Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
In this week’s gospel passage, Jesus rails that he has not come to bring peace but rather division -- even among families. It’s quite a contrast with the care and concern for one’s “neighbors” that he preaches throughout much of Luke’s gospel. Yet the final three verses of the lection suggest what may really be at the heart of Jesus’ rant. He seems to be frustrated once again with the disciples’ cluelessness -- after pointing out that one can clearly predict the weather based on signs, he exasperatedly asks them: “You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Taken together with his talk of division, Jesus’ clear implication is that the time is coming when priorities must be clarified and difficult decisions must be made... even if that requires turning against close family relationships.
Team member Mary Austin notes in this installment of The Immediate Word that more than a few voters might feel similarly as this fall’s presidential election approaches. With polls indicating that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the most disliked candidates in recent history, a sizable bloc of the electorate is resigned to making a difficult choice (or searching for a palatable alternative). But establishing priorities and making uncomfortable choices isn’t confined to the realm of politics -- it’s something we all do in our everyday lives too. And as Jesus rather sternly reminds us, it’s central to our faith as well. We all try to avoid facing dilemmas, “kicking the can” down the road as long as it is feasible -- and all too often that extends to our spiritual life too. How many times do we plead with God (like a child with a parent), asking him: “Do I really have to?” Jesus underlines in bracing terms that faith requires us to abandon our comfort zones. He asks us to examine how deeply we are devoted to God. Are we willing to stay with him, even if it requires turning against our families? But as Mary points out, choosing the life of faith is a series of small steps that become a deeply ingrained habit.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the Isaiah text, focusing on how the prophet rhetorically “pulls the rug” out from under his listeners. After painting a picture of a beautiful vineyard, Isaiah turns on a dime and talks about it being devoured and “overgrown with briers and thorns.” This sudden reversal suggests a bitter message dressed up in a more attractive outer layer -- akin to a movie villain pulling off a prosthetic face to reveal the evil underneath. Dean considers how this paradigm often applies to the modern church, as congregations dress up the gospel message in contemporary clothing in an attempt to reverse declining attendance and attract people into our sanctuaries. All of that is fine, Dean suggests -- as long as we remember that the important thing is the underlying gospel message, and not the various disguises we may use to make it more appealing.
Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe
by Mary Austin
Luke 12:49-56
Most of the decisions we make in a day are routine. We’ve long since chosen paper over plastic, or put our reusable bags in the car. We’ve picked a route to work, and found some clothes that make us look like an adult. We have a preferred bank, dry cleaner, and grocery store. Author and social scientist Charles Duhigg says that we form habits to save our brains the stress of making similar decisions over and over again. Most of our decisions aren’t decisions at all because we’ve made them part of a routine. Those choices are so easy to make that we barely notice them.
But other choices have us tossing and turning at night, and fretful during the day. This election season has many people weighing choices that would be easy any other time. Some longtime Republicans can’t stand Donald Trump, while progressive Democrats are struggling to like Hillary Clinton. Friends are arguing hotly with friends about the morality of voting for a third-party candidate this year.
Jesus also calls us to make hard decisions in our faith. In this passage from Luke, he promises us division and fire on the way to the realm of God. His words force us to consider the choices we make, and whether they line up with God’s kingdom. With difficult choices all around us, how do we settle on the right answer?
In the Scriptures
In the verses preceding this lection, Jesus has been giving a series of instructions about how to seek God’s presence, and about the need to attend to God instead of material things. He’s warned about greed and worry, and told the people listening to be watchful for the realm of God. Now his tone shifts, and it seems that we should be ready for this new way of living our faith. Jesus warns of divisions and struggles to come. Baptism and fire are coming, and they will divide people from each other. This baptism is an immersion into the work of God, and it separates us from the ordinary world and our ordinary obligations.
Fire evokes the presence of God, winnowing and purifying, getting rid of the chaff and the unfruitful branches. Everyone is invited into this new life, but not everyone accepts. Jesus proclaims that he is ready for this time when people will be tied to God, and not to the traditional obligations of family.
Being clothed like the lilies of the field and fed like the ravens sounded like good news when Jesus announced that a little while ago -- but this turn in the conversation doesn’t sound good at all. Where’s the Jesus who was telling us not to worry? Where’s the promise of God’s kingdom, which is God’s “good pleasure” to give us? Is this a bait-and-switch on Jesus’ part?
These teachings of Jesus may have been gathered up from different times and settings and compiled here. As they’re arranged here, they build our understanding of the realm of God in layers. First we hear the story of the rich man who has too much, as a reminder to turn outward to God and neighbor. Then there’s a reminder not to worry about food and clothing, and a hint that life is more than these essentials. Then we are reminded of the deep generosity of God, who is already giving us the kingdom. Now, for the first time in this series of teachings, Jesus asks something of us. We are to keep alert -- to watch for the coming of this new realm. Now Jesus draws us in more deeply. Just watching isn’t enough -- we have choices to make.
The realm of God is so different (ravens! lilies!) that we can’t live in it without making a choice. We have to enter into it deliberately, and Jesus is calling to us to make that choice.
In the News
November is coming all too fast for people who are struggling to make up their minds in this election season. The usual, familiar choices are more difficult this year. Some notable Republicans think Donald Trump is unfit to be President. 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney has been uncharacteristically blunt, saying: “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the American public for suckers: he gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat.” The Bush family declined to endorse Trump, or even to go to the Republican convention. On the day that Trump won the Indiana primary and sewed up the nomination, Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed... and we will deserve it.”
For progressive Democrats, Hillary Clinton is too much of a hawk, too cozy with Wall Street, and tainted by her husband’s record. Bill Scher writes for Politico: “Clinton’s 2002 vote in the Senate to authorize an invasion of Iraq was the first big crack in her bond with the Democratic base. Her 2008 presidential campaign further alienated anti-war voters when she criticized President Barack Obama’s pledge to meet with leaders of rogue states in his first year. She fed the perception of a craven, calculating politician when she gave a convoluted answer on whether undocumented immigrants should get driver’s licenses. When Wall Street shenanigans tanked the global economy, Bill Clinton’s deregulation policies were fingered, and her ties to the financial industry were put under the microscope.” Bernie Sanders’ supporters are struggling to get on board, even though Sanders recently wrote an op-ed telling his supporters that he’s voting for Clinton, and that they should too.
Some families and couples disagree on who will run the country better, and realize that life will be tense until election day. In 2012, similarly, the Washington Post profiled some otherwise happy couples engaged in daily conflict over their candidates: “Epic remote-control battles. Nights sleeping on the couch. Huffing and pouting and banging dishes in the sink. This is what living in a house divided is like at the apex of election season.” Other couples have to draw the line on what to discuss about their choices. Joanna Laro, a graduate student, said in 2012: “I told my boyfriend he had my permission to lie to me just once, on Election Day, because if he told me he voted for Romney I could never feel the same way about him again.” The Post also noted that in that election, “one of the many online memes that have made the rounds has been lawn signs of divided houses, like the ‘his’ (Romney) and ‘hers’ (Obama) version from a Philly suburb.”
This year, across the pond, the Brexit vote divided along generational lines, which left many families at odds with each other. Older Britons favored leaving the European Union, and younger voters wanted to stay. That left many families fighting bitterly over the politics of leaving vs. staying. Even before we get to questions of faith, there is plenty to divide us.
In the Sermon
Jesus is calling us to a dramatic kind of clarity about who we are, and where our loyalties belong. We’re no longer allowed to limp along, with one foot in our previous lives and the other in our faith. Jesus is demanding that we take a stand for our faith -- claim it, and let it claim us. This world of God’s design is unusual in that we need to enter into it fully, or the demands of the everyday world will claim us instead.
The sermon might explore whether we see signs of God’s realm in our midst. How do we read the signs? Is there evidence of the kingdom bubbling up into the present moment? Do we see places of unusual grace and kindness that point to God? Where are things happening that are so contrary to the usual world that they must be signs of God’s presence?
Or the sermon might look at what we’re getting into when we make this choice for God. What are we moving toward? What will we be like? What are we giving up? (Spoiler alert: we’re giving up worry.) Where does this road end?
Or the sermon might look at why Jesus is in such a rush. He longs for the fire and new baptism to come, wishing it were “already kindled.” Why the hurry? It’s rare for Jesus to say he’s under stress, and we might look at how spiritual stress is different than our everyday stresses.
