Divine And Human Partiality: A Christian Dilemma
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Dear Fellow Preacher,
Carter Shelley, our lead writer in this issue of The Immediate Word, finds common and compelling motifs in three of the lectionary readings for September 7. These motifs center on the almost universal human tendency to show partiality to those who are like us. Most of us have at one time or another experienced both sides of the syndrome -- at times being the victims of exclusion and at other times the excluders. (The experience can be especially acute and traumatic for school-agers, who are struggling to develop a secure personhood.)
We might wonder about the extent to which such feelings are genetic in origin, part of our commonality with the animal world. But the Bible consistently points us toward a higher level of consciousness and behavior, one that finds its basis in the teachings of Jesus and much of the rest of the Bible as well.
Team responses are included, along with worship resources by George Reed and a children's sermon by Wesley Runk.
Contents
Divine and Human Partiality: A Christian Dilemma
Team Comments
Worship Resources
Children's Sermon
Divine and Human Partiality: A Christian Dilemma
by Carter Shelley
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
James 2:1-10, (11-13) 14-17
Mark 7:24-37
No single specific national or international event sparked the emphasis of this week's issue of The Immediate Word on the poor and the outsider. Rather, partiality has been a significant feature of human behavior since the beginning of known human history. The issues we face in our local churches, in our community governing bodies, and in national and international affairs often have at their root the human need to prefer one group of people, one race, one political or religious faction over another. This week's emphasis on the poor and the excluded stems from the discussion of both in the lectionary texts and from the sad fact that in 2003 the poor are with us in larger numbers and to perhaps a worse degree even than in Jesus' day, while there's always someone, or thousands of someones, whom we see as outsider and consequently, fear, shun, or despise.
Americans tend to display a partiality toward the rich, the successful, the beautiful, the charming, the famous. We want to be with them, be like them, be them. We tend to believe that anyone can achieve monetary success if they truly work for it. So, those who've got it deserve it; those who don't, well ... they're lazy, unlucky, mediocre. We like to control our own money and decide how generous we want to be; we don't want government to take it from us but much prefer to give it to the church or a nonprofit or a street person. We are more comfortable with -- and therefore partial toward -- those who look like us, act like us, and think like us. Nationalities, cultures, religions, race, economics, first world, third world, gender, education, sexual orientation -- we are created to be different from one another, and yet we seek to validate those who are like us in order to validate ourselves.
We don't have to do that. God's love validates us. God's blessings validate us. God created a world filled with diversity; it's true. We are the ones who have attached a graded scale to the value of those that revels in a norm. God challenges our partiality. Divine concern for the poor is a biblical constant, as is the divine injunction to provide for the poor.
The proverbs included in this Sunday's lection offer specific ways that God is partial toward the poor. The two miracles of Jesus in Mark show Jesus' own partiality toward people who within Jesus' own cultural context would have been viewed as outsiders and outcasts. The Syrophoenician woman is doubly scorned for being both a Gentile and female. At the beginning of the Syrophoenician woman's exchange with Jesus, the theologically battle-weary Jesus just wants a little peace and quiet and privacy. It is the woman's own tenaciousness that pulls Jesus back to the nurturing aspect of his ministry, a ministry in which those whom other humans despise and reject receive the best Jesus has to offer. And the physically deaf man with the speech impediment would have been viewed by many of Jesus' contemporaries (as such a physically challenged person might be viewed still today) as abnormal, problematic, and sinful -- that is, as an outsider. Any physically challenged individual will tell you just how left out one can be when one does not experience the world or communicate in it the way the majority do. Like Father, like Son, Jesus is partial toward those who have significant needs.
The second-century epistle of James calls the early Christian community back to the values and standards established in scripture and in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is exactly those whom the rest of the world despises and rejects that true Christians are called to embrace and welcome into their church. The Christian dilemma the author of James identifies is our human inclination to fawn over and favor the rich, the powerful, and the successful while leaving the poorly clad, smelly, street person out in the narthex nursing a cup of coffee or alone in the minister's study until he or she can come deal with him.
We Christians face these kinds of dilemmas almost daily. Who doesn't prefer lunch with a mentor or boss who'll pick up the tab, to taking the time to buy lunch and sit with someone you see standing at a busy intersection holding a "Will work for food" sign? While some of our younger church members and visitors choose to dress informally for Sunday services, they still stay in our comfort zone by using deodorant, exercising standard hygiene, while basically sounding like and resembling us in all the ways that truly matter: education, family background, professional goals, etc. It's human nature to prefer the company of people who talk like us, think like us, and live like us. It's human nature to feel awkward and uncomfortable with people who do not look like us, think like us, or live like us. The challenge this Sunday is to acknowledge how hard it is for us to live up to our Christian calling, and yet find a way to inspire and enable our congregations and ourselves to risk hospitality and friendship to those whom God favors.
A good place to start is an examination of the characteristics of God and Jesus that are illuminated in the first reading and the Gospel lection. A close look at these scattered proverbs and the two miracle stories reveals fresh insights on the nature of God and puts into sharp contrast the human characteristics James identifies and then challenges his own community to forsake in order to be true to their Christian commitment and identity.
The three sets of proverbs designated for Sunday come from two separate literary sections of the book. Proverbs 22:1-2 and 22:8-9 are part of the Royal Collection. Proverbs 22:22-23 appears in the Sayings of the Wise. What they have in common is the importance given to the poor and God's partiality toward them. These six verses say a great deal about God. God is the Creator of all people, the rich and the poor. But, unlike human beings, God does not make the social distinctions between the rich and the poor that humans do. "The Lord is maker of them all." As the champion of justice, God heaps calamity and anger upon those individuals who exploit and act unjustly towards other people, while God blesses those who are generous and "share their bread with the poor."
Verse 22 instructs those who live advantageously not to take advantage of the poor "because they are poor" or to crush those who already are afflicted. Pity and compassion are righteous responses to another person's misfortune and not opportunism and abuse. While this appeal not to kick somebody who's already black and blue seems a modicum of decent behavior, it's one that human beings often ignore. Middle School memories of a classmate called "Bulldog" by other eighth graders comes immediately to mind for me. She was fat, she was poor, she lived with her mother who worked in one of the mills, and she wasn't even smart. Yet, the majority of kids talked about her but never to her. They made barking sounds when she walked by, and thought it was great fun to make her the brunt of jokes. Unfortunately, adult equivalents are not hard to find. The reference to "the gate" in v. 22 brings legal issues to the fore with the promise that God will serve as the attorney who defends the poor and the afflicted. God will also be the prosecutor who charges, convicts, and despoils the wrongdoers. These proverbs refute the notion that all who are rich are blessed by God and all who are poor are overlooked or being punished by God.
