Immediate Word

In this week’s gospel text, John the Baptist asks a penetrating question: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” As we all try to wrap our minds around last week’s mass murder in San Bernardino and the disturbing information about the perpetrators that has emerged in recent days, we might think that the specter of terrorism could well be “the wrath to come.” But while this incident and its implications are grabbing all of the media attention at the moment, we at The Immediate Word think that there’s a strong argument to be made that in the long view the current meeting of world leaders in Paris at a UN conference on combatting the effects of climate change is far more significant -- especially since some of them have suggested it may be our last best chance to cobble together an adequate response to what could be an existential threat to human civilization. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Chris Keating contemplates whether we are fleeing the wrath to come in our seemingly indifferent response to a looming environmental crisis. Are we “bearing fruits worthy of repentance” with sufficient urgency in our stewardship of God’s creation as we prepare for both the nativity and the second coming of the Christ?

Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the gospel passage and the crowd’s question “What then shall we do?” John’s reply to them is a common-sense outline of sharing our excess with others and not taking advantage of them: “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.... Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” Dean notes that there are plenty of examples of seemingly obscene salaries/compensation: CEOs, movie stars, professional athletes who could buy a truckload of coats to share with those who have none. But what about those of us whose excess is more modest? How can we cultivate a giving mindset amidst a season that seems to be defined more by making out a list for Santa than by giving gifts to a newborn king? Dean asks us to consider the difference between our true needs and our wants -- something that can help us build connections with others, rather than walling ourselves off in physical, psychological, and spiritual gated communities.

Finally, we have an extensive “roundtable” contribution this week from several Immediate Word team members on the San Bernardino shootings and the various related issues raised by this terrible incident.

 

Dreaming of a Green Christmas
by Chris Keating
Luke 3:7-18

John’s thin-lipped, tightly parsed call to change minces few words.

It’s hardly the Christmas carol we’d like to sing this Sunday. Forget carolers garbed in festive Dickens-esque costumes; this scene feels more like the inside of Oliver Twist’s workhouse than strolling bands of fa-la-la-ers.

Crowds hear his exhortation, knowing the time is ripe for change. The urgency is clear -- they can see the shiny bevel of the axe laying bare the tree’s root. John’s ancient words of prophecy may ring familiar in many ways today, particularly among those concerned about the environment and global climate change. As leaders from across the world gathered in Paris last week to begin putting together an international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, French president François Hollande reminded them: “Never have the stakes of an international meeting been so high.”

Echoing John’s urgency, many leaders believe the summit could be the last hope to reach accord on climate change. “I can say to you ‘now or never,’ ” Pope Francis said, according to Reuters. “Every year the problems are getting worse. We are at the limits. If I may use a strong word, I would say that we are at the limits of suicide.”

The blade of the axe is scraping against the roots. The time for change is at hand -- yet one wonders if, like John’s audience, the world is paying attention.

John’s word to us this Sunday is that judgment is coming -- or, as the old carol puts it, “for lo, the days are hastening on.” Now is the time to bear fruits worthy of repentance, to consider changes which may ease pollution. It is the time to begin dreaming of a green Christmas.

In the News
In a time when the world is preoccupied by so many perplexing problems -- terrorism, refugees, tensions with Russia, global poverty, widespread violence -- gaining agreement on halting the impacts of climate change may seem as futile as locating the one bad bulb in a strand of miniature Christmas lights.

For the past week, diplomats from nearly every nation in the world have been looking through the strands of the climate change dilemma, working steadily toward an agreement. An agreement would be historic -- but also faces significant political and economic challenges.

Delegates to the Paris climate change conference -- officially known as the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties -- seem to be zeroing in on agreeing to a pact that would set 1.5 degrees Celsius as the limit for global temperature rise. That’s a half degree lower than the current limit, and would represent a significant victory for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations, who believe a 2-degree target would be a “death sentence” for millions already facing rising seas.

While plenty of countries want to reduce carbon emissions, there has never been an agreement that legally bound them to pursue those goals. The Paris conference is trying to change that, but the work is daunting. In order to achieve the goal of limiting temperature increases, carbon dioxide levels must be stop growing by the year 2020 and then be halved by 2050.

Countries that had previously dismissed lowering the target have begun recognizing the need for change. In part, leaders are also responding to increased pressure from society and projected impacts on food and water supplies. The world is now more than halfway toward exceeding the present limit, prompting warnings from scientists that some effects of climate change could be “catastrophic and irreversible.”

In effect, the axe is ready to sever the roots of the world’s climate. Though only 42 percent of Americans are concerned about the impact of climate change, scientists document these devastating effects:
* Flooding attributed to climate change has hit 2.3 billion people in the last 20 years, mostly in Asia.
* Droughts impact more than a billion persons, largely Africans.
* The U.S. has invested billions in fighting wildfires -- actually, more than $11 billion.
* Rising sea temperatures, declining snowfalls, and lowering lake levels have hit across the globe, creating negative economic impacts on communities dependent on agriculture and tourism.

It’s not just cause for a little concern, leaders say. Rather, according to former Vice President Al Gore, it is a great moral cause with a simple “right” or “wrong” answer. Future generations are looking to global leaders to make the right decision, Gore said: “Of course there are disagreements on the wording of this section or that section. But ultimately at the end of this conference we must come together and provide the answer to that third and final question: yes, we will change.”

Last Sunday, a memorable photo of conference participants forming an oversized peace sign in front of the Eiffel Tower provided a lasting image for the talks. At the bottom of the human peace sign, attendees spelled out the caption “100% renewable.”

Gore’s passion for tackling climate change is contrasted by the outright refusal of conservative U.S. lawmakers to budge. While President Obama discerns methods for decreasing the U.S.’ carbon footprint, Republican legislators are making it clear he’s acting without their support. Even if the Obama succeeds in establishing new regulations, the “next president could simply tear it up,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued. “Governments currently engaged in this round of climate talks will want to know that there is more than just an executive branch in our system of government.”

