Faith In The Face Of Loss
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In this week’s lectionary text from Genesis, Abraham faces the most extreme test many of us could possibly imagine when God commands him to “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” The specter of the death of one’s child is unbearably painful -- yet Abraham demonstrates the depth of his faith in the Almighty (who provided the unlikely child) by cutting wood for the fire, saddling his donkey, and heading out with Isaac for the location God had shown him. After arriving, building an altar, laying wood on it, and tying Isaac on top of it all, Abraham prepares to slaughter his son. But at the last moment, satisfied that Abraham would not withhold anything, God implores Abraham to spare his son and provides a substitute sacrifice in the form of a ram. In the next installment of The Immediate Word, team member Beth Herrinton-Hodge points out that while Abraham passed the “acid test” of his faith in God, and was rewarded with avoiding the loss of his son, no such substitutes are available to the parents, families, friends, and communities of those who are victimized by violence in our world. How do they -- and we -- maintain our faith in the face of such senseless loss of life? After all, making sense of unexplainable evil and suffering is one of the most extreme tests to our faith in a loving and merciful God. How can we keep our faith when the lives of the innocent are not spared?
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and Jesus’ words about welcoming -- and the reward awaiting the righteous who are welcoming. Jesus’ simple command is not merely to offer hospitality (though it is that as well) -- it’s also to meet the needs we see and to treat all whom we encounter just as if they were Jesus himself. Unfortunately, too often -- both in the church and in society -- we do so... but only to the extent that it's convenient for us. There are no parameters like that on Jesus' instructions in the gospel text. Yet as Mary observes, finding the delicate balance between welcoming and being over-welcoming remains a challenge -- something that becomes abundantly clear when we find ourselves on the receiving end of assistance.
Faith in the Face of Loss
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13
Philando Castile, Otto Warmbier, Nabra Hassanen, Charleena Lyles -- four names... four humans whose lives were lost. We speak these four names, along with the names of countless others in our communities who have lost their lives to violence. These killings, this loss of life, stand in stark contrast to the spared life of Isaac in our Genesis text.
What do we say to parents who have lost their children to senseless killing? What do we say to the children who have lost fathers, siblings, friends? The son of Abraham was spared. God provided a surrogate for the sacrifice.
What surrogate stood in for Philando, for Nabra, for Otto, for Charleena? Why weren’t these humans spared?
Psalm 13 gives us words of lament: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?... How long must I bear pain in my soul?” Yet like Abraham, the psalmist trusts in God’s steadfast love. Life involves hurt and hope, pain and praise, threat and trust.
We speak their names. We mourn their deaths. We hold on to hope while praying for help.
In the Scriptures
The Genesis 22 account of the binding of Isaac is a tough story to tell. Fathers, mothers, grandchildren, and children recoil when they read about God asking old, faithful Abraham to take his son to a mountain, where he will be sacrificed. And rightfully so! One doesn’t need to be a parent to imagine the pain and horror of placing a child on an altar of wood in preparation for slaughter. This text seems to support the abuse of children, the objectification of a human offered as a sacrifice, Abraham’s commendation for not withholding his only son. It’s a test of faith. Yet the hideous images in Genesis 22 parallel accounts of the many senseless killings that fill our news headlines.
Abraham was a man of faith, a recipient of God’s call and promise. He left his homeland with his wife and possessions to follow God’s leading to a new land. Abraham and Sarah accepted God’s favor and waited (sometimes not too patiently, yet they waited) for God’s promise of blessing and offspring and a great nation to come to them. The couple finally conceives; they bear a son. God’s promise begins to unfold for them. In this final dialogue between Abraham and God, and between Abraham and Isaac, Abraham is tested. Will he continue to obey God’s command? Will he continue on the journey laid before him by God? Will he listen to God and go to the place which God will reveal to him? Will he prepare his only son as an offering to God? Will Abraham trust God and obey this unthinkable directive? Will Isaac trust his father, even as he’s laid on the altar?
There are futile, senseless experiences in life that can become occasions to turn away from God. Human beings know deep, dark, and seemingly hopeless valleys. As Abraham faces the unfathomable, his obedience and faith grow stronger. This is not because Isaac is spared, but because God provided what was needed at the time. Abraham exhibited a deep and abiding faith in a deep and abiding God. Abraham trusted that God was with him. He trusted that God would honor the promises made to him. He trusted that Isaac would carry forth God’s promise into the future. God showed that Abraham’s trust was not in vain. At the close of the story, Abraham names that place on the mountain “The Lord will provide.”
Psalm 13 accompanies the Genesis text, giving voice to the lament and agony of God’s people. The psalm is a cry for deliverance -- from pain, from sorrow, from darkness. Even as the psalmist fears that an enemy will prevail, he expresses trust in God’s steadfast love. Even as he fears that God has forgotten him, he sings praises to God for dealing bountifully with him. Amid trouble, persecution, and an apparent absence of God, there remains a trust in the salvation and deliverance that God provides. Pain, despair, and death do not have the last word.
In the News
In response to the death of Otto Warmbier, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote: “On behalf of the entire State Department and the United States government, I extend my condolences to the Warmbier family, and offer my prayers as they enter a time of grief no parent should ever know.” The Washington Post reports that many politicians are laying blame for Warmbier’s death on North Korea’s practices and policies. There are calls for sanctions, travel bans, and political retribution. Yet human acts won’t bring back this young man. Political, military, or diplomatic responses won’t ease the pain and loss experienced by his family.
The acquittal of the police officer involved with the death of Philando Castile, coupled with recently released video footage of the incident, brings the story back into the headlines one year after the shooting occurred. In the days after her son’s death, Castile’s mother offered a chilling reflection. “All I can say is that I don’t know anywhere on this planet where if you tell the truth and are honest, you die,” said Valerie Castile, who said she believed her son had been racially profiled by the police in the region for years, amassing at least 52 traffic or parking cases recorded in a state court database. “If this is where humanity is headed to, we’re doomed.”
“On Sunday morning, two Seattle police officers shot and killed Charleena Lyles in her apartment. She was pregnant, and three of her four children were home. She had called the police to report a burglary. According to the officers’ account, shortly after they arrived, Ms. Lyles, who the police knew was mentally ill, pulled a knife. Both officers shot her. Societal failure to care for mental health, which leaves the police as mental illness first responders, may well have been one deadly ingredient in this tragic encounter.” Further reporting by the New York Times details the pattern of abuse Charleena endured at the hands of an ex-boyfriend. She struggled to get on her feet and to retain custody of her children. She also struggled with mental illness. Whether she failed or humanity failed her, Ms. Lyles’ death left four children without a mother -- and a city reeling from another officer-involved death. Society’s limits in addressing mental illness are highlighted.
Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Virginia teen, was bludgeoned with a baseball bat last week by a motorist who drove up to about 15 Muslim teenagers as they walked or bicycled along a road. At her funeral service, Imam Mohamed Magid, the religious leader of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, sought to comfort Nabra’s mother: “There is nothing like losing a child, especially in the way that we lost Nabra.” He acknowledged that the slaying had people grieving and fearful, but he praised the many people who turned out “in a fever” to search for the teen before police discovered her body.