Thus, those who seek to live godly lives also must not make distinctions between the rich and the poor. We are to champion the cause of those who need justice, be generous with others, and defend and protect the poor and afflicted from those who would take advantage of their weakness.
A more interesting than usual range of characteristics of Jesus appears in Mark 7:24-37. While many Sunday school portraits and lessons about Jesus tend to present a nice-looking bearded man wearing a pristinely clean white robe along with a welcoming and peaceful aspect, these two miracles add some depth and humanity to the Savior from Nazareth. In his exchange with the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus has sought anonymity and a respite from messianic chores, yet he's hounded by this woman whom he insults by likening her to a dog. It is the woman's humility and dignity that turn the tide. She convinces Jesus that her appeal is worth his response. The irony of Mark's placing this incident after Jesus' exchange with the Pharisees is obvious. The righteous Pharisees don't recognize Jesus' uniqueness. While a woman, unrighteous by her birth, for she is not Jewish and not chosen, this Gentile recognizes Jesus' uniqueness and acts out of that knowledge. Where the Pharisees were arrogant and piously self-reliant, the Syrophoenician woman is needy and dependent and doesn't mind expressing it. As the Jews of Jesus' day looked to the educated and devout Pharisees to lead them, we too look to persons in high office to share the wisdom of the ages. Perhaps also there are other, less powerful and important individuals who have a clearer sense of the way our country and our people should go if we want to continue to be "under God."
In privately healing the deaf man with the speech impediment, Jesus does a very unsavory thing for a hallowed Savior. Jesus sticks his fingers in the man's ears. Jesus spits, without any sort of ritual washing before touching the man's tongue. In effecting this cure away from the crowd, Jesus shows his reluctance to become a dog and pony show miracle worker. In using words and physical contact with the man, Jesus demonstrates a willingness to be engaged with the man through both means of communication.
While other ancient miracle workers operated on a cash basis, money does not elicit either miracle Jesus performs. Instead, the key ingredient is language. Words are essential to both miracles. The woman must speak to Jesus and persist in her speaking, nagging if necessary. The man, who himself cannot speak clearly and certainly cannot hear the conversation between his friends and Jesus, receives attention because his friends intercede on his behalf. Words spoken by Jesus activate each healing. "The demon has left your daughter." "Be opened!"
While we may not be able to imitate Christ by miracle-working, through our ability to listen we certainly can take time to really hear someone who needs to be heard. Psychologist Carl Rogers may have been one of the first to formalize the concept of active listening as a means for healing, but he wasn't the first ever to offer the service. God hears. Jesus hears. Christians are called to hear.
The second church in which I served as a full-time minister was a downtown, urban church. First Presbyterian Church was located two blocks from the bus station and one block from the soup kitchen. I began there as an Associate Minster in the early 1980s. The number of indigent people, needy people, and desperate people who came to our church seeking a bag of food, money to pay an electric bill, or a means for getting away from an abusive home situation was legion. In fact, we rarely had close to enough funds to share with the many people who gingerly and wearily sat on our upholstered lobby furniture waiting to make their plea. I hated it when we ran out of food and money to distribute. I was afraid of the kinds of anger and despair folks in such dire need would present. I was afraid of my own sense of helplessness in dealing with people for whom I could supply nothing. The big surprise was, it often didn't matter. Most of these folks were used to being turned down. They didn't like it, of course, but financial help wasn't all they sought. Almost every man or woman who came through my office door wanted to be heard. It didn't matter if I said, right off the bat, "We're out of money. We can't help you this month," if I would just let each individual sit for a while and tell me his or her story. In that way an even greater need was met. Often that was more than anyone else had done in a long, long time. Being seen as a person, with a name, a life, and a story was vitally important, because being a street person, a renter of one room in a boarding house, or a young runaway, often carries with it a badge of invisibility. Hearing one's name used, being looked in the eye, these things mattered as much as anything. Jesus didn't marginalize people. Jesus saw them as children of God, Jesus' own brothers and sisters irrespective of the difficulties and ills that led them to him.
God demonstrates partiality toward the poor and the afflicted. Jesus demonstrates particularity towards the outsider and the unnamed and unacknowledged. Whom do we express partiality towards? To his dismay, James notes that second-century Christians enthusiastically welcome the prosperous, well-dressed visitor, while virtually ignoring more humble new guests. It's easy to picture the finely dressed, upstanding citizen checking this Christianity thing out. Thoughts of the prestige, the financial possibilities, the political advantages the community might enjoy would all pave the way for such a first timer into the early church and our own sanctuaries. Meanwhile, the disheveled, hard-to-understand woman stands awkwardly at the back of the church wondering where she might sit, embarrassed about the tears in her stockings, the second-hand coat she wears, and the contrast between herself and the well-clothed people sitting in the pews who fail to get up to speak to her.
Chapter 2 of James cannot be read without a sense of the anger and frustration of its author. He's writing to a church no longer brand new. No longer are the teachings of Jesus and Paul the primary influences on the church. The household rules of Roman society, the status quo values that permeate their world have infiltrated the church as well. It's been dangerous to be different. It's been hard to be different. It's been uncomfortable to be different. It's back to "Wives be subject to your husbands ... Slaves obey your masters ... " "Wouldn't it be great if Maximus Income would join our congregation?" James' letter reminds his fellow Christians they are supposed to be different from the rest of society. James doesn't use hierarchical language to address them. They are "brothers and sisters," all equally important, all equal in status. James reminds them they are to embrace those persons that society rejects: the street person, the poor person, the persecuted stranger, those who most need to be welcomed and saved.
The epistle of James gets an undeservedly bad rap because of Martin Luther's dislike of it. Luther's issue was valid. None should think that God's grace can be earned. After all, who more than Luther knew how impossible it was to earn forgiveness and peace of mind and heart? Yet Luther misses the point as James makes it. James writes to Christians already established as a community of faith. James writes to those for whom grace is a reality. For James how Christians treat others is the outcome of having been forgiven and accepted in all one's unworthiness. In the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary Luke Timothy Johnson elaborates. "James' privileging of the poor within the community of faith is startlingly close to Jesus' own proclamation to the poor. 'Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.' The Christian ethic of love needs content and action, not just idealism" if it is to have any teach at all. "The assembly gathered by faith, says James, must act on the basis of another set of values. Those whom the world most despises are to be regarded, in faith, as heirs of the kingdom and, therefore, honored by the specific hospitality of the community: its greeting, its body language, its space. It is by this measure that the community is to be judged" (Anchor Bible [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995], 195).