As the Atlantic noted, McConnell added that the climate agenda “may not even survive much longer anyway.” McConnell’s position mirrors those of many others, especially as fears of enduring ISIS attacks, violence, and other issues control the political agenda.

One analyst carped that “Asking Republicans for foreign aid to solve a problem they claim doesn’t even exist would be like asking them to pay for gay weddings. Instead, the Obama administration has to fight with Congress just to make sure the GOP doesn’t strip what little climate finance the US has pledged, around $500 million per year until 2020, from the budget.”

Scientists and other participants in the Paris talks see it differently. Agreeing with Pope Francis’ assessment that the world is on a verge of a suicidal choice, they are pushing others toward ecological repentance and change. Politics seems short-sighted to people like anthropologist Jane Goodall, who urges American politicians to set aside partisan arguments and face the future. Sounding a bit like a voice crying in the wilderness, Goodall’s message to lawmakers was clear: “Think about your children and revisit your belief.”

In the Scriptures
Luke’s gospel for the third Sunday of Advent -- traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday or “Rejoice Sunday” -- takes us to the precipice of the wilderness, the very edgy place where God always seems to be doing something new. For Israel the wilderness was a place of temptation, a place where hungers and fears mixed together. But the wilderness was also a place where God’s provision was revealed, where their hungers were satiated by the astonishing gift of manna.

In the wilderness, we join the throngs who have come to hear John’s preaching. If John is impressed by the crowds who have shown up, however, it isn’t apparent in his tone. Rather than a bright and cheery greeting, the wildly dressed cousin of Jesus gets straight to the point: “You measly bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from God’s anger?”

As far as Christmas preaching goes, this sermon is anything but cheery. Who taught John’s homiletics class, anyway? Doesn’t he know that we preachers need to spice things up a bit for the season?

Indeed, John’s proclamation doesn’t sound a bit like a Christmas sermon, especially one preached in the glow of the pink Advent candle. In cinematic terms, this scene is more Die Hard than It’s a Wonderful Life. (By the way, Bruce Willis fans readily agree that Die Hard is a Christmas flick.) But perhaps that is the point worship ought to explore. Our rejoicing in Advent can only occur as we consider John’s message of repentance and change. His voice cries out into the wilderness not to attract record numbers of attendees but to call God’s people to lasting change.

Luke’s retelling of John’s sermon begins first with an insult (“You brood of vipers!”) and then continues as John deconstructs the crowd’s theological identity. He takes a dim view of their theological identity. Claiming Abraham as an ancestor is no defense, John tells them.  Faithfulness, not position or status, is critical -- a familiar theme for Luke.

John attempts to awaken the crowd from their spiritual slumber, encouraging them to bear fruits worthy of repentance. Notable is the absence of ritual worship. Instead, the believer who is redeemed shows that life through acts of justice, compassion, and righteousness. As judgment looms closer, the people are reminded that God could even create children from stones. 

Our joy on this Sunday lies in the ability to repent. Changing direction, John says, will prepare the path for God. Faithfulness takes shape in the practicalities of everyday life -- tax collectors should be fair, soldiers should act with justice, those who have plenty should share with those who do not. Perhaps, we might add, those nations who can do the most to impact the lives of the poor should change direction before it is too late.

John’s image of the axe chipping at the tree root would have resonated with first-century audiences who had experienced Rome’s vast deforestation projects. Empire building almost always involves destroying creation. Barbara Rossing notes that the historian Josephus lamented the scraping away of forests by Rome:

Rome’s deforestation of conquered lands was notorious. Both Josephus and Aelius Aristides use the same Greek word, “make naked” (gymnos; verbal form, gymnoo), to describe Rome’s stripping of forests. Josephus laments the beautiful countryside around Jerusalem that was logged by the Romans to construct massive wooden siegeworks and embankments: “[Caesar] at once gave the legions permission to lay waste the suburbs and issued orders to collect timber.... So the trees were felled and the suburbs rapidly stripped [gegymnoto]” (Josephus, War 5.264).

We are not the first to harness the Earth’s storehouse -- nor are we the first to abuse the privilege of stewardship. It is, in John’s words, a time to change. His message stirs the crowd with what might be called faithful anticipation. In a similar way, Larry Rasmussen suggests that congregations can become “anticipatory communities” which encourage faithfulness in caring for creation. It sets the stage for the One who is to come, the One in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

In the Sermon
John’s looming presence and thunderous calls to repent are hard to resist, especially as a contrast to the typical preparation we undertake for Christmas. While congregations are busy festooning sanctuaries and families attend to last-minute holiday details, John calls God’s people to look within. It isn’t the wrapping that is important, John says, but rather the gift. 

He takes the gift seriously, and proposes that God’s people need to ready themselves by becoming aware of the changes that can be made. It’s a dilemma we can understand, particularly when it comes to discussing the care of creation. Serious talk about pollution and making change fills the headlines and our lives -- but for many in our congregations, real talk about caring for the environment is difficult. Like those in the crowd, we may nod our head in recognition of the problems, but quickly wonder “What shall we do?”

A sermon addressing care of creation must recognize that not everyone understands the complexities of climate change. Some will dismiss it as nothing more than political rhetoric -- and perhaps preachers feel the same. Yet these issues are significant, and the science is frankly compelling. It is time for all of God’s children to change and to repent.

Caring for creation provides numerous ways of rephrasing the crowd’s question for our context today. “What shall we do?” We can recycle. We can promote alternative gifts at Christmas. We can pay attention to energy usage... and we can become aware of the precious gift God has given to us in creation.

A while back I had a fascinating conversation with a young person from my church. We were talking about the environment, and I said that some in the church had criticized me for discussing climate change. He wondered why they were critical, and I shared that they didn’t believe humans were causing climate change.

Zack listened to me and became very quiet. He looked at me and said, “Even if they don’t believe we are causing great harm to the environment, is that any reason for us to continue polluting it? Shouldn’t Christians be involved in caring for creation?”

We are stewards of a marvelous gift. As we ponder the complexities of problems facing our world this Advent, let John’s proclamation challenge us. Let his words break into our lives in dialogue with the stirrings of Earth. Let us rejoice in the coming One -- and ask ourselves “What shall we do?”

