Constructing A Platform For Justice
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
The news cycle during the past two weeks has been dominated by the political conventions -- gatherings at which each major party formally nominated their candidates for president and vice-president while adopting platforms specifying their policy proposals for “making America great.” There was a great deal of speechifying -- much of it containing soaring rhetoric appealing to the virtues embedded in deeply-held American mythology (e.g., the work ethic, the American dream, and American exceptionalism). But we’ve also heard lots of fear-mongering -- not just about the perils of electing the opposing party’s candidates, but about the broken state of various aspects of our society too... and each party maintains that only their candidates and the actions specified in their platforms can save us from impending doom.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Chris Keating suggests that the prophet Isaiah offers an alternative vision: God’s platform, so to speak. After opening with a stinging indictment of how Israel’s elaborate religious rituals are pointless in the larger scheme of things, Isaiah offers a brief, to-the-point list of Yahweh’s platform planks for living: “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” This week’s other lectionary texts reinforce that theme: the psalmist reminds us of the costs of turning away from the Lord and failing to live up to the blueprint God has set out for us, while the writer of Hebrews pens a paean to faith that posits it as the force which sustains us and gives us the strength to persist even in the face of seeming impossibility and implacable opposition.
Team member Beth Herrinton-Hodge shares some additional thoughts on the temptation to let fear rule in our lives. Given the continuing barrage of violent incidents around the world, it’s an understandable response -- yet, Beth reminds us, the writer of Hebrews tells us there’s a powerful antidote: faith. It’s faith that keeps fear and cynicism from overtaking us, for with faith we acknowledge that we are “seeking a homeland.” While politicians prey upon our fears, they also return again and again to the image of America as a “shining city on a hill” -- but the writer of Hebrews points out that God’s people “desire a better country,” one that the Almighty has prepared for us.
Constructing a Platform for Justice
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
For two weeks bundles of bluster, rounds of rhetoric, and piles of political pitches have been slathered across our television screens... and this is just the beginning.
During those weeks, cavalcades of party loyalists delivered the expected wisdom of political conventions: “Listen up, America! There are problems afoot, and only our side has the answers!” Hours of speeches have turned what once were smoke-filled convention halls of wheeling and dealing into gavel-to-gavel infomercials akin to Billy Mays’ “OxiClean” ads.
Lengthy -- if at times less than completely truthful -- orations set the parameters of this year’s debate. A parade of elected officials and celebrities took to the airwaves, denouncing the other side while outlining their party’s platform. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton now take that message to the voters, racing toward the November finish line.
One side barks “Step right up, America: I and only I have the solution to what ails us!” while another proclaims “We’ll fix it together.” Hard-won political capital has been spent fashioning both parties’ platforms. The issues are set, and the campaigns are ready. Roll out the bus tours! Unleash the fact-checkers! As the Epistle of Hebrews muses, it is all an indication that “they desire a better country.”
It’s just politics, of course. But even in this somewhat atypical election year, the rhetoric and tactics sound similar, if not predictable. Perhaps that is why people of faith ought to consider Isaiah’s word from the Lord: “When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation -- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.”
Isaiah’s message is not approved by any candidate, though the prophet remains insistent in his call to build a platform of justice, righteousness, and faith.
In the News
Forget the dog days of August. This year seems to be the dog-eat-dog days of politics.
Following the GOP gathering, which Trump called “one of the most peaceful, one of the most beautiful, one of the most love-filled conventions in the history of conventions,” the Democrats gathered in the “city of brotherly love” for their own quadrennial family reunion. Both parties used their conventions to sell their platforms to the voting public. For the Republicans, the convention sounded themes of despair and trouble, while the Democrats adopted a more irenic tone for their confab -- at times nearly echoing undertones of Ronald Reagan’s famous “morning in America” ad.
No one was more surprised by these movements than the political pundits. Conservative commentator Ron Fournier had this to say in a tweet: “Well done, @RealDonaldTrump. You made the Democrats a party of sunny patriotism and values.” National Review editor Jonah Goldberg was even more pointed in his criticism when he tweeted that the Democrats were “about loving America. GOP convention was about loving Trump. If you didn’t love Trump, it offered nada.”
The fanfare and speeches provide the soundbites, but the true substance of the conventions is found in the each of the party’s platforms -- lengthy statements that this year underscored party infighting and squabbles for control. For Republicans, the call to the faithful began with a renewing of American exceptionalism. The document upholds traditional GOP talking points: a stronger economy, open markets, lower taxes, less national debt, greater personal responsibility. It argues for traditional marriage, against abortion, for gun ownership, for the defense of religious liberty, and against many environmental regulations.
Similarly, there were few surprises in the Democratic platform, which largely centers on calls for unity to overcome division. Shaped by many of Bernie Sanders’ challenges to Clinton, the platform is a largely progressive document which outlines familiar Democratic themes such as an economy that works for all people, reducing income inequality, support for working families, and addressing racial inequity.
Despite their wordiness and deftly crafted positions, modern political platforms are sometimes seen to lack the meatiness of past generations in terms of promoting particular political visions. As Daniel DiSalvo and James W. Ceaser observe in the Atlantic:
So it goes: Trump proposed policies at odds with many conservative positions, and Sanders moved the Democratic Party’s platform to the left. The result is a greater degree of intra-party tensions than usual, making 2016 the most interesting platform process of this century. Yet it would take an event of far more dramatic proportions than has occurred so far to restore the platforms to anything like their previous role -- when they were the documents that defined the “vision” of the national party. The more modest place of the platform today has resulted from big changes in the method of selecting nominees, in the relationship between party and nominee, and in communications technology.
Their point is well taken, especially when one considers what could be called “the elephant in the room.”
The elephant, of course, is Trump himself. Notably, the candidate refuses to avoid the typical path to the White House. The latest example, of course, has been the ongoing blowback surrounding the appearance at the Democratic convention by Khizr and Ghazala Khan, parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in battle. Khizr Khan’s emotional speech criticized Trump’s proposal to ban some Muslims from immigrating, and rebuked him for not understanding the United States Constitution.
Khan’s comment was too juicy for Trump to ignore, and his response resulted in a flashpoint that could potentially pivot the election. On Monday, Republican politicians such as John McCain denounced Trump’s counterattack on the Khans, calling on the nominee to “set an example for our country and the future of the Republican party.”
Trump has mastered the art of trash-talk political rhetoric, though he certainly holds no monopoly on its use. (Recall, for example, the late Ann Richards -- who would soon become the governor of Texas -- who in 1988 famously remarked, “Poor George [H.W.] Bush. He can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth,” or Bill Clinton’s pointed comments in 2008 about Barack Obama.) Yet Trump’s continued pushing back against the Khans seems different than typical bulldog politics.
As the campaign continues, the chasms between us deepen. It becomes harder and harder to imagine hearing a voice cry out: “[L]earn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” As Isaiah understands it, the call of God is to work things out, and to discover reconciliation.
It’s a call to build a platform of righteousness and justice, and a call to embark on a campaign of faith. Such a campaign and such a platform will indeed sound quite different from the views advanced in our current political climate.