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Team Comments
George Murphy responds: Why are we supposed to care about other people -- and especially about those who really are "other," different from ourselves? At one level of course this can just be presented as a matter of divine command: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus makes this statement of torah even more pointed with his famous parable of the Good Samaritan, showing that "neighbor" is to be understood without regard to our ethnic, cultural, and political distinctions.
But is this just an arbitrary rule? Another verse from Proverbs (14:31) gives us more insight: "Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him." All people are God's special workmanship, and the respect we pay to them is in a sense respect we pay to the creator.
But it goes deeper than that. God is not only our creator but, in the Incarnation, has become one of us and, in particular, identifies himself with those who are in need of any kind of help (e.g., Matthew 25:31-46). It is ultimately the Incarnation that provides the most profound insight into the way we are to deal with other people.
As Jesus' parable makes clear, our treatment of other people is in an important way our treatment of him. On the other hand, Jesus' own attitude toward others is to be the model for our attitude, a point Paul makes very explicit in introducing the Christ Hymn of Philippians 2:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. (Phil. 2:3-7)
The importance of the Incarnation for ethics was summed up well by Karl Barth:
There is a general connexion of all men with Christ, and every man is His brother. He died for all men and rose for all men, so every man is the addressee of the work of Jesus Christ. That this is the case, is a promise for the whole of humanity. And it is the most important basis, and the only one which touches everything. He who has once realised that God was made man cannot speak and act inhumanly. (Dogmatics in Outline [Harper & Row, New York, 1959], p. 138. The translation was made when "man" was an acceptable English rendition of the German Mensch, "human being.")
With this in mind we can appreciate Luther's criticism of the epistle of James a bit better (see, e.g., pp. 395-396 of Luther's Work's, volume 35). His reasons for not considering James to be apostolic were twofold. First, there was the fact that the letter seems to ascribe justification to works rather than to faith. But there was also the fact that the christology of the letter is weak. Luther says:
In all this long teaching it does not once mention the Passion, the resurrection, or the Spirit of Christ. He names Christ several times, however he teaches nothing about him, but speaks only of a general faith in God. Now it is the office of a true apostle to preach of the Passion and resurrection and office of Christ, and to lay the foundation for faith in him....
Lest one think this criticism too theoretical, ask how effective mere moral exhortations to befriend the poor generally are! Christians need to be reminded that their treatment of the other should not be a matter of abstract social justice or even a consequence of a general theism, but an inextricable part of belief in the God who shares our humanity in order to save us.
A subscriber responds: When I read Carter Shelley's preview, I immediately thought about our local crisis: the firing of Dallas Police Chief Terrell Bolton, the first African-American chief for Dallas. The media has jumped all over the story, referring to the racial tension that the firing has caused. The mayor is Caucasian; the city manager, who ultimately carried out the firing, is Hispanic. Today, African-American churches rallied around the case, stating that it was not so much the firing that irked them, but the off-handed manner in which it was done. Sadly, the media has shown pictures of African-Americans holding up signs referring to Hispanics as sold-out wetbacks.
I'm torn. I truly believe that God is partial to the oppressed and the downtrodden. At the same time, I am having trouble distinguishing the oppressed group that God favors most. I am troubled that the racial issues come into play in such a case as this. I'm also very much aware that the racial issue is not one that God ignores, because it still is a means by which the wider culture distinguishes and discriminates. And when Caucasians say that they are tired of the race card being played in every political situation, we are really saying that those who are oppressed should just suck it up and not feel so oppressed. They should be able to rise above their subtle discrimination and see things the same way we do!
Could it be that the scriptures for this week point us to the message that God's partiality is different from ours? Heaven forbid! God favors the poor, the downtrodden, the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned -- everything that I and my congregation are not! No greater anger from the Almighty has come to view than that over the mistreatment of God's oppressed people. How can we transcend both our racial and political ideologies to hear the messages of these texts? Perhaps we never truly can. Thank God, we have the scriptures. In them, we see a glimpse of God's kingdom! And in them, we are given a picture of a world that is different from the one we think we are creating.
Mark Irons
Rockwall, Texas
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Worship Resources
by George Reed
VISUALS
Pictures of refugees, poor, sick, imprisoned. Or even a person unknown to the congregation dressed in dirty and torn clothes seated in the front pew.
Those who take a Blanket Sunday offering for refugees would find this an ideal Sunday. If you have the materials for the "fashion show" telling how a blanket is often everything for a refugee, this would be a good time to present it.
Pile "everything" you own in front of the altar. Contrast this with the meager things owned by most people in the world or the few possessions someone like Mother Teresa or Mahatma Ghandi owned.
This is a good time to remember that if you (1) have a form of transportation, (2) have a place of your own to live in, and (3) have a variety of foods in your diet, you are rich by the world's standard.
OPENING
Music
Hymns
"All Creatures of Our God and King." Words: Francis of Assisi; ca 1225; trans. William H. Draper, 1925; adapt. 1987; music: Geistliche Kirchengesange, 1623; harm. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906. Adapt. (c) 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in UMH 62; Hymnal '82 400; LBOW 527; TPH 455; AAHH 147; TNNBH 33.
"All Things Bright and Beautiful." Words: Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848; music: 17th cent. English melody, arr. Martin Shaw, 1915. Public domain. As found in UMH 147; Hymnal '82 405; TPH 267.
"All People That on Earth Do Dwell." Words: attr. to William Kethe, 1561; music: attr. to Louis Bourgeois, 1551. Public domain. As found in UMH 75; Hymnal '82 377, 378; LBOW 245; TPH: 220, 221; TNNBH 36.
Songs
"How Majestic Is Your Name." Words and music: Michael W. Smith. (c) 1981 Meadowgreen Music. As found in CCB 21.
"We Will Glorify." Words: Richard Bewes; music: African American spiritual; harm. Carlton R. Young. Words (c) 1973 Church Pastoral Aid Society; harm. (c) 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in CCB 19.
"More Precious than Silver." Words and music: Lynn DeShazo. (c) 1982 Integrity's Hosanna! Music. As found in CCB25/
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.
People: Favor is better than silver or gold.
Leader: The rich and the poor have this in common:
People: God is the maker of them all.
Leader: Come into the presence of the Maker.
People: O God, make us like you.
or
Leader: Those who trust in God are like Mount Zion.
People: They cannot be moved but abide forever.
Leader: As the mountains surround Jerusalem
People: So God surrounds the people of God.
Leader: Let us put our trust in our God.
People: Help us, God, to be your people.
COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER
O God who came to earth to seek and to save even the least of your creation: Grant us to fulfill our purpose in creation and to truly be your image in our dealings with the poor and the powerless. Amen.
or
Jesus, you spent so much time teaching, healing, and calling the poor, the sinners, the outcasts. Help us as your disciples to continue your ministry to those who are most in need. Help us to remember that you came to save the entire world and not just those who are like us. Amen.