Our choice for a life with God is really a series of choices. We start small, with our time and our finances, trying to make purses that don’t wear out, as Jesus suggests. We try to respond to God’s generosity in giving us the kingdom with generosity of our own. Then there’s the choice of sacrifice over selfishness. We choose understanding over judgment. We pick acceptance instead of control. We keep choosing the life of faith again and again, day by day, with plenty of missteps, until we are drawn in more deeply over time -- and then even this choice becomes our deepest habit, and there’s no going back.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Prophet Incognito
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 5:1-7
Evangelism ain’t what it used to be.
Used to be we would build a nice, attractive building a block off the main drag of town, where the land was cheaper and parking spaces more abundant, and just open the doors on Sunday morning. Those “greatest generation” folks knew about duty and responsibility, and they would flock to church with their kids in tow. Man, those were the days.
Sunday schools were overflowing, VBS was a madhouse, the choir was enormous, and the church kitchen was always in use and filled with the aroma of those delightful treats that only moms and grandmothers knew how to make.
And then something happened to change all of that. For some reason a whole bunch of people, most of them the children and grandchildren of the “greatest generation,” decided to stop going to church (if they ever went at all).
It wasn’t sudden. It was a gradual thing. We just suddenly awoke to it.
At first we blamed each other. Progressive Christians blamed “narrow-minded, judgmental” conservatives, and conservative Christians blamed “liberal, anything-goes” progressives. But the reality was that both ends of the spectrum were losing the numbers game.
People weren’t coming to any churches any more.
We tried all kinds of things to reverse the trend. We took down the crosses and put up fichus trees and potted palms. We threw out the hymnals and started using “contemporary” music that sounded like rock and roll. We introduced electronic media like film clips and music videos and PowerPoint presentations to our worship services, and we started letting people bring coffee into the sanctuary.
The ministers even took off their robes and ties and started wearing aloha shirts.
The result: The flood was reduced to a stream, and in some cases the stream was reduced to a trickle. But the trend was not reversed. People are still taking “church” off of their mental maps.
In the News
In late May of this year, the evangelical firm LifeWay Research (based in Nashville) conducted a survey of 2,000 people who said they have not attended a religious service in the past six months except for special events or holidays. The goal of the study was to see what would attract them to come or come back to church.
Worship? Two out of three said “No.”
Talk about God? 75 percent, including 57 percent who identified as Christians, said “No thank you.”
Scott McConnell, the executive director of LifeWay, concludes that “a lot of Americans are not on a conscious journey to learn who Jesus was.”
Fifty-seven percent said that “finding their deeper purpose” was not a priority for them, while another 12 percent said they weren’t sure if it was or not. Yet 70 percent of those who do not attend religious services agreed that “there is an ultimate purpose or plan for every person’s life.” Where or whom that plan comes from, however, is a mystery for most people.
So what will attract people to a church?
Rick Richardson, professor of evangelism and leadership at Wheaton College and a research fellow for the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, says that offering the church as a “venue for expressing compassion” seems to be working. People want to make the world a better place, and they will often trust churches to help them find a way to do so.
Sixty-two percent of the 2,000 respondents would come for a meeting at church on neighborhood safety. Others would come for concerts (51%), sports or exercise programs (46%), or neighborhood get-togethers (45%).
Once they get to the church, they are reluctant to walk away if the conversation turns to religion. Only 11 percent said that they would change the subject if religion came up. Fifty-one percent said that a personal invitation from a friend or family member might bring them to church, but only 20 percent said that strangers knocking on their door, postcards, flyers, billboards, or Facebook ads would bring them to church.
In the Scriptures
The prophet Isaiah must have experienced the same frustrations with attendance that we do. People were tired of his rants and sermons, and they weren’t buying what he was selling. They criticized him for treating them like children, and they heckled him when he tried to preach. When they saw him coming, they turned and walked the other way.
So in this passage Isaiah decides to disguise his message and maybe even himself in order to get people to listen to him.
His disguise is that of a minstrel, maybe even a female minstrel. And he disguises his message as a love song about a man (her beloved) who builds vineyard. This is a vineyard built with love, not just thrown together. The soil is fertile, the grapevines are among the best available. He dug a wine vat in the middle of it, erected a watchtower in the middle of it, and then waited for his crop to come in -- but when the grapes finally appeared, they were not the choice grapes he expected but sour wild grapes. (The rhetorical question “When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?” is based on a pun. Think: “I planted Concords and reaped discords.” That type of thing.)
And now, in verse 5, Isaiah throws off his disguise and reveals both himself and the metaphor that is the vineyard. “I will remove its hedge and it shall be devoured...” The vineyard will be left to return to its natural state. It will be overgrown with thistles and weeds, and the vines will die for lack of water.
Then, in verse 7, he spells it out for those who still don’t get it. The vineyard is Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines that were planted in it. YHWH is the owner of the vineyard who planted justice but reaped bloodshed, who planted righteousness and harvested weeping. And it shall be with Israel as it is with the vineyard in the song. The one who owns the vineyard will abandon it and let it be overgrown and choked out.
In the Sermon
We make all kinds of concessions and compromises in order to bring people through the doors of our churches. We disguise our message with free coffee, breakfast services, rock and roll music, and other forms of entertainment and comfort. We disguise our sanctuaries as auditoriums or coffee shops, and we dress our sermons as drama and theater. Sometimes all those things are necessary, and all the time some of those things are necessary. Maybe. The goal is to bring the word of God -- be it prophetic or salvific, bad news or good news -- to those who need to hear it... and if we have to put on a costume to do it, we do so.
The temptation that we want to overcome, however, is the one where (once we’ve enticed the people into their seats) we are so glad to have them there that we shy away from the message we are called to give to them. We don’t want to turn them off with too much religion or too many demands, so our message becomes bland and unfocused, pabulum instead of meat.
Once Isaiah has gathered his audience, he throws off his disguise and lowers the boom.
Every sermon, every message that we as Christians bring to the world, has by nature two parts: 1) an indicative; and 2) an imperative.
The indicative tells the listener what is so: Jesus loves you; God’s grace is sufficient to cover all sin; Christ is risen... those kinds of things.
The imperative tells the listener what is the appropriate response to the indicative: Go and do likewise; Love one another; Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... etc.
Sometimes we can deliver a message that is 100% indicative. Sometimes that is required because the indicative is so counterintuitive or countercultural that it takes all of our energy and resources just to convince our listeners that it is so. But we simply cannot deliver a message that is 100% imperative. If we do that we’re just telling other people how to live their lives -- and frankly, we don’t have the authority to do that.
The best, the most effective evangel is the one that has both an indicative and an imperative -- and if we want to disguise our message with something to make it interesting or attractive, if we want to add a “spoon full of sugar” to make the medicine go down, fine.
Just as long as we don’t forget to eventually take off the disguise and deliver the imperative, and always with love.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Isaiah 5:1-7
Trampled Expectations
Will Voight is realistic: his team isn’t expected to bring home any medals from the Rio Olympics. Still, Voight, a native of Vermont, has his hopes. As coach of the 2016 Nigerian men’s basketball team, Voight knows that an African basketball team has never made it out of group play in the Olympics. Nigeria failed to bring home a single medal from the London games, and the Nigerian federation has been plagued by financial problems, missing uniforms, and injuries. (Indeed, the Nigerian men’s soccer team endured its own bizarre odyssey en route to Rio.) Needless to say, like the spoiled vineyard in Isaiah’s passage, a harvest is unlikely.
Yet, also like Isaiah, Voight has heard the cry of Africa, and knows that his team is his “pleasant planting.” Voight’s adventuresome spirit drew him to accept the bid to coach for Nigeria. Over a year ago, he set the expectations high by demanding that the team sing the Nigerian national anthem. “Our goal was to sing it on the podium,” Voight said. “In the past it’s been an issue that so many players are based in America, so it was important for the guys to know who they were playing for.” Despite all sorts of setbacks, Voight reminds his players to keep their eyes on the prize.
For Nigeria, the question of whether or not they’ll be the next Jamaican bobsled team was partially answered when they won the AfroBasket tournament this year, besting the five top African teams.
