Not Changed But Transformed
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
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Object:
This week’s lectionary passage from the letter to the Hebrews delves into Christology, ranking Christ above the angels because “the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” Yet there’s much more embedded in this reading than a philosophical debate about the heavenly hierarchy. The response offered by the writer of Hebrews to the question “What are human beings that you are mindful of them... that you care for them?” reveals a basic tenet of the Christian faith: namely, that everyone -- even children, the poor, and the marginalized -- is a child of God because “the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” It’s a message of radical inclusiveness, one that renders all the divisions in our world -- and especially in the church -- meaningless in the eyes of God. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer notes that the same message of inclusion was an underlying motif of Pope Francis’ whirlwind visit to the U.S. last week. While a great deal of attention was given to the pope’s addresses to Congress and the United Nations, the more significant stops on his itinerary were decidedly less glitzy: sharing a meal with the homeless, visiting with immigrants and schoolchildren, and meeting with prison inmates. As the Associated Press pointed out, these pastoral aspects of the pope’s trip “bridg[ed] the realms of the disadvantaged and elite” -- reminding us that immigrants, prisoners, and the poor are not barbaric hordes to be warded off but are, like us, God’s children and thus just as deserving of God’s grace. And, Dean suggests, if the pope’s message can penetrate into our consciousness, it may not change our culture -- yet it could transform it.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and Jesus’ stern words about divorce. Given the prevalence of divorce and remarriage in modern society, this can be a decidedly tricky passage for preachers -- particularly so with Roman Catholics, as the church has maintained a hard line regarding divorce, remarriage, and marriage annulments. But even here, Pope Francis made waves recently with strong words about the church’s stance toward divorced and remarried Catholics. While insisting that church teaching had not been modified in any significant way, Francis called for the church to embrace these couples -- noting that they “are not excommunicated, and they absolutely must not be treated that way!” This underlines Francis’ concern with inclusiveness and outreach. But as Mary notes, the pope’s stance may mirror what Jesus is saying in the gospel text -- divorce is to be avoided if possible, especially when “hardness of heart” is the main justification. But we are all inherently sinful creatures -- and when Jesus moves on to holding up children as an example, that may be the key for understanding his posture toward divorce. While we should not intentionally sin, neither should we be in the business of judgment. Rather, we are to be about inclusion and outreach -- particularly because to do otherwise is to risk emulating the disciples’ behavior: speaking sternly and potentially preventing God’s children from entering the Kingdom.
Not Changed but Transformed
by Dean Feldmeyer
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16
Antoine Lavoisier, the 19th-century French chemist known today as the “father of modern chemistry,” discovered that matter never loses its mass. Whatever you do to it -- burn it, freeze it, melt it, pulverize it, or transform it any way you like -- its mass never changes.
He summarized his observation with this phrase: “Nothing is lost; nothing is created; everything is transformed.” Later it was shortened by other scientists to “Nothing is changed, but everything is transformed.”
Pope Francis’ undergraduate degree is in chemistry, and his activity on his visit last week to the United States would seem to indicate that he is making a bold attempt to turn this scientific law into an ecclesiastical and theological one as well.
His goal is not to make a substantive change in the doctrine or moral teachings of the church -- but by softening its rhetoric and shifting its focus, he is attempting to transform the church and maybe even the world, making them kinder, gentler, and more loving.
By his words and his personal example, all Christians -- Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic -- are being offered an opportunity to experience the fact that “the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11).
In the News
Pope Francis broke several precedents last week when he made his first visit to the United States, and all of them were perfectly in character for the persona he has created for himself as the leader of worldwide Roman Catholicism.
He spoke truth to power, and he spoke hope to those who are oppressed by racism, xenophobia, disability, and poverty.
He spent time in dialogue with President Obama, prayed with American bishops at Washington’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral, and addressed a joint session of Congress (the first pope ever to do so). In New York he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations and celebrated Mass at Madison Square Garden. In Philadelphia he visited Independence Mall, where he spoke to a crowd of 50,000 people from the same podium that Abraham Lincoln used to deliver the Gettysburg Address. He also spoke to an enormous gathering at the World Meeting of Families festival, met with international bishops at St. Martin’s Chapel, and visited 75 inmates and their families at the Curran-Fromhold correctional facility, where he shook hands, hugged them, and looked into the eyes of those whom in many cases society has tossed to the side. “I am here as a pastor,” he told the inmates, “but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own.” And then he concluded his itinerary by celebrating an open-air Mass before a crowd estimated at up to a million people.
All in all it was a pretty impressive itinerary, and even more so when you consider that Pope Francis is 78 years old and suffers from a bad knee and painful sciatica in his hip. But those were was the planned stops and events. He also visited a soup kitchen where he helped to serve lunch to the poor and the homeless, and he visited an elementary school in Spanish Harlem where he was tutored by a student on how to use a touchscreen display. And we all saw the dozens of times that he stopped and stooped to hug, kiss, and bless those who are sick and/or disabled.
As for speaking truth to power, here are just a few of the things he said to Congress:
* “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood.”
* “Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”
* “I call for a courageous and responsible effort to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity.”
* “Your responsibility as members of Congress is to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good.”
Political commentator Charles P. Pierce summarized the pope’s visit this way: “The visit to East Harlem was a clear and striking demonstration that Papa Francesco has brought both of the elements of his startling papacy to this country. In formal settings, before Congress and before the United Nations General Assembly, he is formal, yet pastoral. When he visits a school, or a homeless shelter in Washington D.C., he is pastoral without being formal. When he gives the schoolchildren a ‘homework assignment’ -- ‘Please pray for me’ -- he does so in a different tone than when he makes the same request of his audience at a mass in Madison Square Garden, but the appeal is still the same, the connection is identical.”
In the Scriptures
The epistle to the Hebrews was written shortly before 70 C.E. by an unknown author to Jewish Christians who were, because of difficulties they were facing, on the verge of renouncing their Christian faith and returning to the historic Jewish faith of their ancestors, families, and friends.
The author of the epistle knits together a closely and carefully reasoned argument to convince his readers that Christianity is, in every way, superior to Judaism and worth hanging on to.
In this week’s reading he begins by showing how, even though the witness of the prophets was authentic, the witness of Jesus Christ is more authentic. In fact, the ministry of Jesus is even superior to that of the angels.
Some have argued that the author may not himself have been a Jew -- because although he is aware of the quote that he uses, he has to paraphrase it because he doesn’t know that it comes from Psalm 8.
He sums up the immediate argument in the final verses of the reading by showing that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is superior to angels and the ancient prophets even though he submitted himself to be lower than them for a little while. And because he is superior to them, it is by and through him that the path to salvation has been blazed.
The sanctifier and the sanctified -- Jesus and his church -- are both children of the same God who comes to us as Father. And as we read verse 11, let us not gloss over the key word of this entire passage: “All.”
All of those who are sanctified by the Son are the Son’s brothers and sisters. All Christians are children of the living God. All who live by the name of Jesus Christ, all who claim his name, are authentic children of the Lord.
