How's Your Iq?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
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According to Robert Fulghum's best-seller, everything we need to know we learned in kindergarten. While that's a glib metaphor, it's probably not a useful attitude for surviving in today's complex world. We are inundated with an ever-increasing amount of information in the digital age -- yet there are certain things educated people simply need to know in order to be good global citizens. The cover story in this week's issue of Newsweek, "181 Things You Need to Know Now" provides one viewpoint on the essential knowledge we should have. But what do we truly need to know, spiritually speaking? In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Barbara Jurgensen suggests that this week's lectionary texts, especially Psalm 30, can help us answer that all-important question. Team member Steve McCutchan offers additional thoughts on this topic, suggesting that while knowledge can be a great gift, its real value comes from being used in the service of others and of God. This week's material also includes the customary complement of illustrations, worship resources, and a children's message.
How's Your IQ?
by Barbara Jurgensen
THE WORLD
Want to check your IQ -- your global IQ? Try the following three questions:
1. Which city is predicted to be the world's largest city in 20 years?
a. Mexico City
b. Mumbai
c. Tokyo
2. Which world religion is atheistic, at least in its earliest form?
a. Buddhism
b. Hinduism
c. Islam
d. Christianity
3. Which of the following car companies sells the largest number of automobiles worldwide?
a. Toyota
b. Ford
c. General Motors
d. Volkswagen
(Answers: 1. Tokyo; 2. Buddhism; 3. Toyota)
The current issue of Newsweek (July 9, 2007) features "181 Things You Need to Know Now" -- that is, if you want to be globally literate, if you want to be an effective and aware participant in today's world. Newsweek highlights a number of areas in which our intelligence will be important, including: environment, technology, films, health, science, politics, art, faith, business, and literature.
Another question -- this one for us as Christians: What do we need to know now to be intelligent, effective followers of our Lord in today's world?
This week's texts give us some clues, especially Psalm 30:2-3:
"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life..."
THE WORD
There seems to be a lot of healing going on in our lessons this week.
In our first reading from 2 Kings 5:1-14, Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of the land of Aram, is healed from his leprosy by Elisha, a mighty prophet of the Lord in the land of Israel.
In our alternate first reading, Isaiah 66:10-14, the prophet Isaiah tells the Lord's people in v.14:
"You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants."
Our Galatians text (6:[1-6] 7-16) reminds us that we, in our whole being, are a new creation in our Lord, and that a new creation is everything (v. 15).
In our Gospel reading (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20), Jesus appoints 70 of his followers to go out in pairs to cure the sick, and to tell those they meet: "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (v. 9).
And, finally, in our Psalm for today, the psalmist exclaims: "O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me" (Psalm 30:2).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Today's texts give us a great opportunity to engage all the various age groups in our congregation as we ask: "What do we, as Christians, need to know now, today, to be good followers of our Lord, to be effective, fruitful followers of our Lord?"
We can refer to the article mentioned above and talk about some of the things Newsweek magazine thinks an intelligent person today needs to know.
But then we can question how important it really is for us to know which car company in the whole world sells the most cars today -- except that it might make us more aware that it no longer is one of the American companies, Ford or General Motors. That might help us learn a little humility, might help us learn a little more respect for the accomplishments of the people of other countries, might help us see that we all need each other, that we need to live as neighbors -- even as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters of one Father.
And how can anyone say with any certainty which of the world's many cities will be the largest "megacity" 20 years from now? Does it really matter? Dealing with this question might help rid us of some of our hubris, of some of our unhealthy pride. It might help us realize that the center of power in this world may already be shifting from long centuries of domination by Europe and the US to Asia, or even, eventually, to Africa or South America or even Australia. (We'll leave Antarctica out for now, but who knows, a century or two from now, with global warming....)
But when it comes to asking what are the most important things we need to know about the Christian faith -- now we're dealing with some really important, life-changing things, things that can make all the difference in our lives.
So when we go home today, or wherever we go for lunch, we can begin asking each other: "What are the basic, essential, rock-bottom things that we as followers of our Lord today need to know?" If we live alone, we can call neighbors, family, or friends and get a discussion going -- maybe it'll be one of the best discussions we've ever had. And it could fan out from there all around the town, and beyond.
And maybe we should start by asking the youngest children among us, and they'll probably answer, "The most important thing is 'Jesus loves me, this I know' " -- which is exactly what the president of a seminary answered as he lay on his deathbed. "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. It doesn't get any better than that!"
