Immediate Word

For May 19, 2019:

• Love Between Our Toes by Bethany Peerbolte — We are called to love from our most authentic selves, in ways that uphold the bonds of Christ while not trying to change others directly.
• Loving Action by Chris Keating — God’s ever-broadening circles of grace challenge the church to acts of loving action and radical inclusion.
• Sermon illustrations from Tom Willadsen, Mary Austin and Ron Love.
• Worship resources by George Reed that focus on loving one another in spite of one another.
• Children’s sermon: Water of Life by Dean Feldmeyer — As water is to those who are thirsty, so Jesus is to those who are seeking authentic life.

Love Between Our Toes
by Bethany Peerbolte
John 13:31-35

In the Text
John 13:31-35
To get the full context of this reading I decided to look at verses 1 through 35. The reading has a wealth of options for a sermon, especially for churches that do not do Maundy Thursday services. If these verses were used a few weeks ago for Holy Week there is so much in here, one could pick a different focus. Whether it is washing of feet, or eating with the betrayer, or the final verse of “they will know you by your love,” there is plenty to work with in here. The overall theme seems to be about love. Specifically loving one another despite differences and shortcomings. 

Passover is the cultural setting of this moment. A time where death is the salvation of the community. The blood of the lamb over the doors is what saves them from the angel of death. Death saving the living. Jesus knows this is the time for his death as well. He is about to enact the greatest act of love the world has ever seen and what he does with his final hours…is to show more love. Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, he invites his betrayer to the meal, and he reminds them their identity must be rooted in love. 

Having their feet washed by Jesus is uncomfortable for the disciples. Peter’s objection gets recorded for us, but it is a safe bet that more of them put up a fight or squirmed at the gesture. This act showed how thorough this love Jesus wanted them to show was. Love needs to percolate even to the point of being between one’s toes. Letting love touch us between our toes in uncomfortable. The skin between our toes is tender and to expose that part of our body is unusual. For someone to touch us between our toes means we are in a vulnerable position but it also means they are in a vulnerable position. Jesus not only asks us to get this close to our loved ones but also with our betrayers. 

For Jesus to wash the feet of Judas meant he had to kneel in front of the man who would betray him. It means offering a light, careful touch all while knowing Judas would begin the landslide toward his death. Even while knowing Judas was under the devil’s influence, Jesus cleans Judas’ feet. That loving act is not a way to cover over or ignore what Judas will do. Jesus still holds Judas accountable, but, at this moment, Jesus wants to offer love even to one under the influence of the devil. 

Jesus then sits down for the meal. He casually mentions that one of the disciples will betray him. One disciple, one that Jesus loved, asks the obvious question. Who? Jesus reveals the truth by dipping a piece of bread in oil and giving it to the betrayer. This gesture was a sign of deep friendship. To dip bread for another meant the two of you were close, trusting friends. Even though Jesus knows what Judas will do, his actions toward the man never change. Judas is always treated like every other disciple, with love. 

In the News
Sri Lanka was in the prayers of many churches on Easter Sunday. The bombing attacks were a devastating way to begin a holy celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The news reported the deaths and details as Christians traveled to services. Meanwhile, in Ghana, Imam Sheikh Osman Sharubutu attended an Easter Sunday service, a plan that was already in place before the attacks in Sri Lanka. Inspired by his commitment to interfaith relationships and his friendship with a local priest, Ghana’s Chief Imam attended the service as part of his birthday celebrations. The Chief Imam was criticized for his actions. He responded by saying he was not there to worship but to encourage engagement between the faith traditions. Images of his visit went viral as Christians and Muslims were both desperate to change the narrative. The pictures of the imam and priest together struck a chord with everyone wanting to find a way to exist together peacefully. 

A place I am always in awe of how peacefully they seem to exist is the Supreme Court. Dressed in their distinguished black robes, lined up at the front of the courtroom, the nine justices seem to exist in a different world. We all know they disagree, for some “disagree” is putting it lightly. Yet somehow, they operate with a level of decorum seen nowhere else. Possibly this is because they all recognize they need each other. On any given case they need four other people to agree with them to get their ruling passed. This past week Justice Kavanaugh shocked the court by siding with the liberal justices on a case involving Apple. It is a headline I never thought I would see, let alone so quickly into his tenure. It shows that civility, even when respect is low, is a policy that can lead to surprising results. 

That civility is something I hope is being replicated in the trade talks with China. Reports this week say it may take another month to really see what will come of these talks. As Washington and Beijing hash out a new plan one hopes a commitment to civility is thriving. Even as each side tries to win the best benefits for their own country it may do us all good to remember the example of an imam in church on Easter Sunday. 