In the Markan text we must be careful that we do not make this passage solely about divorce. Read carefully, it is apparent that for Jesus divorce is the symptom of another problem. The divorce rate is as high as it is (then and now) not because the law is too stringent or too lenient. The divorce rate is high because of the hard-heartedness of the people.
Hard-heartedness is the problem here. The inability or the unwillingness of people to change and/or forgive makes it impossible for them to live together in a covenant of genuine love and respect.
This week’s gospel reading concludes with Jesus using children as living parables for us to follow. The hard-hearted, he says, simply cannot get into the Kingdom. Only those who are teachable, who are impressionable, who are child-like (not childish) in their outlook and their relationship with the Lord have what it takes to enter the Kingdom of God.
Only those who allow the Grace of God as it comes to us in Jesus Christ to soften their hearts, to forgive others and change themselves, can come to realize that we are all children of the same Father, dependent upon and upheld by the same God.
In the Pulpit
Pope Francis, by his words and his personal example, confronts the culture with a two-pronged call to accountability and compassion. He invites us to soften our hearts, to remember with kindness the poor, the outcasts, the immigrants, the prisoners, the disabled, the children, and all those who are dependent and vulnerable.
While his witness is first to the Roman Catholic church which he heads, there is also a very real sense in which he is speaking to all Christians. He calls us to remember that we are all saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and that makes us all brothers and sisters. He also reminds us that as brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to be a kind, gentle, hopeful, forgiving, unassuming people.
It would be easy to be cynical about this message, coming as it does from a church that has in recent years been mired in a swamp of scandals and abuses, that has seen its bishops living in luxury while the faithful struggle in poverty.
It would be easy to be cynical about this pope and his message. Writing for the Unfundamentalist Christian page of the Patheos website, Dan Wilkinson reminds us that while the pope’s words have been soft and gentle there is still a hard and prickly edge to Catholic doctrine: Salvation is available only through the Catholic church; birth control is “intrinsically evil”; women cannot be ordained; homosexuality is still considered an “intrinsically disordered” state. Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians cannot sit at the same communion table.
Yes, the Roman church’s understanding of and practice of inclusive love is imperfect and will take time to change. But as Amy Sullivan rightly observes, the pope’s “aim on this trip was both simpler and more radical, as befits a church that thinks in terms of decades and centuries instead of congressional sessions.” Writing for the Associated Press, Rachel Zoll notes that Francis’ intent was to “bridge the realms of the disadvantaged and elite... to turn the attention of the mightiest nation on earth away from ideological battles and toward a world he said desperately needs help.” Pope Francis “urged American Catholic leaders to create a church with the warmth of a ‘family fire,’ avoiding ‘harsh and divisive’ language and a ‘narrow’ vision of Catholicism that he called a ‘perversion of faith.’ The statements amounted to a dramatic reframing of issues within the church and a hope for less polarization overall in the United States.”
Zoll’s article quotes John Green, a specialist in religion from the University of Akron, who observed that “Recalibration and reorientation are good words to describe” Francis’ approach. Green went on to say: “The pope is very adept politically. Even people who ended up disagreeing with him on certain points find him a very attractive and persuasive man.”
And Francis is also a patient man. He understands clearly that it is not easy to overturn centuries of tradition and mountains of doctrine in the tenure of a single pope. His goal is not to change those traditions and doctrines, at least not for now. His goal is, by softening the rhetoric and changing the emphasis, to transform the church and possibly the culture. And it is out of that transformation that substantive change, if it is God’s will, can eventually come.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Mark 10:2-16
People take marriage too lightly, we say -- meaning other people.
They don’t understand what a big commitment it is, we say -- thinking of other people, but really ourselves.
Marriage is hard work, we say -- meaning ourselves.
After officiating at hundreds of weddings, I still don’t have a formula for what makes some marriages work and others break apart. I have a few ideas, but the chemistry of each marriage feels different. And the difference between two people slogging it out, hoping for better days, and two other people who are full of joy is even harder to define. Marriage may be hard, but divorce is hard too. It ruptures hearts and finances and the schedules of children who travel back and forth between parents. Often divorced people are just as connected by rage as they once were by love. They’re legally divorced, but emotionally still connected.
Looking at our divorced neighbors, at our holiday tables filled with stepparents and stepsiblings, at the friends who have been abused by a spouse, we wonder if what Jesus says can possibly work in our world. Apart from the Roman Catholic church, most Americans have found this direct word from Jesus easy to ignore. It doesn’t seem to fit with real life.
As long as people have been pledging their lives to each other, they have also been changing their minds and trying to get out of the promises they’ve made. There are good reasons for divorce: abuse, addiction, infidelity. There may be some bad reasons too. Only the people involved really know, and even they can’t agree on what really happened.
Jesus’ questioners are well aware that divorce is allowed in Jewish law (Deuteronomy 24:1). Only the husband is allowed to initiate the divorce, and in Jesus’ day there were two different schools of thought on what grounds were allowable for divorce. Scott Hoezee of Calvin Seminary recalls the context for us, saying that “there was sharp disagreement in Jewish circles as to when a divorce was permitted. Deuteronomy 24:1 permitted this (initiated only by the husband, however) in case there was ‘something objectionable’ about the woman or the marriage. One school of thought said that this unspecified ‘something’ was infidelity only; another school of thought interpreted it more broadly to include any number of things.” This is another one of those questions that seek to trap Jesus on one side or another. (“Is it lawful to pay taxes or not?” is another. So is ‘Who is my neighbor?”)
Our warm, loving, understanding Jesus seems to take a hard line here. It feels harsh even when we know that he’s trying to improve on the era’s understanding of divorce, which left women and children impoverished. He’s taking the cultural practice and seeking to return people to a faith-based understanding.
In our time, it’s no secret that divorce is common. Gay marriage has expanded the scope of marriage, but also avenues for divorce. Everyone laments the prevalence of divorce; no one knows quite what to do about it. Taking a high view of marriage, the Roman Catholic church has long sought to preserve marriages by banning divorce and remarriage. In turn, Catholics have shed churchgoing as their marriages ended.
Pope Francis’ recent visit to the U.S. has brought attention to the church’s view of marriage. Many Catholics are hopeful that the church’s position on divorce and remarriage may change. Earlier this summer the pope said that divorce may be “morally necessary” in some cases. “There are cases in which separation is inevitable,” he told his weekly audience. “Sometimes it can even be morally necessary, when it’s about shielding the weaker spouse or young children from the more serious wounds caused by intimidation and violence, humiliation and exploitation.” Left unsaid was the question of remarriage, where the church’s teaching has not changed. The pope has made it clear that divorced people should be welcomed into the church, that they are not excommunicated. He has also signaled that obtaining annulments should be easier and less expensive.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes that Pope Francis is “undeniably cool.” Yet, she adds, “his very coolness is what makes his reign so hazardous. Watching the rapturous crowds and gushing TV anchors on his American odyssey, we see ‘the Francis Effect.’ His magnetic, magnanimous personality is making the church, so stained by the vile sex abuse scandal, more attractive to people -- even though the Vatican stubbornly clings to its archaic practice of treating women as a lower caste.” Dowd calls Francis the perfect pope for the 19th century, arguing that the gracious exterior must be held up against views that would have worked well over a hundred years ago. “Pope Francis would be the perfect pontiff -- if he lived in the 19th century. But how, in 2015, can he continue to condone the idea that women should have no voice in church decisions? In a scandal that cascaded for decades with abuses and coverups, the church was revealed to be monstrously warped in its attitudes about sex and its sense of right and wrong.” Her article raises the question of whether a church without a formal voice for women can really speak effectively about social issues. The pope and Jesus may agree about divorce, but they come to their position from different places.