Response Music
Hymns
"Jesu, Jesu." Words: Tom Colvin, 1969; music: Ghana folk song; arr. by Tom Colvin, 1969; harm. By Charles H. Webb, 1988. (c) 1969, 1989 Hope Publishing Co. As found in UMH 432; Hymnal '82 602; TPH 367.
"Cuando El Pobre" (When the Poor Ones). Words: J. A. Olivar and Miguel Manzano; trans. George Lockwood; music: J. A. Olivar and Miguel Manzano, arr. Alvin Schutmaat. (c) 1971 Ediciones Paulinas; trans. (c) 1980 The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in UMH 434.
"Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life." Words: Frank Mason North, 1903; music: William Gardiner's Sacred Melodies, 1815. Public domain. As found in UMH 427; Hymnal '82 609; LBOW 429; TPH 408.
"The Voice of God Is Calling." Words: John Haynes Holmes, 1913; music: William Lloyd, 1840. Public domain. As found in UMH 436.
"O God of Every Nation." Words: William W. Reid, Jr. 1958; music: Welsh hymn melody; harm David Evans, 1927. Words (c) 1958, renewed 1986 the Hymn Society of America. As found in UMH 435; Hymnal '82 607; LBOW 416; TPH: 289
Songs
"We Are One in Christ Jesus" (Somos uno en Cristo). Words: Anon.; English trans. Alice Parker; music: anon; arr. Felipe Blycker J. Trans. (c) 1996 Abingdon Press; arr. (c) 1992 Celebremos/Libros Alianza. As found in CCB 43.
"Ubi Caritas" (Live in Charity). Words and music: Jacques Berthier and the Taize Community; arr. J. Michael Bryan. (c) 1979, 1996 Les Presses de Taize. As found in CCB 71.
"I Am Loved." Words: William J. Gaither and Gloria Gaither; music: William J. Gaither. (c) 1978 William J. Gaither. As found in CCB 80.
"Make Me a Servant." Words and music: Kelly Willard. (c) 1982 Willing Heart Music. As found in CCB 90.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION/ PARDON
Leader: Let us confess to God who we are and ask God to make us who we need to become.
We come into the presence of the one who created us all as brothers and sisters.
People: We confess that we treat others more like strangers than like members of the family.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who came to seek and to save even the least of all creation.
People: We confess that we treat the poor and powerless as if they had no standing.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who ate with sinners, touched the untouchables, and loved the unlovable.
People: We confess that we shun those who are not like ourselves, and we look down in disgust at those who don't meet our standards of conduct.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who created us to be the very image and presence of God.
People: We confess that we often do not look like the compassion of God as we have seen that in Jesus of Nazareth.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who offers love and forgiveness even to people like us. In the Name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and empowered by the Spirit to live as God's ambassadors in this world.
People: As God's forgiven people, we pledge ourselves to seek anew the image of God in our lives by the way we treat others, especially those the world calls the least.
GENERAL PRAYERS AND LITANIES
Praise and honor and glory and blessing are yours by right, O God, for you are our maker and redeemer. You are our life, our breath, our very being. We praise and worship you because you are the Creator and we are the creature. Receive the praise of our hearts and our lips.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
We confess, O God, that we act too often as if we created ourselves; as if we were self-sufficient and had no need of you. We make our own laws and follow after false gods. We treat others not as brothers and sisters but as objects to be used. We are especially blind to our kinship with the poor, the powerless, and the social misfits of our world. We resent being confronted by them in public and we feel they are taking advantage of us in the help programs of our governments and social agencies. We fail to see how our lifestyle contributes to the miserable conditions of so many. We are especially wary of strangers and those least like us. We look on outward appearances and see an enemy instead of looking inward and seeing a sister or brother. Forgive us, O God, and fill us with your Spirit and your compassion that we might be caring of them as you are caring of us.
We thank you for all the ways you have cared for us. You have provided us a wonderful earth that provides abundantly for our needs. You have given us family and friends that care for us and watch over us. You have given us your self in Jesus Christ and through your Church you continue to offer Good News to the world.
(Other thanksgiving may be offered.)
Your care and love for us makes us bold to share with you the cares and burdens of our hearts. We have loved ones that are sick or dying; out of work; in conflict; heading in ways that lead to destruction. We are aware of others, your loved ones, whom we do not know by name but who are suffering these and other ills. We lift them up to your great love and ask that our love and care might join yours in healing them.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
Bless us as your church that we might be ever faithful to you and to our calling to be your presence of healing and hope to this lost and dying world. All this we ask in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray together, saying: "Our Father...."
Hymnal and Songbook Abbreviations
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition
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A Children's Sermon
by Wesley Runk
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Text: "Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ... So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (vv. 5b, 17)
Object: empty medicine bottle, empty plate, sleeping bag, worn out clothes, empty purse or wallet
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about being poor. Do you know anyone who is poor? (let them answer) What does a poor person look like? (let them answer) What is different about poor people? (let them answer)
I brought along some things that I think poor people have that other people do not have. Let's see what a poor person has. What kind of a bottle is this? (let them answer) That's right, it is a medicine bottle. What do you notice about this medicine bottle that is different from other medicine bottles? (let them answer) Very good, the bottle is empty, isn't it?
Let's take a look at this piece. (hold up dinner plate) What do we call it? (let them answer) What do we do with it? (let them answer) What is it missing? (let them answer) That's right, food. Poor people have a hard time buying the right kind of food for their bodies.
(hold up the sleeping bag) What do you do with this? (let them answer) Very good, you sleep in it. But do any of you sleep in it every night? Some poor people don't have a bedroom or a house. They sleep outside when it's both hot and cold weather.
Poor people have poor clothes, don't they? (let them answer) No fancy hats, no expensive boots, just something to cover them. And finally poor people don't have much money. (show them the empty wallet or purse) What are we supposed to think about poor people? (let them answer)
The Bible has some answers. First, God says that God chose poor people to be rich in faith. In other words, when you don't have money, medicine, food, clothes, or a nice house, then you learn to believe in other things. You trust God to keep you well or heal you. You thank God for a piece of bread, a warm sleeping bag, and other people to help you. You learn very quickly how important friends are.
Some people try to stay away from the poor. Some people hide from the poor so that their eyes will not tell them to share what God has given them. We need to do good things for the poor as a sign of our love for God.
The next time you take some medicine, remember the poor people who have no help. The next time you eat a big meal, ask your mom if you couldn't give some of your food to the poor. And if you have some extra money, give it to a poor person and tell them that Jesus wanted you to share what you have with them.