“There’s never been an African team in history of the Olympics to make it out of group play. So right now that’s our focus,” Voight said. “Because once you get it out of group play, it’s almost like the NCAA tournament. It’s single-game elimination. Anything can happen in that setting.”
Anything -- like justice, righteousness, or even an abundant harvest.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
Justice Delayed
Isaiah declares that God wanted justice, but instead saw bloodshed. Yahweh yearned for righteousness, but instead heard a cry. It’s a feeling many immigrants might understand -- especially those caught in the quagmire of the American court system.
U.S. immigration courts are struggling to keep up with backlogged cases. There are more than 470,000 cases jammed in the pipeline currently, with an average wait time of 670 days. The problem has been a lack of funding for immigration courts. As immigration enforcement has increased, spending for judicial processes has not. It’s a particularly big problem for cities like Phoenix, Arizona, which currently has at least 13,000 cases on hold with an average wait time of 730 days. Gerald Burns, an immigration attorney in Arizona, says the problem keeps growing. “Nationwide,” he said, “the backlog is just out of control.”
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Burns said. “When you’re waiting five years for some answer on your case, whether it’s positive or negative, that’s very difficult. The law can change ten times over five years.”
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
Finding Strength in the Midst of Testing
Willow Short’s life wasn’t long, but it was filled with perseverance and characterized by winning strength from weakness. Born with a heart defect that required immediate attention, Short was only six days old when she received a heart transplant. Surrounded by her family, Willow thrived.
Until this past Saturday, when police discovered that she, her older siblings, and her parents were all killed in an apparent murder-suicide. It was a gruesome end to a tragic story of abuse and domestic violence. Neighbors had reported that the family had experienced a great deal of stress and difficulty, and that the couple had planned on divorcing.
Throughout their daughter’s great struggle, it had appeared that, like the exhorter of Hebrews, the family had been tested but had still found some way of pushing forward. Newspaper stories and blog accounts shared the family’s struggle to keep Willow alive. A Facebook page detailed Willow’s medical journey. Her mother, Megan, had carefully chronicled Willow’s remarkable recovery from transplant surgery only days after she was born.
“This has been a hard road, but this little miracle has taught me more in her short time than I had learned my entire life before her,” her mother wrote. “My faith in God is stronger, my faith in others is renewed, and my love for my family is deeper than ever. The strength of this small child has shown me my own. Be like the willow tree... able to bend without breaking under the weight of the storms that come your way.”
*****
Luke 12:49-56
Health Isn’t the Absence of Conflict or Anxiety
Jesus’ bold declarations in Luke hardly seem to be the stuff of family values. Forget about peace, he tells them. This isn’t a “kum-by-yah,” hand-holding moment. Instead, Jesus says, the kingdom’s arrival will be as divided as a church van full of hungry teenagers while the youth director tries to pick a fast-food place acceptable to all. They will be divided three against two and two against three!
Yikes -- can’t we all just get along?
The gospel lesson gives preachers a chance to review a critical aspect of family systems theory as articulated by Murray Bowen and Edwin Friedman. Leaders, according to Friedman, understand that their role is much more than being a “peace-monger.” Jesus proclaims a kingdom that upsets the values of the status quo. It will naturally bring division -- but, as Friedman notes, it can also challenge the system to orient itself toward health.
A blogger quotes Friedman’s book A Failure of Nerve:
In any type of institution whatsoever, when a self-directed, imaginative, energetic, or creative member is being consistently frustrated and sabotaged rather than encouraged and supported, what will turn out to be true 100 percent of the time, regardless of whether the disrupters are supervisors, subordinates, or peers, is that the person at the very top of that institution is a peace-monger. By that I mean a highly anxious risk-avoider, someone who is more concerned with good feelings than with progress, someone whose life revolves around the axis of consensus, a “middler,” someone who is so incapable of taking well-defined stands that his “disability” seems to be genetic, someone who functions as if she had been filleted of her backbone, someone who treats conflict or anxiety like mustard gas -- one whiff, on goes the emotional gas mask, and he flits. Such leaders are often “nice,” if not charming.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
Michael Phelps has won more medals than any other individual in the history of the Olympic Games. With 22 medals overall (18 of which are gold) -- and that’s before this year’s competition -- his record is unsurpassed. It can only be pondered about how long it will remain unbroken. Phelps is now the oldest member of the swimming team, and as team captain is doing an admirable job of mentoring the younger swimmers. In Rio he will be competing in his fifth Olympics, but he considers his greatest honor to be something else -- he was chosen to carry the United States flag in the opening procession of the games. He said of the selection, having always watched the games since he was a young child, “As a kid, you’re like, ‘Yah, it would be pretty sweet to be able to carry the flag.’ ”
Application: We are surrounded by the accomplishments and dedication of inspirational witnesses.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2; Isaiah 5:1-7
Michael Phelps has won more medals than any other individual in the history of the Olympic Games. With 22 medals overall (18 of which are gold) -- and that’s before this year’s competition -- his record is unsurpassed. It can only be pondered about how long it will remain unbroken. Phelps is now the oldest member of the swimming team, and as team captain is doing an admirable job of mentoring the younger swimmers. In Rio he will be competing in his fifth Olympics, but he considers his greatest honor to be something else -- he was chosen to carry the United States flag in the opening procession of the games. He said of the selection, having always watched the games since he was a young child, “As a kid, you’re like, ‘Yah, it would be pretty sweet to be able to carry the flag.’ ” Yet, this honor did not come to a perfect man, but one who is flawed like all of us. We are aware of his arrest for drunk driving, his being caught using drugs at the University of South Carolina, and his estrangement from his Maryland state trooper father, just to list a few transgressions.
Application: We are surrounded by the accomplishments and dedication of inspirational witnesses. But we must always realize that none of these witnesses were perfect. They were as flawed as you and I are this day. This is perhaps even a greater statement of faith, for they did not surrender to their flaws but persevered in spite of them.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
In a Frank & Ernest comic, two motley characters are standing at a bar, beer mugs in hand. They are with a friend holding a half-full mug, who says to his two buddies: “Not only is it half empty, I’ll bet it’s watered down!” The title caption describing the friend is “The Extreme Pessimist.” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Some people could never understand the full meaning of faith as the writer of Hebrews tried to explain it to them.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
During World War II, Corrie ten Boom was imprisoned in Ravensbruck concentration camp. This resulted from hiding people of the Jewish faith in her home. As the women entered the camp, they were taken to a shower room where they were ordered to undress. Their clothes and all their personal belongings were to be confiscated. Corrie had a Bible with her, without which she knew she could not survive. Disrobing, she received a prison dress, under which she hid her Bible. Two guards stood at the exit from the shower room, frisking each woman as she left. Desperate and helpless, Corrie prayed: “Lord, cause your angels to surround me; the guards must not see me.” A sense of peace came over Corrie. She walked relaxed and with ease past the guards, almost as if she was invisible. With the assurance that comes from prayer, Corrie ten Boom knew the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.
Application: There are desperate, frightening, uncertain times in our lives. We need not pretend otherwise -- we are encircled by hardships and have nowhere else to turn but to God. This is why the writer of Hebrews discusses with us the importance of faith.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
Fanny Crosby is considered one of the greatest hymn writers in the history of the church. The perseverance that allowed her to continue with heart, she testifies, came from the assurance of God’s divine presence. In January 1864 Crosby had an encounter with God that transformed her life. One night she had a dream -- it was a vision. She found herself in an immense observatory; before her was the largest telescope one could ever imagine. She looked through the telescope and saw a brilliant, captivating star. Suddenly she was moving through space towards that star, when abruptly she came to the edge of a beautiful river. The scene was so peaceful, so inviting, that Fanny wanted to continue on. She even asked to be invited across that golden spectacle. In response to her request she heard the voice of God. Her heavenly parent brought a stillness to her soul when he spoke these gentle words: “Not now, Fanny. You must return to the earth and do your work there, before you enter those sacred bounds; but ere you go, I will leave the gates open a little way, so you can hear one burst of the celestial music.” Whenever she became discouraged or uninspired, or whenever her handicap of being blind since an infant became too much of a hindrance for her, she recalled that vision and listened for a chord of celestial music to regain the inspiration she needed to continue her work.
