Heading For The Exits
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For August 22, 2021:
Heading For The Exits
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 6:56-69
In this Sunday’s gospel lesson a large number of Jesus’ disciples quit and walk away because they find the demands of the gospel too tough to follow.
Today, according to the Gallup and Pew organizations, American Christians are leaving the church not because the demands the church places on them are too hard but because they are too easy. Just accept and believe the right formula of doctrine and dogma and reject the ones we deem heretical and you’re in. Being like Jesus has little to do with it.
For most of the 20th century, American kids grew up to accept the religious beliefs and practices of their parents. Now, as we enter the third decade of the 21st century, when it comes to church, the younger generations are asking themselves, “Should I stay or should I go?” And lots of them are choosing curtain number 2 and heading for the exits.
In the Culture
According to Gallup, in 1975, 68% of Americans had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion.
In 1985, organized religion was the most revered institution among the list of institutions Gallup tracks. In 2002, our confidence in the church fell below the majority level for the first time and in 2019 confidence in organized religion reached an all-time low of 36%.
Reasons for this decline include the judgmental and exclusionary response of organized religion to LGBTQ+ persons and their rights. Other reasons mentioned by those who are choosing “none” as their religious preference are the priest/pedophile scandals in the Catholic Church; the prosperity gospel preachers, millionaires whose primary theological concern seems to be financial gain; sex scandals in evangelical and fundamentalist organizations and churches; battles that are dividing old line denominations over full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church; and the anti-intellectualism of evangelical Christians who reject the insights of science and reason.
Young people, millennials in particular, look at modern Christianity and all they can see is judgement and hate. They listen to the chanting and see the crosses carried by the mob that invaded the Capitol building on January 6 and, they say, it looks like Christianity has become the “anti” religion — anti-gay, anti-science, anti-reason, anti-acceptance, anti-abortion, anti-democracy, and anti-modern. In fact, the only thing many contemporary Christians seem to be for is guns, capital punishment, and using the law to force other Americans into living the way conservative Christians think they should. Evangelical Christianity, it appears, has become little more than a nondenominational, openly political engine driving the Donald Trump wing of the Republican Party
Predictably, the decline in trust has precipitated a downward spiral in participation. The Pew Research Center and the Public Religion Research Institute reported that 16% of Americans identified as religiously unaffiliated in 2006. That number rose to a high of 25.5% in 2018 before declining to 24% in 2019 and 23.3% in 2020. Even with this slight decline of the past three years, religiously unaffiliated Americans constitute a larger share of the American public than the three most prominent religious groups in the U.S.
Seeking to know and be like Jesus has taken a back seat to holding the correct, conservative political and theological beliefs. And with that shift, people, especially young people, are moving away from church as quickly as they can go.
And lest we kid ourselves into thinking that this problem is isolated to our neighbor’s yard, Pew points out that the trend is occurring within a variety of demographic groups — across genders, generations and racial and ethnic groups, to name a few. No matter how you divide or classify them, virtually every religious group in America is shrinking. None of us are immune.
In the Scripture
People leaving, fleeing from the demands of the gospel is not a new phenomenon. Even Jesus experienced it.
In today’s gospel lesson John concludes his long sermon based on the metaphor of Jesus as the bread of life. In it, Jesus compares himself to the manna that the Hebrew ancestors ate during the exodus from Egypt. The manna was, granted, a life sustaining miracle. But Jesus is the greater miracle.
Even though the ancient children of Israel ate the manna and were preserved on their journey, eventually, they died, as do we all. Jesus describes himself, metaphorically, as the manna that gives eternal life.
Some of his followers, however, don’t get that he’s speaking in metaphor and they insist on taking the whole bread thing literally. They don’t understand that when Jesus encourages them to “eat me” he’s inviting them to take the gospel he has brought to them and to incorporate it into their lives even as bread is incorporated into our bodies when we eat it.
But they don’t get it: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” they say. And, with that, they depart. They just can’t handle hard teachings. Why, they want to know, can’t he just keep things simple and easy? Why does he have to complicate things with this “all or nothing” approach? So, faced with that choice, they choose, “nothing,” and they leave.
Jesus is not surprised or rattled by their departure. He knows that many of them weren’t serious about their acceptance of his teaching. Some were there for the spectacle. They wanted to see miracles. Others were there because they were searching for something to give their lives meaning. When Jesus tells them that that thing is love and sacrifice for one another, but they find that a little too hard to follow. Others are there for the fellowship, others for the stories, still others for the free fishes and loaves. And when they discover that all these things come at a price, a price that involves their whole lives, their response is: “I’m outa here.”
Jesus turns, then, to his disciples, the inner circle of 12. “So, what about you? Are you gonna leave as well?”
Peter responds for the group (as usual) with a line from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman: “We’ve got nowhere else to go.” We want to hear God’s good news, he says, and, as far as we can tell, you’re the only one offering to tell it.
There is only one Jewish/Christian messiah, in other words, and Jesus is he. If we want to hear the good news that the Messiah brings, we have to hang around and realize that it comes with certain demands on our time, our talent, and our treasure.
In the Sermon
The shrinkage of the contemporary Christian church is a complex issue with more than a few simple causes. Some are leaving the old mainline denominations because they aren’t conservative enough. But those folks, by and large, are not leaving the church altogether. They’re leaving one branch and going to another. No net loss.
But there are other folks who are leaving Christianity — not just their church — but Christianity as a whole, not because it’s too liberal but because it is overflowing with hypocrisy. We teach that Jesus is the role model we should follow and then, when following becomes difficult, we rationalize our failure to live as Jesus did.
We follow him right up to Good Friday then we hop over Calvary and land on Easter without all that messy crucifixion and martyrdom stuff. The cross has become little more than an empty metaphor that places no real demands upon our lives.
We hear John the Baptist tell us that if we have two coats and our neighbor has none then we should give one of our coats to our neighbor. And then we buy a cottage on the lake, a second house, without even a thought to the plight of the homeless just down the street.
We hear Jesus tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us and then we go to court to demand our rights and we arm ourselves with guns, prepared and ready to kill anyone who even looks threatening.
We hail the sanctity of life but insist on capital punishment and send our children to war to fight and kill for causes that are nebulous and ends that we will probably never see.
We hear the psalmist tell us that “the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,” (24:1) but we dismiss concerns about global climate change with a wink and a shrug, insisting that despite all the evidence, it’s just a liberal, leftist, socialist hoax and, besides, the solutions are so expensive and inconvenient and they will make us uncomfortable.