Let’s begin dreaming of a green Christmas.

 

SECOND THOUGHTS
Needful Things
by Dean Feldmeyer
Luke 3:7-18

In this Sunday’s gospel text, John the Baptist has an experience every preacher dreams of -- he preaches a sermon so powerful and so convicting that the people who hear it respond immediately. He preaches about the need for repentance -- and they cry out to him, asking “What then should we do?”

What, in other words, should our repentance look like? What act is so genuine and so pure that it will actually show God that we really are contrite, that we really are sorry for the separation and estrangement we have created between us and God and each other?

John’s response is surprisingly simple -- and to tell the truth, easy. He does not demand sackcloth and ashes. Neither does he require some great and painful sacrifice on the part of the repentant. Listen carefully to what he says: “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

Share. From your excess.

You don’t have to starve or even go hungry. You don’t have to sacrifice your health or your happiness. All John asks is that you take the extra that you have, that you don’t really need, and share it with someone who doesn’t have enough. Clothing. Food. Whatever.

Simple, right?

Well, maybe not. Especially not when I actually go to my closet and count the number of coats I own and ask how many of them I wore more than twice last year. Not when I have to ask myself, honestly, how many of these coats, these hats, these sweaters, these cars, these guitars, these rooms in my house I really need.

See, what John is requiring of us is that we exercise discernment -- that we put into place some mechanism that will allow us to honestly determine the difference between what we need and what we simply want. And that is not as easy as it sounds.

How Much Is Enough?
Earlier this year, pro baseball pitcher Zack Greinke opted out of his $147 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- apparently deciding that $147 million wasn’t enough. Last week, he signed a six-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for $206 million. That bumped David Price off the front page of the sports section after the Cy Young runner-up signed a seven-year free-agent deal worth $217 million the week before.

Deals like these and those of corporate CEOs and movie stars who make millions upon millions and constantly demand more beg the question: “How much is enough?” Does anyone really need $217 million? Why wasn’t $147 million enough? Why did Greinke need that extra $59 million?

Certainly, professional sports is a business -- and the rule of business is “whatever the market will bear.” Pro athletes are not paid for their talent or their achievements on the field of competition as much as for their ability to sell tickets and put fans (or fannies) in seats. Athletes also see the money in the contract not so much as money but more as a measurement of their value to the corporation that owns the team. If player A got $X and my batting average was higher than his, then I should get $X+1.

And in fairness, many professional athletes do spend at least some of their money on more than just bling. They share from their excess. Former San Antonia Spurs center David Robinson has given over $11 million to create the college prep Carver Academy in an economically challenged San Antonio neighborhood. Football great Warrick Dunn paid the down payments on over 100 homes for people in need through his “Homes for the Holidays” charity. Tennis star Andre Agassi has donated over $3 million since 2007 to a charter school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Las Vegas. Tiger Woods has donated more than $10 million to the Earl D. Woods Sr. Scholarship Fund and the Tiger Woods Learning Center, both of which help underserved kids get into college.

Every year, the NFL honors the charitable work done by pro football players with its Walter Payton Man of the Year award. Players from each team are nominated for the honor, with the winner announced just before the Super Bowl. Two of this year’s nominees are Carolina tight end Greg Olsen and Kansas City safety Eric Berry -- each of whom had life-changing experiences away from football, and for whom the logical next step was finding ways to help the causes that helped them.        

Olsen’s cause is to provide resources to improve the survival rate between surgeries for infants with a heart condition similar to the one his son T.J. had. Berry added cancer care to his list of priorities after he was diagnosed with lymphoma and had to step away from the game late in the 2014 season. Both are among the 32 nominees for the 2015 Payton award, which was renamed for the late Chicago Bears running back in 1999, the same year the 1977 Man of the Year winner died of a rare liver disease and bile duct cancer.

The question of how much is enough doesn’t just apply to the highly-paid few, however.

A Modesto, California man’s lucky hunch paid off when he won a $1,000 lottery prize and immediately bought more tickets -- winning $10 million with one of them. California lottery officials say Rodney Meadows was out running errands on Nov. 23 when he decided to pick up some $30 scratcher tickets at a Modesto store. After winning $1,000 on the first ticket he bought, Meadows decided to buy three more tickets a minute later -- and that’s when he scratched the ticket that made him a millionaire. Meadows says he had to ask the store clerk to check his ticket at the machine because he couldn’t believe he had won $10 million. He says he doesn’t yet know how he'll spend his winnings. Let’s hope he uses some of it to help those who haven’t hit the lottery.           

What About Us?
It’s easy to point out those whose excess is extravagantly large -- pro athletes, CEOs, movie stars, lottery winners -- and ask what they intend to do with the money they don’t actually need (which is, obviously, most of it).

It’s another thing, however, to look at our own lives and ask the same question. What about those of us who are of more modest means? Do we actually have any excess, any things we don’t really need, any resources that we could do without in order to help those whose needs are dire? 

How many guns, for instance, do we need in this country? At what point do we admit that guns are more of a fetish than a necessity? We have more guns, per capita, than any western nation, and yet this past Black Friday broke an FBI record for the number of firearms background checks: “The agency said Tuesday that it processed 185,345 background checks -- roughly two per second -- on the same day that three people were killed and nine others wounded in an attack at a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado. The FBI received about 5 percent fewer background check requests on Black Friday in 2014, the agency said.... The previous record for the most background checks in a single day was Dec. 21, 2012, about a week after 20 children and six adults were shot to death in a Connecticut elementary school. The week following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School saw the processing of 953,613 gun background checks.”

Just a few days ago we heard that, in the wake of the 14 murders in San Bernardino, California, the sale of guns has once again rocketed. How many guns do we really need? How might that same money have been used to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and further the work of the charities favored by the victims of that terrible massacre?

Rather than letting our fear and paranoia drive us to the wasting of our resources by purchasing more and more instruments of death, might we not take as our example a simple, underpaid cop in New Hampshire who shared some of his meager excess to help someone in need?