In the Sermon
This (extended) scripture passage offers several ways to cut it up and focus in on one action of Jesus. Picking one moment with his disciples may be the most difficult part of the sermon writing process this week. They are all so good!

One direction you could take it is by picking out the toe lint. I know super gross, but sometimes we make foot washing seem too clean. It is this beautifully meaningful experience…that most people hate. They hate it because it is gross. Feet are personal. There are very private smells going on down there. Smells the world makes billions of dollars telling us to hide. Feet can carry signs of hard labor or poor fashion choices. Feet are so taboo most models learn to hide them in pictures…even pictures where they are hiding nothing else. 

Washing someone’s feet can be straight forward. Splash of water, dunk in a bowl, and a quick swipe of a towel. If we are honest, we know this is not the treatment the disciples got. They probably had every toe scrubbed. Jesus even cleaned down to the pink sensitive skin between the disciples’ toes. What an amazing example of permeating love. A love that isn’t too proud to make sure every crevice is cleaned. How do we let that love clean us? How do we love others that thoroughly?

Another direction this sermon could go is to challenge listeners to invite people into a relationship even when we question their intentions. Jesus knew full well Judas’ intentions weren’t golden, but that did not change the way Jesus treated him. Judas got the full-service foot washing, the primo bread and oil appetizer, and a seat at the table. Jesus wasn’t naïve — he chooses love over hate. Actively offering love in the face of betrayal. Even though at that moment they sat on opposite sides of the political spectrum Jesus did not give up on the relationship. 

The priest in Ghana could have kicked out the imam. It was a raw moment in Christian/Muslim relationships, he had every right to say “not today.” Even in the face of so fresh a terrorist attack, the invitation stood and was accepted. The moment turned into the reminder the world needed. As much as hate can happen on an Easter Sunday between Muslims and Christians, love can happen on an Easter Sunday between Muslims and Christians. 

The sermon can also focus on the reality that even as Jesus treats everyone the same he is still flanked by love and hate. The disciple he loves on one side, the disciple who will betray on the other. Jesus was able to decipher one from the other but even then he did not think they warranted different behavior. We are usually not as in tune with the differences. We see a conservative justice, put on the supreme court by a conservative administration and assume he will always side with the conservatives. That is not the case. The supreme court justices know this tension well. They sit side by side with people who they may love today and who will hate them tomorrow. Yet they keep a civil discourse that is awe-inspiring to watch. We never know who will be the fifth vote to turn our minority into the majority.


SECOND THOUGHTS
Loving Action
by Chris Keating
Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35

Like tides chipping away at a sandcastle’s substructure, Luke’s narrative in Acts 11 illustrates the slowly eroding divisions between Gentiles and Jewish believers. Church news has always travelled fast, and the reports to Jerusalem about Peter’s interactions with the Gentiles is no exception. It seems the home office in Jerusalem is not so pleased by Peter’s activity. In response, Peter patiently offers his well-rehearsed testimony about Cornelius and all that happened next.

Peter navigates around the anxious demands of the Judeans, calming fears by demonstrating the power of God at work. He focuses on the facts of the matter, and avoids being wrenched into the Jerusalem leader’s anxieties. He describes what could now be called the Cornelius effect, and offers a first-person account of the Spirit’s work with the Gentile believers.

He understands what’s on the line. Eating with Gentiles is not just a breach of etiquette. It is a wholesale disregard of centuries of Jewish law. Peter has crossed an unthinkable boundary and intentionally abandoned widely accepted mores. He stands before them guilty of a horrible crime, and yet instead of inciting violence he calmly litigates his case.

The Judeans sit on the edges of their pews as Peter winds his way to a rhetorically powerful conclusion. He points to the Spirit’s path, recounting how the believers had been filled with the Spirit’s power and presence. His last line cinches the deal: “Who was I that I could hinder God?”

Can I get an amen?

Preach it, Peter. Tell what you have seen and heard. Offer your experience. Bear witness to what has happened. After all, Peter could remember the time when Jesus washed the feet of all the disciples, including Judas. Peter could recall how Jesus routinely crossed boundaries, and how he challenged pre-conceived notions of inclusion.

Preach it, Pete. Give your witness. Watch as the church is challenged for the first time — though hardly the last — by God’s ever-widening grace. “Who was I that I could hinder God?”

Centuries later, the church still wrestles with the meaning of inclusion. Many of its modern saints, including the Canadian philosopher and humanitarian Jean Vanier, have helped the church think about Peter’s question within the context of our own time. Bearing witness to their own experiences, Vanier and others have restated that question, pushing the church to let Christ’s resurrected power bring hope to those most often excluded for our congregations.

