Not-So-Happy Campers
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For September 27, 2020:
Not-So-Happy Campers
by Chris Keating
Exodus 17:1-7
According to Exodus, things are starting to heat up in the wilderness. “The people quarreled,” the text says, to which Moses may have added, “You can say that again.”
First, they cried that the Egyptians were going to kill them. Then they got thirsty and can only find bitter water to drink. Then they started reminiscing about their fleshpots back in Egypt. “There’s not enough bread,” they said. “And not much meat, either!”
Each day the list of complaints seems to grow a bit longer. They had tasted freedom and the sweetest water. They watched as quails covered the camp in the evening and bread fell from heaven in the morning. But still they complained, wondering, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Moses is beginning to realize this is not about him. It may only be partially about being hungry and thirsty. But it is mostly about God, and whether or not the Lord was among them.
As the song goes, “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.”
Our country, wearied by pandemic and everything else 2020 has delivered, is suffering, lost in an unknown wilderness. There is no end in sight, either. “It’s difficult when you think you have a light at the other end of the tunnel to look forward to, and then all of a sudden you realize it’s a train,” an Arizona State University employee told the Washington Post recently.
Last week a few people gathered in our church’s outdoor pavilion for some socially distanced conversation. It’s amazing how big people look when they’re not inside those little boxes on Zoom.
While we try to avoid using the word “normal” anymore, it certainly felt that way as I stopped in to say hello. At that moment, one woman greeted another by saying, “Hey! We missed you on the Zoom Bible study yesterday!” The other woman shook her head, shot me a look, and said, “Oh, that? I’m done! No more Zoom for me! No more Facebook Live! I’m done until we start meeting in person.”
So, Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people?”
In the News
To borrow a line from a 1992 speech by Queen Elizabeth, so far 2020 has been an annus horribilis, a horrible year. In plainer language, as countless memes suggest, it’s been a dumpster fire. We’re not into October yet, and the complaints continue growing.
A great example are the complaints from college students about Covid-19’s influence on their education. In some cases, their complaints sound like contemporary versions of the Hebrew’s complaints. Students returning to school in August were met with social distancing norms and, in some cases, isolation requirements.
And while complaints about college food are hardly unusual, the pandemic has brought new meaning to the “freshmen 15.” Scores of TikTok videos soon revealed that the pandemic meal plans were often poor quality or even inappropriate.
University of Missouri students used social media to complain about dinners that included two ravioli and a piece of broccoli. After receiving a barrage of complaints ranging from bad food to a lack of handwashing sinks, Mizzou’s chancellor temporarily blocked Twitter accounts from some students, partly because he “was on the receiving end of messages/tweets that were disrespectful and not constructive.” At NYU, vegetarian students received chicken. Others were given a lemon slice for a side dish.
The campus complaints are one indicator of widespread unhappiness. A study released by NORC at the University of Chicago this summer revealed that people in the United States are more unhappy than any time in the last 50 years. Just 14% of American adults say they are “very happy,” which is down from 31% in 2018. At least 50% of the population feels isolated. The survey, which was conducted before the death of George Floyd, highlights the impact of stress and loneliness created by the pandemic.
Researchers noted that what surprised them was that the feelings of loneliness were not more prevalent. “It isn’t as high as it could be,” said Louise Hawkley, a NORC research scientist. “People have figured out a way to connect with others. It’s not satisfactory, but people are managing to some extent.”
But even coronavirus work arounds like video conferencing are exhausting. Online meetings require increased levels of cognitive activity scientists say, and can lead to exhaustion. “Zoom” fatigue is real, in part because looking at our own faces is stressful. Limited exposure to body language and nonverbal cues also impact our ability to experience positive connections during meetings.
One study concluded that “we’ve been unhappy for a while. Covid-19 just made it clear.” The writer concluded that a broken healthcare system and economic struggles have increased this sense of unhappiness. A possible solution for finding happiness in a digital and virtual future will be developing personal, communal and institutional trust,” writes Dr. Alex Cahana, a physician from Florida. Cahana’s essay encourages adopting community-based partnerships based on mutual respect while striking a balance between technophobia and technocracy.
Out here in our pandemic wilderness, the complaints are growing. For Israel, the gnawing experiences of emptiness and thirst meld into a deeper existential question. It may also be the question asked in the spaces where we gather as well. “Is the Lord among us, or not?” It’s a question worth considering.
In the Scripture
Exodus has been telling us that Israel’s complaints have been growing from sometime. They have questioned Moses’ leadership and complained about the bitterness of drinking water (15:22). They yearned for the “good ol’ days” in Egypt, forgetting they were oppressed and enslaved and focusing instead on the plentitude of meat and bread. In response, the Lord has provided water, quail and manna. The Lord protected them in their escape from Egypt. God’s promise of abundance and care has never failed.
Despite God’s ongoing provision, the grumbling and complaining do not stop. Now, at chapter 17, the people are encamped at Rephidim, where once more they complain about the lack of water. The frustrations induced by travelling through the wilderness are exacerbated by the unrelenting desert heat. “At least it’s a dry heat,” someone may have joked. No one laughs.
Instead, they all begin to wonder, “Is the Lord among us or not?” This is one of two essential questions raised by this pericope. God’s people wonder how they will survive. In desperation they push back against the one who has led them into this empty place.
Their demands get ugly. They hurl their complaints at God toward Moses. As the leader, he becomes the object of their discontent. He is the focus of their attention. They believe he has led them into certain death. While the desert lacks water, it has plenty of stones. As the people’s complaints grow, Moses is certain they will soon propel these rocks in his direction.
Fearing for his life, Moses cries to the Lord with the second essential question posed by this text, and the one perhaps most familiar to congregational leaders. “What shall I do with this people?”
The question leads to the gift of salvation. The people are saved, not by Moses, but by God who calls Moses to get in front of the people. Clearly, this is not the safest option. Getting in front of a group that is about to stone you is a scary thing to do. But this is the place where God calls Moses.
Ahead of him is not a reservoir but instead another outcropping of rock. God commands Moses to strike the rock so that water may flow out of it — another reminder of how God will shelter and provide for God’s people.
The water flows, an image captured by Psalm 78, “(God) split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.” They cried out, and the Lord has responded.
Tested by their circumstances, the people of Israel discover once more the narrative of their hope. God has provided for them, and God will continue to provide for them. The place of desolation has become the place of their salvation.
In the Sermon
As you prepare the sermon, pay attention to two questions that dominate this text. First is the question of Moses: “What shall I do?” Later comes the deeper, more perplexing question voiced by the people: “Is the Lord among us or not?” Both questions emerge from fear. Much like our own “covid complaining,” they are the result of uncontrolled anxiety and reactivity.
Moses wonders how he is to lead. The people wonder if God is present. It sounds a lot like conversations that are taking place in congregations, on social media, or wherever God’s people are gathered today.
Zoom worship is fatiguing. Socially distanced fellowship seems like an oxymoron. Keeping a mask on our face, washing hands and not touching our mouths take discipline. At times the pandemic has felt like a gigantic middle school dance where every step is awkward and clumsy. Anxiety sets in, with reactivity quickly following.
We are the unhappy campers living through the tragic dumpster fire wilderness of 2020. Congregations are beset by a mix of fears: should we open, or stay virtual? Should we engage in tough conversations about racism and privilege, or remain silent? Should we call out political shenanigans for their faithlessness or do we risk alienating parishioners of differing political stances?