Application: God has given us a vision. God has spoken to us. We know his faithfulness. We have felt the presence of God within our souls. This is the message of faith that Hebrews shares with us.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
In Phoenix there is currently a serial killer on the loose who has killed seven people and wounded two others since March 17. He has not yet been given a designated nickname, but the police have created a profile sketch of the suspect to assist in his apprehension. He waits for his victims in the dark of night, and they are attacked as they stand outside their homes or sit in their automobiles.
Application: One must wonder how much worse our society is today than the description that Isaiah gave to Israel.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
In a Ziggy comic the nondescript title character, meant to be a representation of all of us, is sitting in his favorite chair in front of his television set. With a look of disenchantment on his face, he hears: “...and now for the lighter side of the news -- oh, wait... there isn’t one!” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Isaiah was trying to tell the people of Israel that there is no lighter side of the news when it concerns their disobedience and future judgment.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
Paid family paternity leaves are increasing in most companies, especially in the Silicon Valley tech firma. Facebook executive Mark Zuckerberg made national news when he took two months of family leave after the birth of his daughter. Netflix is now at the forefront, offering a full year of family leave for the birth of a child. Many companies have not gone as far as Netflix, but the traditional four weeks has seen an increase in some firms to 12, 20, and even 26 weeks.
Application: If the people of Israel had listened to Isaiah and became more family-friendly and more devoted to God, then perhaps God’s judgment would have been avoided.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
On August 4, 1790, President George Washington signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the United States Coast Guard. The need for this sea coast fleet was to enforce tariffs and trade laws, and most importantly to prevent smuggling.
Application: Perhaps if Israel could have been patrolled by something similar to the Coast Guard, an organization that would have enforced their obedience to God, then Isaiah’s message of judgment would not have been necessary.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
There is a new Godzilla movie being released in Japan. Though it is based on the original 1954 film, it has been given the title of Shin Godzilla, which translates as “New Godzilla.” This time the monster is not a man dressed in a rubber suit, but is created by digitized special effects. In the update Godzilla is not a result of a nuclear explosion, but emerges from the after-effects of the devastating March 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami. In this movie Japan, which has declared itself as a pacifist nation, does not use the military to combat the sea creature but instead relies on new technological discoveries. Yet the message and format of the movie remain the same -- a destructive monster who will not prevail over the ingenuity of man.
Application: For Israel, the Godzilla of 1954 or the Godzilla of 2016 will destroy their cities, farms, and people because of their disobedience. If the people had followed the preaching of Isaiah, wouldn’t the result have been different?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God has searched us and known us.
People: God knows when we sit down and when we rise up.
Leader: God searches out our paths.
People: God is acquainted with all our ways.
Leader: Let us praise God, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
People: Wonderful are the works of God. We delight in knowing them.
OR
Leader: God calls us to wholeness and blessing.
People: We desire to be healed and blessed.
Leader: Sometimes our healing requires difficult decisions.
People: We are not so good at making hard choices.
Leader: God’s grace is sufficient for all our situations.
People: With trust in God, we will move forward in our faith.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“God of Grace and God of Glory”
found in:
UMH: 577
H82: 594, 595
PH: 426
NCH: 436
CH: 464
LBW: 415
ELA: 705
W&P: 569
AMEC: 62
STLT: 115
Renew: 301
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“Be Thou My Vision”
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELA: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
“Trust and Obey”
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“I Am Thine, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
“Jesus Calls Us”
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELA: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
“O Jesus, I Have Promised”
found in:
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388, 389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELA: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
“Refiner’s Fire”
found in:
CCB: 79
“Shine, Jesus, Shine”
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
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 constantly takes risks on your human creatures: Grant us the courage to make the hard choices that come with being a disciple of Jesus; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are always willing to take a chance on us. You have given us freedom, and you don’t desert us when we make bad choices. Help us to be courageous and to make the hard decisions that being a disciple of Jesus calls us to make. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our unwillingness to make hard choices for God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have used the wonderful freedom that you have given us to make bad choices that hurt ourselves, put others at risk, and disappoint you. We say we want to follow Jesus and be his disciples, but then we fail to make the choices that are required of true followers. We are too often selfish, greedy, and short-sighted. Send your Spirit upon us to renew us in our faith and to make us bold disciples. Amen.
Leader: God rejoices when we use our freedom to choose wisely. Receive God’s Spirit of forgiveness, strength, and courage, which sends you out to be faithful disciples of Jesus.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We bless you, O God, for your love that never fails. You are a God of grace and compassion that never ends.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have used the wonderful freedom that you have given us to make bad choices that hurt ourselves, put others at risk, and disappoint you. We say we want to follow Jesus and be his disciples, but then we fail to make the choices that are required of true followers. We are too often selfish, greedy, and short-sighted. Send your Spirit upon us to renew us in our faith and to make us bold disciples.
We thank you for your constant guidance and care for us and for all creation. You call us to wholeness and blessing so that we may know and share your love with others.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift up to you those who are in need. We know we are among them. Comfort the hurting, heal the broken, and strengthen the weak. Bring us courage and faith to join in your work that is all around 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
Some decisions are easy. If someone asks me if I want some ice cream, I don’t even have to think about it. I always like ice cream. If someone asks me if I want to be a good pianist/soccer player/etc., I know I would like to be -- but I also know that someone isn’t just going to hand it to me. It will take a lot of work. That is a harder decision. It is easy to say we want to be a disciple of Jesus, but sometimes it is hard... like when someone is mean to us and we have to decide to be nice to them, instead of being mean like they are.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Making Choices
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Luke 12:49-56
Supplies: a carrot and a banana (or two other healthy snacks); 4 quarters and a $1 bill
(Gather the children around you and welcome them. Hold up the carrot and the banana.) This morning I was trying to decide what snack to bring with me to church. I brought a carrot and a banana, but I’m not sure which one I’d like to eat for my snack. Which one should I choose? (Invite the children to tell you which snack they might choose, or to tell how they would make their choice.)
I remember one way we used to make choices. We’d say, “Eeny, meeny, miney, moe....” (Begin to say the rhyme, and invite them to join you in saying it, as you choose between the carrot and the banana.)
It’s the ________! (Whichever snack is chosen, you might be happy or disappointed. It’s up to you!) Do you ever say this rhyme to make your choices? When do you use it? Does it help you make good choices? (Invite children to respond if they want.)
Let’s try another way to make choices. (Hold four quarters in one hand and the dollar bill in the other.) I’ve got two dollars. One dollar I will keep; the other I’ll put in the offering plate. To make my choice, we can take one of the quarters and flip it. Who wants to help me by flipping the coin? (Hand a quarter to the child.)
How about “heads” I keep the quarters, “tails” I keep the dollar bill? (Have the child flip the coin; let it land on the floor. Ask another child if the “heads” or “tails” side is up.) Do I keep the quarters or the dollar bill? (Hold on to which ever item you will keep. Give the other money to the child who flipped the coin, asking him/her to put it in the offering plate for you.)
We’ve looked at two different ways to make choices. Do you ever use these tricks to help you make a choice? (Invite children to respond if they want.) Why do you think we need little tricks like this to help us choose? (Invite children to respond if they want.)
Sometimes it’s easy to make a choice, like choosing between having a popsicle or eating broccoli. You know what you like, or what you want to eat, and you choose it. Other times, our choices aren’t so easy to make:
* choosing which toys we want to give away; or
* choosing to go to bed when we’re tired but we really want to stay up late; or
* choosing a friend to play on our team when we know that they’re not really good at the game we’re playing.
In our Bible passage this morning, Jesus talks about making choices -- hard choices. He tells the people who are listening to him that they need to make the hard choices... even when they don’t want to.
That’s a tough message to hear from Jesus. But you know... it’s true. We can’t get away from making the hard choices.
Jesus tells us to do the right thing -- even when we don’t want to:
* to love one another -- even when we’re sad or angry at another person;
* to care for one another;
* to reach out to help when we see someone who is hurt.
Making these choices is not always easy. Flipping a coin, or saying “Eeny, meeny, miney, moe...” doesn’t always make our choices easier.
Following Jesus means sometimes making hard choices. God gives us courage to do these things... even if we find it hard to do.
(If you want to extend the conversation, you can ask the children to give examples of the hard choices they have to make, or that they have made. Affirm these.)