Vanier, who died last week at age 90, challenged the church to live according to Jesus’ vision of community as expressed in the Gospel of John. In creating the global L’Arche communities for persons with intellectual and physical disabilities, Vanier would often refer to Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.

“At L’Arche we discovered quite early the importance of the washing of the feet,” Vanier wrote in The Gospel of John, The Gospel of Relationship. “It is especially important for us because the people we serve are living with a disability of some sort, and may not always understand the Word of God or a text. So the gesture accompanying a text takes on new importance.” Humble service and the communion of deep relationship shaped Vanier’s understanding of the L’Arche community, which now includes 10,000 persons living in more than 150 homes across the world.

In creating these communities, Jean Vanier extended the vision offered by Peter when he crossed the boundaries to receive Cornelius into the fellowship of believers. Not many understood Vanier’s commitments, which he described as derived from a belief “the belief in the inner beauty of each and every human being.”

“There are many people who cannot understand that people living with a disability, in all their weakness, could be chosen by God,” Vanier wrote. (The Gospel of John, The Gospel of Relationship) He latches on to the same impulse that created tension for the Judean believers who listened to Peter. “They cannot tolerate the idea that God is present in (a person’s) extreme vulnerability.”

Vanier’s vision of community was rigorous, demanding close physical contact between residents and their assistants. But in undertaking these arduous tasks, the bonds between residents and their assistants knit into a familial structure. The communities become vehicles of transformation as the disabled are included, valued, and perhaps most importantly, recognized as persons who have important lessons to teach the nondisabled.

Michael Gerson noted that Vanier would point to this transformational component to L’Arche’s world. “It has been this life together that has helped me become more human,” Vanier reflected. “Those I have lived with have helped me to recognize and accept my own weaknesses and vulnerability. I no longer have to pretend I am strong or clever or better than others. I am like everybody else, with my fragilities and my gifts.”

Discovering that presence means yielding to new visions of where God might be found. It is to say, “Who are we to hinder God?” again and again. The question challenges the church, calling it to consider anew the testimony of its saints both modern and ancient, and enlarging its understanding of it loving action entails.

Placed in conversation with Jesus’ words in John 13, the text from Acts 11 invites the church to consider the depth of its commitment to the expansive grace of God. All churches will describe themselves as friendly, loving communities. But practicing that love in ways that resemble Luke’s description of the church is another matter.

We need to love in a way that crosses boundaries, demonstrated by the actions of the late Jean Vanier in forming the L’Arche Communities. Vanier, who died this week, lived according to the principles of Jesus, crossing the boundaries between today’s “clean” and “unclean” by living with and caring for persons with profound mental and physical challenges.



ILLUSTRATIONS


From team member Tom Willadsen:

John 13:31-35
There is a tiny difference between this week’s gospel reading and the one for Maundy Thursday. The latter starts at v. 31b. The difference is this reading hints at Judas’s departure from the table. Judas had been there for the whole conversation about serving one another.

Remember what directly precedes today’s passage. Jesus has just washed the disciples’ feet. They have experienced and felt loving service. It is tangible, intimate — and their teacher is the one who gave them that experience. Preacher, remember, nothing done in the name of Christ is beneath you.

This is the only place where Jesus uses the Greek, “παιδιά,” here rendered as “little children.” This term conveys a little more warmth and even intimacy compared to “τέκνον,” another Greek term often translated “children.” The former is the root of pediatrics.

Jesus tells the disciples that they do not know where he is going. In the next chapter he tells them that they know where he’s going. Except that time, Thomas raises his hand and says, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” In answer, Jesus tells them — and us — “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

* * *

“Internal” love
Jesus tells the disciples that they are to love one another. Their example of love is what will attract people to the gospel. Is it more difficult to love people close to us than those on the other side of the globe?

Maybe the point is we need to get loving one another “right” before we can have anything to share with other people. Of course, we’ll never get it right, so we have to do the best we can sharing love in our imperfect ways.

* * *

Psalm 148
“You have” to praise!!
Today’s psalm is grammatically a series of commands. People are commanded to praise the Lord. We are commanded to praise God in the heavens — moreover, the heavens themselves are commanded to praise God. There’s a bit of Hebrew cosmology in this psalm. The waters above the heavens were out of sight, above the “dome of the firmament” yet they were commanded to praise the Lord also.

Spring in the upper Midwest is the clearest example that I know of the creation praising God. After a long, long winter, we see buds on the trees, the brave first tulips rising from below the earth; it really looks like the land itself, and all the living things the land supports has come back to life.

