The grisly video -- especially for those who could actually bring themselves to watch the “snuff film” of Islamic State (ISIS) militants beheading photojournalist James Foley -- was sickening. Foley had been held hostage by the group for more than a year and a half since being captured in Syria, and they claimed that his “execution” was in direct retaliation for American airstrikes on the group’s positions in northern Iraq. Foley’s treatment by his captors appears to have been worse because he was a symbol of America and its military -- Nicolas Hénin, one of the French journalists who shared a cell with Foley for a time, noted that Foley “became the whipping boy of the jailers” once they discovered that his brother served in the Air Force. But Hénin also observed that Foley’s killing was “completely ironic” since he had become “an avid reader of the Koran who wanted to promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims.”
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin discusses how Foley’s life and death is a powerful personification of the love and devotion that Jesus talks about in this week’s gospel passage -- that we must be willing to lose our lives in order to truly find them. It’s also a moving example of the kind of love Paul talks about in this week’s Romans text, in which we are counseled to “Love one another with mutual affection... rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” That attitude was certainly underlined by the remarkable reaction of Foley’s parents, who described their son as “a martyr” who was “courageous, fearless, very compassionate” and who “felt the world needed to know about suffering.” By using their moment in the stressful media spotlight to speak of sorrow rather than vengeance, they exemplified another of Paul’s themes in this passage: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil... never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God.” (Jeremiah has a very different viewpoint in the opening verse of this week’s alternate Old Testament reading, when he demands that the Lord “bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.”)
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the contrast Jesus highlights between saving our lives and losing them, and losing them and finding them. Jesus pointedly asks us what it profits us to gain the world but forfeit our lives; but as Dean notes, judging by the “personal interest” news stories that are often sprinkled in with “harder” news, we still have a very selfish attitude about how to “save” (i.e., extend) our lives. Of course, that’s in great contrast to the selflessness exemplified by journalists who bear witness in ultra-dangerous war zones or by the medical missionaries who risk their lives fighting the Ebola virus in Africa or by the first responders dealing with the latest California earthquake. Dean suggests that perhaps we need to re-examine our priorities, and rather than hoard life’s resources for ourselves share them more freely -- and offers the bread and wine of the Lord’s Table as a moving illustration of that principle.
Losing and Finding
by Mary Austin
Matthew 16:21-28; Romans 12:9-21
In words that are hard to understand on ordinary days, Jesus says “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” On extraordinary days, we find the truth of what he says.
The life and death of journalist James Foley draw us to the depth in Jesus’ words.
Foley, beheaded on camera by fighters from the Islamic State army, had been held captive since November 2012. His life was threatened, if not lost, as a captive. Still, his roommate during some of those months said that Foley found an added sense of purpose even in such limited circumstances.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, “Frenchman Nicolas Hénin spent seven months in the same room with the U.S. reporter and even recognized the shoes he wore in the execution video as a pair they had shared.” Asked if Foley had imagined the day of his release and made any plans, Hénin replied, “Oh yes. He wanted two things; either to work for the Committee to Protect Journalists or work on interfaith dialogue and rebuild bridges between the Christian and Muslim worlds.” The numbing experience of captivity had opened his eyes to other places of need in the world, and he imagined dedicating his time to new ways to serve the bonds between people.
In the News
Shortly after James Foley’s death, another American held hostage in Syria, freelance writer Peter Theo Curtis, was released. Reportedly the government of Qatar was involved in negotiations for his release, and he was held by a different group. The Islamic State forces who held James Foley are known for their cruelty to fellow Muslims as well as others. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “IS, also known as ISIS, the group that held Foley for nearly two years, started out a decade ago as Al Qaeda in Iraq and distinguished itself by its over-the-top cruelty and willingness to attack civilians in an effort to foment sectarian war. The group was eventually excommunicated from Al Qaeda for what AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri deemed extreme violence -- in particular against other Muslims -- that he said was counterproductive. The group has also declared an Islamic ‘caliphate’ spanning Syria and northern Iraq, a move that former AQ leader Osama bin Laden had opposed as premature.”
