Occupy Your Faith
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
When Paul characterizes the nature of his ministry in this week's lectionary epistle passage, he notes that "our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery" and that "we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed" (1 Thessalonians 2:3, 5). Given those observations, it makes one wonder whether Paul might have found common cause with the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, which have now been taking place for a month and have spread virally to many other cities throughout the country and even the world. On the surface the demonstrations appear to have their genesis in deep frustration at what many perceive as rampant greed in the financial industry as well as a sense that there have been no significant consequences for the speculators who precipitated the 2008 crisis (and the massive government bailout) that sent the economy into a tailspin. On another level, the protests are also just the latest installment in a string of somewhat spontaneous, relatively leaderless uprisings that have occurred throughout the world this year, most notably in Tunisia and Egypt. What these movements all have in common is that their participants no longer have any confidence in their traditional leaders -- and have come to the conclusion that street protests are the only way to get their leaders' attention and change matters. As a recent New York Times editorial bluntly summarized: "... the chattering classes keep complaining that the [Occupy Wall Street] marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions. The message -- and the solutions -- should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention since the economy went into a recession... the problem is that no one in Washington has been listening."
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin points out that while those who are discomfited by the protest's focus on the lack of apparent leadership and a hierarchical structure, this week's lectionary texts offer us -- in the persons of Moses and Paul -- examples of leadership that isn't (as with so many of the leaders in today's world) more concerned with maintaining their position than being responsive to the community, and who provide us with a great deal of insight about what leadership ought to be and how it should impact our lives.
In addition, team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts about the "Occupy Wall Street" protests and the Tea Party protests, suggesting that in many respects they are two sides of the same coin -- it's just the identity of what needs to change that they disagree on. But in each case, Dean notes, the ultimate desire of these movements is to create pressure -- both inside and outside the prevailing system -- that will somehow force the fundamental change they believe is necessary. As Dean points out, though, that always involves in their minds those "others" who are causing our problems. Yet he suggests that this week's epistle and gospel passages nudge us in another direction -- rather than changing others through demands or deceit, we can change the world by looking within, changing our own hearts, and developing meaningful interpersonal relationships. In that sense, as the bumper sticker puts it, "The personal is the political."
Occupy Your Faith
by Mary Austin
Deuteronomy 34:1-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
The "Occupy Wall Street" protests in New York are day by day attracting more protesters, more publicity, and more reactions. Many people find the protests a place to vent their frustration with the economy and the lack of jobs in the "recovery." Others observe that the protesters "are not going to get jobs by protesting." Interestingly, the protests are now spreading to other cities but without formal leaders, without a printed manifesto, without even a formal list of changes that should be made. This kind of un-leadership, or anti-leadership, connects with the scriptures from Exodus and Philippians, which also focus on leadership.
THE WORLD
The anger behind the protests is easy to understand. In September, the Census Bureau reported that 2.6 million more people officially joined the ranks of the poor last year. A New York Times article by Sabrina Tavernise reporting on the government's data notes that "the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it."
In addition, median household income dropped to the level of 1996. As the article continues, "Economists pointed to a telling statistic: It was the first time since the Great Depression that median household income, adjusted for inflation, had not risen over such a long period, said Lawrence Katz, an economics professor at Harvard. 'This is truly a lost decade,' Mr. Katz said. 'We think of America as a place where every generation is doing better, but we're looking at a period when the median family is in worse shape than it was in the late 1990s.' " The article adds that, "The past decade was also marked by a growing gap between the very top and very bottom of the income ladder." Median household income at the bottom dropped by 12%, but the top income group fell by just 1.5%.
This spring saw young, unemployed people in the Arab world protesting in the streets and now similar protests have spread to the US. As we go to press, protests are planned in other cities around the world. As Kate Dailey notes in an article for BBC News: "The idea of bootstraps -- or that individuals are responsible for their own economic success and failures -- is one that's deeply rooted in American culture. The notion that if one works hard enough, one will reap the rewards is one of the basic tenets of the American dream." The article quotes economist Samuel Bowles of the Santa Fe Institute, who notes that the biggest indicator for success in America is not a level of merit or hard work, but the amount of wealth inherited from family members.
The protests are interesting -- so far, there's no one leader or even a small group of identifiable leaders. No celebrities are stopping by. It took a long time for national media coverage to develop. For many the protests have touched a nerve and people are joining the cause in other cities. Time will reveal whether being without a leader will lead to chaos or whether it will allow the protests to flourish.
THE WORD
The lectionary schedule of readings this year has followed Moses from the burning bush to Pharaoh's throne room to the edge of the Red Sea, and then to the top of Mount Sinai and back down again. This week's story finds him at the top of another mountain, looking at the Promised Land that he won't enter. Moses offers a model of leadership we don't see much of in our Twitter-heavy, media-savvy world. His ability to lead the people of Israel comes directly from his deep connection with God.
God has let Moses know that "the day of your death is near" (31:14). Moses tells the people that he won't be going with them but God will cross the Jordan River ahead of them, and Joshua will take his place. All of the preparations have been made, the law written down, and the people instructed. Moses gives his blessing to the people and then climbs Mount Nebo, where he can see the whole Promised Land.