Officer Michael Kotsonis, a 19-year member of the Portsmouth police force, responded to a call last week at Ocean State Job Lots, where a woman had stolen cake mix, shortening, and “a couple things of frosting.” After investigating the theft and learning the woman's identity, Kotsonis went to her home to recover the items. It was there that he found that the woman was a mother who wanted to bake her child a birthday cake. Kotsonis says the mother’s actions weren’t right, but “I’m not going to take away a kid’s birthday cake.” He went back to the store and bought the items.

A store employee reported his gesture to the local newspaper. Frank Warchol, acting deputy police chief, said he wouldn’t have known about it either, if not for a reporter’s call. He said Kotsonis exemplifies the department’s mission statement emphasizing community, commitment, and compassion.

“I didn’t do it for the attention,” Kotsonis said. “What you do when no one is looking, that’s the character of someone.”
           
Needful Things
One of the most poignant parables ever written on this subject is the novel Needful Things, by no less a best-selling author than Stephen King.

It takes place in King’s favorite locale, Castle Rock, Maine, and opens with the arrival of one Leland Gaunt, a tall, grey-haired, continental-type gentleman who opens a small curiosity shop called “Needful Things.” This strange and fascinating little shop seems to have an item in stock that is perfectly suited to any customer who comes through his door. The prices are surprisingly low, considering the merchandise -- such as a rare Sandy Koufax baseball card, a carnival glass lampshade, and a fragment of wood believed to be from Noah's Ark -- but Mr. Gaunt expects each customer also to play a little prank on someone else in Castle Rock. Gaunt knows about the long-standing private grudges, arguments, and feuds between the various townspeople, and the pranks cause them to escalate until the whole town is eventually caught up in madness and violence.

It is not until the pranks have become extreme and the violence is out of control that some of the people begin to realize that the they have, in fact, traded their souls for things of questionable value that they thought they needed. But those needs, it turns out, were based on fantasies and were never more than wants. They have sold their souls for trinkets.

Leland Gaunt is finally run out of town by the townspeople, and the story begins as it ended. In another town far away, a debonair, elderly gentleman has opened a little curiosity shop called “Answered Prayers.”

The gospel lesson for this third Sunday of Advent does not ask us to give up the things we actually need. It simply asks that we exercise the love and generosity to share from the things we don’t need, and the wisdom and discernment to know the difference.

 

ON THE SAN BERNARDINO SHOOTINGS AND RELATED ISSUES
From Mary Austin:
The prophet Zephaniah urges us to remember that “the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.”

Anne Stewart suggests that we think about the prophet’s words, and ask “What if God barged into the midst of our daily lives, if God made God’s presence known? How would you feel? How would you respond? What change would God’s presence bring?” The prophet (who dates to the rule of King Josiah, Israel’s reformer king) is pondering these questions. 

Lately our questions are more about when violence is going to barge into our lives. Movie theaters, churches, schools, holiday parties, and health facilities are all places where we would like to feel safe -- and no longer do. We’re at a complicated intersection of trying to address gun safety, mental health care, the disillusionment of young white men (young men of color have been disillusioned and disenfranchised for a longer time), and terrorism.

“I will remove disaster from you,” the prophet says, speaking for God, but God seems to be asking us what our part will be in that. What part is spiritual work, as we weave people into communities so violence isn’t the only, deadly choice? What part is legislative work?

The New York Times editorial board felt such urgency about this issue that they took part of the front page last week for an editorial on America’s gun laws, saying “It is a moral outrage and a national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed specifically to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency. These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection. America’s elected leaders offer prayers for gun victims and then, callously and without fear of consequence, reject the most basic restrictions on weapons of mass killing.” 

From Immediate Word coordinator David Jordan-Squire:
In the immediate aftermath of the horrific shootings in San Bernardino last week, the Immediate Word team initially agreed to stick with the topics we’d settled on earlier that morning and not to write on the incident. As we were unsure at that point about the motivations of the perpetrators, it was difficult to say anything fresh that didn’t repeat what has been said many times previously -- especially since social media was already rife with people shouting back and forth many of the same old arguments.

But with the emergence of religiously/politically motivated “terrorism” as the most likely motive for the shootings, the media narrative has moved beyond the arguments we’ve all become inured to hearing in the wake of our all-too-frequent “garden variety” mass shootings (as if there could be such a thing). Now the discussion has turned to elements of international politics, radicalization, how to protect ourselves, and what turns people to hate instead of love (particularly in light of reports that both shooters individually had shown no signs of this mindset earlier in their lives before their radical zeal somehow turned very dark).

Though the array of policy options that might help to prevent and/or mitigate these incidents will continue to be strenuously debated -- and should be (even if the most strident voices are those with an agenda) -- the ugly truth is that we can’t really stop human beings from acting on the darker impulses of their hearts and minds. We can only try to limit the damage through gun measures, seriously addressing our country’s mental health crisis, and doing what we can to control terrorist groups and their sympathizers.

But the real issue is where (and in what) we look for safety and security in this world -- and that’s an especially important question with the specter of domestic terrorism sparking a great deal of fear lurking in the country’s collective id. The perpetrators of this awful act apparently found safety and security in the ideology of ISIS and by arming themselves to the teeth, turning their residence into a veritable armory -- a very disturbing act given that a 6-month-old babe was living there. Yet for those of us who wonder if we will be victims of the next crazed shooter of their ilk, this week’s scripture offers comfort, reassurance, and the ultimate answer to our fear: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).

