Going Along
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Going Along
by Mary Austin
2 Kings 2:1-12
A friend of mine says that the four most beautiful words in the English language are “I’ll go with you.” In the hospital waiting room, at the funeral home, in the depths of life’s pain, we’re blessed to have people who travel those hard roads with us. When life gets rough, we all need a friend like Elisha. He understands the power of determined presence.
As his mentor, Elijah’s life winds down. Elisha is determined to keep going with him until the end. Elijah keeps offering him a chance to leave, and Elisha declines every time. He could spare himself some sorrow if he would just go home, but Elisha is firm.
We have this text on Transfiguration Sunday because it offers us a glimpse of God’s revealed glory, but it also shows us the power of sticking with someone. We get the chariot and the fire and the whirlwind that show God’s presence, but we also get the very human experience of deep companionship. Elisha’s story raises the question of how far we will go with the people whose lives touch our own.
In the Scriptures
At the start of our story, Elijah and Elisha know that God is about to take Elijah “up to heaven in a whirlwind.” We don’t get any warning, but the two of them seem to take it in stride. Along the way, Elijah and Elisha visit lots of old friends and colleagues. One company of prophets even travels a little of the way with them, but only Elisha crosses the Jordan with Elijah. Elisha is willing to go to the end with Elijah. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, placing himself in the role of an oldest son, who would receive a double portion of the father’s inheritance. Elisha is asking, not for money, but Elijah’s prophetic gifts. As Elijah ascends, Elisha calls out “father, father,” evoking their spiritual kinship.
Writing for Working Preacher, W. Dennis Tucker, Jr., sets the historical and geographical context. “On the way to crossing the Jordan river, Elijah parts the Jordan, bringing to mind vividly the activities of Moses at the Red Sea and Joshua at the Jordan. Elijah rolls up his mantle, perhaps suggesting to the reader the image of a rod (Moses' rod, no doubt). When Elijah struck the water, the waters parted and they walked through on dry land (cf. Exodus 14). Having departed from Jericho and having crossed the Jordan River, they now stand literally in the region where Moses had died (Deuteronomy 34). Just as Moses died opposite Jericho with Joshua prepared to enter into the land, so too is Elijah taken up, with Elisha prepared to return to the land.” The land is rich in meaning. Moses’ life ended and he wasn’t able to accompany the nation into the promised land, but Elisha is still accompanying Elijah.
Both Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus on the mountain in the Transfiguration story in Matthew, Mark and Luke, bringing a touch of heaven to the mountaintop. The lawgiver and the prophet, who have both walked so closely with God, also appear. They are there to go with Jesus as his glory is revealed.
In the News
One question facing the nation is how far we will go with the “Dreamers,” the young people who came to the United States as minors and have lived here ever since. The program was created in 2012 by an executive order of then-President Obama, and “protected from immediate deportation.” Recipients, called Dreamers, were able to request “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal. “Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated. “Deferred action does not provide lawful status…” Individuals also had to have a high school diploma, GED certification, been honorably discharged from the military or still be in school. Recipients could not have a criminal record.” 800,000 young people filled out forms, paid fees and registered under the program. “The Trump administration announced in September 2017 that it planned to phase out DACA for current recipients, and no new requests would be granted. Since the announcement, Trump has offered to work with lawmakers on a solution for the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. who fell under DACA’s umbrella of protections.”
The President has tied the fate of the Dreamers to other immigration policy changes, including limits on family reunification. Current policy favors the families of people already in the United States, and “Family-based immigration has accounted for 60 to 70 percent of all green cards in the last decade, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based research group. In 2013, for instance, two-thirds of the nearly 1 million green cards granted were on the basis of a family relationship. Trump’s proposal would cut legal immigration by 44 percent annually, or about half a million, and prevent some 22 million people from being able to immigrate to the U.S. over the next five decades, according to a study released Monday by the Cato Institute, a libertarian research group in Washington.” He also proposes changes in the country lotteries, which allow a certain number of people to enter the U.S. on a path to citizenship.
Woven into the fabric of our common life in countless ways, the Dreamers aren’t sitting around waiting to hear from Congress. The Pentagon says that about 900 of them are on active duty in the military, including “doctors, nurses, and service members with proficiency in a language considered to be of strategic importance. Spanish is not one of those languages, but Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Korean are.” They own thousands of businesses, and “more than 5% of DACA recipients have started their own businesses since enrolling in the program, according to a recent survey.” Some of them work for Fortune 500 companies, and “chief executives and other leaders from more than 100 companies -- including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, Coke, Target and Best Buy -- have cosigned a letter addressed to top Congressional leaders. It urges lawmakers to ‘act immediately and pass a permanent bipartisan legislative solution to enable Dreamers who are currently living, working, and contributing to our communities to continue doing so’.” Company executives are willing to accompany the Dreamers toward citizenship.
The Dreamers have become an unforgettable part of American life. Laura Wides-Munoz, who has written a book about their fight for citizenship says in the LA Times “The Dreamers who have worked so hard to get legal status will stay active. If they get the full prize -- citizenship and the vote -- they will be more likely than the average American to use it. And if they don't get it, their U.S.-born siblings and friends in the ascendant millennial population are unlikely to forget. Beyond this battle, young and not so young people nationwide have seen that their voices and bodies can still make a difference in Washington.” Congress is at an interesting crossroads, as they decide how far we will accompany these young would-be citizens.
In the Sermon
The sermon might look at the places the church community goes with us into the sorrows of life, and where we hide from its companionship. When I served as a hospice chaplain, a patient’s wife told me once that she wanted to talk to me because she wanted her pastor to see her in a certain way. There were some things she would never talk to him about. Now that I serve a church, I always wonder what people aren’t telling me, for fear that I’ll think less of them. How do we create room for people to be themselves, and to reveal their struggles, so the church can accompany them through hard times.
Or the sermon might look at the some of the skills required to keep people company in a way that’s helpful. A well-circulated op-ed piece suggested that we use the “Ring Theory.” Here’s how it works: “Draw a circle. This is the center ring. In it, put the name of the person at the center of the current trauma…Now draw a larger circle around the first one. In that ring put the name of the person next closest to the trauma…In each larger ring put the next closest people. Parents and children before more distant relatives. Intimate friends in smaller rings, less intimate friends in larger ones.” Then, be mindful of the circles. Offer comfort in. If you need to vent, vent outward, to people further from the crisis. The authors, Susan Silk and Barry Goldman, add, “When you are talking to a person in a ring smaller than yours, someone closer to the center of the crisis, the goal is to help. Listening is often more helpful than talking. But if you're going to open your mouth, ask yourself if what you are about to say is likely to provide comfort and support. If it isn't, don't say it. Don't, for example, give advice. People who are suffering from trauma don't need advice. They need comfort and support.” If we’re going to accompany people, we don’t want to make their experience even worse.
Or the sermon might look at the kind of people the church is willing to accompany, and who has to travel alone. This will be different for every congregation and in every community, but someone is always left out. What would it take to find them, hear their story, and resolve to go with them, in whatever they’re going through?
The sermon might also look at the cost of going with someone. When we give this gift, we pay some kind of a price. Congress will pay a price, one way or another, whatever they decide about the Dreamers. We pay in time or energy when we accompany a friend to chemotherapy, or when we take a stand for someone. What price is worth it, for the bond that forms between people as we go through a difficult time together?
“I’ll go with you.” In the right hands, from the right person, these are powerful words. We’re assured that we’re not alone -- and in the company of another, we also find God’s presence. Even without the fire and the chariot, we can see God as we travel together.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Shut Up and Listen
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 9:2-9
We are in the season of words.
Last week the president delivered the annual State of the Union Address to congress and we were invited by the news media to listen in.
It wasn’t always this way. For most of our history the president’s report on the state of the union was delivered to congress in a letter which was then read aloud in both houses. Not until Woodrow Wilson did the president’s report on the state of the union become a speech delivered to a joint session of the two houses of congress. And even after Wilson not every president gave a speech every year. That’s a relatively new phenomenon which has grown along with the power of the electronic media to broadcast it to large numbers of people.