Through all of that, there's no complaint that God is being unfair, no asking for another chance. At the end it's just Moses and God, two long-familiar companions looking at the new land from the top of the mountain. And that seems to be enough for Moses -- to be in the presence of God is sufficient. It's not about the glory, the accomplishment, or the personal satisfaction. The sheepherder who complained at the burning bush that he didn't have the skills God needed has become an unselfish leader of the people. His epitaph calls him "Moses, the servant of the Lord."
In First Thessalonians, Paul offers a similar kind of leadership, assuring the church at Thessalonika that his stay with them, while brief, was "not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition" (vv. 1b-2). Paul reminds them that his work as an apostle grows from his connection with God, and that his hope is for their growth in faith, not for any benefit for himself. He recalls for them that he loves them in a parental fashion, "like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children." The bond between them is based on love, and the goal is faith, not personal safety or glory. Adds Paul: "So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us" (v. 8).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The sermon might look at questions of what excellent leadership is and where we see it in our own lives. Moses and Paul offer us examples of leadership that looks to a greater source. God is the foundation of the power to lead. The same is true for us as church workers and as lay leaders and as people of faith who lead in other kinds of work. The daily scramble of life erodes that connection to God as we rush to accomplish things, and we can easily lose the link to our power's source. Moses and Paul are a rich example of the power that comes not from our own gifts, but from God working through us.
The leaderless "Occupy Wall Street" protests have developed as our elected leaders appear to be powerless, clueless, or captured by special interests. Everyone in Washington would argue that they're working for the common good but it looks quite different to much of the rest of the country. People who have power aren't using it for the common good and so powerless people have risen up to tell their own story.
Time will tell whether this movement without leaders will endure and spark change. In the meantime, it calls us to look at the kinds of leaders we have and the kinds of leaders we are.
ANOTHER VIEW
Clear, Concise, Consistent
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-40
Rage... fear... angst... anxiety... outrage... indignation... and the desire for change. Protest marches and demonstrations -- and the emotions that ignite them -- are as much a part of the American way of life as baseball and hot dogs.
Most say it all started with that first Tea Party in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, when some angry colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans and trespassed onto some ships, stole and vandalized the tea thereupon, and threw it into the sea. Thus they displayed their anger at being taxed by a government in which they had no voice.
Since then, whenever Americans thought that their voice was not being heard, their power being subverted, their rights being denied, they have gathered together, marched, and/or protested in some way.
Would the 19th amendment, granting voting rights to women, have been passed in 1919 without the suffragist movement, their marches, and the demonstrations in front of the White House in 1916 and 1917?
Would the Civil Rights Act have been passed in 1964 if Martin Luther King Jr. had not delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech before 250,000 people in front of the Washington Monument in 1963?
How long would the war in Vietnam have gone on and how many more lives would have been lost without the protests and marches that started as hippie demonstrations and grew to include college professors, movie stars, senators, and presidential candidates?
We shouldn't be surprised to see protests, marches, occupations, and demonstrations going on today. People who are angry or afraid or indignant or frustrated gather with other like-minded individuals and make a ruckus until the people in charge pay attention. They gather and wave flags, listen to music, hear speakers, and demonstrate in the hope that the news media will communicate their rage, fear, angst, outrage, indignation, and so forth to the world -- preferably to someone who will do something about the conditions at the root of it all.
On the right is the Tea Party; on the left is "Occupy Wall Street" and even though most of their adherents don't like being compared to the other, comparisons are inevitable. They are, after all, two sides of the same coin. Each group was born out of feelings of frustration and impotence, the inability of individual people to have a significant impact on the powers that control our country and our destiny.
So they gather in public and they wave flags and sing songs and shout their indignation with the expectation that those powers will change. It's the American Way.
Whether they are on the left or the right, "Occupy Wall Street" or Tea Party, they have these two things in common: 1) They struggle to find a clear, concise, consistent message that their members can all articulate and upon which they can all agree; and 2) Their goal is for their demonstrations to create pressure that will force other people to change. If only the state or the private sector will change, they believe, that all our problems will be solved.
Without asking us to declare the protestors -- left or right -- to be wrong or bad, the Gospel and Epistle lessons from this week offer a different model.
Asked what commandment is the greatest, Jesus offers a clear, concise, consistent answer: the Great Commandment. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." That is, with your whole self. Oh, and your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets, he tells his audience, is wrapped up in this clear, concise, consistent message.
Paul reminds us that the clear, concise, consistent message of Christianity is not aimed at changing other people but at changing ourselves. And once changed, our "selves," our gentle, kind, loving, honest, selves will change the world -- not through trickery or demands but through loving, supportive relationships.
ILLUSTRATIONS
It's all too easy for us to think that it's too hard for us to be the witnesses to our Lord that we'd like to be -- if only we didn't have so many difficulties in our life.
We sometimes think that if only our life were more like Paul's, then we could do more of our Lord's work, as he did.
