Kissing Babies, Shaking Hands, Looking Under Trees
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
The political news in the past few weeks has been dominated by coverage of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. It's a ritual that begins the extended presidential campaign every four years, as we're presented with images of candidates meeting "regular folks" in small-town diners. It's a far cry from the mass communication through television advertising that increasingly characterizes typical political campaigns in the modern age -- and the sense that the demographics of these states are vastly different from America as a whole has led some commentators to wonder why these states should have such an important role in the process, winnowing the field before voters in larger, more diverse states have a chance to weigh in. Yet others believe that the seemingly anachronistic form of "retail" politics required in these states is much more than a charming throwback to an earlier age. They maintain that by allowing voters to meet "up close and personal" with candidates in a way that is logistically difficult if not impossible in larger states, we are able to connect with them and that important facets of how they would govern us are revealed. And as last week's Iowa caucuses reminded us, that can often lead to some surprising results.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin observes that the personal connections forged by these "first in the nation" presidential contests is exactly the same approach we see Jesus use as he calls Philip and Nathanael to follow him in the lectionary's gospel text for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany. Jesus isn't engaging in a denominationally approved evangelism program, or following the dictates of a best-selling author -- instead he just reaches out and establishes a personal connection with those he meets. (The original whistlestop campaign!) And, as Mary notes, we have another powerful model of this phenomenon at work as those of us in America celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King this weekend. The civil rights movement that King was the figurehead of functioned primarily through the power of personal connection and communication... as well as being a stirring example of the power of God to change the course of human events.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer offers some additional thoughts on this week's lectionary epistle passage and Paul's suggestions on how we should approach food and sex. Contemporary American life offers us many freedoms that we take for granted; and while we cherish those freedoms, we often make less than judicious use of them -- while defending our "right" to do so... a pattern we see played out with food, alcohol, tobacco, and "sins of the flesh." Dean notes that while we as a culture are currently engaging in our annual temporary post-holidays concern for dieting and fitness, what Paul calls us to do is to make our behavior an ongoing reflection of our status as God's children and that respecting our bodies and physical health is equally important as dedicating our hearts to Christ.
Kissing Babies, Shaking Hands, Looking Under Trees
by Mary Austin
John 1:43-51
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum's surprising second-place photo finish in the Iowa caucuses this month has brought new attention to his bid for the Republican nomination. Without much money to spend, he campaigned by traveling around the state in a pickup truck, making as many personal appearances as he could. The Christian Science Monitor, in an editorial on January 4, 2012, commented that the Iowa contest "was a victory for face-to-face campaigning." Old-fashioned retail politics unexpectedly triumphed over well-scripted debates, television ads, and possibly even social media.
The story behind his near-win calls to mind the original master of the personal touch, as the Gospel of John shows us Jesus in recruiting mode.
THE WORLD
As the Christian Science Monitor wrote in the editorial mentioned above, "Romney largely stayed away from Iowa until late in the game when he saw that he might win. Few voters got to kick his tires, which may have contributed to his slim win. Santorum, meanwhile, zigzagged across the state spending a pittance of the money that others spent. ?eYou can't buy Iowa. You've got to go out and earn Iowa,' [Santorum] often told crowds. ?eThe pundits don't come to these events, you do.' "
Reporter Tracy Jan, writing on Boston.com, the website of the Boston Globe, described Santorum's Iowa showing as a result of touring the state intensely and personally. Jan writes: "From the very beginning, Santorum believed that his year-plus slog through Iowa's 99 counties would make all the difference to his success here, where voters take seriously the tradition of retail politics -- being able to look politicians in the eye, shake their hands, and pepper them with questions to assess their character. So Santorum went, one county and one town hall at a time, eschewing the luxury motor coaches other candidates have chartered to instead be driven around in a Dodge pickup truck. He often spoke to no more than a handful of people. Sometimes it was just him and one other -- until recently, when voters came by the dozens, then hundreds, to hear the sweater-vest clad father of seven as he spiked in the polls."
Analysts debate the importance of doing well in Iowa -- does it really matter if you do well in a state so small, and possibly so different from other parts of the country? Still, the second place finish seems to have energized the Santorum campaign, and campaign workers report that donations are up. Whether this will lead to enduring success on the campaign trail is yet to be seen, but the Iowa results point to the power of the personal touch in politics. Tracy Jan's article quotes Michael Biundo, Santorum's national political director, as saying: "It's all about shoe leather."
THE WORD
Someone who knows a lot about shoe leather, or more probably sandal leather, is Jesus, whom we find calling disciples in this story from John's gospel.
Perhaps like our own political candidates, Jesus doesn't start out looking very unusual. As Lee Barrett comments in Feasting on the Word [Year B, Volume 1, p. 260]: "Jesus has performed no miracle, shown no sign, and engaged in no teaching... Philip has no evident reason to find Jesus to be remarkable... The subsequent development of the Gospel of John will continue to reinforce the genuine humanness of Jesus, insisting that Jesus is a real person who thirsts, gets hungry, sorrows, and dies." As the passage points out for us, Jesus comes from Nazareth -- a village so unremarkable that it seems impossible that any notable figure could come from there, let alone the long-awaited messiah.
In the gift of his own humanity, Jesus is also a master of the personal touch with others. Jesus greets Nathanael with words directed at him personally, assessing his character and offering the words that he needs to hear to believe in Jesus. We hear who Jesus is from Nathanael, instead of from Jesus: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" That's enough for Nathanael on this day, but Jesus promises that he will see bigger and more amazing things than that as they travel together.
The fig tree functions on a number of levels in the story. The fig tree has branches which sweep down to the ground, so to see someone under a fig tree is an accomplishment -- and Jesus is demonstrating a different kind of seeing here. The fig tree is also a symbol for the nation of Israel itself, and the fig tree was a place where rabbis often sat to teach their students. Sitting under the fig tree, Nathanael is already in the posture of a student -- and now the teacher has arrived.
Jesus shows us a different way of seeing the truth about people, and he invites us into the same kind of seeing beyond what we think is true. Faith involves seeing the truth about Jesus, as Nathanael does right away -- but it also involves being able to see the deepest truth about the other people around us. If we are followers of Jesus, the savior with the personal touch, we will embody that same touch in our own humanity.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
This beautiful story offers us many possible directions for a sermon. One sermon might be about seeing, and how Jesus sees each of us with the same grace and possibility as Nathanael. We are invited to see beyond what we think we know into a deeper faith. Jesus' invitation to us is always to "come and see" -- and seeing is the beginning of faith. Another sermon might be about the chain reaction of faith -- John the Baptist testifies to who Jesus is, Jesus calls Andrew, who gets his brother Simon Peter; Jesus calls Philip, who invites Nathanael along, and so on. Faith is contagious, passed from one person to another to the next. How do we live that in our lives?