And, as it became an annual rite, so it also became a somewhat empty ritual.
Listening to the current version of the SOTU, I was astounded at how much like former examples it was. The state of the union is strong because it’s people are strong. The military is strong (and here’s a person who exemplifies that strength, sitting among us as I speak) because the people who serve in it are strong but it could be even stronger if some more money was given to it.
I have done an awesome job running things up to now.
Taxes are bad but some are, regretfully, necessary.
Our youth hold the future of our country in their hands. And here are some youth looking freshly scrubbed and bored.
We need better crime prevention and better ways to fight crime that isn’t prevented.
We need to speak to our national adversaries from a position of strength.
All I want is unity which we could have if you would all just do as I say.
Blah, blah, blah, on and on. The form, if not the content, is pretty much the same as its predecessors.
Don’t have anything to say? Make a speech!
Politicians are not the only ones who abide by the rule that the best thing to do when you don’t know what to say is to talk. Watch the awards ceremonies that are on TV almost weekly, now. The Grammies last week and in a couple of weeks, the Oscars. At least a few recipients always say, “I don’t know what to say,” and then take five minutes to say it.
The Super Bowl and the Olympics will find sportscasters filling empty air with words. There will probably be more airtime given to talking about sports than showing the sports themselves. And much of that talk will be done not because anyone needs to hear it but because sponsors have purchased airtime and the airtime between commercials needs to be filled with something.
Sometimes the best thing, the prudent thing, the most effective thing to say is nothing at all.
In the Scripture
Compare these two passages:
Mark 9:5-6 -- Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
Job 2:11-13 -- Now when Job's three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him…They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
In the first passage, the one from today’s Gospel lesson, Peter has just had an experience of awe and wonder. He’s afraid, as such experiences can sometimes leave us, and he doesn’t know what to say. So, like preachers and politicians have done down through history, he talks.
He fills the air with words not because he has something important, something worthwhile, something astute or bright or apropos to share. He fills the air with words because 1) he’s afraid, 2) the silence is awkward, and 3) he doesn’t know what else to do.
And when he speaks, he falls back on the old and the familiar. First, he evaluates the situation and decides that it’s good, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.” And then, having established that the situation is a good one, he suggests that they all get busy and do something, something tried and true, something traditional, something familiar, something religious. “Let us build three dwellings…”
In the second reading above, Job’s friends have heard of Job’s misfortune, the tragedies that have befallen him, and they go to visit him. (Cf. Rev. Mary Austin’s article, this week, about what I like to think of as the “sacrament of going with.”) When they are not far away they see him but so miserable is he that they don’t even recognize him. So heartbroken are they for their friend’s miserable condition that they rip their garments and put dust and ashes on their heads as signs of their grief on his behalf. Then they sit down with him and simply share his pain for seven days and seven nights and “no one spoke a word for they saw that his suffering was very great.”
Wow! Now that is friendship.
Most of us would, like Peter, break under the strain of being silent for 15 minutes, much less seven days.
But, alas, on the eighth day Job cries out his misery and despair, he puts his anguish into words and his friends begin to speak in reply and that is when the quality of their friendship begins to crack. That is when they start making a mess of things.
Interestingly, when God finally steps into the scene and starts to speak -- to Peter, James, and John in the Gospel, and to Job and his friends in the book of Job -- his answer is much the same. And, if you will allow a paraphrase, it is, pretty much, this that God says: “Shut up and listen.”
To Job and his friends, God says, “Shut up and listen to me.”
To Peter, James and John, God says, “This is my son, the Beloved; shut up and listen to him!”
When you are having or have just come out of a situation that is so overwhelming, so amazing, so awesome, or so horrible that it shocks you and makes you afraid, the thing to do is to “shut up and listen.”
In the Sermon
Most ministers are not strangers to the experience of awe and wonder. For many of us, it is why we became ministers. It’s the context in which we heard the call to ministry.
For me, it was at a weekend retreat when I was in college. We were studying Paul Tillich’s sermon “You Are Accepted,” and I heard his words, really heard them, for the first time in my life: Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: “You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.”
A typical oldest child (of five), I had spent the first 20 years of my life trying to please people, especially the parental figures in my life: my parents, my teachers, my coaches, my youth group leaders, etc. And when I read those words from Tillich’s sermon it was as though a huge, heavy backpack had been lifted from my shoulders.
I was accepted. God’s loving, reconciling, healing grace was ladled over my head and shoulders and I was accepted, just as I was, by the greatest parental figure that I could imagine, the God and creator of the universe.
Whew!
I left that seminar walking about six inches off the floor, not giddy or excited, but relieved. The burden of earning acceptance had been taken away. I could be the me that I was, not the me that everyone else expected or wanted me to be.
And as I look back upon that wonderful, transformative, salvation experience in my life I am thankful that no one tried to explain it to me or expand on it for me.
They just let the experience wash over me and they said nothing. (Later, they said and did much.)
Maybe for you the experience happened in your childhood or youth. Maybe it was in a Sunday School class, in a worship service, at Vacation Bible School or at summer church camp or on a mission trip. Maybe it was words that brought God’s grace into your life, or maybe it was music, or acts of service, or a special relationship.
Regardless of how it came to you, you have experienced God’s grace and, hopefully, those who loved you did not try to explain it to you or question you about it, at least not at first. Hopefully, they loved you enough to just “shut up and listen.”
At the other end of the continuum, we ministers are not strangers to experiences of abject suffering and grief similar to that of Job.
In my years as a pastor I was called to the scenes of murders, suicides, and horribly tragic deaths from illnesses and injuries, deaths that were premature and all the uglier because the victim was so young and full of life with so much more for which to live.
I was called to hospital rooms where hopelessness and despair seemed to saturate the very air to the point that you could not breath without inhaling it and feeling its corrosive effects upon your soul. I stood at the graves and spoke the ritual words of committal that nearly stuck in my throat as I spoke them.
And in nearly all of those cases I heard people, well meaning people, people with good and generous hearts say things, as Peter did, not because they needed to be said, but because the silence was so awkward, the occasion so unfathomable, the pain so intolerable, that they just felt that someone ought to say something if, for no other reason, to fill that leaden air with light, sweet, fluffy words. And often, those words were not only unnecessary but ill advised and even hurtful, as well.
In all those cases I just wished God’s voice would come out of a big, dark cloud and say to whoever was trying to give comfort with platitudes and clichés, “Hey! Shut up, and listen.”
Listen as this mother pours out her grief. Listen as this father tears open his heart. Listen as this widowed wife screams her shock and anger. Listen as this child sits in silence because she has not learned words to apply to a situation such as this. Listen to the sniffs and snuffles and wails and moans and know that your presence, your hand placed upon a shoulder, your arms enfolding in a hug, your own tears shed in empathy, are comfort enough without the need for words to shore them up and make them effective.
Words are gifts from God, to be used in God’s service for the purpose of bringing joy, understanding, edification, enlightenment, reconciliation, comfort, and caring to our brothers and sisters. They are too powerful, too dangerous, and too precious to simply be thrown into the air because we don’t know what else to do and the silence is getting awkward.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
2 Kings 2:1-12
I will not leave you
Author Phil Klay, a Marine veteran of the Iraqi war and winner of the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction, shares a particularly poignant story of a chaplain he met in Iraq. During his deployment, Klay served with Chaplain Patrick McLaughlin, beloved by all who served with him in their forward operating base in Anbar Province.
He was a tall, affable Lutheran, always ready with a smile or a joke. His most difficult duties involved TQ Surgical, our little combat hospital, which treated Marines, soldiers, Iraqi army, Iraqi insurgents, and civilians. Given the amount of violence in Anbar Province at the time, this meant being witness to some pretty horrific things. The worst, for everybody, was seeing what war did to children.