These stories -- plus increasing incidents of tragedies in public venues in London and Paris, and the ambush-style shootings at a congressional baseball practice -- raise feelings of fear, frustration, and helplessness. What can humans do in the face of seemingly endless tragedy and sorrow?
In the Sermon
The sermon might look at:
1) The lament of the psalmist, to state the questions and name the fear of God’s abandonment. Psalm 13 also shows confidence in God’s steadfast and enduring love and hope, even in the midst of lament. The bad news contained in the headlines are not the final word for a faithful people.
2) The trust and faith exhibited by Abraham, even as he walked up that mountain to face the unthinkable -- the sacrifice of his only son. What faith and confidence accompanies those who mourn unspeakable loss? How does God walk with those who trust?
3) How do people maintain faith under extreme pressure, grief, or sorrow? Often, in paying attention to the news, people lose faith that God will provide hope and help and support. News headlines test our faith in humanity -- yet God prevails. Faith in God sustains.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Matthew 10:40-42
The Sunday morning visitor sat in the front row for church, which is unusual at the Presbyterian congregation I serve. He seemed to have the shakes, and fortunately he had arrived on Coffee Sunday so he could take a hot cup of coffee (and a lid) into the sanctuary. Midway through the service he got up out of the pew and his pants stayed behind, momentarily distracting everyone in the rows behind him. When he went down this aisle, gripping his pants with one hand and his coffee with the other, I wondered what the well-mannered church members were thinking.
In this church of well-groomed, polished people, I feared that no one would talk to him at the coffee hour. Instead, by the time I got to the social hall people had learned his name, where he lived, and a little of his story. He had more coffee, and made plans to return to look in our clothes closet for pants that fit better.
On any given Sunday, our church’s practice of hospitality can fill me with appreciation or leave me gnashing my teeth. Some Sundays we over-welcome people, and our enthusiasm leaves them skittish. Other Sundays we ignore them, letting guests sit alone, looking helpless while we chat animatedly with each other.
Giving and receiving hospitality can bring us joy, or diminish us. I used to spend a lot of time thinking about how to give gifts of welcome and service to people. Now I wonder more often what it’s like to be on the receiving end. Do people feel welcomed, or patronized? Is our help actually helpful? How can I listen better to what they’re teaching me?
All of this work of welcome and hospitality take place in the web of relationships that Jesus lays out for us in this passage from Matthew’s gospel. Jesus is giving his early followers -- and us -- a new framework of relationships. He announces that our ties with our birth family are not going to be enough to sustain us in this demanding life of faith. He urges the people who love him to let go of the lives they understand to take up a new way of living. After he uproots us from the relationships we know and rely on we need a new foundation, and so the work of hospitality is even more important.
In their Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Malina and Rohrbaugh write about hospitality as this process of drawing people into a new kinship bond. In Jesus’ day, they note, “to welcome” a person meant to show hospitality. “Hospitality is the process by means of which a stranger is taken under the protection of a host (patron) for a given time, to leave that protection either as friend or enemy.” Here, Jesus seems to be promising a reward for showing hospitality.
Reward or no, we church folks are eager to do good out in the world. It’s sometimes hard to make someone welcome at the church, where we have an agenda of getting well-dressed new members who are a lot like us so that they will fit in at our church. Out in the world, though, we excel at packing food boxes, serving meals, and painting churches. We tumble out of our church vans, ready to do the kind of serving that Jesus asks of us.
Recently, a good-hearted church wanted to come and do a mission day at my urban church. They told me what day and hours they could come, and that I should think of a project that would work for a certain age child, and be interesting enough to hold their attention. I would need to think up the project, get the supplies, and be prepared for the kids and their parents. The longer I talked to this well-intentioned church, the worse I felt. When I finally threw up my hands and declined their offer, the church was mystified about why I would turn down their help... and a little annoyed with me for not seeing the beauty in what they were offering.
The real beauty of it was that I finally saw what it’s like to be “helped.” After a privileged lifetime of “giving,” just like Jesus wants me to, I was on the other side.
It was a moment of illumination about what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a mission project. I felt small and inadequate after this one phone call, so I can only imagine how it is to have people visit your community for a week, or come in for a day-long clean-up blitz. I can only imagine how it is to have people look at your life and see the flaws in it, flaws they can fix for you. I can only imagine how it is not to be listened to, in a community where you are an expert. I can only imagine, but I can imagine it a lot better now.
Maybe the people who are receiving our “help” are the ones who should get the reward Jesus offers. Maybe the ones being “helped” are really showing us hospitality, and teaching us to see a different aspect of the world with more clarity.
Michelle Acker Perez, who hosts incoming mission trips in Guatemala along with her husband, says that they wonder all the time if the trips do more good than harm. She says: “[W]e continue to feel this tension with the short-term mission teams that we host.... Do they contribute to feelings of superiority? Or inferiority?” She believes that the “how” of mission work is much more important than the “what.” No matter what we plan to do, she says, “your team must commit to getting rid of the hero complex. Developing countries do not need short-term heroes. They need long-term partners.” She adds that we should not being doing things for people that they can do themselves, saying: “Last time I checked, people in developing countries can paint a wall, so why are you doing it for them? If painting a wall or school is really a need in the place where you’re working, then invite students from that school or people from the village to do it with you. Doing things with people, not for people should be the motto. Always.” Doing things with people is another form of hospitality.
None of this is drive-by work. The relationship, over time, makes the difference. In the ongoing connection, each side sees the other’s strengths and gifts. Michelle Acker Perez adds that people who go on mission trips to give should keep at it. “We all know money is not everything. But when used wisely it can make a huge difference in the lives of people. You probably wrote letters and had car washes in order to raise money to go, right? Well, what keeps you from still doing that? We work hard for a one-week trip, but then what? What if your church or youth group or school worked on matching every dollar you spent on your one-week trip to send down to the place you served over the course of the year?” Are we interested in a sustained tie, or just a week of feeling good?
Jesus is talking about a new web of relationships, replacing our family connections with bonds based on our faith. This happens when we welcome people, and when we let them welcome us, understanding that we need both roles for a relationship to develop.
I’m grateful for the chance to show hospitality, and right now I’m even more grateful for the lesson the well-meaning church taught me about how it feels to be on the receiving end. Welcome goes both ways, and so does the reward.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 22:1-14
Saying Their Names
There’s no way around the agonizing details in the story of the binding of Isaac. The narrative drips with specificity: God tests Abraham; God calls Abraham by name; God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac. “Take your son, your only son,” God says. Then, almost as if Abraham might somehow be confused, God adds: “Isaac, whom you love, and go...”
God says Isaac’s name, perhaps as a way of highlighting the importance of the trial Abraham is about to endure. God says Isaac’s name -- it is a reminder of how important it is to say the names of the innocent.
Following the 2015 death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old African American woman who was being held in the Waller County, Texas, jail, the African-American Policy Forum initiated a campaign to “Say Her Name” to call attention to female victims of police brutality. Another movement, “Say Their Names,” was co-founded by human rights attorney Nicole Lee to document the stories of victims of racially-motivated violence.