This Sunday, many congregations will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His life offers another illustration of the power of God at work in the personal. In King's life and work, we see the intersection of human gifts with God's leadership at a moment in human history where dramatic change can happen. Recent revelations about the flawed humanity of Dr. King point us again to the strength of God at work in and through him. A sermon about God's call to each one of us could also speak about the call of God to Dr. King, and also to the dozens of people who worked with him, and the hundreds who marched with him, and the thousands who boycotted the buses and sat at lunch counters and traveled to the South for Freedom Schools and voter registration. God's call is never to us alone, and always to us in community.
Another sermon might be about the power of the personal -- the personal connections which have touched us, or changed the direction of our lives, and how we might create and strengthen those connections with others. Or a sermon might be about how God does significant things from insignificant beginnings. If the messiah can come from Nazareth, what might God do in our own small towns and ordinary churches?
ANOTHER VIEW
Paul on Food and Sex
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
The second most common New Year's resolution is to "get organized."
We all know what resolution owns the top position, right? Those of us who belong to gyms or health clubs and try to work out year-round are acutely aware in January, as the gym gets more and more crowded, that the number one New Year's resolution is the health resolution: to lose weight and/or get in shape. We regulars know that all we have to do is put up with the crowds for about 4-6 weeks, and sometime in mid-February the gym will be ours again. By that time, most of the new folks will have reached their weight-loss goals or given up.
Toward the end of helping people keep their New Year's resolution, for the second year in a row U.S. News & World Report assembled a team of 22 experts on diet and fitness who evaluated 25 different diet plans for overall effectiveness. Each plan was evaluated according to its nutritional completeness as well as how palatable it was, how easy or difficult it was to understand and follow, how affordable it was, how readily available it was, and how safe it was. Diet plans were also evaluated as to their effectiveness in preventing and/or managing diabetes and heart disease. The rankings were released online on January 4.
And the winner is... the overall winner is the DASH Diet. Yeah, I've never heard of it either, which is odd, because this is the second year in a row that it has won. Fear not, however -- there's a book. DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Originally developed as a dietary approach to lower high blood pressure, it turns out this diet also scores high in reducing blood sugar and cholesterol. And by reducing recommended portion sizes, it is also a good diet for losing weight.
Second place went to the TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) Diet, which was criticized for being hard work to follow. Third place went to the Mayo Clinic diet, which aims at weight loss.
Speaking of weight loss, if that is pretty much all you're looking for then Weight Watchers is your best bet, followed by the Biggest Loser Diet, with Jenny Craig taking the bronze. The study noted that, in the area of weight loss, being "easy to follow" is the most important factor. People will settle for slower actual weight loss if the diet is easy to follow, they don't have to work too hard at it, and they don't have to think about it all the time.
You can't turn on the television or pick up a magazine or turn on your computer at this time of year without being confronted -- some say bombarded -- by ads and articles having to do with weight loss and fitness. In the dead of winter, when many of us are most tempted to turn to comfort foods, dieting and exercise are constantly before us. During a football game on New Year's weekend, I personally saw ads for Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and two health spas in a single commercial break!
Even the Food Network -- those wonderful folks who bring us the all-butter-all-the-time cooking strategies of Paula Deen and the hyper-pasta concoctions of Mario Batali -- is now previewing a new program called Fat Chef in which they will attempt to help fat chefs lose weight even while they make their living increasing the weight of others.
How is a person of faith to deal with this time of year when, as a culture, we become temporarily obsessed with our bodies?
Paul on Food and Sex
The problem which Paul faced in the Corinthian church was not unlike our own.
Paul had preached to the people of Corinth a gospel of grace and love which freed people from the constraints of the Law. But some had misconstrued this new freedom and turned it into license. They had twisted Paul's "saved by grace, freed from the law" into "all things are lawful for me." They believed that, since they were saved by grace, they could do anything they pleased.
Surprisingly, Paul does not absolutely deny their contention. In fact, he affirms it. Yes, all things are lawful for those who live in Christ Jesus. But all things are not necessarily beneficial. Then he turns to the two most common areas where this distinction was being lost: food and sex.
Yes, he says, your salvation does not depend on what you eat or don't eat. But that doesn't mean you can live on a diet of donuts and beer. It may not affect your soul, but it will certainly affect your body -- and because you are saved, your body does not belong solely to you anymore. It belongs to Christ.
And likewise with sex. Our salvation does not hinge on whom we sleep with, but our sex life is a reflection of how we care for our bodies -- and those bodies belong as much to Christ as to us.
It's not a simple as the libertines want to make it.
The Body and "the Body"
As we reflect upon our bodies and how they reflect our faith stance, we would be remiss if we fail to remember the highly symbolic nature that the human body has for Paul when he speaks of the church.
For Paul, there is always in his discussion of the body a symbolic thread that leads us to the church. Anything that Paul says which pertains unto the human body pertains also to the church, the "body of Christ." There is always, for Paul, both the body and "the Body."
So when we hear Paul speak of the relationship of food to the body and how the intimacy of sexuality affects the body, we may also want to spend some time reflecting on what sorts of "food" are beneficial to the "body of Christ" and what sorts are not, what sorts of intimacy are good for the "body of Christ" and what sorts are not.
Who knew, when we began, that a simple passage about food and sex would be so rich in spiritual nutrition?
ILLUSTRATIONS
Christine Brennan wrote a column last week for USA Today titled "Not getting message on playing hurt." She began her piece by saying that most young professional athletes don't believe they will live to be 50. It's not that they picture themselves dying young. Actually, Brennan conceded, "they don't picture much of anything, really, other than excelling at their sport." And in so doing they destroy their bodies by playing through injuries and using performance-enhancing drugs.
She lifted up San Diego Chargers offensive lineman Kris Dielman as one example among many. He missed ten games this season after having suffered a concussion, but said he will play again. He is willing to risk his future health to gain a Super Bowl ring. In his words: "That's how I got here, doing stupid (stuff) on the football field."
This is why Brennan wrote that "a voice of reason is needed in pro sports" -- a voice of reason as expressed by Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin when he elected to keep one of his players, Ryan Clark, from playing this past Sunday in the Steelers playoff game against the Denver Broncos because the altitude in Denver would aggravate Clark's sickle-cell trait symptoms. Tomlin said, "It's a big game for us, but it is a game. We will keep that in perspective."
The Steelers lost the game and their chance for a Super Bowl ring this season. But Tomlin did recognize the importance of an individual's health as opposed to another ring on the finger.