Jesus is looking at the law, and calling for a better way of treating each other. It’s not just what’s allowed, he says, but how we can treat each other with more compassion. Scott Hoezee of Calvin Seminary adds: “Now let’s be clear: also for Jesus this reply was not just a rhetorical trick to pull the rug out from underneath his too-clever-by-half religious interlocutors. Jesus is right about marriage and right about how tragic the consequences are when marriages end (for whatever reason they end). Yes, divorce makes it possible to take one flesh and separate it back out into two again, but seen from God’s angle, that process is a ripping and rending of flesh and bone, of heart and soul. It’s painful. In fact, it is inevitably painful when you realize what marriage really is.”
In taking up the question of divorce here Jesus is trying to avoid taking sides in a political dispute, but he hits on something that touches every marriage. He’s speaking up for justice for women and children, who in that culture would be impoverished by divorce. Divorce is allowed, he says, because our hearts harden toward each other -- but we can do better.
Sometimes our hearts harden after abuse or infidelity, and then divorce becomes a necessary beginning again. Other times, the 20,000th failure to listen, or to show up on time, or to put the laundry away becomes one moment too many in a long story. Still other times, couples don’t have the tools to talk to each other with truth and love combined, and to work out the inevitable sharp edges in a relationship.
If anyone really understood the complexity of marriage, no one would get married. If we really took in the emotional stretching involved in living with another person, aging together, navigating our original families and perhaps one created together, it would seem like too much. And yet we are drawn toward each other, full of hope that our lives will be happier together, and we make this huge promise to stay together. The mystery is not that people divorce -- that makes perfect sense. The wonder is that some of us manage to stay together, to lighten each other’s days and expand each other’s hearts. The gift is that some people do manage to live together, decade after decade, growing more precious to each other.
The only secret I know to making that happen is to keep letting go of hardness of heart, to keep working on cultivating delight, to keep softening the hard edges of how we see each other. Jesus is speaking up for a slice of economic justice -- but, as always, he also sees to the heart of the problem.
Divorce is one symptom, but Jesus’ call to let go of our hard hearts fits into so many places in our lives. Hardness of heart, in so many forms, is really the problem. Jesus is speaking about divorce, but his words echo through all of our interactions with other people.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Robin Lostetter:
Mark 10:2-16
Hard-Heartedness, or Smoothing the Rough Edges in Marriage
I have no way of knowing whether or not you married the wrong person, but I do know that many people have a lot of wrong ideas about marriage and what it takes to make that marriage happy and successful. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s possible that you did marry the wrong person. However, if you treat the wrong person like the right person, you could well end up having married the right person after all. On the other hand, if you marry the right person and treat that person wrong, you certainly will have ended up marrying the wrong person. I also know that it is far more important to be the right kind of person than it is to marry the right person. In short, whether you married the right or wrong person is primarily up to you.
-- Zig Ziglar
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Avoiding the Concept of Polarization -- Some Are Good, Others Are Evil
Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Pray for Me
When the pope charges us to pray for him, we are reminded of Mother Teresa’s request: “Pray for me that I not loosen my grip on the hands of Jesus, even under the guise of ministering to the poor.”
*****
World Communion Sunday
World Communion Sunday always makes me think of one of my first inter-cultural communion experiences. When I was 20 I spent my summer as a global intern with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. I itinerated around the country for three months, visiting different parishes and ministries of this West African partner denomination. One Sunday, when I was about as far north as I traveled the whole summer (and definitely the farthest from the creature comforts of home such as refrigeration), I was blessed to celebrate communion with a very small, very rural congregation -- “celebrate” in the solemn reverent sense, not “celebrate” in the joyous sense. As the pastor went through the communion liturgy, the people of the church all bowed their heads with their eyes closed -- not my favorite way to experience the sacrament, which for me just screams for open-eyed prayer! But when in Ghana, do as the Ghanaians do, right?
Well, as the liturgy continued in a super-silent sanctuary, I suddenly heard a very distinctive sound -- Pop! Hssssss.... Rattle, rattle. (Doesn’t work so well typed out, does it?) Well, anyway, I knew that sound. It was definitely a Coke bottle. My head popped up in an instant. Who the heck was pouring a drink at a time like this? My head returned to its proper position, but when I heard the noise again it snapped up much faster.
Then I saw it... the Coke bottle. (Ha! I was right!) But it wasn’t in the hands of an unruly worshiper; it was in the hands of the pastor! There he was, pouring the Coke into the chalice and all of the little individual cups. In a land of no refrigeration and definitely no alcohol (a strong no-no for Presbyterians in Ghana, even in communion), Coke was the safest, cheapest, and most readily available liquid to use in communion. Welch’s grape juice would have been worth its weight in gold.
I have to tell you, when I went to seminary a few years later I had a very different answer to the often-used case study question “What would you say to the youth group when they ask you if they can use Coke and pizza for a communion service?”
-- Stephanie Anthony
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Mark 10:2-16
Many newscasts reported that 5-year-old Sophie Cruz broke through the security barriers in Washington to give Pope Francis a crayoned-scrawled letter. However, the true story is that her father, Raul, lifted her over the barrier so she could make her dash to the popemobile. In any case, the pope received her letter and its important message that Sophie was a United States citizen and she feared her undocumented parents would be deported to Mexico.
Application: Jesus speaks of the important truth we can receive from children.
*****
Mark 10:2-16
In Pope Francis’ address to American bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington on September 23 (which he delivered in Italian), he instructed the 300 bishops present that their task “is not preaching complicated doctrines, but joyfully proclaiming Christ, who died and rose for our sake.”
Application: To have the faith of a child is to have a message that is not complicated, but rather one that is easy to comprehend.
*****
Mark 10:2-16
In Pope Francis’ sermon to U.S. bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, he instructed that they must “flee the temptation of narcissism, which blinds the eyes of the shepherd, makes his voice unrecognizable and his actions fruitless.”
Application: We can avoid narcissism by having the simple faith of a child.
*****
Mark 10:2-16
When Pope Francis spoke to American bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, he told the bishops that he did “not come to judge you or to lecture you.”
Application: As Christians we too often use the teaching of Jesus on divorce as judgment rather than pastoral counsel.
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Pope Francis had an encouraging message when he met with U.S. bishops, and he ended his homily by saying: “Know that the pope is at your side and supports you. He puts his hand on your own, a hand wrinkled with age, but by God’s grace still able to support and encourage.”
Application: The pope clearly annunciated what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ.
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Speaking at the United Nations on September 25, Pope Francis talked about the importance of nations working together for the common good of all. The pope said, “Real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be.”