Let’s ask God to help us make the hard choices our lives.
Prayer:Great God, it’s not always easy to follow Jesus. It’s not always easy to make good choices. Help us know right from wrong. Give us courage to do the right things. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 14, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Mary Austin notes in this installment of The Immediate Word that more than a few voters might feel similarly as this fall’s presidential election approaches. With polls indicating that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the most disliked candidates in recent history, a sizable bloc of the electorate is resigned to making a difficult choice (or searching for a palatable alternative). But establishing priorities and making uncomfortable choices isn’t confined to the realm of politics -- it’s something we all do in our everyday lives too. And as Jesus rather sternly reminds us, it’s central to our faith as well. We all try to avoid facing dilemmas, “kicking the can” down the road as long as it is feasible -- and all too often that extends to our spiritual life too. How many times do we plead with God (like a child with a parent), asking him: “Do I really have to?” Jesus underlines in bracing terms that faith requires us to abandon our comfort zones. He asks us to examine how deeply we are devoted to God. Are we willing to stay with him, even if it requires turning against our families? But as Mary points out, choosing the life of faith is a series of small steps that become a deeply ingrained habit.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the Isaiah text, focusing on how the prophet rhetorically “pulls the rug” out from under his listeners. After painting a picture of a beautiful vineyard, Isaiah turns on a dime and talks about it being devoured and “overgrown with briers and thorns.” This sudden reversal suggests a bitter message dressed up in a more attractive outer layer -- akin to a movie villain pulling off a prosthetic face to reveal the evil underneath. Dean considers how this paradigm often applies to the modern church, as congregations dress up the gospel message in contemporary clothing in an attempt to reverse declining attendance and attract people into our sanctuaries. All of that is fine, Dean suggests -- as long as we remember that the important thing is the underlying gospel message, and not the various disguises we may use to make it more appealing.
Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe
by Mary Austin
Luke 12:49-56
Most of the decisions we make in a day are routine. We’ve long since chosen paper over plastic, or put our reusable bags in the car. We’ve picked a route to work, and found some clothes that make us look like an adult. We have a preferred bank, dry cleaner, and grocery store. Author and social scientist Charles Duhigg says that we form habits to save our brains the stress of making similar decisions over and over again. Most of our decisions aren’t decisions at all because we’ve made them part of a routine. Those choices are so easy to make that we barely notice them.
But other choices have us tossing and turning at night, and fretful during the day. This election season has many people weighing choices that would be easy any other time. Some longtime Republicans can’t stand Donald Trump, while progressive Democrats are struggling to like Hillary Clinton. Friends are arguing hotly with friends about the morality of voting for a third-party candidate this year.
Jesus also calls us to make hard decisions in our faith. In this passage from Luke, he promises us division and fire on the way to the realm of God. His words force us to consider the choices we make, and whether they line up with God’s kingdom. With difficult choices all around us, how do we settle on the right answer?
In the Scriptures
In the verses preceding this lection, Jesus has been giving a series of instructions about how to seek God’s presence, and about the need to attend to God instead of material things. He’s warned about greed and worry, and told the people listening to be watchful for the realm of God. Now his tone shifts, and it seems that we should be ready for this new way of living our faith. Jesus warns of divisions and struggles to come. Baptism and fire are coming, and they will divide people from each other. This baptism is an immersion into the work of God, and it separates us from the ordinary world and our ordinary obligations.
Fire evokes the presence of God, winnowing and purifying, getting rid of the chaff and the unfruitful branches. Everyone is invited into this new life, but not everyone accepts. Jesus proclaims that he is ready for this time when people will be tied to God, and not to the traditional obligations of family.
Being clothed like the lilies of the field and fed like the ravens sounded like good news when Jesus announced that a little while ago -- but this turn in the conversation doesn’t sound good at all. Where’s the Jesus who was telling us not to worry? Where’s the promise of God’s kingdom, which is God’s “good pleasure” to give us? Is this a bait-and-switch on Jesus’ part?
These teachings of Jesus may have been gathered up from different times and settings and compiled here. As they’re arranged here, they build our understanding of the realm of God in layers. First we hear the story of the rich man who has too much, as a reminder to turn outward to God and neighbor. Then there’s a reminder not to worry about food and clothing, and a hint that life is more than these essentials. Then we are reminded of the deep generosity of God, who is already giving us the kingdom. Now, for the first time in this series of teachings, Jesus asks something of us. We are to keep alert -- to watch for the coming of this new realm. Now Jesus draws us in more deeply. Just watching isn’t enough -- we have choices to make.
The realm of God is so different (ravens! lilies!) that we can’t live in it without making a choice. We have to enter into it deliberately, and Jesus is calling to us to make that choice.
In the News
November is coming all too fast for people who are struggling to make up their minds in this election season. The usual, familiar choices are more difficult this year. Some notable Republicans think Donald Trump is unfit to be President. 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney has been uncharacteristically blunt, saying: “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the American public for suckers: he gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat.” The Bush family declined to endorse Trump, or even to go to the Republican convention. On the day that Trump won the Indiana primary and sewed up the nomination, Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed... and we will deserve it.”
For progressive Democrats, Hillary Clinton is too much of a hawk, too cozy with Wall Street, and tainted by her husband’s record. Bill Scher writes for Politico: “Clinton’s 2002 vote in the Senate to authorize an invasion of Iraq was the first big crack in her bond with the Democratic base. Her 2008 presidential campaign further alienated anti-war voters when she criticized President Barack Obama’s pledge to meet with leaders of rogue states in his first year. She fed the perception of a craven, calculating politician when she gave a convoluted answer on whether undocumented immigrants should get driver’s licenses. When Wall Street shenanigans tanked the global economy, Bill Clinton’s deregulation policies were fingered, and her ties to the financial industry were put under the microscope.” Bernie Sanders’ supporters are struggling to get on board, even though Sanders recently wrote an op-ed telling his supporters that he’s voting for Clinton, and that they should too.
Some families and couples disagree on who will run the country better, and realize that life will be tense until election day. In 2012, similarly, the Washington Post profiled some otherwise happy couples engaged in daily conflict over their candidates: “Epic remote-control battles. Nights sleeping on the couch. Huffing and pouting and banging dishes in the sink. This is what living in a house divided is like at the apex of election season.” Other couples have to draw the line on what to discuss about their choices. Joanna Laro, a graduate student, said in 2012: “I told my boyfriend he had my permission to lie to me just once, on Election Day, because if he told me he voted for Romney I could never feel the same way about him again.” The Post also noted that in that election, “one of the many online memes that have made the rounds has been lawn signs of divided houses, like the ‘his’ (Romney) and ‘hers’ (Obama) version from a Philly suburb.”
This year, across the pond, the Brexit vote divided along generational lines, which left many families at odds with each other. Older Britons favored leaving the European Union, and younger voters wanted to stay. That left many families fighting bitterly over the politics of leaving vs. staying. Even before we get to questions of faith, there is plenty to divide us.
In the Sermon
Jesus is calling us to a dramatic kind of clarity about who we are, and where our loyalties belong. We’re no longer allowed to limp along, with one foot in our previous lives and the other in our faith. Jesus is demanding that we take a stand for our faith -- claim it, and let it claim us. This world of God’s design is unusual in that we need to enter into it fully, or the demands of the everyday world will claim us instead.
The sermon might explore whether we see signs of God’s realm in our midst. How do we read the signs? Is there evidence of the kingdom bubbling up into the present moment? Do we see places of unusual grace and kindness that point to God? Where are things happening that are so contrary to the usual world that they must be signs of God’s presence?
Or the sermon might look at what we’re getting into when we make this choice for God. What are we moving toward? What will we be like? What are we giving up? (Spoiler alert: we’re giving up worry.) Where does this road end?
Or the sermon might look at why Jesus is in such a rush. He longs for the fire and new baptism to come, wishing it were “already kindled.” Why the hurry? It’s rare for Jesus to say he’s under stress, and we might look at how spiritual stress is different than our everyday stresses.