The group, alternately called ISIS or ISIL, uses kidnappings as a funding source, and asked for a ransom payment in the days before they killed James Foley. Some hostages from other nations have been freed after monetary payments, but the United States and Britain refuse to pay for the release of their citizens. As the New York Times reports, “While government and counterterrorism officials insist that paying ransoms only perpetuates the problem, the policy has meant that captured Americans have little chance of being released. A handful succeeded in running away, and even fewer were rescued in special operations. The rest are either held indefinitely -- or else killed.” More than 50 foreigners have been kidnapped in the past few years, and most were released after ransom payments. The Islamic State group is also believed to hold journalist Steven Sotloff, and has said he will be executed next.
In the Scriptures
Both Matthew and Romans urge us toward a kind of spiritual letting-go. Jesus wants us to know that a life of discipleship means letting go of our own desires and taking up the way of the cross. We have to lose what we understand as the good life to take hold of the grace-filled life of discipleship.
Paul too, as he writes to the church in Rome, sees that letting go is part of faith. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them,” he urges. Let go of the usual response, he tells people of faith, and turn toward something more purposeful.
Foley’s parents provide a remarkable model of this as they make their way through the days since his death. In a recent statement Foley’s mother spoke not of revenge or even justice, but of moving toward a greater good. “We must stand together,” Diane Foley said. “Good and love and all that is free in the world must be together to fight the evil and the hatred.” Before a mass in Foley’s honor in their hometown, Mrs. Foley said: “Jim stood for love and hope.... I want to celebrate a life of bearing witness.... So many people are suffering in the Middle East right now, and there are many hostages being held captive, so this is a mass for all of those who are hoping for peace, and also in Jim’s memory.”
“From that time on,” Matthew tells us, “Jesus began to show his disciples...” The word “began” is curious -- it seems that he had been showing them all along in the way he lived his life, used his time and energy, and confronted the authority around him. What more could he show them now that they hadn’t seen before?
“From that time on” takes us back to Peter’s confession that Jesus is the messiah. On that foundation, Jesus can begin to teach a deeper level of discipleship. His suffering only has a deeper meaning within that truth. James Boyce writes for WorkingPreacher.org that Jesus is changing the definition of what faith means. Faithfulness now “is not just piling on more deeds or being more earnest in obedience, it has to do with a complete overturning or transformation of what it means to be righteous (‘The last will be first and the first will be last’; 20:16). Such is a righteousness that will lead to the death of God’s Messiah; and such is a righteousness that will call for ones who follow on the way to the cross and who in their following are blessed to discover that in giving away and losing their lives they will save and find them.” Pain and grief, illuminated by the life of Jesus, take on another layer of meaning.
In the Sermon
Do not be overcome by evil, Paul writes to the church in Rome. Does he mean not to let evil cloud our view of the world? Or does he mean not to give in to the temptation to do evil in return when it is done to us? To overcome evil with good seems easy enough on ordinary days, but the challenge comes in the wake of violence, suffering, and loss. At a mass in Foley’s honor in New Hampshire, Bishop Peter Libasci spoke of the value of Foley’s work. Libasci used the words of the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, “which begins, ‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,’ to implore the gathered not to hate but to heal. ‘It is in giving that we receive,’ he recited. ‘It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. To these words, I think we can say, “Yes, I wish we could do that.” It is not beyond our capability. It is not impossible. Our Lord lived it. Our most Blessed Mother lived it. Many saints have lived it. James lived it.’ ” Clearly, we can’t manage this at a moment’s notice. Being able to do this when tragedy strikes, when evil comes our way, builds on a lifetime of practice. If we haven’t done it in small ways all along, we won’t be able to manage the big challenges when they come. The sermon might look at how we practice this as a spiritual skill, so we keep expanding our ability to do it.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer,” Paul counsels. The three instructions feel connected. When faced with suffering hope is elusive, coming and going with the flow of events. The work of making it through each day is consuming, and yet we are called not just to labor through, but to manage to hope. The only way to manage that is with prayer -- and it may not be our own prayers. When pain is too consuming we may not be able to pray, and the prayers of others carry us through. When we can’t manage to hope, other people can carry it for us. We tend to read this passage as an individual instruction, but it helps to remember that Paul is talking to a community of faith. The sermon might look at how we do this for each other. When we are bowed down by our individual sorrows, how can the community of faith lift us up in prayer and hope? How do we share this spiritual work with each other?