Klay describes the “cold, logical process” of military triage. The patients most likely to survive head straight to surgery. Those with less likely chances of living are offered morphine and comfort.
But the doctors, who felt every loss keenly, would never just shove a dying person in a corner. They wanted someone to be there, caring for them until they passed. This was especially true when it came to children, and it was this responsibility that Chaps took upon himself. When there was nothing the doctors could do beyond providing morphine, Chaps McLaughlin used to hold kids in his arms and rock them gently as they died.
Chaps McLaughlin, father of five, eventually rocked eleven children to their deaths. It was the fulfilling of his commitment, and an example of the commitment made by Elisha to Elijah “I will not leave you.” When his tour of duty was over, McLaughlin took all the rocking chairs he had used and tossed them into a bonfire, watching as the embers went heavenward, joining “the children that once occupied them in my arms.”
*****
2 Kings 2:1-12
Providing sanctuary
A church in St. Louis, Missouri is one of just a handful in the nation providing sanctuary to an immigrant facing deportation. For the past several months, members of the Christ Church United Church of Christ in Maplewood, Missouri have provided sanctuary to a Honduran immigrant who has been ordered to report to an office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be deported.
Instead, Alex Garcia, father of five, showed up at the doorstep of the church, which advertises itself as a congregation that “welcomes all. No exceptions.” He is one of about 36 immigrants in the United States who are currently seeking sanctuary in identified religious organizations. The pastor of the Missouri church says that the process is in accord with an ICE policy that prohibits its officers from entering certain “sensitive locations” such as churches, hospitals, and schools. Part of the process is making it clear to ICE that the church is indeed offering sanctuary. Garcia lives in the church, apart from his wife and children.
The pastor explains that the church had made a commitment to not abandon Garcia, and that the commitment was an extension of its ministry of hospitality. “Jesus says that when someone comes to us in need, we are to treat him as Jesus himself,” Pastor Rebecca Turner said in explaining the Scripture. “If we don’t provide, it’s, in essence, turning Jesus away.”
*****
Mark 9:2-9
Don’t just do something, stand there
Leah Gunning Francis’ book Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community, is an insightful look at how clergy and religious leaders in St. Louis supported young persons involved in the protests following the death of Michael Brown. The experience became transformational for many clergy persons, especially as they learned that their role was not necessarily to organize, but rather to join movements coordinated by much younger persons. In many ways, the stories Francis relays sound similar to Peter’s experience in the Gospel. He wants to do something; but God calls him to listen to Jesus instead.
Francis shares the experience of Shaun Jones, an assistant pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Complex in St. Louis. Jones is also a member of the St. Louis Clergy Coalition. “The ministry of presence,” Jones writes, “is something that the church needs to understand. They may not come to you, but if you go to them, not on your high horse, saying, “I offer you this,” but just say, “I’m here for you. I want to get to know you. What can you offer us?” We, the clergy, who met people in the street repented when we met and spent time with our young people. We apologized for not getting it. We apologize for the inconsistent presence of the black church in the community…” (Francis, Ferguson and Faith, Kindle edition, location 1029 of 3148.)
Later, Francis notes that the clergy who developed authentic and lasting relationships with the young, and often unchurched, leaders of the protest movements often did so by creating “safe sanctuaries.” She says, “The clergy’s practice of ‘letting go’ enabled them to step aside so there could be room for young leaders to step up front. Many clergy are accustomed to taking charge and leading the way for others to follow. In this movement, leadership took on a different form that made room for the ‘the first to be last’ and the ‘the last to be first.’ (Ferguson and Faith, Kindle edition, location 2702.)
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From team member Ron Love:
(These illustrations are based on major themes in this week’s lectionary readings.)
Transfiguration
Billy Bush had a good career going for him as the host of a number of television programs. He was host for a number of game shows, and an interviewer for the Olympics, the Miss Universe contest and the Today show. Then when the 2005 Access Hollywood video tape emerged showing him with Donald Trump, as Trump spoke how freely he molested women, Bush’s career suddenly ended. Now, in February 2018, looking back on that episode Bush said, “A flicker can turn into a bonfire in two seconds. The story caught fire, and I was in it.” He went on to say, “Everything was going great. I’m at the Today show, like ‘Hey, this is awesome!’ Then, kaboom.” Because of the incident Bush has turned to the Bible and is building a spiritual life for himself. He is now dedicated, in his words, “I want to positively affect people’s lives.” Bush keeps a placard in his Santa Monica office that reads “The Burning Bush…Was Not Consumed.” This is both a biblical reference and a personal confession that his life was not immolated by scandal.
Application: A very bad decision can be a driving force for creating a transfigured life.
*****
Prophet
Billy Bush had a good career going for him as he was the host of a number of television programs. He was host for a number of game shows, and an interviewer for the Olympics, the Miss Universe contest and the Today show. Then when the 2005 Access Hollywood video tape emerged showing him with Donald Trump, as Trump spoke how freely he molested women, Bush’s career suddenly ended. Now, in February 2018, looking back on that episode Bush said, “A flicker can turn into a bonfire in two seconds. The story caught fire, and I was in it.” He went on to say, “Everything was going great. I’m at the Today show, like ‘Hey, this is awesome!’ Then, kaboom.” Bush referred to his complacency as “bystander abuse.” He said, “By not do anything, you are endorsing the moment and adding to it.” The moment, for Bush, was his desire not to challenge Donald Trump so he could still interview him.
Application: A prophet will never be accused of bystander abuse. A prophet speaks out regardless of the personal cost.
*****
Discipleship
One day in 1951, Janet Auchincloss asked her two daughters, “Do you know what the secret to happy-ever-after is?” Before they could answer, Janet Auchincloss answered her own question, “Money and power!” The author of the recently published biography Jackie, Janet & Lee, believes that Jacqueline and Lee lived that advice their entire adult years. Both ladies ended any relationship when the man did not have enough money and had no future as a power person. Jackie went on to marry John F. Kennedy and then Aristotle Onassis, after Lee dated Onassis for five years. Both ladies had several relationships that were truly harmonious, but did not promise money and power. Before marrying Onassis, Jackie left a meaningful relationship with architect Jack Warnecke. Jackie even informed Warnecke that she was drawn to Onassis’ money, and that is why she was ending their relationship.
Application: We are called to discipleship for service, not money and power.
*****
Prophet
In suburban Perris, California, on 160 Muir Woods Road, David and Louise Turpin tortured their 12 children. It is a story in the news that we should all be aware of by now. The story is how the children were malnourished, chained to their beds, only allowed one shower a year, and beaten for playing in water if they washed their hands above their wrists. Neighbors on Muir Woods Road were totally unaware of what was taking place at the home located at 160. One neighbor said, “They were a little odd, but I didn’t see anything to call authorities on.” This may be hard to accept, until we reflect on how well we know our own neighbors.
Application: A prophet is always aware of the evil in the world. We too are called to such vigilance.
*****
Prophet
Charles Best is a history teacher in the Bronx. Because teaching material is limited, each day before classes start he photocopies pages from books. The 23-year-old teacher said, “I wanted my students to have the chance to read it.” After talking with other teachers in his high school, he came to realize that all of the teachers were frustrated by the lack of teaching material. So, in April 2000, Best founded DonorsChoice.org. On the web site teachers could post teaching materials they need, and the donors could select what projects they wanted to support. Best said of his idea for DonorsChoice.org, “I figured there were people out there who would want to help teachers like us if they could see exactly where their money was going.” Now, in 2018, the 42-year-old Best is taking DonorsChoice.org to all school districts in the United States. So far DonorsChoice.org has collected $600 million in donations. Best said of the contributions, “It represents a million learning opportunities that kids might not have had otherwise.”
Application: A prophet can always see a new way to help others.
