Our Super Powers
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
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For November 7, 2021:
Our Super Powers
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 12:38-44
In the 2017 movie “Justice League,” there is an early scene where Bruce Wayne (Batman) is assembling people with superpowers, or what he calls “special abilities,” to join together to fight a yet unknown evil that he believes will devastate the world.
The third person he goes to is Barry Allen (The Flash), who is an easy recruit because he is kind of nerdy and is desperate for friends.
As they walk to Wayne’s car, The Flash explains his hyper-speed abilities and why they require him to consume massive amounts of calories every day. Then, having shared and explained his superpower, he asks Wayne, “So, what are your superpowers again?”
Batman turns to him and says, completely deadpan: “I’m rich.”
In the Bible
In this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus makes much the same observation, not about himself but about the scribes. They, too, have superpowers.
Their wealth. Their erudition. Their social standing. All of these gave them power but they refused to use these powers for good. Instead, they used them as means of accumulating greater wealth and power. Often this was done through the practice of usury, making loans to the poor at extremely high and unpayable interest rates and then confiscating the property of those who couldn’t repay the debt.
So reprehensible was this practice in first-century Judaism that the most common Hebrew word for usury had the same meaning as “snakebite.” And yet, here are the leaders of the religious community, practicing it with impunity because their ostentatious displays of religiosity and their lavish contributions to the religious establishment have placed them beyond criticism.
They wear the right clothes, say the right phrases, raise their hands during the prayers, clap to the contemporary praise songs, smile brightly, and sit in the front pews so everyone can see them doing it. When the offering plate comes around, they like to place a large bill right there on the top, face up, so everyone can see how much they gave. And everyone does see and admire them for their generosity.
But Jesus points out, while what they give is a large amount, it is a pittance compared to how much they keep for themselves. Their gifts don’t represent any kind of personal sacrifice. Their offerings come from their excess.
On the other hand, there is a poor widow whose gift represents all that she has. But because it’s a small amount it goes unnoticed and unremarked by the church.
So, Jesus’ ethical/moral judgement of the two givers in this story is based not on how much they give but on how much they keep for themselves.
In the News
They are calling it the “Billionaires Tax.”
Here, according to CBS News, is what it is and how it would work:
Democrats are considering a new tax on billionaires that would help fund their proposed multi-trillion-dollar social spending package. As proposed, it would impact only those taxpayers with more than $1 billion in assets, or those with incomes of more than $100 million for three consecutive years. That’s about 700-800 of the wealthiest people in America.
Says Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon: "We expect that these billionaires, and there's something like less than 800, who made close to $2 trillion during the pandemic, would pay a tax, their fair share, every year just like nurses and firefighters.”
Under current law, people who own stocks pay taxes on the value of the stocks only when they sell them and realize a gain on their investment. Under the Billionaires Tax, billionaires would pay taxes on the increased value of the stocks, or other assets, every year that the value increases.
So, for instance, let’s say you are one of those 700 billionaires and you bought $1 million worth of stock in the ABC Company and, over the course of the year, the stock increased in value to $1.5 million. Under the Billionaires Tax, at the end of the year, you would have to pay income tax (about 20%) on the $500,000 increase.
Chuck Marr, a tax expert with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, made this comment about the proposed tax: "When Jeff Bezos' stock holdings grow by $10 billion & he has an $80,000 salary, he should be taxed as a person with $10 billion in income, not like a middle-class wage-earner…A billionaire's tax makes sense — it's just basic Econ 101 & Accounting 101."
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation says that the billionaire's tax could raise $200 billion to $250 billion of revenue over a decade.
What do billionaires say? Tesla founder Elon Musk — the world's richest person, with an estimated wealth of $288 billion — uses a version of the “slippery slope” or “camel’s nose” argument. He wants us to believe that “if they can do it to me, they’ll eventually do it to you.”
If the behavior of these ultra-wealthy billionaires for the past few months is any indicator, their response is more and greater than Elon Musk’s feeble camel’s nose. In order to keep from paying what is being called their “fair share” in taxes, dollars that would help to feed the poor, the elderly, the sick and injured, the orphaned and the oppressed, and rebuild our country’s infrastructure, they have chosen to hide their assets in offshore accounts some of which were exposed in the Pandora Papers.
Or, they use their money to build rocket ships and shoot themselves and their friends into the lower reaches of outer space. Or, they use their income to simply create more and greater income, the accumulation of which gives them more power to influence politicians and write laws that favor them and their companies.
Of course, the argument can be made, in their defense, that these billionaires give away millions of dollars to charities every year.
However, Fox Business reports that according to University of California Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman, the richest Americans actually donate very little of their fortune each year. Zucman pulled data from Forbes’ ranking of billionaires, and its recently released list of the 50 Americans who donated the most money to charitable causes in 2018.