Peter, as always, has both a depth of understanding and poor impulse control. Mary Hinkle Shore suggests that Jesus loves Peter not in spite of his flaws, but because of them. Peter is “representative of those who follow Jesus. If you have not known yourself to be both brilliant and clueless as you follow Jesus, fierce and craven, faithful and running for your life at almost exactly at the same time, you are not paying attention. Jesus does not say he will build his church on a rock such as Peter because the man’s insight is so great or his faithfulness so remarkable or even because Jesus has any particular hope that Peter will become, over time, more faithful and less frightened. Jesus chooses this particular lump of clay because Jesus sees God at work in him. ‘Blessed are you, Simon, son of John, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.’ God is at work in this one, and when Jesus sees that, he gets on board with it.” How might God be using our flaws and failures? The sermon might examine spiritual blind spots and weaknesses and how God is at work in them just as much as in our strengths.
Jesus makes clear that there is a cost to follow him. Sarah Dylan Breuer notes that the disciples “could have known that the price was steep for the way of life they were choosing. So why, then, did they choose it? On one hand, it was because they also saw a cost to remaining where they were, to the way of life that would have earned them praise, respect, and/or relative material security.” Is there a cost for us too in not following Jesus? We know the price of following -- do we pay a price when we don’t follow as well? The sermon might look at the spiritual costs of staying where we are.
James Foley paid a high price for being who he was, and for following his call to share the story of Syria. His life and death prompt us to consider the costs of faith. What price will we pay for following the way of Jesus? And what does it cost not to follow?
SECOND THOUGHTS
Living More or Longer?
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 16:21-28
My internet homepage on my computer keeps me in direct contact with major news services -- and I don’t know about you, but I’m getting some mixed signals from the news these days.
On the one hand, I’m supposed to be passionately dedicated to extending my life to the maximum possible number of days. Living for a long, long time seems to be a goal that is ubiquitous in our culture. Life is, apparently, a game wherein those who rack up the largest number of years in their life before they die are the winners.
At my weekly Rotary meeting we always applaud the oldest member present, as though to congratulate him or her for doing such a great job of not dying.
Last week, I was told by Health.com that there are nine things that I absolutely must be doing if I want to live for a long, long time. Oh, you want to hear them? Okay, here they are:
1. Don’t overeat.
2. Have lots of sex.
3. Turn off the TV.
4. Stay out of the sun.
5. Have a strong network of friends and family.
6. Drink a little bit of alcohol each day.
7. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
8. Exercise.
9. Don’t smoke.
To be honest, two of those are not things I should be doing but things I should not be doing, three if you count watching television (number 3). But that’s beside the point. According to health experts there is an actual fountain of youth, and through it flow these nine things.
The only thing the article doesn’t tell us is why. Why should we want to live for a long time? To what end? What’s the point?
While none of us wants to live a short life, we might do well to ask from time to time not how we can put more days into our lives, but how we can put more life into our days.
The sad suicide of one of our dearest and most beloved comedians, Robin Williams, shows us in stark and painful terms what becomes of us when our days, regardless of their number, lose their meaning. And the devastating earthquake last week in the Napa Valley just north of San Francisco reminds us that our lives are delicate and fragile, and no matter how many lists we follow, no matter how good the advice we are given, we are not always in control of the number of days we are going to live.
Former Secretary of Labor and current college professor Robert Reich, who experienced some residual effects of the earthquake at his residence in Berkeley, California, observed in a brief Facebook post: “Life itself is precarious.... Maybe once in a while we need a good shaking to remind us how briefly we’re on this earth, and how precious our time here is.”
Yet even then, firefighters and police were entering buildings rendered unsafe by the earthquake in order to search for survivors.
Thomas Jefferson opined that “information is the currency of democracy.” So, even as we grieve the brutal and senseless murder of journalist James Foley, others who have dedicated their lives to keeping us informed so our democracy can function continue to brave the dangers inherent in covering the Middle East.
The Ebola outbreak in Africa is the worst and most lethal in recorded history, but doctors and other medical personnel are not hiding from it in the safety of Western clinics and hospitals. They are rushing to the scene of the outbreak, endangering their own lives, to save lives and keep the epidemic from spreading beyond the African continent.