Faithfully wrestling with the two questions (“What shall I do?” and “Is the Lord among us or not?”) invokes the pattern of prayer that formed the heart of Israel’s faith. The people cried, and the Lord responded. It is the pattern at the heart of Psalm 78’s proclamation, and in the hope offered by Paul in Philippians. It is God who is at work within us, enabling us to live and work to God’s good pleasure. Let the words of this sermon roll forth like water from rock — and may it quench the anxious thirsts of those who are wandering today.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Question of Authority
by Tom Willadsen
Matthew 21:23-32
In the News
Timothy Leary popularized the bumper sticker philosophy “Question authority.” There’s a good chance he quoted Socrates. (There’s also a good chance he believed he was Socrates, but that’s a line of inquiry for another time.) Wikipedia contends that “Question authority” is “the most accepted form of ideology among baby boomers.”
The 1960s may have been a high point in American skepticism. As the Free Speech Movement was getting underway at the University of California in Berkeley in 1964, Jack Weinberg, one of the FSM’s chief strategists said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.”
As the Civil Rights Movement and demonstrations against the Vietnam War were followed by the National Guard killing demonstrators at Kent State University in Ohio and the Watergate scandal, when it was proven undeniably that President Nixon had lied to the American people, a handful of those who worked in his administration went to jail for their crimes. Skepticism grew into a much larger, profound, nearly reflexive distrust.
In 1979 Bob Dylan famously sang, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” No one, the Nobel laureate contended, was completely autonomous. While there are lots of options of whom to serve, all but one are idols. One has to claim something as one’s ultimate concern, as Paul Tillich described it.
It was not too much after Bob Dylan’s album Slow Train Coming that President Ronald Reagan began running based on sowing distrust in the electorate. He famously said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Distrust in government, and authority of all kinds, must be at an all-time high. “Elite” is now an insult, a synonym for expertise that is out of touch with common sense. A recent New Yorker cartoon shows a man standing up in an airliner and asking the other passengers if they didn’t think he’d do a better job of flying this plane? Certainly the pilot’s elite credentials, or perhaps one could call them “hard earned competence” are of no more value than this passenger’s self-confidence after leading an uprising in economy class.
President Trump has certainly done nothing to instill public confidence in his own administration’s public health professionals. Some of his fields of “expertise” are epidemiology, vaccine development, education, the Constitution, history, and forestry management. That his pronouncements are demonstrably false has no impact on his continuing practice of stating what he wants to be true as fact. This began immediately after his inauguration when his assertion that more people had attended his inauguration than President Obama’s was contradicted by a side-by-side analysis of photos of President’s Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and President Trump’s in 2017 by Reuters shows without any doubt that fewer people attended the latter. This put then Press Secretary Sean Spicer in an untenable situation before the press.
Perhaps the most chilling and Orwellian comment about this first presidential exaggeration came from then White House counselor Kellyanne Conway who replied on Meet the Press: “Don’t be so overly dramatic about it, Chuck. What — You’re saying it’s a falsehood. And they’re giving Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that.” when asked by Chuck Todd, “[W]hy the president asked the White House press secretary to come out in front of the podium for the first time and utter a falsehood?”
In today’s blogosphere echo chamber where opinions are reinforced until they become facts by being mentioned frequently, there’s a new “authority” that is gaining adherents: QAnon.
For those who haven’t heard about it (Turn back now to avoid descending into a Twilight Zone Rabbit Hole!) Here’s a helpful summary of its core beliefs:
While there’s plenty of madness to analyze here, perhaps the most chilling contention of QAnon is that there is a Deep State that operates in the shadows with no accountability. The elegance of QAnon — and every other conspiracy theory — is that to refute it is to confirm it, because “Of course, you’d deny it — you’re part of it and you don’t even know it!”
QAnon is preposterous, delusional, demonstrably false — and growing in influence. As expertise and competence become less trusted — even reflexively distrusted — preachers have to find a way to proclaim Christ and exalt Christ as a trustworthy, reliable authority, because, after all, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
In the Bible
Today’s gospel passage is set between Palm Sunday, aka The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and the crucifixion. Starting with cleansing the temple, Jesus nettles, aggravates and provokes the religious authorities, often to the delight of the crowd, some of whom are his followers. In particular Jesus’ adversaries today are the chief priests and elders. Remember a few chapters ago, when people marveled that Jesus taught “as one with authority?” That meant he didn’t cite scripture, or the received wisdom of the ages, rather he just spoke — as though he himself were the authority. This particular practice is irritating to those who have spent their lifetimes learning the written and oral canon. When they question “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (21:23, NRSV) they are trying to draw him onto their turf for a public debate. (They might even plan on sending him a bill to cover the mess he made at the temple the day before.)
Jesus’ reply forces them into a dilemma. He essentially asks them to take a stand on whether the baptisms John the Baptizer performed were of human or divine origin. It wasn’t too long ago that John was leading a renewal movement that was attracting “people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” (Mark 1:5, NRSV) John’s movement (and John himself) was cut short, but he was still recognized and popular.
The chief priests and elders can choose to say that God’s movement was of human origin and thus irritate and provoke those who took part in his movement — all of Jerusalem!! or appease John’s followers, but convict themselves because they did not take part in this movement ordained by God almighty. The leaders chose a third option; they chose not to take a stand. Confessing ignorance didn’t antagonize the crowd, but it also freed Jesus from stepping into their trap. The decisive battle of wits would have to wait for another skirmish later that week.
And so Jesus still has not disclosed the source of his authority.
In the Sermon
Preaching on Jesus’ authority in this moment presents a unique challenge — confidence in all authorities has never been lower. Your congregation is less than two months away from a national election in the most polarized moment in living American memory. How to present unity in Christ in a nation led by one determined to divide us?
Rather than focusing on authority as today’s text does, focus on what Christ taught and did. Healing miracles certainly point one to the Giver of Health. Confronting the powerful on behalf of the poor and the marginalized does not lead to power or influence, but to peace. The prophets are clear, Godly nations are those who care for the vulnerable and marginalized. Christian authority — and the authority of Christ — go against what society regards as safe — they require a faith outside one’s own ability and imagination. A surrendering of the will to one whose truth cannot be seen, but can be felt, and demonstrated in living faithfully. Claiming Christ as one’s ultimate authority is not the way to win a popularity contest, but is in the path that we are called to walk.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Psalm 78:1
“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.”
James Strong was born on August 14, 1822, in New York City. He was a sickly child and had ill health all of his life, which thwarted many of his dreams and ambitions. He attended medical school but physical weakness forced him to drop out. He was a school teacher, but again his poor health prevented him from pursuing that career. Strong continued in politics and business, with a mixture of successes and failures.
In the evenings he studied the Bible, and became a self-taught theologian. As a result of this he was hired as the Professor of Exegetical Theology at Drew Theological Seminary. During this time, in 1890, he published Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. It took him 35 years to complete this project. He assigned each Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek root a number which allowed its every use to be tracked through the Bible.
During his time at the seminary Strong also published a work of Biblical chronology, a study in the doctrine of future life, and a mathematical study of the wilderness tabernacle. He assisted with the English Revised Version of the KJV (published in America in 1901 as the American Standard Version) and was a key editor for the ten-volume Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.