From Mary Austin:
Covering the killings in California last week, the New York Post changed its cover headline from the subscriber edition to the newsstand edition, which is printed later. The initial headline was “Murder Mission” -- but the newsstand cover headline (which also becomes the paper’s online version) was revised to “Muslim Killers.” As Matt Wood writes for the Atlantic, changing the headline to reflect updates in a breaking new story is common, but here “Note the abandonment of pretense. The shooters aren’t ‘Islamist killers.’ They aren’t ‘jihadist killers.’ They aren’t even ‘radicalized Muslim killers.’ Nor are they given any of the other qualifiers commonly used to distinguish between the vast ocean of Muslims and the small but violent undercurrent of extremism. They’re simply ‘Muslim killers.’ ” He adds that the New York Post, for one, has a double standard when reporting on violent crimes: “The tabloid isn’t ecumenical when linking mass shootings to the religions of their perpetrators. Some observers on Twitter correctly noted that the Post didn’t single out white men or Christians after Robert Lewis Dear shot and killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last week. While that’s true, it sidesteps the uniquely paranoid bigotry towards American Muslims that the Post apparently sought to express and exploit. That bigotry can have dire consequences for American Muslims, who bear no more responsibility for Farook and Malik’s actions than I do for Dear’s.” 

The answer to our besetting problem of violence and alienation can’t possibly be to stir up more hate. The Advent scriptures promise God’s judgment on all of us, but as Luke makes clear in the words of John the Baptist this week, the judgment is God’s work. Ours is about connecting with people, filling in where they need something, and building the bonds of community. Giving away our coats is the gateway drug to giving away our time, our energy, and our friendship to each other. That feels all the more important now.

From Chris Keating:
When the Wells Have Gone Dry
How often I have sung these phrases from Isaiah: “Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust and will not be afraid...”

Many days, especially this close to Christmas, trusting may not seem like hard work. On this Sunday, choirs are well rehearsed and the children’s play costumes ironed. The rough places of Joseph’s robe have been made smooth, and all flesh can’t wait to see the Johnsons’ grandbaby play Jesus.

On those days, it is easy to draw from the wellsprings of faith and drink deeply of the trust, love, and grace that abounds at Christmas. As Isaiah says, on days such as those we draw joyfully from the wells of salvation.

Yet our Advent rejoicing has been subdued by terror. And while it is sad to acknowledge that we have become accustomed to the terrors of this world, somehow this year feels different. The awareness that this young couple -- parents of an infant -- had somehow become radicalized and without warning brought the fight against ISIS to Main Street USA sends a chill through me deeper than a Missouri ice storm. 

It may feel as though the wellspring of faith has been depleted.

The agony and brutality of these days has been staggering -- Paris, Colorado Springs, San Bernardino. As writer Julie Richardson has said, “I have never in my life been so disappointed with humanity than I am today.” Fear is mixed with anxiety. The lights of this season are not burning as brightly as they should, and the normally deep and thirst-quenching wells have dried.

It’s been withering. With the prophet Malachi we have asked, “Who can endure?”

Who can endure as these tragedies mount? I’m not sure. I do know that the refiner’s fire seems to be burning particularly close these days. I grew up in Southern California’s Inland Empire, not far from the San Bernardino/Los Angeles County lines. This massacre feels somehow more personal to me.

My college roommate got his first job at Inland Developmental Center, where the shooting took place. He and his wife lost a friend in the shooting. Another friend of mine is a principal at a school near San Bernardino. One of his students lost a parent that day.

Across town near Redlands, California, I have another friend who is also an elementary school principal. As police cars raced past, his school went on immediate lockdown. Hours passed before parents were reunited with their children. 

Meanwhile, back in San Bernardino, my nephew’s father-in-law witnessed the entire episode unfold from his office window. Indeed, the wellsprings have gone dry.

For some, the fear of terrorists has led to stockpiling weapons. That’s the tactic urged by Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., who told his student body: “I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in, and killed them.” He continued: “I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit. We offer a free course. Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.” (Falwell later clarified that he was only speaking about “radicalized” Muslims.)

An alternative (though somewhat more coarse) view is proposed by Daily Kos writer Daniel Hazard. Mixing words that aren’t suitable for preaching, Hazard declared that “I will not be afraid to live.” He continued: “The shooters will not be named here because I refuse to give them power. They acted alone and there is no evidence they acted otherwise. None, zero, zilch.”

Of course, it is possible they did act on their apparent commitment to the worldview espoused by ISIS.

Neither ignoring the perils of terrorism nor becoming xenophobic in our attitudes toward Muslims seems appropriate. Instead, we should dig deeper wells, and pray even though we are exhausted.

Instead, let us concern ourselves with proclaiming a hope that is wider, broader, and more convincing that the message of terror, making known God’s deeds, and announcing our salvation.

From Mary Austin:
In Advent, the scripture readings turn to the prophets again. They tell us again of people’s ancient longing for a messiah, and we share in their deep hope for a world of justice, for the coming of peace, for the time when all of God’s people (and all creatures) live in harmony. Around us other voices clamor, and we have to sort out prophets from fear-mongers, truth-tellers from self-promoters. Politicians are better at packaging their message than prophets, so the unlikely, impossible-sounding message is the truer one. If it’s something we can do on our own, we can put it in the politician category. If it’s an idea that requires God, a dream so sweeping that it seems impossible, then we’re hearing a prophet. If the word is about self-protection, we’re hearing the human voice of fear. And if the word we hear is about welcome, hospitality, and grace for the stranger, then we hear the echo of God’s voice in our lives. 

Celebrating the birth of a baby born to a homeless family who will soon become refugees leaves us no room to talk about banning whole groups of people from our country -- or our lives.  

From Robin Lostetter:
One thing keeps coming back to me -- “War and Hate” from the poet Ann Weems’ book Putting the Amazing Back in Grace. It’s about life with her peace-preaching father during World War II, and praying for the children of the enemies. It isn’t directly applicable, but it keeps circling in my brain.

From Dean Feldmeyer:
Be Not Afraid
I cannot read the first verse of this Sunday’s Isaiah passage -- “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and will not be afraid...” -- without my consciousness ricocheting through other Advent verses that echo this sentiment. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid” (Matthew 1:20); “But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah...’ ” (Luke 1:13); “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary...’ ” (Luke 1:30); “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people...’ ” (Luke 2:10).

Apparently the angels in these passages were pretty scary creatures, and the natural, logical, very understandable first reaction of any sane person confronted by them would be FEAR! Woah! Hello! What the heck is this?!?!?!

