Immediate Word

For May 15, 2022:

• Hungry for More Justice by Katy Stenta. God encourages our hunger for justice to change and grow.
• Second Thoughts: The Days When Jesus Has a Migraine by Mary Austin based on John 13:31-35.
• Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Chris Keating.
• Worship resources by George Reed.
• Children's sermon: Praise the Lord! You Have To! by Tom Willadsen based on Psalm 148.



Hungry for More Justice
by Katy Stenta

In the Scriptures
The Bible is always an ever expanding story of love and acceptance. Starting out with one couple — Adam and Eve — and then moving in an ever-expanding arc toward love and acceptance. There is a great meme about this that talks about all the things that the Bible says we should hate — and then there is a story in the Bible showing how much God loves these people.

Just when you think you have it all figured out, God shifts again toward the marginalized. Jesus’ first sermon in the Temple, in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21), gets him almost thrown off of a cliff, for he proclaims the Good News not for the esteemed in the Temple and his hometown, but for the opposite — all those outside of it. Is it any wonder that Paul continuously gets thrown in prison? This is the same as the forbidden fruit. What is this if it is not the redemption of Adam and Eve? There is no longer a sinful food in the Bible. When we die it is not of sin. God doesn’t punish us in this way.

In the News
In any case, redemption means that our hunger for justice will open new doors for us. We will become what some people have termed “woke,” awakened to what is just and unjust. Things that were funny — such as men dressing in women’s clothing, now becomes a symbol of the cis-heteropatrichary and the danger that trans individuals have in the world today. Once someone is awoken to injustice in the world, it is hard to go back to being blithe and ignorant. Some people think that becoming “woke” is a dangerous thing. Perhaps it is, because it changes your wordview forever. If you know that a ban for one transgender girl from playing soccer is wrong and dangerous to that poor girl’s very life, then you are not only woke but you are probably hungry for the kingdom meal.

Some people try to use shame to stop the hunger, as Diana Butler Bass so eloquently writes in her essay. Heaven knows that humans make all kinds of emotional things out of eating. We eat or do not eat because we are sad or angry or worried. We attach hospitality to food, and make our relationships dependent on how we accept our meals with one another. To shame one another about our hunger for justice is a violation of our very natural inclinations — but Paul makes it very clear that it is natural to hunger for food. And let us be honest, we are naturally hungry for justice. Ask any child who screams when things do not seem fair. 

If the leaked decision for Roe v. Wade makes you hungry for justice, then you are probably hungry for heaven.

In the Sermon
In her book Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church, Rachel Held Evans said, “This is what God's kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there's always room for more.” (p.148) We come to the table not because we are fulfilled, but rather because we know we are hungry for more. We come to communion because we long for the taste of the supper. We want the taste of grace upon our tongue. We know that the love of God is so overflowing that once it is given to us it is not meant to be hoarded but rather shared like a cup that overflows.

I once heard Professor Brian Blount preach that the Kingdom is like a food fight — messy and inclusive — where grace is thrown on everyone, and there is abundance for everyone to get in the middle of it. Joyous and fun. There is no forbidden food in a food fight, no popular table, no teams, no racial segregation — just a party where everyone is participating in the fun together.

This “right to privacy” is a misnomer, of course, because it is not a “right to privacy” — it is a the right to hunger — to sit at the table and feed oneself what one’s body needs: the appropriate gender, education, heath care, religion, sex, sexuality and, yes, food, all put under the broad umbrella of what we somehow call “privacy.” We Christians consider ourselves created in God’s image and God-breathed with “pneuma” — the God-breath — and then we feed ourselves with the Holy Spirit, the inspirer, the comforter, the advocate, the one who longs for justice, the co-worker. In light of who the Holy Spirit is, and how she works on our behalf, is it any wonder that we continually hunger for justice? I’m so glad we have God working with us and expanding us in this way, and teaching us to continue toward justice. And I hope we never forget that it is okay to hunger for more.

I’m hungry, let’s go make lunch.