Under the leadership of pastor and founder Rob Bell, the Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, grew to a worship attendance of nearly 10,000. Then, in 2012, Bell published Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. In it, he offers the idea that God’s love is so overwhelming, powerful, and all-encompassing that every person, regardless of what that person has done or not done, believed or not believed, accepted or rejected in life, is made clean and whole by God’s love and ends up in heaven.
Unfortunately, American Christians want grace for themselves but not for others. We don’t like the idea of really bad people being forgiven before they’ve suffered for their sins. We want to see them grovel before God’s throne and suffer some significant pain and tribulation before they walk through those pearly gates, if ever.
Within a year, attendance at Mars Hill fell from 10,000 to about 3,500. Bell was attacked by the religious right, pilloried in the evangelical press, and anathematized for going on tv with Oprah. (Oprah liked the book and recommended it as part of her Book of the Month club.) One could almost hear them muttering as they picked up their leather-bound Bibles and headed for the exits, on their way to the parking lot: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”
Of course, the controversy surrounding his book had just the opposite effect than what was intended. It became a bestseller and Rob became something of a rock star for young adult seekers who were looking for a Christianity based more in love than in hate, more in inclusion than in exclusion, more in acceptance than in rejection.
They are, in other words, looking for a Christianity that looks like Jesus and they’re not afraid of the hard work that may go with it.
So, what kind of Christianity are we offering these young seekers? Does it look like Jesus? And, if not Jesus, whom?
SECOND THOUGHTS
Double-Checking Your Armor
by Katy Stenta
Ephesians 6:10-20
Ephesians 6, before the chosen pericope, starts out by admonishing those in power to stop threatening people. Reminding them that God is the one in charge, and that provoking those under you to anger is not a good idea. It sets up an idea of obedience not out of fear or hierarchies, but out of deference of what is good, just and right.
Then our passage begins explaining the battle that is set before us. Our enemies are not “against enemies of blood and flesh” but something greater, against “spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.” There is a cosmic battle going on, and we must arm ourselves accordingly. It is not something that can be won with weapons. It is not even, ultimately, a power struggle. Not only were those who invaded the capital on January 6th wrong morally, they did not even know what the fight was. “Fight the rulers” does not equal fight the democratically elected governors.
Put on the body armor, the Bible says, and then disrupts all of our images of what it is we need to fight. There are no cool ninja nunchucks or giant steads for knights to ride on. No futuristic robots with laser beam eyes that transform into vehicles or Star Wars or Star Trek spaceships. But instead, we are left as mere humans. We are given simple instructions; to “put on the whole armor of God,” leave off no piece of what is supplied to us. Pieces may be optional, but that does not mean that it is wise to leave them behind. One does not go into battle half prepared. Put on the whole armor, because that is how we “withstand evil” and God knows that is the true task of the day, every day in the midst of a pandemic.
Put on the armor of God, the prophets proclaim, subverting all the images we have of what it is we need to go to war. The very first piece of armor that is named is truth — the piece that holds up every other piece of clothing. Without truth we are naked. We cannot be armed with half-lies, and things that sound right. Then put on the breastplate of righteousness — being right with God. Let your breastplate reflect God. As for your shoes, your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim a gospel of peace — walk in peace. Peace will quench, put out the fire of evil. All of these “weapons” are defensive. Then your head is covered in salvation — a clear reference to baptism — your head is already saved. Then your sword, the only true weapon, is the the Spirit, the word of God. Speak what you will but if you must fight at all, do it with words.
We are starting to see the fight of the pandemic in terms of defensive armor. The vaccine is depicted as such here in this cartoon. Put on the armor of vaccines, the Pentagon affirms — because to go to battle without protection is akin to going to battle naked, and who wants to do that?
As we live in the midst of the pandemic we are arming ourselves, again, with defensive weapons. Use the belt of Truth and Science to hold everything together. Next, we have a shield of the mask, and the peace of social distancing, and the armor of the vaccine. We also have the helmet of community support systems, and the sword of loving persuasion. The last is the hardest, because it is hard not to tell someone when they have been wrong, but it is important to hold fast to the goal and use the weapon we have, our words, to try to persuade — not argue with — people to get vaccinated. We also need to know how to deal with our rage at the unvaccinated.
The ending of this passage is where I need to be left the most, because sometimes, carrying all of this armor is heavy... and hot and tiring. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. I can’t be on the defensive all of the time. Sometimes all I can do is “pray in the Spirit at all times” and acknowledge that I am praying in the midst of a “mystery” that I will never fully understand. I’m armored, I’m persuading, I’m praying, and I’ve got to let God to the rest. For I am just a humble ambassador (in chains), and it is really and truly up to God to change people’s hearts. Until then, I’ll be here, double-checking my armor. Thanks be to God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Ephesians 6:10-20
Yes, this reading is filled with military images, and many mainliners cannot abide such language, but there’s something to be redeemed in these images. Since the United States went to an All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in 1973, when the Vietnam War was winding down and a draft was no longer necessary, the military has become increasingly estranged from the wider culture. Since so few of us interact with people serving in the military there’s more distrust, or at least lack of familiarity with the military than prior generations...
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Onward, Christian Soldiers
...for example, a generation ago there was a drumbeat of voices calling for the removal of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” from hymnals. (Pun intended.) The hymn was not included in the Presbyterian Church (USA) hymnals published in 1990 and 2013, for example. While the military imagery is strongly present, it is metaphoric, “marching as to war.” Are not obedience and discipline traits that make good Christians as much as good soldiers? While I have never worn a military uniform I have spent years in marching bands where discipline and attention are essential for the functioning of the complete unit. I would even go so far as to say that boot camp is strongly analogous to band camp. (Insert obligatory “American Pie” reference, “This one time at band camp…”) Both are about creating an identity around a common culture. At one level to be good soldiers or marchers one has to sacrifice some of one’s identity and autonomy for the cohesion and strength of the larger body. In the same way, Christians lose part of their identity — there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female — to be part of the larger body; “for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:23)
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Now about this armor
The author of Ephesians mentions “the whole armor of God.” A Christian’s BEL (Basic Equipment List) includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, any kind of footwear that makes one ready to proclaim the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Note that all of this equipment is defensive, though the sword can also be an offensive weapon. These metaphoric weapons are not original to Ephesians, many of them are rooted in the Hebrew scriptures. For example, Isaiah 59:17 mentions “righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation.” Isaiah 11:5 reads “Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.” You probably read that verse last December, during Advent, a foretelling of the Messiah. Feet, and by extension footwear, are indicators of peace in Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace.” Isaiah 49:2 reads, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword….” this imagery is echoed in Hosea 6:5.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
The Best Defense is a Good Offense
In the midst of the Covid pandemic we often use the metaphor of fighting, or waging war against the virus. All our “weapons” are defensive: vaccinations equip our bodies to not be infected; masks and physical distancing keep the virus from spreading, frequent hand washing and sanitizing kill the virus. Would the public’s response to masking, distancing and getting vaccinated be different if we talked about protecting against the virus, rather than fighting it?