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The Immediate Word, September 7, 2003 issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
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Carter Shelley, our lead writer in this issue of The Immediate Word, finds common and compelling motifs in three of the lectionary readings for September 7. These motifs center on the almost universal human tendency to show partiality to those who are like us. Most of us have at one time or another experienced both sides of the syndrome -- at times being the victims of exclusion and at other times the excluders. (The experience can be especially acute and traumatic for school-agers, who are struggling to develop a secure personhood.)
We might wonder about the extent to which such feelings are genetic in origin, part of our commonality with the animal world. But the Bible consistently points us toward a higher level of consciousness and behavior, one that finds its basis in the teachings of Jesus and much of the rest of the Bible as well.
Team responses are included, along with worship resources by George Reed and a children's sermon by Wesley Runk.
Contents
Divine and Human Partiality: A Christian Dilemma
Team Comments
Worship Resources
Children's Sermon
Divine and Human Partiality: A Christian Dilemma
by Carter Shelley
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
James 2:1-10, (11-13) 14-17
Mark 7:24-37
No single specific national or international event sparked the emphasis of this week's issue of The Immediate Word on the poor and the outsider. Rather, partiality has been a significant feature of human behavior since the beginning of known human history. The issues we face in our local churches, in our community governing bodies, and in national and international affairs often have at their root the human need to prefer one group of people, one race, one political or religious faction over another. This week's emphasis on the poor and the excluded stems from the discussion of both in the lectionary texts and from the sad fact that in 2003 the poor are with us in larger numbers and to perhaps a worse degree even than in Jesus' day, while there's always someone, or thousands of someones, whom we see as outsider and consequently, fear, shun, or despise.
Americans tend to display a partiality toward the rich, the successful, the beautiful, the charming, the famous. We want to be with them, be like them, be them. We tend to believe that anyone can achieve monetary success if they truly work for it. So, those who've got it deserve it; those who don't, well ... they're lazy, unlucky, mediocre. We like to control our own money and decide how generous we want to be; we don't want government to take it from us but much prefer to give it to the church or a nonprofit or a street person. We are more comfortable with -- and therefore partial toward -- those who look like us, act like us, and think like us. Nationalities, cultures, religions, race, economics, first world, third world, gender, education, sexual orientation -- we are created to be different from one another, and yet we seek to validate those who are like us in order to validate ourselves.
We don't have to do that. God's love validates us. God's blessings validate us. God created a world filled with diversity; it's true. We are the ones who have attached a graded scale to the value of those that revels in a norm. God challenges our partiality. Divine concern for the poor is a biblical constant, as is the divine injunction to provide for the poor.
The proverbs included in this Sunday's lection offer specific ways that God is partial toward the poor. The two miracles of Jesus in Mark show Jesus' own partiality toward people who within Jesus' own cultural context would have been viewed as outsiders and outcasts. The Syrophoenician woman is doubly scorned for being both a Gentile and female. At the beginning of the Syrophoenician woman's exchange with Jesus, the theologically battle-weary Jesus just wants a little peace and quiet and privacy. It is the woman's own tenaciousness that pulls Jesus back to the nurturing aspect of his ministry, a ministry in which those whom other humans despise and reject receive the best Jesus has to offer. And the physically deaf man with the speech impediment would have been viewed by many of Jesus' contemporaries (as such a physically challenged person might be viewed still today) as abnormal, problematic, and sinful -- that is, as an outsider. Any physically challenged individual will tell you just how left out one can be when one does not experience the world or communicate in it the way the majority do. Like Father, like Son, Jesus is partial toward those who have significant needs.
The second-century epistle of James calls the early Christian community back to the values and standards established in scripture and in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is exactly those whom the rest of the world despises and rejects that true Christians are called to embrace and welcome into their church. The Christian dilemma the author of James identifies is our human inclination to fawn over and favor the rich, the powerful, and the successful while leaving the poorly clad, smelly, street person out in the narthex nursing a cup of coffee or alone in the minister's study until he or she can come deal with him.
We Christians face these kinds of dilemmas almost daily. Who doesn't prefer lunch with a mentor or boss who'll pick up the tab, to taking the time to buy lunch and sit with someone you see standing at a busy intersection holding a "Will work for food" sign? While some of our younger church members and visitors choose to dress informally for Sunday services, they still stay in our comfort zone by using deodorant, exercising standard hygiene, while basically sounding like and resembling us in all the ways that truly matter: education, family background, professional goals, etc. It's human nature to prefer the company of people who talk like us, think like us, and live like us. It's human nature to feel awkward and uncomfortable with people who do not look like us, think like us, or live like us. The challenge this Sunday is to acknowledge how hard it is for us to live up to our Christian calling, and yet find a way to inspire and enable our congregations and ourselves to risk hospitality and friendship to those whom God favors.
A good place to start is an examination of the characteristics of God and Jesus that are illuminated in the first reading and the Gospel lection. A close look at these scattered proverbs and the two miracle stories reveals fresh insights on the nature of God and puts into sharp contrast the human characteristics James identifies and then challenges his own community to forsake in order to be true to their Christian commitment and identity.
The three sets of proverbs designated for Sunday come from two separate literary sections of the book. Proverbs 22:1-2 and 22:8-9 are part of the Royal Collection. Proverbs 22:22-23 appears in the Sayings of the Wise. What they have in common is the importance given to the poor and God's partiality toward them. These six verses say a great deal about God. God is the Creator of all people, the rich and the poor. But, unlike human beings, God does not make the social distinctions between the rich and the poor that humans do. "The Lord is maker of them all." As the champion of justice, God heaps calamity and anger upon those individuals who exploit and act unjustly towards other people, while God blesses those who are generous and "share their bread with the poor."
Verse 22 instructs those who live advantageously not to take advantage of the poor "because they are poor" or to crush those who already are afflicted. Pity and compassion are righteous responses to another person's misfortune and not opportunism and abuse. While this appeal not to kick somebody who's already black and blue seems a modicum of decent behavior, it's one that human beings often ignore. Middle School memories of a classmate called "Bulldog" by other eighth graders comes immediately to mind for me. She was fat, she was poor, she lived with her mother who worked in one of the mills, and she wasn't even smart. Yet, the majority of kids talked about her but never to her. They made barking sounds when she walked by, and thought it was great fun to make her the brunt of jokes. Unfortunately, adult equivalents are not hard to find. The reference to "the gate" in v. 22 brings legal issues to the fore with the promise that God will serve as the attorney who defends the poor and the afflicted. God will also be the prosecutor who charges, convicts, and despoils the wrongdoers. These proverbs refute the notion that all who are rich are blessed by God and all who are poor are overlooked or being punished by God.
