Cash, Credit, or Your Life?
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In this week’s lectionary gospel passage, Jesus tells a curious parable about greedy vineyard tenants who react violently against the landowner’s representatives, even killing his son, in order to keep the yield for themselves. One key theme Jesus obviously has in mind is the coming rejection (and killing) of the Lord’s son. But as team member Mary Austin notes in the next installment of The Immediate Word, another important theme is implicit in Jesus’ statement that the kingdom of God could be taken away and given to others who “produce the fruits of the kingdom.” Mary ponders what it means for Christians to be reliable producers of the “fruits of the kingdom,” and she suggests that often means being willing to speak the truth -- even when doing so involves great sacrifice. Jesus, of course, would soon pay the ultimate price for his candor, offering his life for speaking out against the religious authorities. But Mary also points out that we might glean a great deal from thinking of ourselves in all of the various roles in Jesus’ parable.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the Exodus text and the way we all too often fetishize the Ten Commandments. Yes, the commandments are important to our faith -- but why do certain Christians choose to demonstrate their faith by placing representations of them in the public square rather than the Beatitudes or the parable of the good Samaritan or any other number of core Christian mottos? Dean suggests that placing the Ten Commandments at the apex of our public faith reveals a Christianity based on fear (and rules) rather than love.
Cash, Credit, or Your Life?
by Mary Austin
Matthew 21:33-46
Heedless of the danger he’s in, Jesus continues to poke at the religious establishment by telling stories in the temple. Approaching the end of his life, he’s prepared to pay a price for the truth. Uncomfortable truths have a cost, as Colin Kaepernick (the pro football quarterback who initiated the recent trend of making protest statements during the national anthem) has plenty of time to ponder; without a contract, it appears that his future playing career is in jeopardy. The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico also created discomfort, earning the ire of President Trump by criticizing the federal response to the post-hurricane suffering across Puerto Rico. Trump rolled accusations of incompetence and laziness into a tweeted response, saying: “Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help.”
We’re also reminded that they are many ways to speak the truth. When asked for his reaction to President Trump’s tweets, Russel Honoré, the retired general appointed by President George W. Bush to take over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said he had none. “I have no reaction. The mayor’s living on a cot, and I hope the president has a good day of golf,” he told CNN.
News about the toll from the shooting in Las Vegas is just becoming clear, with the latest count being 59 killed and more than 500 wounded -- but in coming weeks we will have to face the question of what we owe to the victims of the largest (for now) mass shooting in the United States. What debt do we owe to future generations, if we believe that this should not be a normal event in public life? Or will we give up on large public events because there’s no real safety there?
Jesus is posing a question for us, one that echoes down through the years, never fully answered. What do we owe to God? Related to that, as God’s people, what do we owe to one another? Jesus promises the realm of God to the people who produce the fruits of the kingdom. The people who do that come in surprising forms, and speak in interesting ways.
In the Scriptures
In this last week of his life, Jesus is continuing to teach in the temple, showing up there with a lot of nerve after he has upset the tables and the day’s commerce the day before. The religious leaders have questioned his authority, and he’s teaching in a series of pointed parables.
The vineyard is a well-known metaphor for Israel, and Jesus uses it again here in this parable. Earlier in Jesus’ storytelling, we had a vineyard owner who paid his last workers for the day, the slowest and weakest workers, as much as the strong workers who worked all day. This parable has a different take on the vineyard owner.
Emerson Powery comments on the way Jesus evokes Isaiah 5 in this parable: “The allusion to Isaiah was unmistakable (cf. Isaiah 5:1-7). The prophet made clear that the vineyard was a metaphor for the ‘house of Israel and the people of Judah’ (cf. Isaiah 5:7). And, in Isaiah, God was the caretaker of this vineyard. Despite careful attention from the vinedresser (cf. Isaiah 5:4), the vineyard produced only ‘wild grapes.’ The vineyard’s failure to produce better fruit forced the owner to remove his attentiveness (cf. Isaiah 5:5-6). If the land was unable to produce with proper care, what would it do without it?” He adds: “In Jesus’ parable, the ‘produce’ was fine, but the delivery system was malfunctioning.”
The landowner is acting in the usual way -- he invests in the vineyard, and then sends for his profits. It’s the tenants who behave badly. They’re not honoring their obligation to the owner. Some writers suggest that when the son comes, the tenants may believe that the owner has died. If the son dies too, then they can inherit the vineyard.
To our shame, Christians have used this parable as a justification for anti-Semitic preaching over the years, as if we who follow Jesus have replaced the Jewish people in God’s heart. Preaching on this story requires us to think about what Jesus intends to say. Jesus is speaking about God’s ability to surprise us all with the people God chooses for a share in the kingdom. The tenants in the story have not just failed to follow their agreement with the owner; they display a deep selfishness, scheming to keep all the fruits of the vineyard for themselves. God’s judgment is upon the self-seeking and the self-righteous people who believe they have a right to the vineyard, without obligation to others.
The parable emphasizes that God can always choose who gets the fruits of the realm of God. The parable suggests that God is not pleased with people who act selfishly, heedless of their responsibility to others. The parable makes us wonder again if we’re giving the fruits of God’s vineyard to the right places, and if we’re living up to our obligations as we live in this world that God created.
In the News
The parable speaks about our obligations outside ourselves, making us think about what we owe to God and one another.
When disaster comes, we hurry to help each other, offering gifts of money, supplies, and help. What does the country owe to the people of Puerto Rico, who have been suffering for close to two weeks after Hurricane Maria? Many mainlanders were surprised to learn that people in Puerto Rico are American citizens, ones who are getting dramatically different treatment from the government than American citizens in Texas and Florida. When people learn that the residents of Puerto Rico are American citizens, their views about giving aid change. In a recent survey, “among Americans who knew Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens, about 8 in 10 supported government aid, compared to just 4 in 10 people who did not know.”
Aid has been slow to reach desperate people in Puerto Rico. The difference in perspective between those at a distance in Washington, DC, and those on the ground in Puerto Rico flared to life this past weekend, as the acting head of Homeland Security said she was “very satisfied” with the disaster response so far. Any time waiting is too long, notes David A. Graham for The Atlantic: “as former FEMA Director James Lee Witt put it to me earlier this week, ‘If you’re one of the victims, every hour and every day is too long.’ There are real obstacles that make it difficult to distribute aid around Puerto Rico. Roads are destroyed, gas stations are dry, the power grid is down, and telecommunications infrastructure is out of service. Even as the port of San Juan fills up with containers, people outside of the capital city can’t get basic supplies. These are not problems that the federal government, or anyone else, can fix instantaneously. Yet even granting the difficulty, the Trump administration’s insistence that Maria recovery is a success feels tone-deaf -- adding insult to injury for Puerto Ricans who can’t eat or find clean water.” If we don’t believe we owe people real help, do we at least owe polite compassion during the crisis?
As American citizens, people from Puerto Rico are free to move to the mainland. “Saddled with a ballooning debt crisis, Puerto Rico has already seen a historic migration of about half a million people from the island in the past 10 years. Now, following the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. territory in decades, the outflow is sure to hasten.” People have been leaving for economic reasons, and now there are additional reasons to move. Those most likely to move are people with means, which the governor of Puerto Rico suggested might cause a “brain drain” for the island.
Other American citizens have also been in the news, as protests in the sports world expanded after a series of tweets from President Trump. As more NFL players took a knee or stayed in the locker room during the playing of national anthem, the owners “expressed concerns last week that the optics of hundreds of players kneeling, sitting, or remaining in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem had alienated many fans at a particularly perilous moment for the NFL. TV ratings for many of this year’s games have continued a slide that began last season; some league sponsors have grown skittish about the backlash; and most surveys have shown that a majority of NFL fans are turned off by the politicization of the game.” This group is well aware of the business side of football, in a “league that last year had an average per-team profit of $101 million.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflected last year that what we owe our country is more complicated than standing with our hands over our hearts. “Patriotism isn’t just getting teary-eyed on the Fourth of July or choked up at war memorials. It’s supporting what the Fourth of July celebrates and what those war memorials commemorate: the U.S. Constitution’s insistence that all people should have the same rights and opportunities and that it is the obligation of the government to make that happen. When the government fails in those obligations, it is the responsibility of patriots to speak up and remind them of their duty.” Abdul-Jabbar notes that the flag has a long and storied history as an instrument both of patriotism and protest. “In 1989, when a federal law prohibiting flag desecration went into effect, Vietnam veterans burned the American flag as a protest to a law curbing the First Amendment. Their argument was that they fought for the freedoms in the Constitution, not a piece of cloth, and to curtail those freedoms was an insult to their sacrifice.”
Patriotism is a paradox for people of color, says columnist Charles Blow, and it’s hard to assess what respect is due to a country enriched by the labor of enslaved people, a country that applies the death penalty disproportionately, a country that has more black people under the control of the corrections system today than were enslaved in 1850. Killings of black citizens by police officers are not new, but come as the latest chapter in this same long history. What do athletes owe to the country -- or perhaps the question is: What do we all owe to our neighbors of color?
In the Sermon
A parable is meant to confuse and confound, to keep teasing the mind with layers of meaning. A Jungian therapist told me once that every figure in a dream represents ourselves in some way. It’s interesting to think about a parable in the same way. What if we play all the roles in the parable at one time or another?
We may think we’re the people who are producing the fruits of the kingdom... and we may also be the wicked tenants, ready to do violence to others to preserve what we’ve grown accustomed to. In what ways are we holding onto what we believe we deserve? In what ways are we so attached to the fruits of our work that we can’t hear a message from God? Or perhaps we’re like the landowner. If the landowner is a human figure, then he benefits from the labor of others -- reaping good things from others’ hard work. We may also be like the messengers who are killed along the way, placed in danger for the message we carry. Or perhaps we are latecomers to the realm of God, but still ready to produce fruit. The sermon might look at how we are like each of the different characters in the story, carrying both guilt and promise in how we live our lives.
Or the sermon might look at the people who do come to the realm of God late. Who might come along and replace us, who are all good church people, in God’s favor?
Or the sermon might explore when God’s judgment is a good thing. Where do we, like the religious people listening to Jesus, need a word of correction and reproof? Where do we need to be reminded how much we owe God, and how we are meant to produce good fruit for God?
What do we owe to God, as people who share in the goodness of what God has planted among us? What do we owe to one another, as equally beloved people who also belong to God? If Jesus comes and says “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom,” which side of the equation will we be on?