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
The Military and Covid
In Tuesday, August 10th’s edition of The Onion, a satirical news site, The American Voices feature showed the responses of ordinary people to the news that the Pentagon will require that US troops be vaccinated by September 15. The two best responses were:
Good luck getting a bunch of soldiers to take orders.
and
I didn’t join the Army to protect others.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Where God Dwells
As Solomon prays at the dedication of the temple, he asks, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!” Even on this glorious day, dedicating this glorious temple, he sees that the glory of God will always be found in other places.
Armenian Orthodox theologian Vigen Guroian finds this to be true. He says that he finds God often in the sanctuary of his back yard. “Walking down that path…[to] the stream down at the bottom of my property, and just the bluest sky in December, and being able to see the trees reminding me of gothic, you know, the gothic arches. I felt as if I was in a great cathedral for a moment there. And, look, the images play in our minds and in our imaginations. If we don’t have certain images, we’re not going to see things that way. I mean if, if I wasn’t reading the text, if I wasn’t immersed in scripture as well, I wouldn’t experience it that way. Nature and scripture interpret one another.” Guroian adds, reflecting on his religious upbringing, “If I remember the church, I also remember the gardens of my great-aunts and uncles, and of people I called uncle or aunt, they were Armenian, whose homes they visited. And in every case, they wanted to show you the garden. That was obligatory. The garden was a place where things came to life. It was, in point of fact, a reaffirmation of life and something to sustain faith, hope, and to go on living.”
Delightfully, Guroian believes that “smell, not sight, is the most mystical sense.” He says, “Seeing is so easy. If I’d seen the Resurrection or if I’d seen this or if I’d seen that, I’d really believe, you know? We don’t say if I’d smelled it. Smell keeps the mystery. It reveals the mystery, but it doesn’t fool us into thinking that we would believe in it or explain it if only we could smell it.”
God is revealed in many ways, in the temple, in the sanctuary and in the wideness and wonder of the world.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
The Armor We Need
The letter to the Ephesians notes that we need different armor for different spiritual challenges, and professor and author Brene Brown interprets that for our modern world. Brown says, “I first heard the saying, “Strong back, soft front” from Joan Halifax, who’s a Buddhist teacher. And it spoke to me at the time, and I thought, I don’t know what that is, but it sounds, of course, paradoxical, and I don’t like it, because it sounds hard. I’d rather have a strong front and a strong back and a strong everything. Our deepest human need is to be seen by other people — to really be seen and known by someone else. And if we’re so armored up, and we walk through the world with an armored front, we can’t be seen.” Brown adds another piece of our modern spiritual armor: a wild heart, and explains, “if I raise my kids to have that wild heart that can be grit and grace, tough and tender, excited and scared, that can hold the tension of those things, that’s all I can ask.”
Brown believes that vulnerability is a deeply spiritual skill. “And one of the things I talk about all the time when I’m working with leaders, from CEOs to special forces troops, I always ask the same question — most recently, NFL teams — “Give me an example of courage that you’ve seen in your life or that you, yourself, have engaged in, any act of bravery, that was not completely defined by vulnerability.” No one has, to this day — even special forces; when Navy Seals can’t tell you, then no one can tell you — because the problem is, there is no courage without vulnerability. But we’re all taught to be brave, and then we’re all warned, growing up, to not be vulnerable. And so that’s the rub. And so when you have bravery without vulnerability, that’s when you get what we’re looking at today: all bluster, all posturing, no real courage.” Vulnerability is a way of moving forward in the Spirit of God.
* * *
Ephesians 6:10-20
Our Armor in the World
Sriram Shamasunder reflects that his identity as a doctor is a form of armor in the world, protecting him when his brown skin makes others suspicious. He recalls, “after a long on-call shift, I decide to drive to the ocean. Making my way to the water feels like making my way home. This is a habit of mine. The air by the water is fresh and clean and welcoming. It opens the lungs after 30 continual hours in the hospital. The neighboring cities of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are beautiful, with strips of bars and flocks of White folks that flood them in the evening hours. It’s 11 p.m. on a Thursday and beachfront parking is full. I want to bypass the crowds and the bars and go sit on the beach to clear my head. As I circle for parking in my sister’s black, beat-up 2004 Jetta, I can see a cop car eye me as I come around the block again in search of parking. My black, beat-up car and my nearly black skin in this dark night. My third time around the block, the cop starts to follow me on my parking search, a slow dance around a three-block radius. He pulls me over. The cop is rude. He flashes his light onto the back seat, where he suspiciously eyes an ophthalmoscope and reflex hammer. He shines the light in my eyes and asks what the paraphernalia in the back seat is all about. He doesn’t give me a chance to answer. He asks for my driver’s license and registration and proof of insurance, his voice finding its footing somewhere between irritated and angry. I am nervous. I was living in New York on 9/11, and immediately afterwards I saw fear in older White women’s eyes as they looked at me. It is a look I recognize in my dying patients — the fear — but it always catches me off guard when I look into someone’s eyes and realize I am the thing they fear. Back in the Jetta, my white coat hangs off the back of my driver’s seat. My doctor’s ID hangs off my white coat close to the driver’s side window. The policeman’s flashlight catches the ID and he asks if I am a doctor. I say yes, at LA County a few miles away.
The pile of papers in his hand — driver’s license, registration, proof of insurance — become like a lotus flower as he opens his palms and they flow back to me. He apologizes and apologizes. He says he didn’t realize I was a doctor. He didn’t realize that I worked at the hospital, the trauma center that takes care of cops when they get hurt or shot. My doctor’s ID becomes a get-out-of-jail-free card. An “I exist” card. I exist. I exist. Something to distinguish me from the Black, the Brown, the sick, the poor, the nameless, the undocumented—from my patients.”
The white coat and the medical ID card provide him with a small amount of armor, and yet he struggles with knowing that his patients lack the same protection.
* * *
John 6:56-69
Doubt
“Among you there are some who do not believe,” Jesus says to his followers, acknowledging that doubt is part of their experience of him. Jennifer Michael Hecht, who has written a book about doubt, says that doubters contribute to religion, forcing us to clarify our thinking. The doubters around Jesus force the disciples to become clear about whether they’re going to stay with Jesus or not. Some people depart from Jesus, and Jesus asks the twelve “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter answers, in contrast to those who doubt, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” On a larger stage, Hecht says, “doubters throughout history, even if they doubted all the way to not believing in any kind of religious idea, most of them don’t hate religion. Most of them aren’t against religion. They are, in fact, more like religious thinkers, the great doubters, than the average person who doesn’t ask any of these questions and sort of just goes along. The great doubters have tried to figure out how you can live, and they have very much respected the answers that religion has come up with.”