As we approached the Advent season, many of us found ourselves sitting like shepherds on the hill, living in the moment. We may have not forgotten about the hate, fear, and violence in the world, but we had certainly put it out of our minds, if only for the sake of the season. But then our quiet contemplation was interrupted by the flash and bang of reality. Within just 60 days four events happened, four terrifying events. On October 1, a deranged shooter walked onto the campus of Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Oregon, and murdered 10 people and wounded nine others. On November 13, a group of radical Islamist terrorists attacked innocent civilians in Paris, killing 129 and injuring 352. On November 27, another shooter walked into a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado Springs and shot three innocent people to death. And last week, on December 2, two radical Islamist terrorists, one an American, stormed a holiday party with guns, killing 14 people and wounding 21. In just 60 days, 155 dead and 392 wounded, most of them unarmed, all of them civilians -- young, old, children, adult, black, white, brown, Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist.

It’s scary. Let’s be honest. It’s scary.

And fear is an emotion that comes to us unbidden. No one gets up in the morning and says, “You know, I think I’ll be afraid today.” It is a natural response to specific stimuli. And often it is a good and beneficial response. It keeps us from walking too close to the edge of a cliff or tweaking a lion’s nose. It informs our behavior, and that is a good thing.

It only becomes a bad thing when it stops informing and starts ruling our behavior. It becomes a bad thing when we turn our lives over to it. It becomes a bad thing when it leads us to worship idols and false gods.

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue (Psalm 33:16-17).

If God forbids militarism* for the nation of Israel, as he most certainly does in Deuteronomy 17, then how much more must he condemn it in the individual. As a Christian who lives by the gospel, I am called to put my faith, my trust, my hope in the Lord God as God comes to us in Jesus Christ. 

And if I die, I die. It isn’t simple or easy, but then, “it ain’t easy we’re after.”

* The belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

 

ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Ron Love:

Luke 3:7-18
Bill and Melinda Gates, along with Warren Buffett, created the Giving Pledge. Those billionaires who sign the pledge promise to give half of their wealth away during their lifetimes or in their wills. So far 138 individuals from 15 countries have signed the pledge -- including Facebook founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, who have pledged to give away 99 percent of their company shares in Facebook. They announced their plans last week with an online posting of a letter addressed to their newborn daughter Max. In the letter Zuckerberg wrote: “For your generation to live in a better world, there is so much more our generation can do.”

Application: The Giving Pledge and the very public example of Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are a demonstration of bearing good fruit.

*****      

Luke 3:7-18
British actor Michael Caine revealed in an interview that being knighted by Queen Elizabeth means more to him than his two Oscars. Caine said of the medallion, “Unlike an Academy Award, this is not just for a film. It’s for a life. If my life was good enough for a knighthood, I am very happy with that.”

Application: By telling people to bear the good fruit of repentance, John was implying that they should be living a life worthy of knighthood.

*****      

Luke 3:7-18
Yahoo recently released a list of the individuals and topics that received the most internet searches for 2015. Out of the zillions of Yahoo searches, Bobbi Kristina Brown was the most sought-after individual. Bobbi, the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was found in a coma in the bathtub of her Georgia home last January. She did not regain consciousness and died in July. Her death remains a mystery. After Brown, the highest search counts were for the iPhone and Caitlyn Jenner, followed by her daughter Kendall Jenner. 

Application: Those who came to hear the message of John realized they needed to refocus and search in their hearts for the coming messiah. Perhaps the top scorers on the Yahoo search engine indicate that more people need to hear the good news John has to offer.

*****

Luke 3:7-18
The need to be politically correct in public speech and in college lectures is becoming a major issue across the nation. Lectures often have to be revised so as not to be offensive. Books that were once read as a staple of an academic education are no longer on syllabi. College administrators are addressing all facets of campus life. Students are conducting protests when they feel their freedom of speech has been violated with a lecture or book that is not politically correct. USA Today printed a comic addressing this restrictive behavior, depicting a professor standing at a podium and saying, “Now that all potentially offensive content has been removed from our syllabus, please read on.” The class then begins to reads together, “See Jane Run. Run, Jane, Run.”

Application: People need to hear the strong uncompromising message of John and those who have followed his prophetic ministry.

*****      

Luke 3:7-18
Eric Clapton is the only performer to have been inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three different times. He won the honor with the Yardbirds (1992), with Cream (1993), and as a solo artist (2000). He could feasibly earn a fourth with Derek and the Dominoes.

Application: Clapton demonstrates the perseverance that is required so the axe does not strike the root of the tree.

*****      

Zephaniah 3:14-20
In the new movie Youth, Michael Caine plays the character of a retired orchestra conductor. Since the role required the 82-year-old actor to direct a live symphony orchestra, Caine spent a month studying conducting to prepare for those scenes in the movie. Yet after a month of rehearsal, Caine came to this conclusion: “The key to conducting is to have a sense of rhythm. Without it, I don’t care how much training you do or moving your hands about, you’re not going to do it.”

Application: The good news that comes to us from Zephaniah is that God is going to restore the rhythm to the nation.

*****      

Zephaniah 3:14-20
The 2016 Summer Olympics are to be held in Rio de Janeiro. The city received the games on the promise that they would clean up their polluted lakes and seashore, contaminated by both garbage and raw sewage. But it now appears that the city is doing little to correct the problem as promised. This means that athletes participating in water sports are susceptible to some very serious health issues.

Application: The people of Rio de Janeiro will not know the great rejoicing that Zephaniah proclaims because they have failed to honor their promises made to the world community. Rio de Janeiro failed to realize that the land of Israel was only restored when the people honored their promises to God.

*****      

Zephaniah 3:14-20
Prior to last year, golfer Jordan Spieth could be the frontrunner in a tournament -- but then on the final round he would falter and lose first place. He began to wonder if he would ever be able to close a win on the last 18 holes. He could hear the murmurs of the gallery as he walked those lonely holes, questioning his ability. He was ranked 14th in the world -- but everything changed when he won the Australian Open and the Hero World Challenge. Since then he has continued to win tournaments, and is now ranked number one in the world. Reflecting, Spieth said: “Those two wins were really big, because I just learned how to close mentally and to get into the lead and then on Sunday actually bring what I felt was my best stuff of the week.”