Application: Although we may not all be brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all brothers and sisters in a common humanity.
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Pope Francis told American bishops at Washington’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral that “Bishops need to be lucidly aware of the battle between light and darkness being fought in this world.”
Application: Even though Hebrews speaks of the enthronement of Jesus, we know that the battle between light and darkness still continues.
*****
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
In Pope Francis’ address to U.S. bishops, he instructed them: “Harsh and divisive language does not befit the tongue of a pastor, it has no place in his heart; although it may seem to momentarily win the day, only the enduring allure of goodness and love remains truly convincing.”
Application: During his trials, Job only knew how to speak words of love.
*****
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
After Pope Francis visited with families at the 9/11 memorial in New York City, he said that the encounter “made me see once again how acts of destruction are never impersonal, abstract, or merely material. They always have a face, a concrete story, names.”
Application: The story of Job helps us put a face on suffering.
*****
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
When Pope Francis spoke at the United Nations, he talked about the importance of protecting the environment. During his speech the pope said, “Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity.”
Application: If we follow the life of Job, we know that the destruction of his farm also destroyed him.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Chris Keating
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 26 & Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12)
One: Lord, you have spoken to your people in many ways.
All: Your steadfast love is always before us, and invites us to walk faithfully before you.
One: In these last days, you have spoken to us by your Son.
All: We sing songs of thanksgiving, and shout out your wonderful deeds!
One: You bring all of your children into glory, so that we may proclaim your name to all people.
All: Here in this place we will bless the Lord. Come, let us worship God together.
OR
(World Communion Sunday)
One: Jesus blesses the little children,
All: All the children of the world,
One: The children of refugees, and the children of the rich,
All: Children who have plenty, and children who have little.
One: He takes them into his arms and blesses them all.
All: May God’s children lead us to this feast.
One: May we follow them into God’s joyful kingdom!
(If this is used, the children may lead a processional into worship during the opening hymn. They could bear baskets of different types of bread for the communion table, or carry flags of many nations, or other symbols appropriate to global unity.)
Prayer of the Day
Holy and majestic God, you alone are wise and full of grace, erasing divisions and establishing justice. Help us to stand with integrity and faithfulness before you, listening to your Son’s voice alone. Enable us to be like Job, who though he was tested remained faithful to you, open and willing to receive your promise of redemption. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
OR
God of many places, you make all people holy and prepare us to stand before you faithfully. Encourage us to heed your call to unity, and give us the wide-eyed wonder and trusting faith of children. Let us remember that we are each your precious child, and to actively welcome each other as treasured sisters and brothers so that we may walk in integrity of faith. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we gather from many places, coming from east and west and from north and south to join hands at your table of grace. You call us to be your faithful children, yet we have ignored the cries of your children in need. We have not humbly sought to walk before you faithfully, and we have blocked others from encountering your blessing. Your son says to us: “Let the children come.” Yet too often we have ignored the cries of the little ones. Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy on us as we bless your name in the great congregation.
Lord, have mercy.
Senor ten piedad. (Spanish)
Nkosi, yiba nesihe. (Zulu)
Herr, erbarme dich. (German)
Le Seigneur a pitié . (French)
(Other languages could be added according to your interest.)
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Holy and always-faithful God, your love dwells within us. You feed us with the bread of life, and nourish us with the gifts of Christ your Son. Help us to sing songs of thanksgiving, and to declare aloud all of your glorious works. Your steadfast love is always before us, and our eyes see signs of your faithfulness toward us. As brothers and sisters in faith, we give you thanks and praise.
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
Look down upon the world, fractured by divisions and torn apart by suffering. You desire that all people live in peace, but we have neglected your words. We pray for families that are divorcing. Give the gifts of your Spirit to those who separate, and offer mercy to those who experience betrayal and despair.
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
Bestow healing upon those who are ill, and may your comfort be with those who are lonely or in pain, who are grieving or afraid. Especially we name before you those we know who need your comfort and grace (petitions may be offered).
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
Teach your church to welcome all of your children, and encourage it to reach out to those society has ignored. Open our doors to your people in need, and our hearts to those longing for Christ’s words of peace. Enable us all to live with integrity of faith, bestowing Jesus’ blessing on those we encounter. Remind us that your kingdom is promised to those who are humble in heart, and guide us faithfully as we serve you each day.
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
And now, with the confidence of the children of God, we are bold to pray together the prayer Jesus taught, saying Our Father... (continue and conclude with the Lord’s Prayer).
Hymns
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” (Job)
“Surely It Is God Who Saves Me” (Psalm 26)
“All Your Works of God” (Psalm 8)
“God, You Spin The Whirling Planets”
“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
“Jesus Loves Me”
“Like a Child”
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
“God Whose Giving Knows No Ending”
“I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
World Communion Hymns:
“I Come with Joy”
“One Bread, One Body”
“A Place at the Table”
“This Is My Song”
“Dona Nobis Pacem”
“Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”
CHILDREN’S SERMON
by Robin Lostetter
Psalm 8; Hebrews 2:5-12
You will want to have some sort of visual aid, either a book (I have a 4" square book, All God’s Children) or a selection of pictures, showing children from around the world. It helps if they are dressed in traditional “costume” associated with their culture, to identify them as not 21st-century North American. You may also want to have a photo of Pope Francis, especially one of him with a child -- either a baby or a child with a disability.
Taking a Bible -- perhaps a version that the children of your church school are familiar with -- open it first to Psalm 8, pointing out that it’s from the older part of the Bible and from the Hebrew song book. Read verses 3-5. Here they are in the Common English Bible (CEB), for example, which might be more accessible to children than the NRSV: When I look up at your skies, at what your fingers made -- the moon and the stars that you set firmly in place -- what are human beings that you think about them; what are human beings that you pay attention to them? You’ve made them only slightly less than divine, crowning them with glory and grandeur.
Note in a tone of wonder that the writer of the psalm is commenting on how God pays attention to all humans, and has made them only slightly less than Godself.
Now turn intentionally (and visibly to the children) to the newer part of the Bible, the New Testament, and read from Hebrews, showing how the author has quoted Psalm 8 to make his point: God didn’t put the world that is coming (the world we are talking about) under the angels’ control. Instead, someone declared somewhere, What is humanity that you think about them? Or what are the human beings that you care about them? For a while you made them lower than angels. You crowned the human beings with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:5-7 CEB).
So the Bible, the Older and the Newer parts, both talk about how God cares for every human being. It doesn’t matter where you live or what color your skin is or what language you speak.
Here are some pictures of children from around the world. Just imagine, God cares for each one of them, and you, just the same. (Look through and comment on the photos.)
If there’s time:
Do any of you remember a famous church leader who visited the United States last week? That’s right, it was the pope, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic church. I have a picture of him here. He made a point of reaching out to all God’s children, those who are homeless, those who are sick, the young and the old. Do you think he knows Psalm 8 and the Hebrews reading too? Yes, I imagine he does!
