God Plays No Favorites
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Here at The Immediate Word, we think that no preacher should go long without saying something about the tsunami disaster affecting 11 nations in the Indian Ocean region. So for our January 9 installment, we have asked team member Carlos Wilton to write about the human disaster resulting from the tidal wave, using the lectionary's epistle text for January 9 as the basis.
God Plays No Favorites
By Carlos Wilton
Acts 10:34-43
The Gospel on a Postcard
Recent news coverage of the tsunami disasters along the shores of the Indian Ocean has highlighted the stories of North Americans and Europeans unlucky enough to be in the path of the floodwaters. "At least 8 Americans among dead," announced one Associated Press headline, "and 25,000 others." (The death toll has since risen to a much higher figure.) While the injuries and grief of many of the Western tourists were as severe as those of anyone else in the behemoth waves' path, one has to wonder why our news media have focused so specifically on them. Some commentators are even saying this skewed coverage is a good thing: the media's disproportionate focus on American and European victims will raise overall consciousness of the disaster and increase relief donations. Then -- please forgive the unfortunate analogy -- all boats will rise on the same tide. In the words of Wall Street Journal op-ed contributor Suketa Mehta, "When honeymooners John and Susan are talking about almost drowning, it helps people here relate when Poonama and Wimal are crying about having their child snatched out of their arms by the sea" ("Now We Hate Seeing This Sea," Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2004, p. A10).
It is part of our sinful nature to pigeonhole human beings -- all created in God's image -- into racial or cultural groups, paying a disproportionate amount of attention to those who are "like us." Such ethnocentrism explains why the 1990s efforts to stop genocide in the Balkans received so much more support from Western nations than did the even more massive genocide taking place at the same time in Rwanda. The same, tired song continues to play on, with Iraq and Darfur forming the most recent, sad stanza.
Peter's proclamation in Acts 10:34, that "God shows no partiality," demonstrates that God looks on all human beings equally. May we share something of that same egalitarian vision, as we fashion our response to the tsunami victims, and to all God's children who are in distress!
Some Words on the Word
There are lots of things you can see from a rooftop. Who knows what the Apostle Peter was looking for, that day he climbed the roof at high noon?
The roof wasn't that unusual a destination, back then. In first-century Palestine, the roofs of houses were flat. People gathered there, especially in the cool of the evening. Some homeowners even built canopies up on top of their roofs -- wooden frameworks on which they spread palm branches for shade, much like the cabanas of the American Southwest. Not only that, many people also kept livestock inside their houses -- often on a lower level, but indoors all the same. That meant the roof was the place to go for fresh air.
A rooftop, back then, could be a very agreeable place, sort of like a screened-in porch is today: which is no doubt why Peter chose it as the place to go when he wanted to pray.
As religious visions go, the one Peter receives on the rooftop may sound pretty bizarre, to modern ears. It helps to recall Peter's social context: that he is an observant Jew. The dietary laws have always been a big part of his life. Always, for him, there have been certain animals -- pigs and other cloven-footed beasts, as well as any kind of crustacean or shellfish -- whose flesh he was not permitted to eat. To eat that kind of food would offend God, who had given the people laws that instructed otherwise.
So at first, Peter doesn't know how to react to this strange vision. He objects, protesting that he could never do such a sacrilegious thing as kill and eat an unclean animal. But then the voice answers back, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." And then, to make absolutely sure Peter gets the point, God repeats the vision two more times.
It is absolutely astounding ... amazing ... without precedent, as far as Peter knows. The Most High God has just repealed a law! No sooner does Peter begin to appreciate the full import of this revolutionary thought, than he hears someone calling up to him from below. It seems he has visitors -- and a most unusual set of visitors at that.
Two slaves are standing there -- that's not so extraordinary -- but standing with them is a Roman soldier. They're messengers, dispatched to Peter by a man even more unusual than they: Cornelius, a centurion of the Roman army.
A centurion commands a unit of a hundred men. That's where the name comes from -- "century," in Latin, can mean a hundred years, but it can also mean a hundred soldiers. A Roman centurion is not exactly the sort of person Peter would ordinarily expect to talk to. Remember, it had been a centurion who commanded the squad of soldiers who crucified Jesus. Why, Peter was so scared that day, he'd denied Jesus three times. He lied. He claimed he didn't know him -- all to keep from falling into the hands of the centurion and his soldiers.
Peter is a different man now. He's not so frightened. He's seen the risen Jesus. He's received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And besides, there is this vision he's just received: a vision that, he's rapidly learning, is no coincidence. No coincidence at all.
When Peter finally does follow the servants and the soldier back to their master, he discovers that this Cornelius is a believer: a practicing Jew. Not that he was born a Jew; he's one of the many Romans who dabble in Judaism, who study and debate its precepts, and try to live by them. Cornelius has heard about this new Jewish sect that follows the Nazarene rabbi who was recently crucified. He wants to learn more.
Peter now realizes the full meaning of the sheet descending from heaven, filled with all manner of animals: and of those words he heard, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat." He also knows that this is an example of God's exquisite timing. God's about to do a new thing: a surprising thing, a totally unprecedented thing. Until now, Christianity has been a sect of Judaism. The apostles have done their evangelizing within the protected space of a walled garden. They've spoken about Jesus, the Messiah only to their fellow Jews.
Beginning today, all that changes. In sending Peter to Cornelius, God is blasting down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile. The Christian faith will never be the same again.
A Map of the Message
The New Year's holiday is typically a time of revelry. It was no different in 2005; millions watched the ball drop over Times Square, and untold numbers of champagne glasses were raised, as the confetti floated down.
This New Year's, however, was hardly typical. The holiday arrived with an ominous shadow hanging over it. The shadow first arose over the Indian Ocean, then spread around the world, as we gradually became aware of the full magnitude of the suffering in India and Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand. Mother Nature appears to have given the human race a unique and unwanted New Year's gift: and that gift is a huge slap in the face. Our people have all heard the stories, by now. We hardly need to repeat them: parents losing children, children losing parents, whole villages washed away by those forty-foot waves that arose without warning from a peaceful sea. How quickly, and how unexpectedly, the predictable routines of life can be upended, spun around and dropped, to be smashed into tiny pieces!