The Bible has news for us. Paul tells the Thessalonians that he and his coworkers were badly mistreated by the people of Philippi as they tried to bring the good news to them and that he and his coworkers were "shamefully mistreated" and made to suffer.
Paul didn't let such difficulties stop the work. Instead, he says, he and his coworkers were "gentle" with the people, determined to share the good news with them -- even to share their own lives.
* * *
Ian Macpherson, a renowned biblical scholar who was the principal of Penygroses Bible College in South Wales, wrote this observation:
"I remember seeing once in a town in the north of England a shoemaker's shop, in the window of which was displayed a giant pair of shoes, almost a yard long, the work of the cobbler himself. Beside the shoes was a card with these words: 'Yours for nothing -- if you can wear them!' "
Moses had died and his successor, Joshua, was commissioned to lead the people into the Promised Land. It was a foreboding task, considering his leadership skills dwelled in the shadow of Moses. Yet, in faith, he believed the shoes of his calling were not too large to wear.
* * *
In T.S. Eliot's play The Cocktail Party, there is a young woman, Celia Coplestone, who had been involved in an illicit love affair but who had a moral awakening and abruptly ended the affair. Confused by her feelings and plagued by loneliness and listlessness, she visits her psychiatrist, Dr. Harcourt-Reilly. In his office she speaks these words: "It's not the feeling of anything I've done, which I might get away from, or of anything in me I could get rid of -- but of emptiness, or failure toward someone or something, outside of myself; and I feel I must atone -- is that the word?"
Coplestone was confused as to the proper use of the word "atonement" but not to its meaning. Before her feelings of self-loathing could leave her, she knew she needed to seek forgiveness and correct the problems associated with the illicit affair.
Moses sat on the mountaintop and could see the Promised Land that he could not enter. Those who followed him could also see the land beyond the Jordan River. They knew the water would remain a barrier if they did not atone of their sins and worship Yahweh.
* * *
A man once went to visit a friend who was a violin teacher. As he walked into his friend's house, he asked him, "Well, what's the good news?"
The old teacher gave him a sour look; it had not been a good day in the music-teaching business. Without a word the teacher picked up a tuning fork and struck it with a mallet. "There is the good news for today," he said. "That, my friend is A. It was A all day yesterday. It will be A all day tomorrow, next week, and for a thousand years. The soprano upstairs warbles off-key, the tenor next door sings his high notes flat, and the piano across the hall is out of tune. All around me is noise... but that, my friend, is A."
God is the one clear tone resounding throughout our lives, through all our seasons. Moses heard that tone throughout his life. As the people walked onward from Mount Nebo into the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership, they were singing it too.
* * *
It's one of the saddest, most poignant moments in all of scripture: the dying Moses leans against a rock on Mount Nebo, looking out over the Promised Land the Lord has told him he can never enter. The reason the Lord has given for this harsh judgment sounds like a flimsy one -- it has something to do with the episode at Massah-Meribah, when he produced water from a rock to satisfy the grumbling people. In that earlier passage, the fault appears to lie with the people rather than with their leader. Moses remained faithful to the Lord; it was the people's confidence that wavered. It hardly seems fair for Moses to take the fall.
But God has ruled. The judgment is what it is: Moses will not cross over. His young protégé Joshua will take up the staff of leadership and lead the people onward. Moses can only wait for death, reflecting back on all that has occurred in his rich and God-touched life, wondering about what could have been had the Lord permitted him to live just a little longer.
Moses might have been wondering in those moments what his life has been good for. The last forty years of it had been spent on increasingly pointless wanderings through desert places, leading an especially demanding and ungracious people. What has been the point of the last forty years? What has it all been for?
Moses may be wondering about his legacy, about what sort of mark he's leaving behind on the world. Sure, he's led the people through difficult times -- but have they learned anything? Sure, he's given them the law -- but can the people who were so eager to worship a golden calf be trusted to keep the law after he's gone?
What mark do any of us make on the world? Is it in bricks and mortar? Is it in works of art or the crafts of our hands? Is it in financial security preserved in our estates for the next generation? In fact, the most enduring things any of us will leave behind are living things -- our children (if we have them) and the other people our lives have touched. Unlike buildings or craftwork or financial investments, our investment in human life not only grows but regenerates itself, forever becoming young.
Though he must have been grieving for the Promised Land he would never see, Moses is still able to offer a blessing to those who come after him. That is also the important work for us when the day of our own departure from this earth draws near. We too will never see the full outcome of this life of ours but we can still bless those who come after.
* * *
Management and life-planning guru Stephen Covey wrote a book several years ago called First Things First (Simon & Schuster, 1994). It's sort of a handbook for living a joyful and productive life. Perhaps the best line in the book is its subtitle. Covey declares that the purpose of a human life can be summed up in four essential points, all of the beginning with the letter "L": "to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy."
On Mount Nebo Moses leaves a legacy, one that has nothing to do with gold and rich herds of livestock -- it is a spiritual legacy.