Naming victims’ stories is a way of underscoring the importance of their lives. As Lee observes, “What if this was your family? What if it was my family? That’s why I co-founded Say Their Names. Say Their Names is a campaign for change. It’s an attempt to reach out to America through a series of bold, short documentary films, plus a compelling book composed of photos and firsthand accounts from families who’ve lost loved ones to anti-black violence. Our black children -- all of our children deserve to grow into adults whose lives are full of possibility, whose lives can’t be stolen by police and vigilantes. Telling the stories, and changing it -- means telling their stories every way we can.”
In this week’s chilling story, both Abraham and Isaac are named. What would happen if we practiced saying the names of victims of contemporary trauma and violence?
*****
Genesis 22:1-14
Not My Child
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks offers a provocative interpretation of the binding of Isaac by viewing the story against the entire sweep of the Torah. According to the Torah, children are not owned by their parents; children belong to God. “All things belong to G-d,” writes Sacks, “and we must acknowledge this before we make use of anything. That is what a blessing is: acknowledging that all we enjoy is from G-d.”
*****
Genesis 22:1-14
More than Property
Blogger Annie Reneau reflects on similar themes as Sacks through the lens of Khalil Gibran’s iconic poem “On Children.” Through her own experiences as a mother, Reneau observes that she finally understands what Gibran may have meant when he said that our children “our not ours.”
She writes:
[Children] do not “belong to” us. We don’t own them. We may have chosen (or not) to conceive them, but we didn’t choose who they are. We are the means by which they came into the world, but we did not design them. A force greater than ourselves -- God, nature, “Life’s longing for itself,” whatever you want to call it -- is responsible for that.... It’s so tempting to want to make our mark on -- or through -- our children, but they have their lives, and we have ours. They have their own destinies to fulfill, and we have ours. Our destinies are interwoven, but they are not the same.
*****
Matthew 10:40-42
On Welcoming Children
The late actor Alan Rickman, whose many roles included playing Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film franchise, could be somewhat of an imposing figure -- especially when costumed in Snape’s trademark black robes. But off-camera Rickman was known to be gracious and encouraging, especially to the many children with whom he was working.
Producer Paula DuPré Pesman recalls the legendary actor’s presence with children visiting the set, including one who was suffering from a brain tumor. In a recent Huffington Post story, entertainment reporter Bill Bradley writes about the moment that happened during the filming of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
One of the most memorable visits comes from a boy named Jay.
Jay, a child diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, was excited to visit the set, “But what he really wanted was to be in the film, not just visiting,” DuPré Pesmen added.
“I said, ‘Well, we can’t really do that, and you’re already here.’ Alan [Rickman] came over and introduced himself to Jay, and Jay was so happy to meet him. He was really knowledgeable. He was about 15 at the time, and he knew a lot about Alan’s other films, and Jay mentioned to Alan that what he really wanted to do was be in the film.
“Alan looked at me, and he kind of went into his Snape-mode in costume, and said, ‘Why isn’t this child in the film?’” recalled DuPré Pesman. “Everyone had a good laugh, and Alan took him by the hand and put him into the crowd of kids as they were panning across. The back of him is actually in a shot.”
Though the particular scene was eventually cut from the movie, Jay did get to go on the set where he met director Christopher Columbus. The famous director eventually used Jay for a brief part in another movie. But as DuPré Pesman notes, because Rickman took the time to welcome the sick boy, “Jay was there. He had a moment.”
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Genesis 22:1-14
Two men recently escaped from a Georgia prison, and in the process killed a guard with his own gun. But after being fugitives for several days without food and shelter, they made the decision to surrender to the authorities. When escapees Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose saw Patrick Hale, they thought he was a law enforcement officer. Waving their shirts as a sign of surrender, they knelt before him. Hale, however, had just fled his home along with his daughter, seeking safety upon learning the fugitives were in the area. After getting into his car, Hale remembered that he had left a loaded shotgun by his back door, and when he went to get it he encountered the two fugitives. He held the two men captive for three minutes until 45 police officers arrived. When Hale realized that two convicts wanted for murder (who had nothing to lose) had laid down on his driveway, he said of the incidents: “If that doesn’t make you believe in Jesus Christ, I don’t know what does.”
Application: We must learn the meaning of faith and trust.
*****
Genesis 22:1-14
The jury for Bill Cosby’s trial on sexual assault charges was deadlocked, as no unanimous decisions could be made. One juror agreed to be interviewed anonymously on television. His position was that Andrea Constand’s assertion that she was raped could not be believed since she waited a year to report the crime to the police. This position was contrary to all the testimony given by professionals, noting that it often takes a year or even longer to report a rape to the authorities.
Application: We must understand truth.
*****
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Shakespeare in the Park -- performed annually in New York City’s Central Park, recently finished its last showing this year of Julius Caesar. This series of shows depicted the assassinated Caesar as President Donald Trump -- so it was Trump who was stabbed to death by the senators in the forum. As expected, and as desired by the producers of the play, this caused a great deal of controversy. Trump supporters and Trump detractors were both very vocal and had public demonstrations.
Application: When we speak, we need to be sure we understand the message we are conveying.
*****
Romans 6:12-23
The jury for Bill Cosby’s trial on sexual assault charges was deadlocked, The case will most likely be tried a second time. Andrea Constand is ready for a second trial -- according to her lawyer Dolores Troiani, she is willing to continue with the legal proceedings because “it should encourage other women to come forward and have their day in court.”
Application: We are to be an encouragement and an example for others.
*****
Romans 6:12-23
Dr. Universe is a weekly science column which answers questions submitted by children. One recent question was why snakes shed their skin. The reason for this yearly ordeal is to replace worn-out and damaged skin. What is interesting is that human beings shed their skin as well. But instead of shedding it all at one time like a snake, humans continually shed particles of skin that float away until all of our skin is eventually replaced.
Application: Paul wants us to be new creatures who no longer live by the flesh.
*****
Romans 6:12-23
In a Herman comic, Herman is dressed as a robber and standing before a bank teller’s window. He is holding a pistol and a bank robbery note. The teller, showing the greatest amount of disinterest, reads the note back to Herman. She says: “Read it yourself! It says, ‘Dozen eggs, bread, milk, chocolate chip cookies.’ ”
Application: When we live in sin, nothing will go right for us.
*****
Matthew 10:40-42
Outside the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, there are statues of four iconic baseball players from the vaunted Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s: Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Pete Rose. The statue of Rose shows him making one of his famous headfirst slides into home plate. Though Rose is still not recognized by the Baseball Home of Fame, Cincinnati’s favorite son is still welcomed in his hometown.
Application: People need to feel welcomed and accepted.
*****
Independence Day
In 1943, Eleanor Roosevelt toured the battle-scarred island of Guadalcanal. With remorse, she viewed the endless field of grave markers. The First Lady conversed with the wounded, smiling to each, signing bandages, and promising to telephone wives and mothers. Reflecting on her visit, Mrs. Roosevelt wrote: “On the island of Guadalcanal there is a cemetery, and as you look on the crosses row on row, you think of the women’s hearts buried here as well.”