*****
Transfiguration
Nick Nolte has recently published his memoir Rebel. In the memoir he discusses the familiar mug shot of him that went viral. Most of us have seen it with Nolte standing with a disheartened look on his face, and his hair a tangled mess. He took too much GHB, which he always takes before he goes to the gym. After his workout, as Nolte describes the September 11, 2002 incident with these words, “On that afternoon, I was a mess and driving on the Pacific Coast Highway. I am told six drivers called 911 to report a big sedan weaving on the wrong side of the road. After my arrest, someone took that crazy booking photo that went viral -- my hair wild, my expression unsettling, looking like an asylum inmate out for a lark. In 1992, People magazine had named me the Sexiest Man Alive, and now, ten years later, I looked to all the world like a madman.” The incident led Nolte to place himself in a rehabilitation facility. Upon successfully completing the program Nolte said, “I was a renewed and fortunate man.” Nolte has since not used alcohol or drugs.
Application: A very bad decision can be a driving force for creating a transfigured life.
*****
Discipleship
In 2010, Sean Penn was watching on television the devastating earthquake in Haiti. He learned that victims of the natural disaster were getting amputations with no pain medication. The tragedy of this was impressed upon him because his son, Hopper, had just recovered from a traumatic head injury, and Hopper received so much relief just from a small dose of morphine. This motivated Penn to go to Haiti and assist with medical care. He planned to stay only two weeks, but that became nine months. While there he started the Petionville Camp where 60,000 internally displaced persons could live. By January 2014, Penn and his assistants successfully rehoused all the residents of the camp. Penn said he “will continue to find long-term solutions to the problems of extreme poverty.”
Application: As servants of Jesus, we must always be concerned about the welfare of others.
*****
Prophet
Kate Smith was often known as The First Lady of Radio because of her radiant singing voice, as she began her singing career, which lasted five decades, in 1926. When asked to sing Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, she was reluctant to do so. It was a song that Smith thought she would not like. But, after singing it on November 11, 1938, God Bless America became her signature song.
Application: As a prophet, we cannot always be sure that we will like the message that we are commanded to speak.
*****
Prophet
On November 13, 1644, the colony of Massachusetts passed a law declaring Baptists as “troublers of churches.” The colony was Roman Catholic, and it could not tolerate the theological perspectives of the Baptists. For this reason the Baptists were banished from Massachusetts.
Application: As prophets, we must realize our views will often be condemned.
*****
Prophet
My grandfather, my Dad’s father, was an active member in the Ku Klux Klan. Many may think of the KKK as being an institution of the South, but the State of Ohio had one of the largest Klan memberships in the nation. The city of Massillon was having a huge Klan rally and parade. All the residents and all Klan family members lined the street for the march. And the Klan came, all in their white robes and hoods. All disguised so the public would not recognize who the members were. And my Dad’s mother, my Dad, and my Dad’s older brother and sister sat on the curb watching the Klan members march by. Then suddenly my Dad’s sister, my aunt, yelled from where she was seated “There’s Daddy!” The crowd suddenly grew silent in shock. Then came the question, how did she know that my future white hooded grandfather was walking on the street before her. The answer is easy -- she recognized his shoes.
Application: As Prophets, truth cannot be hidden from us.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: The mighty one, our God, speaks and summons the earth.
People: God calls from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Leader: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
People: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
Leader: God calls to the heavens above and to the earth.
People: God call so that the people may be judged.
OR
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who is always with us.
People: We open ourselves to the One who is open to us.
Leader: We celebrate the love that knows no borders.
People: We rejoice in the care that holds us close.
Leader: In gratitude we share God’s love with others.
People: We will reflect God’s constant love by our presence to others.
Hymns and Songs:
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
“God of the Sparrow God of the Whale”
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought”
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
W&P: 499
AMEC: 395
“The King of Love My Shepherd Is”
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELA: 502
Renew: 106
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
LBW:
ELA: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“Maker, in Whom We Live”
UMH: 88
(An extra hymn suggestion for United Methodists)
“I Call You Faithful”
CCB: 70
“You Are Mine”
CCB: 58
If you use video in your worship services you might want to consider using this link to Carrie Newcomer on youtube singing “I’ll Go Too.”
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who in love is ever present with us:
Grant us the grace to be present in love to all those around us
both those who are like us and those who are different;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are ever present with us. In love you stay with us through all the events of our lives. We pray that with the power of your Spirit we may also be lovingly present to those around us without regard to whether they are like us or not. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to recognize God’s presence around us and to share through our presence with others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have ignored your presence in our lives and disregarded your instructions on how to live as your image. We are so centered on ourselves and our lives that we have not been present for those around us. Even those we love and care for, we have been distant from. We have written off those who are different from us. Open us to your loving presence so that we may share your love with others by being present to them. Amen.
Leader: The God who is always present desires to be known by us and through us. Receive God’s grace and share it with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are yours, O God, for you are the eternal presence of love in all creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have ignored your presence in our lives and disregarded your instructions on how to live as your image. We are so centered on ourselves and our lives that we have not been present for those around us. Even those we love and care for, we have been distant from. We have written off those who are different from us. Open us to your loving presence so that we may share your love with others by being present to them.
We give you thanks for your constant presence and care of us and all creation. We thank you for being with us in the distressing times of our lives and in the joyful times of celebration. You have never deserted us and never withdrawn you love from us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those in need. Our hearts go out to those who do not know of your constant love and presence in their lives. We pray for those who struggle with loneliness and despair. May your love flow through us to them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father...Amen.
(Or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about a time when you felt all alone. Talk about how we all feel alone sometimes. But we are never really alone anytime. God is always with us, loving us and caring for us.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Paying attention to God’s voice
by Chris Keating
Mark 9:2-9
Children -- and perhaps most adults -- will find the story of Jesus’ transfiguration baffling. The story, with all of its wild imagery and special effects, invites the disciples to consider what it means to pay attention to Jesus, and to listen to where Jesus is calling them to follow. Using God’s instructions to Peter opens the text to possibilities that children can understand.
A starting place for the conversation with children would be to define transfiguration. Ahead of time, write “Transfiguration” on a big piece of paper. Explain that transfiguration means “to change” or to “change the shape of.” For Jesus, this moment changes not only his appearance, but also the focus and intent of his ministry. Explain that Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, and that this is a time of change for the church, too. (Some examples could be that the liturgical colors will be changed from green to purple, or that the children may see some changes in the worship service. For example, some churches do not say or sing “Alleluia” during Lent.)
There are many examples of what it means to listen for God’s voice in our lives. This week offers a great opportunity to connect the children’s time to Black History month by talking about the courageous and faithful way Harriet Tubman listened for God’s voice in her life. Many of the children may have heard about Tubman’s contributions to the anti-slavery movement and the Underground Railroad in the United States, but may not know how much her life was grounded in her deep faith.
Gather a few photos about Tubman. Help the children understand that she was an important person whose faith guided her in times that were difficult and dangerous.
Harriet Tubman lived from 1820-1913. She was born a slave but escaped to the North in 1849. Her escape became a moment of transformation or personal transfiguration. According to Christian History, when Tubman first reached Maryland, she even wondered if she was the same person. “I looked at my hands to see if I was de same person now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came like gold through de trees and ober de fields, and I felt like I was in heaven."
She became known as “Moses” for her efforts to lead other slaves to freedom. She led 19 trips, and often remarked that she never lost a passenger. (It’s important to help children realize that the Underground Railroad was not an actual railway, but a way for slaves to safely escape.) Tubman was guided by her strong faith, and eventually led more than 60 slaves to freedom. She would only go where she felt God was leading her. Her life became dedicated to listening to the voice of God.
She once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
Tubman’s friends often said that they had never known a person who so fully relied on listening for God’s voice. Introduce prayer as one way that we listen for God’s voice, along with other spiritual disciplines that the church may be exploring through Lent. Close in prayer, and perhaps offer the children cards that have Tubman’s photograph on it with the quote about reaching for the stars.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, February 11, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 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.
by Mary Austin
2 Kings 2:1-12
A friend of mine says that the four most beautiful words in the English language are “I’ll go with you.” In the hospital waiting room, at the funeral home, in the depths of life’s pain, we’re blessed to have people who travel those hard roads with us. When life gets rough, we all need a friend like Elisha. He understands the power of determined presence.