The scope of the disaster is vast. As Bob Herbert of the New York Times reminded the world, in a December 31, 2004 editorial, "The death toll now is more than twice the number of American G.I.'s killed in all the years of the Vietnam War." (And it is now even higher.)
Some are calling it "Asia's 9/11" -- and this time there's not a terrorist in sight, on whom to fix the blame. Suddenly, we've all been reminded, once again, of how fragile human life can be. We look into the misty uncertainty of 2005, and we hope for the best -- but the events of recent weeks have powerfully reminded us that sometimes, in life, what we get is not the best, but the worst.
It would, of course, be possible to address the news stories of the South Asian tsunamis by exploring theodicy, the problem of evil. (See last week's issue of The Immediate Word for George Murphy's presentation on this topic.) The topic we are suggesting for this week, however, arises out of Peter's line from the Acts lection, about God showing no partiality (Acts 10:34). In "The Gospel on a Postcard" (above) are several examples of how the initial Western media coverage of the tsunami disasters has exposed our ethnocentrism. We are more interested (or at least our media reporters assume we're more interested) in hearing how Western tourists fared amongst the waves, than we are in hearing stories about Sri Lankans or Indonesians.
One notable example was the coverage given to a woman named Petra Nemcova. Ms. Nemcova is a swimsuit model. She has modeled for Victoria's Secret, and was pictured on the cover of the 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Ms. Nemcova and her boyfriend, British photographer Simon Atlee, were vacationing in a beachfront bungalow at Phuket, Thailand, when the tsunami hit.
Their story is as tragic as any other. Mr. Attlee was washed away by the waves, and is presumed dead. Ms. Nemcova survived by clinging to a tree, but received multiple serious injuries, including broken bones. By all accounts, she is lucky to be alive. Her full story may be found at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/more/12/28/nemcova.tsunami/.
But why should her story be the one that makes the headlines? Why not a Thai national, a villager who lives on the seacoast year-round, and who lives off fishing rather than fashion photography? The simple answer to that question is, "Because we would be more likely to skip that news article and move on to the next one." The news reporters know what they're doing. They know their public.
The media's absolutely right about us. There's certain clannishness among all peoples on this earth. Given the choice, we generally prefer to interact with people who look like us, who speak the same language, who follow the same religion. But this is not God's design for us. The Tower of Babel story (Genesis 11) reveals that it was sinful pride that led to the dispersion of peoples into different nationalities and language groups. God shows no partiality.
Nor should our relief efforts. National governments are infamous for dispersing foreign aid -- even disaster-relief aid -- according to political criteria. There is much altruism in foreign aid, to be sure, but there is also a certain amount of self-interest. Other nations that have some strategic or economic significance (from our nation's perspective) are often given priority in the cafeteria line.
Does it matter to God if a person is from America, or Belgium, or Tanzania, or Cambodia? Does it matter if that one is rich or poor; privileged or underprivileged; male or female; speaking English, or Spanish, or Hindi, or Tagalog? Does it matter if that person lives under the communism of Cuba, or sells pork futures at the Chicago Board of Trade?
None of these things matters a bit. In the words of Peter, spoken to the centurion, Cornelius, "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Maybe it's time we all started living as though we truly believe that.
Suketa Mehta, in the Wall Street Journal editorial cited above, concludes with these stirring words:
There is only one way to bring back some faith, some hope, some belief to those people who have lost it all. God wasn't there when the tsunami struck; but God lives in us, and let's make sure that his love is delivered now, better late than never. We must let Subhani and Seenu and Mahalingam keep their sanity, their sense of a moral order in the universe, by reaching out to them. Even more important than the scale of the help is the simple gesture, of a human hand reaching out across the giant ocean, with money, with medicine, with technical expertise: in its own way as powerful, as majestic, as unstoppable as the tsunami itself.
Team Comments
George Murphy responds: The whole theme of the Epiphany season is the manifestation of God's salvation to "the nations" -- to the whole world. The season begins this Thursday, January 6, with the coming of the Gentile magi to pay homage to the new king of Israel. (We discussed some of the Epiphany texts in The Immediate Word installment last week.) That theme continues through the season (which is rather short this year because Lent begins so early).
If God indeed shows no partiality, if the message of God's salvation is meant for all the people of the earth, then any idea of a "chosen people" must be relativized. Israel and then the Christian community are indeed set apart as holy nations (Exodus 19:6 and 1 Peter 2:9), but they are set apart for mission to the whole world. That is seen as early in the biblical story as God's call to Abram, who is told that in him "all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
This idea becomes much more prominent during and after the exile, and especially in Second Isaiah. The First Lesson for this Sunday, Isaiah 42:1-9, contains the first of the four "servant songs" of that part of the book. The language here may have influenced the description of Jesus' baptism, which is of course the gospel reading for the Baptism of our Lord. (Note in Isaiah 42:1 the word "servant," whose Greek form pais can also mean "son," and God's promise to "put my spirit upon him.")
The servant will establish "justice in the earth" and "the coastlands [will] wait for his teaching" (42:4). That isn't very specific but the message is made clearer in the First Lesson for next week, Isaiah 49:1-7, which contains the second servant song. There the servant's mission is not limited to Israel. It is instead a calling to be "a light to the nations" so that God's "salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (v. 6).
Is the servant of Second Isaiah an individual or a corporate figure, a personification of the people of Israel? I think the correct answer is "Yes." Israel is called to be God's servant, to be God's light to the nations. In Jesus, the man of Israel, that mission is focused, so that he can say, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12 and 9:5). But that isn't the end of the story, for Jesus then tells those gathered around him, "You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). The Christian church is to carry on this mission to all people.
(That raises the question of the relationship between the mission today of the Jewish people and of the Christian church. I don't think that either of the alternatives that are usually presented -- that the church has simply taken over this mission from the Jews or that there is a kind of "two track" system with more or less equally valid ways of worshipping and serving God -- are satisfactory theologically. That isn't something we can go into detail about here.)