The Apostle Paul wrote that "our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Let us not treat the temple foolishly.
*****
The editors of USA Today recently wrote an editorial titled "Hazing on campus persists, sometimes with deadly results." Their article was in response to the death of 26-year-old Florida A&M student Robert Champion, a drum major for the university's acclaimed marching band. Champion died as a result of an all-night beating administered by some fellow band members as part of a hazing ritual. The beating caused "hemorrhagic shock." That is to say, Champion died of from blunt force trauma that caused all of his soft tissue to hemorrhage.
Hazing is all too common on college campuses. It is used as a ritual of entrance, and often involves excessive drinking and sleep deprivation. But it is not a benign ritual, for students do die. The USA Today editors noted that many who are involved in hazing have "perceived positive results, including a sense of belonging, accomplishment, or strength." But, the editors rightfully note, "there is a productive alternative to hazing -- activities that can build teamwork and challenge students physically and mentally."
As a temple for the Holy Spirit the body is sacred. It is not to be destroyed by drinking and beatings to gain recognition. Instead, let us gain recognition through teamwork for community service.
*****
We have just passed the first anniversary of the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, in which six people were killed and 13 others were wounded. Coinciding with that anniversary, Paul Barrett has written a book titled Glock: The Rise of America's Gun, which examines the popular weapon that was used in the Giffords attack.
Barrett begins with a history of the Glock, and then follows this by detailing the magnificent qualities of the weapon: the large magazine, the ease of reloading, and accuracy -- all embraced in a beautiful black finish.
The gun was originally developed by an Australian businessman, Gaston Glock, who manufactured curtain rods and door hangers. But the profits from that business were a mere pittance after he developed the Glock, which became the weapon of choice for the Australian Army. From there it became the weapon of choice for police officers -- and, of course, criminals.
One would never want to stifle the entrepreneurial spirit. But if the invention is, in Paul's words, "united to a prostitute," then one must question the decision to make this weapon widely available. We can argue that it's not Gaston Glock's fault that a gun originally intended for military use then became the weapon of choice for criminals. But would not the people of Tucson be better off with fewer Glocks and more curtain rods and door hangers?
*****
In Thomas Cranmer's marriage ceremony from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, after the vows were exchanged the man would offer the woman a ring and would say these words: "With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow."
With my body I thee worship. It's a beautiful promise, offering to make the physical love at the heart of marriage into a holy thing. Some have worried over the years about that word "worship" in this context, thinking it idolatrous -- although "worship" in those days also meant "honor" in an ordinary sense (some judges were addressed as "your worship").
"With my body I honor you." That's another way to put it. This ancient vow recognizes that we humans have bodies as well as souls and that our bodies are bound to the way of Jesus Christ, just as our spirits are.
Sadly, this phrase of Thomas Cranmer's didn't make it across the Atlantic Ocean. As the Anglican Book of Common Prayer went through future editions here, those words were quietly removed. Just enough of the fear and loathing of all things physical had crept back into the church. Yet the promise remained a part of the culture. "With my body I thee worship" has continued to be remembered, and has even been restored in some modern marriage celebrations -- although nowadays, both bride and groom repeat those words, not just the groom. As they do so, they witness that we are whole people, body and soul.
*****
When chlorine is combined with sodium, it becomes sodium chloride -- better known as salt, a seasoning for food that provides necessary minerals for health. But take that same chlorine and combine it with hydrogen, and hydrochloric acid is produced -- which can burn the skin and disfigure the body.
If Paul had been a chemistry teacher, perhaps he would have used this illustration to talk about our life with Christ. Once we are members of Christ (the chloride with the sodium), we are the salt of the earth. If we are gluttonous or become sexually promiscuous (like the chlorine attaching itself to the hydrogen instead), then we are going to get burned.
*****
Sometimes what is lawful is not helpful or appropriate. An incident in the life of the first king of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud, illustrates this.
A woman came to Ibn Saud asking for a death sentence to be imposed on the man who had killed her husband. The man had been in a palm tree gathering dates when he had slipped and fallen on her husband, fatally injuring him. Ibn Saud inquired, "Was the fall intentional? Were the two men enemies?" The widow knew neither the man nor why he fell. But according to the law, she had a right to demand the blood price due her. "In what form will you have the compensation?" the king asked. She demanded the head of the guilty party. Ibn Saud tried to dissuade her, pointing out that she needed money and that taking a life for a life would profit neither her nor her children. But the widow wanted revenge and would not listen.
Ibn Saud said, "It is your right to exact compensation, and it is also your right to ask for this man's life. But it is my right to decree how he will die. You shall take this man with you immediately and he will be tied to the foot of a palm tree. Then you shall climb to the top of the tree and cast yourself down upon him from that height. In that way you will take his life as he took your husband's."
The woman took the money.
*****
"Come! Follow me." "Come and see!" The words of Jesus, echoed by Philip, to the men on the shores of Galilee must have been powerfully persuasive. They left their jobs and followed, not knowing what would lie ahead. The instant faith of Philip caused him to find Nathanael, who also believed, after hearing that Jesus knew him thoroughly. Jesus' words made a difference to people then. Would we drop everything, leave our family and friends, a lifetime of work, and change everything because Jesus asks us to?
That is exactly what we do when we continue to live out our baptismal covenant. Faith comes by hearing, we are told in scripture. We have heard the voice of Jesus and have walked forward in faith -- slowly perhaps, and even fitfully, but we walk toward the one whose word is true.
*****
Jesus addresses Philip directly and says, "Follow me" -- and Philip follows. In baptism, Jesus addresses us directly by name and we are freed to follow him too.
Philip not only follows Jesus, but also goes and gets his friend Nathanael. We too are "called to call" others to follow "the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the other prophets wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
The Institute for American Church Growth asked 100,000 Christians why they came to church. Seventy-nine percent said it was because a friend or relative asked them. Someone asked them to "Come and see," in the same simple way that Philip asked Nathanael when they became Jesus' disciples.
*****
There used to be a popular police show on television called Dragnet, which still shows up on reruns from time to time. The original Dragnet -- not to be confused with Dan Aykroyd's movie version -- starred a rather odd actor named Jack Webb who played detective sergeant Joe Friday.
Dragnet was originally a radio show, and it had two different television incarnations: one in the 1950s and then again in the late '60s. It gave our culture a wealth of catch phrases -- the most famous being "The story you have just seen is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent." Jack Webb, in his role as Joe Friday, is singlehandedly responsible for the other Dragnet catch phrase everybody knows. When faced, as he often was, with a somewhat hysterical woman who'd witnessed some dreadful crime, Sergeant Friday would pull out his notepad, stare coolly back at her, and say in his trademark monotone, "Just the facts, ma'am."