*****
Independence Day
At the end of the Vietnam War, the released American prisoners of war huddled together in the C141, unable to comprehend their journey to freedom. Years of captivity and abuse had now come to an end. The flight from Hanoi to Clark Field in the Philippines would bring the men home. Commander Jeremiah Denton, the senior officer aboard the plane, was invited to make a statement on behalf of the returning airmen. The commander borrowed paper and pen from a nurse, composed a short speech, and then he committed it to memory. Soon the spokesman was standing before the reception. Surprised by the large crowd and overcome with emotion, the prepared words seemed inadequate. On the written page Denton had not truly expressed what he felt in his heart. Befuddled, these unrehearsed words slipped from his lips: “God bless America! Land that I love!”
*****
Independence Day
Captain Max Cleland bounded off the helicopter onto the crest of a Vietnam hill. The captain saw a grenade lying on the ground which he assumed was his, thinking it had fallen from his web gear. He reached to pick it up when suddenly there was an explosion, resulting in Cleland losing an arm and both legs -- injuries from which he miraculously survived. With determination and faith he endured 18 months of rehabilitation, then once again entered the work force. Interested in politics, Cleland campaigned and became the youngest person elected to the Georgia state senate. Admired for his abilities, Max Cleland was appointed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter as administrator of the Veterans Administration. In his Washington office, Cleland kept a Bible on his desk. Confronted by a problem that seemed beyond his human capabilities, Cleland would touch the Bible to be assured of the presence of Christ. Cleland discovered inner strength from his Christian faith and his handicap. To express his faith, Max Cleland uses the following prayer, written by an unknown Confederate soldier during the Civil War, to close all of his speeches and interviews:
I asked God for strength,
that I might achieve;
I was made weak,
that I might humble obey.
I asked God for health,
that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity,
that I might do better things.
I asked God for riches,
that I might be happy;
I was given poverty,
that I might be wise.
I asked for power,
that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness,
that I might feel the need of God.
I asked God for all things,
that I might enjoy life;
I was given life,
that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for --
but everything that I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself,
my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men,
most richly blessed.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: How long, O Lord? Will you forget us forever?
People: How long will you hide your face from us?
Leader: Consider and answer us, my God!
People: Give light to our eyes, or we will sleep the sleep of death.
Leader: Our hearts shall rejoice in your salvation.
People: We will sing to God, who has dealt bountifully with us.
OR
Leader: Let us worship the God of all Creation!
People: Praise to our God, who fills creation with boundless love!
Leader: God is with us. God never leaves us alone.
People: We rejoice in the faithfulness of our God.
Leader: God invites us to always have faith in Eternal Love.
People: We doubt sometimes, but we strive to trust.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
found in:
UMH: 110
H82: 687, 688
PH: 260
AAHH: 124
NNBH: 37
NCH: 439, 440
CH: 66
LBW: 228, 229
ELA: 503, 504, 505
W&P: 588
AMEC: 54
STLT: 200
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 680
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELA: 632
W&P: 84
AMEC: 61
STLT: 281
“Hope of the World”
found in:
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
found in:
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“This Is My Song”
found in:
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELA: 887
STLT: 159
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“ ’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 462
AAHH: 368
NNBH: 292
AMEC: 440
“All I Need Is You”
found in:
CCB: 100
“As the Deer”
found in:
CCB: 83
Renew: 9
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 from and for love: Grant us the faith to trust in your love for us regardless of the circumstances of life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for creating us out of your great love so that we can grow into love. Give us a strong faith that trusts in your great love, so that we can face all of life’s circumstances. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to trust our loving God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Out of love you have created us, and into love you call us. Yet we are reluctant to enter into the giving love you show us. We are afraid and defensive. We not only fear others, but we are afraid to trust you completely. Forgive us, and renew our faith with the presence of your Spirit that we may trust in you always. Amen.
Leader: Our God is the Faithful One who loves us and cares for us always. Receive God’s love and grace, and allow God’s Spirit to fill you with faith and joy.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We worship you, O God, who created us out of your great love. All creation is filled with the wonder of your loving presence.
(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. Out of love you have created us, and into love you call us. Yet we are reluctant to enter into the giving love you show us. We are afraid and defensive. We not only fear others, but we are afraid to trust you completely. Forgive us, and renew our faith with the presence of your Spirit that we may trust in you always.
We give you thanks for your love that sustains all creation. Your Spirit is ever present, though we are often unaware of your constant care. We thank you for those who have reflected your faithfulness so that faith could grow in us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children and all your creation. We are aware that many have found life to be difficult and untrustworthy. We pray that as you care for your children, we may see a sign of your faithfulness to them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
I am not afraid to drive across a bridge -- unless it is really high... then I have problems. I am not afraid to climb stairs -- unless they are high and out in the open where I can look down. I am not afraid to stand on a balcony -- unless it is really high up.
Faith is easy sometimes, and sometimes it is hard. It is easy to have faith in God when everything is good, but it is harder when things are not going well. Maybe we have to move and don’t know people where we are going. Maybe we are going to a new school -- and though some of the kids we will know, many we will not. Maybe someone we love is really, really sick. God knows we are sometimes afraid. That is okay. God is still with us and loves us and cares for us. God helps us to have faith in God’s love.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Difficult Things
by Dean Feldmeyer
Genesis 22:1-14
(Before you begin, go to www.outofthedump.org and spend a few minutes reading up on Project Chacocente and its founder and executive director, Cheryl Avery. It may be helpful to print some pictures of Cheryl and Project Chacocente to use in this children’s sermon.)
You know, I have learned from reading the Bible and from being a Christian that sometimes God asks us to do difficult things, sometimes very difficult things.
Like loving people who treat us badly. That’s difficult, isn’t it?
Or taking care of people who may not deserve to be taken care of. That’s difficult.
Or sometimes God asks us to make a personal sacrifice in order to help other people, to give up something we like or want. I don’t know about you, but that’s a tough one for me.
Well, today I want to introduce you to a lady who gave up a lot to help some people she had never really met before. Her name is Cheryl Avery, and about 15 years ago she was working in New York City at a big company. She was an important person in that company, and she was making a whole lot of money.
One day the youth minister of her church told Cheryl that the youth and their adult leaders were going to Nicaragua to visit a mission there, and she needed another adult to go. She asked Cheryl to consider going, and without a moment’s thought Cheryl said “Yes.”
A few months later Cheryl and the group she was with were standing the middle of the city dump in the capital city of Managua, Nicaragua, the place where the garbage of a million people was dumped every day. The smell of all that garbage was horrible, and it nearly made them sick. And yet all around them were little huts made of sticks and cardboard and scraps of metal where people lived. In the dump! And every day those people dug through the garbage trying to find something to sell so they could buy some food.
A few days later Cheryl and others were in the airport getting ready to go back home -- but they were still troubled by the lives of those poor people in the dump. Cheryl says that on that day she felt God calling her. She felt God calling her to quit her important job, to give up her big salary, to sell her million-dollar New York City apartment, and to come back to Nicaragua and help the people of the dump.
And that’s what she did.