For this Sunday, and with the theme that God shows no partiality, the inclusive character of baptism should get some emphasis. Paul's statement in Galatians 3:27-28 that "there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female" among those baptized into Christ is especially important here. It is the primary argument against drawing any ethnic, economic, or gender lines in the Christian community.
In some churches one of the rites associated with baptism connects with the "light of the world" theme. In these churches a lighted candle lit from the paschal candle representing the light of Christ is handed to the newly baptized person or one of her/his sponsors. It can be a strong symbol of the passing on of the light of Christ to a new Christian (In the early church baptism was sometimes referred to as "illumination."), but that light isn't simply the Christian's private property. In the baptismal service of the Lutheran Book of Worship (Minneapolis, 1978, p.124) the candle is to be given with those words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven."
A Subscriber Responds:
We can see the depth of the radical equality of God's grace in the baptism of Jesus. Being a part of the non-partiality of God is Christ's radical identity with us -- for us when Christ enters the baptism of repentance of John. We see the Savior entering the life and death of the unsaved. Dare we do less than a deep-rooted identity with those who were lost and have lost in the tsunami?
In our baptism we join God to suffer to love that which God loves. In his baptism, Jesus joined us to set us free to be the church, the body of Christ, the hope of the world.
-- Ron Wanless
Related Illustrations
From Carlos Wilton
Every nation tries to claim God for its own. Every people seeks to portray Jesus as one of them. Just look at the sort of pictures that typically hang in many of our church buildings: Nordic Jesus, with chestnut hair and piercing blue eyes, looking for all the world like the pinnacle of European manhood. In reality, our Lord would have looked a lot more like Yasser Arafat than a California surfer.
If Jesus were to show up this morning, in fact, walking the streets of many of our communities -- looking much the same as he looked during his own lifetime, but wearing the clothing of today -- most passers by would treat him with indifference, at best. "Look at that," they'd say to themselves -- "another foreigner. Probably an Arab. Do you suppose he could be a terrorist?"
Were Jesus to return to our land in just that way, a great many people would miss talking to him. They would lose the priceless opportunity of interacting with him face-to-face -- and all because of their prejudice. They would unwittingly show their Lord what Peter calls "partiality."
***
The statisticians tell us that in a very short time -- indeed, if it hasn't happened already -- there will be more Christians in the southern hemisphere of this planet than the northern. The implications of that statistic are truly paradigm-busting. For two millennia, Christianity has belonged to the northern hemisphere. Jesus was born, died, was raised and ascended from the northern hemisphere. For centuries, his evangelists have gone out -- mostly from certain highly civilized nations of the northern hemisphere -- into remote regions of the globe: many of them located in the southern hemisphere.
Now, however, we are on the verge of counting more Christians south of the Equator than north of it. That's because Christianity has been exploding in numbers in places like Africa. The growth is unlike anything we've ever seen, at least since New Testament times.
***
There's a wonderful Christmas carol, written in 1986 by a New Zealander named Shirley Murray, whose first stanza goes like this:
Carol our Christmas, an upside-down Christmas:
snow is not falling and trees are not bare.
Carol the summer, and welcome the Christ Child,
warm in our sunshine and sweetness of air.
The full carol may be found online at:
http://folksong.org.nz/nzchristmas/upside_down_xmas.html
***
Mohandas Gandhi, beloved as the "Mahatma," was not a Christian, but he is revered as one of the great ethical leaders of this century. Before returning home to India to lead its independence movement, he studied in London, receiving a law degree. A reporter asked Gandhi, years later -- after he had stopped wearing Western suits in favor of the simple homespun garment and sandals of the Indian peasant -- what he thought of Western civilization. "I think," Gandhi replied, with a twinkle in his eye, "it would be a very good idea."
***
Things look different from outside our accustomed frame of reference. That's something the astronauts of the Apollo space program learned, as they left the earth's atmosphere, and traveled toward the moon. Those astronauts had the priceless opportunity to look back, through their spaceship windows, at the earth -- that turquoise ball, sheathed in wispy white cloud, suspended against the utter blackness of space. As they did so, they reported a transforming experience. Suddenly, as they gazed at the blue-green planet whose fragile atmosphere provided an envelope of life -- and which had provided, also, that little bit of atmosphere they carried with them, so they could breathe -- those national differences, those parochial interests, seemed somehow less important.
Those Apollo astronauts glimpsed, literally, "the big picture." They began, in a very small way, to glimpse something of the world as God must surely see it. All of them said their lives were changed by that vision, in ways they could never have predicted.
***
"A Prayer for the Victims and Loved Ones Lost in the South Asian Earthquake Tragedy" may be found at:
http://www.faithfulamerica.org/PrayerGratitude2.htm
***
Church World Service information on the Tsunami Disaster, including worship materials, may be found at:
http://www.churchworldservice.org/news/tsunami/index.html
Worship Resources
By Julia Strope
TEXTS
Matthew 3:13-17, Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29, Acts 10:34-43
CALL TO WORSHIP
from Psalm 29 and Isaiah 42:1-9
Leader: Praise God! God is gracious and powerful. God gives strength and blesses us in many ways.
People: God holds the earth with its high mountain peaks and oceans depths in divine hands -- and God's ways are unfathomable to us.
Leader: Though we do not understand how God works with Creation or with us, we do know that Holy Spirit is with us.
People: We know that Christ will lead us with peace and justice.
Leader: My friends, do not lose hope or courage. Participate eagerly to heal the wounded and to set prisoners free from darkness!
PRAYER OF ADORATION
Leader: Creating God --
For the seasons of the calendar and the seasons of our souls, we are grateful. We thank you too for Jesus, born to Mary so long ago. We welcome the Christ -- Child and adult -- into our hearts and minds. With people around this planet, we listen for your Word and your grace. Amen.