Joe Friday's just the sort of person you'd want to have as a witness in court -- on your side. He's cold, analytical, and utterly unfazed by extremes of emotion. He's dead-on task-oriented: a law enforcement bulldog who stays on the job until it's done. Sergeant Joe Friday would make the ideal witness -- or would he?
Joe Friday would be the ideal witness if the goal were simply to unearth the facts. But he'd be less than ideal for another sort of witnessing: the witnessing that leads others to faith.
*****
When Jesus calls a person to follow, it can come when the individual is least prepared. Consider Ambrose, who was destined to become one of Western Christianity's greatest churchmen. The young man began his career not in the church but in government. The Roman emperor appointed Ambrose provincial governor of northern Italy, and assigned him to a residence at Milan. In the A.D. 374 Ambrose was summoned to the local cathedral, where a riot was about to break out between two rival Christian factions. Each group was intent on winning its own candidate's nomination for bishop.
As the emperor's good servant, Ambrose intervened and averted conflict. He even tried to assist in mediating the dispute as to which candidate should be elevated to the bishop's chair. Finally someone suggested Ambrose himself. The suggestion was quickly embraced on all sides. Ambrose protested, in vain, that he was not even baptized. That did not dissuade the crowd. They had him baptized, then ordained, and finally consecrated a bishop -- all within the space of a single week. The call had come to him when he least expected it.
*****
The word "vocation" comes from the Latin vocare, "to call," and it means the work someone is called to by God. There are various kinds of voices calling us to many types of work. The task is to discover which is the voice of God rather than of society, or the "superego," or even one's own self-interest.
Frederick Buechner, in Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, puts it this way: "By and large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work a) that you need most to do and b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing television deodorant commercials, the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a) but probably aren't helping your patients much either."
He then sums it up like this: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, you have searched us and known us.
People: You know when we sit down and when we rise up;
Leader: You discern our thoughts from far away.
People: You search out our paths and our lying down,
Leader: And are acquainted with all our ways.
People: Even before we form a word, O God, you know it completely.
OR
Leader: Come and follow the Christ.
People: We come with joy to walk with Jesus.
Leader: As I have invited you, invite others.
People: We will call others to come to God.
Leader: Let our lives and our words both speak of God's love.
People: We offer our bodies, minds, and souls to God and spreading the good news.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Jesus Calls Us"
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELW: 696
"Tú Has Venido a la Orilla" ("Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore")
found in:
UMH: 344
PH: 377
CH: 342
"Spirit Song"
found in:
UMH: 347
AAHH: 321
CH: 352
Renew: 248
"Pues Si Vivimos" ("When We Are Living")
found in:
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
ELW: 639
"Take My Life, and Let It Be"
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583, 685
Renew: 150
"Make Me a Captive, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 378
"Let There Be Light"
found in:
UMH: 440
NNBH: 450
NCH: 589
"Word of God, Come Down on Earth"
found in:
UMH: 182
H82: 633
ELW: 510
"Make Me a Servant"
found in:
CCB: 90
"We Are His Hands"
found in:
CCB: 85
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who came in the person of Jesus: Grant us the grace to allow you to be present to others
through our bodies, minds, and spirits; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to you, O God, in the humanness of our bodies and minds. We offer ourselves to your work in redeeming all creation. Fill us with your Spirit, that we may allow your love and grace to always be present to those around us. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways we fail to use our bodies for the glory of God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are ready to offer our souls, but we are not so sure about our bodies. We want to believe in the incarnation with Jesus of Nazareth, but when it comes to us as being part of the Body of Christ, we want to think only in spiritual terms. We don't want to admit that our bodies are God's temples and our use of them reflects our degree of dedication to our Savior. Forgive us our blindness, and help us to offer all of ourselves to your reign. Help us to allow you to be incarnate in us today. Amen.
Leader: God does desire to live in us, body and soul, and to be made manifest in the world through us. God is always ready to redeem us and restore us to our rightful place as children of the Most High.
Prayer for Illumination
Send the light of your Spirit among us, O God, so that as your word is read and proclaimed we may be transformed into your image and your presence. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship you, O God, for you have created us and given us a place on this earth. You called creation good and you have continued to dwell among and within your people.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are ready to offer our souls, but we are not so sure about our bodies. We want to believe in the incarnation with Jesus of Nazareth, but when it comes to us as being part of the Body of Christ, we want to think only in spiritual terms. We don't want to admit that our bodies are God's temples and our use of them reflects our degree of dedication to our Savior. Forgive us our blindness, and help us to offer all of ourselves to your reign. Help us to allow you to be incarnate in us today.
We give you thanks for calling us to be your people and for those who heard and answered your call throughout the ages. We give you thanks for their faithful testimony and their sharing your call with others and with us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We lift up to your care those who find their lives in this world a burden, who do not have sufficient food, shelter, or other resources for their needs. We lift up those who find it difficult to believe in a loving, caring God. We pray for ourselves, that we may more faithfully present you to others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell one child to follow you to the altar or some other place, and whisper in his or her ear that he or she should also pass the invitation along before they come with you. (You may need to try it several times.) Talk with the children about how they got invited to come where you are. Talk about how if one person didn't pass the message along, none of the others would have received it. That is how it was and is with Jesus' disciples -- we pass on Jesus' invitation to follow him.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Our Body Is a Temple
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Object: a garbage can
I hope you were happy to come to church today, because I am very happy to be here. Every Saturday I think I can hardly wait until Sunday morning -- I love to be in this place. I love the people who worship with me. I love the church music, the organ, the choir, and all of the hymns. I love to see you on Sunday. So this is a very special place.
I tried to think of something I would not like to see in church, and I thought of this. (bring out the garbage can) How many of you know what this is? (let the children answer) That's right; this is a garbage can, and you know what goes in a garbage can, don't you? (let them answer) A garbage can is ugly almost anywhere, but it really looks ugly here, don't you agree? One garbage can mixed in with beautiful windows, furniture, music, and people spoils the whole thing.
Saint Paul talks about our bodies in the same way. He says that our bodies are like temples, places of God. This is where the Holy Spirit lives and makes our life beautiful. Have you ever thought of your body as a house of God? (let them answer) It is something to think about. When we do something bad to our bodies, it is like putting garbage into it. How would you like to eat garbage or sleep in garbage or wear garbage? (let them answer) I don't think you would like it.
So we are asked by Saint Paul to take very good care of our bodies. We need to treat the people we live with like they were holy people. That's why we should be good to our bodies and not harm them with smoking or overeating. We should take care of our environment like our air and our water and keep it clean. We should treat our bodies like they were houses of God.