Hecht reflects that Judaism has room for doubt, a tradition that Jesus may be reflecting. “And in ancient Judaism also, the Mishnah has a line in it in the voice of God saying, ‘Better they should forget me and remember my law.’ And that’s something that you can see in modern Judaism. You know, if a kid goes up to a rabbi and says, ‘I’m not sure I believe’ they say, ‘Well, you know, you just keep — you just keep showing up.’ It’s not the most crucial aspect of Judaism.”
For the disciples around Jesus, and for us, belief and doubt clarify each other.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts!
All: Our heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
One: Happy are those whose strength is in you, O God.
All: O God of hosts, hear our prayer and give ear, O God of Jacob!
One: For the Lord God is a sun and shield bestowing favor and honor.
All: No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly.
OR
One: God calls us to life, joy, and peace through Jesus.
All: Gladly we hear God’s call to life eternal.
One: Jesus calls us to follow him and learn to know God better.
All: We will follow Jesus so we may know our creator.
One: The way with Jesus is not always easy.
All: Even when the way is rough, we will follow faithfully.
Hymns and Songs
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
To God Be the Glory
UMH: 98
PH: 485
AAHH: 157
NNBH: 17
CH: 39
W&P: 66
AMEC: 21
Renew: 258
He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
W&P: 499
AMEC: 395
Lift High the Cross
UMH: 159
H82: 473
PH: 371
AAHH: 242
NCH: 198
CH: 108
LBW: 377
ELW: 660
W&P: 287
Renew: 297
Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
UMH: 175
H82: 642
PH: 310
NCH: 507
CH: 102
LBW: 316
ELW: 754
W&P: 420
AMEC: 464
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
Lord, I Want to Be a Christian
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
W&P: 457
AMEC: 282
Renew: 145
I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
Make Me a Servant
CCB: 90
We Are His Hands
CCB: 85
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
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who calls us to follow Jesus into life eternal:
Grant us the courage to follow him always
even when the path is hard and narrow;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you call us to eternal life through Jesus. Through him you show us the path we must follow to find joy and peace everlasting. Help us to find the courage to follow him even when the way is difficult. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to follow Jesus when the demands of discipleship get hard.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way to life through Jesus the Christ and although we have said we will follow him when things get tough we fall away. We talk about love for others but when people offend us we are quick to cut them off. We talk about our treasures being in heaven but our focus is on the goods of this world. Forgive us and call us back once more to the way that leads to life. Amen.
One: God desires us to have eternal life filled with joy and peace. Receive God’s gift by following Jesus and share those gifts with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God of majesty, who calls us to yourself through your Son Jesus Christ. You are the giver of eternal life and of never ending joy and peace.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way to life through Jesus the Christ and although we have said we will follow him when things get tough we fall away. We talk about love for others but when people offend us we are quick to cut them off. We talk about our treasures being in heaven but our focus is on the goods of this world. Forgive us and call us back once more to the way that leads to life.
We thank you for all the ways in which you call us home. Throughout the story of salvation, you have been the faithful one who constantly seeks us when we go astray. You have given us prophets and seers, psalmist and leaders. You have given us your own son that we might come to know you through him. We thank you for those who have continued to share his teaching and to help us to come to know him and follow him.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who have not heard your call to return. We pray for those who because of grief and loss they find it hard to hear you. We pray for those who can only hear the roar of their hunger and want. We pray for those who are so enmeshed in violence that they cannot imagine love.
(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 Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Put on a football helmet and pick up a tennis racket and tell the children you are ready to play baseball (or some other out of sync outfit and activity). When they complain you aren’t dressed properly as them what is wrong. If you are going to be a baseball player you need to look like a baseball player. You don’t really need a uniform but you need the proper equipment and you can’t dress for a different sport.
Paul talks about what we need if we are Christians. We need truth, doing what is right (righteousness), peace, faith, a right relationship with God, knowing the Bible, and prayer.
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CHILDREN'S SERMON
A House for God!
by Chris Keating
Psalm 84, 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Gather ahead of time:
Create list of prominent features of your sanctuary, including any special objects (baptismal font, pulpit, lectern, etc.), and historically significant items.
Background:
Among other things, the pandemic has turned our relationships with church buildings upside down. (See Peter Marty’s column in the Christian Century. Just as Solomon exclaims in 1 Kings 8:27, the grandeur of God cannot be contained in the earth, let alone a temple or church building. Still, our sanctuaries and worship spaces hold tender memories for many persons. They are sacred places like the temple constructed by Solomon where people encounter God, pray for forgiveness, welcome the foreigner, and hear the word of God.
In 1883, biblical scholar Thomas Newberry designed a three-dimensional model of Solomon’s temple. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has produced a brief video that offers an inside look at the model. The video is available here and would be an interesting addition to your children’s sermon.
Use the story of the dedication of Solomon’s temple as a way of helping children understand how the various parts of your sanctuary come together to create a space where God may be encountered. God is not limited to the walls of your church — or any other church, of course. But just as Israel recalled the story of God’s faithfulness within the temple, so do we retell our stories of faith, as well as the stories of Jesus. You might consider using the opening lines of Psalm 84 or 1 Kings 8:27-29 as a theme for your children’s sermon this Sunday.
As they gather
As the children gather, welcome them to worship. Explain that today’s scripture tells the story of King Solomon dedicating the beautiful new temple he had built for God’s people. Much like a church building, the temple was a place in Jerusalem where people could worship, offer gifts, and learn about the story of God’s faithfulness. But the temple was also different from our churches in many ways. For example, in the Old Testament, people offered sacrifices to God. We prefer barbecues to animal sacrifices!
Using the list of prominent features in your sanctuary, ask the children if they can point to them. Take a moment to tell some of the stories that may be associated with the people who donated a window, or the communion ware, or other items.
Solomon’s temple was even more beautiful than our sanctuary. But both places were special places where people could worship and feel God’s presence. We know that God lives everywhere, and that worship can take place in many places. We call the church “God’s house” not because this is the only place where God can be experienced, but because it a place where we can gather to learn where God is working in the world today.
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The Immediate Word, August 22, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 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.
- Heading For The Exits by Dean Feldmeyer — “We may not all go to church in this town, but we all know what church it is that we don’t go to.” (Cartoon caption.)
- Second Thoughts: Double-Checking Your Armor by Katy Stenta.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen and Mary Austin.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: A House for God! by Chris Keating based on Psalm 84 and 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43.