* * *
Christian sociologist Tony Campolo tells of a research project once conducted with people over the age of ninety. The interviewers asked these very elderly people, "As you look back on your life, what do you wish you had done differently?" Three answers emerged from a sizeable majority:
* They wished they had risked more;
* They wished they had spent more time in reflection; and
* They wished they had done more to leave a legacy -- something to pass on to the next generation.
* * *
A common belief among Americans is that "Rich may not be able to buy you love, friends, or happiness but poor can't buy you bread, books, or votes." Being rich is the American dream -- but unfortunately, the dream of riches can bankrupt us spiritually (and otherwise) and make us a burden to others.
* * *
Psalm 90 begins with these words: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." This is a beautiful confession that God created the universe in which we dwell. From the stars of the night sky to the waves splashing upon the beach, we know that the earth is His dwelling place, and it is our blessing to share it with the Creator.
Charles Kingsley (1819-1975), a priest in the Church of England, recognized this when he wrote this poetic stanza:
Nature, the old nurse, took
The child upon her knee,
Saying, here is a story-book
Thy Father hath written for thee.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
People: From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
Leader: For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past.
People: Turn, O God! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
Leader: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
People: so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
OR
Leader: Come to the God who is our strength.
People: We come to renew our lives in God.
Leader: God is our Creator and the only true source for our lives.
People: We come to renew our lives in the Spirit of God.
Leader: Jesus our Savior invites us into the power of God.
People: We come to be renewed as Jesus' disciples.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
Renew: 46
"Maker, in Whom We Live"
found in:
UMH: 88
"Many Gifts, One Spirit"
found in:
UMH: 114
NCH: 177
"All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded"
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELW: 757
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
found in:
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 650
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELW: 631
Renew: 196
"Spirit of the Living God"
found in:
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
"Make Me a Captive, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 378
"O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee"
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
"Make Me a Servant"
found in:
CCB: 90
"I Will Call Upon the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 9
Renew: 15
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who desires to connect with us and be with us: Grant us the faith to trust that in our relationship with you we will find all that we need to be faithful to our call as disciples; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, because you are the one is always true to your nature. We offer ourselves to you this day to fill us with your Spirit so that our true natures may be renewed in you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways we neglect to center our lives in the life and power of God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We know that you are the center of our being and the power by which we live. We know that it is in you that we live and breathe and have our being. Yet we do not take the time or the effort to spend quality time with you. We utter a quick, short prayer when we are in trouble but we don't wait upon you with silence and openness. We try to do things based on our own strength and our own talents. We often fall woefully short of our goals. Forgive us our foolishness and by the power of your Spirit so fill us with your presence that we may dare to achieve great things in your Name. Amen.
Leader: God is our strength and our hope. God comes to us and offers us the Spirit that we might truly live as God's forgiven, empowered people.
Prayer for Illumination
Open the eyes of our hearts, O God, and let us see the path you would lead us upon this day as you empower us with your own Spirit to be faithful followers of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and adore you, O God, because you are the one who exists in full community and yet holds the unity of your person.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We know that you are the center of our being and the power by which we live. We know that it is in you that we live and breathe and have our being. Yet we do not take the time or the effort to spend quality time with you. We utter a quick, short prayer when we are in trouble, but we don't wait upon you with silence and openness. We try to do things based on our own strength and our own talents. We often fall woefully short of our goals. Forgive us our foolishness and by the power of your Spirit so fill us with your presence that we may dare to achieve great things in your Name.
We give you thanks for all the ways you stay in contact with us, encouraging us to draw our life and strength from you. We thank you for those who have taught us how to open our lives to you.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our needs. We pray for the faithfulness to stay in touch with you so that we may faithfully use the talents and gifts you give us for ministry to your world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Bring an electric appliance (don't have it plugged in) and tell the children that you are going to use it. Try to use it and then tell the children you don't know what is wrong with it because it worked fine earlier this morning. When the children tell you that it is not plugged in, plug it in and show that it does work. Then talk to the children about how we can try to be a disciple of Jesus, but if we are not plugged into God we won't work very well. We need to be plugged in through prayer, Bible reading, and worship.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Truth, Not Tricks
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Object: a deck of cards (preferably one with pictures)
Good morning, boys and girls! I brought this deck of cards today so I could show you a card trick. [Any card trick will do. You may know a better one than the one outlined here.] Somebody pick one of the cards out of this deck and look at it. Be sure that I don't see it. (Hold out the deck of cards and have one of the children pick out the card.) Now put it back in the deck and I will shuffle the deck. (Have the child replace the card in the deck. If you use a deck with pictures, pre-arrange the deck so that all the pictures face in the same direction. Then when the child puts the card back, make sure he or she inserts it in the opposite direction.) Do you think I can pick that card out of the deck now that it's been shuffled? (let them answer) Well, actually I can. (Go through the deck, pick the card with the picture which is upside-down from the others, and show them the card that was picked.) How do you think I was able to do that? Do you think I have supernatural power? (let them answer) No, of course I don't. Here is how the trick is done. (Demonstrate how you were able to find the card that was picked.)
Now some people have always thought that all the miracles in the Bible are just tricks but that isn't true. All the miracles in the Bible are true and the good news of the Bible that God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us is also true. It's not a trick!