In the Scriptures
While our parishioners are enjoying their final weekends at the lake or trips to the shore, and politicians make their case for America’s future, the lectionary leads us in search of faith. Such a quest, as Hebrews points out, is indeed a search for a better country. Yet balancing politics and preaching is never easy -- notice what happened to Jesus when he suggested giving to Caesar the things which belong to earthly emperors, or even what may have happened to your predecessor when he or she suggested removing the American flag from the sanctuary.
But the lectionary offers an invitation to come and reason together, something neither party seems particularly adept at doing. For Isaiah, this reasoning together includes bold visions of justice and faithful worship. Isaiah points to a vision of faith that sees beyond idolatrous worship. His platform invokes the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities which were the embodiment of evil. Despite our inclination, their sins were not sexual as much as they were sins of greed and injustice.
His continues his theme by denouncing leaders who impose hefty taxation and participate in state-sponsored oppression. By heaping burdens on the poor, they have become burdens to God. As Anna Case-Winters observes in Feasting on the Word, these texts resonate with the church by reminding Christians that true worship is worship which orients our lives toward God. Worship that participates in acts of injustice is not worship. Isaiah is firm: the platform upon which God’s people are called to build their lives is centered on forgiveness, reconciliation, and the ability to learn how to do good.
Of course, as Hebrews points out, living by such faith means living by promises that cannot be seen. It means hoping for things which are eternal, even if those promises cannot be fully comprehended or visualized at the moment. Such was the faith of Abraham, the Bible’s first real estate mogul. Yet even at an advanced age, Abraham liquidated his assets and took off on the highway of faith. He lived by the promise of God. In spite of his old eyes, Abraham could see things others could not. He embarked on a campaign knowing that, despite all the evidence, God would hold up to God’s end of the bargain.
Such faith is centered on the activities Isaiah describes. As it ventures forward, it takes the planks of righteousness to construct a platform of justice.
In the Sermon
Political platforms come and go, yet the word of God endures. Rather than hitching the sermon to a particular candidate or party, a sermon from these texts could illustrate the contours of faithful living in a time characterized by division, anger, and spite-filled rhetoric. Both the Old Testament and epistle readings describe a bold and adventuresome God who gets to work in the world. To shape our lives according to the worship prescribed by Isaiah is to adopt practices (“platforms”) which lead to righteousness and faithful living. Likewise, the journey of faith in Hebrews is a journey undertaken with Jesus, whose presence offers the church assurance and conviction -- even of things not seen.
It is difficult to see the future -- no matter what our candidates tell us. The sermon, however, could provide a soothing word of hope in an otherwise blistering summer of anger and acrimonious debate. God’s people are called to faith-filled worship (even on a Sunday when many parishioners are enjoying themselves on their boats!). God’s people journey forward with delight and joy, determination and courage, setting aside what Hebrews will name as the things which cling so closely, and plunging forward in hope. This is the future for which we hope. It is not a place of empty words and nice-sounding prayers (as Isaiah notes), but rather it is characterized by a robust faith intent on doing good and ceasing evil.
The sermon could offer a different perspective than what will be found in the headlines of the Sunday paper, or discussed on the Sunday political shows, or heard on NPR. Instead of conversations filled with cynicism and xenophobic fear, it could invite a journey toward hope. In place of offerings that do not come from changed hearts, the sermon could name practices that will heal. The preacher knows her or his context very well -- and can surely name ways these texts implore God’s people to build platforms of justice and to undertake campaigns of righteousness and hope.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Hebrews 11:1-3, 11-16
My 12-year-old daughter asked me: “But why do so many people like him? And why do they get so mad at people who don’t like him?”
She and her middle school friends have an agreement to not talk politics with one another. All but one in her circle of friends wants to see Hillary Clinton become president. But there’s one boy who hates Hillary and loves Trump. Their little group has agreed that it’s not worth losing friendships over political disagreements. I wish some of my adult friends would follow the practices of these 12-year-olds.
The only answer I could think to give her was this: “Many politicians play on people’s fears. People have seen and experienced a lot of changes in these past several years -- changes that have hurt them, changes that many think have hurt our country. The politicians recognize this. If you pay attention to what they’re talking about, you’ll hear them playing on people’s fears. People think these political leaders understand how they feel. Many believe that these leaders can make things better. So they follow the leaders who talk about what people fear -- who come across as strong and commanding, who say they will take care of the bad things and make everything right. So much of what is being talked about these days is people’s fear.”
Granted, I tried to simplify what I hear and observe in our political rhetoric for my 12-year-old. I am aware that many of the political leanings expressed by children are those overheard from their parents and other adults in their lives. From our voices and actions, our children form impressions and opinions. They pick up on our fear, our hatred, our compassion, our hope.
What do we communicate with our children about the fear that seems so rampant in our lives and in our world? What hope can we point to when things seem scary, out of control, ever-changing?
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. -- Hebrews 11:1-3
The world we live in is an ominous place. You and I read the headlines. We hear the news accounts:
* A truck plows through crowds gathered to celebrate a national holiday in France.
* A priest is slain while celebrating Mass; nuns and parishioners are held hostage by the assailants.
* Young people are targets of a rampage at a Sunday night teen gathering at a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida -- an atrocity that follows closely on the heels of the mass shooting on Latino Night at an Orlando gay club.
* A man in Boston threatens to burn down a mosque in the city, just one among many threats received by leaders of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center.
Some of these events can be attributed to terrorists. Others inspire people to call for tighter gun control. Many events fall under the category of hate crimes. Other shooting rampages that have plagued our country have come at the hands of people suffering with mental illness. There’s no one scapegoat who bears the blame for these tragic events. Instead, we read the headlines. We interpret the culprits as some other whom we can point fingers at and where we can lodge our fear.
It’s ISIS. It’s the gays. It’s the guns. It’s the Muslims. It’s the mentally ill. It’s the immigrants. It’s the Russians. It’s the blacks. It’s the blues. It’s any other that is not us. And we should be afraid... very afraid... of them all.
I get it. But I don’t agree with these sentiments. Yes, I read the headlines. Yes, they can be fearsome. But I don’t believe that any of these news stories can be boiled down to a simple us/them black-and-white blame game. They speak to me of the complexity of our lives and of our world -- of how hatred, fear, mistrust, pain, anger, and illness are very real. We don’t have control over the others in our world. To somebody, each one of us can be labeled other.
Demonizing the other and insulating ourselves from every threat and fear is not the answer. Yet fear is the currency of the political realm. Political rhetoric plays on our fear because fear is very real, and very accessible.
Many feel raw, vulnerable, powerless. It’s relatively easy for public figures to come swooping in -- stoking our fears, then promising to keep us safe.
As a colleague noted, “The convention speeches of the past two weeks offer an interesting contrast in their varying mix of fear and aspiration -- two key forces in politics. Faith obviously aligns more with hope and aspiration. But as we all know, fear is a powerful motivator in the voting booth... especially in a time where violence and seemingly random attacks (whether of the terrorist or street-crime variety) seem to be rampant, as well as anxiety about economic security.”
What word does scripture give us to face our fear? To inspire hope beyond fear?