Heading For The Exitsby Dean Feldmeyer
John 6:56-69
In this Sunday’s gospel lesson a large number of Jesus’ disciples quit and walk away because they find the demands of the gospel too tough to follow.
Today, according to the Gallup and Pew organizations, American Christians are leaving the church not because the demands the church places on them are too hard but because they are too easy. Just accept and believe the right formula of doctrine and dogma and reject the ones we deem heretical and you’re in. Being like Jesus has little to do with it.
For most of the 20th century, American kids grew up to accept the religious beliefs and practices of their parents. Now, as we enter the third decade of the 21st century, when it comes to church, the younger generations are asking themselves, “Should I stay or should I go?” And lots of them are choosing curtain number 2 and heading for the exits.
In the Culture
According to Gallup, in 1975, 68% of Americans had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion.
In 1985, organized religion was the most revered institution among the list of institutions Gallup tracks. In 2002, our confidence in the church fell below the majority level for the first time and in 2019 confidence in organized religion reached an all-time low of 36%.
Reasons for this decline include the judgmental and exclusionary response of organized religion to LGBTQ+ persons and their rights. Other reasons mentioned by those who are choosing “none” as their religious preference are the priest/pedophile scandals in the Catholic Church; the prosperity gospel preachers, millionaires whose primary theological concern seems to be financial gain; sex scandals in evangelical and fundamentalist organizations and churches; battles that are dividing old line denominations over full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church; and the anti-intellectualism of evangelical Christians who reject the insights of science and reason.
Young people, millennials in particular, look at modern Christianity and all they can see is judgement and hate. They listen to the chanting and see the crosses carried by the mob that invaded the Capitol building on January 6 and, they say, it looks like Christianity has become the “anti” religion — anti-gay, anti-science, anti-reason, anti-acceptance, anti-abortion, anti-democracy, and anti-modern. In fact, the only thing many contemporary Christians seem to be for is guns, capital punishment, and using the law to force other Americans into living the way conservative Christians think they should. Evangelical Christianity, it appears, has become little more than a nondenominational, openly political engine driving the Donald Trump wing of the Republican Party
Predictably, the decline in trust has precipitated a downward spiral in participation. The Pew Research Center and the Public Religion Research Institute reported that 16% of Americans identified as religiously unaffiliated in 2006. That number rose to a high of 25.5% in 2018 before declining to 24% in 2019 and 23.3% in 2020. Even with this slight decline of the past three years, religiously unaffiliated Americans constitute a larger share of the American public than the three most prominent religious groups in the U.S.
Seeking to know and be like Jesus has taken a back seat to holding the correct, conservative political and theological beliefs. And with that shift, people, especially young people, are moving away from church as quickly as they can go.
And lest we kid ourselves into thinking that this problem is isolated to our neighbor’s yard, Pew points out that the trend is occurring within a variety of demographic groups — across genders, generations and racial and ethnic groups, to name a few. No matter how you divide or classify them, virtually every religious group in America is shrinking. None of us are immune.
In the Scripture
People leaving, fleeing from the demands of the gospel is not a new phenomenon. Even Jesus experienced it.
In today’s gospel lesson John concludes his long sermon based on the metaphor of Jesus as the bread of life. In it, Jesus compares himself to the manna that the Hebrew ancestors ate during the exodus from Egypt. The manna was, granted, a life sustaining miracle. But Jesus is the greater miracle.
Even though the ancient children of Israel ate the manna and were preserved on their journey, eventually, they died, as do we all. Jesus describes himself, metaphorically, as the manna that gives eternal life.
Some of his followers, however, don’t get that he’s speaking in metaphor and they insist on taking the whole bread thing literally. They don’t understand that when Jesus encourages them to “eat me” he’s inviting them to take the gospel he has brought to them and to incorporate it into their lives even as bread is incorporated into our bodies when we eat it.
But they don’t get it: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” they say. And, with that, they depart. They just can’t handle hard teachings. Why, they want to know, can’t he just keep things simple and easy? Why does he have to complicate things with this “all or nothing” approach? So, faced with that choice, they choose, “nothing,” and they leave.
Jesus is not surprised or rattled by their departure. He knows that many of them weren’t serious about their acceptance of his teaching. Some were there for the spectacle. They wanted to see miracles. Others were there because they were searching for something to give their lives meaning. When Jesus tells them that that thing is love and sacrifice for one another, but they find that a little too hard to follow. Others are there for the fellowship, others for the stories, still others for the free fishes and loaves. And when they discover that all these things come at a price, a price that involves their whole lives, their response is: “I’m outa here.”
Jesus turns, then, to his disciples, the inner circle of 12. “So, what about you? Are you gonna leave as well?”
Peter responds for the group (as usual) with a line from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman: “We’ve got nowhere else to go.” We want to hear God’s good news, he says, and, as far as we can tell, you’re the only one offering to tell it.
There is only one Jewish/Christian messiah, in other words, and Jesus is he. If we want to hear the good news that the Messiah brings, we have to hang around and realize that it comes with certain demands on our time, our talent, and our treasure.
In the Sermon
The shrinkage of the contemporary Christian church is a complex issue with more than a few simple causes. Some are leaving the old mainline denominations because they aren’t conservative enough. But those folks, by and large, are not leaving the church altogether. They’re leaving one branch and going to another. No net loss.
But there are other folks who are leaving Christianity — not just their church — but Christianity as a whole, not because it’s too liberal but because it is overflowing with hypocrisy. We teach that Jesus is the role model we should follow and then, when following becomes difficult, we rationalize our failure to live as Jesus did.
We follow him right up to Good Friday then we hop over Calvary and land on Easter without all that messy crucifixion and martyrdom stuff. The cross has become little more than an empty metaphor that places no real demands upon our lives.
We hear John the Baptist tell us that if we have two coats and our neighbor has none then we should give one of our coats to our neighbor. And then we buy a cottage on the lake, a second house, without even a thought to the plight of the homeless just down the street.
We hear Jesus tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us and then we go to court to demand our rights and we arm ourselves with guns, prepared and ready to kill anyone who even looks threatening.
We hail the sanctity of life but insist on capital punishment and send our children to war to fight and kill for causes that are nebulous and ends that we will probably never see.
We hear the psalmist tell us that “the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,” (24:1) but we dismiss concerns about global climate change with a wink and a shrug, insisting that despite all the evidence, it’s just a liberal, leftist, socialist hoax and, besides, the solutions are so expensive and inconvenient and they will make us uncomfortable.
