Fear and Faith
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For June 23, 2024:
Fear and Faith
by Tom Willadsen
Psalm 9:9-20, Mark 4:35-41, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, 1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11,19-23), 32-49
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address
“One of the easiest ways to stoke fear in the heart of America is to say there’s somebody coming to take something that’s yours.” Dr. Alex Scott, Assistant Professor of Multimedia Storytelling, the University of Iowa
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene II, William Shakespeare
In the Bible
Mark 4:35-41
They feared a great fear
The disciples and Jesus are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. They’re between the Jewish (west) side of the sea, enroute to the Gentile east side. There are echoes of the first chapter of Jonah, a big storm, a sleeping prophet, the storm calms. The disciples are afraid in the storm. The Greek term, which Jesus uses for their fear, is δειλοι, which can be thought of “timid” or “frightened” in English. After Jesus calmed the sea, the NRSV says they “were filled with great fear.” Literally, the Greek says “they feared with fear,” the repetition adds emphasis.
Surprisingly this passage parallels Jesus’ first miracle in Mark’s gospel, an exorcism in Capernaum (1:21-27). Jesus rebuked the demon and commanded it to be silent, exactly as he did the stormy sea. Both exorcisms end in questions — the former, “What is this?” asked by those who witnessed the exorcism, the latter, “Who then is this?” asked by the disciples. The disciples never get what Jesus is doing.
Because I’m the Pop Music Alluder® on the TIW team, I must point out that today’s passage from Mark foretold the chart history of the Buckinghams, a Chicago-based quintet whose only hits occurred in 1967. Their first hit, “Kind of a Drag” could have been sung by the disciples as their boat was being swamped. Their second hit, “Don’t You Care,” was the disciples’ cry of distress to Jesus in their fear. Their final Top Ten Billboard hit, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” is an apt description of Jesus’ display of power over wind and water — and the disciples’ relief.
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
You think you got problems?
The bulk of this reading is Paul’s list of seven contrasting pairs. Most of them are responses to things he’s been accused of and surmounted. There’s a nearly stoic effect at work here; Paul has weathered all these difficulties and remained true to his call to spread the gospel. He concludes this passage with an appeal for the Corinthians to answer his expressed vulnerability with the sort of humility that will lead them to open their hearts to his message.
Psalm 9:9-20
It is likely that Psalms 9 and 10 were originally one psalm. Some evidence for this is that Psalm 10 does not have a superscription and Psalm 9 ends with “Selah,” which scholars believe is a musical notation. Still, the text as it appears in the lectionary is worth considering on its own.
The theme of the psalm is a nice parallel to Paul’s laundry list of difficulties as recounted in the lection from 2 Corinthians. The psalmist reminds himself of the Lord’s promised deliverance of the righteous.
The final verse “Put them to fear, O Lord; let the nations know that they are only human.” Picks up on the theme of fear in both the gospel passage and in the earlier lesson from 1 Samuel, and the fear of the Judeans and Israelites when confronted by Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11,19-23), 32-49 or 1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16
The first reading from 1 Samuel for today is the Bible’s most famous upset: David over Goliath. The Judeans and Israelites were afraid of the giant Goliath. David had a remarkable career change in this passage. He had gone to Socoh as a messenger on his father’s behalf, schlepping vittles for his brothers and their comrades. Jesse wanted to hear how his older sons were doing, and he sent David to take them some food. When David heard Goliath’s taunting, he went to Saul and said, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father….” It appears David saw his future at this point as a giant slayer, or perhaps, a court musician, a gig he resumes in today’s other reading from 1 Samuel.
As the earlier reading from 1 Samuel concludes, Goliath is not dead. He’s been knocked unconscious by the stone David lodged in his forehead, but it isn’t until v. 51 that the coroner could pronounce the Big Guy dead. “Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut his head off.”
David’s rising stature and Saul’s fear of this is the theme of the latter 1 Samuel reading. The connection between David and Jonathon is unique in the Bible. Perhaps their relationship is something to lift up during Pride Month.
In the News
Fear is in the air this week. The most anticipated movie sequel of the summer, Inside Out 2, highlights characters named for the emotions 13-year-old Riley experiences — among them, fear, anxiety, and ennui.
Fear is a noun and a verb in English. It is more than an emotion. It has practically become an ethos, and there are pundits and influencers who seek to create, feed, and nurture it, rather than defuse it.
Ben Bergquam, a self-described opinion journalist who hosts the TV show “Law and Border” on the Real America’s Voice digital media platform…often links migrants to crime — another dominant theme of Trump’s campaign — even though many academics who study the issue say there is no evidence to show immigrants commit crimes at higher rates than native-born Americans. (Reno Gazette Journal, June 14, 2024, p. NN01)
“Bergquam’s violence claim is not supported by crime data for New York City, which has received more than 202,000 migrants since the Republican-led state of Texas began busing them to Democratic-led cities from the southern border in 2022.” (Ibid.)
In “The Politics of Fear Itself,” an article by Peter Wehner in The Atlantic, May 7, 2024, the former president’s use of fear as a motivator is demonstrated in these excerpts from his recent speeches.
“If he wins,” Trump said of Biden during a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, “our country is going to be destroyed.” Trump also said this of Biden: “He’s a demented tyrant.” After Trump’s victories on Super Tuesday, he told an audience of his supporters, “Our cities are choking to death. Our states are dying. And frankly, our country is dying.”
That none of these claims is objectively true doesn’t reduce their impact. Cultivating fear, then promising to vanquish it is a winning political strategy.
What is fear’s antidote? What is the kryptonite to its power?
I once spent an afternoon with a parishioner who desperately wanted to get over his fear of flying. He was headed across the country for work in the coming week. The fact that he was more likely to die enroute to the airport than in a plane crash had no effect. Reason and logic couldn’t undo the hold his lizard brain had on his body and emotions. Finally, we searched the Bible together for quotes, mostly from the Psalms, that he wrote down and kept in his pocket to read and reread, when his anxiety was too much. His scriptural Xanax got him to his meeting and home safely, but not without his white-knuckling it both ways.
One finds “Perfect love casts out fear,” in 1 John, but achieving that kind of love is difficult. Would that verse have brought any comfort to the man in my office? “Look, if you could just get love right, this would all go away,” I could have advised. I chose, instead, to journey with him, acknowledging that his fear was real, even if I didn’t share it.