Application: Spieth understands what it means to rejoice when his land -- that being the fairways of golf -- is restored.

*****      

Zephaniah 3:14-20
On December 4, 1917, all ecclesiastical property in Russia was confiscated by the government. Churches were transformed into warehouses, schools, public clinics, and used for manufacturing. Yet the Eastern Orthodox faith survived, alive in spirit though absent of places of worship.

Application: There are many Christians throughout our world today who await hearing Zephaniah’s message that their land has been restored.

*****      

Philippians 4:4-7
Frances Ridley Havergal was born into an Anglican family in England, where her father was a clergyman. Yet for years she struggled with surrendering herself to Jesus. Then one day it suddenly happened, and she accepted Christ as her Savior. The experience came upon her so unexpectedly that she described it “as a flash of electric light.” Havergal went on to become a Christian singer and composer of hymns. One of the best known hymns that she wrote is Take My Life and Let it Be.

Application: Havergal came to understand Paul’s message of “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.”

***************

From team member Mary Austin:

Excessmas
Looking at the over-the-top celebrations of Christmas, William Wood has suggested that we stop saying “Jesus is the reason for the season” and divide Christmas into two holidays. The first would be the religious celebration of Christmas, with no obligation for anyone non-religious to join in. As Wood says, “The second holiday is harder to name, but for now let’s call it ‘Excessmas.’ This holiday would be the season associated with excess in everything, including promotion, spending, consuming, and drinking.” Woods suggests that this would make us more truthful about what we’re really celebrating. Dismal Christmas sales figures, he says, could accurately be reported as a slowing down of our excess spending. And, he adds, “Christians would celebrate Nativity and Jews, of course, would continue to celebrate Hanukkah. Both groups could withdraw from celebrating Excessmas. Religious observances would be purely religious, with no thought of toning them down for the sake of pluralism. Meanwhile, Excessmas parties would no longer be encumbered with a fuzzy need to do something unselfish or think warm feelings. They could be wholly devoted to excess.” 

*****      

Overspending on Christmas -- Good for Your Health?
Why do we overspend at Christmastime? Doug Saunders of Toronto’s Globe and Mail says that holiday excess is almost universal. “Actually, holiday inflation is not unique to the wealthy, the postreligious, the capitalistic, or the Western world. Ruinous overspending on feasts and festivals is one of the great global phenomena, one that unites almost everyone these days.” Whether it’s rural China or urban America, human beings spend too much on holidays and festivals, confounding some economists who find this irrational. But there’s more to it than showing off, others believe. “Other economists offer a more reasonable explanation, one that seems closer to our own experiences: that lavish spending on holidays is a form of ‘risk sharing.’ By showing largesse toward your neighbors and family, you are building relationships of mutual trust and respect (some economists call it ‘network maintenance’), so that when the chips are down, they might remember those wonderful evenings and spare you a moment’s assistance.” This Christmas, let us be sure that our excess is directed outward as much as inward. Or, as Saunders adds, “We are social animals, and our connections are all we’ve got. Largesse is part of our core humanity. Over-partying can be a terrible mistake, but it’s the most human of mistakes. So have yourself a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year -- the bill won’t be due till late January.” 

*****

Green Christmas
As world leaders address climate change, people celebrating Christmas are using extra paper, using extra electricity for holiday lights outside and on the tree inside, driving more to buy gifts, and generally setting aside thoughts of conservation for the month of December. But perhaps a greener Christmas is possible. The EarthEasy website suggests such ideas as a holiday walk outside, a Christmas bird count, or “planting a small tree together symbolizes the value of nature and offsets the ‘taking’ of the Christmas tree. An hour spent cleaning up or enhancing a natural area also enriches the giver and acknowledges nature as [a] source of our well-being.” Buying locally made gifts can also make for a more sustainable Christmas, as can giving children battery-free toys. “According to the EPA, about 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Discarded batteries are an environmental hazard. Even rechargeable batteries find their way into the waste stream eventually.”

 

WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed

Call to Worship
Leader: Surely God is our salvation; we will trust and will not be afraid.
People: God is our strength and our might and has become our salvation.
Leader: With joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation.
People: We will give thanks to God and call on God’s name.
Leader: Shout aloud and sing for joy!
People: Great in our midst is the Holy One of Israel.

OR

Leader: Come and worship the God who created all that is.
People: We come and offer adoration to our creating God.
Leader: God created us to be God’s presence on this earth.
People: We are humbled by God’s trust in us.
Leader: God has also entrusted all creation to our care.
People: We respect what God has done; we will care for the earth.

Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates”
found in:
UMH: 213
H82: 436
PH: 8
NCH: 117
CH: 129
LBW: 32
W&P: 176
AMEC: 94
Renew: 59

“Toda la Tierra” (“All Earth Is Waiting”)
found in:
UMH: 210
NCH: 121
ELA: 266
W&P: 163

“I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light”
found in:
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELA: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152

“This Is My Father’s World”
found in:
UMH: 144
H82: 651
PH: 293
AAHH: 149
NNBH: 41
CH: 59
LBW: 554
ELA: 824
W&P: 21
AMEC: 47

“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
found in:
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561

“Cuando El Pobre” (“When the Poor Ones”)
found in:
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELA: 725
W&P: 624

“Lord, Speak to Me”
found in:
UMH: 463
PH: 426
NCH: 531
ELA: 676
W&P: 593

“Joy to the World” (if your congregation uses carols during Advent)
found in:
UMH: 246
H82: 100
PH: 40
AAHH: 197
NNBH: 94
NCH: 132
CH: 143
LBW: 39
ELA: 267
W&P: 179
AMEC: 120
STLT: 245

“From the Rising of the Sun”
found in:
CCB: 4

“Holy Ground”
found in:
CCB: 5

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 created us to be your presence in this world: Grant us the grace to fulfill our purpose as we bear fruit that reflects your Spirit alive and well in us and this world; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We come to bow before you, O God who made us to be your presence in this world. Open our hearts and minds, that we may bear the true fruit that reflects your Spirit which lives within us and within all creation. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to bear the fruit that marks us as your children.