Just as we thought our presence in Iraq was finished, we find ourselves sending our military back to fight ISIS, to risk their lives protecting those innocents who Muslim fanatics would kill for no other reason than that they are Christians or they practice the wrong kind of Islam.
So how do we reach beyond living longer to living more and better? Methuselah lived a long time. Unfortunately, that’s all we know about him. His only accomplishment was that he lived a long life (Genesis 5:27). How can we avoid making the same error? These journalists, military personnel, doctors, nurses, and first responders may have discovered (or rediscovered) something that Jesus told us about 2,000 years ago.
If we want our lives to have meaning, to have depth and authenticity, we must live them to a purpose beyond ourselves. If we really want to find purpose in our lives, we must lose our lives in something other than, greater than, our desire to live a long time.
We need to look no further than the Eucharist to see this truth acted out regularly in the life of the church.
If we save the bread, we lose it. It becomes stale, moldy, inedible. Ants sneak in and eat it. One way or another, it is lost. The only way the bread has any purpose is not when we save it up, but when we allow it to be broken and shared with our brothers and sisters.
If we save the wine, we lose it. It goes sour, it evaporates, and it is lost. The only way the wine has any purpose is when we allow it to be poured out and shared with our brothers and sisters.
And so it is with our lives. If we save them up, we will eventually, inevitably lose them. The only time we really have our lives is when we allow them to be broken and poured out and shared with our brothers and sisters.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Leah Lonsbury:
Romans 12:9-21
At Michael Brown’s funeral this week, Charles Ewing, Brown’s great-uncle and pastor in nearby Jennings, Missouri, said: “Michael Brown’s blood is crying from the ground, crying for vengeance, crying for justice.”
During the same service, the Reverend Al Sharpton called for reformed policing, noting that police units seem to have plenty of funding to militarize but not to educate and transform the reality on the street. “America, it’s time to deal with policing!” Sharpton exclaimed. “We are not the haters, we are the healers.”
In our passage from Romans for this week, it’s clear that vengeance is God’s alone -- God’s to define and carry out. How has this point been missed in Ferguson?
It’s also clear in this passage that healing through love and relationship is our work to do.Living peaceably is a part of that; so are answering evil with good, treating strangers in hospitable ways, living humbly and amongst the “least of these,” rejoicing in hope, having patience in suffering, and persevering in prayer. Where and how is this kind of witness showing up in Ferguson and in our reaction to what is happening there?
*****
Romans 12:9-21
In Oslo, Norway, Muslim leaders came together with the prime minister and other politicians to stand against the violent and terroristic acts and character of ISIS. In this act, those who often face persecution for their adherence to a faith co-opted and corrupted by extremists are standing for peace and doing what they can to overcome evil with good. Mehtab Afshar, head of the Islamic Council in Norway, told the crowd at a mass demonstration: “They stand for terrorism, they stand for terror... and we condemn that in the strongest terms.”
*****
Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28
The family of assassinated journalist James Foley shared their final message from him this week. It was a “letter” Foley asked a fellow prisoner about to be released to memorize and “deliver” to the Foley family, because all paper letters were confiscated by jailers. Foley shared through this fellow prisoner that he relied on prayer and memories of happier days for the strength to continue. “ ‘I have had weak and strong days. We are so grateful when anyone is freed; but of course, yearn for our own freedom,’ he told them. He included short messages for his siblings and ended on a positive note: ‘Stay strong because I am going to need your help to reclaim my life.’ ”
Like Foley’s letter, our passage from Romans exposes the mutuality that must undergird our common life together and the lengths to which we must go to “rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer.”
Foley’s letter also echoes our passage from Matthew and Jesus’ instructions not to hold too tightly to our own individual lives but to look to the “divine things” that will cause us to take up our cross and follow the way. Foley describes a gratitude for any prisoner’s freedom that is not overcome by selfish intent. Foley’s parents have described him as a reporter called to go to dangerous places and share the truth at great personal risk.
NBC reports the following about Foley’s funeral mass: “Foley was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day 2012 while covering the Syrian uprising. Bishop Peter Libasci noted that even after Foley was captured for the first time in Libya in 2011, he ‘went back again that we might open our eyes... That we might indeed know how precious is this gift. May almighty God grant peace to James and to all our fragile world.’ ”
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From team member Chris Keating:
Exodus 3:1-15
Moses’ Call to Leadership
As Shakespeare said, some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Still others could be called reluctant leaders -- leaders like Moses who are summoned to a particular task in spite of their objections. Such leaders, says Doug Blackie, are not driven by ego as much as they are by a sense of service or vocation.