What other things will people answer? Maybe:
"For God so loved the world" (John 3:16).
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).
Older people, who've had many years to experience the Lord's tender mercy and grace, may answer, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20) or "Do not worry about anything" (Philippians 4:6).
One answer to the question that might not pop up right away would be from our Psalm today. Psalm 30:2-3 says:
"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life..."
We usually think of being healed as being cured from some disease, from some illness. But the healing we all most need is the healing of our whole being, the healing of what we are.
A doctor can give a medication that brings healing to a patient who's been feeling miserable with bronchitis, but that patient may still feel miserable about their life, which feels lacking in something -- which feels painfully, painfully lacking in something, they don't know what.
That person may try to prop up their life with alcohol, or with drugs, or with all sorts of other things, but none of these really helps. They're still, as the Psalm says, in Sheol, a Hebrew name for the place of the dead, a place without joy. Sheol is sometimes called the Pit (or other names) -- and the person feels like they're "in the pits."
What the person really needs -- what we all need -- is to invite the Lord of All Creation into our lives to heal our whole being, to transform us, to give us a whole new life in him.
Then we, with the psalmist, can say:
"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life..."
What is the most important thing for us, as God's people, to know? That we cried to the Lord, and the Lord healed us from our self-centered, selfish, going-nowhere lives -- that the Lord has made us part of God's kingdom. Hallelujah!
ANOTHER VIEW
Knowledge Is King, or Is It?
by Stephen McCutchan
During the Watergate hearings more than 30 years ago a familiar question was often heard: "What did they know, and when did they know it?" The Senate panel not only wanted to know who knew what but also at what point in time they knew it -- timing was a critical issue in assigning responsibility. This past week the well-advertised iPhone became available. People lined up for days in order to be among the first to spend between $500 and $600 for this new device. The attraction is that this one phone allows you to access e-mail, surf the web, download movies, take pictures, listen to music, send text messages, and, if you are so inclined, even make a phone call. The information of the world is available in the palm of your hand. Who knew what? Everyone has access to all the knowledge of the world. When did they know it? Instantaneously.
In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman speaks of computers and the internet empowering individuals with access to the knowledge of the world. For Christians, there might be an echo of the story in Genesis 3:4-5 where the serpent tempts Eve to eat from the one tree in the garden that she is forbidden to eat from: "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The temptation of humanity is to want to have the knowledge that will enable us to be in charge of our own lives, so that we no longer need to be obedient to anyone but ourselves.
The old saying "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" takes on new meaning when we consider the glut of knowledge that is overwhelming us. A lot of knowledge can give us the delusion that we are in charge and that we do not need to discern the best use of the knowledge that we possess. God gave us a brain and the capacity to gather knowledge. However, we need some framework within which we can measure how to use the knowledge that we have acquired. A slight rephrasing of Psalm 30:6-7 illustrates the point: "As for me, I said in my [abundance of knowledge], 'I shall never be moved.' By your favor, O Lord, you have established me as a strong mountain." Up to that point we see an expression of the growing arrogance brought on by a surplus of knowledge. It is the next phrase that we often ignore: "you hid your face; I was dismayed." The temptation of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the temptation to want to play God rather than use our knowledge in the service of God.
This week's lectionary lesson from 2 Kings 5:1-14 provides an interesting lesson in humility that needs to be heard as we gather the power of knowledge into our hands. The story is really about God's work in a community outside of Israel. It is a humbling reminder that God and God's work is larger than our understanding. The story is about Naaman, a great military commander of the king of Aram. Despite his military prowess and power, he is afflicted by leprosy. The knowledge of how to heal his leprosy is beyond his control. That knowledge resides in a small girl who, as a result of a military victory, has been made a slave. She knows that Naaman must go to the prophet Elisha in Israel if he is to be healed.
Though he receives this knowledge from one "of the least of these," Naaman quickly reverts back to his familiar world of wealth and power. He goes to the prophet loaded down with gifts of wealth in order to bargain with Elisha. When Naaman comes to Elisha's house, the prophet doesn't even take the time to come out and greet this powerful and wealthy commander. He simply sends a messenger to tell the commander to go and wash seven times in the Jordan.
