James And The Giant... Picket Line?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Teaching has always been a difficult and often thankless task, as James pointedly observes in the opening verse of this week's lectionary epistle passage when he counsels that "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1). The education of our young people is an immensely important investment in the future and affects everyone -- so it's not surprising that, like baseball managers, everyone seems to have an opinion about how their job could be done better. Many people believe that our schools need to retool their structure in order to adequately prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century... and this has created a great deal of stress for those who work with our children daily. In addition to increasing financial pressure, the public and their elected representatives are demanding increased accountability in the form of standardized testing, as well as looking at new formats such as charter schools.
But as team member Leah Lonsbury notes in the next installment of The Immediate Word, this difficult environment has led teachers to feel increasingly put upon and misunderstood by a society that demands results without appreciating the process. Many people look at the summer vacation teachers enjoy (a vestige of a time when the vast majority of America worked in agriculture) with a degree of resentment -- yet they often fail to grasp how often teachers provide uncompensated time and resources, and the extent to which they are called upon to be social workers as well as educators. Teacher's unions have become a popular punching bag for public frustration; yet, their focus is often not just on protecting economic gains for their members but on trying to keep school management from implementing what they view as unjust forms of job evaluation -- an issue that seems to be a large factor in the current Chicago's teachers strike. Leah draws on her personal experience as a former teacher to illustrate how difficult -- and rewarding -- a chore teaching can be and to offer some thoughts on how we can uplift the singularly important function they have, both in our schools and in our Christian education programs.
Team member George Reed offers some additional thoughts on this week's epistle text, focusing on James' concern for the power of the human tongue to unleash destructive forces. We live in an age with a post-modern relationship with the truth -- what Stephen Colbert has dubbed "truthiness," in which the appearance of truth is more important than actual truth. But George notes that we have a responsibility not just to cherry-pick "facts" that reinforce our predetermined notions; instead, we ought to make sure that our words (and actions) bear out actual truth -- and require the patience and discipline to make sure our brains are engaged before we let loose with our tongues. Then we can build up the community with positive messages rather than tearing it down with inaccurate and divisive words.
James and the Giant... Picket Line?
by Leah Lonsbury
James 3:1-12
I was raised at school -- my English teacher-turned-librarian mother hauled my brother and me to our elementary school bright and early every weekday morning. Still starry-eyed, we watched as she buzzed around before the first bell, coordinating lesson plans with teachers, planning outreach programs to encourage parents to read with their children, playing stand-in technology coordinator, fighting to keep censorship out of our library, writing for grants, and shelving books on the fly each time she whizzed past a shelf.
I saw other teachers, counselors, administration, and staff there just as early and long after the last bell rang. They were also there on many uncontracted and unpaid summer days. I saw them passing out breakfast, winter coats, and school supplies they had purchased with their own money. I saw them sit with struggling students before and after school, trying to help make long division, compound sentences, or the scientific method into tools their students could grasp more easily to build their skills and their future. I saw them sit through long meetings in the front office and fighting for special services and resources their students needed to be successful. I saw them in the library with my mother, searching for materials for individual kids who had expressed an interest in amphibians or poetry or ancient Egypt.
As a child, I saw these professionals work incredibly hard. As an adult, I know without a doubt that they didn't do it for the thanks and accolades or for the paycheck they received. I know this, because I'm an English teacher-turned-pastor.
During my short tenure as a teacher, James' pointed admonition that "Not many of you should become teachers" became really clear to me. That's not because I observed a lot of poor teaching. It's because I came to understand the tremendous responsibilities teachers and other educational professionals hold in terms of the well-being and future of each of their students and so the future of our human family. As the world changes, families struggle financially and emotionally, and the political and civil divide grows, those responsibilities only multiply.
Teachers are, to use James' language, the "very small rudder" that steers the huge ship. They are the simple bridle that directs the whole powerful horse and the small flame that sets the whole forest afire.
These are people in a unique position of catalytic power. They have the potential and the responsibility to shape what will be. Using the language of the church, Kathy L. Dawson writes in Feasting on the Word [Year B, Volume 4, p. 66]: "Teachers can lead the way to more authentic community by creating spaces where differences can be voiced and listened to. The classroom, broadly defined, can be a space for creative resolution of tensions and discernment of the Holy Spirit."
Or, in words that can be used more broadly, teachers can make clear the way to wisdom, hold space for us to come together and be heard, and bring us closer to the happiness and health of all people -- an important part of what James is after in the broader teaching of this letter.
If teachers hold this kind of responsibility, power, and potential, how are we then to view, approach, support, and celebrate them?
To begin to answer that question, let's look at the situation the Chicago Public School District is facing with the strike of their 26,000 teachers and educational professionals.
THE WORLD
Things are tough in Chicago. This past weekend, two more young people were killed and six were wounded after a summer of intense violence. Chicago recorded 57 murders in August alone, up from 37 in August of 2011.
Among the ten largest cities in America, Chicago comes in third for its poverty rate. According the data from the 2009 US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 21.6% of Chicagoans live under the poverty level. A closer look adds another level of distress -- close to 1 in 3 African-American residents of Chicago live in poverty. That's one way Chicago ranks number one amongst America's largest cities. Having the largest disparity between blacks and whites living in poverty is another. That difference stands at 22.2%.
Things are tough in Chicago.
Only about 60% of high school students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduate. The national average is 75%. Right down the road from CPS, the affluent Chicago suburbs can boast of a 90% graduation rate.
More than 80% of the 402,000 CPS students qualify for free lunches, because they come from low-income families.
"Between the killings in Chicago and the school strike, Chicago is the epicenter of an urban crisis," said Rev. Jesse Jackson. "We need and deserve better."
The school strike... there's that too.
As of press time, the negotiations between representatives of the school district and local government and the Chicago Teachers' Union (CTU) continue, even as 26,000 teachers, counselors, school social workers, and other staff have begun to strike.
The CTU reports that its negotiations have already been productive on some fronts, "winning provisions for nursing mothers, ensuring textbooks will be available on day one, teachers will have access to functioning computers, and counselors and social workers will have appropriate, private workspaces to serve students."
Things are tough in Chicago, but do these "wins" sound like items for which teachers and educators should have to negotiate?
Issues such as wages, job security, the cancellation of longevity pay increases and sick leave benefits, the imposition of a curriculum with greater difficulty and subject matter, and teacher evaluations beyond what the new state law calls for are still on the table. According to the CTU, "the two sides remain far apart."
Much of the mounting opposition from members of the CTU grows out of initiatives that began with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's campaign promises to reform the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and institute a longer school day. This summer, CPS instituted a plan for an extended day that calls for teachers to work nearly 20% more without compensation. According to the CTU, the district made this demand despite employee objections and without a plan in place as to how to staff or pay for the longer hours. Additionally, the CTU reports, "Educators were angry that the Board made no commitments to offering students the... art, music, physical education, and world language classes they needed." These complaints join those about the CPS board of education's plans to close over 100 neighborhood schools, displacing thousands of students and laying off teachers while the district shifts to a half-public/half-charter school plan.
CTU President Karen Lewis says of these actions:
This education crisis is real especially if you are Black or Brown in Chicago. Whenever our students perform well on tests, CPS moves the bar higher, tells them they are failures, and blames their teachers. Now they want to privatize public education and further disrupt our neighborhoods. We've seen public housing shut down, public health clinics, public libraries, and now public schools. There is an attack on public institutions, many of which serve low-income and working-class families.
On the other side of the table, CPS says it has little room to negotiate on staffing and salaries, because both the state and city are in a dire financial position. The district projects a $3 billion deficit over the next three years. The CPS board took back a contracted 4% pay raise for teachers in 2011 because of its budget problems.
Sunday evening, Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized the walkout as "a strike of choice... it's unnecessary, it's avoidable, and it's wrong."