In Hebrews 11, we find a synopsis and an interpretation of Abraham’s journey of fear and faith. He was called to leave his home to travel to a new land, to a land where he was not known, where he would be a stranger to others. Was he afraid? Would you be afraid in his situation? Yet “he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
“[Abraham] received power of procreation, even though he was too old -- and Sarah herself was barren” (Hebrews 11:11). Can you imagine becoming a parent at Abraham’s age? At Sarah’s age? Be afraid... be very afraid! Yet their hope was in the One who called them -- the One who promised them a God, a land, and a people. They took risks. They stepped out. They doubted. They struggled. They clung to God’s promises. This gave them hope, even in the face of fear and doubt.
Abraham and Sarah, Noah, Abel... each of these persons put their hope in God. Their hope did not take away their fear, their suffering, their ridicule, their death. Their hope, their faith in God’s providence and promises, steeled them to face their fears, to face the unknown -- to live into the lives God called them to even when they encountered struggle and fear.
By faith, Abraham and Sarah and others in scripture “understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible” (Hebrews 11:3). By faith in God, they did not let fear guide them or overtake them. Thus, they were free to hope in “a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).
We also have this hope.
When headlines spout news that raises our fear, when public figures exploit our fear and demonize others, we have another authority who authors a better promise. We have a “faith [that] is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
How does our faith in God influence where we place our hope? How does our faith inform the way we hear and filter the fear-filled messages swirling around us? How does our faith ground our lives and actions, so that what we say and what we do in front of our children communicates the hope and trust and security and promise found in God?
The final word for God’s people is not fear -- it is faith: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Genuine Sacrifices
Fed up with appearances, God speaks through Isaiah to tell the people to stop making sacrifices that look good but mean nothing. An exasperated God says: “bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me.... I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me.” Boston couple Jeff Kaufman and Julia Wise are determined to make sacrifices that make a difference. The two have decided to live frugally so they can give away most of their combined income: “For the past few years they’ve been giving away nearly 60 percent of their after-tax income to charities working to reduce poverty and save lives in developing countries. Despite a combined income well into the six figures, they spend little more than $15,000/year on themselves. Since 2008 they’ve given away more than $250,000. That’s a lot of money, and it sounds like a big sacrifice. But they insist that it isn’t. In her blog, Julia writes, ‘The things we love most -- spending time with family and friends, making music, dancing, cooking, reading -- are all things we can do on a small budget. If we gave less, we would spend more on ourselves but probably wouldn’t be noticeably happier.’ She says that giving is one of the most important things in her life, and she does it because she believes that ‘people -- all people, even far-away people -- should not have to suffer and die needlessly.’ ”
In spite of the amount they give away, the two feel like they’re not making impossible sacrifices. Julia Wise writes: “You don’t have to be rich to be generous. It might be easier for people with heaps of money, but those of us who have to think about rent and groceries can still do a lot. My grandmother donated 10 percent of her income for as long as she controlled her own money, even when she was living off social security checks.”
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Unfailing Treasure
“Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven,” Jesus says. Tyrone Curry worked as a school custodian before he won $3.4 million in the lottery -- and afterward he kept the job, continuing to go to work every day. Curry did spend some of the money, however: “After hitting the jackpot, Curry bought new cars, a time share, and took care of his family and students, buying 40 new uniforms and putting up $40,000 for a new track.” But he held onto the job, saying that “if you’re not busy you get old, and I never want to feel that way.”
Curry only quit his job when he was elected to the school board, and couldn’t do both. His job gave him a different kind of treasure than the kind he won in the lottery, and he realized that he needed both.
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Finding Treasure
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Jesus reminds us -- but no one would expect to find any kind of treasure in an old couch. In 2014, three roommates bought a used couch and realized that it was uncomfortably lumpy. Poking around, “they kept finding more envelopes in the couch, pulling money out of it like an upholstered ATM. [One] added, ‘The most money I’d ever found in a couch was like 50 cents. Honestly, I’d be ecstatic to find just $5 in a couch.’ The discovery was like a dream for the three friends, all of whom [were] either in college or recent graduates. As they counted the money, they talked about what they might do with it... then they spotted a name among the envelopes, and realized they were faced with an ethical puzzle.”
The three roommates tracked down the previous owner of the couch, and went to her home. They learned that “the money was socked away out of the woman’s late husband’s concerns that he wouldn’t always be there for his wife (she has chosen to remain anonymous). It represented decades of savings, including wages from the woman’s job as a florist. For years, she also slept on the couch. But recent back problems led her daughter and son-in-law to replace it with a bed, meaning that the couch had to go.” She was thrilled to have the money returned to her.
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Treasured Memory
Sometimes a small gesture can make a big difference, and a treasure can come in a very small form. A reader at Kindspring recalls: “In fourth grade we were supposed to bring in a dime for a folder to use in class. My parents were divorced and money was in short supply. Watching my mom fend off creditors, I did not have the nerve to ask her for a dime. When I got to school I really wished I had asked my mother for the dime, because everybody else in class had the dime ready on their desk for the teacher. I was embarrassed and felt silly. Somehow a girl named Karen, sitting next to me, saw my personal suffering and waited until the last second to put a dime on the corner of my desk. Even though I never said a word, she saw my quiet anguish and only wanted to relieve it. She said nothing, and I was too embarrassed to say thank you. It was the most genuine, authentic act of kindness I’ve ever experienced.”
The treasure was the dime -- plus the experience of the understanding compassion.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
In a Hagar the Horriblecomic strip, the rough Viking warrior Hagar is seeking religious counsel from his friar. The monk informs Hagar, “Brother Hagar, if you will listen to God you will never go wrong!” Hagar, looking dismayed at the monk with his tonsure haircut (hair around the edges of the scalp with a bald pate on top), replies, “I take it God didn’t recommend your barber.” [By the way, the hair circulating the scalp was meant to represent the crown of thorns worn by Christ.] (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: It can be difficult for us to understand and obey the commandments of God.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
In a Cornered comic, a destitute homeless man is sitting on the sidewalk. He is speaking to another individual who seem to be in a similar situation. The only thing the first gentleman has to say is, “I stepped out of my comfort zone once. When I got back, they had changed the locks.” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Perhaps Isaiah wants us to step out of our comfort zones, allowing the locks to be changed so that we can have a new beginning.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Indiana governor Mike Pence has accepted the Republican party’s vice-presidential nomination. Pence describes himself as “Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” Remaining true to that conviction, Pence says: “A society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable -- the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn.”
Application: If elected, we do not know if Mr. Pence will remain true to his political ideology -- but at this moment he does reflect the views of Isaiah.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence was once involved in negative campaigning that destroyed the character of his opponents. He now realizes that this type of campaign is wrong and violates his Christian faith. Pence said, “Negative campaigning, I know is wrong.” Pence went on to quote the Bible about Jesus and sin, saying, “A campaign ought to demonstrate the basic human decency of the candidate.”
Application: We can only hope that during the coming election Pence can remain obedient to that Christian conviction.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
At first it may seem that Paul Reichler is not a patriot. But this is dispelled when one learns that he is a man with a deep sense of justice who is always willing to represent the underdog. Reichler is one of the few lawyers who are allowed to present cases before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Reichler realized that the al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were not being treated humanely. Thus he took their case before the international tribunal. Reichler said had he “no qualms about defending the prisoners.” He went on to say, “In the early years, the conditions and treatment at Guantanamo were so appalling and really contrary to American values. I believe in those values, and I believed in fighting for them in representing [Ibrahim] al-Qosi.”