SECOND THOUGHTS
Oh, Behave!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Exodus 20:1-4; 7-9; 12-20
In the Culture
If you think this thing about kneeling or “taking a knee” during the national anthem is controversial, you must have forgotten about the Ten Commandments controversies that bull their way into the popular culture from time to time.
We don’t hear as much about them as we used to, but for a while they were all the rage.
People would put up a monument or a stone effigy of the Ten Commandments looking something like the two stone tablets that Charlton Heston (Moses) carried down from Mount Sinai. This objet d’art would be placed on public property that was owned and maintained by the local government.
Inevitably someone would object, citing the intention of the American forefathers (and presumably mothers as well) to keep church and government separate. They would also cite the First Amendment, which says, among other things, that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, [which is called the establishment clause] or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [which is called the free exercise clause].”
Since the representation of the Ten Commandments in question was on government property and maintained by the government, that meant that the government was using resources belonging to all of the people and provided by all of the people to show favoritism to one religion over others.
And then, to prove this was the case, other religions would apply for equal representation. That is, they applied to have some artistic representation of their own put up on the same public property. Jews could ask for the Ten Commandments -- but since the Christians were already asking for that, they opted for a menorah. Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists chimed in with their own requests. And then some not-so-mainstream religions got into the mix. In Oklahoma, the Satanic Temple applied to have a statue weighing about a ton planted next to the Decalogue, while the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (no, I’m not kidding -- that’s a real thing... they call themselves Pastafarians) proposed their own icon be placed on the grounds of the state capitol. The Oklahoma case was pretty widely covered in the national news, because the Ten Commandments monument was destroyed and replaced while the topic bounced around the courts for several years, before the Oklahoma Supreme Court eventually ordered the removal of the monument from state property. It was eventually placed on the grounds of a private conservative organization.
A similar monument was removed from a town hall in New Mexico in 2014 when a judge ruled it violated the First Amendment.
Just a couple of months ago (June 2017), an enormous six-foot-tall, 6,000-pound Ten Commandments monument was erected on the lawn of the Arkansas statehouse. The ACLU promised to sue to have the monument removed, as it signaled to people who don’t subscribe to that version of the commandments and non-believers in general that they were second-class citizens. About 24 hours after the monument was erected someone drove across the statehouse lawn, crashed into it, and broke it to pieces. There’s no word on whether the private organization who footed the $26,000 bill for the first version will be willing to do so for another.
In 2014 the school board in Marion, Ohio, decided to remove a plaque of the Ten Commandments from Marion Harding High School and donate it to the local historical society. The decision was made in order to cut short any plans anyone might have had to sue the school, who according to officials, didn’t have the financial resources to defend themselves in court should such an eventuality come to pass. One student went on a “grade strike” in protest. That is, he came to class and attended school, he just didn’t do the assignments or take the tests. No word on how that turned out.
And just over a week ago, Republicans in Alabama nominated 70-year-old former Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore to run for the U.S. Senate. Moore, you will recall, had been “effectively removed from the State Supreme Court twice -- the first in 2003, over his refusal to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse; the second last year, when he urged the state’s probate judges to defy federal orders regarding same-sex marriage.”
The Washington Post reports that “On the stump, Moore made his belief in the supremacy of a Christian God over the Constitution the central rallying point of his campaign. His support for stronger immigration laws, less federal spending, and a stronger military were all secondary issues. In three books, Moore has described his legal opinion that the United States was founded as a Christian nation that ultimately answered to the ‘laws of nature and nature’s God,’ a phrase contained in the Declaration of Independence. In a 2002 legal opinion, he described homosexual conduct as ‘an inherent evil,’ and he has argued that the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage should not be considered the rule of law.”
All of this controversy, all of this legal fencing, all of this arguing and shouting and weeping and gnashing of teeth over the Ten Commandments.
No one wants to put up a monument with the story of the Good Samaritan on it. No one seems to have any interest in erecting a monument on the courthouse with the Great Commandment or the Great Commission printed on it, and there isn’t even a mote of desire for a stone statue with the Golden Rule printed on it. And the Beatitudes? Forget about the Beatitudes. No one wants a sign with those erected on their front lawn.
Author Kurt Vonnegut wondered about this phenomenon in his memoir A Man Without a Country, when he said: “For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And, of course, that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. ‘Blessed are the merciful’ in a courtroom? ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”
In the Bible
The Bible contains two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). Some believe that Exodus 34:12-26 constitutes a third version of the original ten, but most reject this notion even though some of the original ten are included in this passage as well.
The first Decalogue (Exodus) was, according to the Pentateuch, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. When he came down the mountain, however, so enraged was Moses over the worship of the golden calf which the people had created in his absence that Moses threw down the tablets and they smashed into pieces.
The second version (Deuteronomy) is alleged to be the stones which God gave to Moses to replace the first version. The two are virtually the same, with only some minor differences.
Depending upon how the Ten Commandments are interpreted, the Exodus 20 version contains a total of 19 to 25 separate instructions that various faith groups have sorted into ten commandments. They form an introduction to and are part of the 613 injunctions, prohibitions, and commands which make up the Mosaic Code.
This mass of laws is not arbitrary. They are created for a people who are learning to live together as a faith community, and that is what the laws of the Decalogue all point toward.
It is, they say, impossible to have an authentic, functional community, especially a community of faith, unless everyone agrees to obey and enforce these laws.
In the Pulpit
Why the Ten Commandments?
Why is it so important to erect monuments to these ten laws on public property, or at least in public view? Why not the Beatitudes? Why not the Golden Rule? Why not John 3:16? Or Micah 6:8? Why not the Great Commandment or the Great Commission? Or Isaiah 6:7? Or Isaiah 1:16-17?
Jimmy Harston, a Kentucky real-estate developer who has spent tens of thousands of dollars erecting 20 billboards containing the Ten Commandments and other religious phrases, does it because he’s afraid not to. “If I don’t do it, he will whip me,” said Harston.... “He will make life miserable for me, there’s no doubt about it.”
Two of his billboards are in Ohio’s Madison County, along I-71 between Cincinnati and Columbus. On the northbound side they contain an abbreviated version of the Decalogue. On the southbound side they shout that “Hell is Real,” and insist that the traveler ask him/herself where they would end up if they died this very day.
Jimmy Harston’s motivation may be avoiding unpleasantness which God will visit upon him if he doesn’t erect the signs. Bob and Nancy Hall, the octogenarian couple who own the land the billboards sit on, hope that someone will see the signs and be moved to examine how they live their lives, and maybe change for the better. Of course, if they don’t, well, “people need to face the reality of hell despite its unpleasantness,” says Bob.
The object of the signs, and one might imagine of all of the efforts to place the Decalogue in public view, has not so much to do with people being saved by the grace of God as it comes to us in Jesus Christ. It has more to do with people saving themselves by obeying the rules and walking the straight and narrow path.
Look at the commandments as they are abbreviated to fit on the signs in Madison County, Ohio. There is one that says simply, “Do not covet.” That’s all.
To covet means simply to desire or want something. If we abbreviate it to “Do not covet,” we have reduced the commandment to an admonition against wanting something, or even anything, at all, ever. That is a far more Buddhist concept than a Christian one.
The whole point of the commandment is to realize that there are some things that are simply out of bounds and off-limits for us to desire, and those things are the things that belong to someone else. If we all go around wanting the things that belong to each other, our community will be pulled asunder.
So it’s okay to want a nice car. We are just not allowed to want our neighbor’s nice car. We can want one like it, but we can’t want it. It’s off-limits. It’s out of bounds.
These billboards make a strong message. They do not say “God loves you, as we are told to tell people.” They are examples of what might be called evangelism by fear and intimidation, and the message they bring is, in the words of the comic spy Austin Powers (International Man of Mystery), “Oh, behave!”
Nothing more.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Rick Pitino, the head coach for the University of Louisville men’s basketball team, has had an illustrious career that recently came to an abrupt end. Though neither nor the university were specifically mentioned by name in a recent indictment, it was very clear who the FBI was investigating. College athletic teams are often sponsored by a sports apparel company. In the case of Louisville, Adidas provided the shoes for the men’s basketball team. An athlete wearing their clothes is the best advertisement that a sports apparel company can have. The coaches at Louisville were involved in bribes, receiving money from to Adidas recruit high school players to their team. The coaches would also use money provided by Adidas to pay prospective students and their parents to have the high school athlete come to Louisville. One student received as much as $150,000. Adidas hoped that by making a number of these investments in high school students, some would eventually become pro athletes and then become very profitable advertisements for Adidas. Rick Pitino was dismissed from his coaching position for this infraction.
Application: There are unfortunate consequences to breaking legal and moral laws.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Upon learning of the scandal involving Rick Pitino and the Louisville men’s basketball program, the president of the university, Greg Postel, said: “I’m more angry than embarrassed.” He went on to say that Pitino would be replaced within 48 hours. In searching for a replacement Postel said, “We will be looking for someone with integrity.”
Application: When a law is broken, the victims are both angry and embarrassed if it reflects poorly upon them.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Roy Moore recently won the Republican senatorial primary in Alabama. He defeated Luther Strange, who was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when Sessions became U.S. attorney general. Strange had the backing President Trump, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, and the head of the state GOP. But Moore somehow seems to prevail in Alabama. Twice he was elected as chief justice to the Alabama Supreme Court and twice he was removed for ethics violations -- one for displaying the Ten Commandments and the other for not permitting the marriage of same-sex couples. Moore has also called Islam a false religion and homosexuals evil. But Moore continues to win elections. According to David Mowery, an Alabama political strategist, “The things that end careers for politicians elsewhere strengthen Roy Moore.”
Application: Some may continue to break the rules, but eventually it will catch up to them.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
The Village of Whitesboro, in central New York, recently changed its official seal. The seal depicted a wrestling match between the village’s founder, Hugh White, and an Oneida Indian chief. The original seal showed White with his hands on the chief’s neck, with the chief off-balance and falling backward. The new seal more accurately portrays a relationship of equality. White and the chief have their hands on each other shoulders, and both have their feet firmly planted on the ground.
Application: The commandments teach us to treat God with respect and our neighbor as an equal.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Saudi Arabia was the only Muslim country that did not allow women to drive. That rule has recently been revoked, and as of next year women will be able to drive automobiles. Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Washington and the king’s son, said: “This is the right time to do the right thing.”