Later in Hebrews it says further that Jesus will call those of us in his Church -- the Roman Catholic church, the Orthodox church, the Protestant church, our particular church -- Jesus will call us all his brothers and sisters. So the pope, whom many call the Holy Father or Papa, was showing how we are not only humans cared for by God, but we’re also sisters and brothers of Jesus. We’re one great big family, loved by God. And that’s what we celebrate today in our church. Today is World Communion Day, where we all sit at a communion table, around the world, as one great big Christian family!
Let’s pray:
Thank you, God, for caring for every human being on our planet. Thank you, Jesus, for calling us your brothers and your sisters. And we ask that you protect all those among our church family who are hungry this day, or whose country is at war. Show us how to be better sisters and brothers and to help make their lives better. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 27, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 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.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and Jesus’ stern words about divorce. Given the prevalence of divorce and remarriage in modern society, this can be a decidedly tricky passage for preachers -- particularly so with Roman Catholics, as the church has maintained a hard line regarding divorce, remarriage, and marriage annulments. But even here, Pope Francis made waves recently with strong words about the church’s stance toward divorced and remarried Catholics. While insisting that church teaching had not been modified in any significant way, Francis called for the church to embrace these couples -- noting that they “are not excommunicated, and they absolutely must not be treated that way!” This underlines Francis’ concern with inclusiveness and outreach. But as Mary notes, the pope’s stance may mirror what Jesus is saying in the gospel text -- divorce is to be avoided if possible, especially when “hardness of heart” is the main justification. But we are all inherently sinful creatures -- and when Jesus moves on to holding up children as an example, that may be the key for understanding his posture toward divorce. While we should not intentionally sin, neither should we be in the business of judgment. Rather, we are to be about inclusion and outreach -- particularly because to do otherwise is to risk emulating the disciples’ behavior: speaking sternly and potentially preventing God’s children from entering the Kingdom.
Not Changed but Transformed
by Dean Feldmeyer
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16
Antoine Lavoisier, the 19th-century French chemist known today as the “father of modern chemistry,” discovered that matter never loses its mass. Whatever you do to it -- burn it, freeze it, melt it, pulverize it, or transform it any way you like -- its mass never changes.
He summarized his observation with this phrase: “Nothing is lost; nothing is created; everything is transformed.” Later it was shortened by other scientists to “Nothing is changed, but everything is transformed.”
Pope Francis’ undergraduate degree is in chemistry, and his activity on his visit last week to the United States would seem to indicate that he is making a bold attempt to turn this scientific law into an ecclesiastical and theological one as well.
His goal is not to make a substantive change in the doctrine or moral teachings of the church -- but by softening its rhetoric and shifting its focus, he is attempting to transform the church and maybe even the world, making them kinder, gentler, and more loving.
By his words and his personal example, all Christians -- Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic -- are being offered an opportunity to experience the fact that “the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11).
In the News
Pope Francis broke several precedents last week when he made his first visit to the United States, and all of them were perfectly in character for the persona he has created for himself as the leader of worldwide Roman Catholicism.
He spoke truth to power, and he spoke hope to those who are oppressed by racism, xenophobia, disability, and poverty.
He spent time in dialogue with President Obama, prayed with American bishops at Washington’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral, and addressed a joint session of Congress (the first pope ever to do so). In New York he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations and celebrated Mass at Madison Square Garden. In Philadelphia he visited Independence Mall, where he spoke to a crowd of 50,000 people from the same podium that Abraham Lincoln used to deliver the Gettysburg Address. He also spoke to an enormous gathering at the World Meeting of Families festival, met with international bishops at St. Martin’s Chapel, and visited 75 inmates and their families at the Curran-Fromhold correctional facility, where he shook hands, hugged them, and looked into the eyes of those whom in many cases society has tossed to the side. “I am here as a pastor,” he told the inmates, “but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own.” And then he concluded his itinerary by celebrating an open-air Mass before a crowd estimated at up to a million people.
All in all it was a pretty impressive itinerary, and even more so when you consider that Pope Francis is 78 years old and suffers from a bad knee and painful sciatica in his hip. But those were was the planned stops and events. He also visited a soup kitchen where he helped to serve lunch to the poor and the homeless, and he visited an elementary school in Spanish Harlem where he was tutored by a student on how to use a touchscreen display. And we all saw the dozens of times that he stopped and stooped to hug, kiss, and bless those who are sick and/or disabled.
As for speaking truth to power, here are just a few of the things he said to Congress:
* “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood.”
* “Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”
* “I call for a courageous and responsible effort to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity.”
* “Your responsibility as members of Congress is to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good.”
Political commentator Charles P. Pierce summarized the pope’s visit this way: “The visit to East Harlem was a clear and striking demonstration that Papa Francesco has brought both of the elements of his startling papacy to this country. In formal settings, before Congress and before the United Nations General Assembly, he is formal, yet pastoral. When he visits a school, or a homeless shelter in Washington D.C., he is pastoral without being formal. When he gives the schoolchildren a ‘homework assignment’ -- ‘Please pray for me’ -- he does so in a different tone than when he makes the same request of his audience at a mass in Madison Square Garden, but the appeal is still the same, the connection is identical.”
In the Scriptures
The epistle to the Hebrews was written shortly before 70 C.E. by an unknown author to Jewish Christians who were, because of difficulties they were facing, on the verge of renouncing their Christian faith and returning to the historic Jewish faith of their ancestors, families, and friends.
The author of the epistle knits together a closely and carefully reasoned argument to convince his readers that Christianity is, in every way, superior to Judaism and worth hanging on to.
In this week’s reading he begins by showing how, even though the witness of the prophets was authentic, the witness of Jesus Christ is more authentic. In fact, the ministry of Jesus is even superior to that of the angels.
Some have argued that the author may not himself have been a Jew -- because although he is aware of the quote that he uses, he has to paraphrase it because he doesn’t know that it comes from Psalm 8.
He sums up the immediate argument in the final verses of the reading by showing that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is superior to angels and the ancient prophets even though he submitted himself to be lower than them for a little while. And because he is superior to them, it is by and through him that the path to salvation has been blazed.
The sanctifier and the sanctified -- Jesus and his church -- are both children of the same God who comes to us as Father. And as we read verse 11, let us not gloss over the key word of this entire passage: “All.”
All of those who are sanctified by the Son are the Son’s brothers and sisters. All Christians are children of the living God. All who live by the name of Jesus Christ, all who claim his name, are authentic children of the Lord.
In the Markan text we must be careful that we do not make this passage solely about divorce. Read carefully, it is apparent that for Jesus divorce is the symptom of another problem. The divorce rate is as high as it is (then and now) not because the law is too stringent or too lenient. The divorce rate is high because of the hard-heartedness of the people.
Hard-heartedness is the problem here. The inability or the unwillingness of people to change and/or forgive makes it impossible for them to live together in a covenant of genuine love and respect.
This week’s gospel reading concludes with Jesus using children as living parables for us to follow. The hard-hearted, he says, simply cannot get into the Kingdom. Only those who are teachable, who are impressionable, who are child-like (not childish) in their outlook and their relationship with the Lord have what it takes to enter the Kingdom of God.