Application: Isaiah always knew a sense of justice.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Dorothy Day had a turbulent adulthood. She was a liberal Chicago journalist who was often jailed for her demonstrations promoting women’s suffrage. Day had a common-law marriage that was soon dissolved after the birth of her daughter. After that traumatic experience, she was converted to Roman Catholicism and became very active in her endeavors for the poor. Perhaps Day is best known as the founder of the Catholic Worker movement. Dorothy Day once told a gathering, “What the Lord wants from us is as many steps as we can manage.”
Application: We are to manage as many steps of change as possible.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
James P. Grant, the former executive director of UNICEF, said: “Three million children died last year because they didn’t have 50 cents worth of vaccine in them.” It is amazing how a few seemingly insignificant steps on our part could change the composition of the entire world. If we had the faith to give a larger financial donation to the church, to witness to a friend, to teach a Sunday school class, to serve on a community board, to befriend the outcast, to have a joyful countenance, the world would be a more wonderful place in which to dwell.
Application: Isaiah knew how each small act of justice could change a nation.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, with a 19-ton refrigerator truck, killing 84 people. French president François Hollande asked why, of all the cities in France, Nice was selected. Answering his own question, Hollande said, “Why Nice? Because it is a city that is known worldwide, one of the most beautiful cities on the planet.”
Application: Did the people of Israel realize that they were living in one of the most beautiful countries of the world?
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Forbes magazine just announced that Taylor Swift is this year’s highest-paid celebrity, with an income of $170 million. She came above Katy Perry, who at #63 earned only $41 million. To the surprise of many, Madonna was #12 at $76.5 million.
Application: All of that money is great, but let us hope they are prepared for the coming hour.
*****
Luke 12:32-40
The television variety show Maya & Marty just ended after a brief run. It was popular, with 4.6 million viewers, but not popular enough to sustain the show. Producer Lorne Michaels took a chance with the program, saying that “Television has been recycling forms for a long time.” Michaels realized that variety shows were central to television 30 and 40 years ago, and he felt it was time to introduce a new one, even if for a brief period.
Application: The truth of Jesus is always being recycled.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
People: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
Leader: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
People: God calls to the heavens above and to the earth.
Leader: The heavens declare God’s righteousness.
People: God, our God, is judge.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who seeks justice and mercy.
People: We come to worship, but we also come with fear.
Leader: God invites us to enter into a life of faith that casts out fear.
People: We long for a faith so strong it can conquer all.
Leader: It is God’s gift to you, and through you to all the world.
People: We will embrace God’s gift and share it with others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“How Great Thou Art”
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELA: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
“I Come with Joy”
found in:
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELA: 482
W&P: 706
Renew: 195
“All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded”
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELA: 757
“Jesus Calls Us”
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELA: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
“Lord, I Want to Be a Christian”
found in:
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
W&P: 457
AMEC: 282
Renew: 145
“I Am Thine, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
“This Is My Song”
found in:
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELA: 887
STLT: 159
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“I Will Call upon the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 9
Renew: 15
“You Are Mine”
found in:
CCB: 58
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 calls us to justice and mercy: Grant us the courage to answer your call in the midst of all who speak of fear and doom; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for being the God of justice and mercy. You call us, your children, to act as your presence in this world. Help us to have the courage to respond to the fear and doom around us with acts of grace and compassion. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our being swept up in a climate of fear.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We know we are your people, filled with your Spirit, and yet we succumb to the cries of doom all around us. Instead of listening to the Spirit speaking words of faith, we listen to the naysayers speaking words of fear and hatred. Call us back once more to our faith as the core of strength for our lives. Fill us with the courage that arises from being firmly grounded in faith. Help us to reach out to others with calming words, and embolden all to acts of justice and mercy. Amen.
Leader: Our faith is in the God who is justice and mercy. Receive the power and grace of God to live as we were created to live. Know God’s love and forgiveness in your life, and share that with all.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for you are compassionate and caring. You love your creation, and you desire us to have justice and mercy abundantly.
(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 know we are your people, filled with your Spirit, and yet we succumb to the cries of doom all around us. Instead of listening to the Spirit speaking words of faith, we listen to the naysayers speaking words of fear and hatred. Call us back once more to our faith as the core of strength for our lives. Fill us with the courage that arises from being firmly grounded in faith. Help us to reach out to others with calming words, and embolden all to acts of justice and mercy.
We thank you for all the blessings of this life and for the mercy that we have experienced. We thank you for those who work for justice in various places and situations. We are humbled to realize that many have given their lives in the pursuit of justice for others. We thank you for those who do acts of mercy, many in jobs that pay far too little.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We remember those who have been denied justice and who suffer. We remember those who are in need of mercy and find none. Strengthen us in your Spirit to be your justice and your mercy for others.
(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
Talk about learning to ride a bike. It can be very scary at first. But after we have tried, and probably fallen a few times, we get the hang of it -- and soon we are zooming around all over the place. We are no longer afraid, because we have faith that we can ride the bike. Faith is like that. Faith casts out fear.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
A Platform of Love
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
You will need: 12 wooden cubes like building blocks, and a 12" x 12" piece of thin plywood;
OR 16 Legos and a flat, square piece of Lego base;
OR a picture of an oil-drilling platform (here are some examples)
(If you use the building blocks or the Legos, arrange them so they create a platform with a leg on each corner.)
You can adapt this lesson to match the visual aid you choose.
This last couple of weeks we’ve been hearing a lot about the two major political parties in this country -- the Republicans and the Democrats. They both had their conventions, and they chose who they want to run for President from their party.
Do you know who they chose? That’s right. The Democrats chose Hillary Clinton and the Republicans chose Donald Trump.
But they did some other things at those conventions that we didn’t hear much about, but that were just as important. One of them was adopting what they call their “platform.”
Now, usually when we hear the word “platform” we think of something like this: a flat surface raised above the floor that people can stand on. [Or, like in this picture, the platform is raised above the ocean so the people can build an oil drilling station on it.]
At the political conventions the Democrats and Republicans weren’t building these kinds of platforms. They were each building a platform of ideas that their party stands on. Instead of four legs, like these platforms, they have values and beliefs that hold up their platform of ideas of things they are going to believe in and do. And those platforms are important.
Look at my platform here. If there were people standing on this platform, what would happen if we took off one of the legs? (Remove leg.) They would fall, right? The platform would collapse and they would fall off. So this kind of platform has to be balanced and sturdy, doesn’t it?
Well, in today’s lesson from the Hebrew scriptures the prophet Isaiah reminds the people of his time and the people of our time that the platform of ideas we stand on and work on is often not balanced and well-supported -- and that’s why they fail and we fall off.