SECOND THOUGHTS
The Days When Jesus Has a Migraine
by Mary Austin
John 13:31-35

Following the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on abortion, various memes have circulated, pointing out our hypocrisy as a nation about babies. If this decision was really about saving babies, they say, we would have longer and paid parental leave, food assistance for parents and young children, affordable and safe child care, and so on.

Perhaps Jesus is hitting his head somewhere. His instructions are so simple here in John’s gospel. “Love one another.” He doesn’t say to be sure the people understand the real meaning of the sacraments, to correct each other vigorously and to police each other’s behavior.

We miss that, and let our reputation as Christians be about judgy morality. How did we get from “love one another” to purity culture and complementarian views of men and women as emblematic of the Christian faith?

As people of faith, we have the public’s view of us to be shaped by our meanest, most fringe elements. People with (they say) a dead fetus in a jar. People harassing a woman going into a clinic for something that’s her own business. People buying data about visits to abortion clinics, based on phone location. In 2016, an advertising CEO who worked with anti-abortion and Christian groups sent targeted advertisements to women sitting in Planned Parenthood clinics in an attempt to change their decision around getting an abortion.

What if, instead, we organized our part of the world according to Jesus’ instruction, in John’s gospel, to love one another? As he’s preparing to leave them, his instruction isn’t to teach doctrine, to get the fine points right and to make sure other people behave.

Following the death of her mother, singer Naomi Judd, actor Ashley Judd noted the things that contributed to her mother’s mental illness — burdens that a society based on love could have eased. Ashley Judd says, “Because my mother was stolen from me by the disease of mental illness, by the wounds she carried from a lifetime of injustices that started when she was a girl. Because she was a girl. My mama was an extraordinary parent under duress: She showed my sister and me the power of having a voice and using it, and there has been no greater lesson. But motherhood happened to her without her consent. She experienced an unintended pregnancy at age 17, and that led her down a road familiar to so many adolescent mothers, including poverty and gender-based violence.”

All mothers, she notes, could benefit from a society organized by love. “Now consider the women in our own communities who return to work before their bodies have fully recovered from creating life. Do we value them? Our country, the richest in the world, has one of the highest maternal death rates in the developed world — with Black and indigenous women two to three times more likely to die. And that’s talking only about medical causes of maternal death. Let me tell you what else kills pregnant women: violence and despair. A study last year found that some of the top causes of death among pregnant women in the United States were homicide, suicide, and overdose.”

Congress allowed the expanded tax credits for families with children to expire, and poverty researchers estimate that “3.7 million more children were living in poverty by January — a 41% increase from December, when families received their last check.” The aid ended when President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill stalled in Congress. What if Congress used love for the people of the country as a guide to passing bills?

Even though fewer people every year identify as Christians, one part of our Christian community dominates the conversation. We would be outraged if the Seventh Day Adventists told us we couldn’t eat a hamburger because it violates their religious beliefs. “But those are your beliefs, not mine,” we would answer. The same would happen if our Jewish friends demanded that everyone eat kosher food, or our Muslim friends insisted on all meat being halal. And yet the abortion debate is somehow about “Christian beliefs” that many Christians don’t have.

The Christian value we could all get behind — any day, any time — is the one Jesus leaves us here. “Love one another.” Or, at least try. It doesn’t even matter if everyone does it. A little bit in public life will go a long way.



ILLUSTRATIONS

From team member Dean Feldmeyer:

Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35
We Dine United (Inclusion)
You see them, or at least you remember seeing them. They’re the kids who are eating their lunch alone, not because they want to but because they are new to the school, or they’re shy, or they’re different and just don’t have any friends.

For those people, lunch can be torture, the worst time of the day.

“We Dine Together” was founded by high school student, Denis Estimon, to answer that problem. A completely student-led movement, they believe that no student should eat alone unless they want to. They make it a priority to create a positive social atmosphere on their campuses for new, incoming students — a welcoming committee. To others, WDT can be a safe haven where they can be themselves without fear of rejection. For the school, the WDT family is a catalyst for real social change. They believe lasting relationships and impact happen over the table.