Naaman, who expects something dramatic for which he would gladly pay a great price, is furious and stalks off. Again, it is one of Naaman's servants -- one of the "least of these," who doesn't have knowledge, wealth, or power -- who shows wisdom in his advice. It is only when Naaman is able to humble himself and be obedient that he is cured of his leprosy. Sometimes you can have too much knowledge and not enough wisdom. Often wisdom comes in being willing to be obedient in simpler things.
Paul, in the letter to Galatians (6:9-10), does not suggest some intellectual knowledge as the key to living a life of faith. Rather, he points to the basic interdependence of humanity: "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith."
Knowledge, when it is received with humility, can be a great gift. For Christians, there is nothing of value in being anti-intellectual. However, when we have new knowledge it is to be used for the sake of others. The real value is to be secure in our relationships, both with neighbor and with God. Those types of relationships require us to take the time to be in communion with God and neighbor. Abstract knowledge may be acquired instantaneously, but good relationships require Sabbath time.
ILLUSTRATIONS
I once told my congregation that while I had learned a lot in seminary, everything I know about God I learned from my mother.
* Because of her patience in teaching me to read, I learned that the promise made by God to Moses that "I will teach you what you shall do" is true.
* Her willingness to go to work -- in a time when women did not do such a thing -- because my father could not provide for us, taught me the sacrificial love of God.
* Her continued interest in my life (while never meddling) for over 60 years teaches me that like a mother who never forgets her nursing child, neither will God forget us.
All these things (and more) I know about God, I learned from my mother.
-- Thom M. Shuman
***
I have often reminded you, my dear sister, about the remembrance of God, and now I tell you again: unless you work and sweat to impress on your heart and mind this awe-inspiring Name, you keep silence in vain, you sing in vain, you fast in vain, you watch in vain. In short, all a nun's work will be useless without this activity, without recollection of God. This is the beginning of silence for the Lord's sake, and it is also the end. This most desirable Name is the soul of stillness and silence. By calling it to mind we gain joy and gladness, forgiveness of sins and a wealth of virtues. Few have been able to find this most glorious Name, save only in stillness and silence. We can attain it in no other way, even with great effort. Therefore, knowing the power of this advice, I entreat you for the love of Christ always to be still and silent, since these virtues enrich remembrance of God within us.
--Theophan the Recluse
***
But how do we know?
We've lost much of the richness of that word. Nowadays, to know means to know with the intellect. But it is a much deeper word than that. Adam knew Eve. To know deeply is far more than to know consciously. In the realm of faith I know far more than I can believe with my finite mind. I know that a loving God will not abandon what he creates. I know that the human calling is co-creation with this power of love. I know that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
-- Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water
***
Gadgets, Gimmicks, and God
If this is confession time, then I confess -- I love gadgets. I've loved all my Palm Pilot devices and recently bought a Treo "smartphone." I cannot imagine life without a computer, a copier, a fax machine and all the other gadgets we have that manage the "information overload" with which we bombard our lives. And now dawns yet another new age in technology with the advent of the Apple iPhone. Most of the early reviews are in and the new gadget has them "wowed." I kinda wish I had waited so I could have bought one. But I'm "stuck" with the technology of a Treo 680, already several generations "old" in the rush to newness. We are rich in some forms of knowledge. But I wonder if we are rich in the knowledge of God. The iPhone can keep us in touch with the internet, e-mail, and our human networks. But will it keep us in touch with God and with the call to discipleship?
-- Paul Bresnahan
***
Does God Exist?
I recently bought Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion to see what the competition is up to. The real competition, for me, is not other faiths, but the call to atheism which is gaining currency in the bookstores. My 24-year-old son also read it over, and like many "PKs" (pastor's kids) was quite taken with the notion that there is no God. Then I happened to leave Hans Kung's book Does God Exist? on the coffee table. He picked up this amazing though somewhat dated treatment of the history of the knowledge of God. He was then truly taken with the mind of this obviously great theologian. He wondered out loud to me how it is that Dawkins did not take Kung and dozens of other great modern minds more seriously. Frankly, he wondered about the intellectual honesty of a man who in so cavalier a manner dismisses the existence of God without taking on a mind like Kung. I found my son's frank assessment refreshing and reassuring!