A few months later she brushed up on her high school Spanish and headed back to Managua to work in the dump, helping the poorest of the poor. Not long after her return, she founded Project Chacocente. This mission brought 55 people out of the dump and into the countryside near Masaya, where they learned to build their own homes, farm, start small businesses, speak English, read, and achieve other skills that improve their lives. They also helped to build a school for their children.
How many of you think it was easy for Cheryl to start Project Chacocente and be the director of it for the past 14 years? No, I don’t think it was easy either. But it helped these people in ways no one thought was possible. And even though it was hard, it was important -- and God called Cheryl Avery to do it, and Cheryl heard God’s call and responded.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 2, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and Jesus’ words about welcoming -- and the reward awaiting the righteous who are welcoming. Jesus’ simple command is not merely to offer hospitality (though it is that as well) -- it’s also to meet the needs we see and to treat all whom we encounter just as if they were Jesus himself. Unfortunately, too often -- both in the church and in society -- we do so... but only to the extent that it's convenient for us. There are no parameters like that on Jesus' instructions in the gospel text. Yet as Mary observes, finding the delicate balance between welcoming and being over-welcoming remains a challenge -- something that becomes abundantly clear when we find ourselves on the receiving end of assistance.
Faith in the Face of Loss
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13
Philando Castile, Otto Warmbier, Nabra Hassanen, Charleena Lyles -- four names... four humans whose lives were lost. We speak these four names, along with the names of countless others in our communities who have lost their lives to violence. These killings, this loss of life, stand in stark contrast to the spared life of Isaac in our Genesis text.
What do we say to parents who have lost their children to senseless killing? What do we say to the children who have lost fathers, siblings, friends? The son of Abraham was spared. God provided a surrogate for the sacrifice.
What surrogate stood in for Philando, for Nabra, for Otto, for Charleena? Why weren’t these humans spared?
Psalm 13 gives us words of lament: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?... How long must I bear pain in my soul?” Yet like Abraham, the psalmist trusts in God’s steadfast love. Life involves hurt and hope, pain and praise, threat and trust.
We speak their names. We mourn their deaths. We hold on to hope while praying for help.
In the Scriptures
The Genesis 22 account of the binding of Isaac is a tough story to tell. Fathers, mothers, grandchildren, and children recoil when they read about God asking old, faithful Abraham to take his son to a mountain, where he will be sacrificed. And rightfully so! One doesn’t need to be a parent to imagine the pain and horror of placing a child on an altar of wood in preparation for slaughter. This text seems to support the abuse of children, the objectification of a human offered as a sacrifice, Abraham’s commendation for not withholding his only son. It’s a test of faith. Yet the hideous images in Genesis 22 parallel accounts of the many senseless killings that fill our news headlines.
Abraham was a man of faith, a recipient of God’s call and promise. He left his homeland with his wife and possessions to follow God’s leading to a new land. Abraham and Sarah accepted God’s favor and waited (sometimes not too patiently, yet they waited) for God’s promise of blessing and offspring and a great nation to come to them. The couple finally conceives; they bear a son. God’s promise begins to unfold for them. In this final dialogue between Abraham and God, and between Abraham and Isaac, Abraham is tested. Will he continue to obey God’s command? Will he continue on the journey laid before him by God? Will he listen to God and go to the place which God will reveal to him? Will he prepare his only son as an offering to God? Will Abraham trust God and obey this unthinkable directive? Will Isaac trust his father, even as he’s laid on the altar?
There are futile, senseless experiences in life that can become occasions to turn away from God. Human beings know deep, dark, and seemingly hopeless valleys. As Abraham faces the unfathomable, his obedience and faith grow stronger. This is not because Isaac is spared, but because God provided what was needed at the time. Abraham exhibited a deep and abiding faith in a deep and abiding God. Abraham trusted that God was with him. He trusted that God would honor the promises made to him. He trusted that Isaac would carry forth God’s promise into the future. God showed that Abraham’s trust was not in vain. At the close of the story, Abraham names that place on the mountain “The Lord will provide.”
Psalm 13 accompanies the Genesis text, giving voice to the lament and agony of God’s people. The psalm is a cry for deliverance -- from pain, from sorrow, from darkness. Even as the psalmist fears that an enemy will prevail, he expresses trust in God’s steadfast love. Even as he fears that God has forgotten him, he sings praises to God for dealing bountifully with him. Amid trouble, persecution, and an apparent absence of God, there remains a trust in the salvation and deliverance that God provides. Pain, despair, and death do not have the last word.
In the News
In response to the death of Otto Warmbier, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote: “On behalf of the entire State Department and the United States government, I extend my condolences to the Warmbier family, and offer my prayers as they enter a time of grief no parent should ever know.” The Washington Post reports that many politicians are laying blame for Warmbier’s death on North Korea’s practices and policies. There are calls for sanctions, travel bans, and political retribution. Yet human acts won’t bring back this young man. Political, military, or diplomatic responses won’t ease the pain and loss experienced by his family.
The acquittal of the police officer involved with the death of Philando Castile, coupled with recently released video footage of the incident, brings the story back into the headlines one year after the shooting occurred. In the days after her son’s death, Castile’s mother offered a chilling reflection. “All I can say is that I don’t know anywhere on this planet where if you tell the truth and are honest, you die,” said Valerie Castile, who said she believed her son had been racially profiled by the police in the region for years, amassing at least 52 traffic or parking cases recorded in a state court database. “If this is where humanity is headed to, we’re doomed.”
“On Sunday morning, two Seattle police officers shot and killed Charleena Lyles in her apartment. She was pregnant, and three of her four children were home. She had called the police to report a burglary. According to the officers’ account, shortly after they arrived, Ms. Lyles, who the police knew was mentally ill, pulled a knife. Both officers shot her. Societal failure to care for mental health, which leaves the police as mental illness first responders, may well have been one deadly ingredient in this tragic encounter.” Further reporting by the New York Times details the pattern of abuse Charleena endured at the hands of an ex-boyfriend. She struggled to get on her feet and to retain custody of her children. She also struggled with mental illness. Whether she failed or humanity failed her, Ms. Lyles’ death left four children without a mother -- and a city reeling from another officer-involved death. Society’s limits in addressing mental illness are highlighted.
Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Virginia teen, was bludgeoned with a baseball bat last week by a motorist who drove up to about 15 Muslim teenagers as they walked or bicycled along a road. At her funeral service, Imam Mohamed Magid, the religious leader of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, sought to comfort Nabra’s mother: “There is nothing like losing a child, especially in the way that we lost Nabra.” He acknowledged that the slaying had people grieving and fearful, but he praised the many people who turned out “in a fever” to search for the teen before police discovered her body.
These stories -- plus increasing incidents of tragedies in public venues in London and Paris, and the ambush-style shootings at a congressional baseball practice -- raise feelings of fear, frustration, and helplessness. What can humans do in the face of seemingly endless tragedy and sorrow?
In the Sermon
The sermon might look at:
1) The lament of the psalmist, to state the questions and name the fear of God’s abandonment. Psalm 13 also shows confidence in God’s steadfast and enduring love and hope, even in the midst of lament. The bad news contained in the headlines are not the final word for a faithful people.