As his mentor, Elijah’s life winds down. Elisha is determined to keep going with him until the end. Elijah keeps offering him a chance to leave, and Elisha declines every time. He could spare himself some sorrow if he would just go home, but Elisha is firm.
We have this text on Transfiguration Sunday because it offers us a glimpse of God’s revealed glory, but it also shows us the power of sticking with someone. We get the chariot and the fire and the whirlwind that show God’s presence, but we also get the very human experience of deep companionship. Elisha’s story raises the question of how far we will go with the people whose lives touch our own.
In the Scriptures
At the start of our story, Elijah and Elisha know that God is about to take Elijah “up to heaven in a whirlwind.” We don’t get any warning, but the two of them seem to take it in stride. Along the way, Elijah and Elisha visit lots of old friends and colleagues. One company of prophets even travels a little of the way with them, but only Elisha crosses the Jordan with Elijah. Elisha is willing to go to the end with Elijah. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, placing himself in the role of an oldest son, who would receive a double portion of the father’s inheritance. Elisha is asking, not for money, but Elijah’s prophetic gifts. As Elijah ascends, Elisha calls out “father, father,” evoking their spiritual kinship.
Writing for Working Preacher, W. Dennis Tucker, Jr., sets the historical and geographical context. “On the way to crossing the Jordan river, Elijah parts the Jordan, bringing to mind vividly the activities of Moses at the Red Sea and Joshua at the Jordan. Elijah rolls up his mantle, perhaps suggesting to the reader the image of a rod (Moses' rod, no doubt). When Elijah struck the water, the waters parted and they walked through on dry land (cf. Exodus 14). Having departed from Jericho and having crossed the Jordan River, they now stand literally in the region where Moses had died (Deuteronomy 34). Just as Moses died opposite Jericho with Joshua prepared to enter into the land, so too is Elijah taken up, with Elisha prepared to return to the land.” The land is rich in meaning. Moses’ life ended and he wasn’t able to accompany the nation into the promised land, but Elisha is still accompanying Elijah.
Both Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus on the mountain in the Transfiguration story in Matthew, Mark and Luke, bringing a touch of heaven to the mountaintop. The lawgiver and the prophet, who have both walked so closely with God, also appear. They are there to go with Jesus as his glory is revealed.
In the News
One question facing the nation is how far we will go with the “Dreamers,” the young people who came to the United States as minors and have lived here ever since. The program was created in 2012 by an executive order of then-President Obama, and “protected from immediate deportation.” Recipients, called Dreamers, were able to request “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal. “Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated. “Deferred action does not provide lawful status…” Individuals also had to have a high school diploma, GED certification, been honorably discharged from the military or still be in school. Recipients could not have a criminal record.” 800,000 young people filled out forms, paid fees and registered under the program. “The Trump administration announced in September 2017 that it planned to phase out DACA for current recipients, and no new requests would be granted. Since the announcement, Trump has offered to work with lawmakers on a solution for the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. who fell under DACA’s umbrella of protections.”
The President has tied the fate of the Dreamers to other immigration policy changes, including limits on family reunification. Current policy favors the families of people already in the United States, and “Family-based immigration has accounted for 60 to 70 percent of all green cards in the last decade, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based research group. In 2013, for instance, two-thirds of the nearly 1 million green cards granted were on the basis of a family relationship. Trump’s proposal would cut legal immigration by 44 percent annually, or about half a million, and prevent some 22 million people from being able to immigrate to the U.S. over the next five decades, according to a study released Monday by the Cato Institute, a libertarian research group in Washington.” He also proposes changes in the country lotteries, which allow a certain number of people to enter the U.S. on a path to citizenship.
Woven into the fabric of our common life in countless ways, the Dreamers aren’t sitting around waiting to hear from Congress. The Pentagon says that about 900 of them are on active duty in the military, including “doctors, nurses, and service members with proficiency in a language considered to be of strategic importance. Spanish is not one of those languages, but Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Korean are.” They own thousands of businesses, and “more than 5% of DACA recipients have started their own businesses since enrolling in the program, according to a recent survey.” Some of them work for Fortune 500 companies, and “chief executives and other leaders from more than 100 companies -- including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, Coke, Target and Best Buy -- have cosigned a letter addressed to top Congressional leaders. It urges lawmakers to ‘act immediately and pass a permanent bipartisan legislative solution to enable Dreamers who are currently living, working, and contributing to our communities to continue doing so’.” Company executives are willing to accompany the Dreamers toward citizenship.
The Dreamers have become an unforgettable part of American life. Laura Wides-Munoz, who has written a book about their fight for citizenship says in the LA Times “The Dreamers who have worked so hard to get legal status will stay active. If they get the full prize -- citizenship and the vote -- they will be more likely than the average American to use it. And if they don't get it, their U.S.-born siblings and friends in the ascendant millennial population are unlikely to forget. Beyond this battle, young and not so young people nationwide have seen that their voices and bodies can still make a difference in Washington.” Congress is at an interesting crossroads, as they decide how far we will accompany these young would-be citizens.
In the Sermon
The sermon might look at the places the church community goes with us into the sorrows of life, and where we hide from its companionship. When I served as a hospice chaplain, a patient’s wife told me once that she wanted to talk to me because she wanted her pastor to see her in a certain way. There were some things she would never talk to him about. Now that I serve a church, I always wonder what people aren’t telling me, for fear that I’ll think less of them. How do we create room for people to be themselves, and to reveal their struggles, so the church can accompany them through hard times.
Or the sermon might look at the some of the skills required to keep people company in a way that’s helpful. A well-circulated op-ed piece suggested that we use the “Ring Theory.” Here’s how it works: “Draw a circle. This is the center ring. In it, put the name of the person at the center of the current trauma…Now draw a larger circle around the first one. In that ring put the name of the person next closest to the trauma…In each larger ring put the next closest people. Parents and children before more distant relatives. Intimate friends in smaller rings, less intimate friends in larger ones.” Then, be mindful of the circles. Offer comfort in. If you need to vent, vent outward, to people further from the crisis. The authors, Susan Silk and Barry Goldman, add, “When you are talking to a person in a ring smaller than yours, someone closer to the center of the crisis, the goal is to help. Listening is often more helpful than talking. But if you're going to open your mouth, ask yourself if what you are about to say is likely to provide comfort and support. If it isn't, don't say it. Don't, for example, give advice. People who are suffering from trauma don't need advice. They need comfort and support.” If we’re going to accompany people, we don’t want to make their experience even worse.
Or the sermon might look at the kind of people the church is willing to accompany, and who has to travel alone. This will be different for every congregation and in every community, but someone is always left out. What would it take to find them, hear their story, and resolve to go with them, in whatever they’re going through?
The sermon might also look at the cost of going with someone. When we give this gift, we pay some kind of a price. Congress will pay a price, one way or another, whatever they decide about the Dreamers. We pay in time or energy when we accompany a friend to chemotherapy, or when we take a stand for someone. What price is worth it, for the bond that forms between people as we go through a difficult time together?
“I’ll go with you.” In the right hands, from the right person, these are powerful words. We’re assured that we’re not alone -- and in the company of another, we also find God’s presence. Even without the fire and the chariot, we can see God as we travel together.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Shut Up and Listen
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 9:2-9
We are in the season of words.
Last week the president delivered the annual State of the Union Address to congress and we were invited by the news media to listen in.
It wasn’t always this way. For most of our history the president’s report on the state of the union was delivered to congress in a letter which was then read aloud in both houses. Not until Woodrow Wilson did the president’s report on the state of the union become a speech delivered to a joint session of the two houses of congress. And even after Wilson not every president gave a speech every year. That’s a relatively new phenomenon which has grown along with the power of the electronic media to broadcast it to large numbers of people.