-- Paul Bresnahan
***
The Sounds of Silence
On the one hand we have the cacophany of information bombardment. The modern world is constant and merciless in keeping up the pressure of talk, noise, and information. I confess that I too put on the TV and the radio just to hear a voice when I come home from the "busyness" of my work... my home then becomes "busy" with noise, and the cacophany of life continues constant and unrelenting.
Compare that with this biblical knowledge: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10); or again, "For God alone my soul in silence waits" (Psalm 62:1); or yet again, for Elijah God was not in the wind, the earthquake, or in the fire, God was in the sheer silence (1 Kings 19:12). The teaching is obvious, is it not? We have a lot to learn in our "sophisticated" lives!
***
This stanza from an old pop song by Sam Cooke could be quoted in a sermon on this week's theme:
Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took
But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/wonderf0.htm
***
An amusing email has been making its way around the internet, a list of "Things I Don't Understand":
Why do doctors and lawyers call what they do practice?
Why is abbreviation such a long word?
Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio?
Why is a boxing ring square?
What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?
How do they get the deer to cross the highway at those yellow signs?
How did a fool and his money get together in the first place?
There are many such imponderables in life. Some we never will figure out. There are some, however, that we may not fully understand, but that we can model our lives on. These are the truths of Christian faith.
***
In his biography of John Adams, David McCullough quotes a passage from one of his letters, in which the aging former president engages in some philosophical reflection:
The simplest, most ordinary things, that in other times had seemed incidentals, could lift his heart and set his mind soaring. The philosophy that with sufficient knowledge all could be explained held no appeal. All could not be explained, Adams had come to understand. Mystery was essential. "Admire and adore the Author of the telescopic universe, love and esteem the work, do all in your power to lessen ill, and increase good," he wrote in the margin of one of his books, "but never assume to comprehend."
-- David McCullough, John Adams (Simon & Schuster, 2001), pp. 629-630
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Thom M. Shuman
Call to Worship
Leader: Sing praises to our Lord:
People: who heals us and makes us whole.
Leader: Sing praises to our Lord, faithful children of God:
People: whose joy rises in our lives each and every day.
Leader: Sing praises to our Lord, faithful children of God;
give thanks to God's holy name:
People: God's Kingdom is near to us;
God's peace resides in our hearts.
Prayer of the Day (and Our Lord's Prayer)
We greet you, Helper God, with songs of joy on our lips.
You remove our sackcloth and dress us in Kingdom finery;
you lift us up and waltz us past the outstretched hands of sin and death;
you sow your seeds of grace deep within our hearts,
bringing forth a harvest of faithful and loving disciples,
who forever praise your name,
even as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .
Call to Reconciliation
Unlike ours, God's anger does not last.
But God's favor, God's grace, God's forgiveness?
In every moment,
between yesterday and today, between now and forever,
they are for us.
How can we not want to confess to such a One who is ready to heal us?
Please join me as we pray, saying . . .
(Unison) Prayer of Confession
Helper of every person,
we grow weary of all the wrongs done to us and those we love,
but forget how we let the chances to do what is right slip through our lives.
We gloat over the failings of our neighbors,
and turn a deaf ear to our call to bear their burdens.
We boast about all we do for the needy,
and refuse to see your grace and favor working through us in such moments.
Do not let our sins rejoice over us, Healing God.
You let go of your anger to reach out and touch us with your forgiveness.
Pour out your Spirit of gentleness upon us,
so we might bring the peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to the world.
(silent prayers may be offered)
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: Sing praises to our God, faithful children.
God has heard our prayers and made us whole.
People: We will not be silent,
but will sing our joy to the One who has forgiven us
and made us a new creation.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Helping Others
Galatians 6:(1-6) 7-16
Objects: a heavy box or object and some candy
In the Bible, we find many places where God tells us that we are supposed to help each other. God wants us to help others when they have a tough time and need help. Paul wrote to the Christians at Galatia that they should "carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Have any of you done something this week to help others? (Let them answer.) That's good. We should always be looking for ways to help other people.
I'd like to show you how important it is to help others by doing something right now. I have brought something good for you today (show the candy), but you can only receive the candy if one of you can pass a test. I want this box moved from where it is to that spot over there. (Show them where you want it placed.) Now, I'm going to choose one of you to perform this test, and we hope the chosen one passes so you can all have the candy. (Pick the smallest, weakest child and let him or her try.)
Well, he/she doesn't seem to be able to do it. What can we do about that? (Let them answer. Someone should suggest that they help her or him.) Okay, that's a good idea. Let's help him/her do it. (Help the child move the box.)