Application: Rules are to protect the rights of individuals, not subjugate them.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
There has been much discussion about Russia influencing the 2016 presidential election. The Russians are accused of placing multiple false stories on Facebook and on Twitter favoring Donald Trump or with a dishonest portrayal of Hillary Clinton. Experts on the Russian government believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin did this to defeat Clinton because she has encouraged pro-democracy protests in Russia and neighboring states. Putin also desired to darken the image of the United States to the rest of the world, making America a less attractive country and reduce its international influence.
Application: Isaiah discusses how a country can suffer.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
On January 9, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave a farewell speech to the Massachusetts legislature before departing to Washington, DC to prepare for his presidency. Kennedy opened his speech with these words: “We shall be as a city upon a hill.” Kennedy was quoting John Winthrop, who used that phrase in his speech abroad the ship Arbella in 1630 as the Puritans were preparing to land in the New World. Kennedy was implying that the eyes of the world would be upon the new administration, and in so doing his presidency must be like a city upon a hill. Ronald Reagan used the same words from Winthrop’s speech in his first inaugural address, to illustrate that the United States under his administration would become the guiding light for the free world and the antithesis to communism.
Application: Isaiah desired that Jerusalem would be like a city upon a hill to the rest of the world.
*****
Philippians 3:4b-14
Ziggy, who appears in the daily newspaper comics, is a small, bald, trouserless, barefoot, almost featureless character -- save for his large nose. He seems to have no friends, hobbies, or romantic partner, and it appears that the problems of life are always confronting him. In one recent comic he is standing and looking very dejected. Ziggy says: “I used to worry about life passing me by... until I realized it had already lapped me years ago!”
Application: Paul instructs us that we are to be content in life if we know Jesus.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
Two brothers in Texas, Roy and Ryan Selders, realized that the coolers outdoorsmen often use were insufficient to keep things cold. The brothers discovered that a technique known as rotomolding, a process used for making kayaks, could also be used to make more durable and efficient coolers. The Selders developed a line of coolers called Yeti. These coolers are expensive, ranging in price from $300 to $1,300 -- far more expensive than your typical box-store $30 cooler. The Yeti cooler has become a fashion statement, and those who have no use for a Yeti in their urban life have purchased them.
Application: Jesus speaks of being content with what you have.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
Henry Gerecke is not a household name; yet he had one of the most significant callings in the history of the church. He was the chaplain to 21 Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials, and he shepherded five of the most notorious Nazis to the gallows. Gerecke, a Lutheran pastor from Missouri, was fluent in German and volunteered to serve in the army in 1943 when the military was desperate for men to serve in that capacity. His wartime duties took him to Dachau, where he was able to witness the results of the Nazi atrocities. At the time he was unaware of his future role. During the Nuremberg trials, those overseeing the proceedings learned of a German-speaking chaplain. They asked Gerecke to take on the role of minister to those accused of crimes against humanity. Gerecke accepted. During his counselling sessions he would only offer holy communion to those men who were truly penitent and confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. Only four sentenced to hang met Gerecke’s standard and received the eucharist. One unrepentant Nazi officer said: “This Jesus that you always speak of, to me he is just another smart Jew.” After the war Gerecke was criticized for ministering to the monsters of the Third Reich. Gerecke would respond that he considered his calling to the Nuremberg defendants to be a mission.
Application: This parable instructs us to see our work for the Lord as a mission.
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From team member Chris Keating:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Naming Them All
While it is now more than a decade old, there is a bit from Stephen Colbert’s old show (The Colbert Report) that remains timely. Colbert, in character, is interviewing then-congressman Lynn Westmoreland from Georgia about Westmoreland’s co-sponsoring of a bill requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in the House of Representatives and United States Senate. There’s a bit of bantering back and forth before Colbert goes for the money question by rather innocently asking the congressman: “What are the Ten Commandments?” It’s dated, but still a timely reminder that the commandments were meant to be words which sustained holy community rather than rhetoric for winning votes.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
God Has Sent a Judge
Garrison Keillor’s political satire is not for everyone, but his tongue-in-cheek column from last week provides an interesting take on Roy Moore’s GOP primary victory in the Alabama senate race. Moore, a Christian fundamentalist judge known for installing a statue of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom, edged out GOP incumbent Luther Strange. Keillor’s satirical response called the election “a ray of sunshine for those of us who’d like to restore stoning to our legal system and remove curse of profanity once and for all from our country.”
Other columnists opted for less humor. One noted that Moore believes that laws should be based on his interpretation of God’s laws, including urging capital punishment for homosexuality, and excluding Muslims and other non-Christians from constitutional protections because the constitution was founded on Christian principles. “You see,” Moore has said, “the First Amendment was established on Christian principles, because it was Jesus that said this: ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and render unto God the things that are God’s.”
*****
Psalm 19
Declaring the Glory of Creation
The psalmist sees God’s glory displayed in creation, with the heavens spilling forth the joyful, delightful law of God which revives the soul and enlightens the eyes. The psalm’s distinctive ecological perspective provides an opportunity to explore themes of sustainability and Earth stewardship. In a lecture at MIT last week, Swedish environmental scientist Johan Rockstrom called upon world leaders to take actions to “navigate the future for at least 9, potentially 10 billion” people on Earth.
Rockstrom is known for identifying nine “planetary boundaries” which he believes need to be observed in order to preserve and sustain life on Earth. These guidelines for government and business include climate change, biodiversity loss, the biogeochemical cycle on Earth, ocean acidification, land use, fresh water availability, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol levels, and chemical pollution. The ripple effects of violating these boundaries create stress across the planet, including the loss of more than 50 percent of the Australian Great Barrier reef, widespread extinction, and climate change.
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From team member Mary Austin:
Matthew 21:33-46
I Owe, I Owe
“I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go,” proclaims the old bumper sticker, parodying the seven dwarves. A recent survey of credit card debt says that “debt is a way of life for Americans, with overall U.S. household debt increasing by 11% in the past decade. Today, the average household with credit card debt has balances totaling $16,883, and the average household with any kind of debt owes $137,063, including mortgages. While ‘don’t spend above your means’ will always be sound advice, NerdWallet’s annual survey of household debt and its costs makes clear that increasing debt loads aren’t just a case of lifestyle creep. The rapid growth in medical and housing costs is dwarfing income growth, making it challenging for many families to make ends meet without leaning on credit cards and loans.”
Debt has grown because the rising cost of living “has outpaced income growth over the past 13 years. Median household income has grown 28% since 2003, but expenses have outpaced it significantly. Medical costs increased by 57% and food and beverage prices by 36% in that same span.” Debt is expensive. “The average household with credit card debt pays a total of $1,292 in credit card interest per year.”
Uncounted is the huge stress of being in debt, and juggling bills and creditors. What we owe to banks and credit cards is costly debt, unlike what we owe to God.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
Owing a Debt of Kindness
After the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, Bob Votruba decided that his response would be a million acts of kindness. He sold everything he owned, bought an old bus, and started to travel the country to inject kindness into our shared life. As the Huffington Post notes, “If kindness is love with its work boots on, Bob and his rescue dog Bogart have worn their boots down to the soles. They’ve traveled the country in an effort to inspire others to take up an important challenge: to commit one million acts of kindness during their lifetime. Bob and Bogart are focusing on putting an end to bullying and adolescent suicide, but Bob encourages everyone to choose a cause that speaks to them. In the end, all roads lead to the same place.”
Grieved by the shootings, Bob is paying a debt of kindness to a hurt world. “Through his talks to various groups, and students in particular, he stresses the tremendous impact that empathy and generosity can have on both the giver and receiver. While a million deeds takes a lifetime to finish, they include spiritual as well as physical acts. Just as important as holding a door or offering assistance are the acts of refraining from judgment or wishing someone well. Rather than dwell on the size of that daunting number, Bob suggests focusing on the kind thoughts we could generate for just one day. Habits form over time, and the ripple effect of these actions add up.”
Bob invites other people to take on this debt too. His website is www.onemillionactsofkindness.com. As the article says: “Leo Buscaglia once said our talents are God’s gift to us, but what we do with them is our gift to God. Bob Votruba is leaving us with quite a gift. The world needs more people like him, and I encourage you to seek him out when he and Bogart return at the end of summer. It’s the one school bus you won’t mind driving behind.”
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
The Debts That Shape Us
We think of debts as financial transactions, but Mary Frank has a different view. “The 82-year-old artist Mary Frank traces her earliest debts to the prehistoric images in books that her mother kept around the house. Their shadows have reappeared throughout her sculptures, paintings, and photographs. But she knows none of their creators’ names; there is no address where she can send a royalty check. The best repayment she can offer is the work of her own hands.” She believes that these debts have enriched her, not made her poorer. “The creditors that Frank can name are those who have motivated and influenced her. She talks about studying dance under the legendary, demanding choreographer Martha Graham, about El Greco and Proust and Gerard Manley Hopkins, about a pair of Guggenheim fellowships, about Peter Matthiessen, her recently departed friend, and about music. When she was broke, she’d trade pictures for things she needed. (‘Dentists, you know, have great art collections.’) As time went on, her debts grew larger and even harder to quantify. She lost her two children; all the world’s children came to feel like hers. The first thing she always wants to talk about is her advocacy for low-cost solar cookers in places where women would otherwise have to cook over flames fueled by scarce wood or poisonous garbage. ‘I feel a debt to the sun,’ she says.”
What if our spiritual and mental debts make us richer and more connected to the world, instead of making us feel poor and burdened?
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
The Debts That Free Us
Nathan Schneider writes for Yes magazine about people who use a need for money to build bridges with other people. “When Marisa Egerstrom, a seminary student, needed $2,000 for a summer training program a few months ago, she said so on a Facebook status. Within days, she’d easily gotten it from her network; the restitution her lenders asked for included making puppets for a church in Fiji, designing ‘some kind of subversive liturgy,’ and simply to ‘pay it forward.’ ‘I get to multiply the connectedness of the community by including others in the so-called transaction,’ she told me.” What she owed to people became both more and less than the amount of money.
Similarly, graphic designer Ellen Davidson and her partner, house-painter Tarak Kauff, live in a small home that seems to be a favorite drop-in spot for friends and family. “To an unusual degree, I can attest that guests there feel license to act as if they were at home -- to peck at the piano keys, to warm some milk and whirl it into foam. Perhaps this has something to do with the nature of its owners’ underlying debts. When they were looking for a place to live, Davidson and Kauff could’ve gotten a bank loan, but as longtime activists against corporate overreach, they wanted something better. Kauff refers to what they got instead as ‘non-oppressive debt’: a mortgage made of loans from family and friends. Over the years, those they borrowed from have grown closer through the arrangement, and some have stopped cashing the payment checks. To the lenders, it’s enough to see the house become a home to Davidson and Kauff, as well as to an extended community. ‘The loan has turned into a gift,’ Davidson says.”