In one of Saint Paul's letters, he told the Christians to whom he was writing that his appeal to them was not based on trickery but on the truth of the gospel. He wanted them to know that what he was preaching to them about Jesus was true. Jesus really did die on the cross to pay for our sins, and he rose again from the dead on Easter morning. That really was good news for them, and it is good news for us. No tricks!
Let's thank God for telling us the truth and not playing tricks on us.
Prayer: Dear God, we are so grateful that you always tell us the truth and that we can trust in your every word. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 23, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin points out that while those who are discomfited by the protest's focus on the lack of apparent leadership and a hierarchical structure, this week's lectionary texts offer us -- in the persons of Moses and Paul -- examples of leadership that isn't (as with so many of the leaders in today's world) more concerned with maintaining their position than being responsive to the community, and who provide us with a great deal of insight about what leadership ought to be and how it should impact our lives.
In addition, team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts about the "Occupy Wall Street" protests and the Tea Party protests, suggesting that in many respects they are two sides of the same coin -- it's just the identity of what needs to change that they disagree on. But in each case, Dean notes, the ultimate desire of these movements is to create pressure -- both inside and outside the prevailing system -- that will somehow force the fundamental change they believe is necessary. As Dean points out, though, that always involves in their minds those "others" who are causing our problems. Yet he suggests that this week's epistle and gospel passages nudge us in another direction -- rather than changing others through demands or deceit, we can change the world by looking within, changing our own hearts, and developing meaningful interpersonal relationships. In that sense, as the bumper sticker puts it, "The personal is the political."
Occupy Your Faith
by Mary Austin
Deuteronomy 34:1-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
The "Occupy Wall Street" protests in New York are day by day attracting more protesters, more publicity, and more reactions. Many people find the protests a place to vent their frustration with the economy and the lack of jobs in the "recovery." Others observe that the protesters "are not going to get jobs by protesting." Interestingly, the protests are now spreading to other cities but without formal leaders, without a printed manifesto, without even a formal list of changes that should be made. This kind of un-leadership, or anti-leadership, connects with the scriptures from Exodus and Philippians, which also focus on leadership.
THE WORLD
The anger behind the protests is easy to understand. In September, the Census Bureau reported that 2.6 million more people officially joined the ranks of the poor last year. A New York Times article by Sabrina Tavernise reporting on the government's data notes that "the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it."
In addition, median household income dropped to the level of 1996. As the article continues, "Economists pointed to a telling statistic: It was the first time since the Great Depression that median household income, adjusted for inflation, had not risen over such a long period, said Lawrence Katz, an economics professor at Harvard. 'This is truly a lost decade,' Mr. Katz said. 'We think of America as a place where every generation is doing better, but we're looking at a period when the median family is in worse shape than it was in the late 1990s.' " The article adds that, "The past decade was also marked by a growing gap between the very top and very bottom of the income ladder." Median household income at the bottom dropped by 12%, but the top income group fell by just 1.5%.
This spring saw young, unemployed people in the Arab world protesting in the streets and now similar protests have spread to the US. As we go to press, protests are planned in other cities around the world. As Kate Dailey notes in an article for BBC News: "The idea of bootstraps -- or that individuals are responsible for their own economic success and failures -- is one that's deeply rooted in American culture. The notion that if one works hard enough, one will reap the rewards is one of the basic tenets of the American dream." The article quotes economist Samuel Bowles of the Santa Fe Institute, who notes that the biggest indicator for success in America is not a level of merit or hard work, but the amount of wealth inherited from family members.
The protests are interesting -- so far, there's no one leader or even a small group of identifiable leaders. No celebrities are stopping by. It took a long time for national media coverage to develop. For many the protests have touched a nerve and people are joining the cause in other cities. Time will reveal whether being without a leader will lead to chaos or whether it will allow the protests to flourish.
THE WORD
The lectionary schedule of readings this year has followed Moses from the burning bush to Pharaoh's throne room to the edge of the Red Sea, and then to the top of Mount Sinai and back down again. This week's story finds him at the top of another mountain, looking at the Promised Land that he won't enter. Moses offers a model of leadership we don't see much of in our Twitter-heavy, media-savvy world. His ability to lead the people of Israel comes directly from his deep connection with God.
God has let Moses know that "the day of your death is near" (31:14). Moses tells the people that he won't be going with them but God will cross the Jordan River ahead of them, and Joshua will take his place. All of the preparations have been made, the law written down, and the people instructed. Moses gives his blessing to the people and then climbs Mount Nebo, where he can see the whole Promised Land.
Through all of that, there's no complaint that God is being unfair, no asking for another chance. At the end it's just Moses and God, two long-familiar companions looking at the new land from the top of the mountain. And that seems to be enough for Moses -- to be in the presence of God is sufficient. It's not about the glory, the accomplishment, or the personal satisfaction. The sheepherder who complained at the burning bush that he didn't have the skills God needed has become an unselfish leader of the people. His epitaph calls him "Moses, the servant of the Lord."