So, what have we learned from this? (Let them answer.) That's right, children. Sometimes people need help, and God wants us to help other people when they need it. ___________ couldn't move the box by him/herself, but with our help it got moved. Sometimes the people around us need help, and God wants us to do whatever we can to help others.
Prayer: Dear God: We thank You for reminding us that we should help each other. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 8, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
How's Your IQ?
by Barbara Jurgensen
THE WORLD
Want to check your IQ -- your global IQ? Try the following three questions:
1. Which city is predicted to be the world's largest city in 20 years?
a. Mexico City
b. Mumbai
c. Tokyo
2. Which world religion is atheistic, at least in its earliest form?
a. Buddhism
b. Hinduism
c. Islam
d. Christianity
3. Which of the following car companies sells the largest number of automobiles worldwide?
a. Toyota
b. Ford
c. General Motors
d. Volkswagen
(Answers: 1. Tokyo; 2. Buddhism; 3. Toyota)
The current issue of Newsweek (July 9, 2007) features "181 Things You Need to Know Now" -- that is, if you want to be globally literate, if you want to be an effective and aware participant in today's world. Newsweek highlights a number of areas in which our intelligence will be important, including: environment, technology, films, health, science, politics, art, faith, business, and literature.
Another question -- this one for us as Christians: What do we need to know now to be intelligent, effective followers of our Lord in today's world?
This week's texts give us some clues, especially Psalm 30:2-3:
"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life..."
THE WORD
There seems to be a lot of healing going on in our lessons this week.
In our first reading from 2 Kings 5:1-14, Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of the land of Aram, is healed from his leprosy by Elisha, a mighty prophet of the Lord in the land of Israel.
In our alternate first reading, Isaiah 66:10-14, the prophet Isaiah tells the Lord's people in v.14:
"You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants."
Our Galatians text (6:[1-6] 7-16) reminds us that we, in our whole being, are a new creation in our Lord, and that a new creation is everything (v. 15).
In our Gospel reading (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20), Jesus appoints 70 of his followers to go out in pairs to cure the sick, and to tell those they meet: "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (v. 9).
And, finally, in our Psalm for today, the psalmist exclaims: "O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me" (Psalm 30:2).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Today's texts give us a great opportunity to engage all the various age groups in our congregation as we ask: "What do we, as Christians, need to know now, today, to be good followers of our Lord, to be effective, fruitful followers of our Lord?"
We can refer to the article mentioned above and talk about some of the things Newsweek magazine thinks an intelligent person today needs to know.
But then we can question how important it really is for us to know which car company in the whole world sells the most cars today -- except that it might make us more aware that it no longer is one of the American companies, Ford or General Motors. That might help us learn a little humility, might help us learn a little more respect for the accomplishments of the people of other countries, might help us see that we all need each other, that we need to live as neighbors -- even as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters of one Father.
And how can anyone say with any certainty which of the world's many cities will be the largest "megacity" 20 years from now? Does it really matter? Dealing with this question might help rid us of some of our hubris, of some of our unhealthy pride. It might help us realize that the center of power in this world may already be shifting from long centuries of domination by Europe and the US to Asia, or even, eventually, to Africa or South America or even Australia. (We'll leave Antarctica out for now, but who knows, a century or two from now, with global warming....)
But when it comes to asking what are the most important things we need to know about the Christian faith -- now we're dealing with some really important, life-changing things, things that can make all the difference in our lives.
So when we go home today, or wherever we go for lunch, we can begin asking each other: "What are the basic, essential, rock-bottom things that we as followers of our Lord today need to know?" If we live alone, we can call neighbors, family, or friends and get a discussion going -- maybe it'll be one of the best discussions we've ever had. And it could fan out from there all around the town, and beyond.
And maybe we should start by asking the youngest children among us, and they'll probably answer, "The most important thing is 'Jesus loves me, this I know' " -- which is exactly what the president of a seminary answered as he lay on his deathbed. "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. It doesn't get any better than that!"
What other things will people answer? Maybe:
"For God so loved the world" (John 3:16).
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).
Older people, who've had many years to experience the Lord's tender mercy and grace, may answer, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20) or "Do not worry about anything" (Philippians 4:6).
One answer to the question that might not pop up right away would be from our Psalm today. Psalm 30:2-3 says:
"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life..."