Thus, those who seek to live godly lives also must not make distinctions between the rich and the poor. We are to champion the cause of those who need justice, be generous with others, and defend and protect the poor and afflicted from those who would take advantage of their weakness.
A more interesting than usual range of characteristics of Jesus appears in Mark 7:24-37. While many Sunday school portraits and lessons about Jesus tend to present a nice-looking bearded man wearing a pristinely clean white robe along with a welcoming and peaceful aspect, these two miracles add some depth and humanity to the Savior from Nazareth. In his exchange with the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus has sought anonymity and a respite from messianic chores, yet he's hounded by this woman whom he insults by likening her to a dog. It is the woman's humility and dignity that turn the tide. She convinces Jesus that her appeal is worth his response. The irony of Mark's placing this incident after Jesus' exchange with the Pharisees is obvious. The righteous Pharisees don't recognize Jesus' uniqueness. While a woman, unrighteous by her birth, for she is not Jewish and not chosen, this Gentile recognizes Jesus' uniqueness and acts out of that knowledge. Where the Pharisees were arrogant and piously self-reliant, the Syrophoenician woman is needy and dependent and doesn't mind expressing it. As the Jews of Jesus' day looked to the educated and devout Pharisees to lead them, we too look to persons in high office to share the wisdom of the ages. Perhaps also there are other, less powerful and important individuals who have a clearer sense of the way our country and our people should go if we want to continue to be "under God."
In privately healing the deaf man with the speech impediment, Jesus does a very unsavory thing for a hallowed Savior. Jesus sticks his fingers in the man's ears. Jesus spits, without any sort of ritual washing before touching the man's tongue. In effecting this cure away from the crowd, Jesus shows his reluctance to become a dog and pony show miracle worker. In using words and physical contact with the man, Jesus demonstrates a willingness to be engaged with the man through both means of communication.
While other ancient miracle workers operated on a cash basis, money does not elicit either miracle Jesus performs. Instead, the key ingredient is language. Words are essential to both miracles. The woman must speak to Jesus and persist in her speaking, nagging if necessary. The man, who himself cannot speak clearly and certainly cannot hear the conversation between his friends and Jesus, receives attention because his friends intercede on his behalf. Words spoken by Jesus activate each healing. "The demon has left your daughter." "Be opened!"
While we may not be able to imitate Christ by miracle-working, through our ability to listen we certainly can take time to really hear someone who needs to be heard. Psychologist Carl Rogers may have been one of the first to formalize the concept of active listening as a means for healing, but he wasn't the first ever to offer the service. God hears. Jesus hears. Christians are called to hear.
The second church in which I served as a full-time minister was a downtown, urban church. First Presbyterian Church was located two blocks from the bus station and one block from the soup kitchen. I began there as an Associate Minster in the early 1980s. The number of indigent people, needy people, and desperate people who came to our church seeking a bag of food, money to pay an electric bill, or a means for getting away from an abusive home situation was legion. In fact, we rarely had close to enough funds to share with the many people who gingerly and wearily sat on our upholstered lobby furniture waiting to make their plea. I hated it when we ran out of food and money to distribute. I was afraid of the kinds of anger and despair folks in such dire need would present. I was afraid of my own sense of helplessness in dealing with people for whom I could supply nothing. The big surprise was, it often didn't matter. Most of these folks were used to being turned down. They didn't like it, of course, but financial help wasn't all they sought. Almost every man or woman who came through my office door wanted to be heard. It didn't matter if I said, right off the bat, "We're out of money. We can't help you this month," if I would just let each individual sit for a while and tell me his or her story. In that way an even greater need was met. Often that was more than anyone else had done in a long, long time. Being seen as a person, with a name, a life, and a story was vitally important, because being a street person, a renter of one room in a boarding house, or a young runaway, often carries with it a badge of invisibility. Hearing one's name used, being looked in the eye, these things mattered as much as anything. Jesus didn't marginalize people. Jesus saw them as children of God, Jesus' own brothers and sisters irrespective of the difficulties and ills that led them to him.
God demonstrates partiality toward the poor and the afflicted. Jesus demonstrates particularity towards the outsider and the unnamed and unacknowledged. Whom do we express partiality towards? To his dismay, James notes that second-century Christians enthusiastically welcome the prosperous, well-dressed visitor, while virtually ignoring more humble new guests. It's easy to picture the finely dressed, upstanding citizen checking this Christianity thing out. Thoughts of the prestige, the financial possibilities, the political advantages the community might enjoy would all pave the way for such a first timer into the early church and our own sanctuaries. Meanwhile, the disheveled, hard-to-understand woman stands awkwardly at the back of the church wondering where she might sit, embarrassed about the tears in her stockings, the second-hand coat she wears, and the contrast between herself and the well-clothed people sitting in the pews who fail to get up to speak to her.
Chapter 2 of James cannot be read without a sense of the anger and frustration of its author. He's writing to a church no longer brand new. No longer are the teachings of Jesus and Paul the primary influences on the church. The household rules of Roman society, the status quo values that permeate their world have infiltrated the church as well. It's been dangerous to be different. It's been hard to be different. It's been uncomfortable to be different. It's back to "Wives be subject to your husbands ... Slaves obey your masters ... " "Wouldn't it be great if Maximus Income would join our congregation?" James' letter reminds his fellow Christians they are supposed to be different from the rest of society. James doesn't use hierarchical language to address them. They are "brothers and sisters," all equally important, all equal in status. James reminds them they are to embrace those persons that society rejects: the street person, the poor person, the persecuted stranger, those who most need to be welcomed and saved.
The epistle of James gets an undeservedly bad rap because of Martin Luther's dislike of it. Luther's issue was valid. None should think that God's grace can be earned. After all, who more than Luther knew how impossible it was to earn forgiveness and peace of mind and heart? Yet Luther misses the point as James makes it. James writes to Christians already established as a community of faith. James writes to those for whom grace is a reality. For James how Christians treat others is the outcome of having been forgiven and accepted in all one's unworthiness. In the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary Luke Timothy Johnson elaborates. "James' privileging of the poor within the community of faith is startlingly close to Jesus' own proclamation to the poor. 'Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.' The Christian ethic of love needs content and action, not just idealism" if it is to have any teach at all. "The assembly gathered by faith, says James, must act on the basis of another set of values. Those whom the world most despises are to be regarded, in faith, as heirs of the kingdom and, therefore, honored by the specific hospitality of the community: its greeting, its body language, its space. It is by this measure that the community is to be judged" (Anchor Bible [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995], 195).
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Team Comments
George Murphy responds: Why are we supposed to care about other people -- and especially about those who really are "other," different from ourselves? At one level of course this can just be presented as a matter of divine command: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus makes this statement of torah even more pointed with his famous parable of the Good Samaritan, showing that "neighbor" is to be understood without regard to our ethnic, cultural, and political distinctions.