SUGGESTED HYMNS
"O Morning Star, How Fair And Bright." Tune: WIE SCHON LEUCHTET; moves from God's epiphany to human commitment
"Christ, When For Us You Were Baptized." Tune: CAITHNESS; moves from Jesus' baptism to our baptism with the Spirit
"Lord, When You Came To Jordan." Tune: GENEVAN; third stanza deals with some of the issues of our baptism
"When Jesus Came To Jordan." Tune: DE EERSTEN ZUN DE LAATSTEN; all four stanzas deal with the issues of Jesus' baptism
"With Grateful Hearts Our Faith Professing." Tune: ST. CLEMENT; although this hymn is designed to be used at the baptism of a young person, it functions well as a prayer of all the people to live baptismal vows
"The God Of Heaven" (based on Psalm 29). Tune: GLORY irregular; available in The Presbyterian Hymnal, 1990 page 180. Although not well known, the words are lovely and the melody is not difficult
A new hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, "O God That Great Tsunami," may be found online at: http://www.churchworldservice.org/Hymns/o_god_that_great_tsunami.html. Free one-time permission to reproduce this hymn, copyright-free, is extended to congregations seeking to raise consciousness about ecumenical relief efforts.
CALL TO CONFESSION
Leader: God invites everyone into relationship. No matter our race or gender, God says you and I are acceptable. So before God and one another, let us look inside ourselves and name anything that keeps us from being our best selves, made in Divine Image.
COMMUNITY CONFESSION
from Acts 10:34f
Creating God --
We know that no one of us is an island; no one of us is alone on this earth. We are becoming aware that our actions and attitudes affect the land, the next generation and peoples in other countries. Yet we are slow to amend our ways.
We dawdle in allowing the baptism that makes us family -- Christians -- to make us "servants" to one another.
Open our minds to your generous love; fill our hearts with compassion for all peoples.
Amen.
Personal Confession (silent)
WORDS OF GRACE (leader)
from Acts 10:34f
The Holy Spirit was poured upon Jesus. That same Spirit
of baptism and Pentecost comes to us
and frees us from our indolence and prejudices.
The Holy Spirit cleanses us from our sins.
This is good news. Receive it and be at peace with your self and
with your neighbor. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL CHORAL RESPONSE
("As With Gladness Men Of Old," tune: DIX stanza 4)
Holy Jesus, every day Keep us in the narrow way;
And when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds thy glory hide.
21st CENTURY AFFIRMATION (unison)
from Matthew 3:13-17
The waters of life are also waters of death -- nurture and calamity.
The waters of baptism issue the call to be engaged intentionally in this world.
Sometimes the waters challenge to go a different direction.
Baptism unlocks our souls and points to a bigger reality.
In Jesus of Nazareth, God's own dear Son, we acknowledge possibilities for ourselves as God's family: the heavens open and reveal Christ; the heavens open and we are obliged to live for God!
Hallelujah!
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS
(leader or paragraphs divided among different readers)
God of Birth --
Jesus is born, we sing! Our "lord" is birthed! Thank you for Mary and Joseph who mentored him in Torah and in the culture of his times. Let the birth of the Christ shape our motivations and guide our careers.
God of Stars --
We too want to be wise and follow the stars that light our way. However long our journeys, focus us on soul-care, fairness and peace. Whatever our skin color, empower us to value and serve people of other colors.
God of Epiphanies --
Prophets have been surprised by your showing up in so many ways! We too are amazed at the ways you work among us -- amazed at how your Presence can calm and strengthen people in catastrophic events. We pray that you be undeniably present with the individuals who are reeling from earthquakes and Tsunamis. How can we minister to so many in desperate need?
God of Baptism --
We've said we are disciples of Jesus, brothers and sisters by baptism, one family. Thank you for this faith family and the good ways we work and play together. Empower us be as helpful and cheerful with our family members in other nations. Give the world religious and political leaders who have a vision of your grace for all Creation.
Creator of Skies and Oceans --
Like the Psalmist and the poet Isaiah, we pray that no idols tarnish our love for you. You have called us by name and given us opportunities to be creative with you. Keep us passionate about doing your Will; keep us zealous for your goodness and peace; heal our depressions and aches with the enthusiasm of your Spirit.
Hope of the World --
We pray for peace. War plagues us with death, hatred and unspeakable loss. In America and in Iraq -- in every land -- heal the greed and hatred, the violations and disrespects that cause people to kill. God, visit your earth planet with external and internal peace. Amen.
OFFERTORY STATEMENT (leader)
God makes all peoples and invites all peoples to be in relationship.
Our resources -- money, time and skills -- are necessary to bring peoples together in our own town and around the world.
DOXOLOGY
("From Heaven Above," tune: VOM HIMMEL HOCH; 4th stanza works nicely)
Glory to God in highest heaven
Who unto us the Christ has given.
With angels sing the Savior's birth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Energy of the Universe --
With our words and with our actions we honor you.
Here are our tithes and talents; live through us to make this world more like heaven.
Wherever we go among your creatures, let us manifest your love. Amen.
BENEDICTION/CHARGE
God calls you by name, remembering that
your color is one of many lovely colors.
God calls you by name -- Christian, knowing that
you desire to live by the teachings of Jesus.
You have at various times in your life responded with
"Here I am."
Be filled with Holy Spirit;
Follow stars;
Visit the waters of baptism;
Walk and commune with God morning, noon and night.
Go in peace.
Children's Sermon
In every nation
Object: a globe
Based on Acts 10:34-43
Good morning, boys and girls. I brought my globe this morning, so that we can understand the Bible lesson better. This globe shows all the nations of the earth. It shows where we live. It shows where Jesus lived. It shows all the continents and is lands and oceans of the world.
Can anyone point to where we live? (let someone point) Can anyone point to where Jesus lived? (let someone point. Be prepared to show the location) We live in the United States. Jesus lived in a country called Judea. Today we know it as Israel. (point out to the children some of the countries where their ancestors came from) Many of your great-grandparents came from ________________. Here is where that country is on the globe.
When we look at a globe it shows us how large our world is. Even though it is very large, all of the people who live in our world have one thing in common: As long as we fear God that means to love and obey God and do what is right and acceptable to God, God loves all of us. No matter where we live, no matter what we look like, no matter what language we speak, God loves us. God does not love only the people who live (point to different spots on the globe) here, or here, or here. God loves everyone, no matter where we live. To receive God's love we must fear God. That means we must love and obey God. We must also do what is right and acceptable to God. You are doing one of those things right now. You are worshiping God in church.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 9, 2005 issue.