People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have made us to reflect your care for creation, and we have failed you. We have taken from creation far more than we need, and we have failed to watch over it in love. We have polluted the air, the water, and the soil. We have stripped the earth of its resources without thought for those who will follow us. You called creation very good, but we have treated it as a cheap commodity. Renew your image within us, that we may be true stewards of creation. Amen.

Leader: Out of love God created all that is. God redeems and renews us when we are willing to be re-created. Serve God and all creation through the grace and love of our God.

Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We bow before you, O God, for you are the source and foundation of all. Your greatness and love are reflected in all creation.

(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)

We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have made us to reflect your care for creation, and we have failed you. We have taken from creation far more than we need, and we have failed to watch over it in love. We have polluted the air, the water, and the soil. We have stripped the earth of its resources without thought for those who will follow us. You called creation very good, but we have treated it as a cheap commodity. Renew your image within us, that we may be true stewards of creation.

Thank you for the wonderful blessings of this world and of this life. Thank you for the wonders of creation. You have given us such delights for our mouths and for our eyes. Thank you for those who have helped preserve all of this for our pleasure. 

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for one another in our need. We also pray for creation, as it is battered and abused by so many. We pray for ourselves, that we may be better stewards of all you have entrusted to us.

(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
If you have pictures of fruit trees with fruit clearly on them, show them to the children. Otherwise, you will need to just talk about the trees to make them real to the children. Talk about how the trees are different -- and some people can tell them apart by their leaves or their bark, but all of us can tell what kind of trees they are when they have fruit on them. (Apple trees have apples, cherry trees have cherries, etc.) But what if you had an apple tree and one day it was full of pears? Or what if your cherry tree started producing apricots? That wouldn’t be right, would it? Trees should produce the fruit they are meant to produce. And Christians are the same way. When we talk about people bearing fruit, we don’t mean they actually have apples and cherries growing on them! We are talking about their actions -- what they do and say. If we are Christians, disciples of Jesus, then the things we do and say should show it. If we believe God created all that is, then we should take care of it. After all, God said it was very good.

 

CHILDREN’S SERMONS
by Robin Lostetter

#1 (Based on Luke 3:7-18)

(Bring in pictures of John the Baptist, if possible -- one of him in his camel hair clothing, and one of him baptizing people.)

Have you ever heard of John the Baptist? (Anticipate here that you may need to distinguish between John the Baptist and the contemporary Baptist church!) Well, first off, he was Jesus’ cousin. Did you know that Jesus had a cousin? He had brothers too! One of his brothers, James, was a disciple. But today I want to talk about his cousin, John the Baptist.

John lived out in the wilderness -- the desert, where there were wild animals and duststorms, and very little water and no people at all. He wore itchy clothing made from camel hair. (Show the picture.) And do you know what he ate?!?! He ate LOCUSTS and wild honey! What are locusts? Well, they’re sort of like grasshoppers. Yes... yuck.

Now all of this was to deprive himself of comfort, and to be known as a prophet. He was the prophet who told people that Jesus was coming -- that Jesus was the Messiah/Savior they had been waiting and hoping for. And he baptized them, telling them to turn their lives around because Jesus was coming. (Show the second picture.)

And they said “What shall we do?” Can you imagine what John might have said to answer their question?  He wanted them to be generous and to be good people before Jesus arrived. What do you think he may have told them to do? (The answers, of course, need to include stop sinning and give away extra things you don’t need to people who need them.)

So, what might we give away that we have extras of? (Try to elicit answers that include clothing and food.)

If you did all that, John the Baptist would be very proud of you!

Let’s pray: Generous God, thank you for all the blessings we have, all the material things we have, our families, and our friends. Help us share with others willingly, so that everyone has what they need. Amen.

*****      

#2 (Based on Isaiah 12:2 and dealing with the current fears of violence in our society)

(Disclaimer: I am not a therapist or Mister Rogers. Feel free to follow your own instincts on the initial conversation. I offer it only as a potential sample; its purpose is to introduce the scripture and song.)

Good morning. How are you all feeling today? (Respond to their answers.)

You know, I’ve been listening to the news a lot lately, and sometimes it makes me a little anxious, a little worried. Does that ever happen to you? (Respond to their answers.)

When I was your age and I felt that way, I went to a parent or a teacher who could make me feel safe. Sometimes that helps. Have you tried that when you feel worried or a little scared?

(In a stage whisper) Now, let me tell you a little secret. The church is also a family. And if you look out into the pews, those people are your church family, sort of like aunts and uncles. And they are also there to help keep you safe and help you feel safe -- especially your church school teachers. Could the church school teachers stand up, please? These are the safe people you can go to any time.*

Now, what can grownups do? You see, I can’t go to my mom or dad anymore, and many grownups live far from their parents or grandparents. But there’s someone else every grownup and every child can go to when they’re worried or scared. Can you think of who that might be?   (Jesus, or God) That’s right!

And today’s Bible verse tells us about that. But it’s much easier to remember a Bible verse when it’s set to music. So let me sing it for you.** First I’ll sing it all the way through. Then we’ll learn it one line at a time. Then we can sing it with a recording of a choir.
     
Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior. (Isaiah 12:2)

So now, anytime that you’re frightened or worried or you hear something on the news that is a little scary, you can remember this verse from Isaiah and you can even sing it to yourself. And you will remember that God is with us all the time, and God is our safety.

Let’s pray: Loving God, thank you for being with us. Help us to trust in you at all times. Amen.

* I specified teachers, because as persons working with children they should all have been subject to background checks. There’s a bit of a risk in suggesting that all congregation members are “safe” aunts and uncles. You may wish to edit this for your own situation.

** If you aren’t comfortable singing, use the YouTube version instead. Just be prepared to repeat the first stanza multiple times.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *                                                                                      


The Immediate Word, December 13, 2015, issue.

Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.

All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.