Things are tough in Chicago -- but with below-average graduation rates, above-average poverty rates, and kids being lost to violence every day, is the answer to ask more of our teachers for less compensation and with less than sufficient support and resources? Who else loses if we go this route? Where does it lead us? What does it say about what is important to us?
Republican candidate for President Mitt Romney had this to say about the walkout:
I am disappointed by the decision of the Chicago Teachers Union to turn its back on not only a city negotiating in good faith but also the hundreds of thousands of children relying on the city's public schools to provide them a safe place to receive a strong education. Teachers unions have too often made plain that their interests conflict with those of our children, and today we are seeing one of the clearest examples yet.
Those educators on the picket line see things very differently. In reaction to CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizan's public comment that "everyone knows a strike would only hurt our kids," blogger Teacher X posted a commentary to "educate Mr. Brizan about what it means to help or hurt our kids." Here are a few excerpts...
When you make me cram 30-50 kids in my classroom with no air conditioning so that temperatures hit 96 degrees, that hurts our kids.
When you take 18-25 days out of the school year for high-stakes testing that is not even scientifically applicable for many of our students, that hurts our kids.
When you spend millions on your pet programs but there's no money for school level repairs, so the roof leaks on my students at their desks when it rains, that hurts our kids.
When you unilaterally institute a longer school day, insult us by calling it a "full school day," and then provide no implementation support, throwing our schools into chaos, that hurts our kids.
When you support Mayor Emanuel's TIF program in diverting hundreds of millions of dollars of school funds into the pockets of wealthy developers like billionaire member of your school board Penny Pritzker, so she can build more hotels, that not only hurts our kids, but somebody should be going to jail.
When you do enough of this, it makes me wonder if you really see our students as "our kids" or "other people's children."
And at the moment, I am willing to sacrifice an awful lot to protect the students I serve every day. I am not hurting our kids by striking. I'm striking to restore some semblance of reasonable care for students to this system. I'm doing [this] to tell you, "No, YOU are the one hurting our children, and you need to STOP because what you are doing is wrong, and you are robbing students of their educational opportunities."
I ask anyone who does remotely care about the kids we teach and learn from and triumph and cheer and cry and grow with to stand with us and fight for a better future for our kids.
THE WORD
James can be a wily book to try to pin down or figure out. It's not clear who the author is, who the intended audience is, where it was written, or what the overall literary style is in this book. In Feasting on the Word [Year B, Volume 3], Mark Douglas proposes that this can surface the temptation for readers to interpret it as addressed uniquely to them. That, according to Douglas, leads readers to react negatively to its many imperatives, to focus on one or two offending passages and then dismiss it altogether (a la Martin Luther) or to pull out a couple of key passages that fit one's own or someone else's situation and apply them without a wider view. If the wily book of James is used this way, Douglas writes, its "provocative verses become invitations for superficial, pedantic, and context-free appropriation" (p. 62).
There are many problems that come with of these kinds of reactions to James, but an overarching sticking point is that one of the main reasons James is wily is because it is the only book in the New Testament to claim a place in our larger tradition of Wisdom literature. So, a quick reaction to dismiss or make a mantra of any bit of James is to miss the point of the book itself.
We are meant to wrestle with James, Douglas notes, because "becoming wise means learning how to think carefully and act virtuously in complex situations where one is tempted to think simplistically and act recklessly. Or, said differently, one becomes wise by learning to integrate one's thoughts, will, and actions to one's context in faithful ways."
So to lift the first sentence of our passage -- "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" -- to suit any side of the current debate around education is to miss James' point. What we should do instead is to understand it as a piece of James' larger teaching and spend some time mulling it over, considering how it might help us grow wiser and in a faithful direction.
So we mull and consider...
This beginning sentence opens a larger argument in James about the tongue. It speaks, teaches, directs, and can both curse and bless. It communicates to the world what we think and desire, revealing who we are. As followers of Christ, James teaches, we should be "quick to listen" and "slow to speak," to make time and space for understanding, discernment, and wisdom (1:19). Not to do so is, in the dramatic dualism of James, to unleash a "world of iniquity" (3:6) and "a restless evil, full of deadly poison" (3:8).
Again, according to the dualism of James, the tongue and its speech, the means by which we make ourselves known in the world, can be used either to harm or to heal. It can spread the wisdom of love and blessing or the curse of destructive baseness and evil.
For James, teachers very visibly and influentially play that role for the larger body. They are but one small part, yet they have the authority and ability to guide as a bridle does a horse and as a rudder does a large ship. Their knowledge, commitment, and example give them influence -- influence that must be used to heal instead of harm, to bless instead of curse. Theirs must be right teaching, right speech that issues in right action... their own and those of their students. Right speech that is followed by right action is a mark of true religion for James.
For teachers, with this influence comes great responsibility, high standards, and "greater strictness." And such high expectations and regard seem to infer a deference that is owed to teachers, just as the whole body obeys the bridle. Theirs is an enormous task -- to direct the ship that can only be moved with "strong winds." Those who can successfully take on this role are owed the body's respect, loyalty, support, and openness.
Yet, from James' point of view, it seems that we all hold our own part of this great task of teaching. We too must be quick to listen and slow to speak, so we might make space for understand, wisdom, and discernment. So when we speak (hopefully after a long, thoughtful pause), our words must also instruct and grow the body in love. We too must follow our speech with actions that communicate that what we say and how we live are of one piece. This will happen through the simple living out of our daily discipleship in acts of mercy toward the well-being of all God's people. And all our living must teach, must bear witness to the love that is at the beginning of it all, speaks us into being, continues to bless us that we might also speak love and blessing...
Make no mistake about this, my dear sisters and brothers: every worthwhile gift, every genuine benefit comes from above, descending from the Creator... God willingly gave birth to us with a word spoken in truth, so that we may be, as it were, the firstfruits of God's creatures (James 1:16-18).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
After all that mulling and considering of the situation in Chicago and of our passage from James, the preacher could...
* Invite the congregation to consider how and what our words and actions teach those we encounter. How do the decisions we make or the decisions the elected officials we vote for make about education teach others about what is important to us and how we honor our children, their future, and the One who creates and loves them?
* Ask the congregation to wrestle with James' concerns about "the harm done by faithful speech that remains unrelated to faithful action" [Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, pp. 65, 67]. What does this do to the church? What does this do to our own psyches and our relationships? What harm is done when we honor teachers (and other laborers) with only our words and not our actions?
* Consider the role of teacher during this time when school and Christian education are getting into full swing. What can we expect teachers to be accountable for? What is not their responsibility? Do we offer them our respect and support, or do we just pile expectations on them and tell them to wing it? How is teaching the responsibility of the few in the classroom, and how is it the responsibility of every person in the pew (or the wider community)? What wisdom does James have for us as we consider these questions?
* Consider how we honor teachers at church, and how we honor them in our schools. Is there a difference? What is it? Do we offer our Sunday school teachers the respect and support we offer our trustees, deacons, or church council presidents? Do we offer our school teachers the respect and understanding given to other professions? What would James have to say about this?
* Invite the congregation to consider who the teachers are in their faith community that do as Kathy Dawson says -- "lead the way to more authentic community by creating spaces where differences can be voiced and listened to" -- and how they use their "classroom" to make "space for creative resolution of tensions and discernment of the Holy Spirit." Where can they discern a need for this kind of space-making in their family, church, or wider community? How can they make space and invite resolution and discernment?
* Create space for wisdom and discernment in silence and/or by giving the congregation a chance to both listen and speak as a part of the sermon. Invite them to consider how their speech will issue in faithful action.
*****
A prayer distributed this week by Kim Bobo of Interfaith Worker Justice:
God of grace and truth: Children are a precious gift who grace our lives with joy and delight, surprise, and wonder. Their laughter warms our hearts; their questions are without guile, disarming, and enlightening.†Their fragility and innocence are their armor against the cynical world that awaits them.†Their value to us and our world is beyond calculation.