Copyright 2005 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
God Plays No Favorites
By Carlos Wilton
Acts 10:34-43
The Gospel on a Postcard
Recent news coverage of the tsunami disasters along the shores of the Indian Ocean has highlighted the stories of North Americans and Europeans unlucky enough to be in the path of the floodwaters. "At least 8 Americans among dead," announced one Associated Press headline, "and 25,000 others." (The death toll has since risen to a much higher figure.) While the injuries and grief of many of the Western tourists were as severe as those of anyone else in the behemoth waves' path, one has to wonder why our news media have focused so specifically on them. Some commentators are even saying this skewed coverage is a good thing: the media's disproportionate focus on American and European victims will raise overall consciousness of the disaster and increase relief donations. Then -- please forgive the unfortunate analogy -- all boats will rise on the same tide. In the words of Wall Street Journal op-ed contributor Suketa Mehta, "When honeymooners John and Susan are talking about almost drowning, it helps people here relate when Poonama and Wimal are crying about having their child snatched out of their arms by the sea" ("Now We Hate Seeing This Sea," Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2004, p. A10).
It is part of our sinful nature to pigeonhole human beings -- all created in God's image -- into racial or cultural groups, paying a disproportionate amount of attention to those who are "like us." Such ethnocentrism explains why the 1990s efforts to stop genocide in the Balkans received so much more support from Western nations than did the even more massive genocide taking place at the same time in Rwanda. The same, tired song continues to play on, with Iraq and Darfur forming the most recent, sad stanza.
Peter's proclamation in Acts 10:34, that "God shows no partiality," demonstrates that God looks on all human beings equally. May we share something of that same egalitarian vision, as we fashion our response to the tsunami victims, and to all God's children who are in distress!
Some Words on the Word
There are lots of things you can see from a rooftop. Who knows what the Apostle Peter was looking for, that day he climbed the roof at high noon?
The roof wasn't that unusual a destination, back then. In first-century Palestine, the roofs of houses were flat. People gathered there, especially in the cool of the evening. Some homeowners even built canopies up on top of their roofs -- wooden frameworks on which they spread palm branches for shade, much like the cabanas of the American Southwest. Not only that, many people also kept livestock inside their houses -- often on a lower level, but indoors all the same. That meant the roof was the place to go for fresh air.
A rooftop, back then, could be a very agreeable place, sort of like a screened-in porch is today: which is no doubt why Peter chose it as the place to go when he wanted to pray.
As religious visions go, the one Peter receives on the rooftop may sound pretty bizarre, to modern ears. It helps to recall Peter's social context: that he is an observant Jew. The dietary laws have always been a big part of his life. Always, for him, there have been certain animals -- pigs and other cloven-footed beasts, as well as any kind of crustacean or shellfish -- whose flesh he was not permitted to eat. To eat that kind of food would offend God, who had given the people laws that instructed otherwise.
So at first, Peter doesn't know how to react to this strange vision. He objects, protesting that he could never do such a sacrilegious thing as kill and eat an unclean animal. But then the voice answers back, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." And then, to make absolutely sure Peter gets the point, God repeats the vision two more times.
It is absolutely astounding ... amazing ... without precedent, as far as Peter knows. The Most High God has just repealed a law! No sooner does Peter begin to appreciate the full import of this revolutionary thought, than he hears someone calling up to him from below. It seems he has visitors -- and a most unusual set of visitors at that.
Two slaves are standing there -- that's not so extraordinary -- but standing with them is a Roman soldier. They're messengers, dispatched to Peter by a man even more unusual than they: Cornelius, a centurion of the Roman army.
A centurion commands a unit of a hundred men. That's where the name comes from -- "century," in Latin, can mean a hundred years, but it can also mean a hundred soldiers. A Roman centurion is not exactly the sort of person Peter would ordinarily expect to talk to. Remember, it had been a centurion who commanded the squad of soldiers who crucified Jesus. Why, Peter was so scared that day, he'd denied Jesus three times. He lied. He claimed he didn't know him -- all to keep from falling into the hands of the centurion and his soldiers.
Peter is a different man now. He's not so frightened. He's seen the risen Jesus. He's received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And besides, there is this vision he's just received: a vision that, he's rapidly learning, is no coincidence. No coincidence at all.
When Peter finally does follow the servants and the soldier back to their master, he discovers that this Cornelius is a believer: a practicing Jew. Not that he was born a Jew; he's one of the many Romans who dabble in Judaism, who study and debate its precepts, and try to live by them. Cornelius has heard about this new Jewish sect that follows the Nazarene rabbi who was recently crucified. He wants to learn more.
Peter now realizes the full meaning of the sheet descending from heaven, filled with all manner of animals: and of those words he heard, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat." He also knows that this is an example of God's exquisite timing. God's about to do a new thing: a surprising thing, a totally unprecedented thing. Until now, Christianity has been a sect of Judaism. The apostles have done their evangelizing within the protected space of a walled garden. They've spoken about Jesus, the Messiah only to their fellow Jews.
Beginning today, all that changes. In sending Peter to Cornelius, God is blasting down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile. The Christian faith will never be the same again.
A Map of the Message
The New Year's holiday is typically a time of revelry. It was no different in 2005; millions watched the ball drop over Times Square, and untold numbers of champagne glasses were raised, as the confetti floated down.
This New Year's, however, was hardly typical. The holiday arrived with an ominous shadow hanging over it. The shadow first arose over the Indian Ocean, then spread around the world, as we gradually became aware of the full magnitude of the suffering in India and Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand. Mother Nature appears to have given the human race a unique and unwanted New Year's gift: and that gift is a huge slap in the face. Our people have all heard the stories, by now. We hardly need to repeat them: parents losing children, children losing parents, whole villages washed away by those forty-foot waves that arose without warning from a peaceful sea. How quickly, and how unexpectedly, the predictable routines of life can be upended, spun around and dropped, to be smashed into tiny pieces!