Today, he is still best known for Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
* * *
Exodus 17:6
“Strike the rock, and water will come out of it…”
Country music star Dolly Parton has partnered with popular Christian music artist Zach Williams to make a new hit song titled There Was Jesus. The purpose of the song is to offer hope. The hope in knowing that Jesus is always there for us, especially when life seems to be at its darkest moment.
The song quickly reached the #1 spot on Billboard’s Christian Adult Contemporary chart. This was for the week starting September 6, 2020. Regarding that Parton said, “It does my heart good to know that we have touched the lives of so many people.”
The song’s lyrics about Jesus always being there are shown in the powerful bridge and pre-chorus:
There was Jesus / On the mountains / In the valleys / There was Jesus / In the shadows / Of the alleys / There was Jesus / In the fire, in the flood / There was Jesus / Always is and always was, oh / No, I never walk alone / Never walk alone / You're always there.
* * *
Exodus 17:4
“So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people?”
Marettu Ninan Abraham was born of devout Christian believers in Kerala, India. He was on the path toward an excellent education that would have provided him with very prestigious and lucrative employment. This all changed in 1905. Abraham heard a sermon by the missionary Sherwood Eddy who spoke to a group of boys from the Syrian Church, challenging them to take up the cross and awaken their slumbering church. For weeks Abraham struggled with this challenge, before deciding to become a priest.
His call to become a missionary came from a visit to the United States.
Studying theology in Canada, he crossed into Buffalo, New York, where he was denied lodging at a hotel because of his skin color. In protest the Canadian students walked out of the hotel. They found lodging elsewhere but Abraham could not sleep because of the indignity he had endured. It brought to mind the way the Syrian church excluded outcastes in India. That solidified his determination to reach the untouchables.
Abraham was ordained a deacon in the Syrian church in 1911, he became a priest in 1915 and in 1917 a bishop. He tore down social barriers against untouchables, sending Indian missionaries to the lowest and neediest people. As a result of Abraham’s initiatives, young men and women went to live in villages across India, establishing ashrams, also known as religious retreats.
Abraham was a very spiritual individual. He practiced prayer and fasting. He read his Bible and prayed daily, rising at 4:30 to make sure he had time.
As a diabetic since 1926, Abraham died in 1947.
* * *
Exodus 17:2
“Give us water to drink.”
We know very little about Philip Pain. He was a New England poet. He drowned in a shipwreck in 1668. On July 19, 1666, he began a book of poetry titled Daily Meditations: Quotidian Preparations for and Considerations of Death and Eternity. He was unable to complete the book before he died, though he did write 64 stanzas. The seventieth meditation reflected on his own death. It reads:
Whilst in this world I stay, some hopes have I
That I shall reign in Heaven eternally
But when my time is past, and I am gone,
There’s no hope left for me to build upon.
Lord, grant me full assurance whilst that I
Am here, so willing I shall be to die.
* * *
Matthew 21:29
“He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went.”
The Seventh-Day Adventist was founded upon the idea of the immediate return of Christ. Now, more than a 150 years later, they are still expecting Christ’s return. When Lisa Beardsley-Hardy was a child, she thought every thunderstorm she heard meant the immediate return of Christ. When she was 54 in April 2013, with two children and two grandchildren she made this observation, “I’m getting back to waiting. But I’m kind of glad the Lord has tarried.”
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
Exodus 17:1-7
21 Days Without Complaining
The people of Israel, in their desert wanderings, could have used 21 days with Will Bowen. Bowen is well known for helping people quit complaining. “In 2006 Will Bowen was the minister of a small midwestern church delivering a series on prosperity. Will noticed that his congregation all said they wanted greater prosperity — that is: more stuff. But, they all complained about what they already had. He suggested everyone try and break the complaining habit by going 21 days in a row without complaining. Will gave purple rubber bracelets to everyone in attendance urging them to put the bracelet on either wrist and switch it to the other wrist with every spoken complaint.” Bowen says that we need 21 days without complaining to make it the way we live. Each day, non-complainers in training put on a rubber bracelet as a reminder of the challenge. When they complain, they switch the bracelet to the other wrist, and start again the next day. Complaining is so ingrained is us that Bowen says that it takes most people 4-8 months to reach 21 days without complaining.
In this quest, Bowen notes that “being complaint free isn’t about pretending there aren’t any challenges in our lives or in the world. And Bowen acknowledges that the expression of pain and grief is necessary in the face of traumatic events. But he reminds us that the majority of the time “our complaints are not sourced by such deeply painful experiences,” and “things are not really bad enough to warrant expressing grief, pain or discontent.” Complaining is just “our default setting,” he says. “It’s what we do.” So when something is dissatisfying, but doesn’t rise to the level of traumatic event, our goal is to recognize what’s wrong — and then focus on what we can do about it.”
The people of Israel get results from God with their complaints, and they also get locked into a negative relationship with God, a relationship focused on what is lacking instead of celebrating their freedom and learning to live as free people. Perhaps, without complaining, our relationships, would shift, too.
* * *
Philippians 2:1-13
Serving the People
Americans love firefighters. We admire them as heroes, particularly after 9/11, and our relationship with them is less complicated than with the police. They embody the words of the letter to the Philippians: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” One group of firefighters has been overlooked, and is now getting recognition for their experience, particularly in this desperate fire season in the West.
“In 2014, Brandon Smith — unemployed but trained as a wildland firefighter — applied for upwards of 15 positions at local and state fire departments in California. Qualified for the work after two years of firefighting, he spent nearly 18 months fielding rejections, not because of his credentials, but because he couldn’t pass a background check. One local department offered him a job, but then rescinded it when they saw he had formerly been incarcerated. There are thousands of other people like Smith, formerly incarcerated and trained as firefighters, who face a number of hurdles when applying for jobs. To overcome these systemic barriers, Smith and fellow wildland firefighter Royal Ramey founded the Fire and Forestry Recruitment Program, aimed at training and helping formerly incarcerated people find employment as firefighters. As the state enters the most catastrophic fire season on record, the work of wildland firefighters is more critical than ever, yet the state is facing a shortage of potential workers. For years, the state has lacked a formalized process for incorporating firefighters that have been incarcerated into its ranks. This year that could change.”
People in prison have long been essential to California’s firefighting, and this year, there are fewer people available to work because of Covid-required releases of non-violent prisoners. “This year alone, at least 7,000 wildfires have ravaged the state, compared with 7,860 wildfires that struck California in all of 2019. And it’s only September — normally the midpoint of fire season. The number of acres set ablaze ballooned as well: Last year, fires burned through 259,823 acres, whereas this year at least 1.6 million acres have already burned. Incarcerated firefighters play a critical role in managing the spread of potentially catastrophic fires, working at least 3 million hours each year…”
Brandon Smith says, “When I was in prison, I kind of took on what the world thought of me. [Firefighting] was really the pivot that recentered my life,” Smith says. Firefighting is more than a job. If offers him a way to serve others, and a way of moving through the world, which can be especially powerful for people who have been overlooked. “I matter,” Smith says. “I can help the community. I can personally atone for the challenges in my life by making the world a better place.” Let each of us look to the interests of others, as the Letter to the Philippians commends us.