We usually think of being healed as being cured from some disease, from some illness. But the healing we all most need is the healing of our whole being, the healing of what we are.
A doctor can give a medication that brings healing to a patient who's been feeling miserable with bronchitis, but that patient may still feel miserable about their life, which feels lacking in something -- which feels painfully, painfully lacking in something, they don't know what.
That person may try to prop up their life with alcohol, or with drugs, or with all sorts of other things, but none of these really helps. They're still, as the Psalm says, in Sheol, a Hebrew name for the place of the dead, a place without joy. Sheol is sometimes called the Pit (or other names) -- and the person feels like they're "in the pits."
What the person really needs -- what we all need -- is to invite the Lord of All Creation into our lives to heal our whole being, to transform us, to give us a whole new life in him.
Then we, with the psalmist, can say:
"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life..."
What is the most important thing for us, as God's people, to know? That we cried to the Lord, and the Lord healed us from our self-centered, selfish, going-nowhere lives -- that the Lord has made us part of God's kingdom. Hallelujah!
ANOTHER VIEW
Knowledge Is King, or Is It?
by Stephen McCutchan
During the Watergate hearings more than 30 years ago a familiar question was often heard: "What did they know, and when did they know it?" The Senate panel not only wanted to know who knew what but also at what point in time they knew it -- timing was a critical issue in assigning responsibility. This past week the well-advertised iPhone became available. People lined up for days in order to be among the first to spend between $500 and $600 for this new device. The attraction is that this one phone allows you to access e-mail, surf the web, download movies, take pictures, listen to music, send text messages, and, if you are so inclined, even make a phone call. The information of the world is available in the palm of your hand. Who knew what? Everyone has access to all the knowledge of the world. When did they know it? Instantaneously.
In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman speaks of computers and the internet empowering individuals with access to the knowledge of the world. For Christians, there might be an echo of the story in Genesis 3:4-5 where the serpent tempts Eve to eat from the one tree in the garden that she is forbidden to eat from: "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The temptation of humanity is to want to have the knowledge that will enable us to be in charge of our own lives, so that we no longer need to be obedient to anyone but ourselves.
The old saying "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" takes on new meaning when we consider the glut of knowledge that is overwhelming us. A lot of knowledge can give us the delusion that we are in charge and that we do not need to discern the best use of the knowledge that we possess. God gave us a brain and the capacity to gather knowledge. However, we need some framework within which we can measure how to use the knowledge that we have acquired. A slight rephrasing of Psalm 30:6-7 illustrates the point: "As for me, I said in my [abundance of knowledge], 'I shall never be moved.' By your favor, O Lord, you have established me as a strong mountain." Up to that point we see an expression of the growing arrogance brought on by a surplus of knowledge. It is the next phrase that we often ignore: "you hid your face; I was dismayed." The temptation of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the temptation to want to play God rather than use our knowledge in the service of God.
This week's lectionary lesson from 2 Kings 5:1-14 provides an interesting lesson in humility that needs to be heard as we gather the power of knowledge into our hands. The story is really about God's work in a community outside of Israel. It is a humbling reminder that God and God's work is larger than our understanding. The story is about Naaman, a great military commander of the king of Aram. Despite his military prowess and power, he is afflicted by leprosy. The knowledge of how to heal his leprosy is beyond his control. That knowledge resides in a small girl who, as a result of a military victory, has been made a slave. She knows that Naaman must go to the prophet Elisha in Israel if he is to be healed.
Though he receives this knowledge from one "of the least of these," Naaman quickly reverts back to his familiar world of wealth and power. He goes to the prophet loaded down with gifts of wealth in order to bargain with Elisha. When Naaman comes to Elisha's house, the prophet doesn't even take the time to come out and greet this powerful and wealthy commander. He simply sends a messenger to tell the commander to go and wash seven times in the Jordan.
Naaman, who expects something dramatic for which he would gladly pay a great price, is furious and stalks off. Again, it is one of Naaman's servants -- one of the "least of these," who doesn't have knowledge, wealth, or power -- who shows wisdom in his advice. It is only when Naaman is able to humble himself and be obedient that he is cured of his leprosy. Sometimes you can have too much knowledge and not enough wisdom. Often wisdom comes in being willing to be obedient in simpler things.