In First Thessalonians, Paul offers a similar kind of leadership, assuring the church at Thessalonika that his stay with them, while brief, was "not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition" (vv. 1b-2). Paul reminds them that his work as an apostle grows from his connection with God, and that his hope is for their growth in faith, not for any benefit for himself. He recalls for them that he loves them in a parental fashion, "like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children." The bond between them is based on love, and the goal is faith, not personal safety or glory. Adds Paul: "So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us" (v. 8).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The sermon might look at questions of what excellent leadership is and where we see it in our own lives. Moses and Paul offer us examples of leadership that looks to a greater source. God is the foundation of the power to lead. The same is true for us as church workers and as lay leaders and as people of faith who lead in other kinds of work. The daily scramble of life erodes that connection to God as we rush to accomplish things, and we can easily lose the link to our power's source. Moses and Paul are a rich example of the power that comes not from our own gifts, but from God working through us.
The leaderless "Occupy Wall Street" protests have developed as our elected leaders appear to be powerless, clueless, or captured by special interests. Everyone in Washington would argue that they're working for the common good but it looks quite different to much of the rest of the country. People who have power aren't using it for the common good and so powerless people have risen up to tell their own story.
Time will tell whether this movement without leaders will endure and spark change. In the meantime, it calls us to look at the kinds of leaders we have and the kinds of leaders we are.
ANOTHER VIEW
Clear, Concise, Consistent
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-40
Rage... fear... angst... anxiety... outrage... indignation... and the desire for change. Protest marches and demonstrations -- and the emotions that ignite them -- are as much a part of the American way of life as baseball and hot dogs.
Most say it all started with that first Tea Party in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, when some angry colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans and trespassed onto some ships, stole and vandalized the tea thereupon, and threw it into the sea. Thus they displayed their anger at being taxed by a government in which they had no voice.
Since then, whenever Americans thought that their voice was not being heard, their power being subverted, their rights being denied, they have gathered together, marched, and/or protested in some way.
Would the 19th amendment, granting voting rights to women, have been passed in 1919 without the suffragist movement, their marches, and the demonstrations in front of the White House in 1916 and 1917?
Would the Civil Rights Act have been passed in 1964 if Martin Luther King Jr. had not delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech before 250,000 people in front of the Washington Monument in 1963?
How long would the war in Vietnam have gone on and how many more lives would have been lost without the protests and marches that started as hippie demonstrations and grew to include college professors, movie stars, senators, and presidential candidates?
We shouldn't be surprised to see protests, marches, occupations, and demonstrations going on today. People who are angry or afraid or indignant or frustrated gather with other like-minded individuals and make a ruckus until the people in charge pay attention. They gather and wave flags, listen to music, hear speakers, and demonstrate in the hope that the news media will communicate their rage, fear, angst, outrage, indignation, and so forth to the world -- preferably to someone who will do something about the conditions at the root of it all.
On the right is the Tea Party; on the left is "Occupy Wall Street" and even though most of their adherents don't like being compared to the other, comparisons are inevitable. They are, after all, two sides of the same coin. Each group was born out of feelings of frustration and impotence, the inability of individual people to have a significant impact on the powers that control our country and our destiny.
So they gather in public and they wave flags and sing songs and shout their indignation with the expectation that those powers will change. It's the American Way.
Whether they are on the left or the right, "Occupy Wall Street" or Tea Party, they have these two things in common: 1) They struggle to find a clear, concise, consistent message that their members can all articulate and upon which they can all agree; and 2) Their goal is for their demonstrations to create pressure that will force other people to change. If only the state or the private sector will change, they believe, that all our problems will be solved.
Without asking us to declare the protestors -- left or right -- to be wrong or bad, the Gospel and Epistle lessons from this week offer a different model.
Asked what commandment is the greatest, Jesus offers a clear, concise, consistent answer: the Great Commandment. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." That is, with your whole self. Oh, and your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets, he tells his audience, is wrapped up in this clear, concise, consistent message.
Paul reminds us that the clear, concise, consistent message of Christianity is not aimed at changing other people but at changing ourselves. And once changed, our "selves," our gentle, kind, loving, honest, selves will change the world -- not through trickery or demands but through loving, supportive relationships.
ILLUSTRATIONS
It's all too easy for us to think that it's too hard for us to be the witnesses to our Lord that we'd like to be -- if only we didn't have so many difficulties in our life.
We sometimes think that if only our life were more like Paul's, then we could do more of our Lord's work, as he did.
The Bible has news for us. Paul tells the Thessalonians that he and his coworkers were badly mistreated by the people of Philippi as they tried to bring the good news to them and that he and his coworkers were "shamefully mistreated" and made to suffer.
Paul didn't let such difficulties stop the work. Instead, he says, he and his coworkers were "gentle" with the people, determined to share the good news with them -- even to share their own lives.