Interestingly, a research study on leadership supports this theory, demonstrating that often the most effective leaders are paradoxically those who are most reluctant to be named a leader.
Stefan Stern, in the Harvard Business Review blog, suggests that the best leaders are sometimes the ones least enamored by organizational politics. Instead, the ones who are most enthusiastically granted power to lead by peers are those who “relish doing the core work of the firm, serving clients with distinction. They are happy to grant autonomy. They don’t exhibit the political behavior associated with raw ambition. They might not go so far as to say (as General Sherman did), ‘If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.’ But they display the attitude toward leadership that it is not work one would choose, only a responsibility that should be shouldered by ‘one of us.’ ”
Application: Moses was a reluctant leader. Summoned by God, he objects to the tasks set before him. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” Moses asks God. After all, Moses isn’t sure anyone will believe him. He’s not all that eloquent, and is even wanted for murder. But he is open to how God would work through him.
*****
Exodus 3:1-15
Leadership in Ferguson
During the height of the recent struggles in Ferguson, an otherwise unheard-of Missouri State Highway Patrol captain was thrust into the national limelight. Many persons saw the appointment of Capt. Ronald Johnson as a critical moment in reducing tensions. Johnson, who was raised in a town not far from Ferguson, brought a balance of empathy and a commitment to community-oriented policing to the task of securing Ferguson’s streets. Johnson became known for his deep faith, and willingness to pray alongside protestors. “I’ve just tried to stand on that line of what’s right. Just walk down that line, and not try to separate my feet from side to side,” Johnson told reporters.His superiors noted that Johnson wasn’t chosen because he was black or because of his knowledge of the area. Instead, “he just happened to be there,” his immediate supervisor said. “God took care of us there in that respect.”
When overwhelmed by grief and frustration, Johnson retreated to the restroom in a vacant storefront at the police command center. “I know it sounds strange, but that restroom has become my refuge, my place to cry,” said Johnson. “I like to cry alone, wipe my tears and come back out and be the best leader I can be.”
Application: Like Capt. Johnson, Moses was called to serve his community -- to go into the heat of struggle and to lead by walking on the side of what is right. (For a study of Moses’ leadership style as it applies to ministry, see “Learning Leadership from Moses.”)
*****
Romans 12:9-21
Discovering the Peaceful Path
The road to the place where Michael Brown was killed by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer was lined with hundreds of roses on Saturday. Three weeks after Brown was shot, I drove through the neighborhood where he lived -- not as a spectator, but rather as one traveling the pathway to peace.
On one side of the street, a Pentecostal preacher was holding an impromptu service of worship. Nearby, a group of about 100 or so peaceful protestors -- mixed in ages and race -- walked quietly down the sidewalk. A single woman walked to the space where Brown’s body had fallen. She paid her respects, and then moved back toward the opposite side of the street. A group of families stood near a homemade cross that read “Love your neighbors.”
A couple of blocks away at the police staging area, National Guard soldiers stood guard. In the oppressive August heat, the mood in the shopping center felt a bit like a late summer street fair. But according to officials in cities that have witnessed trauma, Ferguson will need many more calm days to truly discover the paths of peace.
Following a mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the town discovered it needed time to process its grief. “There’s still going to be a lot of pain and a lot of frustration and numerous questions that the citizens are going to be asking. And they aren’t going to go away until there’s an effort to reach out and try to answer those questions,” said Aurora mayor Steve Hogan. Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan said that in the wake of the riots following Rodney King’s beating, he found it important to form key alliances with the entire community -- particularly clergy. “One of the things I learned as mayor was to make friends with the top leaders in the inner city, particularly the pastors,” he said. “I think the whites there [in Ferguson] -- there and in the rest of St. Louis -- the white businesspeople have to get involved with the black leaders and meet with them regularly.”
Editors of the St. Louis American, a leading African-American newspaper, challenged the city to move forward in peace: “It is clear, now more than ever, that many more of us need to leave our offices, churches, and comfort zones and engage more directly with our angry and misdirected youth.”