And, as it became an annual rite, so it also became a somewhat empty ritual.
Listening to the current version of the SOTU, I was astounded at how much like former examples it was. The state of the union is strong because it’s people are strong. The military is strong (and here’s a person who exemplifies that strength, sitting among us as I speak) because the people who serve in it are strong but it could be even stronger if some more money was given to it.
I have done an awesome job running things up to now.
Taxes are bad but some are, regretfully, necessary.
Our youth hold the future of our country in their hands. And here are some youth looking freshly scrubbed and bored.
We need better crime prevention and better ways to fight crime that isn’t prevented.
We need to speak to our national adversaries from a position of strength.
All I want is unity which we could have if you would all just do as I say.
Blah, blah, blah, on and on. The form, if not the content, is pretty much the same as its predecessors.
Don’t have anything to say? Make a speech!
Politicians are not the only ones who abide by the rule that the best thing to do when you don’t know what to say is to talk. Watch the awards ceremonies that are on TV almost weekly, now. The Grammies last week and in a couple of weeks, the Oscars. At least a few recipients always say, “I don’t know what to say,” and then take five minutes to say it.
The Super Bowl and the Olympics will find sportscasters filling empty air with words. There will probably be more airtime given to talking about sports than showing the sports themselves. And much of that talk will be done not because anyone needs to hear it but because sponsors have purchased airtime and the airtime between commercials needs to be filled with something.
Sometimes the best thing, the prudent thing, the most effective thing to say is nothing at all.
In the Scripture
Compare these two passages:
Mark 9:5-6 -- Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
Job 2:11-13 -- Now when Job's three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him…They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
In the first passage, the one from today’s Gospel lesson, Peter has just had an experience of awe and wonder. He’s afraid, as such experiences can sometimes leave us, and he doesn’t know what to say. So, like preachers and politicians have done down through history, he talks.
He fills the air with words not because he has something important, something worthwhile, something astute or bright or apropos to share. He fills the air with words because 1) he’s afraid, 2) the silence is awkward, and 3) he doesn’t know what else to do.
And when he speaks, he falls back on the old and the familiar. First, he evaluates the situation and decides that it’s good, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.” And then, having established that the situation is a good one, he suggests that they all get busy and do something, something tried and true, something traditional, something familiar, something religious. “Let us build three dwellings…”
In the second reading above, Job’s friends have heard of Job’s misfortune, the tragedies that have befallen him, and they go to visit him. (Cf. Rev. Mary Austin’s article, this week, about what I like to think of as the “sacrament of going with.”) When they are not far away they see him but so miserable is he that they don’t even recognize him. So heartbroken are they for their friend’s miserable condition that they rip their garments and put dust and ashes on their heads as signs of their grief on his behalf. Then they sit down with him and simply share his pain for seven days and seven nights and “no one spoke a word for they saw that his suffering was very great.”
Wow! Now that is friendship.
Most of us would, like Peter, break under the strain of being silent for 15 minutes, much less seven days.
But, alas, on the eighth day Job cries out his misery and despair, he puts his anguish into words and his friends begin to speak in reply and that is when the quality of their friendship begins to crack. That is when they start making a mess of things.
Interestingly, when God finally steps into the scene and starts to speak -- to Peter, James, and John in the Gospel, and to Job and his friends in the book of Job -- his answer is much the same. And, if you will allow a paraphrase, it is, pretty much, this that God says: “Shut up and listen.”
To Job and his friends, God says, “Shut up and listen to me.”
To Peter, James and John, God says, “This is my son, the Beloved; shut up and listen to him!”
When you are having or have just come out of a situation that is so overwhelming, so amazing, so awesome, or so horrible that it shocks you and makes you afraid, the thing to do is to “shut up and listen.”
In the Sermon
Most ministers are not strangers to the experience of awe and wonder. For many of us, it is why we became ministers. It’s the context in which we heard the call to ministry.
For me, it was at a weekend retreat when I was in college. We were studying Paul Tillich’s sermon “You Are Accepted,” and I heard his words, really heard them, for the first time in my life: Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: “You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.”
A typical oldest child (of five), I had spent the first 20 years of my life trying to please people, especially the parental figures in my life: my parents, my teachers, my coaches, my youth group leaders, etc. And when I read those words from Tillich’s sermon it was as though a huge, heavy backpack had been lifted from my shoulders.
I was accepted. God’s loving, reconciling, healing grace was ladled over my head and shoulders and I was accepted, just as I was, by the greatest parental figure that I could imagine, the God and creator of the universe.
Whew!
I left that seminar walking about six inches off the floor, not giddy or excited, but relieved. The burden of earning acceptance had been taken away. I could be the me that I was, not the me that everyone else expected or wanted me to be.
And as I look back upon that wonderful, transformative, salvation experience in my life I am thankful that no one tried to explain it to me or expand on it for me.
They just let the experience wash over me and they said nothing. (Later, they said and did much.)
Maybe for you the experience happened in your childhood or youth. Maybe it was in a Sunday School class, in a worship service, at Vacation Bible School or at summer church camp or on a mission trip. Maybe it was words that brought God’s grace into your life, or maybe it was music, or acts of service, or a special relationship.
Regardless of how it came to you, you have experienced God’s grace and, hopefully, those who loved you did not try to explain it to you or question you about it, at least not at first. Hopefully, they loved you enough to just “shut up and listen.”
At the other end of the continuum, we ministers are not strangers to experiences of abject suffering and grief similar to that of Job.
In my years as a pastor I was called to the scenes of murders, suicides, and horribly tragic deaths from illnesses and injuries, deaths that were premature and all the uglier because the victim was so young and full of life with so much more for which to live.
I was called to hospital rooms where hopelessness and despair seemed to saturate the very air to the point that you could not breath without inhaling it and feeling its corrosive effects upon your soul. I stood at the graves and spoke the ritual words of committal that nearly stuck in my throat as I spoke them.
And in nearly all of those cases I heard people, well meaning people, people with good and generous hearts say things, as Peter did, not because they needed to be said, but because the silence was so awkward, the occasion so unfathomable, the pain so intolerable, that they just felt that someone ought to say something if, for no other reason, to fill that leaden air with light, sweet, fluffy words. And often, those words were not only unnecessary but ill advised and even hurtful, as well.
In all those cases I just wished God’s voice would come out of a big, dark cloud and say to whoever was trying to give comfort with platitudes and clichés, “Hey! Shut up, and listen.”
Listen as this mother pours out her grief. Listen as this father tears open his heart. Listen as this widowed wife screams her shock and anger. Listen as this child sits in silence because she has not learned words to apply to a situation such as this. Listen to the sniffs and snuffles and wails and moans and know that your presence, your hand placed upon a shoulder, your arms enfolding in a hug, your own tears shed in empathy, are comfort enough without the need for words to shore them up and make them effective.
Words are gifts from God, to be used in God’s service for the purpose of bringing joy, understanding, edification, enlightenment, reconciliation, comfort, and caring to our brothers and sisters. They are too powerful, too dangerous, and too precious to simply be thrown into the air because we don’t know what else to do and the silence is getting awkward.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
2 Kings 2:1-12
I will not leave you
Author Phil Klay, a Marine veteran of the Iraqi war and winner of the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction, shares a particularly poignant story of a chaplain he met in Iraq. During his deployment, Klay served with Chaplain Patrick McLaughlin, beloved by all who served with him in their forward operating base in Anbar Province.
He was a tall, affable Lutheran, always ready with a smile or a joke. His most difficult duties involved TQ Surgical, our little combat hospital, which treated Marines, soldiers, Iraqi army, Iraqi insurgents, and civilians. Given the amount of violence in Anbar Province at the time, this meant being witness to some pretty horrific things. The worst, for everybody, was seeing what war did to children.
Klay describes the “cold, logical process” of military triage. The patients most likely to survive head straight to surgery. Those with less likely chances of living are offered morphine and comfort.