In the Sermon
Today’s Bible passages address fear from a number of different angles. Paul lists the struggles and obstacles he overcame to spread the gospel. In the face of all of them he remained faithful and diligent, in spite of fear and real hardship. He is a model of humble tenacity, just ask him.
The Judeans and Israelites are frightened of the giant who had taunted them for forty days. David, the young, ruddy shepherd boy, armed with the experience of defending livestock, a sling, and faith in the living God, took on the giant face to face and prevailed. The text does not indicate that David was afraid, though everyone around him was.
Most interesting is the fear the disciples displayed. They were afraid when the storm on the Sea of Galilee was swamping their boat. They were more afraid after their teacher had exorcised the storm and calmed the wind and sea. They were more afraid after they were out of danger.
The people who will gather for worship this morning will bring all kinds of fears and anxiety into church with them. Perhaps they’re waiting for the results of a medical test for themselves or someone they love. Perhaps it’s climate change that is keeping them up at night. Or this summer’s sky-high electric bills because it’s another record hot summer.
The earlier quote from Julius Caesar really gets at another facet of fear and worry. Many people worry about things that may or could happen. Our imaginations cause more anxiety than actual peril. The difficult thing with anxiety and fear is separating what is really worth being afraid of, and what isn’t. For those who truly struggle with anxiety and fear, it may be helpful to point out the disciples’ reaction to being rescued was to fear in a different, deeper way. They stayed with Jesus, though he scared them. Faith, and a living faith, doesn’t end fear or anxiety. They may be the truest marks of deep faith.
SECOND THOUGHTS
With A Little Help From My Friends
by Chris Keating
1 Samuel 17:57--18:5, 10-16
Big themes surround the stories of 1 and 2 Samuel. They draw our attention like crowds drawn to a neighborhood swimming pool in the middle of summer. On one side we see old Eli, slathered up in sunscreen, lecturing his sons about ill-gotten gains. Across the pool, Hannah stands by herself, murmuring her laments in ways that make people wonder if she’s had too many wine coolers. Samuel treads water while playing “Marco Polo” with God. All in all, it’s a reunion of family, friends, religion and politics — in short, the sort of stuff that continues to capture our imagination.
Summer has prompted me to dive into these alternative, semi-continuous readings this year. Tracing the Deuteronomist’s narrative arc has proven helpful for both preacher and congregation. One hopes the latter has gained new insights into Bible stories once considered familiar but now largely forgotten. For the former, the focus on Samuel, Saul, and David has helped rekindle an appreciation for the Hebrew Bible’s understanding of the interlocking circles of faith, politics, and families.
Let’s add friendship to that diagram. Those shifting circles remain interlocked, twisting into new dimensions like a homiletical kaleidoscope. These tales challenge our perception of where God is at work even as the Deuteronomist keeps moving the stories along quickly. One week Samuel is knee-high to a grasshopper; the next he’s being called an old codger. Last week we watched as Jesse’s older sons are rejected in favor of their kid brother, David. Now they are on the sidelines seeking comfort from frosty mugs of Natty Light as their grown-up sibling delivers the head of Goliath to Saul.
As impressive as his victories have been, David is about to learn the importance of friendship. Jonathan’s unconditional support of his friend will continue to be a reminder that we get by with a little help from our friends.
The story of David and Jonathan’s emerging friendship offers an intriguing postscript to the conquering of Goliath. It’s a showstopping moment as these two warriors take center stage, stealing the limelight from the current king. Better call Saul and tell him his time is limited, because Jonathan and David form a critical alliance. They become instant buddies like Goose and Maverick, Trapper John and Hawkeye Pierce, or even Timon and Pumbaa. Their strong and immediate bond is a reminder of the importance “chosen” family plays in our lives.
Friendship is a particularly compelling theme in a world where friendships are increasingly rare. Loneliness has been determined to be as deadly as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day, a phenomenon only exacerbated by the pandemic. Men are particularly at risk of loneliness and emotional isolation, with as many as fifteen percent of adult males indicating they have no close friends. Men also report having weaker emotional bonds with the friends that they do have.
The consequences of this “friendship recession” include high rates of male suicide. That’s particularly true for men over age 75. It’s been well-documented than men are far more likely to complete suicide than women, for many reasons. In part that is true because men are less frequently diagnosed with depression, and in part because men are more likely to have access to firearms, which account for more than half of all suicides in the United States, according to a 2022 study.
We’d do well to ponder the implications of the covenant Jonathan makes with David. Jonathan “loved (David) as his own soul,” though the exact nature of that love is unclear. Perhaps our own heterosexism and homophobia, potent inhibitors to friendship among men, clouds our misunderstanding of this story. Whatever its manifestation, the relationship between David and Jonathan emanates from a lasting friendship.
For whatever reason, Jonathan is entranced by this slingshot yielding, ruddy-faced musician from Bethlehem. David, as Gen Z-ers might say, has rizz. He’s already been tapped to succeed Saul, though no one understands this. He will eventually marry Jonathan’s sister, Michal (1 Samuel 18:20), though the curious price for asking for the hand of the king’s daughter is a bag of Philistine foreskins.
Meanwhile, the bonds between David and Jonathan grow, prompting Jonathan to reconsider his primary allegiance to his father. Friendship, as Sallie McFague noted in her book Models of God, emerges from freedom. Perhaps this is why the depth of grief for a friend, as David will one day learn, is so profound. Such friendship, McFague argued, is modelled after the same divine freedom God demonstrated in choosing Israel. It is a “bridge across what is otherwise not touching,” a reflection of God’s love and a metaphor for how we are called to enact that love.
Just a day ago, a good and trusted friend of mine died. Like David, he had battled the Philistines of health conditions for years. We were the unlikeliest of friends — as a church musician, he drew on complex roots in a heritage that included stops in Pentecostal, Baptist, and Methodist churches, mixed with years of teaching at a Catholic school. I am much more boring, and sometimes think that a surgeon might find a Presbyterian Book of Order attached to my spleen. We had little in common, but as McFague says, our friendship became a bridge across a chasm that otherwise would not have been connected.
It’s true: We all get by with a little help from our friends.