Do you like this garbage can in church? (let them answer) Would you like to have a garbage can in your bedroom or your living room? (let them answer) I don't like garbage cans in church or in my home.
The next time you take a good look at a garbage can, I want you to think about what we talked over this morning. If you want your body to be like a temple where the Holy Spirit lives, then think about what you put in it, or on it, or around it.
God loves your body and wants to be a part of your life. Keep it healthy and keep it pure.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 15, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word 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.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin observes that the personal connections forged by these "first in the nation" presidential contests is exactly the same approach we see Jesus use as he calls Philip and Nathanael to follow him in the lectionary's gospel text for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany. Jesus isn't engaging in a denominationally approved evangelism program, or following the dictates of a best-selling author -- instead he just reaches out and establishes a personal connection with those he meets. (The original whistlestop campaign!) And, as Mary notes, we have another powerful model of this phenomenon at work as those of us in America celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King this weekend. The civil rights movement that King was the figurehead of functioned primarily through the power of personal connection and communication... as well as being a stirring example of the power of God to change the course of human events.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer offers some additional thoughts on this week's lectionary epistle passage and Paul's suggestions on how we should approach food and sex. Contemporary American life offers us many freedoms that we take for granted; and while we cherish those freedoms, we often make less than judicious use of them -- while defending our "right" to do so... a pattern we see played out with food, alcohol, tobacco, and "sins of the flesh." Dean notes that while we as a culture are currently engaging in our annual temporary post-holidays concern for dieting and fitness, what Paul calls us to do is to make our behavior an ongoing reflection of our status as God's children and that respecting our bodies and physical health is equally important as dedicating our hearts to Christ.
Kissing Babies, Shaking Hands, Looking Under Trees
by Mary Austin
John 1:43-51
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum's surprising second-place photo finish in the Iowa caucuses this month has brought new attention to his bid for the Republican nomination. Without much money to spend, he campaigned by traveling around the state in a pickup truck, making as many personal appearances as he could. The Christian Science Monitor, in an editorial on January 4, 2012, commented that the Iowa contest "was a victory for face-to-face campaigning." Old-fashioned retail politics unexpectedly triumphed over well-scripted debates, television ads, and possibly even social media.
The story behind his near-win calls to mind the original master of the personal touch, as the Gospel of John shows us Jesus in recruiting mode.
THE WORLD
As the Christian Science Monitor wrote in the editorial mentioned above, "Romney largely stayed away from Iowa until late in the game when he saw that he might win. Few voters got to kick his tires, which may have contributed to his slim win. Santorum, meanwhile, zigzagged across the state spending a pittance of the money that others spent. ?eYou can't buy Iowa. You've got to go out and earn Iowa,' [Santorum] often told crowds. ?eThe pundits don't come to these events, you do.' "
Reporter Tracy Jan, writing on Boston.com, the website of the Boston Globe, described Santorum's Iowa showing as a result of touring the state intensely and personally. Jan writes: "From the very beginning, Santorum believed that his year-plus slog through Iowa's 99 counties would make all the difference to his success here, where voters take seriously the tradition of retail politics -- being able to look politicians in the eye, shake their hands, and pepper them with questions to assess their character. So Santorum went, one county and one town hall at a time, eschewing the luxury motor coaches other candidates have chartered to instead be driven around in a Dodge pickup truck. He often spoke to no more than a handful of people. Sometimes it was just him and one other -- until recently, when voters came by the dozens, then hundreds, to hear the sweater-vest clad father of seven as he spiked in the polls."
Analysts debate the importance of doing well in Iowa -- does it really matter if you do well in a state so small, and possibly so different from other parts of the country? Still, the second place finish seems to have energized the Santorum campaign, and campaign workers report that donations are up. Whether this will lead to enduring success on the campaign trail is yet to be seen, but the Iowa results point to the power of the personal touch in politics. Tracy Jan's article quotes Michael Biundo, Santorum's national political director, as saying: "It's all about shoe leather."
THE WORD
Someone who knows a lot about shoe leather, or more probably sandal leather, is Jesus, whom we find calling disciples in this story from John's gospel.
Perhaps like our own political candidates, Jesus doesn't start out looking very unusual. As Lee Barrett comments in Feasting on the Word [Year B, Volume 1, p. 260]: "Jesus has performed no miracle, shown no sign, and engaged in no teaching... Philip has no evident reason to find Jesus to be remarkable... The subsequent development of the Gospel of John will continue to reinforce the genuine humanness of Jesus, insisting that Jesus is a real person who thirsts, gets hungry, sorrows, and dies." As the passage points out for us, Jesus comes from Nazareth -- a village so unremarkable that it seems impossible that any notable figure could come from there, let alone the long-awaited messiah.
In the gift of his own humanity, Jesus is also a master of the personal touch with others. Jesus greets Nathanael with words directed at him personally, assessing his character and offering the words that he needs to hear to believe in Jesus. We hear who Jesus is from Nathanael, instead of from Jesus: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" That's enough for Nathanael on this day, but Jesus promises that he will see bigger and more amazing things than that as they travel together.
The fig tree functions on a number of levels in the story. The fig tree has branches which sweep down to the ground, so to see someone under a fig tree is an accomplishment -- and Jesus is demonstrating a different kind of seeing here. The fig tree is also a symbol for the nation of Israel itself, and the fig tree was a place where rabbis often sat to teach their students. Sitting under the fig tree, Nathanael is already in the posture of a student -- and now the teacher has arrived.
Jesus shows us a different way of seeing the truth about people, and he invites us into the same kind of seeing beyond what we think is true. Faith involves seeing the truth about Jesus, as Nathanael does right away -- but it also involves being able to see the deepest truth about the other people around us. If we are followers of Jesus, the savior with the personal touch, we will embody that same touch in our own humanity.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
This beautiful story offers us many possible directions for a sermon. One sermon might be about seeing, and how Jesus sees each of us with the same grace and possibility as Nathanael. We are invited to see beyond what we think we know into a deeper faith. Jesus' invitation to us is always to "come and see" -- and seeing is the beginning of faith. Another sermon might be about the chain reaction of faith -- John the Baptist testifies to who Jesus is, Jesus calls Andrew, who gets his brother Simon Peter; Jesus calls Philip, who invites Nathanael along, and so on. Faith is contagious, passed from one person to another to the next. How do we live that in our lives?
This Sunday, many congregations will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His life offers another illustration of the power of God at work in the personal. In King's life and work, we see the intersection of human gifts with God's leadership at a moment in human history where dramatic change can happen. Recent revelations about the flawed humanity of Dr. King point us again to the strength of God at work in and through him. A sermon about God's call to each one of us could also speak about the call of God to Dr. King, and also to the dozens of people who worked with him, and the hundreds who marched with him, and the thousands who boycotted the buses and sat at lunch counters and traveled to the South for Freedom Schools and voter registration. God's call is never to us alone, and always to us in community.