Today, there are over 1,000 “We Dine Together” chapters all over the world.

* * *

John 13:31-35
Seven Kinds Of Loneliness (Love One Another)
According to Gretchen Rubin, writing in Psychology Today, it’s important to realize why we feel lonely, because only then can we see how we might address it in ourselves or others. Here are seven common reasons people feel lonely:

1. New-situation loneliness. You’ve moved to a new city where you don’t know anyone, or you’ve started a new job, or you’ve started at a school full of unfamiliar faces. You’re lonely.
2. I’m-different loneliness. You feel different from other people in an important way that makes you feel isolated. This can arise out of differences in religion, race, nationality, talent and ability, or just physical appearance.
3. No-sweetheart loneliness. Even if you have lots of family and friends, you feel lonely because you don’t have the intimate attachment of a romantic partner.
4. No-animal loneliness. You lost a pet you loved and haven’t been able to replace.
5. No-time-for-me loneliness. You have lots of acquaintances and colleagues but none of them wants to invest the time and energy it will take to become your friend.
6. Untrustworthy-friends loneliness. You find that you are “friends” with someone whom you’re afraid will betray your confidence or use their relationship with you for their own advancement.
7. Quiet-presence loneliness. Often the loneliness of widowhood is described this way. You didn’t have to be constantly talking or doing but you took comfort in the fact that  your partner was there, even if just in the other room making a cup of coffee.

* * *

John 13:31-35
The Cost Of Loneliness (Love One Another)
One of the most important and, yet, overlooked ministries to which the church is called, is the battle against loneliness in our own communities.

Loneliness, according to psychologists who study it, has a wide range of negative effects on both physical and mental health. These include:

• Altered brain function
• Alzheimer's disease progression
• Antisocial behavior
• Cardiovascular disease and stroke
• Decreased memory and learning
• Depression and suicide
• Increased stress levels
• Poor decision-making

* * *

John 13:31-35
Five Ways To Love One Another (Love One Another)
It’s all well and good to quote John 13 and talk about loving one another, but what does that actually look like? What do I see when I see a Christian loving another Christian as Jesus did? Here are 6 suggestions:

1. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If we insist on perfection from other Christians we will be constantly angry and disappointed with them. Let the good that they do be sufficient and be their friend in spite of their flaws.
2. Make friends. Loving one another means more than politely tolerating our fellow Christians. Make an effort to reach out and befriend them.
3. Serve them. Do an occasional act of kindness toward a fellow Christian, for no reason and expecting nothing in return. Jump in. Offer to help before you are asked. Sometimes the offer itself, even if it isn’t accepted, is enough to make another feel better about their situation.
4. Listen to them. One of the most common expressions of loneliness is having no one to talk to. Be that one. Listen without having to offer your own story, unless asked.
5. Compliment them. Some people never receive a compliment after their parents or spouse is gone. A simple “I really like that scarf,” or “You have a lovely singing voice,” or “Your kids are so beautiful and well mannered” can go a long way in making someone’s day.
6. Go with them. A scary doctor’s appointment. A shopping trip to buy a new outfit for an important occasion. Picking out wall paper. Wrangling the kids at the park. These are all made easier, even fun, when a friend goes with you.

* * *

Psalm 148
Acts Of Praise (Praising God)
We hear the phrase, “Praise the Lord,” so often in church that, in some places, it has become a meaningless cliché that means nothing more than “I’m happy.” Yet, there is, in each of us, a need to, from time to time, acknowledge those wonders and marvels that come from a source that is not us.

Here are four ways we can give praise and thanks to God without slipping into what much of the world sees as a meaningless cliché:

1. Take a picture or make a recording to share with another. Most of us carry a camera around with us all day every day on our cell phones. Learn to take good pictures of beauty and mystery that you can share with others.
2. Use your talent in an unselfish way. Can you sing? Sing a song that expresses how you feel. Can you draw or paint? Create a piece of art that speaks to your feelings. Can you tell a story? Tell one that shares your experience.
3. Be charitable. Giving a McDonald’s gift card to a homeless person is not about who that person is; it’s about who we are and who God is to us.
4. Be happy. Happiness is often a decision. We may face hardship or trials but, as Christians, we know that God’s will eventually will be victorious. (Note: Let your happiness be a witness to others, but not a sermon.)