We think of debt as an obligation, but it may also be a gift if we understand it in different ways.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
What If We Don’t Measure?
The idea of owing a debt requires that someone is counting. Someone has to measure what we owe, and keep track of how we pay it back. But what if we stop measuring, wonders Leo Babauta. We are people dedicating to measuring things, he notes, but why? “When you track a metric, such as hours or dollars or miles, you are saying that’s more important than all the things that can’t be measured. You put that in the forefront of your head as the thing that must be improved, at the cost of all else. What about relationships and joy? Are those less important? Then there are other problems with tracking and measuring everything: It takes time to measure and track -- that’s valuable time you could have spent doing or living.”
He adds: “Let’s take the example of a mother or father -- do we measure all the activities we do as parents, so we are motivated to improve and keep doing them? Do we measure: Hugs given, time spent reading to kids, time spent preparing meals for them... and so on? No, we just do all of that and more. Why?... It’s simple: we do those things because we love them, and we love our kids. We are also motivated to learn more about being parents, to see if there are better ways of doing things, not by the measuring and tracking, but because we love being parents and want to be good parents. No tracking needed.”
This may not work for credit card debt, but it will work for our relationship with God. “Do for the love of doing, for the love of others,” Babauta says. “That’s unmeasurable, and profoundly life-changing.” Jesus would approve.
***************
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
The Evolution of Law
According to a 3rd-century rabbi, Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands. David reduced them to 11 in Psalm 15. Isaiah made them 6 (Isaiah 33:14, 15). Micah 6:8 binds them into 3 commands. Habbakuk reduces them all to one great statement: The just shall live by faith.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
How Rules Get Changed
The impetus for changing laws and rules can come from almost anywhere, and nowhere is this more true than in the game of American football, especially professional football. Rule changes have been the result of controversies regarding plays or players, unusual circumstances, trends in scoring, injuries, and penalties.
The first NFL playoff game between the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans in 1932 -- a game forced indoors by deep snow and frigid temperatures -- inspired one of the most significant rules changes in NFL history. Because the indoor field was significantly smaller than a normal football field some special rules had to be brought into play, but even with those rule changes the game was dominated by the defense. The score remained 0-0 until the fourth quarter, when the Bears scored on a controversial touchdown: Carl Brumbaugh handed the ball off to fullback Bronko Nagurski, who faked a plunge into the line, pulled up, jumped, and threw the ball to Red Grange in the end zone for the score. Rules at the time mandated that a forward pass had to be thrown from at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Spartans argued that Nagurski did not drop back five yards before passing to Grange, but the touchdown stood. The Bears later scored a safety after the Spartans fumbled the ball out of their end zone and won the game 9-0.
The Spartans and their fans complained, but Grange and Nagurski were two of the NFL’s most popular players. So in 1933 the NFL changed the rules to allow passes from anywhere behind the line. That change popularized the passing attack, which boosted scoring and differentiated NFL play from the college game, which kept the five yard rule for some time.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
According to Hoyle
In 1743 the Hoyle brand was first established with a small book by Englishman Edmond Hoyle, a tutor, writer, and lawyer by trade. Today he is best known as an expert on the rules and strategies behind card games and board games including chess and backgammon. While working as a tutor to the aristocracy, Hoyle composed a booklet on the rules of the game of whist for his clients, which became quite popular throughout London during the 1740s. This led him to publish and copyright A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist: Containing the Laws of the Game and Also Some Rules. His expertise became so widely accepted and he was so widely consulted regarding the rules of games that the phrase “according to Hoyle” became part of common English parlance.
In 1753 he published A Short Treatise on the Game of Backgammon. Edmond Hoyle died in 1769, but his magnum opus was published posthumously as Hoyles Games 1770 edition: The New Hoyle Containing Easy Rules for Playing the Games of Whist, Quadrille, Cribbage, Piquet, Chess, Backgammon.
In 1979 Edmond Hoyle’s contributions to the world of gaming were recognized when he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, an elite group of the world’s greatest poker players of all time. Quite an achievement, as he died before the game of poker was even invented.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Some Silly Rules and Laws
The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette, which was published in 1952, existed solely to explain proper behavior, especially for young women. Here are its ground rules for successful dating: “A girl not out of her teens would do better to avoid [dinner at a bachelor’s] unless others, considerably more mature than she, are present. A career girl, from her twenties onward, can accept such an invitation but should not stay beyond ten or ten-thirty.”
In 1895, Lady Constance Howard penned “Etiquette of Dinners” for Home Chat. And for most of us, following these rules would lead to some seriously boring dinner party conversations. According to Howard, not only should the subjects of politics and religion be avoided at all costs during conversation, but “the hostess who possesses tact will not discuss music or painting with persons who have no taste for either.” Seriously? If I can’t openly quote my favorite ridiculous lines from the latest presidential debate, then what’s the point of even going to a social gathering?
In the late 1800s, well-mannered people were taught to keep their laughter to a minimum, and smiling for too long was frowned upon.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God.
People: The firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
Leader: The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul.
People: The decrees of God are sure, making wise the simple;
Leader: Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts
People: Be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer.
OR
Leader: Come and offer the praise that is due to our God.
People: God’s glory calls us to offer our worship and praise.
Leader: Offer the service that God’s sovereignty calls for.
People: We are God’s servants and offer ourselves to God’s work.
Leader: Give to others the love that God intends for all the world.
People: God’s love is our gift, and we offer it freely.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
“Ye Servants of God”
found in:
UMH: 181
H82: 535
PH: 477
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 189
H82: 383, 384
PH: 306
NNBH: 75
NCH: 44
CH: 97
W&P: 123
AMEC: 95
Renew: 166
“I Surrender All”
found in:
UMH: 354
AAHH: 396
NNBH: 198
W&P: 474
AMEC: 251
“Take My Life, and Let It Be”
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELA: 583, 685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
“A Charge to Keep I Have”
found in:
UMH: 413
AAHH: 467, 468
NNBH: 436
AMEC: 242
“What Does the Lord Require”
found in:
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”
found in:
UMH: 453
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460
“For the Gift of Creation”
found in:
CCB: 67
“We Are His Hands”
found in:
CCB: 85
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 our Creator and our Sovereign: Grant us the wisdom to recognize what you require of us so that we may offer you the fruits you deserve: justice, mercy, and humility;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We worship you, O God, because you are our Creator and our Sovereign. You gave us the wonderful world with its inhabitants that we might care for all of it. Help us to realize what you require of us as inhabitants of your world so that we may joyfully offer you the fruits your deserve. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to offer to God that which is due God’s glory.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have eagerly taken all that we can from creation without regard to who truly owns it. We have selfishly claimed more than is our share, and we have ignored your calls to care for the earth and to care for one another. You have asked only that we love you and take care of one another, and we have totally failed in both. Forgive our shameful behavior, and renew your Spirit within us so that we might truly offer to you that which you desire: our love and our care of others. Amen.
Leader: God is a gracious creator and loves all of us. Receive God’s love and grace, and with the power of God’s Spirit be renewed as a faithful tenant in God’s vineyard.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise and glorify your name, O God, because you have gifted us with the wonders of creation and your awesome love and care.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have eagerly taken all that we can from creation without regard to who truly owns it. We have selfishly claimed more than is our share, and we have ignored your calls to care for the earth and to care for one another. You have asked only that we love you and take care of one another, and we have totally failed in both. Forgive our shameful behavior, and renew your Spirit within us so that we might truly offer to you that which you desire: our love and our care of others.
We give you thanks for the wonders of this earth. It sustains us with its resources and dazzles us with its beauty. We are grateful for all the glories of creation, from the vastness of space to the incredible complexity of things too small for us to see.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray especially for those who have been denied justice and mercy because of greediness. We pray for justice for all your people, and we pray we may help bring that justice to them.
(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 a ticket to an event. Tell them about it, and ask them how they think you got the ticket. Of course, you likely bought it. To go to the event you have to pay something. We have all received tickets to live on God’s earth. The price of our ticket is to love God and take care of each other.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Supplies needed:
* a receipt from a restaurant
* poster board (any size that is visible to the children and the congregation)
* a marker
(Greet the children and welcome them. Show the children a receipt from a restaurant. Point out the itemized bill: each item that was ordered is listed, with a price. There’s a line for the tax on the meal. There’s another line for the tip you add to the bill. All of these items get added together to make up the total that you pay for your meal -- and there’s a line for that total.)
I was thinking the other day that I’m awfully busy around the church. I’m a volunteer here, but I do a lot of “free” work for God. I wonder how much I might get paid if I charged God for all the work I do.
Can you help me make up a receipt for God, to track how much God owes me for my work?
(Hold up the poster board and begin to list the different things you do around the church; invite the children to name the amount you should charge God for your work.)
Each Sunday I prepare a children’s message. How much should I charge God for this work? (Encourage the children to offer different dollar amounts; you may need to prompt them.) $5, $10, $20? Should I charge God $20 for a children’s message? (Write on poster board: Children’s Message, $20)
(Continue to name different work you do at the church and invite children to help you create a bill to present to God. You can include such activities as: singing in the choir, handing out bulletins, greeting people at the door, making coffee, washing the dishes, praying, coming to worship, teaching Sunday school, and so on.)
(Write each activity and its charge on the poster. Add the total. Write it on the poster, and identify it as your bill to God.)
If I present this bill to God for all the things I do around the church, what do you think God could charge me for all that God does for me? How much do you think God could charge me for loving me? For forgiving me? For giving me life? For giving me a church to be part of? (Encourage the children to offer their responses.)
Do you think I could pay God for all that God does for me?
God doesn’t give us a bill, or charge us money for the gifts God gives to us. Instead, God gives us God’s Laws for us to follow. You know the two Great Commandments Jesus talked about: To love God with all your heart, mind, and soul; To love your neighbor as yourself.
This is the “payment” God asks of us for all that God gives to us: God asks us to love God and to love one another.
I think I’m getting a better deal with God -- God does so much wonderful stuff for me and doesn’t charge me for it. I think I should probably just forget giving God a bill for what I do around the church! (Have the children help you tear up your “bill” for God.)