He says that one of the most important legs of the platform is how we treat others, especially those who are weak or hurt or lonely or hungry. In verses 16 and 17 he gives us the legs of the platform that the People of God should be standing on, and this is what he says (add blocks one at a time as you speak):
1. Don’t do evil.
2. Do good and work for justice.
3. Rescue those who are being mistreated.
4. Defend and help people who can’t help themselves.
That, says Isaiah, is God’s platform. That’s the platform we, God’s people, stand upon. Everyone say “Amen.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 7, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Chris Keating suggests that the prophet Isaiah offers an alternative vision: God’s platform, so to speak. After opening with a stinging indictment of how Israel’s elaborate religious rituals are pointless in the larger scheme of things, Isaiah offers a brief, to-the-point list of Yahweh’s platform planks for living: “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” This week’s other lectionary texts reinforce that theme: the psalmist reminds us of the costs of turning away from the Lord and failing to live up to the blueprint God has set out for us, while the writer of Hebrews pens a paean to faith that posits it as the force which sustains us and gives us the strength to persist even in the face of seeming impossibility and implacable opposition.
Team member Beth Herrinton-Hodge shares some additional thoughts on the temptation to let fear rule in our lives. Given the continuing barrage of violent incidents around the world, it’s an understandable response -- yet, Beth reminds us, the writer of Hebrews tells us there’s a powerful antidote: faith. It’s faith that keeps fear and cynicism from overtaking us, for with faith we acknowledge that we are “seeking a homeland.” While politicians prey upon our fears, they also return again and again to the image of America as a “shining city on a hill” -- but the writer of Hebrews points out that God’s people “desire a better country,” one that the Almighty has prepared for us.
Constructing a Platform for Justice
by Chris Keating
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
For two weeks bundles of bluster, rounds of rhetoric, and piles of political pitches have been slathered across our television screens... and this is just the beginning.
During those weeks, cavalcades of party loyalists delivered the expected wisdom of political conventions: “Listen up, America! There are problems afoot, and only our side has the answers!” Hours of speeches have turned what once were smoke-filled convention halls of wheeling and dealing into gavel-to-gavel infomercials akin to Billy Mays’ “OxiClean” ads.
Lengthy -- if at times less than completely truthful -- orations set the parameters of this year’s debate. A parade of elected officials and celebrities took to the airwaves, denouncing the other side while outlining their party’s platform. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton now take that message to the voters, racing toward the November finish line.
One side barks “Step right up, America: I and only I have the solution to what ails us!” while another proclaims “We’ll fix it together.” Hard-won political capital has been spent fashioning both parties’ platforms. The issues are set, and the campaigns are ready. Roll out the bus tours! Unleash the fact-checkers! As the Epistle of Hebrews muses, it is all an indication that “they desire a better country.”
It’s just politics, of course. But even in this somewhat atypical election year, the rhetoric and tactics sound similar, if not predictable. Perhaps that is why people of faith ought to consider Isaiah’s word from the Lord: “When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation -- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.”
Isaiah’s message is not approved by any candidate, though the prophet remains insistent in his call to build a platform of justice, righteousness, and faith.
In the News
Forget the dog days of August. This year seems to be the dog-eat-dog days of politics.
Following the GOP gathering, which Trump called “one of the most peaceful, one of the most beautiful, one of the most love-filled conventions in the history of conventions,” the Democrats gathered in the “city of brotherly love” for their own quadrennial family reunion. Both parties used their conventions to sell their platforms to the voting public. For the Republicans, the convention sounded themes of despair and trouble, while the Democrats adopted a more irenic tone for their confab -- at times nearly echoing undertones of Ronald Reagan’s famous “morning in America” ad.
No one was more surprised by these movements than the political pundits. Conservative commentator Ron Fournier had this to say in a tweet: “Well done, @RealDonaldTrump. You made the Democrats a party of sunny patriotism and values.” National Review editor Jonah Goldberg was even more pointed in his criticism when he tweeted that the Democrats were “about loving America. GOP convention was about loving Trump. If you didn’t love Trump, it offered nada.”
The fanfare and speeches provide the soundbites, but the true substance of the conventions is found in the each of the party’s platforms -- lengthy statements that this year underscored party infighting and squabbles for control. For Republicans, the call to the faithful began with a renewing of American exceptionalism. The document upholds traditional GOP talking points: a stronger economy, open markets, lower taxes, less national debt, greater personal responsibility. It argues for traditional marriage, against abortion, for gun ownership, for the defense of religious liberty, and against many environmental regulations.
Similarly, there were few surprises in the Democratic platform, which largely centers on calls for unity to overcome division. Shaped by many of Bernie Sanders’ challenges to Clinton, the platform is a largely progressive document which outlines familiar Democratic themes such as an economy that works for all people, reducing income inequality, support for working families, and addressing racial inequity.
Despite their wordiness and deftly crafted positions, modern political platforms are sometimes seen to lack the meatiness of past generations in terms of promoting particular political visions. As Daniel DiSalvo and James W. Ceaser observe in the Atlantic:
So it goes: Trump proposed policies at odds with many conservative positions, and Sanders moved the Democratic Party’s platform to the left. The result is a greater degree of intra-party tensions than usual, making 2016 the most interesting platform process of this century. Yet it would take an event of far more dramatic proportions than has occurred so far to restore the platforms to anything like their previous role -- when they were the documents that defined the “vision” of the national party. The more modest place of the platform today has resulted from big changes in the method of selecting nominees, in the relationship between party and nominee, and in communications technology.
Their point is well taken, especially when one considers what could be called “the elephant in the room.”
The elephant, of course, is Trump himself. Notably, the candidate refuses to avoid the typical path to the White House. The latest example, of course, has been the ongoing blowback surrounding the appearance at the Democratic convention by Khizr and Ghazala Khan, parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in battle. Khizr Khan’s emotional speech criticized Trump’s proposal to ban some Muslims from immigrating, and rebuked him for not understanding the United States Constitution.
Khan’s comment was too juicy for Trump to ignore, and his response resulted in a flashpoint that could potentially pivot the election. On Monday, Republican politicians such as John McCain denounced Trump’s counterattack on the Khans, calling on the nominee to “set an example for our country and the future of the Republican party.”
Trump has mastered the art of trash-talk political rhetoric, though he certainly holds no monopoly on its use. (Recall, for example, the late Ann Richards -- who would soon become the governor of Texas -- who in 1988 famously remarked, “Poor George [H.W.] Bush. He can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth,” or Bill Clinton’s pointed comments in 2008 about Barack Obama.) Yet Trump’s continued pushing back against the Khans seems different than typical bulldog politics.
As the campaign continues, the chasms between us deepen. It becomes harder and harder to imagine hearing a voice cry out: “[L]earn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” As Isaiah understands it, the call of God is to work things out, and to discover reconciliation.
It’s a call to build a platform of righteousness and justice, and a call to embark on a campaign of faith. Such a campaign and such a platform will indeed sound quite different from the views advanced in our current political climate.
In the Scriptures
While our parishioners are enjoying their final weekends at the lake or trips to the shore, and politicians make their case for America’s future, the lectionary leads us in search of faith. Such a quest, as Hebrews points out, is indeed a search for a better country. Yet balancing politics and preaching is never easy -- notice what happened to Jesus when he suggested giving to Caesar the things which belong to earthly emperors, or even what may have happened to your predecessor when he or she suggested removing the American flag from the sanctuary.