* * *
Philippians 2:1-13
God on the Subway
The letter to the Philippians urges, “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
On a New York City subway train, Rick Hamlin recently had an experience that made the truth of this instruction clear to him. He had traveled from home on the subway to take a Covid test in preparation for a family reunion. He was headed home, masked and at a safe social distance from the other passengers, when the lights went out and the train stopped. He and the other passengers began to worry about the delay, and if the extended time on the train would become a way to catch Covid.
The conductor announced that there had been an accident. “Someone had fallen onto the tracks from the train going the other direction. The power had to be shut off for the rescue operation. As the story unfolded, you could feel the change of atmosphere in the train, this group of strangers pulling together, feeling the pain of the moment, compassion and sorrow. Were we scared? Yes, of course. I’d just tested negative for a scary virus and I was now in a situation that made me more vulnerable to catching it? How long would we be here?...One guy got up and opened the windows, attempting to give us more air. One woman stood up and announced that she was an internist and would be glad to help anyone suffering. The conductor came through, and she told him to let her know if any passengers needed help. Time went on. We chatted amongst ourselves, putting each other at ease. I was reminded of that feature of New York that I’ve always loved, the Big City that can turn itself into a caring small town at a moment’s notice. Even the conductor, when he came through the car explaining the tragic situation, asked us for prayer. Finally, after an hour, the driver lifted the brakes, the lights came back up, the power rumbled again through the train, one of those noises that I’d always found comforting, even more now. Slowly we pulled ahead, rumbling to the next station where I got off. One of the questions I hear repeatedly these days: When will things get back to normal? The incident made me want to reframe that question. How can we forget that as much as it’s natural for us to succumb to our fears, it’s as common for You, God, to be right there at hand, in community, in kindness, in strangers reaching out, in prayer.” “Let each of you look to the interests of others,” the letter says, and we can still do it, even when so much else is now lost to us.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: Give ear, O my people, to God’s teaching.
People: We will incline our ears to the words of wisdom.
Leader: Hear the sayings from of old that our ancestors told us.
People: We will not hide them from our children.
Leader: Let us tell of the glorious deeds of our God.
People: We will share God’s wonders to the next generation.
OR
Leader: God comes among us as our Creator and Sovereign.
People: We bow before the majesty of our God.
Leader: God comes among us as one of us.
People: We are humbled by God’s humility.
Leader: God comes among us in the midst of others.
People: We will seek to see God in all we meet.
Hymns and Songs:
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
How Like a Gentle Spirit
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
UMH: 175
H82: 642
PH: 310
NCH: 507
CH: 102
LBW: 316
ELW: 754
W&P: 420
AMEC: 464
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Take My Life, and Let It Be
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
The Gift of Love
UMH: 408
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
Renew: 155
Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
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 comes to us in meekness and peace:
Grant us the grace to reflect your meekness
in all of our relationships with others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you come to us meekly and peaceably. You offer yourself to us humbly. Help us to be true reflections of you by being in peace with all our neighbors. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our contentiousness and divisiveness.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have made us of one earth and filled us with one Spirit and yet we look for ways to find division among us. We look for anything that makes us different and we us that difference to claim we are better than others. We have better family lines; we have better taste; we are classier; we are better. We have lost sight of the Christ who came and took the form of a slave in order to draw all of us to you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might truly reflect your love. Amen.
Leader: God comes among us and welcomes us with all our flaws and failures enabling us to become what we were created to be: the reflection of the God who is Love.
Prayers of the People
We worship and adore you, O God, because though you are full of power and majesty, you come to us in tenderness and love. You embrace us as your very own children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have made us of one earth and filled us with one Spirit and yet we look for ways to find division among us. We look for anything that makes us different and we us that difference to claim we are better than others. We have better family lines; we have better taste; we are classier; we are better. We have lost sight of the Christ who came and took the form of a slave in order to draw all of us to you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might truly reflect your love.
We give you thanks for all the blessings you have given us. You have filled creation with beauty and with all that we need for an abundant and full life. In your love you come and dwell within us and among us. We have been blessed by many who have shared your Spirit of tender love with us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who find life hard and their neighbors to be oppressive and violent. We pray for those who have found hatred instead of love.
(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
Sharing can be hard sometimes. Especially if it is something we really, really like and there isn’t much of it. Maybe we have just a small piece of cake that we are going to eat and then a friend or a sister or brother comes in we know they would like to have a bite. But the Bible reminds us today that we are to look out for others. We must take care of each other. And there will be other pieces of cake. And nothing feels better than taking care of others and sharing God’s love with them.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Water
by Dean Feldmeyer
Exodus 17:1-7
You will need: An 8 oz. glass, glass of water (so the kids can see the water.)
(Optional) A picture of the “Rock of Horeb.” (Just google that name.)
Say:
Good morning, boys and girls.
You know what this is, right? Yes, it’s water. Just good old, normal water. We don’t think about water very much, do we? Unless we’re thirsty. Then we think about water a lot! Being thirsty is the way our body tells us that we need some water.
When the people of Israel were in the wilderness, going from Egypt to the Promised Land, they ran out of water and they became very thirsty. Running out of water is serious, isn’t it?
We can live for about 30 days without food but we can live only about 5 days without water. More than half of your body (about 60%) is made up of water! Water is important!
So, the people complained to Moses that they were thirsty and they were afraid they were going to die if they didn’t get some water pretty soon. Moses went to God and said the people were thirsty and scared and they were getting mad at him and asked if God could do something to help.
God told Moses to go to the Rock at Horeb, this huge, V-shaped rock in the dessert just below Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai) and touch it with his staff. Moses did that and water began to flow out of the rock. Whoa! Pretty cool, huh? And the people had all the water they needed. They drank it, they bathed in it, they washed their clothing in it, and then they drank some more. And they were saved. God saved his people with a gift of water.
Well, did you know that there are people, today, who are like the people of Israel in the wilderness, people who do not have enough water? And if you don’t have enough water to drink, you probably don’t have enough food to eat.
People require about half a gallon of water, that’s about eight glasses like this (8 oz.) every day. And that’s just for drinking. If you count drinking, washing your hands, washing your clothing, taking baths, brushing your teeth, watering the plants that grow into the food you eat, and all the other thing we use water for, we each use about 150 gallons (about 2000 glasses like this) a day. But about a billion people on earth don’t have that much clean water to drink. In Africa, women walk an average of about 4 miles a day just to get water for their families.
And, here’s the thing that really surprised me: It takes about 6,800 gallons of water to grow enough food to feed a family of four people. If you turned on your garden hose full blast, it would take 12 hours to collect that much water. From noon to midnight.
Fortunately, God has saved us with the gift of water. Almost 2/3 of the earth is covered with water, but not all of it is usable for us. Most of it is salty or frozen. Only a little bit of it is good for drinking, but it’s enough, if we are careful about how we use it and don’t waste it. There’s enough water for everyone to have all they need. It is a gift from God and we don’t waste or throw away a valuable gift do we?
(End the message with a prayer thanking God for the gift of life saving and sustaining water.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 27, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 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.
- Not-So-Happy Campers by Chris Keating — As things heat up in the wilderness, God's people quarrel and grumble, wondering aloud "is the Lord among us or not?".
- Second Thoughts: The Question of Authority by Tom Willadsen — Preaching on Jesus’ authority in this moment presents a unique challenge at a time when confidence in all authorities has never been lower. Rather than focusing on authority as today’s text does, focus on what Christ taught and did.