Praise for people is an act of will; we are commanded to praise, which implies that we could choose not to. What does it mean for things like “fire and hail, snow and frost” to praise. Do they have volition? They are certainly creations of our creator. Every Calvinist knows that nature exists to lead us to glory in creation and its creator, (cf. fellow TIW contributor Chris Keating’s book Charged with Wonder 2016) so try to imagine what it means for four different kinds of precipitation to praise the Lord.

Presbyterian leaders promise to serve the church with “energy, intelligence, imagination and love…” so dust off your imaginations as you interpret this psalm.

* * *

Revelation 21:1-6
Revelation is an odd book; it’s written in a literary genre that we don’t use anymore — it’s an apocalypse. It uses vivid imagery and is the content of a series of visions that were revealed — hence the name of the book — to John, an early Christian, probably on the island of Patmos, also in the Aegean Sea, about the year 100.

It’s important to read Revelation with an eye to its original setting: The images in Revelation are filled with judgment, but also hope. For Christians who were suffering terribly for their faith, John’s Revelation offered hope. Reward for faithfulness and judgment for the persecutors of the faith. And also words to encourage believers to be strong in their faith, even in, especially in, the face of persecution.

The story is told of the pastor of my home church about 40 years ago. A parishioner asked him to lead a study on the Book of Revelation. This was in the wake of Hal Lindsey’s infamous book, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” when people were interpreting the symbolism in Revelation through a modern lens. The pastor said, “Sure, I’ll do that right now: God wins.” then he left. I don’t mean that as a spoiler; it’s more of a caution. There are people who really, really want to approach Revelation as a sort of description of the world’s unfolding destiny.

The new heaven and the new earth are going to be a city. Perhaps this shows something like progress. Remember, civilization started in a garden; the new, ultimate creation, the one that will be permanent, is a city.

The new earth is described primarily by what will not be there: tears, mourning, pain. The important part is that God will dwell with humanity.

* * *

Revelation…Christmas in May?
If you’re facing persecution for following this faith that says God’s son has lived on earth, was executed but then rose from death, then the message of the Book of Revelation is one of hope and vindication, because God will dwell with humankind. Maybe at this point you’re thinking of some Christmas hymns:

“God with us is now residing” from “Angels from the Realms of Glory” and “O Come, O Come Immanuel” Remember: Immanuel means “God is with us.” And it’s an amazing thing to believe that the God, the creator of all things, came into the world as vulnerable baby. That God chose to reveal love to humanity in that way. Imagine how it would feel to someone who’s been persecuted to hear these words of promise.

And it’s amazing that this Creator/God will also be the one who imposes grace and peace from above with gifts of a new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem. Perhaps you’ll want your congregation to think of what is promised in Revelation 21:1-6 as Christmas presents!

* * *

Revelation — a message to persecuted Christians
The Pew Research Center Trust concluded last year that Christians are the most persecuted religion on earth. People of all faiths are persecuted — and there’s no prize for being the most persecuted. But it’s true, in terms of raw numbers there are more Christians suffering persecution worldwide than any other religion.

It’s helpful to realize that in many places a book like Revelation offers hope to believers.

In the United States other religions are much more likely to be targeted than Christians. Minorities anywhere are always more vulnerable. Still, I challenge any Christian in America to identify a time when they suffered for their faith. Last year my direct route to church on Sunday morning was blocked, briefly, to make way for marathon participants running through downtown. I was irritated, I lost precious minutes of prep time prior to worship. Then I realized that in my more than 50 years this is the only time I have even been inconvenienced en route to worship. Nevermind that the police officer was keeping motorists and runners safe from each other. There was never any doubt that I would make it to church. It was possible that other worshipers would arrive a few minutes late, but none of us would ever doubt for a second that we would arrive safely. We could drive to church openly. We could wear crosses around our necks. We have it really, really good here. John wrote Revelation for people who did not live in the world as we do.

* * * * * * * * *

From team member Mary Austin:

Revelation 21:1-6
Doing a New Thing
When he was 25 and newly engaged, Rick Warren told God he would go anywhere God directed, but he asked to spend his whole ministry in one place. Warren says, “And I thought, ‘What is it that makes a church healthy? One that really impacts the community?’ And one of the characteristics is the pastor stays put. He’s been there, like, 10, 20, 30 years.” The word mega-church hadn’t been invented, and when Rick and Kay Warren arrived in the mid-1970’s, Lake Forest, California was “mostly open fields. There was an old, red barn next to the high school in town. Yet following demographic trends, they knew this area was certain to fill up with houses and shopping centers and young families. And they planned to be there as it did.” They made, as Warren says, a forty year commitment to be there.