Another sermon might be about the power of the personal -- the personal connections which have touched us, or changed the direction of our lives, and how we might create and strengthen those connections with others. Or a sermon might be about how God does significant things from insignificant beginnings. If the messiah can come from Nazareth, what might God do in our own small towns and ordinary churches?
ANOTHER VIEW
Paul on Food and Sex
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
The second most common New Year's resolution is to "get organized."
We all know what resolution owns the top position, right? Those of us who belong to gyms or health clubs and try to work out year-round are acutely aware in January, as the gym gets more and more crowded, that the number one New Year's resolution is the health resolution: to lose weight and/or get in shape. We regulars know that all we have to do is put up with the crowds for about 4-6 weeks, and sometime in mid-February the gym will be ours again. By that time, most of the new folks will have reached their weight-loss goals or given up.
Toward the end of helping people keep their New Year's resolution, for the second year in a row U.S. News & World Report assembled a team of 22 experts on diet and fitness who evaluated 25 different diet plans for overall effectiveness. Each plan was evaluated according to its nutritional completeness as well as how palatable it was, how easy or difficult it was to understand and follow, how affordable it was, how readily available it was, and how safe it was. Diet plans were also evaluated as to their effectiveness in preventing and/or managing diabetes and heart disease. The rankings were released online on January 4.
And the winner is... the overall winner is the DASH Diet. Yeah, I've never heard of it either, which is odd, because this is the second year in a row that it has won. Fear not, however -- there's a book. DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Originally developed as a dietary approach to lower high blood pressure, it turns out this diet also scores high in reducing blood sugar and cholesterol. And by reducing recommended portion sizes, it is also a good diet for losing weight.
Second place went to the TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) Diet, which was criticized for being hard work to follow. Third place went to the Mayo Clinic diet, which aims at weight loss.
Speaking of weight loss, if that is pretty much all you're looking for then Weight Watchers is your best bet, followed by the Biggest Loser Diet, with Jenny Craig taking the bronze. The study noted that, in the area of weight loss, being "easy to follow" is the most important factor. People will settle for slower actual weight loss if the diet is easy to follow, they don't have to work too hard at it, and they don't have to think about it all the time.
You can't turn on the television or pick up a magazine or turn on your computer at this time of year without being confronted -- some say bombarded -- by ads and articles having to do with weight loss and fitness. In the dead of winter, when many of us are most tempted to turn to comfort foods, dieting and exercise are constantly before us. During a football game on New Year's weekend, I personally saw ads for Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and two health spas in a single commercial break!
Even the Food Network -- those wonderful folks who bring us the all-butter-all-the-time cooking strategies of Paula Deen and the hyper-pasta concoctions of Mario Batali -- is now previewing a new program called Fat Chef in which they will attempt to help fat chefs lose weight even while they make their living increasing the weight of others.
How is a person of faith to deal with this time of year when, as a culture, we become temporarily obsessed with our bodies?
Paul on Food and Sex
The problem which Paul faced in the Corinthian church was not unlike our own.
Paul had preached to the people of Corinth a gospel of grace and love which freed people from the constraints of the Law. But some had misconstrued this new freedom and turned it into license. They had twisted Paul's "saved by grace, freed from the law" into "all things are lawful for me." They believed that, since they were saved by grace, they could do anything they pleased.
Surprisingly, Paul does not absolutely deny their contention. In fact, he affirms it. Yes, all things are lawful for those who live in Christ Jesus. But all things are not necessarily beneficial. Then he turns to the two most common areas where this distinction was being lost: food and sex.
Yes, he says, your salvation does not depend on what you eat or don't eat. But that doesn't mean you can live on a diet of donuts and beer. It may not affect your soul, but it will certainly affect your body -- and because you are saved, your body does not belong solely to you anymore. It belongs to Christ.
And likewise with sex. Our salvation does not hinge on whom we sleep with, but our sex life is a reflection of how we care for our bodies -- and those bodies belong as much to Christ as to us.
It's not a simple as the libertines want to make it.
The Body and "the Body"
As we reflect upon our bodies and how they reflect our faith stance, we would be remiss if we fail to remember the highly symbolic nature that the human body has for Paul when he speaks of the church.
For Paul, there is always in his discussion of the body a symbolic thread that leads us to the church. Anything that Paul says which pertains unto the human body pertains also to the church, the "body of Christ." There is always, for Paul, both the body and "the Body."
So when we hear Paul speak of the relationship of food to the body and how the intimacy of sexuality affects the body, we may also want to spend some time reflecting on what sorts of "food" are beneficial to the "body of Christ" and what sorts are not, what sorts of intimacy are good for the "body of Christ" and what sorts are not.
Who knew, when we began, that a simple passage about food and sex would be so rich in spiritual nutrition?
ILLUSTRATIONS
Christine Brennan wrote a column last week for USA Today titled "Not getting message on playing hurt." She began her piece by saying that most young professional athletes don't believe they will live to be 50. It's not that they picture themselves dying young. Actually, Brennan conceded, "they don't picture much of anything, really, other than excelling at their sport." And in so doing they destroy their bodies by playing through injuries and using performance-enhancing drugs.
She lifted up San Diego Chargers offensive lineman Kris Dielman as one example among many. He missed ten games this season after having suffered a concussion, but said he will play again. He is willing to risk his future health to gain a Super Bowl ring. In his words: "That's how I got here, doing stupid (stuff) on the football field."
This is why Brennan wrote that "a voice of reason is needed in pro sports" -- a voice of reason as expressed by Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin when he elected to keep one of his players, Ryan Clark, from playing this past Sunday in the Steelers playoff game against the Denver Broncos because the altitude in Denver would aggravate Clark's sickle-cell trait symptoms. Tomlin said, "It's a big game for us, but it is a game. We will keep that in perspective."
The Steelers lost the game and their chance for a Super Bowl ring this season. But Tomlin did recognize the importance of an individual's health as opposed to another ring on the finger.
The Apostle Paul wrote that "our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Let us not treat the temple foolishly.
*****
The editors of USA Today recently wrote an editorial titled "Hazing on campus persists, sometimes with deadly results." Their article was in response to the death of 26-year-old Florida A&M student Robert Champion, a drum major for the university's acclaimed marching band. Champion died as a result of an all-night beating administered by some fellow band members as part of a hazing ritual. The beating caused "hemorrhagic shock." That is to say, Champion died of from blunt force trauma that caused all of his soft tissue to hemorrhage.