- Sermon illustrations by Ron Love and Mary Austin.
- Worship resources by George Reed that focus on contention in the congregation; by what authority?
- Children’s sermon: Water by Dean Feldmeyer.
Not-So-Happy Campersby Chris Keating
Exodus 17:1-7
According to Exodus, things are starting to heat up in the wilderness. “The people quarreled,” the text says, to which Moses may have added, “You can say that again.”
First, they cried that the Egyptians were going to kill them. Then they got thirsty and can only find bitter water to drink. Then they started reminiscing about their fleshpots back in Egypt. “There’s not enough bread,” they said. “And not much meat, either!”
Each day the list of complaints seems to grow a bit longer. They had tasted freedom and the sweetest water. They watched as quails covered the camp in the evening and bread fell from heaven in the morning. But still they complained, wondering, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Moses is beginning to realize this is not about him. It may only be partially about being hungry and thirsty. But it is mostly about God, and whether or not the Lord was among them.
As the song goes, “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.”
Our country, wearied by pandemic and everything else 2020 has delivered, is suffering, lost in an unknown wilderness. There is no end in sight, either. “It’s difficult when you think you have a light at the other end of the tunnel to look forward to, and then all of a sudden you realize it’s a train,” an Arizona State University employee told the Washington Post recently.
Last week a few people gathered in our church’s outdoor pavilion for some socially distanced conversation. It’s amazing how big people look when they’re not inside those little boxes on Zoom.
While we try to avoid using the word “normal” anymore, it certainly felt that way as I stopped in to say hello. At that moment, one woman greeted another by saying, “Hey! We missed you on the Zoom Bible study yesterday!” The other woman shook her head, shot me a look, and said, “Oh, that? I’m done! No more Zoom for me! No more Facebook Live! I’m done until we start meeting in person.”
So, Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people?”
In the News
To borrow a line from a 1992 speech by Queen Elizabeth, so far 2020 has been an annus horribilis, a horrible year. In plainer language, as countless memes suggest, it’s been a dumpster fire. We’re not into October yet, and the complaints continue growing.
A great example are the complaints from college students about Covid-19’s influence on their education. In some cases, their complaints sound like contemporary versions of the Hebrew’s complaints. Students returning to school in August were met with social distancing norms and, in some cases, isolation requirements.
And while complaints about college food are hardly unusual, the pandemic has brought new meaning to the “freshmen 15.” Scores of TikTok videos soon revealed that the pandemic meal plans were often poor quality or even inappropriate.
University of Missouri students used social media to complain about dinners that included two ravioli and a piece of broccoli. After receiving a barrage of complaints ranging from bad food to a lack of handwashing sinks, Mizzou’s chancellor temporarily blocked Twitter accounts from some students, partly because he “was on the receiving end of messages/tweets that were disrespectful and not constructive.” At NYU, vegetarian students received chicken. Others were given a lemon slice for a side dish.
The campus complaints are one indicator of widespread unhappiness. A study released by NORC at the University of Chicago this summer revealed that people in the United States are more unhappy than any time in the last 50 years. Just 14% of American adults say they are “very happy,” which is down from 31% in 2018. At least 50% of the population feels isolated. The survey, which was conducted before the death of George Floyd, highlights the impact of stress and loneliness created by the pandemic.
Researchers noted that what surprised them was that the feelings of loneliness were not more prevalent. “It isn’t as high as it could be,” said Louise Hawkley, a NORC research scientist. “People have figured out a way to connect with others. It’s not satisfactory, but people are managing to some extent.”
But even coronavirus work arounds like video conferencing are exhausting. Online meetings require increased levels of cognitive activity scientists say, and can lead to exhaustion. “Zoom” fatigue is real, in part because looking at our own faces is stressful. Limited exposure to body language and nonverbal cues also impact our ability to experience positive connections during meetings.
One study concluded that “we’ve been unhappy for a while. Covid-19 just made it clear.” The writer concluded that a broken healthcare system and economic struggles have increased this sense of unhappiness. A possible solution for finding happiness in a digital and virtual future will be developing personal, communal and institutional trust,” writes Dr. Alex Cahana, a physician from Florida. Cahana’s essay encourages adopting community-based partnerships based on mutual respect while striking a balance between technophobia and technocracy.
Out here in our pandemic wilderness, the complaints are growing. For Israel, the gnawing experiences of emptiness and thirst meld into a deeper existential question. It may also be the question asked in the spaces where we gather as well. “Is the Lord among us, or not?” It’s a question worth considering.
In the Scripture
Exodus has been telling us that Israel’s complaints have been growing from sometime. They have questioned Moses’ leadership and complained about the bitterness of drinking water (15:22). They yearned for the “good ol’ days” in Egypt, forgetting they were oppressed and enslaved and focusing instead on the plentitude of meat and bread. In response, the Lord has provided water, quail and manna. The Lord protected them in their escape from Egypt. God’s promise of abundance and care has never failed.
Despite God’s ongoing provision, the grumbling and complaining do not stop. Now, at chapter 17, the people are encamped at Rephidim, where once more they complain about the lack of water. The frustrations induced by travelling through the wilderness are exacerbated by the unrelenting desert heat. “At least it’s a dry heat,” someone may have joked. No one laughs.
Instead, they all begin to wonder, “Is the Lord among us or not?” This is one of two essential questions raised by this pericope. God’s people wonder how they will survive. In desperation they push back against the one who has led them into this empty place.
Their demands get ugly. They hurl their complaints at God toward Moses. As the leader, he becomes the object of their discontent. He is the focus of their attention. They believe he has led them into certain death. While the desert lacks water, it has plenty of stones. As the people’s complaints grow, Moses is certain they will soon propel these rocks in his direction.
Fearing for his life, Moses cries to the Lord with the second essential question posed by this text, and the one perhaps most familiar to congregational leaders. “What shall I do with this people?”
The question leads to the gift of salvation. The people are saved, not by Moses, but by God who calls Moses to get in front of the people. Clearly, this is not the safest option. Getting in front of a group that is about to stone you is a scary thing to do. But this is the place where God calls Moses.
Ahead of him is not a reservoir but instead another outcropping of rock. God commands Moses to strike the rock so that water may flow out of it — another reminder of how God will shelter and provide for God’s people.
The water flows, an image captured by Psalm 78, “(God) split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.” They cried out, and the Lord has responded.
Tested by their circumstances, the people of Israel discover once more the narrative of their hope. God has provided for them, and God will continue to provide for them. The place of desolation has become the place of their salvation.
In the Sermon
As you prepare the sermon, pay attention to two questions that dominate this text. First is the question of Moses: “What shall I do?” Later comes the deeper, more perplexing question voiced by the people: “Is the Lord among us or not?” Both questions emerge from fear. Much like our own “covid complaining,” they are the result of uncontrolled anxiety and reactivity.
Moses wonders how he is to lead. The people wonder if God is present. It sounds a lot like conversations that are taking place in congregations, on social media, or wherever God’s people are gathered today.
Zoom worship is fatiguing. Socially distanced fellowship seems like an oxymoron. Keeping a mask on our face, washing hands and not touching our mouths take discipline. At times the pandemic has felt like a gigantic middle school dance where every step is awkward and clumsy. Anxiety sets in, with reactivity quickly following.