2) The trust and faith exhibited by Abraham, even as he walked up that mountain to face the unthinkable -- the sacrifice of his only son. What faith and confidence accompanies those who mourn unspeakable loss? How does God walk with those who trust?
3) How do people maintain faith under extreme pressure, grief, or sorrow? Often, in paying attention to the news, people lose faith that God will provide hope and help and support. News headlines test our faith in humanity -- yet God prevails. Faith in God sustains.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Matthew 10:40-42
The Sunday morning visitor sat in the front row for church, which is unusual at the Presbyterian congregation I serve. He seemed to have the shakes, and fortunately he had arrived on Coffee Sunday so he could take a hot cup of coffee (and a lid) into the sanctuary. Midway through the service he got up out of the pew and his pants stayed behind, momentarily distracting everyone in the rows behind him. When he went down this aisle, gripping his pants with one hand and his coffee with the other, I wondered what the well-mannered church members were thinking.
In this church of well-groomed, polished people, I feared that no one would talk to him at the coffee hour. Instead, by the time I got to the social hall people had learned his name, where he lived, and a little of his story. He had more coffee, and made plans to return to look in our clothes closet for pants that fit better.
On any given Sunday, our church’s practice of hospitality can fill me with appreciation or leave me gnashing my teeth. Some Sundays we over-welcome people, and our enthusiasm leaves them skittish. Other Sundays we ignore them, letting guests sit alone, looking helpless while we chat animatedly with each other.
Giving and receiving hospitality can bring us joy, or diminish us. I used to spend a lot of time thinking about how to give gifts of welcome and service to people. Now I wonder more often what it’s like to be on the receiving end. Do people feel welcomed, or patronized? Is our help actually helpful? How can I listen better to what they’re teaching me?
All of this work of welcome and hospitality take place in the web of relationships that Jesus lays out for us in this passage from Matthew’s gospel. Jesus is giving his early followers -- and us -- a new framework of relationships. He announces that our ties with our birth family are not going to be enough to sustain us in this demanding life of faith. He urges the people who love him to let go of the lives they understand to take up a new way of living. After he uproots us from the relationships we know and rely on we need a new foundation, and so the work of hospitality is even more important.
In their Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Malina and Rohrbaugh write about hospitality as this process of drawing people into a new kinship bond. In Jesus’ day, they note, “to welcome” a person meant to show hospitality. “Hospitality is the process by means of which a stranger is taken under the protection of a host (patron) for a given time, to leave that protection either as friend or enemy.” Here, Jesus seems to be promising a reward for showing hospitality.
Reward or no, we church folks are eager to do good out in the world. It’s sometimes hard to make someone welcome at the church, where we have an agenda of getting well-dressed new members who are a lot like us so that they will fit in at our church. Out in the world, though, we excel at packing food boxes, serving meals, and painting churches. We tumble out of our church vans, ready to do the kind of serving that Jesus asks of us.
Recently, a good-hearted church wanted to come and do a mission day at my urban church. They told me what day and hours they could come, and that I should think of a project that would work for a certain age child, and be interesting enough to hold their attention. I would need to think up the project, get the supplies, and be prepared for the kids and their parents. The longer I talked to this well-intentioned church, the worse I felt. When I finally threw up my hands and declined their offer, the church was mystified about why I would turn down their help... and a little annoyed with me for not seeing the beauty in what they were offering.
The real beauty of it was that I finally saw what it’s like to be “helped.” After a privileged lifetime of “giving,” just like Jesus wants me to, I was on the other side.
It was a moment of illumination about what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a mission project. I felt small and inadequate after this one phone call, so I can only imagine how it is to have people visit your community for a week, or come in for a day-long clean-up blitz. I can only imagine how it is to have people look at your life and see the flaws in it, flaws they can fix for you. I can only imagine how it is not to be listened to, in a community where you are an expert. I can only imagine, but I can imagine it a lot better now.
Maybe the people who are receiving our “help” are the ones who should get the reward Jesus offers. Maybe the ones being “helped” are really showing us hospitality, and teaching us to see a different aspect of the world with more clarity.
Michelle Acker Perez, who hosts incoming mission trips in Guatemala along with her husband, says that they wonder all the time if the trips do more good than harm. She says: “[W]e continue to feel this tension with the short-term mission teams that we host.... Do they contribute to feelings of superiority? Or inferiority?” She believes that the “how” of mission work is much more important than the “what.” No matter what we plan to do, she says, “your team must commit to getting rid of the hero complex. Developing countries do not need short-term heroes. They need long-term partners.” She adds that we should not being doing things for people that they can do themselves, saying: “Last time I checked, people in developing countries can paint a wall, so why are you doing it for them? If painting a wall or school is really a need in the place where you’re working, then invite students from that school or people from the village to do it with you. Doing things with people, not for people should be the motto. Always.” Doing things with people is another form of hospitality.
None of this is drive-by work. The relationship, over time, makes the difference. In the ongoing connection, each side sees the other’s strengths and gifts. Michelle Acker Perez adds that people who go on mission trips to give should keep at it. “We all know money is not everything. But when used wisely it can make a huge difference in the lives of people. You probably wrote letters and had car washes in order to raise money to go, right? Well, what keeps you from still doing that? We work hard for a one-week trip, but then what? What if your church or youth group or school worked on matching every dollar you spent on your one-week trip to send down to the place you served over the course of the year?” Are we interested in a sustained tie, or just a week of feeling good?
Jesus is talking about a new web of relationships, replacing our family connections with bonds based on our faith. This happens when we welcome people, and when we let them welcome us, understanding that we need both roles for a relationship to develop.
I’m grateful for the chance to show hospitality, and right now I’m even more grateful for the lesson the well-meaning church taught me about how it feels to be on the receiving end. Welcome goes both ways, and so does the reward.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 22:1-14
Saying Their Names
There’s no way around the agonizing details in the story of the binding of Isaac. The narrative drips with specificity: God tests Abraham; God calls Abraham by name; God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac. “Take your son, your only son,” God says. Then, almost as if Abraham might somehow be confused, God adds: “Isaac, whom you love, and go...”
God says Isaac’s name, perhaps as a way of highlighting the importance of the trial Abraham is about to endure. God says Isaac’s name -- it is a reminder of how important it is to say the names of the innocent.
Following the 2015 death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old African American woman who was being held in the Waller County, Texas, jail, the African-American Policy Forum initiated a campaign to “Say Her Name” to call attention to female victims of police brutality. Another movement, “Say Their Names,” was co-founded by human rights attorney Nicole Lee to document the stories of victims of racially-motivated violence.
Naming victims’ stories is a way of underscoring the importance of their lives. As Lee observes, “What if this was your family? What if it was my family? That’s why I co-founded Say Their Names. Say Their Names is a campaign for change. It’s an attempt to reach out to America through a series of bold, short documentary films, plus a compelling book composed of photos and firsthand accounts from families who’ve lost loved ones to anti-black violence. Our black children -- all of our children deserve to grow into adults whose lives are full of possibility, whose lives can’t be stolen by police and vigilantes. Telling the stories, and changing it -- means telling their stories every way we can.”