To those who teach our children we owe a debt of gratitude, a full measure of respect, and admiration for the sacred task they undertake.
Loving God, help us to support teachers in Chicago and everywhere they labor for the future our children represent.†Help us to challenge the priorities of a society that haggles over well-deserved pay and benefits for hard-working teachers and refuses to demand that the wealthy bear their full share of the burdens and responsibilities of our common life.†Give us the courage to stand with teachers as they stand up for themselves; their struggle is our struggle.
Give teachers the courage to stay their course so that when they return to their classrooms they can teach with the security of knowing their basic needs are cared for as they give of their knowledge and wisdom to our eager children.†Amen.
ANOTHER VIEW
Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!
by George Reed
James 3:1-12
One of the presidential candidates is the new messiah and one of them is the anti-Christ. Which is which depends on the cable news channel you happen to be watching. And that's not so bad. We expect people to pick sides and to show "their" candidate in the best light. That is not really the problem. What is an issue is the way in which the so-called facts are thrown around... and we all know that we can't trust them. We not only have groups that are monitoring the candidates and checking whether the facts they cite are accurate, but we have competing sites doing that!
And, of course, the people we have to blame are... yes, you guessed it. Ourselves! We are part of the problem, as we are people who no longer are looking for facts with which we shall then determine the "truth." No, we are people who are looking for facts that support our own ideas, which we have declared to be true. It doesn't matter what information is put before us -- we pick and choose what we want to accept and that acceptance is based on what we already believe.
To cite one small example of this phenomenon, in northwest Ohio where I live there are several new wind farms. The big wind turbines are everywhere, and it is fascinating to hear the debates in neighboring northeast Indiana. People get up in public meetings and cite "facts" about wind turbines that are just laughable. People who appear sane by most measures are citing facts they have never checked, even though they only need to travel a few miles to find out that the claim that wind turbines make a tremendous amount of noise is untrue. In fact, they are basically silent machines.
So we have the epistle lesson that talks about controlling the tongue. What a thought. If only we would follow the sage advice to make sure our brain was in gear before engaging our tongues! We do so much damage when we no longer care about the facts or the reputations of the people we are talking about. We do so much damage when we erect walls between ourselves and others by the uninformed things that spew from our mouths. No wonder Jesus said it wasn't what went into the body but what came out that made us unclean! Certainly much of what is spread around on the cable news programs would only be valuable if it were spread on farmers' fields.
So let us talk to our people. Let us remind them that the Body of Christ is for building up the community both within and around the church. Let us call ourselves and our people to watch our mouths so that we make sure the things that come out are edifying and helpful for the community as a whole. Let us raise once more the standard of the "common good" as the gauge by which we judge our remarks. Then our ship will be steered on a good course that will take us to that good harbor God has in mind for us.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Tony Danza is a popular actor with a successful career in television and on the Broadway stage. Most known for his roles on the sitcoms Taxi and Who's the Boss?, Danza embarked in the fall of 2009 on the most challenging role of his life: being a 10th-grade English teacher at Philadelphia's Northeast High School, an experience documented in the short-lived A&E reality series Teach. Danza has also written a new book about the year he spent teaching, and what he learned is best summarized by the book's title: I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had.
"There are very few things that are harder than being a teacher in any public school in America," Danza says. "It's a job that requires total commitment at the expense of just about everything else in your life." Despite his notoriety among the parents, to many of his students Danza was just another new, inexperienced teacher -- as he points out, they were born two years after Who's the Boss? went off the air. So Danza does what many rookies do... seek out the advice and counsel of veteran teachers. Danza shares what one older woman who taught for decades told him: "You have to be prepared to play many roles. You have to be a mother, father, sister, brother, social worker, counselor, friend, and anything else they need."
As Danza's experience vividly illustrates, teaching is a difficult, all-consuming profession -- and it's notable that his reasons for taking on the commitment in the first place mirror those of most teachers: a devotion to children and their education. You might think that he was in it merely for the reality TV show -- but when his show was cancelled after just seven episodes and the producers bailed out partway through the school year (because there wasn't enough "drama"), Danza stuck it out through the remainder of the term. If nothing else, Danza's brief television show and his book may provide the public service of bringing a spotlight to the real-life challenges faced by our classroom teachers. And his forthright description of it as "the hardest thing I've ever done" underlines James' admonition that "not many of you should become teachers."
* * *
"Sticks and stones may break my bones," children chant, "but names can never hurt me."
Oh yes they can. Mocking names may only be words, but words can wound: sometimes very deeply. It's that sort of criticism James has in mind, as he describes the human tongue as "a fire... [that] stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell." You can tame wild animals, he says, but "no one can tame the tongue"; it is "a restless evil, full of deadly poison."...
A blazing fire; a tried-and-true, unfailing rudder -- the human tongue may be applied to the cause of evil, or to good! The tongue can deliver a testimonial address; it can also taunt... and mock... and needle... and nag. The tongue can swear allegiance; it can also tell lies... or cheat... or vainly boast. The tongue can utter public prayer; or it can befoul the air with profanity. The tongue can offer a wedding vow; or it can whisper sweet, adulterous nothings into a lover's ear.
We've all witnessed the power of the tongue to make a person wilt in embarrassment -- to bring that "I-wish-I-could-just-sink-into-the-floor" look to the face. Maybe we've caused that sort of reaction ourselves... with that little word of cutting criticism, maybe veiled as a compliment: "I'll bet you've been dieting! Why, you're looking sooo good!" or "I'm so glad you didn't go out of your way to clean before we came over!" or "You're going to have big shoes to fill as the new office manager!"
How much better it is to use our tongues to encourage and build up other people! Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." The author of Proverbs concurs: "Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up" (12:25). In another place, Proverbs teaches that "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (16:24).
-- Carlos Wilton, Lectionary Preaching Workbook [Series VIII, Cycle B] (CSS Publishing, 2006)
* * *
A woman who was known as a harsh critic of other people once told John Wesley, "Mr. Wesley, my talent is to speak my mind."
"Madam," Wesley replied, "God wouldn't care a bit if you would bury that talent."
* * *
Penn State University has suffered a sad chapter in its long, illustrious history with the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The university's football program has been punished with draconian NCAA sanctions and its ego has been tarnished with the removal of a statue and plaques honoring longtime coach Joe Paterno. One would think that this was enough; but apparently it isn't.
It seems that college students across the nation want to participate in the "cleansing" of Penn State with their own personal testimonies in the form of inappropriate and derogatory humor being displayed on T-shirts. One T-shirt replicated the officially sanctioned Penn State shirt... except that it replaced the Nittany Lion logo with a running shower head. Another T-shirt popular among some Ohio State fans used the scandal as an opportunity to display contempt for their archrival, the Michigan Wolverines -- the shirt sported text that read "I'd rather shower at Penn State than cheer for the Wolverines." Similar shirts were worn at Iowa and LSU, with only the name of the opposing team being changed.
These T-shirts are considered by many college officials -- who do not sanction their sale, as they are sold from the back of vehicles and on a cash-only basis -- as disrespectful to the victims and an insensitive joke regarding Penn State.
James cautions us to be aware of the critical words that we utter from our mouths. It is no different if we use our chests as billboards for the same callousness.
* * *
One place where the tongue can cause particular damage is in the church. Two people are hard at work on projects close to their hearts, and they bump up against each other. One person speaks without thinking; the other feels offended. The second person begins avoiding the first, maybe even stops coming to church altogether -- because of course you can't express anger in a church setting (that wouldn't be Christian)! Instead, she goes home and starts calling friends, suggesting changes that will keep this sort of thing from ever happening again -- for the good of the church, of course.