Hazing is all too common on college campuses. It is used as a ritual of entrance, and often involves excessive drinking and sleep deprivation. But it is not a benign ritual, for students do die. The USA Today editors noted that many who are involved in hazing have "perceived positive results, including a sense of belonging, accomplishment, or strength." But, the editors rightfully note, "there is a productive alternative to hazing -- activities that can build teamwork and challenge students physically and mentally."
As a temple for the Holy Spirit the body is sacred. It is not to be destroyed by drinking and beatings to gain recognition. Instead, let us gain recognition through teamwork for community service.
*****
We have just passed the first anniversary of the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, in which six people were killed and 13 others were wounded. Coinciding with that anniversary, Paul Barrett has written a book titled Glock: The Rise of America's Gun, which examines the popular weapon that was used in the Giffords attack.
Barrett begins with a history of the Glock, and then follows this by detailing the magnificent qualities of the weapon: the large magazine, the ease of reloading, and accuracy -- all embraced in a beautiful black finish.
The gun was originally developed by an Australian businessman, Gaston Glock, who manufactured curtain rods and door hangers. But the profits from that business were a mere pittance after he developed the Glock, which became the weapon of choice for the Australian Army. From there it became the weapon of choice for police officers -- and, of course, criminals.
One would never want to stifle the entrepreneurial spirit. But if the invention is, in Paul's words, "united to a prostitute," then one must question the decision to make this weapon widely available. We can argue that it's not Gaston Glock's fault that a gun originally intended for military use then became the weapon of choice for criminals. But would not the people of Tucson be better off with fewer Glocks and more curtain rods and door hangers?
*****
In Thomas Cranmer's marriage ceremony from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, after the vows were exchanged the man would offer the woman a ring and would say these words: "With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow."
With my body I thee worship. It's a beautiful promise, offering to make the physical love at the heart of marriage into a holy thing. Some have worried over the years about that word "worship" in this context, thinking it idolatrous -- although "worship" in those days also meant "honor" in an ordinary sense (some judges were addressed as "your worship").
"With my body I honor you." That's another way to put it. This ancient vow recognizes that we humans have bodies as well as souls and that our bodies are bound to the way of Jesus Christ, just as our spirits are.
Sadly, this phrase of Thomas Cranmer's didn't make it across the Atlantic Ocean. As the Anglican Book of Common Prayer went through future editions here, those words were quietly removed. Just enough of the fear and loathing of all things physical had crept back into the church. Yet the promise remained a part of the culture. "With my body I thee worship" has continued to be remembered, and has even been restored in some modern marriage celebrations -- although nowadays, both bride and groom repeat those words, not just the groom. As they do so, they witness that we are whole people, body and soul.
*****
When chlorine is combined with sodium, it becomes sodium chloride -- better known as salt, a seasoning for food that provides necessary minerals for health. But take that same chlorine and combine it with hydrogen, and hydrochloric acid is produced -- which can burn the skin and disfigure the body.
If Paul had been a chemistry teacher, perhaps he would have used this illustration to talk about our life with Christ. Once we are members of Christ (the chloride with the sodium), we are the salt of the earth. If we are gluttonous or become sexually promiscuous (like the chlorine attaching itself to the hydrogen instead), then we are going to get burned.
*****
Sometimes what is lawful is not helpful or appropriate. An incident in the life of the first king of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud, illustrates this.
A woman came to Ibn Saud asking for a death sentence to be imposed on the man who had killed her husband. The man had been in a palm tree gathering dates when he had slipped and fallen on her husband, fatally injuring him. Ibn Saud inquired, "Was the fall intentional? Were the two men enemies?" The widow knew neither the man nor why he fell. But according to the law, she had a right to demand the blood price due her. "In what form will you have the compensation?" the king asked. She demanded the head of the guilty party. Ibn Saud tried to dissuade her, pointing out that she needed money and that taking a life for a life would profit neither her nor her children. But the widow wanted revenge and would not listen.
Ibn Saud said, "It is your right to exact compensation, and it is also your right to ask for this man's life. But it is my right to decree how he will die. You shall take this man with you immediately and he will be tied to the foot of a palm tree. Then you shall climb to the top of the tree and cast yourself down upon him from that height. In that way you will take his life as he took your husband's."
The woman took the money.
*****
"Come! Follow me." "Come and see!" The words of Jesus, echoed by Philip, to the men on the shores of Galilee must have been powerfully persuasive. They left their jobs and followed, not knowing what would lie ahead. The instant faith of Philip caused him to find Nathanael, who also believed, after hearing that Jesus knew him thoroughly. Jesus' words made a difference to people then. Would we drop everything, leave our family and friends, a lifetime of work, and change everything because Jesus asks us to?
That is exactly what we do when we continue to live out our baptismal covenant. Faith comes by hearing, we are told in scripture. We have heard the voice of Jesus and have walked forward in faith -- slowly perhaps, and even fitfully, but we walk toward the one whose word is true.
*****
Jesus addresses Philip directly and says, "Follow me" -- and Philip follows. In baptism, Jesus addresses us directly by name and we are freed to follow him too.
Philip not only follows Jesus, but also goes and gets his friend Nathanael. We too are "called to call" others to follow "the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the other prophets wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
The Institute for American Church Growth asked 100,000 Christians why they came to church. Seventy-nine percent said it was because a friend or relative asked them. Someone asked them to "Come and see," in the same simple way that Philip asked Nathanael when they became Jesus' disciples.
*****
There used to be a popular police show on television called Dragnet, which still shows up on reruns from time to time. The original Dragnet -- not to be confused with Dan Aykroyd's movie version -- starred a rather odd actor named Jack Webb who played detective sergeant Joe Friday.
Dragnet was originally a radio show, and it had two different television incarnations: one in the 1950s and then again in the late '60s. It gave our culture a wealth of catch phrases -- the most famous being "The story you have just seen is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent." Jack Webb, in his role as Joe Friday, is singlehandedly responsible for the other Dragnet catch phrase everybody knows. When faced, as he often was, with a somewhat hysterical woman who'd witnessed some dreadful crime, Sergeant Friday would pull out his notepad, stare coolly back at her, and say in his trademark monotone, "Just the facts, ma'am."
Joe Friday's just the sort of person you'd want to have as a witness in court -- on your side. He's cold, analytical, and utterly unfazed by extremes of emotion. He's dead-on task-oriented: a law enforcement bulldog who stays on the job until it's done. Sergeant Joe Friday would make the ideal witness -- or would he?
Joe Friday would be the ideal witness if the goal were simply to unearth the facts. But he'd be less than ideal for another sort of witnessing: the witnessing that leads others to faith.