But the doctors, who felt every loss keenly, would never just shove a dying person in a corner. They wanted someone to be there, caring for them until they passed. This was especially true when it came to children, and it was this responsibility that Chaps took upon himself. When there was nothing the doctors could do beyond providing morphine, Chaps McLaughlin used to hold kids in his arms and rock them gently as they died.
Chaps McLaughlin, father of five, eventually rocked eleven children to their deaths. It was the fulfilling of his commitment, and an example of the commitment made by Elisha to Elijah “I will not leave you.” When his tour of duty was over, McLaughlin took all the rocking chairs he had used and tossed them into a bonfire, watching as the embers went heavenward, joining “the children that once occupied them in my arms.”
*****
2 Kings 2:1-12
Providing sanctuary
A church in St. Louis, Missouri is one of just a handful in the nation providing sanctuary to an immigrant facing deportation. For the past several months, members of the Christ Church United Church of Christ in Maplewood, Missouri have provided sanctuary to a Honduran immigrant who has been ordered to report to an office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be deported.
Instead, Alex Garcia, father of five, showed up at the doorstep of the church, which advertises itself as a congregation that “welcomes all. No exceptions.” He is one of about 36 immigrants in the United States who are currently seeking sanctuary in identified religious organizations. The pastor of the Missouri church says that the process is in accord with an ICE policy that prohibits its officers from entering certain “sensitive locations” such as churches, hospitals, and schools. Part of the process is making it clear to ICE that the church is indeed offering sanctuary. Garcia lives in the church, apart from his wife and children.
The pastor explains that the church had made a commitment to not abandon Garcia, and that the commitment was an extension of its ministry of hospitality. “Jesus says that when someone comes to us in need, we are to treat him as Jesus himself,” Pastor Rebecca Turner said in explaining the Scripture. “If we don’t provide, it’s, in essence, turning Jesus away.”
*****
Mark 9:2-9
Don’t just do something, stand there
Leah Gunning Francis’ book Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community, is an insightful look at how clergy and religious leaders in St. Louis supported young persons involved in the protests following the death of Michael Brown. The experience became transformational for many clergy persons, especially as they learned that their role was not necessarily to organize, but rather to join movements coordinated by much younger persons. In many ways, the stories Francis relays sound similar to Peter’s experience in the Gospel. He wants to do something; but God calls him to listen to Jesus instead.
Francis shares the experience of Shaun Jones, an assistant pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Complex in St. Louis. Jones is also a member of the St. Louis Clergy Coalition. “The ministry of presence,” Jones writes, “is something that the church needs to understand. They may not come to you, but if you go to them, not on your high horse, saying, “I offer you this,” but just say, “I’m here for you. I want to get to know you. What can you offer us?” We, the clergy, who met people in the street repented when we met and spent time with our young people. We apologized for not getting it. We apologize for the inconsistent presence of the black church in the community…” (Francis, Ferguson and Faith, Kindle edition, location 1029 of 3148.)
Later, Francis notes that the clergy who developed authentic and lasting relationships with the young, and often unchurched, leaders of the protest movements often did so by creating “safe sanctuaries.” She says, “The clergy’s practice of ‘letting go’ enabled them to step aside so there could be room for young leaders to step up front. Many clergy are accustomed to taking charge and leading the way for others to follow. In this movement, leadership took on a different form that made room for the ‘the first to be last’ and the ‘the last to be first.’ (Ferguson and Faith, Kindle edition, location 2702.)
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From team member Ron Love:
(These illustrations are based on major themes in this week’s lectionary readings.)
Transfiguration
Billy Bush had a good career going for him as the host of a number of television programs. He was host for a number of game shows, and an interviewer for the Olympics, the Miss Universe contest and the Today show. Then when the 2005 Access Hollywood video tape emerged showing him with Donald Trump, as Trump spoke how freely he molested women, Bush’s career suddenly ended. Now, in February 2018, looking back on that episode Bush said, “A flicker can turn into a bonfire in two seconds. The story caught fire, and I was in it.” He went on to say, “Everything was going great. I’m at the Today show, like ‘Hey, this is awesome!’ Then, kaboom.” Because of the incident Bush has turned to the Bible and is building a spiritual life for himself. He is now dedicated, in his words, “I want to positively affect people’s lives.” Bush keeps a placard in his Santa Monica office that reads “The Burning Bush…Was Not Consumed.” This is both a biblical reference and a personal confession that his life was not immolated by scandal.
Application: A very bad decision can be a driving force for creating a transfigured life.
*****
Prophet
Billy Bush had a good career going for him as he was the host of a number of television programs. He was host for a number of game shows, and an interviewer for the Olympics, the Miss Universe contest and the Today show. Then when the 2005 Access Hollywood video tape emerged showing him with Donald Trump, as Trump spoke how freely he molested women, Bush’s career suddenly ended. Now, in February 2018, looking back on that episode Bush said, “A flicker can turn into a bonfire in two seconds. The story caught fire, and I was in it.” He went on to say, “Everything was going great. I’m at the Today show, like ‘Hey, this is awesome!’ Then, kaboom.” Bush referred to his complacency as “bystander abuse.” He said, “By not do anything, you are endorsing the moment and adding to it.” The moment, for Bush, was his desire not to challenge Donald Trump so he could still interview him.
Application: A prophet will never be accused of bystander abuse. A prophet speaks out regardless of the personal cost.
*****
Discipleship
One day in 1951, Janet Auchincloss asked her two daughters, “Do you know what the secret to happy-ever-after is?” Before they could answer, Janet Auchincloss answered her own question, “Money and power!” The author of the recently published biography Jackie, Janet & Lee, believes that Jacqueline and Lee lived that advice their entire adult years. Both ladies ended any relationship when the man did not have enough money and had no future as a power person. Jackie went on to marry John F. Kennedy and then Aristotle Onassis, after Lee dated Onassis for five years. Both ladies had several relationships that were truly harmonious, but did not promise money and power. Before marrying Onassis, Jackie left a meaningful relationship with architect Jack Warnecke. Jackie even informed Warnecke that she was drawn to Onassis’ money, and that is why she was ending their relationship.
Application: We are called to discipleship for service, not money and power.
*****
Prophet
In suburban Perris, California, on 160 Muir Woods Road, David and Louise Turpin tortured their 12 children. It is a story in the news that we should all be aware of by now. The story is how the children were malnourished, chained to their beds, only allowed one shower a year, and beaten for playing in water if they washed their hands above their wrists. Neighbors on Muir Woods Road were totally unaware of what was taking place at the home located at 160. One neighbor said, “They were a little odd, but I didn’t see anything to call authorities on.” This may be hard to accept, until we reflect on how well we know our own neighbors.
Application: A prophet is always aware of the evil in the world. We too are called to such vigilance.
*****
Prophet
Charles Best is a history teacher in the Bronx. Because teaching material is limited, each day before classes start he photocopies pages from books. The 23-year-old teacher said, “I wanted my students to have the chance to read it.” After talking with other teachers in his high school, he came to realize that all of the teachers were frustrated by the lack of teaching material. So, in April 2000, Best founded DonorsChoice.org. On the web site teachers could post teaching materials they need, and the donors could select what projects they wanted to support. Best said of his idea for DonorsChoice.org, “I figured there were people out there who would want to help teachers like us if they could see exactly where their money was going.” Now, in 2018, the 42-year-old Best is taking DonorsChoice.org to all school districts in the United States. So far DonorsChoice.org has collected $600 million in donations. Best said of the contributions, “It represents a million learning opportunities that kids might not have had otherwise.”
Application: A prophet can always see a new way to help others.