Application: Paul’s admonishes us to “live in harmony with one another” and to “overcome evil with good” -- and these are the fruits of walking the pathways of peace. The church is called to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep; but that often means we must leave our comfort zones in order to love as Jesus loved.
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From team member Ron Love:
Exodus 3:1-15
Recently The New York Times ran an article titled “Four Days That Inspired Torre’s Four Rings,” which discussed how the four championship rings that Joe Torre acquired as manager of the New York Yankees resulted from four days he spent in a self-help seminar in 1995. Having grown up with an abusive father, Torre suffered from low self-esteem. His mother was a victim of domestic violence, and he lived in fear of his father. As a young baseball player, this translated into a perceived need to be a perfect ballplayer. Each time Torre did not get a hit, each time he made an error, he took it as being personally responsible for his team losing the game. In 1995, Torre’s wife Ali encouraged him to attend a seminar whose agenda he was unsure of. But on the third day he found himself standing before the group crying his eyes out. On the last day he realized he was not born with the inferiority feelings that plagued him. It was during those four days that Torre came to understand that he was normal, and with that he changed his attitude about his performance playing baseball.
Application: On Mt. Horeb Moses discovered a change in his life as he personally encountered God.
*****
Exodus 3:1-15
Hashim Khan recently died. He is recognized for his exploits as a championship squash player and for popularizing the sport in the United States. His career began in the most humble and unexpected way -- as a boy in India he would collect balls for the British officers who played the game, then when they were done he would play barefoot. He would trade his lunch for lessons. Khan never intended to be a competitor, but when Pakistan secured its independence from India he was encouraged to represent the new country in international tournaments. His age at the time was unknown, but it was at least 36. Khan went on to win six consecutive titles in the British Open (squash’s most celebrated tournament). In 1961 he came to the United States to teach the game.
Application: Moses felt unqualified when he was called by God to deliver the Israelites from captivity. But to his surprise, he was successful in the venture.
*****
Romans 12:9-21
Albert Reynolds, known as the “Peacemaking Irish Premier,” recently passed. He played an important role in negotiating a ceasefire with the IRA -- but many criticized him when he embarked on this endeavor. To their criticism he replied: “I don’t mind if others think I’ll fail, when I believe the greatest prize of all, peace, is still achievable.”
Application: Paul instructs us “not to lag in zeal” when we are attempting to do good things.
*****
Romans 12:9-21
Elisabeth Moss just completed her last episode as Peggy, the hard-working copywriter on the television show Mad Men. Moss was asked by USA Today’s Andrea Mandell what she thought was the most powerful line she spoke during the series. Moss answered that it came in Season 4 when Peggy talked about what made her think of the baby she had given away -- and it was one word: “playgrounds.” As she shared her grief about being childless with a friend, it was playgrounds that she thought of.
Application: Many people have the word “playgrounds” in their vocabulary of grief, with many accompanying words like cancer, divorce, and alcohol. And as Paul instructs, it is with these people that we weep.
*****
Matthew 16:21-28
Dr. Bruce Ribner, the infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital who coordinated the treatment at the Atlanta facility of aid workers Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol for their exposure to the Ebola virus, was challenged for providing the opportunity to spread the virus throughout the United States. To his critics Dr. Ribner replied, “However, we cannot let our fears dictate our actions. We must all care.”
Application: We must often hear the words “Get behind me, Satan” so that we can do good work for the Lord.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O give thanks to God, call on God’s name.
People: We will make known God’s deeds among the peoples.
Leader: Sing to God, sing praises to God.
People: We will tell of all God’s wonderful works.
Leader: Glory in God’s holy name.
People: May the hearts of those who seek God rejoice.
OR
Leader: Come to the fountain of the waters of life.
People: We are thirsty for life that is meaningful.
Leader: God pours out for us God’s very own Spirit.
People: We open our hearts to God’s good gift.
Leader: The gift is greatest when it is shared.