We are the unhappy campers living through the tragic dumpster fire wilderness of 2020. Congregations are beset by a mix of fears: should we open, or stay virtual? Should we engage in tough conversations about racism and privilege, or remain silent? Should we call out political shenanigans for their faithlessness or do we risk alienating parishioners of differing political stances?
Faithfully wrestling with the two questions (“What shall I do?” and “Is the Lord among us or not?”) invokes the pattern of prayer that formed the heart of Israel’s faith. The people cried, and the Lord responded. It is the pattern at the heart of Psalm 78’s proclamation, and in the hope offered by Paul in Philippians. It is God who is at work within us, enabling us to live and work to God’s good pleasure. Let the words of this sermon roll forth like water from rock — and may it quench the anxious thirsts of those who are wandering today.
SECOND THOUGHTSThe Question of Authority
by Tom Willadsen
Matthew 21:23-32
In the News
Timothy Leary popularized the bumper sticker philosophy “Question authority.” There’s a good chance he quoted Socrates. (There’s also a good chance he believed he was Socrates, but that’s a line of inquiry for another time.) Wikipedia contends that “Question authority” is “the most accepted form of ideology among baby boomers.”
The 1960s may have been a high point in American skepticism. As the Free Speech Movement was getting underway at the University of California in Berkeley in 1964, Jack Weinberg, one of the FSM’s chief strategists said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.”
As the Civil Rights Movement and demonstrations against the Vietnam War were followed by the National Guard killing demonstrators at Kent State University in Ohio and the Watergate scandal, when it was proven undeniably that President Nixon had lied to the American people, a handful of those who worked in his administration went to jail for their crimes. Skepticism grew into a much larger, profound, nearly reflexive distrust.
In 1979 Bob Dylan famously sang, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” No one, the Nobel laureate contended, was completely autonomous. While there are lots of options of whom to serve, all but one are idols. One has to claim something as one’s ultimate concern, as Paul Tillich described it.
It was not too much after Bob Dylan’s album Slow Train Coming that President Ronald Reagan began running based on sowing distrust in the electorate. He famously said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Distrust in government, and authority of all kinds, must be at an all-time high. “Elite” is now an insult, a synonym for expertise that is out of touch with common sense. A recent New Yorker cartoon shows a man standing up in an airliner and asking the other passengers if they didn’t think he’d do a better job of flying this plane? Certainly the pilot’s elite credentials, or perhaps one could call them “hard earned competence” are of no more value than this passenger’s self-confidence after leading an uprising in economy class.
President Trump has certainly done nothing to instill public confidence in his own administration’s public health professionals. Some of his fields of “expertise” are epidemiology, vaccine development, education, the Constitution, history, and forestry management. That his pronouncements are demonstrably false has no impact on his continuing practice of stating what he wants to be true as fact. This began immediately after his inauguration when his assertion that more people had attended his inauguration than President Obama’s was contradicted by a side-by-side analysis of photos of President’s Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and President Trump’s in 2017 by Reuters shows without any doubt that fewer people attended the latter. This put then Press Secretary Sean Spicer in an untenable situation before the press.
Perhaps the most chilling and Orwellian comment about this first presidential exaggeration came from then White House counselor Kellyanne Conway who replied on Meet the Press: “Don’t be so overly dramatic about it, Chuck. What — You’re saying it’s a falsehood. And they’re giving Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that.” when asked by Chuck Todd, “[W]hy the president asked the White House press secretary to come out in front of the podium for the first time and utter a falsehood?”
In today’s blogosphere echo chamber where opinions are reinforced until they become facts by being mentioned frequently, there’s a new “authority” that is gaining adherents: QAnon.
For those who haven’t heard about it (Turn back now to avoid descending into a Twilight Zone Rabbit Hole!) Here’s a helpful summary of its core beliefs:
While there’s plenty of madness to analyze here, perhaps the most chilling contention of QAnon is that there is a Deep State that operates in the shadows with no accountability. The elegance of QAnon — and every other conspiracy theory — is that to refute it is to confirm it, because “Of course, you’d deny it — you’re part of it and you don’t even know it!”
QAnon is preposterous, delusional, demonstrably false — and growing in influence. As expertise and competence become less trusted — even reflexively distrusted — preachers have to find a way to proclaim Christ and exalt Christ as a trustworthy, reliable authority, because, after all, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
In the Bible
Today’s gospel passage is set between Palm Sunday, aka The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and the crucifixion. Starting with cleansing the temple, Jesus nettles, aggravates and provokes the religious authorities, often to the delight of the crowd, some of whom are his followers. In particular Jesus’ adversaries today are the chief priests and elders. Remember a few chapters ago, when people marveled that Jesus taught “as one with authority?” That meant he didn’t cite scripture, or the received wisdom of the ages, rather he just spoke — as though he himself were the authority. This particular practice is irritating to those who have spent their lifetimes learning the written and oral canon. When they question “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (21:23, NRSV) they are trying to draw him onto their turf for a public debate. (They might even plan on sending him a bill to cover the mess he made at the temple the day before.)
Jesus’ reply forces them into a dilemma. He essentially asks them to take a stand on whether the baptisms John the Baptizer performed were of human or divine origin. It wasn’t too long ago that John was leading a renewal movement that was attracting “people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” (Mark 1:5, NRSV) John’s movement (and John himself) was cut short, but he was still recognized and popular.
The chief priests and elders can choose to say that God’s movement was of human origin and thus irritate and provoke those who took part in his movement — all of Jerusalem!! or appease John’s followers, but convict themselves because they did not take part in this movement ordained by God almighty. The leaders chose a third option; they chose not to take a stand. Confessing ignorance didn’t antagonize the crowd, but it also freed Jesus from stepping into their trap. The decisive battle of wits would have to wait for another skirmish later that week.
And so Jesus still has not disclosed the source of his authority.
In the Sermon
Preaching on Jesus’ authority in this moment presents a unique challenge — confidence in all authorities has never been lower. Your congregation is less than two months away from a national election in the most polarized moment in living American memory. How to present unity in Christ in a nation led by one determined to divide us?
Rather than focusing on authority as today’s text does, focus on what Christ taught and did. Healing miracles certainly point one to the Giver of Health. Confronting the powerful on behalf of the poor and the marginalized does not lead to power or influence, but to peace. The prophets are clear, Godly nations are those who care for the vulnerable and marginalized. Christian authority — and the authority of Christ — go against what society regards as safe — they require a faith outside one’s own ability and imagination. A surrendering of the will to one whose truth cannot be seen, but can be felt, and demonstrated in living faithfully. Claiming Christ as one’s ultimate authority is not the way to win a popularity contest, but is in the path that we are called to walk.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:Psalm 78:1
“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.”
James Strong was born on August 14, 1822, in New York City. He was a sickly child and had ill health all of his life, which thwarted many of his dreams and ambitions. He attended medical school but physical weakness forced him to drop out. He was a school teacher, but again his poor health prevented him from pursuing that career. Strong continued in politics and business, with a mixture of successes and failures.
In the evenings he studied the Bible, and became a self-taught theologian. As a result of this he was hired as the Professor of Exegetical Theology at Drew Theological Seminary. During this time, in 1890, he published Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. It took him 35 years to complete this project. He assigned each Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek root a number which allowed its every use to be tracked through the Bible.