But is this just an arbitrary rule? Another verse from Proverbs (14:31) gives us more insight: "Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him." All people are God's special workmanship, and the respect we pay to them is in a sense respect we pay to the creator.
But it goes deeper than that. God is not only our creator but, in the Incarnation, has become one of us and, in particular, identifies himself with those who are in need of any kind of help (e.g., Matthew 25:31-46). It is ultimately the Incarnation that provides the most profound insight into the way we are to deal with other people.
As Jesus' parable makes clear, our treatment of other people is in an important way our treatment of him. On the other hand, Jesus' own attitude toward others is to be the model for our attitude, a point Paul makes very explicit in introducing the Christ Hymn of Philippians 2:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. (Phil. 2:3-7)
The importance of the Incarnation for ethics was summed up well by Karl Barth:
There is a general connexion of all men with Christ, and every man is His brother. He died for all men and rose for all men, so every man is the addressee of the work of Jesus Christ. That this is the case, is a promise for the whole of humanity. And it is the most important basis, and the only one which touches everything. He who has once realised that God was made man cannot speak and act inhumanly. (Dogmatics in Outline [Harper & Row, New York, 1959], p. 138. The translation was made when "man" was an acceptable English rendition of the German Mensch, "human being.")
With this in mind we can appreciate Luther's criticism of the epistle of James a bit better (see, e.g., pp. 395-396 of Luther's Work's, volume 35). His reasons for not considering James to be apostolic were twofold. First, there was the fact that the letter seems to ascribe justification to works rather than to faith. But there was also the fact that the christology of the letter is weak. Luther says:
In all this long teaching it does not once mention the Passion, the resurrection, or the Spirit of Christ. He names Christ several times, however he teaches nothing about him, but speaks only of a general faith in God. Now it is the office of a true apostle to preach of the Passion and resurrection and office of Christ, and to lay the foundation for faith in him....
Lest one think this criticism too theoretical, ask how effective mere moral exhortations to befriend the poor generally are! Christians need to be reminded that their treatment of the other should not be a matter of abstract social justice or even a consequence of a general theism, but an inextricable part of belief in the God who shares our humanity in order to save us.
A subscriber responds: When I read Carter Shelley's preview, I immediately thought about our local crisis: the firing of Dallas Police Chief Terrell Bolton, the first African-American chief for Dallas. The media has jumped all over the story, referring to the racial tension that the firing has caused. The mayor is Caucasian; the city manager, who ultimately carried out the firing, is Hispanic. Today, African-American churches rallied around the case, stating that it was not so much the firing that irked them, but the off-handed manner in which it was done. Sadly, the media has shown pictures of African-Americans holding up signs referring to Hispanics as sold-out wetbacks.
I'm torn. I truly believe that God is partial to the oppressed and the downtrodden. At the same time, I am having trouble distinguishing the oppressed group that God favors most. I am troubled that the racial issues come into play in such a case as this. I'm also very much aware that the racial issue is not one that God ignores, because it still is a means by which the wider culture distinguishes and discriminates. And when Caucasians say that they are tired of the race card being played in every political situation, we are really saying that those who are oppressed should just suck it up and not feel so oppressed. They should be able to rise above their subtle discrimination and see things the same way we do!
Could it be that the scriptures for this week point us to the message that God's partiality is different from ours? Heaven forbid! God favors the poor, the downtrodden, the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned -- everything that I and my congregation are not! No greater anger from the Almighty has come to view than that over the mistreatment of God's oppressed people. How can we transcend both our racial and political ideologies to hear the messages of these texts? Perhaps we never truly can. Thank God, we have the scriptures. In them, we see a glimpse of God's kingdom! And in them, we are given a picture of a world that is different from the one we think we are creating.
Mark Irons
Rockwall, Texas
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Worship Resources
by George Reed
VISUALS
Pictures of refugees, poor, sick, imprisoned. Or even a person unknown to the congregation dressed in dirty and torn clothes seated in the front pew.
Those who take a Blanket Sunday offering for refugees would find this an ideal Sunday. If you have the materials for the "fashion show" telling how a blanket is often everything for a refugee, this would be a good time to present it.
Pile "everything" you own in front of the altar. Contrast this with the meager things owned by most people in the world or the few possessions someone like Mother Teresa or Mahatma Ghandi owned.
This is a good time to remember that if you (1) have a form of transportation, (2) have a place of your own to live in, and (3) have a variety of foods in your diet, you are rich by the world's standard.
OPENING
Music
Hymns
"All Creatures of Our God and King." Words: Francis of Assisi; ca 1225; trans. William H. Draper, 1925; adapt. 1987; music: Geistliche Kirchengesange, 1623; harm. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906. Adapt. (c) 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in UMH 62; Hymnal '82 400; LBOW 527; TPH 455; AAHH 147; TNNBH 33.
"All Things Bright and Beautiful." Words: Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848; music: 17th cent. English melody, arr. Martin Shaw, 1915. Public domain. As found in UMH 147; Hymnal '82 405; TPH 267.
"All People That on Earth Do Dwell." Words: attr. to William Kethe, 1561; music: attr. to Louis Bourgeois, 1551. Public domain. As found in UMH 75; Hymnal '82 377, 378; LBOW 245; TPH: 220, 221; TNNBH 36.
Songs
"How Majestic Is Your Name." Words and music: Michael W. Smith. (c) 1981 Meadowgreen Music. As found in CCB 21.
"We Will Glorify." Words: Richard Bewes; music: African American spiritual; harm. Carlton R. Young. Words (c) 1973 Church Pastoral Aid Society; harm. (c) 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in CCB 19.
"More Precious than Silver." Words and music: Lynn DeShazo. (c) 1982 Integrity's Hosanna! Music. As found in CCB25/
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.
People: Favor is better than silver or gold.
Leader: The rich and the poor have this in common:
People: God is the maker of them all.
Leader: Come into the presence of the Maker.
People: O God, make us like you.
or
Leader: Those who trust in God are like Mount Zion.
People: They cannot be moved but abide forever.
Leader: As the mountains surround Jerusalem
People: So God surrounds the people of God.
Leader: Let us put our trust in our God.
People: Help us, God, to be your people.
COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER
O God who came to earth to seek and to save even the least of your creation: Grant us to fulfill our purpose in creation and to truly be your image in our dealings with the poor and the powerless. Amen.
or
Jesus, you spent so much time teaching, healing, and calling the poor, the sinners, the outcasts. Help us as your disciples to continue your ministry to those who are most in need. Help us to remember that you came to save the entire world and not just those who are like us. Amen.