People: What we receive from God we will offer to others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
“How Like a Gentle Spirit”
found in:
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
“All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded”
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELA: 757
“Freely, Freely”
found in:
UMH: 389
“Jesus Is All the World to Me”
found in:
UMH: 469
AAHH: 382
NNBH: 283
AMEC: 349
“Pues Si Vivimos” (“When We Are Living”)
found in:
UMH: 356
PH: 400
NCH: 499
CH: 536
ELA: 639
W&P: 415
“Take My Life, and Let It Be”
found in:
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELA: 583, 685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
“The Gift of Love”
found in:
UMH: 408
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
“The Steadfast Love of the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 28
“Your Loving Kindness Is Better than Life”
found in:
CCB: 26
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
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who gave us life: Grant us the wisdom to realize that we are made in your image, and like you, our life is fullest when we give it to others; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you have given us life. As we worship you this day, we pray that you will fill us with your Spirit that we may offer our lives to others as you have given yours to us. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways in which we try to grasp life rather than give it away.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have given us life, and yet we do not understand that life is something that can be given away. We continue to believe that we can only have life by grasping it and holding onto it as tightly as possible. Yet in your love and wisdom you have demonstrated for us that life is best when it is given away. Renew in us your image as you fill us with your Spirit, love, and life. Enable us to give it all away that we may have even more. Amen.
Leader: God’s love, grace, and life are without limits. Receive freely from God and share freely with others.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, giver of life. In awe we discover your life is limitless in all aspects that we can imagine.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have given us life, and yet we do not understand that life is something that can be given away. We continue to believe that we can only have life by grasping it and holding onto it as tightly as possible. Yet in your love and wisdom you have demonstrated for us that life is best when it is given away. Renew in us your image as you fill us with your Spirit, love, and life. Enable us to give it all away that we may have even more.
We give you thanks for the life you have given us and for those who have shared your love and life with us. We thank you for the community of the Church, which has been filled with your Spirit and life to share with all creation.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray especially for those who find their circumstances crushing their lives. Some are dealing with illnesses, death, or grief. Some deal with violence and oppression. We pray that they may find the gift of your life, which conquers all circumstances of our lives.
(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
Please refer to Dean Feldmeyer’s article above and his illustration of the communion elements being wasted if we try to save them. They are only good when shared. For those who do not celebrate communion every Sunday but who do on the first Sunday of the month, this is an opportunity to get the children thinking before next Sunday.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
How Much Is It Worth?
by Brett Blair & Tim Carpenter
Matthew 16:21-28
Objects: a marble, a toy, a $20 bill, a cellphone (and a person to participate)
How is everyone? (Let the children respond.) I’m going to show you a few things, and I want you to tell me how much they are worth. (Place the following objects one by one in the middle of the children.) The first thing I have is this. What is this? (Show the marble.) What kind of marble is it? Is it a gold marble? (Let the children respond.) Is it a silver marble? (no) What kind of marble is it? (It’s just a marble.) It’s a plain old marble. What is it worth? (Let the children respond.) Why is it worth just a few pennies? (Let the children respond.)
The next thing I have is this. (Show the toy.) What is this? (Let the children respond.) What does it do? (Let the children respond.) What is it worth? (Let the children respond.) Why is it worth that? (Let the children respond.)
All right, here’s the next thing I have. (Show the money.) What is this? (Let the children respond.) What is it worth? (Let the children respond.)
Now what is this? (Show the cellphone.) Is it a toy phone or a real phone? (Let the children respond.) How much is this worth? (Let the children respond.)
I have one more to show you. (The person should come from the pews, climb over the children, and sit down in the middle of the group.) What is this? (Let the children respond.) Is it made of silver? (no) Is it made of gold? (no) Did I buy it with money? (no) Is it round like a marble? (no) Can you play marbles with it? (no) Can you answer phone calls with it? (no) Can you clean with it? (no) Well, if you can’t use it like a marble, and you can’t answer phone calls with it, and it’s not made of gold, it must not be worth a lot, is it? (Let the children respond.) How much is it worth? (Let the children respond.) Why is it worth so much? (Let the children respond.)
Application: Jesus said something like that. He said, “What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Is this person worth five dollars? (Let the children respond.) Is she/he worth $500? (Let the children respond.) Is she/he worth $5,000,000? (Let the children respond.) Let me tell you. You couldn’t give me $10 billion for her/him. God says that she/he is worth more than all the toys and gadgets in the world, and there is nothing that you could pay for her/him. Always remember: People are more important than money, and you are more important than gold.
Prayer: Lord, help us all understand that family and neighbors are more important than money and the latest gadget. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, August 31, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 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.