The scope of the disaster is vast. As Bob Herbert of the New York Times reminded the world, in a December 31, 2004 editorial, "The death toll now is more than twice the number of American G.I.'s killed in all the years of the Vietnam War." (And it is now even higher.)
Some are calling it "Asia's 9/11" -- and this time there's not a terrorist in sight, on whom to fix the blame. Suddenly, we've all been reminded, once again, of how fragile human life can be. We look into the misty uncertainty of 2005, and we hope for the best -- but the events of recent weeks have powerfully reminded us that sometimes, in life, what we get is not the best, but the worst.
It would, of course, be possible to address the news stories of the South Asian tsunamis by exploring theodicy, the problem of evil. (See last week's issue of The Immediate Word for George Murphy's presentation on this topic.) The topic we are suggesting for this week, however, arises out of Peter's line from the Acts lection, about God showing no partiality (Acts 10:34). In "The Gospel on a Postcard" (above) are several examples of how the initial Western media coverage of the tsunami disasters has exposed our ethnocentrism. We are more interested (or at least our media reporters assume we're more interested) in hearing how Western tourists fared amongst the waves, than we are in hearing stories about Sri Lankans or Indonesians.
One notable example was the coverage given to a woman named Petra Nemcova. Ms. Nemcova is a swimsuit model. She has modeled for Victoria's Secret, and was pictured on the cover of the 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Ms. Nemcova and her boyfriend, British photographer Simon Atlee, were vacationing in a beachfront bungalow at Phuket, Thailand, when the tsunami hit.
Their story is as tragic as any other. Mr. Attlee was washed away by the waves, and is presumed dead. Ms. Nemcova survived by clinging to a tree, but received multiple serious injuries, including broken bones. By all accounts, she is lucky to be alive. Her full story may be found at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/more/12/28/nemcova.tsunami/.
But why should her story be the one that makes the headlines? Why not a Thai national, a villager who lives on the seacoast year-round, and who lives off fishing rather than fashion photography? The simple answer to that question is, "Because we would be more likely to skip that news article and move on to the next one." The news reporters know what they're doing. They know their public.
The media's absolutely right about us. There's certain clannishness among all peoples on this earth. Given the choice, we generally prefer to interact with people who look like us, who speak the same language, who follow the same religion. But this is not God's design for us. The Tower of Babel story (Genesis 11) reveals that it was sinful pride that led to the dispersion of peoples into different nationalities and language groups. God shows no partiality.
Nor should our relief efforts. National governments are infamous for dispersing foreign aid -- even disaster-relief aid -- according to political criteria. There is much altruism in foreign aid, to be sure, but there is also a certain amount of self-interest. Other nations that have some strategic or economic significance (from our nation's perspective) are often given priority in the cafeteria line.
Does it matter to God if a person is from America, or Belgium, or Tanzania, or Cambodia? Does it matter if that one is rich or poor; privileged or underprivileged; male or female; speaking English, or Spanish, or Hindi, or Tagalog? Does it matter if that person lives under the communism of Cuba, or sells pork futures at the Chicago Board of Trade?
None of these things matters a bit. In the words of Peter, spoken to the centurion, Cornelius, "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Maybe it's time we all started living as though we truly believe that.
Suketa Mehta, in the Wall Street Journal editorial cited above, concludes with these stirring words:
There is only one way to bring back some faith, some hope, some belief to those people who have lost it all. God wasn't there when the tsunami struck; but God lives in us, and let's make sure that his love is delivered now, better late than never. We must let Subhani and Seenu and Mahalingam keep their sanity, their sense of a moral order in the universe, by reaching out to them. Even more important than the scale of the help is the simple gesture, of a human hand reaching out across the giant ocean, with money, with medicine, with technical expertise: in its own way as powerful, as majestic, as unstoppable as the tsunami itself.
Team Comments
George Murphy responds: The whole theme of the Epiphany season is the manifestation of God's salvation to "the nations" -- to the whole world. The season begins this Thursday, January 6, with the coming of the Gentile magi to pay homage to the new king of Israel. (We discussed some of the Epiphany texts in The Immediate Word installment last week.) That theme continues through the season (which is rather short this year because Lent begins so early).
If God indeed shows no partiality, if the message of God's salvation is meant for all the people of the earth, then any idea of a "chosen people" must be relativized. Israel and then the Christian community are indeed set apart as holy nations (Exodus 19:6 and 1 Peter 2:9), but they are set apart for mission to the whole world. That is seen as early in the biblical story as God's call to Abram, who is told that in him "all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
This idea becomes much more prominent during and after the exile, and especially in Second Isaiah. The First Lesson for this Sunday, Isaiah 42:1-9, contains the first of the four "servant songs" of that part of the book. The language here may have influenced the description of Jesus' baptism, which is of course the gospel reading for the Baptism of our Lord. (Note in Isaiah 42:1 the word "servant," whose Greek form pais can also mean "son," and God's promise to "put my spirit upon him.")
The servant will establish "justice in the earth" and "the coastlands [will] wait for his teaching" (42:4). That isn't very specific but the message is made clearer in the First Lesson for next week, Isaiah 49:1-7, which contains the second servant song. There the servant's mission is not limited to Israel. It is instead a calling to be "a light to the nations" so that God's "salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (v. 6).
Is the servant of Second Isaiah an individual or a corporate figure, a personification of the people of Israel? I think the correct answer is "Yes." Israel is called to be God's servant, to be God's light to the nations. In Jesus, the man of Israel, that mission is focused, so that he can say, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12 and 9:5). But that isn't the end of the story, for Jesus then tells those gathered around him, "You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). The Christian church is to carry on this mission to all people.
(That raises the question of the relationship between the mission today of the Jewish people and of the Christian church. I don't think that either of the alternatives that are usually presented -- that the church has simply taken over this mission from the Jews or that there is a kind of "two track" system with more or less equally valid ways of worshipping and serving God -- are satisfactory theologically. That isn't something we can go into detail about here.)
For this Sunday, and with the theme that God shows no partiality, the inclusive character of baptism should get some emphasis. Paul's statement in Galatians 3:27-28 that "there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female" among those baptized into Christ is especially important here. It is the primary argument against drawing any ethnic, economic, or gender lines in the Christian community.