To respond to God’s love for me, I’m going to try to love God and love all of you in this room, and all of God’s people in the world.
Prayer: Thank you, O God, that you don’t give us a bill, charging us money for all the gifts you give to us. Thank you that you do everything out of love for us. Help us to respond to you by loving you and loving one another. Help us to be grateful to you for everything! Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 8, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the Exodus text and the way we all too often fetishize the Ten Commandments. Yes, the commandments are important to our faith -- but why do certain Christians choose to demonstrate their faith by placing representations of them in the public square rather than the Beatitudes or the parable of the good Samaritan or any other number of core Christian mottos? Dean suggests that placing the Ten Commandments at the apex of our public faith reveals a Christianity based on fear (and rules) rather than love.
Cash, Credit, or Your Life?
by Mary Austin
Matthew 21:33-46
Heedless of the danger he’s in, Jesus continues to poke at the religious establishment by telling stories in the temple. Approaching the end of his life, he’s prepared to pay a price for the truth. Uncomfortable truths have a cost, as Colin Kaepernick (the pro football quarterback who initiated the recent trend of making protest statements during the national anthem) has plenty of time to ponder; without a contract, it appears that his future playing career is in jeopardy. The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico also created discomfort, earning the ire of President Trump by criticizing the federal response to the post-hurricane suffering across Puerto Rico. Trump rolled accusations of incompetence and laziness into a tweeted response, saying: “Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help.”
We’re also reminded that they are many ways to speak the truth. When asked for his reaction to President Trump’s tweets, Russel Honoré, the retired general appointed by President George W. Bush to take over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said he had none. “I have no reaction. The mayor’s living on a cot, and I hope the president has a good day of golf,” he told CNN.
News about the toll from the shooting in Las Vegas is just becoming clear, with the latest count being 59 killed and more than 500 wounded -- but in coming weeks we will have to face the question of what we owe to the victims of the largest (for now) mass shooting in the United States. What debt do we owe to future generations, if we believe that this should not be a normal event in public life? Or will we give up on large public events because there’s no real safety there?
Jesus is posing a question for us, one that echoes down through the years, never fully answered. What do we owe to God? Related to that, as God’s people, what do we owe to one another? Jesus promises the realm of God to the people who produce the fruits of the kingdom. The people who do that come in surprising forms, and speak in interesting ways.
In the Scriptures
In this last week of his life, Jesus is continuing to teach in the temple, showing up there with a lot of nerve after he has upset the tables and the day’s commerce the day before. The religious leaders have questioned his authority, and he’s teaching in a series of pointed parables.
The vineyard is a well-known metaphor for Israel, and Jesus uses it again here in this parable. Earlier in Jesus’ storytelling, we had a vineyard owner who paid his last workers for the day, the slowest and weakest workers, as much as the strong workers who worked all day. This parable has a different take on the vineyard owner.
Emerson Powery comments on the way Jesus evokes Isaiah 5 in this parable: “The allusion to Isaiah was unmistakable (cf. Isaiah 5:1-7). The prophet made clear that the vineyard was a metaphor for the ‘house of Israel and the people of Judah’ (cf. Isaiah 5:7). And, in Isaiah, God was the caretaker of this vineyard. Despite careful attention from the vinedresser (cf. Isaiah 5:4), the vineyard produced only ‘wild grapes.’ The vineyard’s failure to produce better fruit forced the owner to remove his attentiveness (cf. Isaiah 5:5-6). If the land was unable to produce with proper care, what would it do without it?” He adds: “In Jesus’ parable, the ‘produce’ was fine, but the delivery system was malfunctioning.”
The landowner is acting in the usual way -- he invests in the vineyard, and then sends for his profits. It’s the tenants who behave badly. They’re not honoring their obligation to the owner. Some writers suggest that when the son comes, the tenants may believe that the owner has died. If the son dies too, then they can inherit the vineyard.
To our shame, Christians have used this parable as a justification for anti-Semitic preaching over the years, as if we who follow Jesus have replaced the Jewish people in God’s heart. Preaching on this story requires us to think about what Jesus intends to say. Jesus is speaking about God’s ability to surprise us all with the people God chooses for a share in the kingdom. The tenants in the story have not just failed to follow their agreement with the owner; they display a deep selfishness, scheming to keep all the fruits of the vineyard for themselves. God’s judgment is upon the self-seeking and the self-righteous people who believe they have a right to the vineyard, without obligation to others.
The parable emphasizes that God can always choose who gets the fruits of the realm of God. The parable suggests that God is not pleased with people who act selfishly, heedless of their responsibility to others. The parable makes us wonder again if we’re giving the fruits of God’s vineyard to the right places, and if we’re living up to our obligations as we live in this world that God created.
In the News
The parable speaks about our obligations outside ourselves, making us think about what we owe to God and one another.
When disaster comes, we hurry to help each other, offering gifts of money, supplies, and help. What does the country owe to the people of Puerto Rico, who have been suffering for close to two weeks after Hurricane Maria? Many mainlanders were surprised to learn that people in Puerto Rico are American citizens, ones who are getting dramatically different treatment from the government than American citizens in Texas and Florida. When people learn that the residents of Puerto Rico are American citizens, their views about giving aid change. In a recent survey, “among Americans who knew Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens, about 8 in 10 supported government aid, compared to just 4 in 10 people who did not know.”
Aid has been slow to reach desperate people in Puerto Rico. The difference in perspective between those at a distance in Washington, DC, and those on the ground in Puerto Rico flared to life this past weekend, as the acting head of Homeland Security said she was “very satisfied” with the disaster response so far. Any time waiting is too long, notes David A. Graham for The Atlantic: “as former FEMA Director James Lee Witt put it to me earlier this week, ‘If you’re one of the victims, every hour and every day is too long.’ There are real obstacles that make it difficult to distribute aid around Puerto Rico. Roads are destroyed, gas stations are dry, the power grid is down, and telecommunications infrastructure is out of service. Even as the port of San Juan fills up with containers, people outside of the capital city can’t get basic supplies. These are not problems that the federal government, or anyone else, can fix instantaneously. Yet even granting the difficulty, the Trump administration’s insistence that Maria recovery is a success feels tone-deaf -- adding insult to injury for Puerto Ricans who can’t eat or find clean water.” If we don’t believe we owe people real help, do we at least owe polite compassion during the crisis?
As American citizens, people from Puerto Rico are free to move to the mainland. “Saddled with a ballooning debt crisis, Puerto Rico has already seen a historic migration of about half a million people from the island in the past 10 years. Now, following the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. territory in decades, the outflow is sure to hasten.” People have been leaving for economic reasons, and now there are additional reasons to move. Those most likely to move are people with means, which the governor of Puerto Rico suggested might cause a “brain drain” for the island.
Other American citizens have also been in the news, as protests in the sports world expanded after a series of tweets from President Trump. As more NFL players took a knee or stayed in the locker room during the playing of national anthem, the owners “expressed concerns last week that the optics of hundreds of players kneeling, sitting, or remaining in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem had alienated many fans at a particularly perilous moment for the NFL. TV ratings for many of this year’s games have continued a slide that began last season; some league sponsors have grown skittish about the backlash; and most surveys have shown that a majority of NFL fans are turned off by the politicization of the game.” This group is well aware of the business side of football, in a “league that last year had an average per-team profit of $101 million.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflected last year that what we owe our country is more complicated than standing with our hands over our hearts. “Patriotism isn’t just getting teary-eyed on the Fourth of July or choked up at war memorials. It’s supporting what the Fourth of July celebrates and what those war memorials commemorate: the U.S. Constitution’s insistence that all people should have the same rights and opportunities and that it is the obligation of the government to make that happen. When the government fails in those obligations, it is the responsibility of patriots to speak up and remind them of their duty.” Abdul-Jabbar notes that the flag has a long and storied history as an instrument both of patriotism and protest. “In 1989, when a federal law prohibiting flag desecration went into effect, Vietnam veterans burned the American flag as a protest to a law curbing the First Amendment. Their argument was that they fought for the freedoms in the Constitution, not a piece of cloth, and to curtail those freedoms was an insult to their sacrifice.”
Patriotism is a paradox for people of color, says columnist Charles Blow, and it’s hard to assess what respect is due to a country enriched by the labor of enslaved people, a country that applies the death penalty disproportionately, a country that has more black people under the control of the corrections system today than were enslaved in 1850. Killings of black citizens by police officers are not new, but come as the latest chapter in this same long history. What do athletes owe to the country -- or perhaps the question is: What do we all owe to our neighbors of color?
In the Sermon
A parable is meant to confuse and confound, to keep teasing the mind with layers of meaning. A Jungian therapist told me once that every figure in a dream represents ourselves in some way. It’s interesting to think about a parable in the same way. What if we play all the roles in the parable at one time or another?
We may think we’re the people who are producing the fruits of the kingdom... and we may also be the wicked tenants, ready to do violence to others to preserve what we’ve grown accustomed to. In what ways are we holding onto what we believe we deserve? In what ways are we so attached to the fruits of our work that we can’t hear a message from God? Or perhaps we’re like the landowner. If the landowner is a human figure, then he benefits from the labor of others -- reaping good things from others’ hard work. We may also be like the messengers who are killed along the way, placed in danger for the message we carry. Or perhaps we are latecomers to the realm of God, but still ready to produce fruit. The sermon might look at how we are like each of the different characters in the story, carrying both guilt and promise in how we live our lives.
Or the sermon might look at the people who do come to the realm of God late. Who might come along and replace us, who are all good church people, in God’s favor?
Or the sermon might explore when God’s judgment is a good thing. Where do we, like the religious people listening to Jesus, need a word of correction and reproof? Where do we need to be reminded how much we owe God, and how we are meant to produce good fruit for God?
What do we owe to God, as people who share in the goodness of what God has planted among us? What do we owe to one another, as equally beloved people who also belong to God? If Jesus comes and says “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom,” which side of the equation will we be on?
SECOND THOUGHTS
Oh, Behave!
by Dean Feldmeyer
Exodus 20:1-4; 7-9; 12-20
In the Culture
If you think this thing about kneeling or “taking a knee” during the national anthem is controversial, you must have forgotten about the Ten Commandments controversies that bull their way into the popular culture from time to time.
We don’t hear as much about them as we used to, but for a while they were all the rage.
People would put up a monument or a stone effigy of the Ten Commandments looking something like the two stone tablets that Charlton Heston (Moses) carried down from Mount Sinai. This objet d’art would be placed on public property that was owned and maintained by the local government.