The second person gets wind of the proposed changes and begins calling his friends. Together they come up with all sorts of reasons why the first group's proposal is not a wise idea. Before long, trenches are dug, barbed wire is strung, and shells are being lobbed so high that no one can tell exactly where they're coming from. Life in the church is suddenly punctuated by mysterious crashes and explosions and puffs of smoke, coming from no-one-knows-where -- as people from one side get irritated by things the other side has done (even if they're perfectly innocent).
If the pastor (or anyone else) tries to visit either side, those being visited will steadfastly deny there's any problem -- even as they hand the aspiring peacemaker one of their side's uniforms. Rarely is anyone so crass as to ask, "Are you on our side or theirs?" Instead, they ask pointed questions to try to find out -- or if they're subtle, they send their friends to do it in their place.
These stealth conflicts can simmer on and on for years -- with all parties denying that a conflict exists. People can be found, months or even years later, arguing (with surprising vehemence) over what color to paint a wall, or who should have copies of a certain key. The wall treatment, or the locksmith's fee, is not the issue, of course; it's that real or imagined slight from long ago -- those hurtful words that were uttered but could never be acknowledged, because the unspoken rules declare that all conflict in church is un-Christian!
* * *
Neil Armstrong, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission and the first man to set foot on the moon, recently passed away. Armstrong is most remembered for the words he spoke as he disembarked from the spacecraft and stepped onto the lunar surface. But he had given no thought as to what he would say on that historic occasion until moments before he left the Eagle at Tranquility Base.
As his foot first touched the moon's surface, millions across the globe listened to Armstrong as he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." In fact, what Armstrong really said was, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind". No one knows if Armstrong in the confusion of the moment forgot to pronounce the "a" or if the radio in the space helmet failed to pick up the vowel. The quote stands in history as the former, but Armstrong always desired the quote to be printed as the latter with brackets around the "a." In either case, Armstrong was making a strong statement that it is not one man, but all of humanity that traveled together to the moon.
Echoing the testimony of James, Armstrong spoke words of inclusion and enlightenment.
* * *
Taming the tongue is not an easy task. Speaking unkindly can have far-reaching consequences, including driving an individual into an unplanned line of work. That may have been the case with Ansel Adams, who eventually became a famous photographic artist. In his early years, however, Adams gave promise of becoming an accomplished pianist. On one occasion he played at a party where he performed Chopin's Nocturne in F major. For some reason unknown to him, Adams got started in a pattern from which he found himself unable to break free. His right hand played in F-sharp major, while the left hand played in F major. Consequently, the entire nocturne was performed with the hands separated by a half-step. The next day, an individual who had been present at the party confronted Adams with an acerbic comment, masquerading as a compliment: "Congratulations! You never missed a wrong note."
* * *
The tongue, which James describes as "a world of iniquity," also is a world of germs. The Journal of Clinical Microbiology reports that there may be up to 500 different kinds of germs on the back of the tongue that cause bad breath. The tongue needs to be cleaned physically, like the teeth, as part of good daily oral hygiene. James suggests to us that the tongue also needs a spiritual cleansing for the odors it can cause in human relationships.
* * *
After almost twenty years as the third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones has announced his retirement. An outstanding player who is recognized both for his fielding and batting accomplishments, the 40-year-old player realizes that if continues he will be on the downside of a stellar career. In announcing his retirement, Jones said, "The bottom line is, if I could still go out there and play 140 to 150 games a year, I wouldn't be quitting. But I can't do it anymore."
When Jesus commands us to pick up our cross and follow him, it does preclude that the meaning of following won't change with the changing of life circumstances.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Mary Austin
Call to Worship
Leader: The heavens and the earth tell God's glory.
People: All of creation calls out with praise.
Leader: The days and the nights turn in God's order.
People: All of time proclaims God's majesty.
Leader: The mysteries of life reveal God's wisdom.
People: All of our days shine with God's mercy.
Leader: The gathering of community proclaims God's love.
People: All of God's people shout with praise and thanksgiving!
Opening Prayer / Collect for the Day
God of grace,
we come to surrender our inattention,
our hurried days and restless nights,
our distracted lives,
and to focus our hearts and minds on you.
Be with us in stillness
as we worship you.
Let your peace grow within us,
and your grace flourish among us.
In Jesus name, Amen.
OR
God of glory,
when we stop to look, the wonder of your creation stuns us.
The mystery of your presence with us
compels us to fall to our knees in prayer.
We are awed by your creation,
grateful for your love,
and blessed by your abundant mercy.
Be with us, we pray, as we worship,
serve,
love,
and seek you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Eternal God,
we believe we know who you are,
and then we forget your call to sacrifice for each other.
We think we know who you are,
and then we seek our own good and forget about others.
We're sure we know who you are,
and then we look for an easy faith,
and miss the moment to take up our cross and follow.
Forgive us, we ask,
and renew us for your service,
that we might take up our cross again and follow you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
OR
God of wisdom,
forgive us, we pray,
when we say too much,
speaking words that are harsh,
judgmental,
or silly.
Forgive us, we pray,
when we say too little,
letting cruelty,
injustice,
and hurt
pass by.
Forgive us, we pray,
when we get the words wrong
and contribute to someone's pain.
Heal us, we pray,
when someone's words injure us
and harden our hearts.
We pray in the name
of the word come to life,
Jesus. Amen.
Offering Prayer
Creative and generous God, all that we know, all that we are, and all that we have come from your love for us. Accept our gifts as signs of our love for you and let them flow with generosity and work with power to serve your world. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Hymn Suggestions
"All I Need Is You"
"Be Thou My Vision"
"Beneath the Cross of Jesus"
"The Church of Jesus Christ"
"The God of Abraham Praise"
"Guide My Feet"
"He Is Lord, He Is Lord"
"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"
"I Sing the Mighty Power of God"
"Lift High the Cross"
"Lord of the Dance"
"Morning Has Broken"
"Open My Eyes, That I May See"
"Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart"
"My Song is Love Unknown"
"The God of Abraham Praise"
"The Summons"
Children's Message
Invite the kids to go out into the congregation and find someone who's wearing a cross. It can be a necklace, a ring, a tattoo... anything they can find. Have them bring the person up to the front with them. (Be sure to tell them that people can decline to come up front and that they can look for someone else.) When everyone is up front, ask if the people have anything in common. (With luck, you'll have an array of young and old and of every possible size and shape.) Ask what the people have in common, and then talk about the common commitment to following Jesus, and to serving him in our world.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Controlling the Tongue
James 3:1-12
Object: a bit and bridle used for horses (if possible)
Good morning, boys and girls! Does anyone here have a horse or do you ride a horse? (let the children answer) Not many people have horses to ride, but we all wish we had our own horse, don't we? What color of horse would you like? (let several children volunteer) Horses are beautiful animals, aren't they? (let them answer) Just imagine how it would feel to ride your horse through the country, jumping fences, with the wind blowing in your face and the sun shining on your back. It sounds like a wonderful day, doesn't it?
Along with a saddle there is one other thing you must have if you are going to ride a horse, and it looks like this! (show them the bit) Do you know what we call this thing? (let them answer) It is called a bit, and do you know where it goes on the horse? (let them answer) That's right, it goes in their mouth and is attached to a bridle, and the bridle has reins. The reins are what you hold onto when you are riding a horse. When you pull on the reins the horse knows to turn or to stop or to go faster. You are in charge of the horse when you have the reins and the horse has a bit in its mouth.
Now if the horse obeys because of a bit in its mouth, what should we put in each other's mouth so that we also obey? James, the writer in the Bible, talks about this. He tells us that the same mouth that sings praises to God also says bad things. Do you say nice things with your mouth? (let them answer) That's good. Do you also say bad things to your friends, brothers and sisters, and your mom and dad? (let them answer) Does the good and the bad come from the same mouth? (let them answer) It does, doesn't it? And we must find a way to change so that we do not speak bad things.