But the lectionary offers an invitation to come and reason together, something neither party seems particularly adept at doing. For Isaiah, this reasoning together includes bold visions of justice and faithful worship. Isaiah points to a vision of faith that sees beyond idolatrous worship. His platform invokes the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities which were the embodiment of evil. Despite our inclination, their sins were not sexual as much as they were sins of greed and injustice.
His continues his theme by denouncing leaders who impose hefty taxation and participate in state-sponsored oppression. By heaping burdens on the poor, they have become burdens to God. As Anna Case-Winters observes in Feasting on the Word, these texts resonate with the church by reminding Christians that true worship is worship which orients our lives toward God. Worship that participates in acts of injustice is not worship. Isaiah is firm: the platform upon which God’s people are called to build their lives is centered on forgiveness, reconciliation, and the ability to learn how to do good.
Of course, as Hebrews points out, living by such faith means living by promises that cannot be seen. It means hoping for things which are eternal, even if those promises cannot be fully comprehended or visualized at the moment. Such was the faith of Abraham, the Bible’s first real estate mogul. Yet even at an advanced age, Abraham liquidated his assets and took off on the highway of faith. He lived by the promise of God. In spite of his old eyes, Abraham could see things others could not. He embarked on a campaign knowing that, despite all the evidence, God would hold up to God’s end of the bargain.
Such faith is centered on the activities Isaiah describes. As it ventures forward, it takes the planks of righteousness to construct a platform of justice.
In the Sermon
Political platforms come and go, yet the word of God endures. Rather than hitching the sermon to a particular candidate or party, a sermon from these texts could illustrate the contours of faithful living in a time characterized by division, anger, and spite-filled rhetoric. Both the Old Testament and epistle readings describe a bold and adventuresome God who gets to work in the world. To shape our lives according to the worship prescribed by Isaiah is to adopt practices (“platforms”) which lead to righteousness and faithful living. Likewise, the journey of faith in Hebrews is a journey undertaken with Jesus, whose presence offers the church assurance and conviction -- even of things not seen.
It is difficult to see the future -- no matter what our candidates tell us. The sermon, however, could provide a soothing word of hope in an otherwise blistering summer of anger and acrimonious debate. God’s people are called to faith-filled worship (even on a Sunday when many parishioners are enjoying themselves on their boats!). God’s people journey forward with delight and joy, determination and courage, setting aside what Hebrews will name as the things which cling so closely, and plunging forward in hope. This is the future for which we hope. It is not a place of empty words and nice-sounding prayers (as Isaiah notes), but rather it is characterized by a robust faith intent on doing good and ceasing evil.
The sermon could offer a different perspective than what will be found in the headlines of the Sunday paper, or discussed on the Sunday political shows, or heard on NPR. Instead of conversations filled with cynicism and xenophobic fear, it could invite a journey toward hope. In place of offerings that do not come from changed hearts, the sermon could name practices that will heal. The preacher knows her or his context very well -- and can surely name ways these texts implore God’s people to build platforms of justice and to undertake campaigns of righteousness and hope.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Hebrews 11:1-3, 11-16
My 12-year-old daughter asked me: “But why do so many people like him? And why do they get so mad at people who don’t like him?”
She and her middle school friends have an agreement to not talk politics with one another. All but one in her circle of friends wants to see Hillary Clinton become president. But there’s one boy who hates Hillary and loves Trump. Their little group has agreed that it’s not worth losing friendships over political disagreements. I wish some of my adult friends would follow the practices of these 12-year-olds.
The only answer I could think to give her was this: “Many politicians play on people’s fears. People have seen and experienced a lot of changes in these past several years -- changes that have hurt them, changes that many think have hurt our country. The politicians recognize this. If you pay attention to what they’re talking about, you’ll hear them playing on people’s fears. People think these political leaders understand how they feel. Many believe that these leaders can make things better. So they follow the leaders who talk about what people fear -- who come across as strong and commanding, who say they will take care of the bad things and make everything right. So much of what is being talked about these days is people’s fear.”
Granted, I tried to simplify what I hear and observe in our political rhetoric for my 12-year-old. I am aware that many of the political leanings expressed by children are those overheard from their parents and other adults in their lives. From our voices and actions, our children form impressions and opinions. They pick up on our fear, our hatred, our compassion, our hope.
What do we communicate with our children about the fear that seems so rampant in our lives and in our world? What hope can we point to when things seem scary, out of control, ever-changing?
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. -- Hebrews 11:1-3
The world we live in is an ominous place. You and I read the headlines. We hear the news accounts:
* A truck plows through crowds gathered to celebrate a national holiday in France.
* A priest is slain while celebrating Mass; nuns and parishioners are held hostage by the assailants.
* Young people are targets of a rampage at a Sunday night teen gathering at a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida -- an atrocity that follows closely on the heels of the mass shooting on Latino Night at an Orlando gay club.
* A man in Boston threatens to burn down a mosque in the city, just one among many threats received by leaders of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center.
Some of these events can be attributed to terrorists. Others inspire people to call for tighter gun control. Many events fall under the category of hate crimes. Other shooting rampages that have plagued our country have come at the hands of people suffering with mental illness. There’s no one scapegoat who bears the blame for these tragic events. Instead, we read the headlines. We interpret the culprits as some other whom we can point fingers at and where we can lodge our fear.
It’s ISIS. It’s the gays. It’s the guns. It’s the Muslims. It’s the mentally ill. It’s the immigrants. It’s the Russians. It’s the blacks. It’s the blues. It’s any other that is not us. And we should be afraid... very afraid... of them all.
I get it. But I don’t agree with these sentiments. Yes, I read the headlines. Yes, they can be fearsome. But I don’t believe that any of these news stories can be boiled down to a simple us/them black-and-white blame game. They speak to me of the complexity of our lives and of our world -- of how hatred, fear, mistrust, pain, anger, and illness are very real. We don’t have control over the others in our world. To somebody, each one of us can be labeled other.
Demonizing the other and insulating ourselves from every threat and fear is not the answer. Yet fear is the currency of the political realm. Political rhetoric plays on our fear because fear is very real, and very accessible.
Many feel raw, vulnerable, powerless. It’s relatively easy for public figures to come swooping in -- stoking our fears, then promising to keep us safe.
As a colleague noted, “The convention speeches of the past two weeks offer an interesting contrast in their varying mix of fear and aspiration -- two key forces in politics. Faith obviously aligns more with hope and aspiration. But as we all know, fear is a powerful motivator in the voting booth... especially in a time where violence and seemingly random attacks (whether of the terrorist or street-crime variety) seem to be rampant, as well as anxiety about economic security.”
What word does scripture give us to face our fear? To inspire hope beyond fear?
In Hebrews 11, we find a synopsis and an interpretation of Abraham’s journey of fear and faith. He was called to leave his home to travel to a new land, to a land where he was not known, where he would be a stranger to others. Was he afraid? Would you be afraid in his situation? Yet “he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
“[Abraham] received power of procreation, even though he was too old -- and Sarah herself was barren” (Hebrews 11:11). Can you imagine becoming a parent at Abraham’s age? At Sarah’s age? Be afraid... be very afraid! Yet their hope was in the One who called them -- the One who promised them a God, a land, and a people. They took risks. They stepped out. They doubted. They struggled. They clung to God’s promises. This gave them hope, even in the face of fear and doubt.