Inevitably someone would object, citing the intention of the American forefathers (and presumably mothers as well) to keep church and government separate. They would also cite the First Amendment, which says, among other things, that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, [which is called the establishment clause] or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [which is called the free exercise clause].”
Since the representation of the Ten Commandments in question was on government property and maintained by the government, that meant that the government was using resources belonging to all of the people and provided by all of the people to show favoritism to one religion over others.
And then, to prove this was the case, other religions would apply for equal representation. That is, they applied to have some artistic representation of their own put up on the same public property. Jews could ask for the Ten Commandments -- but since the Christians were already asking for that, they opted for a menorah. Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists chimed in with their own requests. And then some not-so-mainstream religions got into the mix. In Oklahoma, the Satanic Temple applied to have a statue weighing about a ton planted next to the Decalogue, while the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (no, I’m not kidding -- that’s a real thing... they call themselves Pastafarians) proposed their own icon be placed on the grounds of the state capitol. The Oklahoma case was pretty widely covered in the national news, because the Ten Commandments monument was destroyed and replaced while the topic bounced around the courts for several years, before the Oklahoma Supreme Court eventually ordered the removal of the monument from state property. It was eventually placed on the grounds of a private conservative organization.
A similar monument was removed from a town hall in New Mexico in 2014 when a judge ruled it violated the First Amendment.
Just a couple of months ago (June 2017), an enormous six-foot-tall, 6,000-pound Ten Commandments monument was erected on the lawn of the Arkansas statehouse. The ACLU promised to sue to have the monument removed, as it signaled to people who don’t subscribe to that version of the commandments and non-believers in general that they were second-class citizens. About 24 hours after the monument was erected someone drove across the statehouse lawn, crashed into it, and broke it to pieces. There’s no word on whether the private organization who footed the $26,000 bill for the first version will be willing to do so for another.
In 2014 the school board in Marion, Ohio, decided to remove a plaque of the Ten Commandments from Marion Harding High School and donate it to the local historical society. The decision was made in order to cut short any plans anyone might have had to sue the school, who according to officials, didn’t have the financial resources to defend themselves in court should such an eventuality come to pass. One student went on a “grade strike” in protest. That is, he came to class and attended school, he just didn’t do the assignments or take the tests. No word on how that turned out.
And just over a week ago, Republicans in Alabama nominated 70-year-old former Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore to run for the U.S. Senate. Moore, you will recall, had been “effectively removed from the State Supreme Court twice -- the first in 2003, over his refusal to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse; the second last year, when he urged the state’s probate judges to defy federal orders regarding same-sex marriage.”
The Washington Post reports that “On the stump, Moore made his belief in the supremacy of a Christian God over the Constitution the central rallying point of his campaign. His support for stronger immigration laws, less federal spending, and a stronger military were all secondary issues. In three books, Moore has described his legal opinion that the United States was founded as a Christian nation that ultimately answered to the ‘laws of nature and nature’s God,’ a phrase contained in the Declaration of Independence. In a 2002 legal opinion, he described homosexual conduct as ‘an inherent evil,’ and he has argued that the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage should not be considered the rule of law.”
All of this controversy, all of this legal fencing, all of this arguing and shouting and weeping and gnashing of teeth over the Ten Commandments.
No one wants to put up a monument with the story of the Good Samaritan on it. No one seems to have any interest in erecting a monument on the courthouse with the Great Commandment or the Great Commission printed on it, and there isn’t even a mote of desire for a stone statue with the Golden Rule printed on it. And the Beatitudes? Forget about the Beatitudes. No one wants a sign with those erected on their front lawn.
Author Kurt Vonnegut wondered about this phenomenon in his memoir A Man Without a Country, when he said: “For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And, of course, that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. ‘Blessed are the merciful’ in a courtroom? ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”
In the Bible
The Bible contains two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). Some believe that Exodus 34:12-26 constitutes a third version of the original ten, but most reject this notion even though some of the original ten are included in this passage as well.
The first Decalogue (Exodus) was, according to the Pentateuch, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. When he came down the mountain, however, so enraged was Moses over the worship of the golden calf which the people had created in his absence that Moses threw down the tablets and they smashed into pieces.
The second version (Deuteronomy) is alleged to be the stones which God gave to Moses to replace the first version. The two are virtually the same, with only some minor differences.
Depending upon how the Ten Commandments are interpreted, the Exodus 20 version contains a total of 19 to 25 separate instructions that various faith groups have sorted into ten commandments. They form an introduction to and are part of the 613 injunctions, prohibitions, and commands which make up the Mosaic Code.
This mass of laws is not arbitrary. They are created for a people who are learning to live together as a faith community, and that is what the laws of the Decalogue all point toward.
It is, they say, impossible to have an authentic, functional community, especially a community of faith, unless everyone agrees to obey and enforce these laws.
In the Pulpit
Why the Ten Commandments?
Why is it so important to erect monuments to these ten laws on public property, or at least in public view? Why not the Beatitudes? Why not the Golden Rule? Why not John 3:16? Or Micah 6:8? Why not the Great Commandment or the Great Commission? Or Isaiah 6:7? Or Isaiah 1:16-17?
Jimmy Harston, a Kentucky real-estate developer who has spent tens of thousands of dollars erecting 20 billboards containing the Ten Commandments and other religious phrases, does it because he’s afraid not to. “If I don’t do it, he will whip me,” said Harston.... “He will make life miserable for me, there’s no doubt about it.”
Two of his billboards are in Ohio’s Madison County, along I-71 between Cincinnati and Columbus. On the northbound side they contain an abbreviated version of the Decalogue. On the southbound side they shout that “Hell is Real,” and insist that the traveler ask him/herself where they would end up if they died this very day.
Jimmy Harston’s motivation may be avoiding unpleasantness which God will visit upon him if he doesn’t erect the signs. Bob and Nancy Hall, the octogenarian couple who own the land the billboards sit on, hope that someone will see the signs and be moved to examine how they live their lives, and maybe change for the better. Of course, if they don’t, well, “people need to face the reality of hell despite its unpleasantness,” says Bob.
The object of the signs, and one might imagine of all of the efforts to place the Decalogue in public view, has not so much to do with people being saved by the grace of God as it comes to us in Jesus Christ. It has more to do with people saving themselves by obeying the rules and walking the straight and narrow path.
Look at the commandments as they are abbreviated to fit on the signs in Madison County, Ohio. There is one that says simply, “Do not covet.” That’s all.
To covet means simply to desire or want something. If we abbreviate it to “Do not covet,” we have reduced the commandment to an admonition against wanting something, or even anything, at all, ever. That is a far more Buddhist concept than a Christian one.
The whole point of the commandment is to realize that there are some things that are simply out of bounds and off-limits for us to desire, and those things are the things that belong to someone else. If we all go around wanting the things that belong to each other, our community will be pulled asunder.
So it’s okay to want a nice car. We are just not allowed to want our neighbor’s nice car. We can want one like it, but we can’t want it. It’s off-limits. It’s out of bounds.
These billboards make a strong message. They do not say “God loves you, as we are told to tell people.” They are examples of what might be called evangelism by fear and intimidation, and the message they bring is, in the words of the comic spy Austin Powers (International Man of Mystery), “Oh, behave!”
Nothing more.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Rick Pitino, the head coach for the University of Louisville men’s basketball team, has had an illustrious career that recently came to an abrupt end. Though neither nor the university were specifically mentioned by name in a recent indictment, it was very clear who the FBI was investigating. College athletic teams are often sponsored by a sports apparel company. In the case of Louisville, Adidas provided the shoes for the men’s basketball team. An athlete wearing their clothes is the best advertisement that a sports apparel company can have. The coaches at Louisville were involved in bribes, receiving money from to Adidas recruit high school players to their team. The coaches would also use money provided by Adidas to pay prospective students and their parents to have the high school athlete come to Louisville. One student received as much as $150,000. Adidas hoped that by making a number of these investments in high school students, some would eventually become pro athletes and then become very profitable advertisements for Adidas. Rick Pitino was dismissed from his coaching position for this infraction.
Application: There are unfortunate consequences to breaking legal and moral laws.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Upon learning of the scandal involving Rick Pitino and the Louisville men’s basketball program, the president of the university, Greg Postel, said: “I’m more angry than embarrassed.” He went on to say that Pitino would be replaced within 48 hours. In searching for a replacement Postel said, “We will be looking for someone with integrity.”
Application: When a law is broken, the victims are both angry and embarrassed if it reflects poorly upon them.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Roy Moore recently won the Republican senatorial primary in Alabama. He defeated Luther Strange, who was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when Sessions became U.S. attorney general. Strange had the backing President Trump, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, and the head of the state GOP. But Moore somehow seems to prevail in Alabama. Twice he was elected as chief justice to the Alabama Supreme Court and twice he was removed for ethics violations -- one for displaying the Ten Commandments and the other for not permitting the marriage of same-sex couples. Moore has also called Islam a false religion and homosexuals evil. But Moore continues to win elections. According to David Mowery, an Alabama political strategist, “The things that end careers for politicians elsewhere strengthen Roy Moore.”
Application: Some may continue to break the rules, but eventually it will catch up to them.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
The Village of Whitesboro, in central New York, recently changed its official seal. The seal depicted a wrestling match between the village’s founder, Hugh White, and an Oneida Indian chief. The original seal showed White with his hands on the chief’s neck, with the chief off-balance and falling backward. The new seal more accurately portrays a relationship of equality. White and the chief have their hands on each other shoulders, and both have their feet firmly planted on the ground.
Application: The commandments teach us to treat God with respect and our neighbor as an equal.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Saudi Arabia was the only Muslim country that did not allow women to drive. That rule has recently been revoked, and as of next year women will be able to drive automobiles. Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Washington and the king’s son, said: “This is the right time to do the right thing.”
Application: Rules are to protect the rights of individuals, not subjugate them.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
There has been much discussion about Russia influencing the 2016 presidential election. The Russians are accused of placing multiple false stories on Facebook and on Twitter favoring Donald Trump or with a dishonest portrayal of Hillary Clinton. Experts on the Russian government believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin did this to defeat Clinton because she has encouraged pro-democracy protests in Russia and neighboring states. Putin also desired to darken the image of the United States to the rest of the world, making America a less attractive country and reduce its international influence.