We need to ask God to help us obey him and make our mouths good. We want to say thankful things to God and good things to all of our friends and relatives. God doesn't put bits in our mouths, but he asks each one of us to be careful what we say and to think only good things in our mind and heart.
So the next time you see someone riding a horse, I want you to notice the bit in the horse's mouth and how the rider controls the horse. Then you can think about how important it is to control your own mouth.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 16, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 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.
But as team member Leah Lonsbury notes in the next installment of The Immediate Word, this difficult environment has led teachers to feel increasingly put upon and misunderstood by a society that demands results without appreciating the process. Many people look at the summer vacation teachers enjoy (a vestige of a time when the vast majority of America worked in agriculture) with a degree of resentment -- yet they often fail to grasp how often teachers provide uncompensated time and resources, and the extent to which they are called upon to be social workers as well as educators. Teacher's unions have become a popular punching bag for public frustration; yet, their focus is often not just on protecting economic gains for their members but on trying to keep school management from implementing what they view as unjust forms of job evaluation -- an issue that seems to be a large factor in the current Chicago's teachers strike. Leah draws on her personal experience as a former teacher to illustrate how difficult -- and rewarding -- a chore teaching can be and to offer some thoughts on how we can uplift the singularly important function they have, both in our schools and in our Christian education programs.
Team member George Reed offers some additional thoughts on this week's epistle text, focusing on James' concern for the power of the human tongue to unleash destructive forces. We live in an age with a post-modern relationship with the truth -- what Stephen Colbert has dubbed "truthiness," in which the appearance of truth is more important than actual truth. But George notes that we have a responsibility not just to cherry-pick "facts" that reinforce our predetermined notions; instead, we ought to make sure that our words (and actions) bear out actual truth -- and require the patience and discipline to make sure our brains are engaged before we let loose with our tongues. Then we can build up the community with positive messages rather than tearing it down with inaccurate and divisive words.
James and the Giant... Picket Line?
by Leah Lonsbury
James 3:1-12
I was raised at school -- my English teacher-turned-librarian mother hauled my brother and me to our elementary school bright and early every weekday morning. Still starry-eyed, we watched as she buzzed around before the first bell, coordinating lesson plans with teachers, planning outreach programs to encourage parents to read with their children, playing stand-in technology coordinator, fighting to keep censorship out of our library, writing for grants, and shelving books on the fly each time she whizzed past a shelf.
I saw other teachers, counselors, administration, and staff there just as early and long after the last bell rang. They were also there on many uncontracted and unpaid summer days. I saw them passing out breakfast, winter coats, and school supplies they had purchased with their own money. I saw them sit with struggling students before and after school, trying to help make long division, compound sentences, or the scientific method into tools their students could grasp more easily to build their skills and their future. I saw them sit through long meetings in the front office and fighting for special services and resources their students needed to be successful. I saw them in the library with my mother, searching for materials for individual kids who had expressed an interest in amphibians or poetry or ancient Egypt.
As a child, I saw these professionals work incredibly hard. As an adult, I know without a doubt that they didn't do it for the thanks and accolades or for the paycheck they received. I know this, because I'm an English teacher-turned-pastor.
During my short tenure as a teacher, James' pointed admonition that "Not many of you should become teachers" became really clear to me. That's not because I observed a lot of poor teaching. It's because I came to understand the tremendous responsibilities teachers and other educational professionals hold in terms of the well-being and future of each of their students and so the future of our human family. As the world changes, families struggle financially and emotionally, and the political and civil divide grows, those responsibilities only multiply.
Teachers are, to use James' language, the "very small rudder" that steers the huge ship. They are the simple bridle that directs the whole powerful horse and the small flame that sets the whole forest afire.
These are people in a unique position of catalytic power. They have the potential and the responsibility to shape what will be. Using the language of the church, Kathy L. Dawson writes in Feasting on the Word [Year B, Volume 4, p. 66]: "Teachers can lead the way to more authentic community by creating spaces where differences can be voiced and listened to. The classroom, broadly defined, can be a space for creative resolution of tensions and discernment of the Holy Spirit."
Or, in words that can be used more broadly, teachers can make clear the way to wisdom, hold space for us to come together and be heard, and bring us closer to the happiness and health of all people -- an important part of what James is after in the broader teaching of this letter.
If teachers hold this kind of responsibility, power, and potential, how are we then to view, approach, support, and celebrate them?
To begin to answer that question, let's look at the situation the Chicago Public School District is facing with the strike of their 26,000 teachers and educational professionals.
THE WORLD
Things are tough in Chicago. This past weekend, two more young people were killed and six were wounded after a summer of intense violence. Chicago recorded 57 murders in August alone, up from 37 in August of 2011.
Among the ten largest cities in America, Chicago comes in third for its poverty rate. According the data from the 2009 US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 21.6% of Chicagoans live under the poverty level. A closer look adds another level of distress -- close to 1 in 3 African-American residents of Chicago live in poverty. That's one way Chicago ranks number one amongst America's largest cities. Having the largest disparity between blacks and whites living in poverty is another. That difference stands at 22.2%.
Things are tough in Chicago.
Only about 60% of high school students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduate. The national average is 75%. Right down the road from CPS, the affluent Chicago suburbs can boast of a 90% graduation rate.
More than 80% of the 402,000 CPS students qualify for free lunches, because they come from low-income families.
"Between the killings in Chicago and the school strike, Chicago is the epicenter of an urban crisis," said Rev. Jesse Jackson. "We need and deserve better."
The school strike... there's that too.
As of press time, the negotiations between representatives of the school district and local government and the Chicago Teachers' Union (CTU) continue, even as 26,000 teachers, counselors, school social workers, and other staff have begun to strike.
The CTU reports that its negotiations have already been productive on some fronts, "winning provisions for nursing mothers, ensuring textbooks will be available on day one, teachers will have access to functioning computers, and counselors and social workers will have appropriate, private workspaces to serve students."
Things are tough in Chicago, but do these "wins" sound like items for which teachers and educators should have to negotiate?
Issues such as wages, job security, the cancellation of longevity pay increases and sick leave benefits, the imposition of a curriculum with greater difficulty and subject matter, and teacher evaluations beyond what the new state law calls for are still on the table. According to the CTU, "the two sides remain far apart."
Much of the mounting opposition from members of the CTU grows out of initiatives that began with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's campaign promises to reform the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and institute a longer school day. This summer, CPS instituted a plan for an extended day that calls for teachers to work nearly 20% more without compensation. According to the CTU, the district made this demand despite employee objections and without a plan in place as to how to staff or pay for the longer hours. Additionally, the CTU reports, "Educators were angry that the Board made no commitments to offering students the... art, music, physical education, and world language classes they needed." These complaints join those about the CPS board of education's plans to close over 100 neighborhood schools, displacing thousands of students and laying off teachers while the district shifts to a half-public/half-charter school plan.
CTU President Karen Lewis says of these actions:
This education crisis is real especially if you are Black or Brown in Chicago. Whenever our students perform well on tests, CPS moves the bar higher, tells them they are failures, and blames their teachers. Now they want to privatize public education and further disrupt our neighborhoods. We've seen public housing shut down, public health clinics, public libraries, and now public schools. There is an attack on public institutions, many of which serve low-income and working-class families.
On the other side of the table, CPS says it has little room to negotiate on staffing and salaries, because both the state and city are in a dire financial position. The district projects a $3 billion deficit over the next three years. The CPS board took back a contracted 4% pay raise for teachers in 2011 because of its budget problems.
Sunday evening, Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized the walkout as "a strike of choice... it's unnecessary, it's avoidable, and it's wrong."
Things are tough in Chicago -- but with below-average graduation rates, above-average poverty rates, and kids being lost to violence every day, is the answer to ask more of our teachers for less compensation and with less than sufficient support and resources? Who else loses if we go this route? Where does it lead us? What does it say about what is important to us?