ILLUSTRATIONS
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From team member Mary Austin:
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Suffering
Paul writes to the believers in Corinth that he has stayed faithful to God “through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.” He doesn’t seem surprised or bitter about this level of suffering. In contrast, as author K.J. Ramsey notes, “The drumbeat of Western culture is that effort produces success. With enough foresight and determination, we each can create a life with minimal pain and maximum pleasure. We are proprietors of possibility, the doorkeepers of our own bright futures. Our bodies are vehicles of productivity, a currency that purchases success or an inconvenience that impedes it. With hands over our hearts, we pledge allegiance to the red, white, and blue ideal of an autonomous, uninhibited life of safety and ease. If we try hard enough, we will triumph.”
Paul accepts suffering when necessary, and we do the opposite. As Ramsey, who has a chronic illness, notes, “The unspoken story of Western culture is that suffering is a problem we can avoid or annihilate if we work hard enough. When suffering lingers, we feel we have failed to reach the allegedly reachable American Dream. Held in the invisible grip of this story, lives including pain are problems to fix.” (from This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers")
Paul’s understanding of suffering would save us from another level of mental suffering, as we wonder what’s wrong with our lives when we experience pain.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Sleeping
Jesus’ ability to sleep peacefully, as he does during the storm, is captured by the statue of the Holy Child of Atocha, an image of Jesus as a sleeping child. Apparently, this is a lifelong skill.
Lori Erickson says, “The small statue of the Holy Child of Atocha that rests in a glass case behind the church’s altar. The young boy is sleeping, his head propped up against his hand. The faithful believe he’s dozing because each night he walks out from the church in search of those in need. Many pilgrims to this church leave small shoes as a gift, because the Holy Child wears them out so quickly in his travels.” (from Every Step Is Home: A Spiritual Geography from Appalachia to Alaska)
Looking at this figure of Jesus, Erickson realizes, “It’s not just pilgrims who walk in search of God, I realized as I sat in that quiet church. God walks in search of us as well.” Perhaps the disciples come to this same understanding after Jesus calms the storm.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Being Afraid
The disciples experience a dramatic moment of fear when the storm comes up as they ride in the boat with Jesus. Overwhelmed, they wake him up and ask if he cares.
In her new book, Somehow Anne Lamott tells the story of a friend who found a small frog in her kitchen. “She picked it up and carried it in her cupped hands to the wet grass outside. The frog was leaping in terror against her hands as she carried it, and probably did not understand the quiet comforting words she spoke to it along the way. I think this is one of the best examples of how love operates when we are most afraid and doomed, carrying us to a safer place while we pound against its cupped hands.”
Like the small frog, the disciples are carried by Jesus, even when they don’t see it.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Fear
The disciples experience two kinds of fear in this boat trip with Jesus — first, the perfectly natural fear of the storm. Next comes a greater fear, or awe, as they see who Jesus is.
Warren Berger tells about the process of conquering our everyday fears, writing, "Phil Keoghan, a lifelong adventurer and fear conqueror who hosts the television series The Amazing Race… has coached people to help them conquer a range of fears (from the fear of heights to the fear of sharks) and he says he often begins by asking: What is your earliest memory of this fear? How do you react to it? What has it kept you from doing? How might things change if you were able to overcome this fear? In dissecting the fear, “we talk about the irrationality of it—and about real versus imagined risks,” he says." (from The Book of Beautiful Questions)
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From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Mark 4:35-41
What We Are Afraid Of?
According to the web site safehome.org, these are the top ten fears of Americans:
• As a nation, our greatest fears concern those closest to us: More than two-thirds of adults fear their loved ones becoming sick or dying.
• 46% of Americans fear the US entering another world war, making this scenario one of the top 10 most concerning.
• 55% of Americans are afraid they won’t have enough money for retirement, and 54% are afraid of gun violence and mass shootings.
• The prospect of Donald Trump returning to the presidency is America’s #12 overall greatest fear: 47% of Americans fear this outcome. The re-election of Joe Biden ranked much lower at 47th place.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Overcoming Fear
Dr. Audrey Sherman, writing in Psychology Today, says that eliminating fear involves learning these seven skills:
1. Learn to trust yourself. Trust that you will make good decisions, research and learn what you need and if you make a mistake you can correct it.
2. Take ownership of your life. Taking purposeful action rather than reacting to events.
3. Identify the components of your fear. (Rejection, failure, so on).
4. Neutralize the above components. Know and trust that if one of those things happen you can deal with it or you can find help with it. Don't suffer it before it has happened.
5. Build your self-esteem. Learn to like yourself. You forgive mistakes by others, why not yourself?
6. Know that you can learn whatever you need to succeed at what you are afraid of — whether they are practical skills or emotional skills, you can master them if necessary.
7. Believe at your very core that this can be done. This is not just for other people. This is for you. You are just as good as the next person.
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1 Samuel 15:7--18:5, 10-16
Why It’s Hard To Make New Friends
Writer Vanessa Van Edwards, on the website How to Make Friends As An Adult (The Easy Way) offers these observations about why it’s hard to make friends as an adult in her exhaustive article on the subject: “How to Make Friends as an Adult (The Easy Way).”
She begins with a brief story about an overheard conversation between two little boys in the waiting area of an airport.
“Hi, I like trucks.”
“I like trucks, too. This is my dinosaur.”
“Cool! Can I be your friend?”
“Yes! Let’s play with dinosaurs on trucks.”
She continues: “If only it were that easy! For some reason, becoming adult friends gets much trickier. Here’s why:
• We meet fewer new people. We no longer have new classes every semester like we did in college, an infinite number of high school clubs, or sports or summer camps to attend.
• Our priorities have changed. As kids, priority number one is fun. You want to play. You have recess, school vacations, after-school play dates, and camp. As adults, we work, we have family responsibilities, and we have to pay bills. Oftentimes, play, fun, and relaxation take a backseat.
• We’re too cool. Let’s be honest: Asking someone to be your friend sounds lame. Why? Because it’s terrifying! They might say no. So, we act like we’re too busy for friends, like we’re too old for play dates, and like we don’t need anyone anyway.
• It’s also scary.”
Also:
• We’re afraid of being rejected, so we don’t put ourselves out there.
• We’re worried that someone might be secretly toxic, so we hold back.
• We’re worried about being taken advantage of, so we pull away.
* * *
1 Samuel 15:7--18:5, 10-16
Men and Friendship
Men have fewer friends than women and are at a greater risk of isolation. The gap has widened in recent years. A 2021 report identified a male “friendship recession,” with 15% of men saying they have no close friends, up from 3% in 1990.