Along the way, Kay Warren had a conversion experience that turned their ministry in a new direction, but it was an unusual way to begin doing a new thing. She began to read about AIDS in Africa, and realize the scope of the problem. “I picked up a magazine article that had a story on AIDS in Africa. And I didn’t care about AIDS in Africa. And I don’t — I kind of like just look back and say God intended that particular day that that article would catch my attention because there’s no other reason I would have read it. I didn’t care. But that particular day, when I’d read it, it stirred my heart and it broke my heart. And I realized that I didn’t know anybody with AIDS and I didn’t know any orphans. And that was just a stunning, new thought to me.” It was a sharp contrast to her own happy and comfortable life. Kay Warren says, “Well, and when I stopped just reading about it, I had to go. I went to Africa twice in six weeks’ period of time and that shattered me. I said I was a seriously disturbed woman before that, and then I became a ruined woman. Because I saw it with my own eyes and it became personal.”

Rick Warren went on a trip with his wife, and remembers, “We found this tent church. All they had was a tent. And it was 75 people: 50 adults and 25 kids orphaned by AIDS. So they’re caring for their own kids plus these other kids who’ve lost their moms and dads. And they’ve grown a garden, they’re feeding the kids, and they’ve got a few books. They’re schooling the kids, and the kids are sleeping in the tent at night. And I thought, ‘This church is doing more to help the poor than my megachurch. With so little, they are doing so — we’re not helping one orphan and they’re helping 25, with — all they’ve got is a tent’.”

Kay Warren started to see the world in a new way, and she now leads the Saddleback Church’s AIDS ministry.

* * *

John 13:31-35
Love One Another through School Lunches
School lunch debt is a big deal for school districts and one district in Rhode Island recently decided to limit kids who have outstanding bills to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a practice that critics called “lunch shaming.” The Rhode Island district changed its mind, and reversed the policy after donors, including Chobani yogurt, stepped in with donations. “The controversy has fueled a national conversation about mounting school lunch debts and the practice of “lunch shaming” in public schools. Policies across school districts have varied drastically. Some routinely throw away lunches when students can’t afford to pay for them; some prohibit access to hot food; some stamp the hands of children whose parents are in arrears; and still others make children work to pay off their guardian’s debts.”  

In Texas, a church got together earlier this year to pay off “an entire school districts student lunch debt…Royse City First United Methodist Church has a tradition of donating its Christmas Eve offerings to charity. In 2017, the congregation decided to donate half of the offerings to their “sister school” to help families who had fallen behind on payments for their student’s lunches. After witnessing the impact the donation made in the previous year, the church decided to help the entire Royse City Independent School District in 2018. In an interview with NBC 5, the church’s pastor Chris Everson said that helping the community is what the church is called to do. Everson said, “If the church does not impact the community the church is in, then the church isn’t doing its job…With us having the opportunity to make an impact, then we are doing what Christ has called us to do to — serve the least of these,” he added.”

We can love one another in very concrete ways if we look around and see the needs.

* * *

John 13:31-35
Bring Your Crazy
Novelist Alain de Botton has an unusual view of what should happen on a first date. He says, “My view of what one should talk about on a first date is not showing off and not putting forward one’s accomplishments, but almost quite the opposite. One should say, “Well, how are you crazy? I’m crazy like this.” There should be a mutual acceptance that two damaged people are trying to get together because pretty much all of us — there are a few totally healthy people — but pretty much all of us reach dating age with some scars, some wounds.” Loving one another, even in a romantic sense, is much more complicated than we ever imagine at the beginning. He says, “We are strangely obsessed by the run up to love. And what we call a love story is really just the beginning of a love story, but we leave that out. But most of us, we’re interested in long-term relationships. We’re not just interested in the moment that gets us into love; we’re interested in the survival of love over time.”

Knowing that our love for each other will always be imperfect, he says, “I’m really fond of Donald Winnicott, this English psychoanalyst’s term, which he first used in relation to parenting, that what we should be aiming for is not perfection but a “good enough” situation. And it’s wonderfully downbeat. No one would go, “What are your hopes this year?” “Well, I just want to have a good enough relationship.” People would go, “I’m sorry your life is so grim.” But you want to go, “No, that’s really good. That’s kind of — for a human, that’s brilliant.” And that’s, I think, the attitude we should have.”

Bring your imperfect, crazy self to this work of loving one another!

* * *

John 13:31-35
Borrow that Cup of Sugar
The secret of life may be borrowing a cup of sugar or a drill from your neighbors. Jesus, when he says farewell to his friends, tells them to love one another, and to continue to live in community with each other. We all have people around us, and yet we are reluctant to lean on them, to count on their loving support, even when it’s easy to give. We are too isolated to love one another very well.