In some churches one of the rites associated with baptism connects with the "light of the world" theme. In these churches a lighted candle lit from the paschal candle representing the light of Christ is handed to the newly baptized person or one of her/his sponsors. It can be a strong symbol of the passing on of the light of Christ to a new Christian (In the early church baptism was sometimes referred to as "illumination."), but that light isn't simply the Christian's private property. In the baptismal service of the Lutheran Book of Worship (Minneapolis, 1978, p.124) the candle is to be given with those words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven."
A Subscriber Responds:
We can see the depth of the radical equality of God's grace in the baptism of Jesus. Being a part of the non-partiality of God is Christ's radical identity with us -- for us when Christ enters the baptism of repentance of John. We see the Savior entering the life and death of the unsaved. Dare we do less than a deep-rooted identity with those who were lost and have lost in the tsunami?
In our baptism we join God to suffer to love that which God loves. In his baptism, Jesus joined us to set us free to be the church, the body of Christ, the hope of the world.
-- Ron Wanless
Related Illustrations
From Carlos Wilton
Every nation tries to claim God for its own. Every people seeks to portray Jesus as one of them. Just look at the sort of pictures that typically hang in many of our church buildings: Nordic Jesus, with chestnut hair and piercing blue eyes, looking for all the world like the pinnacle of European manhood. In reality, our Lord would have looked a lot more like Yasser Arafat than a California surfer.
If Jesus were to show up this morning, in fact, walking the streets of many of our communities -- looking much the same as he looked during his own lifetime, but wearing the clothing of today -- most passers by would treat him with indifference, at best. "Look at that," they'd say to themselves -- "another foreigner. Probably an Arab. Do you suppose he could be a terrorist?"
Were Jesus to return to our land in just that way, a great many people would miss talking to him. They would lose the priceless opportunity of interacting with him face-to-face -- and all because of their prejudice. They would unwittingly show their Lord what Peter calls "partiality."
***
The statisticians tell us that in a very short time -- indeed, if it hasn't happened already -- there will be more Christians in the southern hemisphere of this planet than the northern. The implications of that statistic are truly paradigm-busting. For two millennia, Christianity has belonged to the northern hemisphere. Jesus was born, died, was raised and ascended from the northern hemisphere. For centuries, his evangelists have gone out -- mostly from certain highly civilized nations of the northern hemisphere -- into remote regions of the globe: many of them located in the southern hemisphere.
Now, however, we are on the verge of counting more Christians south of the Equator than north of it. That's because Christianity has been exploding in numbers in places like Africa. The growth is unlike anything we've ever seen, at least since New Testament times.
***
There's a wonderful Christmas carol, written in 1986 by a New Zealander named Shirley Murray, whose first stanza goes like this:
Carol our Christmas, an upside-down Christmas:
snow is not falling and trees are not bare.
Carol the summer, and welcome the Christ Child,
warm in our sunshine and sweetness of air.
The full carol may be found online at:
http://folksong.org.nz/nzchristmas/upside_down_xmas.html
***
Mohandas Gandhi, beloved as the "Mahatma," was not a Christian, but he is revered as one of the great ethical leaders of this century. Before returning home to India to lead its independence movement, he studied in London, receiving a law degree. A reporter asked Gandhi, years later -- after he had stopped wearing Western suits in favor of the simple homespun garment and sandals of the Indian peasant -- what he thought of Western civilization. "I think," Gandhi replied, with a twinkle in his eye, "it would be a very good idea."
***
Things look different from outside our accustomed frame of reference. That's something the astronauts of the Apollo space program learned, as they left the earth's atmosphere, and traveled toward the moon. Those astronauts had the priceless opportunity to look back, through their spaceship windows, at the earth -- that turquoise ball, sheathed in wispy white cloud, suspended against the utter blackness of space. As they did so, they reported a transforming experience. Suddenly, as they gazed at the blue-green planet whose fragile atmosphere provided an envelope of life -- and which had provided, also, that little bit of atmosphere they carried with them, so they could breathe -- those national differences, those parochial interests, seemed somehow less important.
Those Apollo astronauts glimpsed, literally, "the big picture." They began, in a very small way, to glimpse something of the world as God must surely see it. All of them said their lives were changed by that vision, in ways they could never have predicted.
***
"A Prayer for the Victims and Loved Ones Lost in the South Asian Earthquake Tragedy" may be found at:
http://www.faithfulamerica.org/PrayerGratitude2.htm
***
Church World Service information on the Tsunami Disaster, including worship materials, may be found at:
http://www.churchworldservice.org/news/tsunami/index.html
Worship Resources
By Julia Strope
TEXTS
Matthew 3:13-17, Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29, Acts 10:34-43
CALL TO WORSHIP
from Psalm 29 and Isaiah 42:1-9
Leader: Praise God! God is gracious and powerful. God gives strength and blesses us in many ways.
People: God holds the earth with its high mountain peaks and oceans depths in divine hands -- and God's ways are unfathomable to us.
Leader: Though we do not understand how God works with Creation or with us, we do know that Holy Spirit is with us.
People: We know that Christ will lead us with peace and justice.
Leader: My friends, do not lose hope or courage. Participate eagerly to heal the wounded and to set prisoners free from darkness!
PRAYER OF ADORATION
Leader: Creating God --
For the seasons of the calendar and the seasons of our souls, we are grateful. We thank you too for Jesus, born to Mary so long ago. We welcome the Christ -- Child and adult -- into our hearts and minds. With people around this planet, we listen for your Word and your grace. Amen.