* * *
Ian Macpherson, a renowned biblical scholar who was the principal of Penygroses Bible College in South Wales, wrote this observation:
"I remember seeing once in a town in the north of England a shoemaker's shop, in the window of which was displayed a giant pair of shoes, almost a yard long, the work of the cobbler himself. Beside the shoes was a card with these words: 'Yours for nothing -- if you can wear them!' "
Moses had died and his successor, Joshua, was commissioned to lead the people into the Promised Land. It was a foreboding task, considering his leadership skills dwelled in the shadow of Moses. Yet, in faith, he believed the shoes of his calling were not too large to wear.
* * *
In T.S. Eliot's play The Cocktail Party, there is a young woman, Celia Coplestone, who had been involved in an illicit love affair but who had a moral awakening and abruptly ended the affair. Confused by her feelings and plagued by loneliness and listlessness, she visits her psychiatrist, Dr. Harcourt-Reilly. In his office she speaks these words: "It's not the feeling of anything I've done, which I might get away from, or of anything in me I could get rid of -- but of emptiness, or failure toward someone or something, outside of myself; and I feel I must atone -- is that the word?"
Coplestone was confused as to the proper use of the word "atonement" but not to its meaning. Before her feelings of self-loathing could leave her, she knew she needed to seek forgiveness and correct the problems associated with the illicit affair.
Moses sat on the mountaintop and could see the Promised Land that he could not enter. Those who followed him could also see the land beyond the Jordan River. They knew the water would remain a barrier if they did not atone of their sins and worship Yahweh.
* * *
A man once went to visit a friend who was a violin teacher. As he walked into his friend's house, he asked him, "Well, what's the good news?"
The old teacher gave him a sour look; it had not been a good day in the music-teaching business. Without a word the teacher picked up a tuning fork and struck it with a mallet. "There is the good news for today," he said. "That, my friend is A. It was A all day yesterday. It will be A all day tomorrow, next week, and for a thousand years. The soprano upstairs warbles off-key, the tenor next door sings his high notes flat, and the piano across the hall is out of tune. All around me is noise... but that, my friend, is A."
God is the one clear tone resounding throughout our lives, through all our seasons. Moses heard that tone throughout his life. As the people walked onward from Mount Nebo into the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership, they were singing it too.
* * *
It's one of the saddest, most poignant moments in all of scripture: the dying Moses leans against a rock on Mount Nebo, looking out over the Promised Land the Lord has told him he can never enter. The reason the Lord has given for this harsh judgment sounds like a flimsy one -- it has something to do with the episode at Massah-Meribah, when he produced water from a rock to satisfy the grumbling people. In that earlier passage, the fault appears to lie with the people rather than with their leader. Moses remained faithful to the Lord; it was the people's confidence that wavered. It hardly seems fair for Moses to take the fall.
But God has ruled. The judgment is what it is: Moses will not cross over. His young protégé Joshua will take up the staff of leadership and lead the people onward. Moses can only wait for death, reflecting back on all that has occurred in his rich and God-touched life, wondering about what could have been had the Lord permitted him to live just a little longer.
Moses might have been wondering in those moments what his life has been good for. The last forty years of it had been spent on increasingly pointless wanderings through desert places, leading an especially demanding and ungracious people. What has been the point of the last forty years? What has it all been for?
Moses may be wondering about his legacy, about what sort of mark he's leaving behind on the world. Sure, he's led the people through difficult times -- but have they learned anything? Sure, he's given them the law -- but can the people who were so eager to worship a golden calf be trusted to keep the law after he's gone?
What mark do any of us make on the world? Is it in bricks and mortar? Is it in works of art or the crafts of our hands? Is it in financial security preserved in our estates for the next generation? In fact, the most enduring things any of us will leave behind are living things -- our children (if we have them) and the other people our lives have touched. Unlike buildings or craftwork or financial investments, our investment in human life not only grows but regenerates itself, forever becoming young.
Though he must have been grieving for the Promised Land he would never see, Moses is still able to offer a blessing to those who come after him. That is also the important work for us when the day of our own departure from this earth draws near. We too will never see the full outcome of this life of ours but we can still bless those who come after.
* * *
Management and life-planning guru Stephen Covey wrote a book several years ago called First Things First (Simon & Schuster, 1994). It's sort of a handbook for living a joyful and productive life. Perhaps the best line in the book is its subtitle. Covey declares that the purpose of a human life can be summed up in four essential points, all of the beginning with the letter "L": "to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy."
On Mount Nebo Moses leaves a legacy, one that has nothing to do with gold and rich herds of livestock -- it is a spiritual legacy.
* * *
Christian sociologist Tony Campolo tells of a research project once conducted with people over the age of ninety. The interviewers asked these very elderly people, "As you look back on your life, what do you wish you had done differently?" Three answers emerged from a sizeable majority:
* They wished they had risked more;
* They wished they had spent more time in reflection; and
* They wished they had done more to leave a legacy -- something to pass on to the next generation.
* * *
A common belief among Americans is that "Rich may not be able to buy you love, friends, or happiness but poor can't buy you bread, books, or votes." Being rich is the American dream -- but unfortunately, the dream of riches can bankrupt us spiritually (and otherwise) and make us a burden to others.