Application: Isaiah discusses how a country can suffer.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
On January 9, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave a farewell speech to the Massachusetts legislature before departing to Washington, DC to prepare for his presidency. Kennedy opened his speech with these words: “We shall be as a city upon a hill.” Kennedy was quoting John Winthrop, who used that phrase in his speech abroad the ship Arbella in 1630 as the Puritans were preparing to land in the New World. Kennedy was implying that the eyes of the world would be upon the new administration, and in so doing his presidency must be like a city upon a hill. Ronald Reagan used the same words from Winthrop’s speech in his first inaugural address, to illustrate that the United States under his administration would become the guiding light for the free world and the antithesis to communism.
Application: Isaiah desired that Jerusalem would be like a city upon a hill to the rest of the world.
*****
Philippians 3:4b-14
Ziggy, who appears in the daily newspaper comics, is a small, bald, trouserless, barefoot, almost featureless character -- save for his large nose. He seems to have no friends, hobbies, or romantic partner, and it appears that the problems of life are always confronting him. In one recent comic he is standing and looking very dejected. Ziggy says: “I used to worry about life passing me by... until I realized it had already lapped me years ago!”
Application: Paul instructs us that we are to be content in life if we know Jesus.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
Two brothers in Texas, Roy and Ryan Selders, realized that the coolers outdoorsmen often use were insufficient to keep things cold. The brothers discovered that a technique known as rotomolding, a process used for making kayaks, could also be used to make more durable and efficient coolers. The Selders developed a line of coolers called Yeti. These coolers are expensive, ranging in price from $300 to $1,300 -- far more expensive than your typical box-store $30 cooler. The Yeti cooler has become a fashion statement, and those who have no use for a Yeti in their urban life have purchased them.
Application: Jesus speaks of being content with what you have.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
Henry Gerecke is not a household name; yet he had one of the most significant callings in the history of the church. He was the chaplain to 21 Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials, and he shepherded five of the most notorious Nazis to the gallows. Gerecke, a Lutheran pastor from Missouri, was fluent in German and volunteered to serve in the army in 1943 when the military was desperate for men to serve in that capacity. His wartime duties took him to Dachau, where he was able to witness the results of the Nazi atrocities. At the time he was unaware of his future role. During the Nuremberg trials, those overseeing the proceedings learned of a German-speaking chaplain. They asked Gerecke to take on the role of minister to those accused of crimes against humanity. Gerecke accepted. During his counselling sessions he would only offer holy communion to those men who were truly penitent and confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. Only four sentenced to hang met Gerecke’s standard and received the eucharist. One unrepentant Nazi officer said: “This Jesus that you always speak of, to me he is just another smart Jew.” After the war Gerecke was criticized for ministering to the monsters of the Third Reich. Gerecke would respond that he considered his calling to the Nuremberg defendants to be a mission.
Application: This parable instructs us to see our work for the Lord as a mission.
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From team member Chris Keating:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Naming Them All
While it is now more than a decade old, there is a bit from Stephen Colbert’s old show (The Colbert Report) that remains timely. Colbert, in character, is interviewing then-congressman Lynn Westmoreland from Georgia about Westmoreland’s co-sponsoring of a bill requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in the House of Representatives and United States Senate. There’s a bit of bantering back and forth before Colbert goes for the money question by rather innocently asking the congressman: “What are the Ten Commandments?” It’s dated, but still a timely reminder that the commandments were meant to be words which sustained holy community rather than rhetoric for winning votes.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
God Has Sent a Judge
Garrison Keillor’s political satire is not for everyone, but his tongue-in-cheek column from last week provides an interesting take on Roy Moore’s GOP primary victory in the Alabama senate race. Moore, a Christian fundamentalist judge known for installing a statue of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom, edged out GOP incumbent Luther Strange. Keillor’s satirical response called the election “a ray of sunshine for those of us who’d like to restore stoning to our legal system and remove curse of profanity once and for all from our country.”
Other columnists opted for less humor. One noted that Moore believes that laws should be based on his interpretation of God’s laws, including urging capital punishment for homosexuality, and excluding Muslims and other non-Christians from constitutional protections because the constitution was founded on Christian principles. “You see,” Moore has said, “the First Amendment was established on Christian principles, because it was Jesus that said this: ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and render unto God the things that are God’s.”
*****
Psalm 19
Declaring the Glory of Creation
The psalmist sees God’s glory displayed in creation, with the heavens spilling forth the joyful, delightful law of God which revives the soul and enlightens the eyes. The psalm’s distinctive ecological perspective provides an opportunity to explore themes of sustainability and Earth stewardship. In a lecture at MIT last week, Swedish environmental scientist Johan Rockstrom called upon world leaders to take actions to “navigate the future for at least 9, potentially 10 billion” people on Earth.
Rockstrom is known for identifying nine “planetary boundaries” which he believes need to be observed in order to preserve and sustain life on Earth. These guidelines for government and business include climate change, biodiversity loss, the biogeochemical cycle on Earth, ocean acidification, land use, fresh water availability, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol levels, and chemical pollution. The ripple effects of violating these boundaries create stress across the planet, including the loss of more than 50 percent of the Australian Great Barrier reef, widespread extinction, and climate change.
***************
From team member Mary Austin:
Matthew 21:33-46
I Owe, I Owe
“I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go,” proclaims the old bumper sticker, parodying the seven dwarves. A recent survey of credit card debt says that “debt is a way of life for Americans, with overall U.S. household debt increasing by 11% in the past decade. Today, the average household with credit card debt has balances totaling $16,883, and the average household with any kind of debt owes $137,063, including mortgages. While ‘don’t spend above your means’ will always be sound advice, NerdWallet’s annual survey of household debt and its costs makes clear that increasing debt loads aren’t just a case of lifestyle creep. The rapid growth in medical and housing costs is dwarfing income growth, making it challenging for many families to make ends meet without leaning on credit cards and loans.”
Debt has grown because the rising cost of living “has outpaced income growth over the past 13 years. Median household income has grown 28% since 2003, but expenses have outpaced it significantly. Medical costs increased by 57% and food and beverage prices by 36% in that same span.” Debt is expensive. “The average household with credit card debt pays a total of $1,292 in credit card interest per year.”
Uncounted is the huge stress of being in debt, and juggling bills and creditors. What we owe to banks and credit cards is costly debt, unlike what we owe to God.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
Owing a Debt of Kindness
After the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, Bob Votruba decided that his response would be a million acts of kindness. He sold everything he owned, bought an old bus, and started to travel the country to inject kindness into our shared life. As the Huffington Post notes, “If kindness is love with its work boots on, Bob and his rescue dog Bogart have worn their boots down to the soles. They’ve traveled the country in an effort to inspire others to take up an important challenge: to commit one million acts of kindness during their lifetime. Bob and Bogart are focusing on putting an end to bullying and adolescent suicide, but Bob encourages everyone to choose a cause that speaks to them. In the end, all roads lead to the same place.”
Grieved by the shootings, Bob is paying a debt of kindness to a hurt world. “Through his talks to various groups, and students in particular, he stresses the tremendous impact that empathy and generosity can have on both the giver and receiver. While a million deeds takes a lifetime to finish, they include spiritual as well as physical acts. Just as important as holding a door or offering assistance are the acts of refraining from judgment or wishing someone well. Rather than dwell on the size of that daunting number, Bob suggests focusing on the kind thoughts we could generate for just one day. Habits form over time, and the ripple effect of these actions add up.”
Bob invites other people to take on this debt too. His website is www.onemillionactsofkindness.com. As the article says: “Leo Buscaglia once said our talents are God’s gift to us, but what we do with them is our gift to God. Bob Votruba is leaving us with quite a gift. The world needs more people like him, and I encourage you to seek him out when he and Bogart return at the end of summer. It’s the one school bus you won’t mind driving behind.”
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
The Debts That Shape Us
We think of debts as financial transactions, but Mary Frank has a different view. “The 82-year-old artist Mary Frank traces her earliest debts to the prehistoric images in books that her mother kept around the house. Their shadows have reappeared throughout her sculptures, paintings, and photographs. But she knows none of their creators’ names; there is no address where she can send a royalty check. The best repayment she can offer is the work of her own hands.” She believes that these debts have enriched her, not made her poorer. “The creditors that Frank can name are those who have motivated and influenced her. She talks about studying dance under the legendary, demanding choreographer Martha Graham, about El Greco and Proust and Gerard Manley Hopkins, about a pair of Guggenheim fellowships, about Peter Matthiessen, her recently departed friend, and about music. When she was broke, she’d trade pictures for things she needed. (‘Dentists, you know, have great art collections.’) As time went on, her debts grew larger and even harder to quantify. She lost her two children; all the world’s children came to feel like hers. The first thing she always wants to talk about is her advocacy for low-cost solar cookers in places where women would otherwise have to cook over flames fueled by scarce wood or poisonous garbage. ‘I feel a debt to the sun,’ she says.”
What if our spiritual and mental debts make us richer and more connected to the world, instead of making us feel poor and burdened?
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
The Debts That Free Us
Nathan Schneider writes for Yes magazine about people who use a need for money to build bridges with other people. “When Marisa Egerstrom, a seminary student, needed $2,000 for a summer training program a few months ago, she said so on a Facebook status. Within days, she’d easily gotten it from her network; the restitution her lenders asked for included making puppets for a church in Fiji, designing ‘some kind of subversive liturgy,’ and simply to ‘pay it forward.’ ‘I get to multiply the connectedness of the community by including others in the so-called transaction,’ she told me.” What she owed to people became both more and less than the amount of money.
Similarly, graphic designer Ellen Davidson and her partner, house-painter Tarak Kauff, live in a small home that seems to be a favorite drop-in spot for friends and family. “To an unusual degree, I can attest that guests there feel license to act as if they were at home -- to peck at the piano keys, to warm some milk and whirl it into foam. Perhaps this has something to do with the nature of its owners’ underlying debts. When they were looking for a place to live, Davidson and Kauff could’ve gotten a bank loan, but as longtime activists against corporate overreach, they wanted something better. Kauff refers to what they got instead as ‘non-oppressive debt’: a mortgage made of loans from family and friends. Over the years, those they borrowed from have grown closer through the arrangement, and some have stopped cashing the payment checks. To the lenders, it’s enough to see the house become a home to Davidson and Kauff, as well as to an extended community. ‘The loan has turned into a gift,’ Davidson says.”
We think of debt as an obligation, but it may also be a gift if we understand it in different ways.