During his time at the seminary Strong also published a work of Biblical chronology, a study in the doctrine of future life, and a mathematical study of the wilderness tabernacle. He assisted with the English Revised Version of the KJV (published in America in 1901 as the American Standard Version) and was a key editor for the ten-volume Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.
Today, he is still best known for Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
* * *
Exodus 17:6
“Strike the rock, and water will come out of it…”
Country music star Dolly Parton has partnered with popular Christian music artist Zach Williams to make a new hit song titled There Was Jesus. The purpose of the song is to offer hope. The hope in knowing that Jesus is always there for us, especially when life seems to be at its darkest moment.
The song quickly reached the #1 spot on Billboard’s Christian Adult Contemporary chart. This was for the week starting September 6, 2020. Regarding that Parton said, “It does my heart good to know that we have touched the lives of so many people.”
The song’s lyrics about Jesus always being there are shown in the powerful bridge and pre-chorus:
There was Jesus / On the mountains / In the valleys / There was Jesus / In the shadows / Of the alleys / There was Jesus / In the fire, in the flood / There was Jesus / Always is and always was, oh / No, I never walk alone / Never walk alone / You're always there.
* * *
Exodus 17:4
“So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people?”
Marettu Ninan Abraham was born of devout Christian believers in Kerala, India. He was on the path toward an excellent education that would have provided him with very prestigious and lucrative employment. This all changed in 1905. Abraham heard a sermon by the missionary Sherwood Eddy who spoke to a group of boys from the Syrian Church, challenging them to take up the cross and awaken their slumbering church. For weeks Abraham struggled with this challenge, before deciding to become a priest.
His call to become a missionary came from a visit to the United States.
Studying theology in Canada, he crossed into Buffalo, New York, where he was denied lodging at a hotel because of his skin color. In protest the Canadian students walked out of the hotel. They found lodging elsewhere but Abraham could not sleep because of the indignity he had endured. It brought to mind the way the Syrian church excluded outcastes in India. That solidified his determination to reach the untouchables.
Abraham was ordained a deacon in the Syrian church in 1911, he became a priest in 1915 and in 1917 a bishop. He tore down social barriers against untouchables, sending Indian missionaries to the lowest and neediest people. As a result of Abraham’s initiatives, young men and women went to live in villages across India, establishing ashrams, also known as religious retreats.
Abraham was a very spiritual individual. He practiced prayer and fasting. He read his Bible and prayed daily, rising at 4:30 to make sure he had time.
As a diabetic since 1926, Abraham died in 1947.
* * *
Exodus 17:2
“Give us water to drink.”
We know very little about Philip Pain. He was a New England poet. He drowned in a shipwreck in 1668. On July 19, 1666, he began a book of poetry titled Daily Meditations: Quotidian Preparations for and Considerations of Death and Eternity. He was unable to complete the book before he died, though he did write 64 stanzas. The seventieth meditation reflected on his own death. It reads:
Whilst in this world I stay, some hopes have I
That I shall reign in Heaven eternally
But when my time is past, and I am gone,
There’s no hope left for me to build upon.
Lord, grant me full assurance whilst that I
Am here, so willing I shall be to die.
* * *
Matthew 21:29
“He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went.”
The Seventh-Day Adventist was founded upon the idea of the immediate return of Christ. Now, more than a 150 years later, they are still expecting Christ’s return. When Lisa Beardsley-Hardy was a child, she thought every thunderstorm she heard meant the immediate return of Christ. When she was 54 in April 2013, with two children and two grandchildren she made this observation, “I’m getting back to waiting. But I’m kind of glad the Lord has tarried.”
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:Exodus 17:1-7
21 Days Without Complaining
The people of Israel, in their desert wanderings, could have used 21 days with Will Bowen. Bowen is well known for helping people quit complaining. “In 2006 Will Bowen was the minister of a small midwestern church delivering a series on prosperity. Will noticed that his congregation all said they wanted greater prosperity — that is: more stuff. But, they all complained about what they already had. He suggested everyone try and break the complaining habit by going 21 days in a row without complaining. Will gave purple rubber bracelets to everyone in attendance urging them to put the bracelet on either wrist and switch it to the other wrist with every spoken complaint.” Bowen says that we need 21 days without complaining to make it the way we live. Each day, non-complainers in training put on a rubber bracelet as a reminder of the challenge. When they complain, they switch the bracelet to the other wrist, and start again the next day. Complaining is so ingrained is us that Bowen says that it takes most people 4-8 months to reach 21 days without complaining.
In this quest, Bowen notes that “being complaint free isn’t about pretending there aren’t any challenges in our lives or in the world. And Bowen acknowledges that the expression of pain and grief is necessary in the face of traumatic events. But he reminds us that the majority of the time “our complaints are not sourced by such deeply painful experiences,” and “things are not really bad enough to warrant expressing grief, pain or discontent.” Complaining is just “our default setting,” he says. “It’s what we do.” So when something is dissatisfying, but doesn’t rise to the level of traumatic event, our goal is to recognize what’s wrong — and then focus on what we can do about it.”
The people of Israel get results from God with their complaints, and they also get locked into a negative relationship with God, a relationship focused on what is lacking instead of celebrating their freedom and learning to live as free people. Perhaps, without complaining, our relationships, would shift, too.
* * *
Philippians 2:1-13
Serving the People
Americans love firefighters. We admire them as heroes, particularly after 9/11, and our relationship with them is less complicated than with the police. They embody the words of the letter to the Philippians: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” One group of firefighters has been overlooked, and is now getting recognition for their experience, particularly in this desperate fire season in the West.
“In 2014, Brandon Smith — unemployed but trained as a wildland firefighter — applied for upwards of 15 positions at local and state fire departments in California. Qualified for the work after two years of firefighting, he spent nearly 18 months fielding rejections, not because of his credentials, but because he couldn’t pass a background check. One local department offered him a job, but then rescinded it when they saw he had formerly been incarcerated. There are thousands of other people like Smith, formerly incarcerated and trained as firefighters, who face a number of hurdles when applying for jobs. To overcome these systemic barriers, Smith and fellow wildland firefighter Royal Ramey founded the Fire and Forestry Recruitment Program, aimed at training and helping formerly incarcerated people find employment as firefighters. As the state enters the most catastrophic fire season on record, the work of wildland firefighters is more critical than ever, yet the state is facing a shortage of potential workers. For years, the state has lacked a formalized process for incorporating firefighters that have been incarcerated into its ranks. This year that could change.”
People in prison have long been essential to California’s firefighting, and this year, there are fewer people available to work because of Covid-required releases of non-violent prisoners. “This year alone, at least 7,000 wildfires have ravaged the state, compared with 7,860 wildfires that struck California in all of 2019. And it’s only September — normally the midpoint of fire season. The number of acres set ablaze ballooned as well: Last year, fires burned through 259,823 acres, whereas this year at least 1.6 million acres have already burned. Incarcerated firefighters play a critical role in managing the spread of potentially catastrophic fires, working at least 3 million hours each year…”
Brandon Smith says, “When I was in prison, I kind of took on what the world thought of me. [Firefighting] was really the pivot that recentered my life,” Smith says. Firefighting is more than a job. If offers him a way to serve others, and a way of moving through the world, which can be especially powerful for people who have been overlooked. “I matter,” Smith says. “I can help the community. I can personally atone for the challenges in my life by making the world a better place.” Let each of us look to the interests of others, as the Letter to the Philippians commends us.