* * *
Psalm 90 begins with these words: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." This is a beautiful confession that God created the universe in which we dwell. From the stars of the night sky to the waves splashing upon the beach, we know that the earth is His dwelling place, and it is our blessing to share it with the Creator.
Charles Kingsley (1819-1975), a priest in the Church of England, recognized this when he wrote this poetic stanza:
Nature, the old nurse, took
The child upon her knee,
Saying, here is a story-book
Thy Father hath written for thee.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: God, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
People: From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
Leader: For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past.
People: Turn, O God! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
Leader: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
People: so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
OR
Leader: Come to the God who is our strength.
People: We come to renew our lives in God.
Leader: God is our Creator and the only true source for our lives.
People: We come to renew our lives in the Spirit of God.
Leader: Jesus our Savior invites us into the power of God.
People: We come to be renewed as Jesus' disciples.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
Renew: 46
"Maker, in Whom We Live"
found in:
UMH: 88
"Many Gifts, One Spirit"
found in:
UMH: 114
NCH: 177
"All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded"
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELW: 757
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
found in:
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 650
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELW: 631
Renew: 196
"Spirit of the Living God"
found in:
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
"Make Me a Captive, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 378
"O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee"
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
"Make Me a Servant"
found in:
CCB: 90
"I Will Call Upon the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 9
Renew: 15
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who desires to connect with us and be with us: Grant us the faith to trust that in our relationship with you we will find all that we need to be faithful to our call as disciples; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, because you are the one is always true to your nature. We offer ourselves to you this day to fill us with your Spirit so that our true natures may be renewed in you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways we neglect to center our lives in the life and power of God.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We know that you are the center of our being and the power by which we live. We know that it is in you that we live and breathe and have our being. Yet we do not take the time or the effort to spend quality time with you. We utter a quick, short prayer when we are in trouble but we don't wait upon you with silence and openness. We try to do things based on our own strength and our own talents. We often fall woefully short of our goals. Forgive us our foolishness and by the power of your Spirit so fill us with your presence that we may dare to achieve great things in your Name. Amen.
Leader: God is our strength and our hope. God comes to us and offers us the Spirit that we might truly live as God's forgiven, empowered people.
Prayer for Illumination
Open the eyes of our hearts, O God, and let us see the path you would lead us upon this day as you empower us with your own Spirit to be faithful followers of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and adore you, O God, because you are the one who exists in full community and yet holds the unity of your person.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We know that you are the center of our being and the power by which we live. We know that it is in you that we live and breathe and have our being. Yet we do not take the time or the effort to spend quality time with you. We utter a quick, short prayer when we are in trouble, but we don't wait upon you with silence and openness. We try to do things based on our own strength and our own talents. We often fall woefully short of our goals. Forgive us our foolishness and by the power of your Spirit so fill us with your presence that we may dare to achieve great things in your Name.
We give you thanks for all the ways you stay in contact with us, encouraging us to draw our life and strength from you. We thank you for those who have taught us how to open our lives to you.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our needs. We pray for the faithfulness to stay in touch with you so that we may faithfully use the talents and gifts you give us for ministry to your world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Bring an electric appliance (don't have it plugged in) and tell the children that you are going to use it. Try to use it and then tell the children you don't know what is wrong with it because it worked fine earlier this morning. When the children tell you that it is not plugged in, plug it in and show that it does work. Then talk to the children about how we can try to be a disciple of Jesus, but if we are not plugged into God we won't work very well. We need to be plugged in through prayer, Bible reading, and worship.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Truth, Not Tricks
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Object: a deck of cards (preferably one with pictures)
Good morning, boys and girls! I brought this deck of cards today so I could show you a card trick. [Any card trick will do. You may know a better one than the one outlined here.] Somebody pick one of the cards out of this deck and look at it. Be sure that I don't see it. (Hold out the deck of cards and have one of the children pick out the card.) Now put it back in the deck and I will shuffle the deck. (Have the child replace the card in the deck. If you use a deck with pictures, pre-arrange the deck so that all the pictures face in the same direction. Then when the child puts the card back, make sure he or she inserts it in the opposite direction.) Do you think I can pick that card out of the deck now that it's been shuffled? (let them answer) Well, actually I can. (Go through the deck, pick the card with the picture which is upside-down from the others, and show them the card that was picked.) How do you think I was able to do that? Do you think I have supernatural power? (let them answer) No, of course I don't. Here is how the trick is done. (Demonstrate how you were able to find the card that was picked.)
Now some people have always thought that all the miracles in the Bible are just tricks but that isn't true. All the miracles in the Bible are true and the good news of the Bible that God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us is also true. It's not a trick!
In one of Saint Paul's letters, he told the Christians to whom he was writing that his appeal to them was not based on trickery but on the truth of the gospel. He wanted them to know that what he was preaching to them about Jesus was true. Jesus really did die on the cross to pay for our sins, and he rose again from the dead on Easter morning. That really was good news for them, and it is good news for us. No tricks!
Let's thank God for telling us the truth and not playing tricks on us.
Prayer: Dear God, we are so grateful that you always tell us the truth and that we can trust in your every word. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 23, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 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.