Paul, in the letter to Galatians (6:9-10), does not suggest some intellectual knowledge as the key to living a life of faith. Rather, he points to the basic interdependence of humanity: "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith."
Knowledge, when it is received with humility, can be a great gift. For Christians, there is nothing of value in being anti-intellectual. However, when we have new knowledge it is to be used for the sake of others. The real value is to be secure in our relationships, both with neighbor and with God. Those types of relationships require us to take the time to be in communion with God and neighbor. Abstract knowledge may be acquired instantaneously, but good relationships require Sabbath time.
ILLUSTRATIONS
I once told my congregation that while I had learned a lot in seminary, everything I know about God I learned from my mother.
* Because of her patience in teaching me to read, I learned that the promise made by God to Moses that "I will teach you what you shall do" is true.
* Her willingness to go to work -- in a time when women did not do such a thing -- because my father could not provide for us, taught me the sacrificial love of God.
* Her continued interest in my life (while never meddling) for over 60 years teaches me that like a mother who never forgets her nursing child, neither will God forget us.
All these things (and more) I know about God, I learned from my mother.
-- Thom M. Shuman
***
I have often reminded you, my dear sister, about the remembrance of God, and now I tell you again: unless you work and sweat to impress on your heart and mind this awe-inspiring Name, you keep silence in vain, you sing in vain, you fast in vain, you watch in vain. In short, all a nun's work will be useless without this activity, without recollection of God. This is the beginning of silence for the Lord's sake, and it is also the end. This most desirable Name is the soul of stillness and silence. By calling it to mind we gain joy and gladness, forgiveness of sins and a wealth of virtues. Few have been able to find this most glorious Name, save only in stillness and silence. We can attain it in no other way, even with great effort. Therefore, knowing the power of this advice, I entreat you for the love of Christ always to be still and silent, since these virtues enrich remembrance of God within us.
--Theophan the Recluse
***
But how do we know?
We've lost much of the richness of that word. Nowadays, to know means to know with the intellect. But it is a much deeper word than that. Adam knew Eve. To know deeply is far more than to know consciously. In the realm of faith I know far more than I can believe with my finite mind. I know that a loving God will not abandon what he creates. I know that the human calling is co-creation with this power of love. I know that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
-- Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water
***
Gadgets, Gimmicks, and God
If this is confession time, then I confess -- I love gadgets. I've loved all my Palm Pilot devices and recently bought a Treo "smartphone." I cannot imagine life without a computer, a copier, a fax machine and all the other gadgets we have that manage the "information overload" with which we bombard our lives. And now dawns yet another new age in technology with the advent of the Apple iPhone. Most of the early reviews are in and the new gadget has them "wowed." I kinda wish I had waited so I could have bought one. But I'm "stuck" with the technology of a Treo 680, already several generations "old" in the rush to newness. We are rich in some forms of knowledge. But I wonder if we are rich in the knowledge of God. The iPhone can keep us in touch with the internet, e-mail, and our human networks. But will it keep us in touch with God and with the call to discipleship?
-- Paul Bresnahan
***
Does God Exist?
I recently bought Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion to see what the competition is up to. The real competition, for me, is not other faiths, but the call to atheism which is gaining currency in the bookstores. My 24-year-old son also read it over, and like many "PKs" (pastor's kids) was quite taken with the notion that there is no God. Then I happened to leave Hans Kung's book Does God Exist? on the coffee table. He picked up this amazing though somewhat dated treatment of the history of the knowledge of God. He was then truly taken with the mind of this obviously great theologian. He wondered out loud to me how it is that Dawkins did not take Kung and dozens of other great modern minds more seriously. Frankly, he wondered about the intellectual honesty of a man who in so cavalier a manner dismisses the existence of God without taking on a mind like Kung. I found my son's frank assessment refreshing and reassuring!
-- Paul Bresnahan
***
The Sounds of Silence
On the one hand we have the cacophany of information bombardment. The modern world is constant and merciless in keeping up the pressure of talk, noise, and information. I confess that I too put on the TV and the radio just to hear a voice when I come home from the "busyness" of my work... my home then becomes "busy" with noise, and the cacophany of life continues constant and unrelenting.
Compare that with this biblical knowledge: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10); or again, "For God alone my soul in silence waits" (Psalm 62:1); or yet again, for Elijah God was not in the wind, the earthquake, or in the fire, God was in the sheer silence (1 Kings 19:12). The teaching is obvious, is it not? We have a lot to learn in our "sophisticated" lives!