The researcher of this study concluded that in 1990, nearly half of young men reported that when facing a personal problem, they would reach out first to their friends. Today, only 22% of young men lean on their friends in tough times.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s character Crooks pinpoints why this matters so much to men. At one point in the novel, Crooks tells another man, “A guy needs somebody … To be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody … I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.”
Source: Richard V. Reeves, Of Boys and Men (Brookings Institution Press, 2022), pages 68-69.
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WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: God is a stronghold for the oppressed in times of trouble.
All: O God, you have not forsaken those who seek you.
One: Sing praises to God, who dwells in Zion.
All: Declare God’s deeds among the peoples.
One: Be gracious to us, O God, when we suffer.
All: Then we will recount all your praises.
OR
One: God comes to us in the midst of our difficult times.
All: We long for God’s presence in our troubles.
One: God comes to offer hope and friendship.
All: We cry out in our despair and loneliness.
One: God embraces us so that we can reach out to others.
All: Secure in God’s love we will offer ourselves to all.
Hymns and Songs
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
UMH: 139
H82: 390
GTG: 35
AAHH: 117
NNBH: 2
NCH: 22
CH: 25
ELW: 858/859
AMEC: 3
STLT: 278
Renew: 57
God Will Take Care of You
UMH: 130
AAHH: 137
NNBH: 52
NCH: 460
AMEC: 437
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
GTG: 39
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
UMH: 526
PH: 403
GTG: 465
AAHH: 430/431
NNBH: 61
NCH: 506
CH: 585
LBW: 439
ELW: 742
W&P: 473
AMEC: 323/325
It Is Well with My Soul
UMH: 377
GTG: 840
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
ELW: 785
W&P: 428
AMEC: 448
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
UMH: 474
PH: 404
GTG: 834
AAHH: 471
NCH: 472
CH: 628
ELW: 773
W&P: 500
AMEC: 393
STLT: 199
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
UMH: 479
H82: 699
PH: 303
GTG: 440
NCH: 546
CH: 542
W&P: 439
AMEC: 253/254
Jesu, Jesu
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
GTG: 203
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELW: 708
W&P: 273
Renew: 289
Shalom to You
UMH: 666
CH: 437
W&P: 714
STLT: 4
God Be with You till We Meet Again
UMH: 672/673
PH: 540
GTG: 541/542
AAHH: 634
NNBH: 560
NCH: 81
CH: 434
ELW: 536
W&P: 716
AMEC: 45
Walk with Me
CCB: 88
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
CCB: 78
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The 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
ELW: 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 seeks to be known by all of your creation:
Grant us the faith to trust in your goodness toward us
that we may face our fears and open our hearts to others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you seek to be known by all that you have created. You came among us so that we could experience you in your constant love. Give us faith to trust in that love so that we can face our fears in solidarity with others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we allow our fears to drive us from you and from one another.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us to be in communion with you and yet we live in fear. We fear we are alone. We fear that creation is not a good place. We fear one another. We have forgotten the way in which Jesus totally trusted you as his Abba and invited us to live in that same trust. We have ignored how he opened himself up to be friends to all. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may trust you in the scary times. Open our hearts to you and to one another so that we may live in peace. Amen.
One: God is our patient friend who longs to be known by us. Receive God’s love and know God’s care for you as you share that love by caring for others.
Prayers of the People
Glory, praise, and honor is yours, O God, who created us for yourself. We praise you because you are love, pure and eternal. You remain true to yourself as you embrace all creation in your love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us to be in communion with you and yet we live in fear. We fear we are alone. We fear that creation is not a good place. We fear one another. We have forgotten the way in which Jesus totally trusted you as his Abba and invited us to live in that same trust. We have ignored how he opened himself up to be friends to all. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may trust you in the scary times. Open our hearts to you and to one another so that we may live in peace.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you gift us with yourself, O God. We thank you for the gift of Jesus who taught us in word and deed that you are our loving Abba. We thank you for those who know your love and are willing to share it with us and others. Your gracious Spirit fills and overflows all of your creation. We are truly blessed in all of our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
Trusting in your gracious presence, we lift up those who are on our hearts this day. There are those who are facing illness and those who are facing death. Some are struggling with relationships and others with addictions. There is loneliness and despair; poverty and want. There is much that brings fear into our lives. As you move among your children to bring them hope and faith enable us to be the Body of Christ who reaches out with compassion and care for all whom we encounter.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMON
Be Not Afraid
by Pastor Katy
Mark 4:35-41
Prop: a pillow
In this story, Jesus is so tired that he goes on a boat to sleep.
So, he is there on a boat, sound asleep like this: (Mime sleeping or get a child to sleep for you.)
Then while Jesus is asleep, a huge storm comes up — so big that it rocks the whole boat. The water started to flood the boat.
And Jesus does not wake up, he is still asleep.
The disciples are terrified and go and wake up Jesus and say, “How can you be asleep?”
Someone go over and say, “Jesus why are you sleeping?” (Wait for that to happen with your picked child/person.)
So Jesus gets up and says, “Peace, be still” or “Be quiet” and the storm stops.
So everyone can be afraid and scared and suddenly everything is still…
We can all take a deep breath in and out because everything is calm.
And you know what Jesus does? He does his favorite thing, which is to answer a question with another question. Jesus says, “Why were you afraid?”
I think this is something to think about, because Jesus was clearly able to calm a storm, but the disciples did not know that until after Jesus did it — and Jesus was able to sleep calmly. But the disciples were not able to sleep. They did not know it was safe until after Jesus told them.
We humans have to know things are safe in order to be calm and sleep. The miracle that Jesus showed the disciples that he would take care of them no matter what, is even greater than the stopping of the storm.
Let’s pray:
Dear Jesus
Thank you
For showing us
That we are safe with you
Even when you are asleep
Or when things are scary.
Help us
When we feel
Alone
Or scared.
We pray
In Jesus name,
Amen.
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The Immediate Word, June 23, 2024 issue.
Copyright 2024 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.
- Fear and Faith by Tom Willadsen based on 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Mark 4:35-41, 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49; Psalm 9:9-20.
- Second Thoughts: With A Little Help From My Friends by Chris Keating based on 1 Samuel 17:57--18:5, 10-16.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Dean Feldmeyer.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children’s Sermon: Be Not Afraid by Katy Stenta based on Mark 4:35-41.