Abraham and Sarah, Noah, Abel... each of these persons put their hope in God. Their hope did not take away their fear, their suffering, their ridicule, their death. Their hope, their faith in God’s providence and promises, steeled them to face their fears, to face the unknown -- to live into the lives God called them to even when they encountered struggle and fear.
By faith, Abraham and Sarah and others in scripture “understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible” (Hebrews 11:3). By faith in God, they did not let fear guide them or overtake them. Thus, they were free to hope in “a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).
We also have this hope.
When headlines spout news that raises our fear, when public figures exploit our fear and demonize others, we have another authority who authors a better promise. We have a “faith [that] is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
How does our faith in God influence where we place our hope? How does our faith inform the way we hear and filter the fear-filled messages swirling around us? How does our faith ground our lives and actions, so that what we say and what we do in front of our children communicates the hope and trust and security and promise found in God?
The final word for God’s people is not fear -- it is faith: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Genuine Sacrifices
Fed up with appearances, God speaks through Isaiah to tell the people to stop making sacrifices that look good but mean nothing. An exasperated God says: “bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me.... I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me.” Boston couple Jeff Kaufman and Julia Wise are determined to make sacrifices that make a difference. The two have decided to live frugally so they can give away most of their combined income: “For the past few years they’ve been giving away nearly 60 percent of their after-tax income to charities working to reduce poverty and save lives in developing countries. Despite a combined income well into the six figures, they spend little more than $15,000/year on themselves. Since 2008 they’ve given away more than $250,000. That’s a lot of money, and it sounds like a big sacrifice. But they insist that it isn’t. In her blog, Julia writes, ‘The things we love most -- spending time with family and friends, making music, dancing, cooking, reading -- are all things we can do on a small budget. If we gave less, we would spend more on ourselves but probably wouldn’t be noticeably happier.’ She says that giving is one of the most important things in her life, and she does it because she believes that ‘people -- all people, even far-away people -- should not have to suffer and die needlessly.’ ”
In spite of the amount they give away, the two feel like they’re not making impossible sacrifices. Julia Wise writes: “You don’t have to be rich to be generous. It might be easier for people with heaps of money, but those of us who have to think about rent and groceries can still do a lot. My grandmother donated 10 percent of her income for as long as she controlled her own money, even when she was living off social security checks.”
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Unfailing Treasure
“Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven,” Jesus says. Tyrone Curry worked as a school custodian before he won $3.4 million in the lottery -- and afterward he kept the job, continuing to go to work every day. Curry did spend some of the money, however: “After hitting the jackpot, Curry bought new cars, a time share, and took care of his family and students, buying 40 new uniforms and putting up $40,000 for a new track.” But he held onto the job, saying that “if you’re not busy you get old, and I never want to feel that way.”
Curry only quit his job when he was elected to the school board, and couldn’t do both. His job gave him a different kind of treasure than the kind he won in the lottery, and he realized that he needed both.
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Finding Treasure
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Jesus reminds us -- but no one would expect to find any kind of treasure in an old couch. In 2014, three roommates bought a used couch and realized that it was uncomfortably lumpy. Poking around, “they kept finding more envelopes in the couch, pulling money out of it like an upholstered ATM. [One] added, ‘The most money I’d ever found in a couch was like 50 cents. Honestly, I’d be ecstatic to find just $5 in a couch.’ The discovery was like a dream for the three friends, all of whom [were] either in college or recent graduates. As they counted the money, they talked about what they might do with it... then they spotted a name among the envelopes, and realized they were faced with an ethical puzzle.”
The three roommates tracked down the previous owner of the couch, and went to her home. They learned that “the money was socked away out of the woman’s late husband’s concerns that he wouldn’t always be there for his wife (she has chosen to remain anonymous). It represented decades of savings, including wages from the woman’s job as a florist. For years, she also slept on the couch. But recent back problems led her daughter and son-in-law to replace it with a bed, meaning that the couch had to go.” She was thrilled to have the money returned to her.
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Treasured Memory
Sometimes a small gesture can make a big difference, and a treasure can come in a very small form. A reader at Kindspring recalls: “In fourth grade we were supposed to bring in a dime for a folder to use in class. My parents were divorced and money was in short supply. Watching my mom fend off creditors, I did not have the nerve to ask her for a dime. When I got to school I really wished I had asked my mother for the dime, because everybody else in class had the dime ready on their desk for the teacher. I was embarrassed and felt silly. Somehow a girl named Karen, sitting next to me, saw my personal suffering and waited until the last second to put a dime on the corner of my desk. Even though I never said a word, she saw my quiet anguish and only wanted to relieve it. She said nothing, and I was too embarrassed to say thank you. It was the most genuine, authentic act of kindness I’ve ever experienced.”
The treasure was the dime -- plus the experience of the understanding compassion.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
In a Hagar the Horriblecomic strip, the rough Viking warrior Hagar is seeking religious counsel from his friar. The monk informs Hagar, “Brother Hagar, if you will listen to God you will never go wrong!” Hagar, looking dismayed at the monk with his tonsure haircut (hair around the edges of the scalp with a bald pate on top), replies, “I take it God didn’t recommend your barber.” [By the way, the hair circulating the scalp was meant to represent the crown of thorns worn by Christ.] (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: It can be difficult for us to understand and obey the commandments of God.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
In a Cornered comic, a destitute homeless man is sitting on the sidewalk. He is speaking to another individual who seem to be in a similar situation. The only thing the first gentleman has to say is, “I stepped out of my comfort zone once. When I got back, they had changed the locks.” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Perhaps Isaiah wants us to step out of our comfort zones, allowing the locks to be changed so that we can have a new beginning.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Indiana governor Mike Pence has accepted the Republican party’s vice-presidential nomination. Pence describes himself as “Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” Remaining true to that conviction, Pence says: “A society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable -- the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn.”
Application: If elected, we do not know if Mr. Pence will remain true to his political ideology -- but at this moment he does reflect the views of Isaiah.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence was once involved in negative campaigning that destroyed the character of his opponents. He now realizes that this type of campaign is wrong and violates his Christian faith. Pence said, “Negative campaigning, I know is wrong.” Pence went on to quote the Bible about Jesus and sin, saying, “A campaign ought to demonstrate the basic human decency of the candidate.”
Application: We can only hope that during the coming election Pence can remain obedient to that Christian conviction.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
At first it may seem that Paul Reichler is not a patriot. But this is dispelled when one learns that he is a man with a deep sense of justice who is always willing to represent the underdog. Reichler is one of the few lawyers who are allowed to present cases before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Reichler realized that the al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were not being treated humanely. Thus he took their case before the international tribunal. Reichler said had he “no qualms about defending the prisoners.” He went on to say, “In the early years, the conditions and treatment at Guantanamo were so appalling and really contrary to American values. I believe in those values, and I believed in fighting for them in representing [Ibrahim] al-Qosi.”