Yes Magazine notes that the average drill is only used for 13 minutes in its whole lifetime…but we feel more squeamish about asking to borrow one than about buying a new one. Still, research shows that our casual conversations with neighbors do more to strengthen our connections than we realize. “Borrow we must,” the article says, so we have connections with people.

We can love another by lending and borrowing and practicing the lost art of small talk.   

* * * * * * * * *

From team member Ron Love:

Revelation 21:1 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

Bill Murray had completed school and was doing very well for himself. He was vice-president of an airline and owner of a printing plant. Bill had been away from his family for about twelve years when his mother, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, asked her son to come home and salvage her failing organization. Dutifully, Bill returned to Austin and assumed leadership of the American Atheist Organization (AAC). An astute businessman, Bill quickly increased the gross income of the organization from $3,000 to $30,000 a month.

During his eighteen months in Austin, unfortunate changes came upon Bill Murray. He needed a quart of coffee to get going in the morning, through the day he smoked four packs of cigarettes, and at night he consumed a fifth of liquor in order to sleep. His behavior continued to deteriorate till one night he struck his wife and fired a rifle at the approaching policemen.

Bill also had a troubled conscience that questioned the ethics of the organization he represented. Why, he wondered, were the proceeds always used to buy luxuries such as a new Cadillac, instead of necessities such as a x-ray machine for a hospital? Why did the organization have to sue an astronaut to keep him from praying on a space mission? Bill realized the answer to these questions: his mother was basically a negative and destructive person.

Unable to live with himself any longer, Bill walked out on the AAC. He spent six months living in the Arizona desert. After leaving the desolate land, he joined Alcoholics Anonymous. About which he said, “I saw some miraculous things people were able to accomplish with faith, and I couldn’t help comparing all that with atheism.” Bill Murray surrendered his life to Jesus, and is now a Christian evangelist.

* * *

Revelation 21:1 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

In the late 1860’s George F. Gates built a home in Independence, Missouri. The well-constructed Missouri house faithfully served generations of Gates. In 1919 granddaughter Bess and her husband Harry moved into the 210 North Delaware Street residence, sharing the home with Bess’ widowed mother Mary Gates Wallace. Grandfather had adorned the house with gingerbread, shaded the yard, and planted a special garden of lilac bushes encircling a sundial. Harry S. Truman would often rest among the garden’s blossoms, seeking respite from the problems of the presidency. Tranquility would often come when the President read the words the elder Gates inscribed on the sundial, “My Face Marks the Sunny Hours. What Can You Say of Yours?”

* * *

Revelation 21:1 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

In the comic strip Peanuts, Peppermint Patty is home, sitting at her desk, intent upon completing her assignment. Placing pencil to paper she scrawls, “What I did on my Christmas vacation. I went outside and looked at the clouds. They formed beautiful patterns with beautiful colors. I looked at the clouds every morning and every evening. Which is all I did on my Christmas vacation.” Finished, she picks up the manuscript to study her composition. Suddenly suspicious that the class will question her ambition, Peppermint Patty places the report upon the desk and defensively concludes, “And what’s wrong with that?”

* * *

Revelation 21:1 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

Abraham Lincoln and his family often sought solace at the Soldier’s Home in Washington, D.C. It was to this mansion that the president often retreated to escape the summer’s heat and withdraw from the problems of the war. For a weekend excursion in 1864 the Lincolns invited Joshua Speed to be their guest. Shortly after sunrise, Speed entered the library unannounced. There he found the president sitting before an open window, enjoying the morning’s light, intently reading his Bible. Speed complimented the president’s faith; then reaffirmed his own skepticism regarding religion. Lincoln, arising from his chair, walked over to his companion, placed a hand gently upon the shoulder of his friend, and cautioned, “You are wrong, Speed. Take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith and you will live and die a happier man.” Soon after this encounter Joshua Speed joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.

* * *

Revelation 21:1 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

Bob Keeshan entertained children for years as the jovial Captain Kangaroo. In his autobiography Growing Up Happy, Keeshan shared the moment when he realized life would be marvelous. Shortly after World War II, Keeshan, an eighteen-year-old Marine, was on board the troopship Rockbridge Ranger sailing toward his last duty station in Hawaii. He enjoyed spending the dark nights standing in the forecastle, gazing at the starlit skies. The bow dipped into each succeeding wave and the heavens shown gloriously overhead. Reflecting on this experience Keeshan wrote, “There was a rhythm to life, I felt at those moments. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me when I was discharged, but I would be nineteen and I was convinced that the world would be wonderful.”