*****
Matthew 21:33-46
What If We Don’t Measure?
The idea of owing a debt requires that someone is counting. Someone has to measure what we owe, and keep track of how we pay it back. But what if we stop measuring, wonders Leo Babauta. We are people dedicating to measuring things, he notes, but why? “When you track a metric, such as hours or dollars or miles, you are saying that’s more important than all the things that can’t be measured. You put that in the forefront of your head as the thing that must be improved, at the cost of all else. What about relationships and joy? Are those less important? Then there are other problems with tracking and measuring everything: It takes time to measure and track -- that’s valuable time you could have spent doing or living.”
He adds: “Let’s take the example of a mother or father -- do we measure all the activities we do as parents, so we are motivated to improve and keep doing them? Do we measure: Hugs given, time spent reading to kids, time spent preparing meals for them... and so on? No, we just do all of that and more. Why?... It’s simple: we do those things because we love them, and we love our kids. We are also motivated to learn more about being parents, to see if there are better ways of doing things, not by the measuring and tracking, but because we love being parents and want to be good parents. No tracking needed.”
This may not work for credit card debt, but it will work for our relationship with God. “Do for the love of doing, for the love of others,” Babauta says. “That’s unmeasurable, and profoundly life-changing.” Jesus would approve.
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From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
The Evolution of Law
According to a 3rd-century rabbi, Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands. David reduced them to 11 in Psalm 15. Isaiah made them 6 (Isaiah 33:14, 15). Micah 6:8 binds them into 3 commands. Habbakuk reduces them all to one great statement: The just shall live by faith.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
How Rules Get Changed
The impetus for changing laws and rules can come from almost anywhere, and nowhere is this more true than in the game of American football, especially professional football. Rule changes have been the result of controversies regarding plays or players, unusual circumstances, trends in scoring, injuries, and penalties.
The first NFL playoff game between the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans in 1932 -- a game forced indoors by deep snow and frigid temperatures -- inspired one of the most significant rules changes in NFL history. Because the indoor field was significantly smaller than a normal football field some special rules had to be brought into play, but even with those rule changes the game was dominated by the defense. The score remained 0-0 until the fourth quarter, when the Bears scored on a controversial touchdown: Carl Brumbaugh handed the ball off to fullback Bronko Nagurski, who faked a plunge into the line, pulled up, jumped, and threw the ball to Red Grange in the end zone for the score. Rules at the time mandated that a forward pass had to be thrown from at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Spartans argued that Nagurski did not drop back five yards before passing to Grange, but the touchdown stood. The Bears later scored a safety after the Spartans fumbled the ball out of their end zone and won the game 9-0.
The Spartans and their fans complained, but Grange and Nagurski were two of the NFL’s most popular players. So in 1933 the NFL changed the rules to allow passes from anywhere behind the line. That change popularized the passing attack, which boosted scoring and differentiated NFL play from the college game, which kept the five yard rule for some time.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
According to Hoyle
In 1743 the Hoyle brand was first established with a small book by Englishman Edmond Hoyle, a tutor, writer, and lawyer by trade. Today he is best known as an expert on the rules and strategies behind card games and board games including chess and backgammon. While working as a tutor to the aristocracy, Hoyle composed a booklet on the rules of the game of whist for his clients, which became quite popular throughout London during the 1740s. This led him to publish and copyright A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist: Containing the Laws of the Game and Also Some Rules. His expertise became so widely accepted and he was so widely consulted regarding the rules of games that the phrase “according to Hoyle” became part of common English parlance.
In 1753 he published A Short Treatise on the Game of Backgammon. Edmond Hoyle died in 1769, but his magnum opus was published posthumously as Hoyles Games 1770 edition: The New Hoyle Containing Easy Rules for Playing the Games of Whist, Quadrille, Cribbage, Piquet, Chess, Backgammon.
In 1979 Edmond Hoyle’s contributions to the world of gaming were recognized when he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, an elite group of the world’s greatest poker players of all time. Quite an achievement, as he died before the game of poker was even invented.
*****
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Some Silly Rules and Laws
The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette, which was published in 1952, existed solely to explain proper behavior, especially for young women. Here are its ground rules for successful dating: “A girl not out of her teens would do better to avoid [dinner at a bachelor’s] unless others, considerably more mature than she, are present. A career girl, from her twenties onward, can accept such an invitation but should not stay beyond ten or ten-thirty.”
In 1895, Lady Constance Howard penned “Etiquette of Dinners” for Home Chat. And for most of us, following these rules would lead to some seriously boring dinner party conversations. According to Howard, not only should the subjects of politics and religion be avoided at all costs during conversation, but “the hostess who possesses tact will not discuss music or painting with persons who have no taste for either.” Seriously? If I can’t openly quote my favorite ridiculous lines from the latest presidential debate, then what’s the point of even going to a social gathering?
In the late 1800s, well-mannered people were taught to keep their laughter to a minimum, and smiling for too long was frowned upon.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God.
People: The firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
Leader: The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul.
People: The decrees of God are sure, making wise the simple;
Leader: Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts
People: Be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer.
OR
Leader: Come and offer the praise that is due to our God.
People: God’s glory calls us to offer our worship and praise.
Leader: Offer the service that God’s sovereignty calls for.
People: We are God’s servants and offer ourselves to God’s work.
Leader: Give to others the love that God intends for all the world.
People: God’s love is our gift, and we offer it freely.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELA: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29
“Ye Servants of God”
found in:
UMH: 181
H82: 535
PH: 477
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 189
H82: 383, 384
PH: 306
NNBH: 75
NCH: 44
CH: 97
W&P: 123
AMEC: 95
Renew: 166
“I Surrender All”
found in:
UMH: 354
AAHH: 396
NNBH: 198
W&P: 474
AMEC: 251
“Take My Life, and Let It Be”
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELA: 583, 685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
“A Charge to Keep I Have”
found in:
UMH: 413
AAHH: 467, 468
NNBH: 436
AMEC: 242
“What Does the Lord Require”
found in:
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”
found in:
UMH: 453
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460
“For the Gift of Creation”
found in:
CCB: 67
“We Are His Hands”
found in:
CCB: 85
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 our Creator and our Sovereign: Grant us the wisdom to recognize what you require of us so that we may offer you the fruits you deserve: justice, mercy, and humility;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We worship you, O God, because you are our Creator and our Sovereign. You gave us the wonderful world with its inhabitants that we might care for all of it. Help us to realize what you require of us as inhabitants of your world so that we may joyfully offer you the fruits your deserve. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to offer to God that which is due God’s glory.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have eagerly taken all that we can from creation without regard to who truly owns it. We have selfishly claimed more than is our share, and we have ignored your calls to care for the earth and to care for one another. You have asked only that we love you and take care of one another, and we have totally failed in both. Forgive our shameful behavior, and renew your Spirit within us so that we might truly offer to you that which you desire: our love and our care of others. Amen.
Leader: God is a gracious creator and loves all of us. Receive God’s love and grace, and with the power of God’s Spirit be renewed as a faithful tenant in God’s vineyard.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise and glorify your name, O God, because you have gifted us with the wonders of creation and your awesome love and care.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have eagerly taken all that we can from creation without regard to who truly owns it. We have selfishly claimed more than is our share, and we have ignored your calls to care for the earth and to care for one another. You have asked only that we love you and take care of one another, and we have totally failed in both. Forgive our shameful behavior, and renew your Spirit within us so that we might truly offer to you that which you desire: our love and our care of others.
We give you thanks for the wonders of this earth. It sustains us with its resources and dazzles us with its beauty. We are grateful for all the glories of creation, from the vastness of space to the incredible complexity of things too small for us to see.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray especially for those who have been denied justice and mercy because of greediness. We pray for justice for all your people, and we pray we may help bring that justice to them.
(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 a ticket to an event. Tell them about it, and ask them how they think you got the ticket. Of course, you likely bought it. To go to the event you have to pay something. We have all received tickets to live on God’s earth. The price of our ticket is to love God and take care of each other.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Supplies needed:
* a receipt from a restaurant
* poster board (any size that is visible to the children and the congregation)
* a marker
(Greet the children and welcome them. Show the children a receipt from a restaurant. Point out the itemized bill: each item that was ordered is listed, with a price. There’s a line for the tax on the meal. There’s another line for the tip you add to the bill. All of these items get added together to make up the total that you pay for your meal -- and there’s a line for that total.)
I was thinking the other day that I’m awfully busy around the church. I’m a volunteer here, but I do a lot of “free” work for God. I wonder how much I might get paid if I charged God for all the work I do.
Can you help me make up a receipt for God, to track how much God owes me for my work?
(Hold up the poster board and begin to list the different things you do around the church; invite the children to name the amount you should charge God for your work.)
Each Sunday I prepare a children’s message. How much should I charge God for this work? (Encourage the children to offer different dollar amounts; you may need to prompt them.) $5, $10, $20? Should I charge God $20 for a children’s message? (Write on poster board: Children’s Message, $20)
(Continue to name different work you do at the church and invite children to help you create a bill to present to God. You can include such activities as: singing in the choir, handing out bulletins, greeting people at the door, making coffee, washing the dishes, praying, coming to worship, teaching Sunday school, and so on.)
(Write each activity and its charge on the poster. Add the total. Write it on the poster, and identify it as your bill to God.)
If I present this bill to God for all the things I do around the church, what do you think God could charge me for all that God does for me? How much do you think God could charge me for loving me? For forgiving me? For giving me life? For giving me a church to be part of? (Encourage the children to offer their responses.)
Do you think I could pay God for all that God does for me?
God doesn’t give us a bill, or charge us money for the gifts God gives to us. Instead, God gives us God’s Laws for us to follow. You know the two Great Commandments Jesus talked about: To love God with all your heart, mind, and soul; To love your neighbor as yourself.
This is the “payment” God asks of us for all that God gives to us: God asks us to love God and to love one another.
I think I’m getting a better deal with God -- God does so much wonderful stuff for me and doesn’t charge me for it. I think I should probably just forget giving God a bill for what I do around the church! (Have the children help you tear up your “bill” for God.)
To respond to God’s love for me, I’m going to try to love God and love all of you in this room, and all of God’s people in the world.
Prayer: Thank you, O God, that you don’t give us a bill, charging us money for all the gifts you give to us. Thank you that you do everything out of love for us. Help us to respond to you by loving you and loving one another. Help us to be grateful to you for everything! Amen.
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The Immediate Word, October 8, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