Only those who allow the Grace of God as it comes to us in Jesus Christ to soften their hearts, to forgive others and change themselves, can come to realize that we are all children of the same Father, dependent upon and upheld by the same God.
In the Pulpit
Pope Francis, by his words and his personal example, confronts the culture with a two-pronged call to accountability and compassion. He invites us to soften our hearts, to remember with kindness the poor, the outcasts, the immigrants, the prisoners, the disabled, the children, and all those who are dependent and vulnerable.
While his witness is first to the Roman Catholic church which he heads, there is also a very real sense in which he is speaking to all Christians. He calls us to remember that we are all saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and that makes us all brothers and sisters. He also reminds us that as brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to be a kind, gentle, hopeful, forgiving, unassuming people.
It would be easy to be cynical about this message, coming as it does from a church that has in recent years been mired in a swamp of scandals and abuses, that has seen its bishops living in luxury while the faithful struggle in poverty.
It would be easy to be cynical about this pope and his message. Writing for the Unfundamentalist Christian page of the Patheos website, Dan Wilkinson reminds us that while the pope’s words have been soft and gentle there is still a hard and prickly edge to Catholic doctrine: Salvation is available only through the Catholic church; birth control is “intrinsically evil”; women cannot be ordained; homosexuality is still considered an “intrinsically disordered” state. Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians cannot sit at the same communion table.
Yes, the Roman church’s understanding of and practice of inclusive love is imperfect and will take time to change. But as Amy Sullivan rightly observes, the pope’s “aim on this trip was both simpler and more radical, as befits a church that thinks in terms of decades and centuries instead of congressional sessions.” Writing for the Associated Press, Rachel Zoll notes that Francis’ intent was to “bridge the realms of the disadvantaged and elite... to turn the attention of the mightiest nation on earth away from ideological battles and toward a world he said desperately needs help.” Pope Francis “urged American Catholic leaders to create a church with the warmth of a ‘family fire,’ avoiding ‘harsh and divisive’ language and a ‘narrow’ vision of Catholicism that he called a ‘perversion of faith.’ The statements amounted to a dramatic reframing of issues within the church and a hope for less polarization overall in the United States.”
Zoll’s article quotes John Green, a specialist in religion from the University of Akron, who observed that “Recalibration and reorientation are good words to describe” Francis’ approach. Green went on to say: “The pope is very adept politically. Even people who ended up disagreeing with him on certain points find him a very attractive and persuasive man.”
And Francis is also a patient man. He understands clearly that it is not easy to overturn centuries of tradition and mountains of doctrine in the tenure of a single pope. His goal is not to change those traditions and doctrines, at least not for now. His goal is, by softening the rhetoric and changing the emphasis, to transform the church and possibly the culture. And it is out of that transformation that substantive change, if it is God’s will, can eventually come.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Mark 10:2-16
People take marriage too lightly, we say -- meaning other people.
They don’t understand what a big commitment it is, we say -- thinking of other people, but really ourselves.
Marriage is hard work, we say -- meaning ourselves.
After officiating at hundreds of weddings, I still don’t have a formula for what makes some marriages work and others break apart. I have a few ideas, but the chemistry of each marriage feels different. And the difference between two people slogging it out, hoping for better days, and two other people who are full of joy is even harder to define. Marriage may be hard, but divorce is hard too. It ruptures hearts and finances and the schedules of children who travel back and forth between parents. Often divorced people are just as connected by rage as they once were by love. They’re legally divorced, but emotionally still connected.
Looking at our divorced neighbors, at our holiday tables filled with stepparents and stepsiblings, at the friends who have been abused by a spouse, we wonder if what Jesus says can possibly work in our world. Apart from the Roman Catholic church, most Americans have found this direct word from Jesus easy to ignore. It doesn’t seem to fit with real life.
As long as people have been pledging their lives to each other, they have also been changing their minds and trying to get out of the promises they’ve made. There are good reasons for divorce: abuse, addiction, infidelity. There may be some bad reasons too. Only the people involved really know, and even they can’t agree on what really happened.
Jesus’ questioners are well aware that divorce is allowed in Jewish law (Deuteronomy 24:1). Only the husband is allowed to initiate the divorce, and in Jesus’ day there were two different schools of thought on what grounds were allowable for divorce. Scott Hoezee of Calvin Seminary recalls the context for us, saying that “there was sharp disagreement in Jewish circles as to when a divorce was permitted. Deuteronomy 24:1 permitted this (initiated only by the husband, however) in case there was ‘something objectionable’ about the woman or the marriage. One school of thought said that this unspecified ‘something’ was infidelity only; another school of thought interpreted it more broadly to include any number of things.” This is another one of those questions that seek to trap Jesus on one side or another. (“Is it lawful to pay taxes or not?” is another. So is ‘Who is my neighbor?”)
Our warm, loving, understanding Jesus seems to take a hard line here. It feels harsh even when we know that he’s trying to improve on the era’s understanding of divorce, which left women and children impoverished. He’s taking the cultural practice and seeking to return people to a faith-based understanding.
In our time, it’s no secret that divorce is common. Gay marriage has expanded the scope of marriage, but also avenues for divorce. Everyone laments the prevalence of divorce; no one knows quite what to do about it. Taking a high view of marriage, the Roman Catholic church has long sought to preserve marriages by banning divorce and remarriage. In turn, Catholics have shed churchgoing as their marriages ended.
Pope Francis’ recent visit to the U.S. has brought attention to the church’s view of marriage. Many Catholics are hopeful that the church’s position on divorce and remarriage may change. Earlier this summer the pope said that divorce may be “morally necessary” in some cases. “There are cases in which separation is inevitable,” he told his weekly audience. “Sometimes it can even be morally necessary, when it’s about shielding the weaker spouse or young children from the more serious wounds caused by intimidation and violence, humiliation and exploitation.” Left unsaid was the question of remarriage, where the church’s teaching has not changed. The pope has made it clear that divorced people should be welcomed into the church, that they are not excommunicated. He has also signaled that obtaining annulments should be easier and less expensive.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes that Pope Francis is “undeniably cool.” Yet, she adds, “his very coolness is what makes his reign so hazardous. Watching the rapturous crowds and gushing TV anchors on his American odyssey, we see ‘the Francis Effect.’ His magnetic, magnanimous personality is making the church, so stained by the vile sex abuse scandal, more attractive to people -- even though the Vatican stubbornly clings to its archaic practice of treating women as a lower caste.” Dowd calls Francis the perfect pope for the 19th century, arguing that the gracious exterior must be held up against views that would have worked well over a hundred years ago. “Pope Francis would be the perfect pontiff -- if he lived in the 19th century. But how, in 2015, can he continue to condone the idea that women should have no voice in church decisions? In a scandal that cascaded for decades with abuses and coverups, the church was revealed to be monstrously warped in its attitudes about sex and its sense of right and wrong.” Her article raises the question of whether a church without a formal voice for women can really speak effectively about social issues. The pope and Jesus may agree about divorce, but they come to their position from different places.