Under the leadership of pastor and founder Rob Bell, the Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, grew to a worship attendance of nearly 10,000. Then, in 2012, Bell published Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. In it, he offers the idea that God’s love is so overwhelming, powerful, and all-encompassing that every person, regardless of what that person has done or not done, believed or not believed, accepted or rejected in life, is made clean and whole by God’s love and ends up in heaven.
Unfortunately, American Christians want grace for themselves but not for others. We don’t like the idea of really bad people being forgiven before they’ve suffered for their sins. We want to see them grovel before God’s throne and suffer some significant pain and tribulation before they walk through those pearly gates, if ever.
Within a year, attendance at Mars Hill fell from 10,000 to about 3,500. Bell was attacked by the religious right, pilloried in the evangelical press, and anathematized for going on tv with Oprah. (Oprah liked the book and recommended it as part of her Book of the Month club.) One could almost hear them muttering as they picked up their leather-bound Bibles and headed for the exits, on their way to the parking lot: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”
Of course, the controversy surrounding his book had just the opposite effect than what was intended. It became a bestseller and Rob became something of a rock star for young adult seekers who were looking for a Christianity based more in love than in hate, more in inclusion than in exclusion, more in acceptance than in rejection.
They are, in other words, looking for a Christianity that looks like Jesus and they’re not afraid of the hard work that may go with it.
So, what kind of Christianity are we offering these young seekers? Does it look like Jesus? And, if not Jesus, whom?
SECOND THOUGHTSDouble-Checking Your Armor
by Katy Stenta
Ephesians 6:10-20
Ephesians 6, before the chosen pericope, starts out by admonishing those in power to stop threatening people. Reminding them that God is the one in charge, and that provoking those under you to anger is not a good idea. It sets up an idea of obedience not out of fear or hierarchies, but out of deference of what is good, just and right.
Then our passage begins explaining the battle that is set before us. Our enemies are not “against enemies of blood and flesh” but something greater, against “spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.” There is a cosmic battle going on, and we must arm ourselves accordingly. It is not something that can be won with weapons. It is not even, ultimately, a power struggle. Not only were those who invaded the capital on January 6th wrong morally, they did not even know what the fight was. “Fight the rulers” does not equal fight the democratically elected governors.
Put on the body armor, the Bible says, and then disrupts all of our images of what it is we need to fight. There are no cool ninja nunchucks or giant steads for knights to ride on. No futuristic robots with laser beam eyes that transform into vehicles or Star Wars or Star Trek spaceships. But instead, we are left as mere humans. We are given simple instructions; to “put on the whole armor of God,” leave off no piece of what is supplied to us. Pieces may be optional, but that does not mean that it is wise to leave them behind. One does not go into battle half prepared. Put on the whole armor, because that is how we “withstand evil” and God knows that is the true task of the day, every day in the midst of a pandemic.
Put on the armor of God, the prophets proclaim, subverting all the images we have of what it is we need to go to war. The very first piece of armor that is named is truth — the piece that holds up every other piece of clothing. Without truth we are naked. We cannot be armed with half-lies, and things that sound right. Then put on the breastplate of righteousness — being right with God. Let your breastplate reflect God. As for your shoes, your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim a gospel of peace — walk in peace. Peace will quench, put out the fire of evil. All of these “weapons” are defensive. Then your head is covered in salvation — a clear reference to baptism — your head is already saved. Then your sword, the only true weapon, is the the Spirit, the word of God. Speak what you will but if you must fight at all, do it with words.
We are starting to see the fight of the pandemic in terms of defensive armor. The vaccine is depicted as such here in this cartoon. Put on the armor of vaccines, the Pentagon affirms — because to go to battle without protection is akin to going to battle naked, and who wants to do that?
As we live in the midst of the pandemic we are arming ourselves, again, with defensive weapons. Use the belt of Truth and Science to hold everything together. Next, we have a shield of the mask, and the peace of social distancing, and the armor of the vaccine. We also have the helmet of community support systems, and the sword of loving persuasion. The last is the hardest, because it is hard not to tell someone when they have been wrong, but it is important to hold fast to the goal and use the weapon we have, our words, to try to persuade — not argue with — people to get vaccinated. We also need to know how to deal with our rage at the unvaccinated.
The ending of this passage is where I need to be left the most, because sometimes, carrying all of this armor is heavy... and hot and tiring. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. I can’t be on the defensive all of the time. Sometimes all I can do is “pray in the Spirit at all times” and acknowledge that I am praying in the midst of a “mystery” that I will never fully understand. I’m armored, I’m persuading, I’m praying, and I’ve got to let God to the rest. For I am just a humble ambassador (in chains), and it is really and truly up to God to change people’s hearts. Until then, I’ll be here, double-checking my armor. Thanks be to God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:Ephesians 6:10-20
Yes, this reading is filled with military images, and many mainliners cannot abide such language, but there’s something to be redeemed in these images. Since the United States went to an All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in 1973, when the Vietnam War was winding down and a draft was no longer necessary, the military has become increasingly estranged from the wider culture. Since so few of us interact with people serving in the military there’s more distrust, or at least lack of familiarity with the military than prior generations...
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Ephesians 6:10-20
Onward, Christian Soldiers
...for example, a generation ago there was a drumbeat of voices calling for the removal of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” from hymnals. (Pun intended.) The hymn was not included in the Presbyterian Church (USA) hymnals published in 1990 and 2013, for example. While the military imagery is strongly present, it is metaphoric, “marching as to war.” Are not obedience and discipline traits that make good Christians as much as good soldiers? While I have never worn a military uniform I have spent years in marching bands where discipline and attention are essential for the functioning of the complete unit. I would even go so far as to say that boot camp is strongly analogous to band camp. (Insert obligatory “American Pie” reference, “This one time at band camp…”) Both are about creating an identity around a common culture. At one level to be good soldiers or marchers one has to sacrifice some of one’s identity and autonomy for the cohesion and strength of the larger body. In the same way, Christians lose part of their identity — there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female — to be part of the larger body; “for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:23)
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Ephesians 6:10-20
Now about this armor
The author of Ephesians mentions “the whole armor of God.” A Christian’s BEL (Basic Equipment List) includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, any kind of footwear that makes one ready to proclaim the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Note that all of this equipment is defensive, though the sword can also be an offensive weapon. These metaphoric weapons are not original to Ephesians, many of them are rooted in the Hebrew scriptures. For example, Isaiah 59:17 mentions “righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation.” Isaiah 11:5 reads “Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.” You probably read that verse last December, during Advent, a foretelling of the Messiah. Feet, and by extension footwear, are indicators of peace in Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace.” Isaiah 49:2 reads, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword….” this imagery is echoed in Hosea 6:5.