Republican candidate for President Mitt Romney had this to say about the walkout:
I am disappointed by the decision of the Chicago Teachers Union to turn its back on not only a city negotiating in good faith but also the hundreds of thousands of children relying on the city's public schools to provide them a safe place to receive a strong education. Teachers unions have too often made plain that their interests conflict with those of our children, and today we are seeing one of the clearest examples yet.
Those educators on the picket line see things very differently. In reaction to CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizan's public comment that "everyone knows a strike would only hurt our kids," blogger Teacher X posted a commentary to "educate Mr. Brizan about what it means to help or hurt our kids." Here are a few excerpts...
When you make me cram 30-50 kids in my classroom with no air conditioning so that temperatures hit 96 degrees, that hurts our kids.
When you take 18-25 days out of the school year for high-stakes testing that is not even scientifically applicable for many of our students, that hurts our kids.
When you spend millions on your pet programs but there's no money for school level repairs, so the roof leaks on my students at their desks when it rains, that hurts our kids.
When you unilaterally institute a longer school day, insult us by calling it a "full school day," and then provide no implementation support, throwing our schools into chaos, that hurts our kids.
When you support Mayor Emanuel's TIF program in diverting hundreds of millions of dollars of school funds into the pockets of wealthy developers like billionaire member of your school board Penny Pritzker, so she can build more hotels, that not only hurts our kids, but somebody should be going to jail.
When you do enough of this, it makes me wonder if you really see our students as "our kids" or "other people's children."
And at the moment, I am willing to sacrifice an awful lot to protect the students I serve every day. I am not hurting our kids by striking. I'm striking to restore some semblance of reasonable care for students to this system. I'm doing [this] to tell you, "No, YOU are the one hurting our children, and you need to STOP because what you are doing is wrong, and you are robbing students of their educational opportunities."
I ask anyone who does remotely care about the kids we teach and learn from and triumph and cheer and cry and grow with to stand with us and fight for a better future for our kids.
THE WORD
James can be a wily book to try to pin down or figure out. It's not clear who the author is, who the intended audience is, where it was written, or what the overall literary style is in this book. In Feasting on the Word [Year B, Volume 3], Mark Douglas proposes that this can surface the temptation for readers to interpret it as addressed uniquely to them. That, according to Douglas, leads readers to react negatively to its many imperatives, to focus on one or two offending passages and then dismiss it altogether (a la Martin Luther) or to pull out a couple of key passages that fit one's own or someone else's situation and apply them without a wider view. If the wily book of James is used this way, Douglas writes, its "provocative verses become invitations for superficial, pedantic, and context-free appropriation" (p. 62).
There are many problems that come with of these kinds of reactions to James, but an overarching sticking point is that one of the main reasons James is wily is because it is the only book in the New Testament to claim a place in our larger tradition of Wisdom literature. So, a quick reaction to dismiss or make a mantra of any bit of James is to miss the point of the book itself.
We are meant to wrestle with James, Douglas notes, because "becoming wise means learning how to think carefully and act virtuously in complex situations where one is tempted to think simplistically and act recklessly. Or, said differently, one becomes wise by learning to integrate one's thoughts, will, and actions to one's context in faithful ways."
So to lift the first sentence of our passage -- "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" -- to suit any side of the current debate around education is to miss James' point. What we should do instead is to understand it as a piece of James' larger teaching and spend some time mulling it over, considering how it might help us grow wiser and in a faithful direction.
So we mull and consider...
This beginning sentence opens a larger argument in James about the tongue. It speaks, teaches, directs, and can both curse and bless. It communicates to the world what we think and desire, revealing who we are. As followers of Christ, James teaches, we should be "quick to listen" and "slow to speak," to make time and space for understanding, discernment, and wisdom (1:19). Not to do so is, in the dramatic dualism of James, to unleash a "world of iniquity" (3:6) and "a restless evil, full of deadly poison" (3:8).
Again, according to the dualism of James, the tongue and its speech, the means by which we make ourselves known in the world, can be used either to harm or to heal. It can spread the wisdom of love and blessing or the curse of destructive baseness and evil.
For James, teachers very visibly and influentially play that role for the larger body. They are but one small part, yet they have the authority and ability to guide as a bridle does a horse and as a rudder does a large ship. Their knowledge, commitment, and example give them influence -- influence that must be used to heal instead of harm, to bless instead of curse. Theirs must be right teaching, right speech that issues in right action... their own and those of their students. Right speech that is followed by right action is a mark of true religion for James.
For teachers, with this influence comes great responsibility, high standards, and "greater strictness." And such high expectations and regard seem to infer a deference that is owed to teachers, just as the whole body obeys the bridle. Theirs is an enormous task -- to direct the ship that can only be moved with "strong winds." Those who can successfully take on this role are owed the body's respect, loyalty, support, and openness.
Yet, from James' point of view, it seems that we all hold our own part of this great task of teaching. We too must be quick to listen and slow to speak, so we might make space for understand, wisdom, and discernment. So when we speak (hopefully after a long, thoughtful pause), our words must also instruct and grow the body in love. We too must follow our speech with actions that communicate that what we say and how we live are of one piece. This will happen through the simple living out of our daily discipleship in acts of mercy toward the well-being of all God's people. And all our living must teach, must bear witness to the love that is at the beginning of it all, speaks us into being, continues to bless us that we might also speak love and blessing...
Make no mistake about this, my dear sisters and brothers: every worthwhile gift, every genuine benefit comes from above, descending from the Creator... God willingly gave birth to us with a word spoken in truth, so that we may be, as it were, the firstfruits of God's creatures (James 1:16-18).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
After all that mulling and considering of the situation in Chicago and of our passage from James, the preacher could...
* Invite the congregation to consider how and what our words and actions teach those we encounter. How do the decisions we make or the decisions the elected officials we vote for make about education teach others about what is important to us and how we honor our children, their future, and the One who creates and loves them?
* Ask the congregation to wrestle with James' concerns about "the harm done by faithful speech that remains unrelated to faithful action" [Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, pp. 65, 67]. What does this do to the church? What does this do to our own psyches and our relationships? What harm is done when we honor teachers (and other laborers) with only our words and not our actions?
* Consider the role of teacher during this time when school and Christian education are getting into full swing. What can we expect teachers to be accountable for? What is not their responsibility? Do we offer them our respect and support, or do we just pile expectations on them and tell them to wing it? How is teaching the responsibility of the few in the classroom, and how is it the responsibility of every person in the pew (or the wider community)? What wisdom does James have for us as we consider these questions?
* Consider how we honor teachers at church, and how we honor them in our schools. Is there a difference? What is it? Do we offer our Sunday school teachers the respect and support we offer our trustees, deacons, or church council presidents? Do we offer our school teachers the respect and understanding given to other professions? What would James have to say about this?
* Invite the congregation to consider who the teachers are in their faith community that do as Kathy Dawson says -- "lead the way to more authentic community by creating spaces where differences can be voiced and listened to" -- and how they use their "classroom" to make "space for creative resolution of tensions and discernment of the Holy Spirit." Where can they discern a need for this kind of space-making in their family, church, or wider community? How can they make space and invite resolution and discernment?
* Create space for wisdom and discernment in silence and/or by giving the congregation a chance to both listen and speak as a part of the sermon. Invite them to consider how their speech will issue in faithful action.
*****
A prayer distributed this week by Kim Bobo of Interfaith Worker Justice:
God of grace and truth: Children are a precious gift who grace our lives with joy and delight, surprise, and wonder. Their laughter warms our hearts; their questions are without guile, disarming, and enlightening.†Their fragility and innocence are their armor against the cynical world that awaits them.†Their value to us and our world is beyond calculation.
To those who teach our children we owe a debt of gratitude, a full measure of respect, and admiration for the sacred task they undertake.