Jesus is looking at the law, and calling for a better way of treating each other. It’s not just what’s allowed, he says, but how we can treat each other with more compassion. Scott Hoezee of Calvin Seminary adds: “Now let’s be clear: also for Jesus this reply was not just a rhetorical trick to pull the rug out from underneath his too-clever-by-half religious interlocutors. Jesus is right about marriage and right about how tragic the consequences are when marriages end (for whatever reason they end). Yes, divorce makes it possible to take one flesh and separate it back out into two again, but seen from God’s angle, that process is a ripping and rending of flesh and bone, of heart and soul. It’s painful. In fact, it is inevitably painful when you realize what marriage really is.”
In taking up the question of divorce here Jesus is trying to avoid taking sides in a political dispute, but he hits on something that touches every marriage. He’s speaking up for justice for women and children, who in that culture would be impoverished by divorce. Divorce is allowed, he says, because our hearts harden toward each other -- but we can do better.
Sometimes our hearts harden after abuse or infidelity, and then divorce becomes a necessary beginning again. Other times, the 20,000th failure to listen, or to show up on time, or to put the laundry away becomes one moment too many in a long story. Still other times, couples don’t have the tools to talk to each other with truth and love combined, and to work out the inevitable sharp edges in a relationship.
If anyone really understood the complexity of marriage, no one would get married. If we really took in the emotional stretching involved in living with another person, aging together, navigating our original families and perhaps one created together, it would seem like too much. And yet we are drawn toward each other, full of hope that our lives will be happier together, and we make this huge promise to stay together. The mystery is not that people divorce -- that makes perfect sense. The wonder is that some of us manage to stay together, to lighten each other’s days and expand each other’s hearts. The gift is that some people do manage to live together, decade after decade, growing more precious to each other.
The only secret I know to making that happen is to keep letting go of hardness of heart, to keep working on cultivating delight, to keep softening the hard edges of how we see each other. Jesus is speaking up for a slice of economic justice -- but, as always, he also sees to the heart of the problem.
Divorce is one symptom, but Jesus’ call to let go of our hard hearts fits into so many places in our lives. Hardness of heart, in so many forms, is really the problem. Jesus is speaking about divorce, but his words echo through all of our interactions with other people.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Robin Lostetter:
Mark 10:2-16
Hard-Heartedness, or Smoothing the Rough Edges in Marriage
I have no way of knowing whether or not you married the wrong person, but I do know that many people have a lot of wrong ideas about marriage and what it takes to make that marriage happy and successful. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s possible that you did marry the wrong person. However, if you treat the wrong person like the right person, you could well end up having married the right person after all. On the other hand, if you marry the right person and treat that person wrong, you certainly will have ended up marrying the wrong person. I also know that it is far more important to be the right kind of person than it is to marry the right person. In short, whether you married the right or wrong person is primarily up to you.
-- Zig Ziglar
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Avoiding the Concept of Polarization -- Some Are Good, Others Are Evil
Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Pray for Me
When the pope charges us to pray for him, we are reminded of Mother Teresa’s request: “Pray for me that I not loosen my grip on the hands of Jesus, even under the guise of ministering to the poor.”
*****
World Communion Sunday
World Communion Sunday always makes me think of one of my first inter-cultural communion experiences. When I was 20 I spent my summer as a global intern with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. I itinerated around the country for three months, visiting different parishes and ministries of this West African partner denomination. One Sunday, when I was about as far north as I traveled the whole summer (and definitely the farthest from the creature comforts of home such as refrigeration), I was blessed to celebrate communion with a very small, very rural congregation -- “celebrate” in the solemn reverent sense, not “celebrate” in the joyous sense. As the pastor went through the communion liturgy, the people of the church all bowed their heads with their eyes closed -- not my favorite way to experience the sacrament, which for me just screams for open-eyed prayer! But when in Ghana, do as the Ghanaians do, right?
Well, as the liturgy continued in a super-silent sanctuary, I suddenly heard a very distinctive sound -- Pop! Hssssss.... Rattle, rattle. (Doesn’t work so well typed out, does it?) Well, anyway, I knew that sound. It was definitely a Coke bottle. My head popped up in an instant. Who the heck was pouring a drink at a time like this? My head returned to its proper position, but when I heard the noise again it snapped up much faster.
Then I saw it... the Coke bottle. (Ha! I was right!) But it wasn’t in the hands of an unruly worshiper; it was in the hands of the pastor! There he was, pouring the Coke into the chalice and all of the little individual cups. In a land of no refrigeration and definitely no alcohol (a strong no-no for Presbyterians in Ghana, even in communion), Coke was the safest, cheapest, and most readily available liquid to use in communion. Welch’s grape juice would have been worth its weight in gold.
I have to tell you, when I went to seminary a few years later I had a very different answer to the often-used case study question “What would you say to the youth group when they ask you if they can use Coke and pizza for a communion service?”
-- Stephanie Anthony
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Mark 10:2-16
Many newscasts reported that 5-year-old Sophie Cruz broke through the security barriers in Washington to give Pope Francis a crayoned-scrawled letter. However, the true story is that her father, Raul, lifted her over the barrier so she could make her dash to the popemobile. In any case, the pope received her letter and its important message that Sophie was a United States citizen and she feared her undocumented parents would be deported to Mexico.
Application: Jesus speaks of the important truth we can receive from children.
*****
Mark 10:2-16
In Pope Francis’ address to American bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington on September 23 (which he delivered in Italian), he instructed the 300 bishops present that their task “is not preaching complicated doctrines, but joyfully proclaiming Christ, who died and rose for our sake.”
Application: To have the faith of a child is to have a message that is not complicated, but rather one that is easy to comprehend.
*****
Mark 10:2-16
In Pope Francis’ sermon to U.S. bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, he instructed that they must “flee the temptation of narcissism, which blinds the eyes of the shepherd, makes his voice unrecognizable and his actions fruitless.”
Application: We can avoid narcissism by having the simple faith of a child.
*****
Mark 10:2-16
When Pope Francis spoke to American bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, he told the bishops that he did “not come to judge you or to lecture you.”
Application: As Christians we too often use the teaching of Jesus on divorce as judgment rather than pastoral counsel.
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Pope Francis had an encouraging message when he met with U.S. bishops, and he ended his homily by saying: “Know that the pope is at your side and supports you. He puts his hand on your own, a hand wrinkled with age, but by God’s grace still able to support and encourage.”
Application: The pope clearly annunciated what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ.
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Speaking at the United Nations on September 25, Pope Francis talked about the importance of nations working together for the common good of all. The pope said, “Real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be.”
Application: Although we may not all be brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all brothers and sisters in a common humanity.
*****
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Pope Francis told American bishops at Washington’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral that “Bishops need to be lucidly aware of the battle between light and darkness being fought in this world.”
Application: Even though Hebrews speaks of the enthronement of Jesus, we know that the battle between light and darkness still continues.
*****
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
In Pope Francis’ address to U.S. bishops, he instructed them: “Harsh and divisive language does not befit the tongue of a pastor, it has no place in his heart; although it may seem to momentarily win the day, only the enduring allure of goodness and love remains truly convincing.”
Application: During his trials, Job only knew how to speak words of love.