*****
When Jesus calls a person to follow, it can come when the individual is least prepared. Consider Ambrose, who was destined to become one of Western Christianity's greatest churchmen. The young man began his career not in the church but in government. The Roman emperor appointed Ambrose provincial governor of northern Italy, and assigned him to a residence at Milan. In the A.D. 374 Ambrose was summoned to the local cathedral, where a riot was about to break out between two rival Christian factions. Each group was intent on winning its own candidate's nomination for bishop.
As the emperor's good servant, Ambrose intervened and averted conflict. He even tried to assist in mediating the dispute as to which candidate should be elevated to the bishop's chair. Finally someone suggested Ambrose himself. The suggestion was quickly embraced on all sides. Ambrose protested, in vain, that he was not even baptized. That did not dissuade the crowd. They had him baptized, then ordained, and finally consecrated a bishop -- all within the space of a single week. The call had come to him when he least expected it.
*****
The word "vocation" comes from the Latin vocare, "to call," and it means the work someone is called to by God. There are various kinds of voices calling us to many types of work. The task is to discover which is the voice of God rather than of society, or the "superego," or even one's own self-interest.
Frederick Buechner, in Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, puts it this way: "By and large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work a) that you need most to do and b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing television deodorant commercials, the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a) but probably aren't helping your patients much either."
He then sums it up like this: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, you have searched us and known us.
People: You know when we sit down and when we rise up;
Leader: You discern our thoughts from far away.
People: You search out our paths and our lying down,
Leader: And are acquainted with all our ways.
People: Even before we form a word, O God, you know it completely.
OR
Leader: Come and follow the Christ.
People: We come with joy to walk with Jesus.
Leader: As I have invited you, invite others.
People: We will call others to come to God.
Leader: Let our lives and our words both speak of God's love.
People: We offer our bodies, minds, and souls to God and spreading the good news.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Jesus Calls Us"
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELW: 696
"Tú Has Venido a la Orilla" ("Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore")
found in:
UMH: 344
PH: 377
CH: 342
"Spirit Song"
found in:
UMH: 347
AAHH: 321
CH: 352
Renew: 248
"Pues Si Vivimos" ("When We Are Living")
found in:
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
ELW: 639
"Take My Life, and Let It Be"
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583, 685
Renew: 150
"Make Me a Captive, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 378
"Let There Be Light"
found in:
UMH: 440
NNBH: 450
NCH: 589
"Word of God, Come Down on Earth"
found in:
UMH: 182
H82: 633
ELW: 510
"Make Me a Servant"
found in:
CCB: 90
"We Are His Hands"
found in:
CCB: 85
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
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
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who came in the person of Jesus: Grant us the grace to allow you to be present to others
through our bodies, minds, and spirits; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to you, O God, in the humanness of our bodies and minds. We offer ourselves to your work in redeeming all creation. Fill us with your Spirit, that we may allow your love and grace to always be present to those around us. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways we fail to use our bodies for the glory of God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are ready to offer our souls, but we are not so sure about our bodies. We want to believe in the incarnation with Jesus of Nazareth, but when it comes to us as being part of the Body of Christ, we want to think only in spiritual terms. We don't want to admit that our bodies are God's temples and our use of them reflects our degree of dedication to our Savior. Forgive us our blindness, and help us to offer all of ourselves to your reign. Help us to allow you to be incarnate in us today. Amen.
Leader: God does desire to live in us, body and soul, and to be made manifest in the world through us. God is always ready to redeem us and restore us to our rightful place as children of the Most High.
Prayer for Illumination
Send the light of your Spirit among us, O God, so that as your word is read and proclaimed we may be transformed into your image and your presence. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship you, O God, for you have created us and given us a place on this earth. You called creation good and you have continued to dwell among and within your people.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are ready to offer our souls, but we are not so sure about our bodies. We want to believe in the incarnation with Jesus of Nazareth, but when it comes to us as being part of the Body of Christ, we want to think only in spiritual terms. We don't want to admit that our bodies are God's temples and our use of them reflects our degree of dedication to our Savior. Forgive us our blindness, and help us to offer all of ourselves to your reign. Help us to allow you to be incarnate in us today.
We give you thanks for calling us to be your people and for those who heard and answered your call throughout the ages. We give you thanks for their faithful testimony and their sharing your call with others and with us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We lift up to your care those who find their lives in this world a burden, who do not have sufficient food, shelter, or other resources for their needs. We lift up those who find it difficult to believe in a loving, caring God. We pray for ourselves, that we may more faithfully present you to others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell one child to follow you to the altar or some other place, and whisper in his or her ear that he or she should also pass the invitation along before they come with you. (You may need to try it several times.) Talk with the children about how they got invited to come where you are. Talk about how if one person didn't pass the message along, none of the others would have received it. That is how it was and is with Jesus' disciples -- we pass on Jesus' invitation to follow him.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Our Body Is a Temple
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Object: a garbage can
I hope you were happy to come to church today, because I am very happy to be here. Every Saturday I think I can hardly wait until Sunday morning -- I love to be in this place. I love the people who worship with me. I love the church music, the organ, the choir, and all of the hymns. I love to see you on Sunday. So this is a very special place.
I tried to think of something I would not like to see in church, and I thought of this. (bring out the garbage can) How many of you know what this is? (let the children answer) That's right; this is a garbage can, and you know what goes in a garbage can, don't you? (let them answer) A garbage can is ugly almost anywhere, but it really looks ugly here, don't you agree? One garbage can mixed in with beautiful windows, furniture, music, and people spoils the whole thing.
Saint Paul talks about our bodies in the same way. He says that our bodies are like temples, places of God. This is where the Holy Spirit lives and makes our life beautiful. Have you ever thought of your body as a house of God? (let them answer) It is something to think about. When we do something bad to our bodies, it is like putting garbage into it. How would you like to eat garbage or sleep in garbage or wear garbage? (let them answer) I don't think you would like it.
So we are asked by Saint Paul to take very good care of our bodies. We need to treat the people we live with like they were holy people. That's why we should be good to our bodies and not harm them with smoking or overeating. We should take care of our environment like our air and our water and keep it clean. We should treat our bodies like they were houses of God.
Do you like this garbage can in church? (let them answer) Would you like to have a garbage can in your bedroom or your living room? (let them answer) I don't like garbage cans in church or in my home.
The next time you take a good look at a garbage can, I want you to think about what we talked over this morning. If you want your body to be like a temple where the Holy Spirit lives, then think about what you put in it, or on it, or around it.
God loves your body and wants to be a part of your life. Keep it healthy and keep it pure.
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The Immediate Word, January 15, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word 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.