* * * * * *

From team member Chris Keating:

Acts 11:1-18
Led by the Spirit
News of Peter’s gastronomical adventures arouses the interest — and reactivity — of the apostolic leadership in Jerusalem. Facing a room full of critics, Peter traces his journey toward acceptance of Gentiles. Or, more precisely, Peter recounts the way the Spirit led him to Cornelius’ household.

Peter’s testimony offers the contemporary church a chance to reflect on our own journeys of acceptance, particularly acceptance of LGBTQ individuals. In a sermon preached several years ago, New Testament professor Margaret Aymer noted that it is not surprising that Peter, like many of us, resisted the call to change. “So it is no surprise that, on a rooftop in Joppa, Peter resists a vision that must have seemed to him a test at best and a fight with the very forces of evil at worst. And Peter is completely justified in saying, “No.” For what Peter knows is that the Bible says, “You shall not bring abomination on yourself by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy, as I am holy — thus says the Lord.”

But when the winds of change begin to blow, says Aymer, when the Spirit of the living God blows, “no one, not Cornelius, not even Simon “The Rock” Peter of the Twelve remains unaffected.” Peter understands that change is in the wind — and not even the elders in Jerusalem can prevent the church from changing.

* * *

Acts 11:1-18
Welcoming is just the first step
Change, as Peter discovers, is not just a single step. To be sure, Peter has taken a huge step in embracing the Gentiles. But the ongoing story of Acts is the story of how the church continued to take even bigger steps of faith.

The journey continues today, writes Anthony Venn-Brown, but its important to not get stuck along the way. While “welcoming” of LGBTQ persons may be a big step, Venn-Brown says it’s just the start of a longer journey toward affirmation. His blog features a helpful diagram that illustrates the movement from “anti-gay” toward steps of welcoming, accepting (but not affirming), and affirming, or unconditional acceptance and love. As Venn-Brown notes:

Some churches refuse to go on the journey. Some began the journey, then got stuck, afraid of the potential for controversy and conflict. Others have continued to take brave steps in faith towards creating a completely affirming congregation where the sign at the front that says ‘All welcome’ actually means that. Whilst this graphic is simplistic and other terms have been used such as ‘inclusive’ and ‘reconciling’ it serves a point. It’s a journey. Some are further behind than they think. Some have a long way to go.

* * *

Acts 11:1-18
The sound of silence
Silence, as Peter and any preacher knows, can mean many things. Peter’s account of his experience in Joppa silences the crowd. Perhaps they were stunned by his brazen jettisoning of thousands of years of tradition. Perhaps they couldn’t find the words to explain his experience, or perhaps they were moved by the astounding grace of God. Preachers, and the congregations they serve, ought to explore the power of silence.  

Corrinna de Fonseca-Wollheim writes about the spiritual eloquence of silence in classical music. She notes that the composer Debussy wrote that music is not in the notes, but in the spaces between them. She quotes Miles Davis: “It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.



* * * * * *

WORSHIP
by George Reed

Call to Worship
One: Praise God! Praise God from the heavens.; praise God in the heights!
All: Praise God, sun and moon; praise God, all you shining stars!
One: Praise God, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
All: Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
One: Praise God, rulers of the earth and all the peoples.
All: Men and women alike, old and young together! Praise God!

OR
One: Come everyone for the love of God is for all!
All: We rejoice in the abundance of God’s loving kindness.
One: Those who once were far off and rejected are welcome.
All: We open our hearts to all of God’s children.
One: The God who created us calls us all together.
All: All creation stands in the glory of our God.