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Ephesians 6:10-20
The Best Defense is a Good Offense
In the midst of the Covid pandemic we often use the metaphor of fighting, or waging war against the virus. All our “weapons” are defensive: vaccinations equip our bodies to not be infected; masks and physical distancing keep the virus from spreading, frequent hand washing and sanitizing kill the virus. Would the public’s response to masking, distancing and getting vaccinated be different if we talked about protecting against the virus, rather than fighting it?
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Ephesians 6:10-20
The Military and Covid
In Tuesday, August 10th’s edition of The Onion, a satirical news site, The American Voices feature showed the responses of ordinary people to the news that the Pentagon will require that US troops be vaccinated by September 15. The two best responses were:
Good luck getting a bunch of soldiers to take orders.
and
I didn’t join the Army to protect others.
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From team member Mary Austin:1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Where God Dwells
As Solomon prays at the dedication of the temple, he asks, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!” Even on this glorious day, dedicating this glorious temple, he sees that the glory of God will always be found in other places.
Armenian Orthodox theologian Vigen Guroian finds this to be true. He says that he finds God often in the sanctuary of his back yard. “Walking down that path…[to] the stream down at the bottom of my property, and just the bluest sky in December, and being able to see the trees reminding me of gothic, you know, the gothic arches. I felt as if I was in a great cathedral for a moment there. And, look, the images play in our minds and in our imaginations. If we don’t have certain images, we’re not going to see things that way. I mean if, if I wasn’t reading the text, if I wasn’t immersed in scripture as well, I wouldn’t experience it that way. Nature and scripture interpret one another.” Guroian adds, reflecting on his religious upbringing, “If I remember the church, I also remember the gardens of my great-aunts and uncles, and of people I called uncle or aunt, they were Armenian, whose homes they visited. And in every case, they wanted to show you the garden. That was obligatory. The garden was a place where things came to life. It was, in point of fact, a reaffirmation of life and something to sustain faith, hope, and to go on living.”
Delightfully, Guroian believes that “smell, not sight, is the most mystical sense.” He says, “Seeing is so easy. If I’d seen the Resurrection or if I’d seen this or if I’d seen that, I’d really believe, you know? We don’t say if I’d smelled it. Smell keeps the mystery. It reveals the mystery, but it doesn’t fool us into thinking that we would believe in it or explain it if only we could smell it.”
God is revealed in many ways, in the temple, in the sanctuary and in the wideness and wonder of the world.
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Ephesians 6:10-20
The Armor We Need
The letter to the Ephesians notes that we need different armor for different spiritual challenges, and professor and author Brene Brown interprets that for our modern world. Brown says, “I first heard the saying, “Strong back, soft front” from Joan Halifax, who’s a Buddhist teacher. And it spoke to me at the time, and I thought, I don’t know what that is, but it sounds, of course, paradoxical, and I don’t like it, because it sounds hard. I’d rather have a strong front and a strong back and a strong everything. Our deepest human need is to be seen by other people — to really be seen and known by someone else. And if we’re so armored up, and we walk through the world with an armored front, we can’t be seen.” Brown adds another piece of our modern spiritual armor: a wild heart, and explains, “if I raise my kids to have that wild heart that can be grit and grace, tough and tender, excited and scared, that can hold the tension of those things, that’s all I can ask.”
Brown believes that vulnerability is a deeply spiritual skill. “And one of the things I talk about all the time when I’m working with leaders, from CEOs to special forces troops, I always ask the same question — most recently, NFL teams — “Give me an example of courage that you’ve seen in your life or that you, yourself, have engaged in, any act of bravery, that was not completely defined by vulnerability.” No one has, to this day — even special forces; when Navy Seals can’t tell you, then no one can tell you — because the problem is, there is no courage without vulnerability. But we’re all taught to be brave, and then we’re all warned, growing up, to not be vulnerable. And so that’s the rub. And so when you have bravery without vulnerability, that’s when you get what we’re looking at today: all bluster, all posturing, no real courage.” Vulnerability is a way of moving forward in the Spirit of God.
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Ephesians 6:10-20
Our Armor in the World
Sriram Shamasunder reflects that his identity as a doctor is a form of armor in the world, protecting him when his brown skin makes others suspicious. He recalls, “after a long on-call shift, I decide to drive to the ocean. Making my way to the water feels like making my way home. This is a habit of mine. The air by the water is fresh and clean and welcoming. It opens the lungs after 30 continual hours in the hospital. The neighboring cities of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are beautiful, with strips of bars and flocks of White folks that flood them in the evening hours. It’s 11 p.m. on a Thursday and beachfront parking is full. I want to bypass the crowds and the bars and go sit on the beach to clear my head. As I circle for parking in my sister’s black, beat-up 2004 Jetta, I can see a cop car eye me as I come around the block again in search of parking. My black, beat-up car and my nearly black skin in this dark night. My third time around the block, the cop starts to follow me on my parking search, a slow dance around a three-block radius. He pulls me over. The cop is rude. He flashes his light onto the back seat, where he suspiciously eyes an ophthalmoscope and reflex hammer. He shines the light in my eyes and asks what the paraphernalia in the back seat is all about. He doesn’t give me a chance to answer. He asks for my driver’s license and registration and proof of insurance, his voice finding its footing somewhere between irritated and angry. I am nervous. I was living in New York on 9/11, and immediately afterwards I saw fear in older White women’s eyes as they looked at me. It is a look I recognize in my dying patients — the fear — but it always catches me off guard when I look into someone’s eyes and realize I am the thing they fear. Back in the Jetta, my white coat hangs off the back of my driver’s seat. My doctor’s ID hangs off my white coat close to the driver’s side window. The policeman’s flashlight catches the ID and he asks if I am a doctor. I say yes, at LA County a few miles away.
The pile of papers in his hand — driver’s license, registration, proof of insurance — become like a lotus flower as he opens his palms and they flow back to me. He apologizes and apologizes. He says he didn’t realize I was a doctor. He didn’t realize that I worked at the hospital, the trauma center that takes care of cops when they get hurt or shot. My doctor’s ID becomes a get-out-of-jail-free card. An “I exist” card. I exist. I exist. Something to distinguish me from the Black, the Brown, the sick, the poor, the nameless, the undocumented—from my patients.”
The white coat and the medical ID card provide him with a small amount of armor, and yet he struggles with knowing that his patients lack the same protection.