Loving God, help us to support teachers in Chicago and everywhere they labor for the future our children represent.†Help us to challenge the priorities of a society that haggles over well-deserved pay and benefits for hard-working teachers and refuses to demand that the wealthy bear their full share of the burdens and responsibilities of our common life.†Give us the courage to stand with teachers as they stand up for themselves; their struggle is our struggle.
Give teachers the courage to stay their course so that when they return to their classrooms they can teach with the security of knowing their basic needs are cared for as they give of their knowledge and wisdom to our eager children.†Amen.
ANOTHER VIEW
Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!
by George Reed
James 3:1-12
One of the presidential candidates is the new messiah and one of them is the anti-Christ. Which is which depends on the cable news channel you happen to be watching. And that's not so bad. We expect people to pick sides and to show "their" candidate in the best light. That is not really the problem. What is an issue is the way in which the so-called facts are thrown around... and we all know that we can't trust them. We not only have groups that are monitoring the candidates and checking whether the facts they cite are accurate, but we have competing sites doing that!
And, of course, the people we have to blame are... yes, you guessed it. Ourselves! We are part of the problem, as we are people who no longer are looking for facts with which we shall then determine the "truth." No, we are people who are looking for facts that support our own ideas, which we have declared to be true. It doesn't matter what information is put before us -- we pick and choose what we want to accept and that acceptance is based on what we already believe.
To cite one small example of this phenomenon, in northwest Ohio where I live there are several new wind farms. The big wind turbines are everywhere, and it is fascinating to hear the debates in neighboring northeast Indiana. People get up in public meetings and cite "facts" about wind turbines that are just laughable. People who appear sane by most measures are citing facts they have never checked, even though they only need to travel a few miles to find out that the claim that wind turbines make a tremendous amount of noise is untrue. In fact, they are basically silent machines.
So we have the epistle lesson that talks about controlling the tongue. What a thought. If only we would follow the sage advice to make sure our brain was in gear before engaging our tongues! We do so much damage when we no longer care about the facts or the reputations of the people we are talking about. We do so much damage when we erect walls between ourselves and others by the uninformed things that spew from our mouths. No wonder Jesus said it wasn't what went into the body but what came out that made us unclean! Certainly much of what is spread around on the cable news programs would only be valuable if it were spread on farmers' fields.
So let us talk to our people. Let us remind them that the Body of Christ is for building up the community both within and around the church. Let us call ourselves and our people to watch our mouths so that we make sure the things that come out are edifying and helpful for the community as a whole. Let us raise once more the standard of the "common good" as the gauge by which we judge our remarks. Then our ship will be steered on a good course that will take us to that good harbor God has in mind for us.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Tony Danza is a popular actor with a successful career in television and on the Broadway stage. Most known for his roles on the sitcoms Taxi and Who's the Boss?, Danza embarked in the fall of 2009 on the most challenging role of his life: being a 10th-grade English teacher at Philadelphia's Northeast High School, an experience documented in the short-lived A&E reality series Teach. Danza has also written a new book about the year he spent teaching, and what he learned is best summarized by the book's title: I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had.
"There are very few things that are harder than being a teacher in any public school in America," Danza says. "It's a job that requires total commitment at the expense of just about everything else in your life." Despite his notoriety among the parents, to many of his students Danza was just another new, inexperienced teacher -- as he points out, they were born two years after Who's the Boss? went off the air. So Danza does what many rookies do... seek out the advice and counsel of veteran teachers. Danza shares what one older woman who taught for decades told him: "You have to be prepared to play many roles. You have to be a mother, father, sister, brother, social worker, counselor, friend, and anything else they need."
As Danza's experience vividly illustrates, teaching is a difficult, all-consuming profession -- and it's notable that his reasons for taking on the commitment in the first place mirror those of most teachers: a devotion to children and their education. You might think that he was in it merely for the reality TV show -- but when his show was cancelled after just seven episodes and the producers bailed out partway through the school year (because there wasn't enough "drama"), Danza stuck it out through the remainder of the term. If nothing else, Danza's brief television show and his book may provide the public service of bringing a spotlight to the real-life challenges faced by our classroom teachers. And his forthright description of it as "the hardest thing I've ever done" underlines James' admonition that "not many of you should become teachers."
* * *
"Sticks and stones may break my bones," children chant, "but names can never hurt me."
Oh yes they can. Mocking names may only be words, but words can wound: sometimes very deeply. It's that sort of criticism James has in mind, as he describes the human tongue as "a fire... [that] stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell." You can tame wild animals, he says, but "no one can tame the tongue"; it is "a restless evil, full of deadly poison."...
A blazing fire; a tried-and-true, unfailing rudder -- the human tongue may be applied to the cause of evil, or to good! The tongue can deliver a testimonial address; it can also taunt... and mock... and needle... and nag. The tongue can swear allegiance; it can also tell lies... or cheat... or vainly boast. The tongue can utter public prayer; or it can befoul the air with profanity. The tongue can offer a wedding vow; or it can whisper sweet, adulterous nothings into a lover's ear.
We've all witnessed the power of the tongue to make a person wilt in embarrassment -- to bring that "I-wish-I-could-just-sink-into-the-floor" look to the face. Maybe we've caused that sort of reaction ourselves... with that little word of cutting criticism, maybe veiled as a compliment: "I'll bet you've been dieting! Why, you're looking sooo good!" or "I'm so glad you didn't go out of your way to clean before we came over!" or "You're going to have big shoes to fill as the new office manager!"
How much better it is to use our tongues to encourage and build up other people! Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." The author of Proverbs concurs: "Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up" (12:25). In another place, Proverbs teaches that "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (16:24).
-- Carlos Wilton, Lectionary Preaching Workbook [Series VIII, Cycle B] (CSS Publishing, 2006)
* * *
A woman who was known as a harsh critic of other people once told John Wesley, "Mr. Wesley, my talent is to speak my mind."
"Madam," Wesley replied, "God wouldn't care a bit if you would bury that talent."
* * *
Penn State University has suffered a sad chapter in its long, illustrious history with the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The university's football program has been punished with draconian NCAA sanctions and its ego has been tarnished with the removal of a statue and plaques honoring longtime coach Joe Paterno. One would think that this was enough; but apparently it isn't.
It seems that college students across the nation want to participate in the "cleansing" of Penn State with their own personal testimonies in the form of inappropriate and derogatory humor being displayed on T-shirts. One T-shirt replicated the officially sanctioned Penn State shirt... except that it replaced the Nittany Lion logo with a running shower head. Another T-shirt popular among some Ohio State fans used the scandal as an opportunity to display contempt for their archrival, the Michigan Wolverines -- the shirt sported text that read "I'd rather shower at Penn State than cheer for the Wolverines." Similar shirts were worn at Iowa and LSU, with only the name of the opposing team being changed.
These T-shirts are considered by many college officials -- who do not sanction their sale, as they are sold from the back of vehicles and on a cash-only basis -- as disrespectful to the victims and an insensitive joke regarding Penn State.
James cautions us to be aware of the critical words that we utter from our mouths. It is no different if we use our chests as billboards for the same callousness.
* * *
One place where the tongue can cause particular damage is in the church. Two people are hard at work on projects close to their hearts, and they bump up against each other. One person speaks without thinking; the other feels offended. The second person begins avoiding the first, maybe even stops coming to church altogether -- because of course you can't express anger in a church setting (that wouldn't be Christian)! Instead, she goes home and starts calling friends, suggesting changes that will keep this sort of thing from ever happening again -- for the good of the church, of course.
The second person gets wind of the proposed changes and begins calling his friends. Together they come up with all sorts of reasons why the first group's proposal is not a wise idea. Before long, trenches are dug, barbed wire is strung, and shells are being lobbed so high that no one can tell exactly where they're coming from. Life in the church is suddenly punctuated by mysterious crashes and explosions and puffs of smoke, coming from no-one-knows-where -- as people from one side get irritated by things the other side has done (even if they're perfectly innocent).