Our choice for a life with God is really a series of choices. We start small, with our time and our finances, trying to make purses that don’t wear out, as Jesus suggests. We try to respond to God’s generosity in giving us the kingdom with generosity of our own. Then there’s the choice of sacrifice over selfishness. We choose understanding over judgment. We pick acceptance instead of control. We keep choosing the life of faith again and again, day by day, with plenty of missteps, until we are drawn in more deeply over time -- and then even this choice becomes our deepest habit, and there’s no going back.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Prophet Incognito
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 5:1-7
Evangelism ain’t what it used to be.
Used to be we would build a nice, attractive building a block off the main drag of town, where the land was cheaper and parking spaces more abundant, and just open the doors on Sunday morning. Those “greatest generation” folks knew about duty and responsibility, and they would flock to church with their kids in tow. Man, those were the days.
Sunday schools were overflowing, VBS was a madhouse, the choir was enormous, and the church kitchen was always in use and filled with the aroma of those delightful treats that only moms and grandmothers knew how to make.
And then something happened to change all of that. For some reason a whole bunch of people, most of them the children and grandchildren of the “greatest generation,” decided to stop going to church (if they ever went at all).
It wasn’t sudden. It was a gradual thing. We just suddenly awoke to it.
At first we blamed each other. Progressive Christians blamed “narrow-minded, judgmental” conservatives, and conservative Christians blamed “liberal, anything-goes” progressives. But the reality was that both ends of the spectrum were losing the numbers game.
People weren’t coming to any churches any more.
We tried all kinds of things to reverse the trend. We took down the crosses and put up fichus trees and potted palms. We threw out the hymnals and started using “contemporary” music that sounded like rock and roll. We introduced electronic media like film clips and music videos and PowerPoint presentations to our worship services, and we started letting people bring coffee into the sanctuary.
The ministers even took off their robes and ties and started wearing aloha shirts.
The result: The flood was reduced to a stream, and in some cases the stream was reduced to a trickle. But the trend was not reversed. People are still taking “church” off of their mental maps.
In the News
In late May of this year, the evangelical firm LifeWay Research (based in Nashville) conducted a survey of 2,000 people who said they have not attended a religious service in the past six months except for special events or holidays. The goal of the study was to see what would attract them to come or come back to church.
Worship? Two out of three said “No.”
Talk about God? 75 percent, including 57 percent who identified as Christians, said “No thank you.”
Scott McConnell, the executive director of LifeWay, concludes that “a lot of Americans are not on a conscious journey to learn who Jesus was.”
Fifty-seven percent said that “finding their deeper purpose” was not a priority for them, while another 12 percent said they weren’t sure if it was or not. Yet 70 percent of those who do not attend religious services agreed that “there is an ultimate purpose or plan for every person’s life.” Where or whom that plan comes from, however, is a mystery for most people.
So what will attract people to a church?
Rick Richardson, professor of evangelism and leadership at Wheaton College and a research fellow for the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, says that offering the church as a “venue for expressing compassion” seems to be working. People want to make the world a better place, and they will often trust churches to help them find a way to do so.
Sixty-two percent of the 2,000 respondents would come for a meeting at church on neighborhood safety. Others would come for concerts (51%), sports or exercise programs (46%), or neighborhood get-togethers (45%).
Once they get to the church, they are reluctant to walk away if the conversation turns to religion. Only 11 percent said that they would change the subject if religion came up. Fifty-one percent said that a personal invitation from a friend or family member might bring them to church, but only 20 percent said that strangers knocking on their door, postcards, flyers, billboards, or Facebook ads would bring them to church.
In the Scriptures
The prophet Isaiah must have experienced the same frustrations with attendance that we do. People were tired of his rants and sermons, and they weren’t buying what he was selling. They criticized him for treating them like children, and they heckled him when he tried to preach. When they saw him coming, they turned and walked the other way.
So in this passage Isaiah decides to disguise his message and maybe even himself in order to get people to listen to him.
His disguise is that of a minstrel, maybe even a female minstrel. And he disguises his message as a love song about a man (her beloved) who builds vineyard. This is a vineyard built with love, not just thrown together. The soil is fertile, the grapevines are among the best available. He dug a wine vat in the middle of it, erected a watchtower in the middle of it, and then waited for his crop to come in -- but when the grapes finally appeared, they were not the choice grapes he expected but sour wild grapes. (The rhetorical question “When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?” is based on a pun. Think: “I planted Concords and reaped discords.” That type of thing.)
And now, in verse 5, Isaiah throws off his disguise and reveals both himself and the metaphor that is the vineyard. “I will remove its hedge and it shall be devoured...” The vineyard will be left to return to its natural state. It will be overgrown with thistles and weeds, and the vines will die for lack of water.
Then, in verse 7, he spells it out for those who still don’t get it. The vineyard is Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines that were planted in it. YHWH is the owner of the vineyard who planted justice but reaped bloodshed, who planted righteousness and harvested weeping. And it shall be with Israel as it is with the vineyard in the song. The one who owns the vineyard will abandon it and let it be overgrown and choked out.
In the Sermon
We make all kinds of concessions and compromises in order to bring people through the doors of our churches. We disguise our message with free coffee, breakfast services, rock and roll music, and other forms of entertainment and comfort. We disguise our sanctuaries as auditoriums or coffee shops, and we dress our sermons as drama and theater. Sometimes all those things are necessary, and all the time some of those things are necessary. Maybe. The goal is to bring the word of God -- be it prophetic or salvific, bad news or good news -- to those who need to hear it... and if we have to put on a costume to do it, we do so.
The temptation that we want to overcome, however, is the one where (once we’ve enticed the people into their seats) we are so glad to have them there that we shy away from the message we are called to give to them. We don’t want to turn them off with too much religion or too many demands, so our message becomes bland and unfocused, pabulum instead of meat.
Once Isaiah has gathered his audience, he throws off his disguise and lowers the boom.
Every sermon, every message that we as Christians bring to the world, has by nature two parts: 1) an indicative; and 2) an imperative.
The indicative tells the listener what is so: Jesus loves you; God’s grace is sufficient to cover all sin; Christ is risen... those kinds of things.
The imperative tells the listener what is the appropriate response to the indicative: Go and do likewise; Love one another; Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... etc.
Sometimes we can deliver a message that is 100% indicative. Sometimes that is required because the indicative is so counterintuitive or countercultural that it takes all of our energy and resources just to convince our listeners that it is so. But we simply cannot deliver a message that is 100% imperative. If we do that we’re just telling other people how to live their lives -- and frankly, we don’t have the authority to do that.
The best, the most effective evangel is the one that has both an indicative and an imperative -- and if we want to disguise our message with something to make it interesting or attractive, if we want to add a “spoon full of sugar” to make the medicine go down, fine.
Just as long as we don’t forget to eventually take off the disguise and deliver the imperative, and always with love.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Isaiah 5:1-7
Trampled Expectations
Will Voight is realistic: his team isn’t expected to bring home any medals from the Rio Olympics. Still, Voight, a native of Vermont, has his hopes. As coach of the 2016 Nigerian men’s basketball team, Voight knows that an African basketball team has never made it out of group play in the Olympics. Nigeria failed to bring home a single medal from the London games, and the Nigerian federation has been plagued by financial problems, missing uniforms, and injuries. (Indeed, the Nigerian men’s soccer team endured its own bizarre odyssey en route to Rio.) Needless to say, like the spoiled vineyard in Isaiah’s passage, a harvest is unlikely.
Yet, also like Isaiah, Voight has heard the cry of Africa, and knows that his team is his “pleasant planting.” Voight’s adventuresome spirit drew him to accept the bid to coach for Nigeria. Over a year ago, he set the expectations high by demanding that the team sing the Nigerian national anthem. “Our goal was to sing it on the podium,” Voight said. “In the past it’s been an issue that so many players are based in America, so it was important for the guys to know who they were playing for.” Despite all sorts of setbacks, Voight reminds his players to keep their eyes on the prize.
For Nigeria, the question of whether or not they’ll be the next Jamaican bobsled team was partially answered when they won the AfroBasket tournament this year, besting the five top African teams.
“There’s never been an African team in history of the Olympics to make it out of group play. So right now that’s our focus,” Voight said. “Because once you get it out of group play, it’s almost like the NCAA tournament. It’s single-game elimination. Anything can happen in that setting.”
Anything -- like justice, righteousness, or even an abundant harvest.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
Justice Delayed
Isaiah declares that God wanted justice, but instead saw bloodshed. Yahweh yearned for righteousness, but instead heard a cry. It’s a feeling many immigrants might understand -- especially those caught in the quagmire of the American court system.