SUGGESTED HYMNS
"O Morning Star, How Fair And Bright." Tune: WIE SCHON LEUCHTET; moves from God's epiphany to human commitment
"Christ, When For Us You Were Baptized." Tune: CAITHNESS; moves from Jesus' baptism to our baptism with the Spirit
"Lord, When You Came To Jordan." Tune: GENEVAN; third stanza deals with some of the issues of our baptism
"When Jesus Came To Jordan." Tune: DE EERSTEN ZUN DE LAATSTEN; all four stanzas deal with the issues of Jesus' baptism
"With Grateful Hearts Our Faith Professing." Tune: ST. CLEMENT; although this hymn is designed to be used at the baptism of a young person, it functions well as a prayer of all the people to live baptismal vows
"The God Of Heaven" (based on Psalm 29). Tune: GLORY irregular; available in The Presbyterian Hymnal, 1990 page 180. Although not well known, the words are lovely and the melody is not difficult
A new hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, "O God That Great Tsunami," may be found online at: http://www.churchworldservice.org/Hymns/o_god_that_great_tsunami.html. Free one-time permission to reproduce this hymn, copyright-free, is extended to congregations seeking to raise consciousness about ecumenical relief efforts.
CALL TO CONFESSION
Leader: God invites everyone into relationship. No matter our race or gender, God says you and I are acceptable. So before God and one another, let us look inside ourselves and name anything that keeps us from being our best selves, made in Divine Image.
COMMUNITY CONFESSION
from Acts 10:34f
Creating God --
We know that no one of us is an island; no one of us is alone on this earth. We are becoming aware that our actions and attitudes affect the land, the next generation and peoples in other countries. Yet we are slow to amend our ways.
We dawdle in allowing the baptism that makes us family -- Christians -- to make us "servants" to one another.
Open our minds to your generous love; fill our hearts with compassion for all peoples.
Amen.
Personal Confession (silent)
WORDS OF GRACE (leader)
from Acts 10:34f
The Holy Spirit was poured upon Jesus. That same Spirit
of baptism and Pentecost comes to us
and frees us from our indolence and prejudices.
The Holy Spirit cleanses us from our sins.
This is good news. Receive it and be at peace with your self and
with your neighbor. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL CHORAL RESPONSE
("As With Gladness Men Of Old," tune: DIX stanza 4)
Holy Jesus, every day Keep us in the narrow way;
And when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds thy glory hide.
21st CENTURY AFFIRMATION (unison)
from Matthew 3:13-17
The waters of life are also waters of death -- nurture and calamity.
The waters of baptism issue the call to be engaged intentionally in this world.
Sometimes the waters challenge to go a different direction.
Baptism unlocks our souls and points to a bigger reality.
In Jesus of Nazareth, God's own dear Son, we acknowledge possibilities for ourselves as God's family: the heavens open and reveal Christ; the heavens open and we are obliged to live for God!
Hallelujah!
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS
(leader or paragraphs divided among different readers)
God of Birth --
Jesus is born, we sing! Our "lord" is birthed! Thank you for Mary and Joseph who mentored him in Torah and in the culture of his times. Let the birth of the Christ shape our motivations and guide our careers.
God of Stars --
We too want to be wise and follow the stars that light our way. However long our journeys, focus us on soul-care, fairness and peace. Whatever our skin color, empower us to value and serve people of other colors.
God of Epiphanies --
Prophets have been surprised by your showing up in so many ways! We too are amazed at the ways you work among us -- amazed at how your Presence can calm and strengthen people in catastrophic events. We pray that you be undeniably present with the individuals who are reeling from earthquakes and Tsunamis. How can we minister to so many in desperate need?
God of Baptism --
We've said we are disciples of Jesus, brothers and sisters by baptism, one family. Thank you for this faith family and the good ways we work and play together. Empower us be as helpful and cheerful with our family members in other nations. Give the world religious and political leaders who have a vision of your grace for all Creation.
Creator of Skies and Oceans --
Like the Psalmist and the poet Isaiah, we pray that no idols tarnish our love for you. You have called us by name and given us opportunities to be creative with you. Keep us passionate about doing your Will; keep us zealous for your goodness and peace; heal our depressions and aches with the enthusiasm of your Spirit.
Hope of the World --
We pray for peace. War plagues us with death, hatred and unspeakable loss. In America and in Iraq -- in every land -- heal the greed and hatred, the violations and disrespects that cause people to kill. God, visit your earth planet with external and internal peace. Amen.
OFFERTORY STATEMENT (leader)
God makes all peoples and invites all peoples to be in relationship.
Our resources -- money, time and skills -- are necessary to bring peoples together in our own town and around the world.
DOXOLOGY
("From Heaven Above," tune: VOM HIMMEL HOCH; 4th stanza works nicely)
Glory to God in highest heaven
Who unto us the Christ has given.
With angels sing the Savior's birth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Energy of the Universe --
With our words and with our actions we honor you.
Here are our tithes and talents; live through us to make this world more like heaven.
Wherever we go among your creatures, let us manifest your love. Amen.
BENEDICTION/CHARGE
God calls you by name, remembering that
your color is one of many lovely colors.
God calls you by name -- Christian, knowing that
you desire to live by the teachings of Jesus.
You have at various times in your life responded with
"Here I am."
Be filled with Holy Spirit;
Follow stars;
Visit the waters of baptism;
Walk and commune with God morning, noon and night.
Go in peace.
Children's Sermon
In every nation
Object: a globe
Based on Acts 10:34-43
Good morning, boys and girls. I brought my globe this morning, so that we can understand the Bible lesson better. This globe shows all the nations of the earth. It shows where we live. It shows where Jesus lived. It shows all the continents and is lands and oceans of the world.
Can anyone point to where we live? (let someone point) Can anyone point to where Jesus lived? (let someone point. Be prepared to show the location) We live in the United States. Jesus lived in a country called Judea. Today we know it as Israel. (point out to the children some of the countries where their ancestors came from) Many of your great-grandparents came from ________________. Here is where that country is on the globe.
When we look at a globe it shows us how large our world is. Even though it is very large, all of the people who live in our world have one thing in common: As long as we fear God that means to love and obey God and do what is right and acceptable to God, God loves all of us. No matter where we live, no matter what we look like, no matter what language we speak, God loves us. God does not love only the people who live (point to different spots on the globe) here, or here, or here. God loves everyone, no matter where we live. To receive God's love we must fear God. That means we must love and obey God. We must also do what is right and acceptable to God. You are doing one of those things right now. You are worshiping God in church.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 9, 2005 issue.
Copyright 2005 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
