
PH: 426
NCH: 531
ELA: 676
W&P: 593
“O Breath of Life”
found in:
UMH: 543
CH: 250
W&P: 328
“Lord, Be Glorified”
found in:
CCB: 62
Renew: 172
“Only by Grace”
found in:
CCB: 42
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is light and life: Grant us the grace to leave our darkness and death behind and to embrace the new life you offer us by grace; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
Praise and glory to you, O God, who brings light and life to all creation. By your grace you have lifted us from the darkness of death and set us on high with Jesus. Give us the courage to embrace your Spirit and live as children of light. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways in which we embrace darkness and death as a way of existing.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have created us to walk in the light of your life and presence. You have breathed into us your very Spirit and life. Yet we often embrace the darkness that leads to death. We choose revenge over forgiveness and resentment over grace. We gladly receive forgiveness but are slow to offer it to others. Raise us once again from the graves we have dug for ourselves and set us in the light of the Christ. Amen.
Leader: God desires life and not death, light and not darkness. Receive God’s grace and love, and share them with others.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, our God of Life and Light. You are the source of all that is good, and we rejoice in 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 created us to walk in the light of your life and presence. You have breathed into us your very Spirit and life. Yet we often embrace the darkness that leads to death. We choose revenge over forgiveness and resentment over grace. We gladly receive forgiveness but are slow to offer it to others. Raise us once again from the graves we have dug for ourselves and set us in the light of the Christ.
We give you thanks for all the blessings of this life and for the grace you so generously bestow on all your children. We thank you that you show us the way to a life that is more than existence. We rejoice that we are called to share your grace with others.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children and offer up to you the cares and hurts of this world. We offer up ourselves as well, so that we may be your image and your presence in this world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Show the children some items, and ask them if they would be suitable to use for a totally unsuitable purpose: a sieve to hold water, a bathing suit for a snowball fight, etc. No, they won’t serve well for these things -- but how about a sieve to drain your spaghetti or a bathing suit to go to the beach? Of course. Things need to be used for the purpose they were made for. God made us for good works, to do kind things and say kind words.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Saved!
Ephesians 2:1-10
Object: a rope
I brought some rope with me today to help me tell a story about a boy about your age whose name was Robert. Robert went with some friends to a place his mother had told him not to go near -- the river. It was usually a calm river -- but it was also deep. This day, however, was different. The water was high and flowing swiftly because of melting snow upstream. Robert and his friends loved putting floating things in the river to see how fast the water would take them away. Robert found a large log, and he struggled to get it to the river and put it in. Then it happened. He slipped and fell right into the rushing waters. How do you think Robert felt? (Let the children answer.)
Robert was scared. He was also very cold because the water was cold from the melting snow. But Robert was so scared that he scarcely noticed how cold the water was as the rushing river took him off, just like the log Robert had tried so hard to put in the river.
Luck would have it that a man was watching the river downstream and saw what happened. He heard the shouts of the boys and heard Robert’s calls for help. The man ran to a docked boat and pulled a rope like this (show the rope) from it. As the river swept Robert by him, he got Robert’s attention and threw the rope to him. The rope landed just within reach and Robert grabbed it, and the man pulled him to safety. Robert’s life was spared by the man and his rope.
The next day at school Robert told his classmates about his adventure in the river. He told about how he had accidentally fallen in and the swift river had carried him away. But then Robert bragged about how he calmly swam to shore (even though Robert didn’t know how to swim) and saved himself.
This story is a lot like how God saves us. We are carried away by sin and death, and then God throws us a rope that saves us. We call that rope “grace,” and that is what makes us safe. We, like Robert, do not save ourselves. We are saved by God who loves us and does what he must to save us.
Prayer: Dear God: Thank you for saving us by grace. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 15, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 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.