Response Music
Hymns
"Jesu, Jesu." Words: Tom Colvin, 1969; music: Ghana folk song; arr. by Tom Colvin, 1969; harm. By Charles H. Webb, 1988. (c) 1969, 1989 Hope Publishing Co. As found in UMH 432; Hymnal '82 602; TPH 367.
"Cuando El Pobre" (When the Poor Ones). Words: J. A. Olivar and Miguel Manzano; trans. George Lockwood; music: J. A. Olivar and Miguel Manzano, arr. Alvin Schutmaat. (c) 1971 Ediciones Paulinas; trans. (c) 1980 The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in UMH 434.
"Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life." Words: Frank Mason North, 1903; music: William Gardiner's Sacred Melodies, 1815. Public domain. As found in UMH 427; Hymnal '82 609; LBOW 429; TPH 408.
"The Voice of God Is Calling." Words: John Haynes Holmes, 1913; music: William Lloyd, 1840. Public domain. As found in UMH 436.
"O God of Every Nation." Words: William W. Reid, Jr. 1958; music: Welsh hymn melody; harm David Evans, 1927. Words (c) 1958, renewed 1986 the Hymn Society of America. As found in UMH 435; Hymnal '82 607; LBOW 416; TPH: 289
Songs
"We Are One in Christ Jesus" (Somos uno en Cristo). Words: Anon.; English trans. Alice Parker; music: anon; arr. Felipe Blycker J. Trans. (c) 1996 Abingdon Press; arr. (c) 1992 Celebremos/Libros Alianza. As found in CCB 43.
"Ubi Caritas" (Live in Charity). Words and music: Jacques Berthier and the Taize Community; arr. J. Michael Bryan. (c) 1979, 1996 Les Presses de Taize. As found in CCB 71.
"I Am Loved." Words: William J. Gaither and Gloria Gaither; music: William J. Gaither. (c) 1978 William J. Gaither. As found in CCB 80.
"Make Me a Servant." Words and music: Kelly Willard. (c) 1982 Willing Heart Music. As found in CCB 90.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION/ PARDON
Leader: Let us confess to God who we are and ask God to make us who we need to become.
We come into the presence of the one who created us all as brothers and sisters.
People: We confess that we treat others more like strangers than like members of the family.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who came to seek and to save even the least of all creation.
People: We confess that we treat the poor and powerless as if they had no standing.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who ate with sinners, touched the untouchables, and loved the unlovable.
People: We confess that we shun those who are not like ourselves, and we look down in disgust at those who don't meet our standards of conduct.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who created us to be the very image and presence of God.
People: We confess that we often do not look like the compassion of God as we have seen that in Jesus of Nazareth.
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who offers love and forgiveness even to people like us. In the Name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and empowered by the Spirit to live as God's ambassadors in this world.
People: As God's forgiven people, we pledge ourselves to seek anew the image of God in our lives by the way we treat others, especially those the world calls the least.
GENERAL PRAYERS AND LITANIES
Praise and honor and glory and blessing are yours by right, O God, for you are our maker and redeemer. You are our life, our breath, our very being. We praise and worship you because you are the Creator and we are the creature. Receive the praise of our hearts and our lips.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
We confess, O God, that we act too often as if we created ourselves; as if we were self-sufficient and had no need of you. We make our own laws and follow after false gods. We treat others not as brothers and sisters but as objects to be used. We are especially blind to our kinship with the poor, the powerless, and the social misfits of our world. We resent being confronted by them in public and we feel they are taking advantage of us in the help programs of our governments and social agencies. We fail to see how our lifestyle contributes to the miserable conditions of so many. We are especially wary of strangers and those least like us. We look on outward appearances and see an enemy instead of looking inward and seeing a sister or brother. Forgive us, O God, and fill us with your Spirit and your compassion that we might be caring of them as you are caring of us.
We thank you for all the ways you have cared for us. You have provided us a wonderful earth that provides abundantly for our needs. You have given us family and friends that care for us and watch over us. You have given us your self in Jesus Christ and through your Church you continue to offer Good News to the world.
(Other thanksgiving may be offered.)
Your care and love for us makes us bold to share with you the cares and burdens of our hearts. We have loved ones that are sick or dying; out of work; in conflict; heading in ways that lead to destruction. We are aware of others, your loved ones, whom we do not know by name but who are suffering these and other ills. We lift them up to your great love and ask that our love and care might join yours in healing them.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
Bless us as your church that we might be ever faithful to you and to our calling to be your presence of healing and hope to this lost and dying world. All this we ask in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray together, saying: "Our Father...."
Hymnal and Songbook Abbreviations
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition
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A Children's Sermon
by Wesley Runk
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Text: "Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ... So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (vv. 5b, 17)
Object: empty medicine bottle, empty plate, sleeping bag, worn out clothes, empty purse or wallet
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about being poor. Do you know anyone who is poor? (let them answer) What does a poor person look like? (let them answer) What is different about poor people? (let them answer)
I brought along some things that I think poor people have that other people do not have. Let's see what a poor person has. What kind of a bottle is this? (let them answer) That's right, it is a medicine bottle. What do you notice about this medicine bottle that is different from other medicine bottles? (let them answer) Very good, the bottle is empty, isn't it?
Let's take a look at this piece. (hold up dinner plate) What do we call it? (let them answer) What do we do with it? (let them answer) What is it missing? (let them answer) That's right, food. Poor people have a hard time buying the right kind of food for their bodies.
(hold up the sleeping bag) What do you do with this? (let them answer) Very good, you sleep in it. But do any of you sleep in it every night? Some poor people don't have a bedroom or a house. They sleep outside when it's both hot and cold weather.
Poor people have poor clothes, don't they? (let them answer) No fancy hats, no expensive boots, just something to cover them. And finally poor people don't have much money. (show them the empty wallet or purse) What are we supposed to think about poor people? (let them answer)
The Bible has some answers. First, God says that God chose poor people to be rich in faith. In other words, when you don't have money, medicine, food, clothes, or a nice house, then you learn to believe in other things. You trust God to keep you well or heal you. You thank God for a piece of bread, a warm sleeping bag, and other people to help you. You learn very quickly how important friends are.
Some people try to stay away from the poor. Some people hide from the poor so that their eyes will not tell them to share what God has given them. We need to do good things for the poor as a sign of our love for God.
The next time you take some medicine, remember the poor people who have no help. The next time you eat a big meal, ask your mom if you couldn't give some of your food to the poor. And if you have some extra money, give it to a poor person and tell them that Jesus wanted you to share what you have with them.
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The Immediate Word, September 7, 2003 issue.
Copyright 2003 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