Fear and Faithby Tom Willadsen
Psalm 9:9-20, Mark 4:35-41, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, 1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11,19-23), 32-49
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address
“One of the easiest ways to stoke fear in the heart of America is to say there’s somebody coming to take something that’s yours.” Dr. Alex Scott, Assistant Professor of Multimedia Storytelling, the University of Iowa
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene II, William Shakespeare
In the Bible
Mark 4:35-41
They feared a great fear
The disciples and Jesus are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. They’re between the Jewish (west) side of the sea, enroute to the Gentile east side. There are echoes of the first chapter of Jonah, a big storm, a sleeping prophet, the storm calms. The disciples are afraid in the storm. The Greek term, which Jesus uses for their fear, is δειλοι, which can be thought of “timid” or “frightened” in English. After Jesus calmed the sea, the NRSV says they “were filled with great fear.” Literally, the Greek says “they feared with fear,” the repetition adds emphasis.
Surprisingly this passage parallels Jesus’ first miracle in Mark’s gospel, an exorcism in Capernaum (1:21-27). Jesus rebuked the demon and commanded it to be silent, exactly as he did the stormy sea. Both exorcisms end in questions — the former, “What is this?” asked by those who witnessed the exorcism, the latter, “Who then is this?” asked by the disciples. The disciples never get what Jesus is doing.
Because I’m the Pop Music Alluder® on the TIW team, I must point out that today’s passage from Mark foretold the chart history of the Buckinghams, a Chicago-based quintet whose only hits occurred in 1967. Their first hit, “Kind of a Drag” could have been sung by the disciples as their boat was being swamped. Their second hit, “Don’t You Care,” was the disciples’ cry of distress to Jesus in their fear. Their final Top Ten Billboard hit, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” is an apt description of Jesus’ display of power over wind and water — and the disciples’ relief.
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
You think you got problems?
The bulk of this reading is Paul’s list of seven contrasting pairs. Most of them are responses to things he’s been accused of and surmounted. There’s a nearly stoic effect at work here; Paul has weathered all these difficulties and remained true to his call to spread the gospel. He concludes this passage with an appeal for the Corinthians to answer his expressed vulnerability with the sort of humility that will lead them to open their hearts to his message.
Psalm 9:9-20
It is likely that Psalms 9 and 10 were originally one psalm. Some evidence for this is that Psalm 10 does not have a superscription and Psalm 9 ends with “Selah,” which scholars believe is a musical notation. Still, the text as it appears in the lectionary is worth considering on its own.
The theme of the psalm is a nice parallel to Paul’s laundry list of difficulties as recounted in the lection from 2 Corinthians. The psalmist reminds himself of the Lord’s promised deliverance of the righteous.
The final verse “Put them to fear, O Lord; let the nations know that they are only human.” Picks up on the theme of fear in both the gospel passage and in the earlier lesson from 1 Samuel, and the fear of the Judeans and Israelites when confronted by Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11,19-23), 32-49 or 1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16
The first reading from 1 Samuel for today is the Bible’s most famous upset: David over Goliath. The Judeans and Israelites were afraid of the giant Goliath. David had a remarkable career change in this passage. He had gone to Socoh as a messenger on his father’s behalf, schlepping vittles for his brothers and their comrades. Jesse wanted to hear how his older sons were doing, and he sent David to take them some food. When David heard Goliath’s taunting, he went to Saul and said, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father….” It appears David saw his future at this point as a giant slayer, or perhaps, a court musician, a gig he resumes in today’s other reading from 1 Samuel.
As the earlier reading from 1 Samuel concludes, Goliath is not dead. He’s been knocked unconscious by the stone David lodged in his forehead, but it isn’t until v. 51 that the coroner could pronounce the Big Guy dead. “Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut his head off.”
David’s rising stature and Saul’s fear of this is the theme of the latter 1 Samuel reading. The connection between David and Jonathon is unique in the Bible. Perhaps their relationship is something to lift up during Pride Month.
In the News
Fear is in the air this week. The most anticipated movie sequel of the summer, Inside Out 2, highlights characters named for the emotions 13-year-old Riley experiences — among them, fear, anxiety, and ennui.
Fear is a noun and a verb in English. It is more than an emotion. It has practically become an ethos, and there are pundits and influencers who seek to create, feed, and nurture it, rather than defuse it.
Ben Bergquam, a self-described opinion journalist who hosts the TV show “Law and Border” on the Real America’s Voice digital media platform…often links migrants to crime — another dominant theme of Trump’s campaign — even though many academics who study the issue say there is no evidence to show immigrants commit crimes at higher rates than native-born Americans. (Reno Gazette Journal, June 14, 2024, p. NN01)
“Bergquam’s violence claim is not supported by crime data for New York City, which has received more than 202,000 migrants since the Republican-led state of Texas began busing them to Democratic-led cities from the southern border in 2022.” (Ibid.)
In “The Politics of Fear Itself,” an article by Peter Wehner in The Atlantic, May 7, 2024, the former president’s use of fear as a motivator is demonstrated in these excerpts from his recent speeches.
“If he wins,” Trump said of Biden during a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, “our country is going to be destroyed.” Trump also said this of Biden: “He’s a demented tyrant.” After Trump’s victories on Super Tuesday, he told an audience of his supporters, “Our cities are choking to death. Our states are dying. And frankly, our country is dying.”
That none of these claims is objectively true doesn’t reduce their impact. Cultivating fear, then promising to vanquish it is a winning political strategy.
What is fear’s antidote? What is the kryptonite to its power?
I once spent an afternoon with a parishioner who desperately wanted to get over his fear of flying. He was headed across the country for work in the coming week. The fact that he was more likely to die enroute to the airport than in a plane crash had no effect. Reason and logic couldn’t undo the hold his lizard brain had on his body and emotions. Finally, we searched the Bible together for quotes, mostly from the Psalms, that he wrote down and kept in his pocket to read and reread, when his anxiety was too much. His scriptural Xanax got him to his meeting and home safely, but not without his white-knuckling it both ways.
One finds “Perfect love casts out fear,” in 1 John, but achieving that kind of love is difficult. Would that verse have brought any comfort to the man in my office? “Look, if you could just get love right, this would all go away,” I could have advised. I chose, instead, to journey with him, acknowledging that his fear was real, even if I didn’t share it.