***
This stanza from an old pop song by Sam Cooke could be quoted in a sermon on this week's theme:
Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took
But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/wonderf0.htm
***
An amusing email has been making its way around the internet, a list of "Things I Don't Understand":
Why do doctors and lawyers call what they do practice?
Why is abbreviation such a long word?
Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio?
Why is a boxing ring square?
What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?
How do they get the deer to cross the highway at those yellow signs?
How did a fool and his money get together in the first place?
There are many such imponderables in life. Some we never will figure out. There are some, however, that we may not fully understand, but that we can model our lives on. These are the truths of Christian faith.
***
In his biography of John Adams, David McCullough quotes a passage from one of his letters, in which the aging former president engages in some philosophical reflection:
The simplest, most ordinary things, that in other times had seemed incidentals, could lift his heart and set his mind soaring. The philosophy that with sufficient knowledge all could be explained held no appeal. All could not be explained, Adams had come to understand. Mystery was essential. "Admire and adore the Author of the telescopic universe, love and esteem the work, do all in your power to lessen ill, and increase good," he wrote in the margin of one of his books, "but never assume to comprehend."
-- David McCullough, John Adams (Simon & Schuster, 2001), pp. 629-630
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Thom M. Shuman
Call to Worship
Leader: Sing praises to our Lord:
People: who heals us and makes us whole.
Leader: Sing praises to our Lord, faithful children of God:
People: whose joy rises in our lives each and every day.
Leader: Sing praises to our Lord, faithful children of God;
give thanks to God's holy name:
People: God's Kingdom is near to us;
God's peace resides in our hearts.
Prayer of the Day (and Our Lord's Prayer)
We greet you, Helper God, with songs of joy on our lips.
You remove our sackcloth and dress us in Kingdom finery;
you lift us up and waltz us past the outstretched hands of sin and death;
you sow your seeds of grace deep within our hearts,
bringing forth a harvest of faithful and loving disciples,
who forever praise your name,
even as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .
Call to Reconciliation
Unlike ours, God's anger does not last.
But God's favor, God's grace, God's forgiveness?
In every moment,
between yesterday and today, between now and forever,
they are for us.
How can we not want to confess to such a One who is ready to heal us?
Please join me as we pray, saying . . .
(Unison) Prayer of Confession
Helper of every person,
we grow weary of all the wrongs done to us and those we love,
but forget how we let the chances to do what is right slip through our lives.
We gloat over the failings of our neighbors,
and turn a deaf ear to our call to bear their burdens.
We boast about all we do for the needy,
and refuse to see your grace and favor working through us in such moments.
Do not let our sins rejoice over us, Healing God.
You let go of your anger to reach out and touch us with your forgiveness.
Pour out your Spirit of gentleness upon us,
so we might bring the peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to the world.
(silent prayers may be offered)
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: Sing praises to our God, faithful children.
God has heard our prayers and made us whole.
People: We will not be silent,
but will sing our joy to the One who has forgiven us
and made us a new creation.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Helping Others
Galatians 6:(1-6) 7-16
Objects: a heavy box or object and some candy
In the Bible, we find many places where God tells us that we are supposed to help each other. God wants us to help others when they have a tough time and need help. Paul wrote to the Christians at Galatia that they should "carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Have any of you done something this week to help others? (Let them answer.) That's good. We should always be looking for ways to help other people.
I'd like to show you how important it is to help others by doing something right now. I have brought something good for you today (show the candy), but you can only receive the candy if one of you can pass a test. I want this box moved from where it is to that spot over there. (Show them where you want it placed.) Now, I'm going to choose one of you to perform this test, and we hope the chosen one passes so you can all have the candy. (Pick the smallest, weakest child and let him or her try.)
Well, he/she doesn't seem to be able to do it. What can we do about that? (Let them answer. Someone should suggest that they help her or him.) Okay, that's a good idea. Let's help him/her do it. (Help the child move the box.)
So, what have we learned from this? (Let them answer.) That's right, children. Sometimes people need help, and God wants us to help other people when they need it. ___________ couldn't move the box by him/herself, but with our help it got moved. Sometimes the people around us need help, and God wants us to do whatever we can to help others.
Prayer: Dear God: We thank You for reminding us that we should help each other. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 8, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