*****
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
After Pope Francis visited with families at the 9/11 memorial in New York City, he said that the encounter “made me see once again how acts of destruction are never impersonal, abstract, or merely material. They always have a face, a concrete story, names.”
Application: The story of Job helps us put a face on suffering.
*****
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
When Pope Francis spoke at the United Nations, he talked about the importance of protecting the environment. During his speech the pope said, “Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity.”
Application: If we follow the life of Job, we know that the destruction of his farm also destroyed him.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Chris Keating
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 26 & Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12)
One: Lord, you have spoken to your people in many ways.
All: Your steadfast love is always before us, and invites us to walk faithfully before you.
One: In these last days, you have spoken to us by your Son.
All: We sing songs of thanksgiving, and shout out your wonderful deeds!
One: You bring all of your children into glory, so that we may proclaim your name to all people.
All: Here in this place we will bless the Lord. Come, let us worship God together.
OR
(World Communion Sunday)
One: Jesus blesses the little children,
All: All the children of the world,
One: The children of refugees, and the children of the rich,
All: Children who have plenty, and children who have little.
One: He takes them into his arms and blesses them all.
All: May God’s children lead us to this feast.
One: May we follow them into God’s joyful kingdom!
(If this is used, the children may lead a processional into worship during the opening hymn. They could bear baskets of different types of bread for the communion table, or carry flags of many nations, or other symbols appropriate to global unity.)
Prayer of the Day
Holy and majestic God, you alone are wise and full of grace, erasing divisions and establishing justice. Help us to stand with integrity and faithfulness before you, listening to your Son’s voice alone. Enable us to be like Job, who though he was tested remained faithful to you, open and willing to receive your promise of redemption. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
OR
God of many places, you make all people holy and prepare us to stand before you faithfully. Encourage us to heed your call to unity, and give us the wide-eyed wonder and trusting faith of children. Let us remember that we are each your precious child, and to actively welcome each other as treasured sisters and brothers so that we may walk in integrity of faith. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we gather from many places, coming from east and west and from north and south to join hands at your table of grace. You call us to be your faithful children, yet we have ignored the cries of your children in need. We have not humbly sought to walk before you faithfully, and we have blocked others from encountering your blessing. Your son says to us: “Let the children come.” Yet too often we have ignored the cries of the little ones. Forgive us, O Lord, and have mercy on us as we bless your name in the great congregation.
Lord, have mercy.
Senor ten piedad. (Spanish)
Nkosi, yiba nesihe. (Zulu)
Herr, erbarme dich. (German)
Le Seigneur a pitié . (French)
(Other languages could be added according to your interest.)
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Holy and always-faithful God, your love dwells within us. You feed us with the bread of life, and nourish us with the gifts of Christ your Son. Help us to sing songs of thanksgiving, and to declare aloud all of your glorious works. Your steadfast love is always before us, and our eyes see signs of your faithfulness toward us. As brothers and sisters in faith, we give you thanks and praise.
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
Look down upon the world, fractured by divisions and torn apart by suffering. You desire that all people live in peace, but we have neglected your words. We pray for families that are divorcing. Give the gifts of your Spirit to those who separate, and offer mercy to those who experience betrayal and despair.
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
Bestow healing upon those who are ill, and may your comfort be with those who are lonely or in pain, who are grieving or afraid. Especially we name before you those we know who need your comfort and grace (petitions may be offered).
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
Teach your church to welcome all of your children, and encourage it to reach out to those society has ignored. Open our doors to your people in need, and our hearts to those longing for Christ’s words of peace. Enable us all to live with integrity of faith, bestowing Jesus’ blessing on those we encounter. Remind us that your kingdom is promised to those who are humble in heart, and guide us faithfully as we serve you each day.
Be gracious to us, O Lord.
And now, with the confidence of the children of God, we are bold to pray together the prayer Jesus taught, saying Our Father... (continue and conclude with the Lord’s Prayer).
Hymns
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” (Job)
“Surely It Is God Who Saves Me” (Psalm 26)
“All Your Works of God” (Psalm 8)
“God, You Spin The Whirling Planets”
“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
“Jesus Loves Me”
“Like a Child”
“Fairest Lord Jesus”
“God Whose Giving Knows No Ending”
“I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
World Communion Hymns:
“I Come with Joy”
“One Bread, One Body”
“A Place at the Table”
“This Is My Song”
“Dona Nobis Pacem”
“Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”
CHILDREN’S SERMON
by Robin Lostetter
Psalm 8; Hebrews 2:5-12
You will want to have some sort of visual aid, either a book (I have a 4" square book, All God’s Children) or a selection of pictures, showing children from around the world. It helps if they are dressed in traditional “costume” associated with their culture, to identify them as not 21st-century North American. You may also want to have a photo of Pope Francis, especially one of him with a child -- either a baby or a child with a disability.
Taking a Bible -- perhaps a version that the children of your church school are familiar with -- open it first to Psalm 8, pointing out that it’s from the older part of the Bible and from the Hebrew song book. Read verses 3-5. Here they are in the Common English Bible (CEB), for example, which might be more accessible to children than the NRSV: When I look up at your skies, at what your fingers made -- the moon and the stars that you set firmly in place -- what are human beings that you think about them; what are human beings that you pay attention to them? You’ve made them only slightly less than divine, crowning them with glory and grandeur.
Note in a tone of wonder that the writer of the psalm is commenting on how God pays attention to all humans, and has made them only slightly less than Godself.
Now turn intentionally (and visibly to the children) to the newer part of the Bible, the New Testament, and read from Hebrews, showing how the author has quoted Psalm 8 to make his point: God didn’t put the world that is coming (the world we are talking about) under the angels’ control. Instead, someone declared somewhere, What is humanity that you think about them? Or what are the human beings that you care about them? For a while you made them lower than angels. You crowned the human beings with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:5-7 CEB).
So the Bible, the Older and the Newer parts, both talk about how God cares for every human being. It doesn’t matter where you live or what color your skin is or what language you speak.
Here are some pictures of children from around the world. Just imagine, God cares for each one of them, and you, just the same. (Look through and comment on the photos.)
If there’s time:
Do any of you remember a famous church leader who visited the United States last week? That’s right, it was the pope, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic church. I have a picture of him here. He made a point of reaching out to all God’s children, those who are homeless, those who are sick, the young and the old. Do you think he knows Psalm 8 and the Hebrews reading too? Yes, I imagine he does!
Later in Hebrews it says further that Jesus will call those of us in his Church -- the Roman Catholic church, the Orthodox church, the Protestant church, our particular church -- Jesus will call us all his brothers and sisters. So the pope, whom many call the Holy Father or Papa, was showing how we are not only humans cared for by God, but we’re also sisters and brothers of Jesus. We’re one great big family, loved by God. And that’s what we celebrate today in our church. Today is World Communion Day, where we all sit at a communion table, around the world, as one great big Christian family!
Let’s pray:
Thank you, God, for caring for every human being on our planet. Thank you, Jesus, for calling us your brothers and your sisters. And we ask that you protect all those among our church family who are hungry this day, or whose country is at war. Show us how to be better sisters and brothers and to help make their lives better. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, September 27, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 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.