If the pastor (or anyone else) tries to visit either side, those being visited will steadfastly deny there's any problem -- even as they hand the aspiring peacemaker one of their side's uniforms. Rarely is anyone so crass as to ask, "Are you on our side or theirs?" Instead, they ask pointed questions to try to find out -- or if they're subtle, they send their friends to do it in their place.
These stealth conflicts can simmer on and on for years -- with all parties denying that a conflict exists. People can be found, months or even years later, arguing (with surprising vehemence) over what color to paint a wall, or who should have copies of a certain key. The wall treatment, or the locksmith's fee, is not the issue, of course; it's that real or imagined slight from long ago -- those hurtful words that were uttered but could never be acknowledged, because the unspoken rules declare that all conflict in church is un-Christian!
* * *
Neil Armstrong, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission and the first man to set foot on the moon, recently passed away. Armstrong is most remembered for the words he spoke as he disembarked from the spacecraft and stepped onto the lunar surface. But he had given no thought as to what he would say on that historic occasion until moments before he left the Eagle at Tranquility Base.
As his foot first touched the moon's surface, millions across the globe listened to Armstrong as he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." In fact, what Armstrong really said was, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind". No one knows if Armstrong in the confusion of the moment forgot to pronounce the "a" or if the radio in the space helmet failed to pick up the vowel. The quote stands in history as the former, but Armstrong always desired the quote to be printed as the latter with brackets around the "a." In either case, Armstrong was making a strong statement that it is not one man, but all of humanity that traveled together to the moon.
Echoing the testimony of James, Armstrong spoke words of inclusion and enlightenment.
* * *
Taming the tongue is not an easy task. Speaking unkindly can have far-reaching consequences, including driving an individual into an unplanned line of work. That may have been the case with Ansel Adams, who eventually became a famous photographic artist. In his early years, however, Adams gave promise of becoming an accomplished pianist. On one occasion he played at a party where he performed Chopin's Nocturne in F major. For some reason unknown to him, Adams got started in a pattern from which he found himself unable to break free. His right hand played in F-sharp major, while the left hand played in F major. Consequently, the entire nocturne was performed with the hands separated by a half-step. The next day, an individual who had been present at the party confronted Adams with an acerbic comment, masquerading as a compliment: "Congratulations! You never missed a wrong note."
* * *
The tongue, which James describes as "a world of iniquity," also is a world of germs. The Journal of Clinical Microbiology reports that there may be up to 500 different kinds of germs on the back of the tongue that cause bad breath. The tongue needs to be cleaned physically, like the teeth, as part of good daily oral hygiene. James suggests to us that the tongue also needs a spiritual cleansing for the odors it can cause in human relationships.
* * *
After almost twenty years as the third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones has announced his retirement. An outstanding player who is recognized both for his fielding and batting accomplishments, the 40-year-old player realizes that if continues he will be on the downside of a stellar career. In announcing his retirement, Jones said, "The bottom line is, if I could still go out there and play 140 to 150 games a year, I wouldn't be quitting. But I can't do it anymore."
When Jesus commands us to pick up our cross and follow him, it does preclude that the meaning of following won't change with the changing of life circumstances.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Mary Austin
Call to Worship
Leader: The heavens and the earth tell God's glory.
People: All of creation calls out with praise.
Leader: The days and the nights turn in God's order.
People: All of time proclaims God's majesty.
Leader: The mysteries of life reveal God's wisdom.
People: All of our days shine with God's mercy.
Leader: The gathering of community proclaims God's love.
People: All of God's people shout with praise and thanksgiving!
Opening Prayer / Collect for the Day
God of grace,
we come to surrender our inattention,
our hurried days and restless nights,
our distracted lives,
and to focus our hearts and minds on you.
Be with us in stillness
as we worship you.
Let your peace grow within us,
and your grace flourish among us.
In Jesus name, Amen.
OR
God of glory,
when we stop to look, the wonder of your creation stuns us.
The mystery of your presence with us
compels us to fall to our knees in prayer.
We are awed by your creation,
grateful for your love,
and blessed by your abundant mercy.
Be with us, we pray, as we worship,
serve,
love,
and seek you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Eternal God,
we believe we know who you are,
and then we forget your call to sacrifice for each other.
We think we know who you are,
and then we seek our own good and forget about others.
We're sure we know who you are,
and then we look for an easy faith,
and miss the moment to take up our cross and follow.
Forgive us, we ask,
and renew us for your service,
that we might take up our cross again and follow you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
OR
God of wisdom,
forgive us, we pray,
when we say too much,
speaking words that are harsh,
judgmental,
or silly.
Forgive us, we pray,
when we say too little,
letting cruelty,
injustice,
and hurt
pass by.
Forgive us, we pray,
when we get the words wrong
and contribute to someone's pain.
Heal us, we pray,
when someone's words injure us
and harden our hearts.
We pray in the name
of the word come to life,
Jesus. Amen.
Offering Prayer
Creative and generous God, all that we know, all that we are, and all that we have come from your love for us. Accept our gifts as signs of our love for you and let them flow with generosity and work with power to serve your world. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Hymn Suggestions
"All I Need Is You"
"Be Thou My Vision"
"Beneath the Cross of Jesus"
"The Church of Jesus Christ"
"The God of Abraham Praise"
"Guide My Feet"
"He Is Lord, He Is Lord"
"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"
"I Sing the Mighty Power of God"
"Lift High the Cross"
"Lord of the Dance"
"Morning Has Broken"
"Open My Eyes, That I May See"
"Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart"
"My Song is Love Unknown"
"The God of Abraham Praise"
"The Summons"
Children's Message
Invite the kids to go out into the congregation and find someone who's wearing a cross. It can be a necklace, a ring, a tattoo... anything they can find. Have them bring the person up to the front with them. (Be sure to tell them that people can decline to come up front and that they can look for someone else.) When everyone is up front, ask if the people have anything in common. (With luck, you'll have an array of young and old and of every possible size and shape.) Ask what the people have in common, and then talk about the common commitment to following Jesus, and to serving him in our world.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Controlling the Tongue
James 3:1-12
Object: a bit and bridle used for horses (if possible)
Good morning, boys and girls! Does anyone here have a horse or do you ride a horse? (let the children answer) Not many people have horses to ride, but we all wish we had our own horse, don't we? What color of horse would you like? (let several children volunteer) Horses are beautiful animals, aren't they? (let them answer) Just imagine how it would feel to ride your horse through the country, jumping fences, with the wind blowing in your face and the sun shining on your back. It sounds like a wonderful day, doesn't it?
Along with a saddle there is one other thing you must have if you are going to ride a horse, and it looks like this! (show them the bit) Do you know what we call this thing? (let them answer) It is called a bit, and do you know where it goes on the horse? (let them answer) That's right, it goes in their mouth and is attached to a bridle, and the bridle has reins. The reins are what you hold onto when you are riding a horse. When you pull on the reins the horse knows to turn or to stop or to go faster. You are in charge of the horse when you have the reins and the horse has a bit in its mouth.
Now if the horse obeys because of a bit in its mouth, what should we put in each other's mouth so that we also obey? James, the writer in the Bible, talks about this. He tells us that the same mouth that sings praises to God also says bad things. Do you say nice things with your mouth? (let them answer) That's good. Do you also say bad things to your friends, brothers and sisters, and your mom and dad? (let them answer) Does the good and the bad come from the same mouth? (let them answer) It does, doesn't it? And we must find a way to change so that we do not speak bad things.
We need to ask God to help us obey him and make our mouths good. We want to say thankful things to God and good things to all of our friends and relatives. God doesn't put bits in our mouths, but he asks each one of us to be careful what we say and to think only good things in our mind and heart.
So the next time you see someone riding a horse, I want you to notice the bit in the horse's mouth and how the rider controls the horse. Then you can think about how important it is to control your own mouth.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 16, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 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.