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John 6:56-69
Doubt
“Among you there are some who do not believe,” Jesus says to his followers, acknowledging that doubt is part of their experience of him. Jennifer Michael Hecht, who has written a book about doubt, says that doubters contribute to religion, forcing us to clarify our thinking. The doubters around Jesus force the disciples to become clear about whether they’re going to stay with Jesus or not. Some people depart from Jesus, and Jesus asks the twelve “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter answers, in contrast to those who doubt, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” On a larger stage, Hecht says, “doubters throughout history, even if they doubted all the way to not believing in any kind of religious idea, most of them don’t hate religion. Most of them aren’t against religion. They are, in fact, more like religious thinkers, the great doubters, than the average person who doesn’t ask any of these questions and sort of just goes along. The great doubters have tried to figure out how you can live, and they have very much respected the answers that religion has come up with.”
Hecht reflects that Judaism has room for doubt, a tradition that Jesus may be reflecting. “And in ancient Judaism also, the Mishnah has a line in it in the voice of God saying, ‘Better they should forget me and remember my law.’ And that’s something that you can see in modern Judaism. You know, if a kid goes up to a rabbi and says, ‘I’m not sure I believe’ they say, ‘Well, you know, you just keep — you just keep showing up.’ It’s not the most crucial aspect of Judaism.”
For the disciples around Jesus, and for us, belief and doubt clarify each other.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts!
All: Our heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
One: Happy are those whose strength is in you, O God.
All: O God of hosts, hear our prayer and give ear, O God of Jacob!
One: For the Lord God is a sun and shield bestowing favor and honor.
All: No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly.
OR
One: God calls us to life, joy, and peace through Jesus.
All: Gladly we hear God’s call to life eternal.
One: Jesus calls us to follow him and learn to know God better.
All: We will follow Jesus so we may know our creator.
One: The way with Jesus is not always easy.
All: Even when the way is rough, we will follow faithfully.
Hymns and Songs
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
To God Be the Glory
UMH: 98
PH: 485
AAHH: 157
NNBH: 17
CH: 39
W&P: 66
AMEC: 21
Renew: 258
He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
W&P: 499
AMEC: 395
Lift High the Cross
UMH: 159
H82: 473
PH: 371
AAHH: 242
NCH: 198
CH: 108
LBW: 377
ELW: 660
W&P: 287
Renew: 297
Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
UMH: 175
H82: 642
PH: 310
NCH: 507
CH: 102
LBW: 316
ELW: 754
W&P: 420
AMEC: 464
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
Lord, I Want to Be a Christian
UMH: 402
PH: 372
AAHH: 463
NNBH: 156
NCH: 454
CH: 589
W&P: 457
AMEC: 282
Renew: 145
I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
Make Me a Servant
CCB: 90
We Are His Hands
CCB: 85
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
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who calls us to follow Jesus into life eternal:
Grant us the courage to follow him always
even when the path is hard and narrow;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you call us to eternal life through Jesus. Through him you show us the path we must follow to find joy and peace everlasting. Help us to find the courage to follow him even when the way is difficult. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to follow Jesus when the demands of discipleship get hard.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way to life through Jesus the Christ and although we have said we will follow him when things get tough we fall away. We talk about love for others but when people offend us we are quick to cut them off. We talk about our treasures being in heaven but our focus is on the goods of this world. Forgive us and call us back once more to the way that leads to life. Amen.
One: God desires us to have eternal life filled with joy and peace. Receive God’s gift by following Jesus and share those gifts with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God of majesty, who calls us to yourself through your Son Jesus Christ. You are the giver of eternal life and of never ending joy and peace.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have shown us the way to life through Jesus the Christ and although we have said we will follow him when things get tough we fall away. We talk about love for others but when people offend us we are quick to cut them off. We talk about our treasures being in heaven but our focus is on the goods of this world. Forgive us and call us back once more to the way that leads to life.
We thank you for all the ways in which you call us home. Throughout the story of salvation, you have been the faithful one who constantly seeks us when we go astray. You have given us prophets and seers, psalmist and leaders. You have given us your own son that we might come to know you through him. We thank you for those who have continued to share his teaching and to help us to come to know him and follow him.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who have not heard your call to return. We pray for those who because of grief and loss they find it hard to hear you. We pray for those who can only hear the roar of their hunger and want. We pray for those who are so enmeshed in violence that they cannot imagine love.
(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 Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Put on a football helmet and pick up a tennis racket and tell the children you are ready to play baseball (or some other out of sync outfit and activity). When they complain you aren’t dressed properly as them what is wrong. If you are going to be a baseball player you need to look like a baseball player. You don’t really need a uniform but you need the proper equipment and you can’t dress for a different sport.
Paul talks about what we need if we are Christians. We need truth, doing what is right (righteousness), peace, faith, a right relationship with God, knowing the Bible, and prayer.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONA House for God!
by Chris Keating
Psalm 84, 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Gather ahead of time:
Create list of prominent features of your sanctuary, including any special objects (baptismal font, pulpit, lectern, etc.), and historically significant items.
Background:
Among other things, the pandemic has turned our relationships with church buildings upside down. (See Peter Marty’s column in the Christian Century. Just as Solomon exclaims in 1 Kings 8:27, the grandeur of God cannot be contained in the earth, let alone a temple or church building. Still, our sanctuaries and worship spaces hold tender memories for many persons. They are sacred places like the temple constructed by Solomon where people encounter God, pray for forgiveness, welcome the foreigner, and hear the word of God.
In 1883, biblical scholar Thomas Newberry designed a three-dimensional model of Solomon’s temple. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has produced a brief video that offers an inside look at the model. The video is available here and would be an interesting addition to your children’s sermon.
Use the story of the dedication of Solomon’s temple as a way of helping children understand how the various parts of your sanctuary come together to create a space where God may be encountered. God is not limited to the walls of your church — or any other church, of course. But just as Israel recalled the story of God’s faithfulness within the temple, so do we retell our stories of faith, as well as the stories of Jesus. You might consider using the opening lines of Psalm 84 or 1 Kings 8:27-29 as a theme for your children’s sermon this Sunday.
As they gather
As the children gather, welcome them to worship. Explain that today’s scripture tells the story of King Solomon dedicating the beautiful new temple he had built for God’s people. Much like a church building, the temple was a place in Jerusalem where people could worship, offer gifts, and learn about the story of God’s faithfulness. But the temple was also different from our churches in many ways. For example, in the Old Testament, people offered sacrifices to God. We prefer barbecues to animal sacrifices!
Using the list of prominent features in your sanctuary, ask the children if they can point to them. Take a moment to tell some of the stories that may be associated with the people who donated a window, or the communion ware, or other items.
Solomon’s temple was even more beautiful than our sanctuary. But both places were special places where people could worship and feel God’s presence. We know that God lives everywhere, and that worship can take place in many places. We call the church “God’s house” not because this is the only place where God can be experienced, but because it a place where we can gather to learn where God is working in the world today.
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The Immediate Word, August 22, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 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.