*****
Transfiguration
Nick Nolte has recently published his memoir Rebel. In the memoir he discusses the familiar mug shot of him that went viral. Most of us have seen it with Nolte standing with a disheartened look on his face, and his hair a tangled mess. He took too much GHB, which he always takes before he goes to the gym. After his workout, as Nolte describes the September 11, 2002 incident with these words, “On that afternoon, I was a mess and driving on the Pacific Coast Highway. I am told six drivers called 911 to report a big sedan weaving on the wrong side of the road. After my arrest, someone took that crazy booking photo that went viral -- my hair wild, my expression unsettling, looking like an asylum inmate out for a lark. In 1992, People magazine had named me the Sexiest Man Alive, and now, ten years later, I looked to all the world like a madman.” The incident led Nolte to place himself in a rehabilitation facility. Upon successfully completing the program Nolte said, “I was a renewed and fortunate man.” Nolte has since not used alcohol or drugs.
Application: A very bad decision can be a driving force for creating a transfigured life.
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Discipleship
In 2010, Sean Penn was watching on television the devastating earthquake in Haiti. He learned that victims of the natural disaster were getting amputations with no pain medication. The tragedy of this was impressed upon him because his son, Hopper, had just recovered from a traumatic head injury, and Hopper received so much relief just from a small dose of morphine. This motivated Penn to go to Haiti and assist with medical care. He planned to stay only two weeks, but that became nine months. While there he started the Petionville Camp where 60,000 internally displaced persons could live. By January 2014, Penn and his assistants successfully rehoused all the residents of the camp. Penn said he “will continue to find long-term solutions to the problems of extreme poverty.”
Application: As servants of Jesus, we must always be concerned about the welfare of others.
*****
Prophet
Kate Smith was often known as The First Lady of Radio because of her radiant singing voice, as she began her singing career, which lasted five decades, in 1926. When asked to sing Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, she was reluctant to do so. It was a song that Smith thought she would not like. But, after singing it on November 11, 1938, God Bless America became her signature song.
Application: As a prophet, we cannot always be sure that we will like the message that we are commanded to speak.
*****
Prophet
On November 13, 1644, the colony of Massachusetts passed a law declaring Baptists as “troublers of churches.” The colony was Roman Catholic, and it could not tolerate the theological perspectives of the Baptists. For this reason the Baptists were banished from Massachusetts.
Application: As prophets, we must realize our views will often be condemned.
*****
Prophet
My grandfather, my Dad’s father, was an active member in the Ku Klux Klan. Many may think of the KKK as being an institution of the South, but the State of Ohio had one of the largest Klan memberships in the nation. The city of Massillon was having a huge Klan rally and parade. All the residents and all Klan family members lined the street for the march. And the Klan came, all in their white robes and hoods. All disguised so the public would not recognize who the members were. And my Dad’s mother, my Dad, and my Dad’s older brother and sister sat on the curb watching the Klan members march by. Then suddenly my Dad’s sister, my aunt, yelled from where she was seated “There’s Daddy!” The crowd suddenly grew silent in shock. Then came the question, how did she know that my future white hooded grandfather was walking on the street before her. The answer is easy -- she recognized his shoes.
Application: As Prophets, truth cannot be hidden from us.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: The mighty one, our God, speaks and summons the earth.
People: God calls from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Leader: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
People: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
Leader: God calls to the heavens above and to the earth.
People: God call so that the people may be judged.
OR
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who is always with us.
People: We open ourselves to the One who is open to us.
Leader: We celebrate the love that knows no borders.
People: We rejoice in the care that holds us close.
Leader: In gratitude we share God’s love with others.
People: We will reflect God’s constant love by our presence to others.
Hymns and Songs:
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
“God of the Sparrow God of the Whale”
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought”
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
W&P: 499
AMEC: 395
“The King of Love My Shepherd Is”
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELA: 502
Renew: 106
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
LBW:
ELA: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
UMH: 427
H82: 609
PH: 408
NCH: 543
CH: 665
LBW: 429
ELA: 719
W&P: 591
AMEC: 561
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“Maker, in Whom We Live”
UMH: 88
(An extra hymn suggestion for United Methodists)
“I Call You Faithful”
CCB: 70
“You Are Mine”
CCB: 58
If you use video in your worship services you might want to consider using this link to Carrie Newcomer on youtube singing “I’ll Go Too.”
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who in love is ever present with us:
Grant us the grace to be present in love to all those around us
both those who are like us and those who are different;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are ever present with us. In love you stay with us through all the events of our lives. We pray that with the power of your Spirit we may also be lovingly present to those around us without regard to whether they are like us or not. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to recognize God’s presence around us and to share through our presence with others.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have ignored your presence in our lives and disregarded your instructions on how to live as your image. We are so centered on ourselves and our lives that we have not been present for those around us. Even those we love and care for, we have been distant from. We have written off those who are different from us. Open us to your loving presence so that we may share your love with others by being present to them. Amen.
Leader: The God who is always present desires to be known by us and through us. Receive God’s grace and share it with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are yours, O God, for you are the eternal presence of love in all creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have ignored your presence in our lives and disregarded your instructions on how to live as your image. We are so centered on ourselves and our lives that we have not been present for those around us. Even those we love and care for, we have been distant from. We have written off those who are different from us. Open us to your loving presence so that we may share your love with others by being present to them.
We give you thanks for your constant presence and care of us and all creation. We thank you for being with us in the distressing times of our lives and in the joyful times of celebration. You have never deserted us and never withdrawn you love from us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those in need. Our hearts go out to those who do not know of your constant love and presence in their lives. We pray for those who struggle with loneliness and despair. May your love flow through us to them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father...Amen.
(Or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about a time when you felt all alone. Talk about how we all feel alone sometimes. But we are never really alone anytime. God is always with us, loving us and caring for us.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Paying attention to God’s voice
by Chris Keating
Mark 9:2-9
Children -- and perhaps most adults -- will find the story of Jesus’ transfiguration baffling. The story, with all of its wild imagery and special effects, invites the disciples to consider what it means to pay attention to Jesus, and to listen to where Jesus is calling them to follow. Using God’s instructions to Peter opens the text to possibilities that children can understand.
A starting place for the conversation with children would be to define transfiguration. Ahead of time, write “Transfiguration” on a big piece of paper. Explain that transfiguration means “to change” or to “change the shape of.” For Jesus, this moment changes not only his appearance, but also the focus and intent of his ministry. Explain that Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, and that this is a time of change for the church, too. (Some examples could be that the liturgical colors will be changed from green to purple, or that the children may see some changes in the worship service. For example, some churches do not say or sing “Alleluia” during Lent.)
There are many examples of what it means to listen for God’s voice in our lives. This week offers a great opportunity to connect the children’s time to Black History month by talking about the courageous and faithful way Harriet Tubman listened for God’s voice in her life. Many of the children may have heard about Tubman’s contributions to the anti-slavery movement and the Underground Railroad in the United States, but may not know how much her life was grounded in her deep faith.
Gather a few photos about Tubman. Help the children understand that she was an important person whose faith guided her in times that were difficult and dangerous.
Harriet Tubman lived from 1820-1913. She was born a slave but escaped to the North in 1849. Her escape became a moment of transformation or personal transfiguration. According to Christian History, when Tubman first reached Maryland, she even wondered if she was the same person. “I looked at my hands to see if I was de same person now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came like gold through de trees and ober de fields, and I felt like I was in heaven."
She became known as “Moses” for her efforts to lead other slaves to freedom. She led 19 trips, and often remarked that she never lost a passenger. (It’s important to help children realize that the Underground Railroad was not an actual railway, but a way for slaves to safely escape.) Tubman was guided by her strong faith, and eventually led more than 60 slaves to freedom. She would only go where she felt God was leading her. Her life became dedicated to listening to the voice of God.
She once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
Tubman’s friends often said that they had never known a person who so fully relied on listening for God’s voice. Introduce prayer as one way that we listen for God’s voice, along with other spiritual disciplines that the church may be exploring through Lent. Close in prayer, and perhaps offer the children cards that have Tubman’s photograph on it with the quote about reaching for the stars.
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The Immediate Word, February 11, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 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.