* * *
Philippians 2:1-13
God on the Subway
The letter to the Philippians urges, “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
On a New York City subway train, Rick Hamlin recently had an experience that made the truth of this instruction clear to him. He had traveled from home on the subway to take a Covid test in preparation for a family reunion. He was headed home, masked and at a safe social distance from the other passengers, when the lights went out and the train stopped. He and the other passengers began to worry about the delay, and if the extended time on the train would become a way to catch Covid.
The conductor announced that there had been an accident. “Someone had fallen onto the tracks from the train going the other direction. The power had to be shut off for the rescue operation. As the story unfolded, you could feel the change of atmosphere in the train, this group of strangers pulling together, feeling the pain of the moment, compassion and sorrow. Were we scared? Yes, of course. I’d just tested negative for a scary virus and I was now in a situation that made me more vulnerable to catching it? How long would we be here?...One guy got up and opened the windows, attempting to give us more air. One woman stood up and announced that she was an internist and would be glad to help anyone suffering. The conductor came through, and she told him to let her know if any passengers needed help. Time went on. We chatted amongst ourselves, putting each other at ease. I was reminded of that feature of New York that I’ve always loved, the Big City that can turn itself into a caring small town at a moment’s notice. Even the conductor, when he came through the car explaining the tragic situation, asked us for prayer. Finally, after an hour, the driver lifted the brakes, the lights came back up, the power rumbled again through the train, one of those noises that I’d always found comforting, even more now. Slowly we pulled ahead, rumbling to the next station where I got off. One of the questions I hear repeatedly these days: When will things get back to normal? The incident made me want to reframe that question. How can we forget that as much as it’s natural for us to succumb to our fears, it’s as common for You, God, to be right there at hand, in community, in kindness, in strangers reaching out, in prayer.” “Let each of you look to the interests of others,” the letter says, and we can still do it, even when so much else is now lost to us.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: Give ear, O my people, to God’s teaching.
People: We will incline our ears to the words of wisdom.
Leader: Hear the sayings from of old that our ancestors told us.
People: We will not hide them from our children.
Leader: Let us tell of the glorious deeds of our God.
People: We will share God’s wonders to the next generation.
OR
Leader: God comes among us as our Creator and Sovereign.
People: We bow before the majesty of our God.
Leader: God comes among us as one of us.
People: We are humbled by God’s humility.
Leader: God comes among us in the midst of others.
People: We will seek to see God in all we meet.
Hymns and Songs:
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
How Like a Gentle Spirit
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
UMH: 175
H82: 642
PH: 310
NCH: 507
CH: 102
LBW: 316
ELW: 754
W&P: 420
AMEC: 464
Hope of the World
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
Take My Life, and Let It Be
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
The Gift of Love
UMH: 408
AAHH: 522
CH: 526
W&P: 397
Renew: 155
Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
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 comes to us in meekness and peace:
Grant us the grace to reflect your meekness
in all of our relationships with others;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you come to us meekly and peaceably. You offer yourself to us humbly. Help us to be true reflections of you by being in peace with all our neighbors. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our contentiousness and divisiveness.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have made us of one earth and filled us with one Spirit and yet we look for ways to find division among us. We look for anything that makes us different and we us that difference to claim we are better than others. We have better family lines; we have better taste; we are classier; we are better. We have lost sight of the Christ who came and took the form of a slave in order to draw all of us to you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might truly reflect your love. Amen.
Leader: God comes among us and welcomes us with all our flaws and failures enabling us to become what we were created to be: the reflection of the God who is Love.
Prayers of the People
We worship and adore you, O God, because though you are full of power and majesty, you come to us in tenderness and love. You embrace us as your very own children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have made us of one earth and filled us with one Spirit and yet we look for ways to find division among us. We look for anything that makes us different and we us that difference to claim we are better than others. We have better family lines; we have better taste; we are classier; we are better. We have lost sight of the Christ who came and took the form of a slave in order to draw all of us to you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might truly reflect your love.
We give you thanks for all the blessings you have given us. You have filled creation with beauty and with all that we need for an abundant and full life. In your love you come and dwell within us and among us. We have been blessed by many who have shared your Spirit of tender love with us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who find life hard and their neighbors to be oppressive and violent. We pray for those who have found hatred instead of love.
(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
Sharing can be hard sometimes. Especially if it is something we really, really like and there isn’t much of it. Maybe we have just a small piece of cake that we are going to eat and then a friend or a sister or brother comes in we know they would like to have a bite. But the Bible reminds us today that we are to look out for others. We must take care of each other. And there will be other pieces of cake. And nothing feels better than taking care of others and sharing God’s love with them.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONWater
by Dean Feldmeyer
Exodus 17:1-7
You will need: An 8 oz. glass, glass of water (so the kids can see the water.)
(Optional) A picture of the “Rock of Horeb.” (Just google that name.)
Say:
Good morning, boys and girls.
You know what this is, right? Yes, it’s water. Just good old, normal water. We don’t think about water very much, do we? Unless we’re thirsty. Then we think about water a lot! Being thirsty is the way our body tells us that we need some water.
When the people of Israel were in the wilderness, going from Egypt to the Promised Land, they ran out of water and they became very thirsty. Running out of water is serious, isn’t it?
We can live for about 30 days without food but we can live only about 5 days without water. More than half of your body (about 60%) is made up of water! Water is important!
So, the people complained to Moses that they were thirsty and they were afraid they were going to die if they didn’t get some water pretty soon. Moses went to God and said the people were thirsty and scared and they were getting mad at him and asked if God could do something to help.
God told Moses to go to the Rock at Horeb, this huge, V-shaped rock in the dessert just below Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai) and touch it with his staff. Moses did that and water began to flow out of the rock. Whoa! Pretty cool, huh? And the people had all the water they needed. They drank it, they bathed in it, they washed their clothing in it, and then they drank some more. And they were saved. God saved his people with a gift of water.
Well, did you know that there are people, today, who are like the people of Israel in the wilderness, people who do not have enough water? And if you don’t have enough water to drink, you probably don’t have enough food to eat.
People require about half a gallon of water, that’s about eight glasses like this (8 oz.) every day. And that’s just for drinking. If you count drinking, washing your hands, washing your clothing, taking baths, brushing your teeth, watering the plants that grow into the food you eat, and all the other thing we use water for, we each use about 150 gallons (about 2000 glasses like this) a day. But about a billion people on earth don’t have that much clean water to drink. In Africa, women walk an average of about 4 miles a day just to get water for their families.
And, here’s the thing that really surprised me: It takes about 6,800 gallons of water to grow enough food to feed a family of four people. If you turned on your garden hose full blast, it would take 12 hours to collect that much water. From noon to midnight.
Fortunately, God has saved us with the gift of water. Almost 2/3 of the earth is covered with water, but not all of it is usable for us. Most of it is salty or frozen. Only a little bit of it is good for drinking, but it’s enough, if we are careful about how we use it and don’t waste it. There’s enough water for everyone to have all they need. It is a gift from God and we don’t waste or throw away a valuable gift do we?
(End the message with a prayer thanking God for the gift of life saving and sustaining water.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 27, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 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.