In this week’s chilling story, both Abraham and Isaac are named. What would happen if we practiced saying the names of victims of contemporary trauma and violence?
*****
Genesis 22:1-14
Not My Child
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks offers a provocative interpretation of the binding of Isaac by viewing the story against the entire sweep of the Torah. According to the Torah, children are not owned by their parents; children belong to God. “All things belong to G-d,” writes Sacks, “and we must acknowledge this before we make use of anything. That is what a blessing is: acknowledging that all we enjoy is from G-d.”
*****
Genesis 22:1-14
More than Property
Blogger Annie Reneau reflects on similar themes as Sacks through the lens of Khalil Gibran’s iconic poem “On Children.” Through her own experiences as a mother, Reneau observes that she finally understands what Gibran may have meant when he said that our children “our not ours.”
She writes:
[Children] do not “belong to” us. We don’t own them. We may have chosen (or not) to conceive them, but we didn’t choose who they are. We are the means by which they came into the world, but we did not design them. A force greater than ourselves -- God, nature, “Life’s longing for itself,” whatever you want to call it -- is responsible for that.... It’s so tempting to want to make our mark on -- or through -- our children, but they have their lives, and we have ours. They have their own destinies to fulfill, and we have ours. Our destinies are interwoven, but they are not the same.
*****
Matthew 10:40-42
On Welcoming Children
The late actor Alan Rickman, whose many roles included playing Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film franchise, could be somewhat of an imposing figure -- especially when costumed in Snape’s trademark black robes. But off-camera Rickman was known to be gracious and encouraging, especially to the many children with whom he was working.
Producer Paula DuPré Pesman recalls the legendary actor’s presence with children visiting the set, including one who was suffering from a brain tumor. In a recent Huffington Post story, entertainment reporter Bill Bradley writes about the moment that happened during the filming of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
One of the most memorable visits comes from a boy named Jay.
Jay, a child diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, was excited to visit the set, “But what he really wanted was to be in the film, not just visiting,” DuPré Pesmen added.
“I said, ‘Well, we can’t really do that, and you’re already here.’ Alan [Rickman] came over and introduced himself to Jay, and Jay was so happy to meet him. He was really knowledgeable. He was about 15 at the time, and he knew a lot about Alan’s other films, and Jay mentioned to Alan that what he really wanted to do was be in the film.
“Alan looked at me, and he kind of went into his Snape-mode in costume, and said, ‘Why isn’t this child in the film?’” recalled DuPré Pesman. “Everyone had a good laugh, and Alan took him by the hand and put him into the crowd of kids as they were panning across. The back of him is actually in a shot.”
Though the particular scene was eventually cut from the movie, Jay did get to go on the set where he met director Christopher Columbus. The famous director eventually used Jay for a brief part in another movie. But as DuPré Pesman notes, because Rickman took the time to welcome the sick boy, “Jay was there. He had a moment.”
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Genesis 22:1-14
Two men recently escaped from a Georgia prison, and in the process killed a guard with his own gun. But after being fugitives for several days without food and shelter, they made the decision to surrender to the authorities. When escapees Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose saw Patrick Hale, they thought he was a law enforcement officer. Waving their shirts as a sign of surrender, they knelt before him. Hale, however, had just fled his home along with his daughter, seeking safety upon learning the fugitives were in the area. After getting into his car, Hale remembered that he had left a loaded shotgun by his back door, and when he went to get it he encountered the two fugitives. He held the two men captive for three minutes until 45 police officers arrived. When Hale realized that two convicts wanted for murder (who had nothing to lose) had laid down on his driveway, he said of the incidents: “If that doesn’t make you believe in Jesus Christ, I don’t know what does.”
Application: We must learn the meaning of faith and trust.
*****
Genesis 22:1-14
The jury for Bill Cosby’s trial on sexual assault charges was deadlocked, as no unanimous decisions could be made. One juror agreed to be interviewed anonymously on television. His position was that Andrea Constand’s assertion that she was raped could not be believed since she waited a year to report the crime to the police. This position was contrary to all the testimony given by professionals, noting that it often takes a year or even longer to report a rape to the authorities.
Application: We must understand truth.
*****
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Shakespeare in the Park -- performed annually in New York City’s Central Park, recently finished its last showing this year of Julius Caesar. This series of shows depicted the assassinated Caesar as President Donald Trump -- so it was Trump who was stabbed to death by the senators in the forum. As expected, and as desired by the producers of the play, this caused a great deal of controversy. Trump supporters and Trump detractors were both very vocal and had public demonstrations.
Application: When we speak, we need to be sure we understand the message we are conveying.
*****
Romans 6:12-23
The jury for Bill Cosby’s trial on sexual assault charges was deadlocked, The case will most likely be tried a second time. Andrea Constand is ready for a second trial -- according to her lawyer Dolores Troiani, she is willing to continue with the legal proceedings because “it should encourage other women to come forward and have their day in court.”
Application: We are to be an encouragement and an example for others.
*****
Romans 6:12-23
Dr. Universe is a weekly science column which answers questions submitted by children. One recent question was why snakes shed their skin. The reason for this yearly ordeal is to replace worn-out and damaged skin. What is interesting is that human beings shed their skin as well. But instead of shedding it all at one time like a snake, humans continually shed particles of skin that float away until all of our skin is eventually replaced.
Application: Paul wants us to be new creatures who no longer live by the flesh.
*****
Romans 6:12-23
In a Herman comic, Herman is dressed as a robber and standing before a bank teller’s window. He is holding a pistol and a bank robbery note. The teller, showing the greatest amount of disinterest, reads the note back to Herman. She says: “Read it yourself! It says, ‘Dozen eggs, bread, milk, chocolate chip cookies.’ ”
Application: When we live in sin, nothing will go right for us.
*****
Matthew 10:40-42
Outside the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, there are statues of four iconic baseball players from the vaunted Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s: Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Pete Rose. The statue of Rose shows him making one of his famous headfirst slides into home plate. Though Rose is still not recognized by the Baseball Home of Fame, Cincinnati’s favorite son is still welcomed in his hometown.
Application: People need to feel welcomed and accepted.
*****
Independence Day
In 1943, Eleanor Roosevelt toured the battle-scarred island of Guadalcanal. With remorse, she viewed the endless field of grave markers. The First Lady conversed with the wounded, smiling to each, signing bandages, and promising to telephone wives and mothers. Reflecting on her visit, Mrs. Roosevelt wrote: “On the island of Guadalcanal there is a cemetery, and as you look on the crosses row on row, you think of the women’s hearts buried here as well.”
*****
Independence Day
At the end of the Vietnam War, the released American prisoners of war huddled together in the C141, unable to comprehend their journey to freedom. Years of captivity and abuse had now come to an end. The flight from Hanoi to Clark Field in the Philippines would bring the men home. Commander Jeremiah Denton, the senior officer aboard the plane, was invited to make a statement on behalf of the returning airmen. The commander borrowed paper and pen from a nurse, composed a short speech, and then he committed it to memory. Soon the spokesman was standing before the reception. Surprised by the large crowd and overcome with emotion, the prepared words seemed inadequate. On the written page Denton had not truly expressed what he felt in his heart. Befuddled, these unrehearsed words slipped from his lips: “God bless America! Land that I love!”