Application: Isaiah always knew a sense of justice.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Dorothy Day had a turbulent adulthood. She was a liberal Chicago journalist who was often jailed for her demonstrations promoting women’s suffrage. Day had a common-law marriage that was soon dissolved after the birth of her daughter. After that traumatic experience, she was converted to Roman Catholicism and became very active in her endeavors for the poor. Perhaps Day is best known as the founder of the Catholic Worker movement. Dorothy Day once told a gathering, “What the Lord wants from us is as many steps as we can manage.”
Application: We are to manage as many steps of change as possible.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
James P. Grant, the former executive director of UNICEF, said: “Three million children died last year because they didn’t have 50 cents worth of vaccine in them.” It is amazing how a few seemingly insignificant steps on our part could change the composition of the entire world. If we had the faith to give a larger financial donation to the church, to witness to a friend, to teach a Sunday school class, to serve on a community board, to befriend the outcast, to have a joyful countenance, the world would be a more wonderful place in which to dwell.
Application: Isaiah knew how each small act of justice could change a nation.
*****
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, with a 19-ton refrigerator truck, killing 84 people. French president François Hollande asked why, of all the cities in France, Nice was selected. Answering his own question, Hollande said, “Why Nice? Because it is a city that is known worldwide, one of the most beautiful cities on the planet.”
Application: Did the people of Israel realize that they were living in one of the most beautiful countries of the world?
*****
Luke 12:32-40
Forbes magazine just announced that Taylor Swift is this year’s highest-paid celebrity, with an income of $170 million. She came above Katy Perry, who at #63 earned only $41 million. To the surprise of many, Madonna was #12 at $76.5 million.
Application: All of that money is great, but let us hope they are prepared for the coming hour.
*****
Luke 12:32-40
The television variety show Maya & Marty just ended after a brief run. It was popular, with 4.6 million viewers, but not popular enough to sustain the show. Producer Lorne Michaels took a chance with the program, saying that “Television has been recycling forms for a long time.” Michaels realized that variety shows were central to television 30 and 40 years ago, and he felt it was time to introduce a new one, even if for a brief period.
Application: The truth of Jesus is always being recycled.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
People: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
Leader: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
People: God calls to the heavens above and to the earth.
Leader: The heavens declare God’s righteousness.
People: God, our God, is judge.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who seeks justice and mercy.
People: We come to worship, but we also come with fear.
Leader: God invites us to enter into a life of faith that casts out fear.
People: We long for a faith so strong it can conquer all.
Leader: It is God’s gift to you, and through you to all the world.
People: We will embrace God’s gift and share it with others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“How Great Thou Art”
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELA: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
“I Come with Joy”
found in:
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELA: 482
W&P: 706
Renew: 195
“All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded”
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELA: 757
“Jesus Calls Us”
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELA: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
“Lord, I Want to Be a Christian”
found in:
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
W&P: 457
AMEC: 282
Renew: 145
“I Am Thine, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
“This Is My Song”
found in:
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELA: 887
STLT: 159
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“I Will Call upon the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 9
Renew: 15
“You Are Mine”
found in:
CCB: 58
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 calls us to justice and mercy: Grant us the courage to answer your call in the midst of all who speak of fear and doom; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for being the God of justice and mercy. You call us, your children, to act as your presence in this world. Help us to have the courage to respond to the fear and doom around us with acts of grace and compassion. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our being swept up in a climate of fear.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We know we are your people, filled with your Spirit, and yet we succumb to the cries of doom all around us. Instead of listening to the Spirit speaking words of faith, we listen to the naysayers speaking words of fear and hatred. Call us back once more to our faith as the core of strength for our lives. Fill us with the courage that arises from being firmly grounded in faith. Help us to reach out to others with calming words, and embolden all to acts of justice and mercy. Amen.
Leader: Our faith is in the God who is justice and mercy. Receive the power and grace of God to live as we were created to live. Know God’s love and forgiveness in your life, and share that with all.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for you are compassionate and caring. You love your creation, and you desire us to have justice and mercy abundantly.
(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 know we are your people, filled with your Spirit, and yet we succumb to the cries of doom all around us. Instead of listening to the Spirit speaking words of faith, we listen to the naysayers speaking words of fear and hatred. Call us back once more to our faith as the core of strength for our lives. Fill us with the courage that arises from being firmly grounded in faith. Help us to reach out to others with calming words, and embolden all to acts of justice and mercy.
We thank you for all the blessings of this life and for the mercy that we have experienced. We thank you for those who work for justice in various places and situations. We are humbled to realize that many have given their lives in the pursuit of justice for others. We thank you for those who do acts of mercy, many in jobs that pay far too little.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We remember those who have been denied justice and who suffer. We remember those who are in need of mercy and find none. Strengthen us in your Spirit to be your justice and your mercy for others.
(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
Talk about learning to ride a bike. It can be very scary at first. But after we have tried, and probably fallen a few times, we get the hang of it -- and soon we are zooming around all over the place. We are no longer afraid, because we have faith that we can ride the bike. Faith is like that. Faith casts out fear.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
A Platform of Love
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
You will need: 12 wooden cubes like building blocks, and a 12" x 12" piece of thin plywood;
OR 16 Legos and a flat, square piece of Lego base;
OR a picture of an oil-drilling platform (here are some examples)
(If you use the building blocks or the Legos, arrange them so they create a platform with a leg on each corner.)
You can adapt this lesson to match the visual aid you choose.
This last couple of weeks we’ve been hearing a lot about the two major political parties in this country -- the Republicans and the Democrats. They both had their conventions, and they chose who they want to run for President from their party.
Do you know who they chose? That’s right. The Democrats chose Hillary Clinton and the Republicans chose Donald Trump.
But they did some other things at those conventions that we didn’t hear much about, but that were just as important. One of them was adopting what they call their “platform.”
Now, usually when we hear the word “platform” we think of something like this: a flat surface raised above the floor that people can stand on. [Or, like in this picture, the platform is raised above the ocean so the people can build an oil drilling station on it.]
At the political conventions the Democrats and Republicans weren’t building these kinds of platforms. They were each building a platform of ideas that their party stands on. Instead of four legs, like these platforms, they have values and beliefs that hold up their platform of ideas of things they are going to believe in and do. And those platforms are important.
Look at my platform here. If there were people standing on this platform, what would happen if we took off one of the legs? (Remove leg.) They would fall, right? The platform would collapse and they would fall off. So this kind of platform has to be balanced and sturdy, doesn’t it?
Well, in today’s lesson from the Hebrew scriptures the prophet Isaiah reminds the people of his time and the people of our time that the platform of ideas we stand on and work on is often not balanced and well-supported -- and that’s why they fail and we fall off.
He says that one of the most important legs of the platform is how we treat others, especially those who are weak or hurt or lonely or hungry. In verses 16 and 17 he gives us the legs of the platform that the People of God should be standing on, and this is what he says (add blocks one at a time as you speak):
1. Don’t do evil.
2. Do good and work for justice.
3. Rescue those who are being mistreated.
4. Defend and help people who can’t help themselves.
That, says Isaiah, is God’s platform. That’s the platform we, God’s people, stand upon. Everyone say “Amen.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 7, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 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.