* * *

Acts 11:2 “the circumcised believers criticized him”

Kathleen Parker is a columnist for the Washington Post. In a column recently posted she discussed the recent environmental report issued by the United Nations. The report was issued by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and was the result of a three-year study by 145 authors from 50 countries. The report projected the extinction of one-eighth of all animal and plant species as a result of climate change. Parker made a prophetic apocalyptic statement when she wrote: “The four horsemen of the Apocalypse — generally considered to be Conquest, War, Famine and Death – weren't far off the mark. Today, we might revise the New Testament version to include Plastics, Emissions, Deforestation and Homo sapiens.”

* * *

Acts 11:12 “not to make a distinction between them and us”

The Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, recently signed one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. An abortion cannot be performed when a heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks. Many women are still unaware that they are pregnant at this early stage of the fetus development. The bill also makes provisions for child support, alimony and tax deductions for the fetuses. The tax deduction provision could cost the state $10 million to $20 million in lost revenue each year. In signing the bill Governor Kemp said the bill will “ensure that all Georgians have the opportunity to live, grow, learn and prosper in our great state.” Obviously, for many, the bill is extreme and its fairness can be questioned. For others, the bill is one of justice. Leaving the question of the six-week deadline unanswered, what we need to take away from the governor’s words is the attitude that every person deserves “the opportunity to live, grow, learn and prosper…”

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John 13: 31-35 The Ascension

After 12 seasons and 279 episodes the television program The Big Bang Theory will air its final episode on May 16th. The story of scientist’s and those who love them will come to a close on viewing screens, but will live on in our memories. After reading the final script the series creator Chuck Lorre said, “‘The Big Bang Theory’ will live on in our hearts forever.”

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Acts 11:1 “the Gentiles had also accepted”

In the comic strip Frank and Ernest, we have two motley characters that seem to just manage to get through life. The author of the comic is often listed as Thaves. It was created by Bob Thaves, and after his death his son Tom wrote the comic strip. In all the episodes Frank has the dominant personality. In this episode Frank is sitting at his desk with paper and pencil in hand. Sitting at the desk next to him is Ernie. Behind them we see a sign that reads Citizenship Test. Frank, perplexed, looks over at Ernie and says, “When did this test start including ‘name all the Kardashians?’”

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Revelation 21:1 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

Former senator and vice-president Joe Biden has entered the 2020 presidential race. As the two-term vice-president in the Obama administration it is understandable that the Democratic contender is no friend of the current Republican president Donald Trump. Putting our political views aside, candidates do say things that should be pondered. The motto of South Carolina in Latin reads “Dum Spiro Spero,” which means in English “While I breathe, I hope.” In Biden’s May 5 visit to the state capital in Columbia he said, “Quite frankly, I’ve had it up to here. Your state motto is ‘While I breathe, I hope.’ It’s not a joke. We’re breathing, but God, we have got to have hope.”

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WORSHIP
by George Reed


Call to Worship:
Leader: Praise God! Praise God from the heavens.
People: Praise God, all you angels; praise God, all you host!
Leader: Praise God from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
People: Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Leader: Praise God, young men and women alike, old and young together!
People: Let us praise the name of God, for God’s name alone is exalted.

OR

Leader: Praise and glory and honor be to our God of love.
People: We rejoice in the loving presence of our God.
Leader: The love of God is boundless and true.
People: The love of God is from everlasting to everlasting.
Leader: God has placed that same Spirit of love in us!
People: We will let the love of God radiate from us to all!

Hymns and Songs:
Holy, Holy Holy! Lord God Almighty
UMH: 64/65
H82: 362
PH: 138
AAHH: 329
NNBH: 1
NCH: 277
CH: 4
LBW: 165
ELW: 413
W&P: 136
AMEC: 25
STLT: 26
Renew: 204

The King of Love My Shepherd Is
UMH: 138
H82: 645/646
PH: 171
NCH: 248
LBW: 456
ELW: 502

Sweet, Sweet Spirit
UMH: 334
AAHH: 326
NNBH: 127
NCH: 293
CH: 261
W&P: 134
AMEC: 196
CCB: 7

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 65
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELW: 631
W&P: 358
AMEC: 455
Renew: 196

Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive
UMH: 390
H82: 674
PH: 347
LBW: 307
ELW: 605
W&P: 382
Renew: 184

The Gift of Love
UMH: 408
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
Renew: 155

All Who Love and Serve Your City
UMH: 433
H82: 570/571
PH: 413
CH: 670
LBW: 436
ELW: 724
W&P: 625

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

I Am Loved
CCB: 80

Unity
CCB: 59

Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship

Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is love without limits:
Grant us the grace to love each other
with that same boundless love:
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

OR

We praise you, O God, because you are love that has no limits. So fill us with your Spirit that we may love one another with that same boundless love. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to be loving and kind.