In the Sermon
Today’s Bible passages address fear from a number of different angles. Paul lists the struggles and obstacles he overcame to spread the gospel. In the face of all of them he remained faithful and diligent, in spite of fear and real hardship. He is a model of humble tenacity, just ask him.
The Judeans and Israelites are frightened of the giant who had taunted them for forty days. David, the young, ruddy shepherd boy, armed with the experience of defending livestock, a sling, and faith in the living God, took on the giant face to face and prevailed. The text does not indicate that David was afraid, though everyone around him was.
Most interesting is the fear the disciples displayed. They were afraid when the storm on the Sea of Galilee was swamping their boat. They were more afraid after their teacher had exorcised the storm and calmed the wind and sea. They were more afraid after they were out of danger.
The people who will gather for worship this morning will bring all kinds of fears and anxiety into church with them. Perhaps they’re waiting for the results of a medical test for themselves or someone they love. Perhaps it’s climate change that is keeping them up at night. Or this summer’s sky-high electric bills because it’s another record hot summer.
The earlier quote from Julius Caesar really gets at another facet of fear and worry. Many people worry about things that may or could happen. Our imaginations cause more anxiety than actual peril. The difficult thing with anxiety and fear is separating what is really worth being afraid of, and what isn’t. For those who truly struggle with anxiety and fear, it may be helpful to point out the disciples’ reaction to being rescued was to fear in a different, deeper way. They stayed with Jesus, though he scared them. Faith, and a living faith, doesn’t end fear or anxiety. They may be the truest marks of deep faith.
SECOND THOUGHTSWith A Little Help From My Friends
by Chris Keating
1 Samuel 17:57--18:5, 10-16
Big themes surround the stories of 1 and 2 Samuel. They draw our attention like crowds drawn to a neighborhood swimming pool in the middle of summer. On one side we see old Eli, slathered up in sunscreen, lecturing his sons about ill-gotten gains. Across the pool, Hannah stands by herself, murmuring her laments in ways that make people wonder if she’s had too many wine coolers. Samuel treads water while playing “Marco Polo” with God. All in all, it’s a reunion of family, friends, religion and politics — in short, the sort of stuff that continues to capture our imagination.
Summer has prompted me to dive into these alternative, semi-continuous readings this year. Tracing the Deuteronomist’s narrative arc has proven helpful for both preacher and congregation. One hopes the latter has gained new insights into Bible stories once considered familiar but now largely forgotten. For the former, the focus on Samuel, Saul, and David has helped rekindle an appreciation for the Hebrew Bible’s understanding of the interlocking circles of faith, politics, and families.
Let’s add friendship to that diagram. Those shifting circles remain interlocked, twisting into new dimensions like a homiletical kaleidoscope. These tales challenge our perception of where God is at work even as the Deuteronomist keeps moving the stories along quickly. One week Samuel is knee-high to a grasshopper; the next he’s being called an old codger. Last week we watched as Jesse’s older sons are rejected in favor of their kid brother, David. Now they are on the sidelines seeking comfort from frosty mugs of Natty Light as their grown-up sibling delivers the head of Goliath to Saul.
As impressive as his victories have been, David is about to learn the importance of friendship. Jonathan’s unconditional support of his friend will continue to be a reminder that we get by with a little help from our friends.
The story of David and Jonathan’s emerging friendship offers an intriguing postscript to the conquering of Goliath. It’s a showstopping moment as these two warriors take center stage, stealing the limelight from the current king. Better call Saul and tell him his time is limited, because Jonathan and David form a critical alliance. They become instant buddies like Goose and Maverick, Trapper John and Hawkeye Pierce, or even Timon and Pumbaa. Their strong and immediate bond is a reminder of the importance “chosen” family plays in our lives.
Friendship is a particularly compelling theme in a world where friendships are increasingly rare. Loneliness has been determined to be as deadly as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day, a phenomenon only exacerbated by the pandemic. Men are particularly at risk of loneliness and emotional isolation, with as many as fifteen percent of adult males indicating they have no close friends. Men also report having weaker emotional bonds with the friends that they do have.
The consequences of this “friendship recession” include high rates of male suicide. That’s particularly true for men over age 75. It’s been well-documented than men are far more likely to complete suicide than women, for many reasons. In part that is true because men are less frequently diagnosed with depression, and in part because men are more likely to have access to firearms, which account for more than half of all suicides in the United States, according to a 2022 study.
We’d do well to ponder the implications of the covenant Jonathan makes with David. Jonathan “loved (David) as his own soul,” though the exact nature of that love is unclear. Perhaps our own heterosexism and homophobia, potent inhibitors to friendship among men, clouds our misunderstanding of this story. Whatever its manifestation, the relationship between David and Jonathan emanates from a lasting friendship.
For whatever reason, Jonathan is entranced by this slingshot yielding, ruddy-faced musician from Bethlehem. David, as Gen Z-ers might say, has rizz. He’s already been tapped to succeed Saul, though no one understands this. He will eventually marry Jonathan’s sister, Michal (1 Samuel 18:20), though the curious price for asking for the hand of the king’s daughter is a bag of Philistine foreskins.
Meanwhile, the bonds between David and Jonathan grow, prompting Jonathan to reconsider his primary allegiance to his father. Friendship, as Sallie McFague noted in her book Models of God, emerges from freedom. Perhaps this is why the depth of grief for a friend, as David will one day learn, is so profound. Such friendship, McFague argued, is modelled after the same divine freedom God demonstrated in choosing Israel. It is a “bridge across what is otherwise not touching,” a reflection of God’s love and a metaphor for how we are called to enact that love.
Just a day ago, a good and trusted friend of mine died. Like David, he had battled the Philistines of health conditions for years. We were the unlikeliest of friends — as a church musician, he drew on complex roots in a heritage that included stops in Pentecostal, Baptist, and Methodist churches, mixed with years of teaching at a Catholic school. I am much more boring, and sometimes think that a surgeon might find a Presbyterian Book of Order attached to my spleen. We had little in common, but as McFague says, our friendship became a bridge across a chasm that otherwise would not have been connected.
It’s true: We all get by with a little help from our friends.