Hymns and Songs
All Creatures of Our God and King
UMH: 62
H82: 400
PH: 455
AAHH: 147
NNBH: 33
NCH: 17
CH: 22
LBW: 527
ELW: 835
W&P: 23
AMEC: 50
STLT: 203 
Renew: 47

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELW: 836
W&P: 59
AMEC: 75
STLT: 29

From All That Dwell Below the Skies
UMH: 101
H82: 380
PH: 229
NCH: 27
CH: 49
LBW: 550
AMEC: 69
STLT: 381

Help Us Accept Each Other
UMH: 560
PH: 358
NCH: 388
CH: 487
W&P: 596
AMEC: 558 

Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
UMH: 559
H82: 518
PH: 416/417
NCH: 400
CH: 275
LBW: 367
ELW: 645 
AMEC: 518

In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557 

The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/545
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 369
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519 

O God of Every Nation
UMH: 435
H82: 607
PH: 289
CH: 680
LBW: 416
ELW: 713
W&P: 626

This Is My Song
UMH: 437
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELW: 887
STLT: 159

More Love to Thee, O Christ
UMH: 453          
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460 

I Am Loved
CCB: 80

Unity
CCB: 59   

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 is the creator of all that was, and is, and ever shall be:
Grant us the grace to see your Spirit shining in all creation
and within each and every creature of yours;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We praise you, O God, because you are the creator of all. What has been, is now, or ever shall be is from your hand. Draw us together as your children so that we may love you and one another fully. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our rejection of those you have declared holy.

All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have created all and claim it as your own. Each person made in your image is yours and yet we are quick to reject people and we do that in your name. In doing so, we forsake our heritage as your image and likeness. Forgive our selfish ways when we try to place ourselves above others. Renew your Spirit within us that we may truly be your children. Amen. 

One: God claims us all, even when we don’t act like God’s children. Receive God’s blessing and pass it on to others.

Prayers of the People
Glory and honor to you, O God of all creation. You are the source from which all of us have sprung. You are the Creator of all.

(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 created all and claim it as your own. Each person made in your image is yours and yet we are quick to reject people and we do that in your name. In doing so, we forsake our heritage as your image and likeness. Forgive our selfish ways when we try to place ourselves above others. Renew your Spirit within us that we may truly be your children.

We give you thanks for all the ways in which you show that you love us and claim us as your children. We thank you for the blessings of creation and for the blessings of your Spirit that dwells within and among us all. We thank you for those who shown us we are loved by you through their accepting us as we are.

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for all your children and especially for those who find it difficult to believe in your love because of the hatred and cruelty that have faced from others. We pray for those who struggle to feel they are a valued part of your family. For the needs of all your children we pray this day.

(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
Praise the Lord! You Have To!
by Tom Willadsen
Psalm 148

Start by asking the kids what they have to do:
At home
At school
At church
Other places? For example, scouting, athletic teams they’re on.

Next, ask them what they can’t help doing:
Blinking and breathing come to mind.

Be ready to read from Psalm 148. The Message begins the psalm with “Hallelujah!” which means, “Praise God.” The NRSV begins with the more prosaic “Praise the Lord!” It’s a command. It’s something one has to do, like breathing, or taking out the garbage, or turning in your homework.

Next, take a look at all the other things who are commanded to praise the Lord:

God’s angels, “all his host,” (Remind them that the heavenly host announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. And “host” means “army,” so it’s like saying “God’s Air Force.”)
sea monsters,
fire,
hail,
snow,
frost,
stormy wind,
mountains,
hills,
fruit trees,
cedar trees,
kings,
princes,
men,
women,
old people,
young people.

Ask if they can think of things that are not ordered to praise God. Ask whether there’s anyone at church who is not ordered to praise God. You might want to veer into Psalm 150 and the array of musical instruments that can be used to praise God.

Conclude with a prayer like:

Lord of All, you made everything that we can see and everything we can’t see. Give us hearts that are full of thankfulness and mouths filled with your praises. Amen.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


The Immediate Word, May 15, 2022 issue.

Copyright 2022 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.