U.S. immigration courts are struggling to keep up with backlogged cases. There are more than 470,000 cases jammed in the pipeline currently, with an average wait time of 670 days. The problem has been a lack of funding for immigration courts. As immigration enforcement has increased, spending for judicial processes has not. It’s a particularly big problem for cities like Phoenix, Arizona, which currently has at least 13,000 cases on hold with an average wait time of 730 days. Gerald Burns, an immigration attorney in Arizona, says the problem keeps growing. “Nationwide,” he said, “the backlog is just out of control.”
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Burns said. “When you’re waiting five years for some answer on your case, whether it’s positive or negative, that’s very difficult. The law can change ten times over five years.”
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
Finding Strength in the Midst of Testing
Willow Short’s life wasn’t long, but it was filled with perseverance and characterized by winning strength from weakness. Born with a heart defect that required immediate attention, Short was only six days old when she received a heart transplant. Surrounded by her family, Willow thrived.
Until this past Saturday, when police discovered that she, her older siblings, and her parents were all killed in an apparent murder-suicide. It was a gruesome end to a tragic story of abuse and domestic violence. Neighbors had reported that the family had experienced a great deal of stress and difficulty, and that the couple had planned on divorcing.
Throughout their daughter’s great struggle, it had appeared that, like the exhorter of Hebrews, the family had been tested but had still found some way of pushing forward. Newspaper stories and blog accounts shared the family’s struggle to keep Willow alive. A Facebook page detailed Willow’s medical journey. Her mother, Megan, had carefully chronicled Willow’s remarkable recovery from transplant surgery only days after she was born.
“This has been a hard road, but this little miracle has taught me more in her short time than I had learned my entire life before her,” her mother wrote. “My faith in God is stronger, my faith in others is renewed, and my love for my family is deeper than ever. The strength of this small child has shown me my own. Be like the willow tree... able to bend without breaking under the weight of the storms that come your way.”
*****
Luke 12:49-56
Health Isn’t the Absence of Conflict or Anxiety
Jesus’ bold declarations in Luke hardly seem to be the stuff of family values. Forget about peace, he tells them. This isn’t a “kum-by-yah,” hand-holding moment. Instead, Jesus says, the kingdom’s arrival will be as divided as a church van full of hungry teenagers while the youth director tries to pick a fast-food place acceptable to all. They will be divided three against two and two against three!
Yikes -- can’t we all just get along?
The gospel lesson gives preachers a chance to review a critical aspect of family systems theory as articulated by Murray Bowen and Edwin Friedman. Leaders, according to Friedman, understand that their role is much more than being a “peace-monger.” Jesus proclaims a kingdom that upsets the values of the status quo. It will naturally bring division -- but, as Friedman notes, it can also challenge the system to orient itself toward health.
A blogger quotes Friedman’s book A Failure of Nerve:
In any type of institution whatsoever, when a self-directed, imaginative, energetic, or creative member is being consistently frustrated and sabotaged rather than encouraged and supported, what will turn out to be true 100 percent of the time, regardless of whether the disrupters are supervisors, subordinates, or peers, is that the person at the very top of that institution is a peace-monger. By that I mean a highly anxious risk-avoider, someone who is more concerned with good feelings than with progress, someone whose life revolves around the axis of consensus, a “middler,” someone who is so incapable of taking well-defined stands that his “disability” seems to be genetic, someone who functions as if she had been filleted of her backbone, someone who treats conflict or anxiety like mustard gas -- one whiff, on goes the emotional gas mask, and he flits. Such leaders are often “nice,” if not charming.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
Michael Phelps has won more medals than any other individual in the history of the Olympic Games. With 22 medals overall (18 of which are gold) -- and that’s before this year’s competition -- his record is unsurpassed. It can only be pondered about how long it will remain unbroken. Phelps is now the oldest member of the swimming team, and as team captain is doing an admirable job of mentoring the younger swimmers. In Rio he will be competing in his fifth Olympics, but he considers his greatest honor to be something else -- he was chosen to carry the United States flag in the opening procession of the games. He said of the selection, having always watched the games since he was a young child, “As a kid, you’re like, ‘Yah, it would be pretty sweet to be able to carry the flag.’ ”
Application: We are surrounded by the accomplishments and dedication of inspirational witnesses.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2; Isaiah 5:1-7
Michael Phelps has won more medals than any other individual in the history of the Olympic Games. With 22 medals overall (18 of which are gold) -- and that’s before this year’s competition -- his record is unsurpassed. It can only be pondered about how long it will remain unbroken. Phelps is now the oldest member of the swimming team, and as team captain is doing an admirable job of mentoring the younger swimmers. In Rio he will be competing in his fifth Olympics, but he considers his greatest honor to be something else -- he was chosen to carry the United States flag in the opening procession of the games. He said of the selection, having always watched the games since he was a young child, “As a kid, you’re like, ‘Yah, it would be pretty sweet to be able to carry the flag.’ ” Yet, this honor did not come to a perfect man, but one who is flawed like all of us. We are aware of his arrest for drunk driving, his being caught using drugs at the University of South Carolina, and his estrangement from his Maryland state trooper father, just to list a few transgressions.
Application: We are surrounded by the accomplishments and dedication of inspirational witnesses. But we must always realize that none of these witnesses were perfect. They were as flawed as you and I are this day. This is perhaps even a greater statement of faith, for they did not surrender to their flaws but persevered in spite of them.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
In a Frank & Ernest comic, two motley characters are standing at a bar, beer mugs in hand. They are with a friend holding a half-full mug, who says to his two buddies: “Not only is it half empty, I’ll bet it’s watered down!” The title caption describing the friend is “The Extreme Pessimist.” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Some people could never understand the full meaning of faith as the writer of Hebrews tried to explain it to them.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
During World War II, Corrie ten Boom was imprisoned in Ravensbruck concentration camp. This resulted from hiding people of the Jewish faith in her home. As the women entered the camp, they were taken to a shower room where they were ordered to undress. Their clothes and all their personal belongings were to be confiscated. Corrie had a Bible with her, without which she knew she could not survive. Disrobing, she received a prison dress, under which she hid her Bible. Two guards stood at the exit from the shower room, frisking each woman as she left. Desperate and helpless, Corrie prayed: “Lord, cause your angels to surround me; the guards must not see me.” A sense of peace came over Corrie. She walked relaxed and with ease past the guards, almost as if she was invisible. With the assurance that comes from prayer, Corrie ten Boom knew the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.
Application: There are desperate, frightening, uncertain times in our lives. We need not pretend otherwise -- we are encircled by hardships and have nowhere else to turn but to God. This is why the writer of Hebrews discusses with us the importance of faith.
*****
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
Fanny Crosby is considered one of the greatest hymn writers in the history of the church. The perseverance that allowed her to continue with heart, she testifies, came from the assurance of God’s divine presence. In January 1864 Crosby had an encounter with God that transformed her life. One night she had a dream -- it was a vision. She found herself in an immense observatory; before her was the largest telescope one could ever imagine. She looked through the telescope and saw a brilliant, captivating star. Suddenly she was moving through space towards that star, when abruptly she came to the edge of a beautiful river. The scene was so peaceful, so inviting, that Fanny wanted to continue on. She even asked to be invited across that golden spectacle. In response to her request she heard the voice of God. Her heavenly parent brought a stillness to her soul when he spoke these gentle words: “Not now, Fanny. You must return to the earth and do your work there, before you enter those sacred bounds; but ere you go, I will leave the gates open a little way, so you can hear one burst of the celestial music.” Whenever she became discouraged or uninspired, or whenever her handicap of being blind since an infant became too much of a hindrance for her, she recalled that vision and listened for a chord of celestial music to regain the inspiration she needed to continue her work.
Application: God has given us a vision. God has spoken to us. We know his faithfulness. We have felt the presence of God within our souls. This is the message of faith that Hebrews shares with us.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
In Phoenix there is currently a serial killer on the loose who has killed seven people and wounded two others since March 17. He has not yet been given a designated nickname, but the police have created a profile sketch of the suspect to assist in his apprehension. He waits for his victims in the dark of night, and they are attacked as they stand outside their homes or sit in their automobiles.