ILLUSTRATIONS
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Suffering
Paul writes to the believers in Corinth that he has stayed faithful to God “through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.” He doesn’t seem surprised or bitter about this level of suffering. In contrast, as author K.J. Ramsey notes, “The drumbeat of Western culture is that effort produces success. With enough foresight and determination, we each can create a life with minimal pain and maximum pleasure. We are proprietors of possibility, the doorkeepers of our own bright futures. Our bodies are vehicles of productivity, a currency that purchases success or an inconvenience that impedes it. With hands over our hearts, we pledge allegiance to the red, white, and blue ideal of an autonomous, uninhibited life of safety and ease. If we try hard enough, we will triumph.”
Paul accepts suffering when necessary, and we do the opposite. As Ramsey, who has a chronic illness, notes, “The unspoken story of Western culture is that suffering is a problem we can avoid or annihilate if we work hard enough. When suffering lingers, we feel we have failed to reach the allegedly reachable American Dream. Held in the invisible grip of this story, lives including pain are problems to fix.” (from This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers")
Paul’s understanding of suffering would save us from another level of mental suffering, as we wonder what’s wrong with our lives when we experience pain.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Sleeping
Jesus’ ability to sleep peacefully, as he does during the storm, is captured by the statue of the Holy Child of Atocha, an image of Jesus as a sleeping child. Apparently, this is a lifelong skill.
Lori Erickson says, “The small statue of the Holy Child of Atocha that rests in a glass case behind the church’s altar. The young boy is sleeping, his head propped up against his hand. The faithful believe he’s dozing because each night he walks out from the church in search of those in need. Many pilgrims to this church leave small shoes as a gift, because the Holy Child wears them out so quickly in his travels.” (from Every Step Is Home: A Spiritual Geography from Appalachia to Alaska)
Looking at this figure of Jesus, Erickson realizes, “It’s not just pilgrims who walk in search of God, I realized as I sat in that quiet church. God walks in search of us as well.” Perhaps the disciples come to this same understanding after Jesus calms the storm.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Being Afraid
The disciples experience a dramatic moment of fear when the storm comes up as they ride in the boat with Jesus. Overwhelmed, they wake him up and ask if he cares.
In her new book, Somehow Anne Lamott tells the story of a friend who found a small frog in her kitchen. “She picked it up and carried it in her cupped hands to the wet grass outside. The frog was leaping in terror against her hands as she carried it, and probably did not understand the quiet comforting words she spoke to it along the way. I think this is one of the best examples of how love operates when we are most afraid and doomed, carrying us to a safer place while we pound against its cupped hands.”
Like the small frog, the disciples are carried by Jesus, even when they don’t see it.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Fear
The disciples experience two kinds of fear in this boat trip with Jesus — first, the perfectly natural fear of the storm. Next comes a greater fear, or awe, as they see who Jesus is.
Warren Berger tells about the process of conquering our everyday fears, writing, "Phil Keoghan, a lifelong adventurer and fear conqueror who hosts the television series The Amazing Race… has coached people to help them conquer a range of fears (from the fear of heights to the fear of sharks) and he says he often begins by asking: What is your earliest memory of this fear? How do you react to it? What has it kept you from doing? How might things change if you were able to overcome this fear? In dissecting the fear, “we talk about the irrationality of it—and about real versus imagined risks,” he says." (from The Book of Beautiful Questions)
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:Mark 4:35-41
What We Are Afraid Of?
According to the web site safehome.org, these are the top ten fears of Americans:
- Loved ones dying
- Loved ones becoming seriously ill
- Personally becoming seriously ill
- Not having enough money for retirement
- Mass shootings/gun violence
- Losing physical mobility
- Corrupt government officials
- Chronic diseases
- High medical bills
- US getting involved in another world war
• As a nation, our greatest fears concern those closest to us: More than two-thirds of adults fear their loved ones becoming sick or dying.
• 46% of Americans fear the US entering another world war, making this scenario one of the top 10 most concerning.
• 55% of Americans are afraid they won’t have enough money for retirement, and 54% are afraid of gun violence and mass shootings.
• The prospect of Donald Trump returning to the presidency is America’s #12 overall greatest fear: 47% of Americans fear this outcome. The re-election of Joe Biden ranked much lower at 47th place.
* * *
Mark 4:35-41
Overcoming Fear
Dr. Audrey Sherman, writing in Psychology Today, says that eliminating fear involves learning these seven skills:
1. Learn to trust yourself. Trust that you will make good decisions, research and learn what you need and if you make a mistake you can correct it.
2. Take ownership of your life. Taking purposeful action rather than reacting to events.
3. Identify the components of your fear. (Rejection, failure, so on).
4. Neutralize the above components. Know and trust that if one of those things happen you can deal with it or you can find help with it. Don't suffer it before it has happened.
5. Build your self-esteem. Learn to like yourself. You forgive mistakes by others, why not yourself?
6. Know that you can learn whatever you need to succeed at what you are afraid of — whether they are practical skills or emotional skills, you can master them if necessary.
7. Believe at your very core that this can be done. This is not just for other people. This is for you. You are just as good as the next person.
* * *
1 Samuel 15:7--18:5, 10-16
Why It’s Hard To Make New Friends
Writer Vanessa Van Edwards, on the website How to Make Friends As An Adult (The Easy Way) offers these observations about why it’s hard to make friends as an adult in her exhaustive article on the subject: “How to Make Friends as an Adult (The Easy Way).”
She begins with a brief story about an overheard conversation between two little boys in the waiting area of an airport.
“Hi, I like trucks.”
“I like trucks, too. This is my dinosaur.”
“Cool! Can I be your friend?”
“Yes! Let’s play with dinosaurs on trucks.”
She continues: “If only it were that easy! For some reason, becoming adult friends gets much trickier. Here’s why:
• We meet fewer new people. We no longer have new classes every semester like we did in college, an infinite number of high school clubs, or sports or summer camps to attend.
• Our priorities have changed. As kids, priority number one is fun. You want to play. You have recess, school vacations, after-school play dates, and camp. As adults, we work, we have family responsibilities, and we have to pay bills. Oftentimes, play, fun, and relaxation take a backseat.
• We’re too cool. Let’s be honest: Asking someone to be your friend sounds lame. Why? Because it’s terrifying! They might say no. So, we act like we’re too busy for friends, like we’re too old for play dates, and like we don’t need anyone anyway.
• It’s also scary.”
Also:
• We’re afraid of being rejected, so we don’t put ourselves out there.