People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to be loving and kind to our sisters and brothers in the Church. We have been quick to judge and slow to forgive. We have already forgotten the image of Jesus loving meeting with the disciples after his resurrection when they had so quickly deserted him at his arrest. Call us back to that kind of love and help us to express it in our lives. Amen. 

Leader: God is loving and kind and welcomes us home always. Receive God’s love and forgiveness and share it with others.

Prayers of the People
We worship and adore you, O God, for your great love. All creation celebrates and reflects your loving kindness.

(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 have failed to be loving and kind to our sisters and brothers in the Church. We have been quick to judge and slow to forgive. We have already forgotten the image of Jesus loving meeting with the disciples after his resurrection when they had so quickly deserted him at his arrest. Call us back to that kind of love and help us to express it in our lives.

We give you thanks for those who have shared your love with us. We thank you for those who have told us about your love and for those who have demonstrated it to us. We thank you for the teaching and example of Jesus who showed us that you are love.

(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)

We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who do not find love in this world but only hatred, violence, and want.

(Other intercessions may be offered.)

All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:

Our Father....Amen.

(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service)

All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.

Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about how sometimes people can hurt our feelings. Sometimes they say or do mean things. They may mean to be hurtful or not, it still hurts. Recount the story of Jesus at his arrest. All of his disciples took off and ran away. They left him all alone. But after the resurrection he came and met with them. He brought them peace, not a scolding. Jesus wants us to be the same way. We are to love each other even when people are not always kind to us.



CHILDREN'S SERMON
Water of Life
by Dean Feldmeyer
Revelation 21:6, John 13:35

Text: To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. (Revelation 21:6)
Love one another. (John 13:35)

Theme: As water is to those who are thirsty, so Jesus is to those who are seeking authentic life.

Overview: Water is a metaphor for the life-giving love of God as it comes to is in Jesus Christ.

You will need: Several small plants, most of which are currently available at local garden stores for a few cents each. In the week prior to this lesson, keep a couple of the plants (Group I) well-watered and healthy. Keep a couple others (Group II) watered only enough to keep them alive but not healthy. A couple others (Group III) do not water at all the last two days or so and let them come close to dying.

Say:
Good morning, brothers and sisters!(The response will probably be anemic but even if it isn’t comment on how they can probably do better and try it again.)

Good morning, brothers and sisters! (When a more robust response has been achieved, move on.)

That’s much better!
       
I brought some flowers to share with you, today. (Bring out Group I)

So, what do you think? Pretty good shape aren’t they? I think these flowers are going to grow into big, beautiful flowers in my garden don’t you?

(Bring out Group II) Uh, oh. These don’t look so good, do they? What do you suppose happened? Why don’t they look as good as the other ones do? Yeah, I forgot to water them a couple of days and you can tell, can’t you? They just don’t look very healthy because flowers, like all living things, need water to thrive. I guess I’m gonna have to get busy and give these guys some more water, don’t you?

(Bring out Group III) Oops! Yeah, these guys just didn’t get any water at all. I just totally forgot to water them and look what happened. They died, didn’t they? Now I have to throw them in my compost heap so they can turn into compost to help other things grow and I’ll have to go out and buy some more flowers for my garden.

And you know what I’m gonna do with those new flowers that I buy?

I’m gonna water them! That’s right.

I’m gonna see to it that they have plenty of that wonderful, refreshing, life giving water that is so important not just to flowers but to every living thing!

A very wise man named Leonardo DaVinci once said that, “Water is the driver of nature.” That means that everything in nature depends on water. Without water there can be no life. When scientists look for life on other planets the first thing they look for is water because they know that there can be no life if there is no water. We, people, you and I can live for a pretty long time without food but we can live for only a couple of days without water.

Water is the thing that makes life possible.

And, this morning, we learn in the Bible that Jesus is like water for us.

Without Jesus and the love he give to us, we can have a life but we can’t have a good life, a real life, a loving life. Jesus is like water for us and his love is like water, too. It allows us to live wonderful, loving, giving lives.

Jesus gives us the love of God and that love is “the water of life” which makes us live.

Just like these flowers. (Group I)

Conclude: Conclude the children’s moments with a prayer thanking God for water and for the “water of life” which is God’s love as it comes to us in Jesus Christ.



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The Immediate Word, May 19, 2019 issue.

Copyright 2019 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.