*****
Independence Day
Captain Max Cleland bounded off the helicopter onto the crest of a Vietnam hill. The captain saw a grenade lying on the ground which he assumed was his, thinking it had fallen from his web gear. He reached to pick it up when suddenly there was an explosion, resulting in Cleland losing an arm and both legs -- injuries from which he miraculously survived. With determination and faith he endured 18 months of rehabilitation, then once again entered the work force. Interested in politics, Cleland campaigned and became the youngest person elected to the Georgia state senate. Admired for his abilities, Max Cleland was appointed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter as administrator of the Veterans Administration. In his Washington office, Cleland kept a Bible on his desk. Confronted by a problem that seemed beyond his human capabilities, Cleland would touch the Bible to be assured of the presence of Christ. Cleland discovered inner strength from his Christian faith and his handicap. To express his faith, Max Cleland uses the following prayer, written by an unknown Confederate soldier during the Civil War, to close all of his speeches and interviews:
I asked God for strength,
that I might achieve;
I was made weak,
that I might humble obey.
I asked God for health,
that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity,
that I might do better things.
I asked God for riches,
that I might be happy;
I was given poverty,
that I might be wise.
I asked for power,
that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness,
that I might feel the need of God.
I asked God for all things,
that I might enjoy life;
I was given life,
that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for --
but everything that I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself,
my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men,
most richly blessed.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: How long, O Lord? Will you forget us forever?
People: How long will you hide your face from us?
Leader: Consider and answer us, my God!
People: Give light to our eyes, or we will sleep the sleep of death.
Leader: Our hearts shall rejoice in your salvation.
People: We will sing to God, who has dealt bountifully with us.
OR
Leader: Let us worship the God of all Creation!
People: Praise to our God, who fills creation with boundless love!
Leader: God is with us. God never leaves us alone.
People: We rejoice in the faithfulness of our God.
Leader: God invites us to always have faith in Eternal Love.
People: We doubt sometimes, but we strive to trust.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
found in:
UMH: 110
H82: 687, 688
PH: 260
AAHH: 124
NNBH: 37
NCH: 439, 440
CH: 66
LBW: 228, 229
ELA: 503, 504, 505
W&P: 588
AMEC: 54
STLT: 200
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 680
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELA: 632
W&P: 84
AMEC: 61
STLT: 281
“Hope of the World”
found in:
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
found in:
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“This Is My Song”
found in:
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELA: 887
STLT: 159
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“ ’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 462
AAHH: 368
NNBH: 292
AMEC: 440
“All I Need Is You”
found in:
CCB: 100
“As the Deer”
found in:
CCB: 83
Renew: 9
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 from and for love: Grant us the faith to trust in your love for us regardless of the circumstances of life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for creating us out of your great love so that we can grow into love. Give us a strong faith that trusts in your great love, so that we can face all of life’s circumstances. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to trust our loving God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Out of love you have created us, and into love you call us. Yet we are reluctant to enter into the giving love you show us. We are afraid and defensive. We not only fear others, but we are afraid to trust you completely. Forgive us, and renew our faith with the presence of your Spirit that we may trust in you always. Amen.
Leader: Our God is the Faithful One who loves us and cares for us always. Receive God’s love and grace, and allow God’s Spirit to fill you with faith and joy.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We worship you, O God, who created us out of your great love. All creation is filled with the wonder of your loving presence.
(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. Out of love you have created us, and into love you call us. Yet we are reluctant to enter into the giving love you show us. We are afraid and defensive. We not only fear others, but we are afraid to trust you completely. Forgive us, and renew our faith with the presence of your Spirit that we may trust in you always.
We give you thanks for your love that sustains all creation. Your Spirit is ever present, though we are often unaware of your constant care. We thank you for those who have reflected your faithfulness so that faith could grow in us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children and all your creation. We are aware that many have found life to be difficult and untrustworthy. We pray that as you care for your children, we may see a sign of your faithfulness to them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
I am not afraid to drive across a bridge -- unless it is really high... then I have problems. I am not afraid to climb stairs -- unless they are high and out in the open where I can look down. I am not afraid to stand on a balcony -- unless it is really high up.
Faith is easy sometimes, and sometimes it is hard. It is easy to have faith in God when everything is good, but it is harder when things are not going well. Maybe we have to move and don’t know people where we are going. Maybe we are going to a new school -- and though some of the kids we will know, many we will not. Maybe someone we love is really, really sick. God knows we are sometimes afraid. That is okay. God is still with us and loves us and cares for us. God helps us to have faith in God’s love.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Difficult Things
by Dean Feldmeyer
Genesis 22:1-14
(Before you begin, go to www.outofthedump.org and spend a few minutes reading up on Project Chacocente and its founder and executive director, Cheryl Avery. It may be helpful to print some pictures of Cheryl and Project Chacocente to use in this children’s sermon.)
You know, I have learned from reading the Bible and from being a Christian that sometimes God asks us to do difficult things, sometimes very difficult things.
Like loving people who treat us badly. That’s difficult, isn’t it?
Or taking care of people who may not deserve to be taken care of. That’s difficult.
Or sometimes God asks us to make a personal sacrifice in order to help other people, to give up something we like or want. I don’t know about you, but that’s a tough one for me.
Well, today I want to introduce you to a lady who gave up a lot to help some people she had never really met before. Her name is Cheryl Avery, and about 15 years ago she was working in New York City at a big company. She was an important person in that company, and she was making a whole lot of money.
One day the youth minister of her church told Cheryl that the youth and their adult leaders were going to Nicaragua to visit a mission there, and she needed another adult to go. She asked Cheryl to consider going, and without a moment’s thought Cheryl said “Yes.”
A few months later Cheryl and the group she was with were standing the middle of the city dump in the capital city of Managua, Nicaragua, the place where the garbage of a million people was dumped every day. The smell of all that garbage was horrible, and it nearly made them sick. And yet all around them were little huts made of sticks and cardboard and scraps of metal where people lived. In the dump! And every day those people dug through the garbage trying to find something to sell so they could buy some food.
A few days later Cheryl and others were in the airport getting ready to go back home -- but they were still troubled by the lives of those poor people in the dump. Cheryl says that on that day she felt God calling her. She felt God calling her to quit her important job, to give up her big salary, to sell her million-dollar New York City apartment, and to come back to Nicaragua and help the people of the dump.
And that’s what she did.
A few months later she brushed up on her high school Spanish and headed back to Managua to work in the dump, helping the poorest of the poor. Not long after her return, she founded Project Chacocente. This mission brought 55 people out of the dump and into the countryside near Masaya, where they learned to build their own homes, farm, start small businesses, speak English, read, and achieve other skills that improve their lives. They also helped to build a school for their children.
How many of you think it was easy for Cheryl to start Project Chacocente and be the director of it for the past 14 years? No, I don’t think it was easy either. But it helped these people in ways no one thought was possible. And even though it was hard, it was important -- and God called Cheryl Avery to do it, and Cheryl heard God’s call and responded.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 2, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