• We’re worried that someone might be secretly toxic, so we hold back.
• We’re worried about being taken advantage of, so we pull away.
* * *
1 Samuel 15:7--18:5, 10-16
Men and Friendship
Men have fewer friends than women and are at a greater risk of isolation. The gap has widened in recent years. A 2021 report identified a male “friendship recession,” with 15% of men saying they have no close friends, up from 3% in 1990.
The researcher of this study concluded that in 1990, nearly half of young men reported that when facing a personal problem, they would reach out first to their friends. Today, only 22% of young men lean on their friends in tough times.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s character Crooks pinpoints why this matters so much to men. At one point in the novel, Crooks tells another man, “A guy needs somebody … To be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody … I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.”
Source: Richard V. Reeves, Of Boys and Men (Brookings Institution Press, 2022), pages 68-69.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: God is a stronghold for the oppressed in times of trouble.
All: O God, you have not forsaken those who seek you.
One: Sing praises to God, who dwells in Zion.
All: Declare God’s deeds among the peoples.
One: Be gracious to us, O God, when we suffer.
All: Then we will recount all your praises.
OR
One: God comes to us in the midst of our difficult times.
All: We long for God’s presence in our troubles.
One: God comes to offer hope and friendship.
All: We cry out in our despair and loneliness.
One: God embraces us so that we can reach out to others.
All: Secure in God’s love we will offer ourselves to all.
Hymns and Songs
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
UMH: 139
H82: 390
GTG: 35
AAHH: 117
NNBH: 2
NCH: 22
CH: 25
ELW: 858/859
AMEC: 3
STLT: 278
Renew: 57
God Will Take Care of You
UMH: 130
AAHH: 137
NNBH: 52
NCH: 460
AMEC: 437
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
GTG: 39
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
UMH: 526
PH: 403
GTG: 465
AAHH: 430/431
NNBH: 61
NCH: 506
CH: 585
LBW: 439
ELW: 742
W&P: 473
AMEC: 323/325
It Is Well with My Soul
UMH: 377
GTG: 840
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
ELW: 785
W&P: 428
AMEC: 448
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
UMH: 474
PH: 404
GTG: 834
AAHH: 471
NCH: 472
CH: 628
ELW: 773
W&P: 500
AMEC: 393
STLT: 199
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
UMH: 479
H82: 699
PH: 303
GTG: 440
NCH: 546
CH: 542
W&P: 439
AMEC: 253/254
Jesu, Jesu
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
GTG: 203
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELW: 708
W&P: 273
Renew: 289
Shalom to You
UMH: 666
CH: 437
W&P: 714
STLT: 4
God Be with You till We Meet Again
UMH: 672/673
PH: 540
GTG: 541/542
AAHH: 634
NNBH: 560
NCH: 81
CH: 434
ELW: 536
W&P: 716
AMEC: 45
Walk with Me
CCB: 88
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
CCB: 78
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The 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
ELW: 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 seeks to be known by all of your creation:
Grant us the faith to trust in your goodness toward us
that we may face our fears and open our hearts to others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you seek to be known by all that you have created. You came among us so that we could experience you in your constant love. Give us faith to trust in that love so that we can face our fears in solidarity with others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we allow our fears to drive us from you and from one another.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us to be in communion with you and yet we live in fear. We fear we are alone. We fear that creation is not a good place. We fear one another. We have forgotten the way in which Jesus totally trusted you as his Abba and invited us to live in that same trust. We have ignored how he opened himself up to be friends to all. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may trust you in the scary times. Open our hearts to you and to one another so that we may live in peace. Amen.
One: God is our patient friend who longs to be known by us. Receive God’s love and know God’s care for you as you share that love by caring for others.
Prayers of the People
Glory, praise, and honor is yours, O God, who created us for yourself. We praise you because you are love, pure and eternal. You remain true to yourself as you embrace all creation in your love.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You created us to be in communion with you and yet we live in fear. We fear we are alone. We fear that creation is not a good place. We fear one another. We have forgotten the way in which Jesus totally trusted you as his Abba and invited us to live in that same trust. We have ignored how he opened himself up to be friends to all. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may trust you in the scary times. Open our hearts to you and to one another so that we may live in peace.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you gift us with yourself, O God. We thank you for the gift of Jesus who taught us in word and deed that you are our loving Abba. We thank you for those who know your love and are willing to share it with us and others. Your gracious Spirit fills and overflows all of your creation. We are truly blessed in all of our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
Trusting in your gracious presence, we lift up those who are on our hearts this day. There are those who are facing illness and those who are facing death. Some are struggling with relationships and others with addictions. There is loneliness and despair; poverty and want. There is much that brings fear into our lives. As you move among your children to bring them hope and faith enable us to be the Body of Christ who reaches out with compassion and care for all whom we encounter.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father 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 SERMONBe Not Afraid
by Pastor Katy
Mark 4:35-41
Prop: a pillow
In this story, Jesus is so tired that he goes on a boat to sleep.
So, he is there on a boat, sound asleep like this: (Mime sleeping or get a child to sleep for you.)
Then while Jesus is asleep, a huge storm comes up — so big that it rocks the whole boat. The water started to flood the boat.
And Jesus does not wake up, he is still asleep.
The disciples are terrified and go and wake up Jesus and say, “How can you be asleep?”
Someone go over and say, “Jesus why are you sleeping?” (Wait for that to happen with your picked child/person.)
So Jesus gets up and says, “Peace, be still” or “Be quiet” and the storm stops.
So everyone can be afraid and scared and suddenly everything is still…
We can all take a deep breath in and out because everything is calm.
And you know what Jesus does? He does his favorite thing, which is to answer a question with another question. Jesus says, “Why were you afraid?”
I think this is something to think about, because Jesus was clearly able to calm a storm, but the disciples did not know that until after Jesus did it — and Jesus was able to sleep calmly. But the disciples were not able to sleep. They did not know it was safe until after Jesus told them.
We humans have to know things are safe in order to be calm and sleep. The miracle that Jesus showed the disciples that he would take care of them no matter what, is even greater than the stopping of the storm.
Let’s pray:
Dear Jesus
Thank you
For showing us
That we are safe with you
Even when you are asleep
Or when things are scary.
Help us
When we feel
Alone
Or scared.
We pray
In Jesus name,
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 23, 2024 issue.
Copyright 2024 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.