Application: One must wonder how much worse our society is today than the description that Isaiah gave to Israel.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
In a Ziggy comic the nondescript title character, meant to be a representation of all of us, is sitting in his favorite chair in front of his television set. With a look of disenchantment on his face, he hears: “...and now for the lighter side of the news -- oh, wait... there isn’t one!” (Note: If your sanctuary has a projection screen, you may want to display this comic.)
Application: Isaiah was trying to tell the people of Israel that there is no lighter side of the news when it concerns their disobedience and future judgment.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
Paid family paternity leaves are increasing in most companies, especially in the Silicon Valley tech firma. Facebook executive Mark Zuckerberg made national news when he took two months of family leave after the birth of his daughter. Netflix is now at the forefront, offering a full year of family leave for the birth of a child. Many companies have not gone as far as Netflix, but the traditional four weeks has seen an increase in some firms to 12, 20, and even 26 weeks.
Application: If the people of Israel had listened to Isaiah and became more family-friendly and more devoted to God, then perhaps God’s judgment would have been avoided.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
On August 4, 1790, President George Washington signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the United States Coast Guard. The need for this sea coast fleet was to enforce tariffs and trade laws, and most importantly to prevent smuggling.
Application: Perhaps if Israel could have been patrolled by something similar to the Coast Guard, an organization that would have enforced their obedience to God, then Isaiah’s message of judgment would not have been necessary.
*****
Isaiah 5:1-7
There is a new Godzilla movie being released in Japan. Though it is based on the original 1954 film, it has been given the title of Shin Godzilla, which translates as “New Godzilla.” This time the monster is not a man dressed in a rubber suit, but is created by digitized special effects. In the update Godzilla is not a result of a nuclear explosion, but emerges from the after-effects of the devastating March 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami. In this movie Japan, which has declared itself as a pacifist nation, does not use the military to combat the sea creature but instead relies on new technological discoveries. Yet the message and format of the movie remain the same -- a destructive monster who will not prevail over the ingenuity of man.
Application: For Israel, the Godzilla of 1954 or the Godzilla of 2016 will destroy their cities, farms, and people because of their disobedience. If the people had followed the preaching of Isaiah, wouldn’t the result have been different?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God has searched us and known us.
People: God knows when we sit down and when we rise up.
Leader: God searches out our paths.
People: God is acquainted with all our ways.
Leader: Let us praise God, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
People: Wonderful are the works of God. We delight in knowing them.
OR
Leader: God calls us to wholeness and blessing.
People: We desire to be healed and blessed.
Leader: Sometimes our healing requires difficult decisions.
People: We are not so good at making hard choices.
Leader: God’s grace is sufficient for all our situations.
People: With trust in God, we will move forward in our faith.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“God of Grace and God of Glory”
found in:
UMH: 577
H82: 594, 595
PH: 426
NCH: 436
CH: 464
LBW: 415
ELA: 705
W&P: 569
AMEC: 62
STLT: 115
Renew: 301
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“Be Thou My Vision”
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELA: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
“Trust and Obey”
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“I Am Thine, O Lord”
found in:
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
“Jesus Calls Us”
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELA: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
“O Jesus, I Have Promised”
found in:
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388, 389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELA: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
“Refiner’s Fire”
found in:
CCB: 79
“Shine, Jesus, Shine”
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
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 constantly takes risks on your human creatures: Grant us the courage to make the hard choices that come with being a disciple of Jesus; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you are always willing to take a chance on us. You have given us freedom, and you don’t desert us when we make bad choices. Help us to be courageous and to make the hard decisions that being a disciple of Jesus calls us to make. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our unwillingness to make hard choices for God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have used the wonderful freedom that you have given us to make bad choices that hurt ourselves, put others at risk, and disappoint you. We say we want to follow Jesus and be his disciples, but then we fail to make the choices that are required of true followers. We are too often selfish, greedy, and short-sighted. Send your Spirit upon us to renew us in our faith and to make us bold disciples. Amen.
Leader: God rejoices when we use our freedom to choose wisely. Receive God’s Spirit of forgiveness, strength, and courage, which sends you out to be faithful disciples of Jesus.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We bless you, O God, for your love that never fails. You are a God of grace and compassion that never ends.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have used the wonderful freedom that you have given us to make bad choices that hurt ourselves, put others at risk, and disappoint you. We say we want to follow Jesus and be his disciples, but then we fail to make the choices that are required of true followers. We are too often selfish, greedy, and short-sighted. Send your Spirit upon us to renew us in our faith and to make us bold disciples.
We thank you for your constant guidance and care for us and for all creation. You call us to wholeness and blessing so that we may know and share your love with others.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift up to you those who are in need. We know we are among them. Comfort the hurting, heal the broken, and strengthen the weak. Bring us courage and faith to join in your work that is all around 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
Some decisions are easy. If someone asks me if I want some ice cream, I don’t even have to think about it. I always like ice cream. If someone asks me if I want to be a good pianist/soccer player/etc., I know I would like to be -- but I also know that someone isn’t just going to hand it to me. It will take a lot of work. That is a harder decision. It is easy to say we want to be a disciple of Jesus, but sometimes it is hard... like when someone is mean to us and we have to decide to be nice to them, instead of being mean like they are.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Making Choices
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Luke 12:49-56
Supplies: a carrot and a banana (or two other healthy snacks); 4 quarters and a $1 bill
(Gather the children around you and welcome them. Hold up the carrot and the banana.) This morning I was trying to decide what snack to bring with me to church. I brought a carrot and a banana, but I’m not sure which one I’d like to eat for my snack. Which one should I choose? (Invite the children to tell you which snack they might choose, or to tell how they would make their choice.)
I remember one way we used to make choices. We’d say, “Eeny, meeny, miney, moe....” (Begin to say the rhyme, and invite them to join you in saying it, as you choose between the carrot and the banana.)
It’s the ________! (Whichever snack is chosen, you might be happy or disappointed. It’s up to you!) Do you ever say this rhyme to make your choices? When do you use it? Does it help you make good choices? (Invite children to respond if they want.)
Let’s try another way to make choices. (Hold four quarters in one hand and the dollar bill in the other.) I’ve got two dollars. One dollar I will keep; the other I’ll put in the offering plate. To make my choice, we can take one of the quarters and flip it. Who wants to help me by flipping the coin? (Hand a quarter to the child.)
How about “heads” I keep the quarters, “tails” I keep the dollar bill? (Have the child flip the coin; let it land on the floor. Ask another child if the “heads” or “tails” side is up.) Do I keep the quarters or the dollar bill? (Hold on to which ever item you will keep. Give the other money to the child who flipped the coin, asking him/her to put it in the offering plate for you.)
We’ve looked at two different ways to make choices. Do you ever use these tricks to help you make a choice? (Invite children to respond if they want.) Why do you think we need little tricks like this to help us choose? (Invite children to respond if they want.)
Sometimes it’s easy to make a choice, like choosing between having a popsicle or eating broccoli. You know what you like, or what you want to eat, and you choose it. Other times, our choices aren’t so easy to make:
* choosing which toys we want to give away; or
* choosing to go to bed when we’re tired but we really want to stay up late; or
* choosing a friend to play on our team when we know that they’re not really good at the game we’re playing.
In our Bible passage this morning, Jesus talks about making choices -- hard choices. He tells the people who are listening to him that they need to make the hard choices... even when they don’t want to.
That’s a tough message to hear from Jesus. But you know... it’s true. We can’t get away from making the hard choices.
Jesus tells us to do the right thing -- even when we don’t want to:
* to love one another -- even when we’re sad or angry at another person;
* to care for one another;
* to reach out to help when we see someone who is hurt.
Making these choices is not always easy. Flipping a coin, or saying “Eeny, meeny, miney, moe...” doesn’t always make our choices easier.
Following Jesus means sometimes making hard choices. God gives us courage to do these things... even if we find it hard to do.
(If you want to extend the conversation, you can ask the children to give examples of the hard choices they have to make, or that they have made. Affirm these.)
Let’s ask God to help us make the hard choices our lives.
Prayer:Great God, it’s not always easy to follow Jesus. It’s not always easy to make good choices. Help us know right from wrong. Give us courage to do the right things. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, August 14, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