Even though the top philanthropists in the country are among the richest Americans, the amount they give annually accounts for a tiny percentage of their overall fortune, according to Zucman.
For instance, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who was worth a staggering $160 billion in 2018 (prior to his divorce), gave about $131 million to charity last year — a mere 0.1 percent of his total fortune. A 6 percent tax on those worth more than $1 billion, Bezos would have paid about $9.5 billion in taxes in 2018.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, worth $88 billion in 2018, gave $3.4 billion to charity, or roughly 3.9 percent of his fortune. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, worth $97 billion, gave away $2.5 billion, or 2.6 percent of his fortune, according to the data. Mark Zuckerberg, worth $61 billion, donated $410 million, or 0.7 percent.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the 10th richest American, had $51.8 billion and gave about 1.5 percent of his fortune — or $767 million — to charity in 2018.
The bare fact is that, if wealth is a super power, many of the wealthiest people in America are hiding theirs under a bushel of foreign banks and extravagant toys when they could be using it to help the poor, the sick, the injured, the abandoned and the hopeless.
If, as Jesus suggests, we are judged not by how much we give but by how much we keep for ourselves, then there’s going to be a long line of billionaires waiting at the pearly gates with “some ’splaining to do.”
But what of us? What are we doing with our wealth?
In the Sermon
Me? What do you mean, me? I’m not rich!
Well, yeah, we kinda are.
According to Rakesh Kochhar, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, 56% of Americans are high-income by world standards.
On a global scale, the vast majority of Americans are either upper-middle income or high income. And many Americans who are classified as “poor” by the US government would be middle income globally.
Financially speaking, the US stands well above the rest of the world. More than half (56%) of Americans were high income by the global standard, living on more than $50 per day in 2011, the latest year that could be analyzed with the available data. Another 32% were upper-middle income. In other words, almost 9-in-10 Americans had a standard of living that was above the global middle-income standard. Only 7% of people in the US were middle income, 3% were low income and 2% were poor.
This is not to say that the US does not struggle with issues of income inequality and poverty. But given the much higher standard of living in the US, what is considered poor here is a level of income still not available to most people globally.
In 2011, the official poverty line in the US was $23,021 for a family of four, or $15.77 per day per person, considerably higher than that $10 per day standard for “middle income” globally.
The Pew study concludes that the majority of Americans are part of the global high-income population that resides almost exclusively in Europe and North America. These two regions account for 87% of the global high-income population.
But forget about cash. Let’s talk life style.
Economist and historian Robert Heilbroner reportedly said that for a typical American family to live like 2/3 of the rest of the world, they would have to give up the luxuries of furniture, appliances, clothes, food, water, electricity, media, literacy, government services, and nearly all of their money.
In her “More Than a Mission Trip” Blog, Victoria Skyvalidas uses Heilbroner’s observation to springboard into a discussion of what she considers the “four main simple things that most Americans take for granted.” They are:
We can save the planet by limiting emissions created by fossil fuels.
Or, we can shoot each other into space, build mansions, sail in yachts, adorn ourselves with gold and precious stones, and make a show of being religious.
The decision is ours. But as we decide, let us also remember the lesson of this gospel text: God judges our so-called generosity not by how much we give, but by how much we keep for ourselves.
We Are Connected
by Tom Willadsen
Isaiah 25:6-9, Revelation 21:1-6a, John 11:32-44, Psalm 24
Perhaps the diplomats, officials, scientists and negotiators in Glasgow can be regarded as saints. Like the Protestant understanding of saints — we are essential to one another’s existence. No individual can hope to solve global warming, it will require people of all nations to pull together with unity and determination.
In the Bible
Protestants do not recognize individual saints. For us, saints are always a community. Always. Other names for saints could be “believers” or “church members.” Everyone who is in Christ is a saint; we’re all saints. We just do not use the term often. If someone were to ask me how many saints there are in the church I serve, I would probably think it’s a trick question. But if I were to answer honestly, with biblical accuracy, I would say, “all of them.”
“Saints” appears a few times in the psalms, but is most conspicuous in Paul’s correspondence to the first Christian churches. Paul always sends greetings to the saints in other communities, asking to be remembered to the saints in the communities where he has made friends and started churches. Here’s the part of All Saints Day that Protestants should own: the word appears in the Bible, so we ought to take it seriously. Every place it appears in the Bible, it is plural. (The only exception is when Paul conveys greetings “to every saint in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:21, NRSV)
The passage from Isaiah describes a time of universal abundance, a feast for all peoples. Note that peoples is plural; all nations are on the mountain with God, enjoying rich food and well-aged wine. That means that nations that have been at war will sit down together. The disgrace of all nations will be erased. The Lord of hosts “will swallow up death forever.”
Both the readings from Revelation and Isaiah promise that the Lord will wipe away every tear. Revelation is a little more specific, indicating that “mourning and crying and pain will be no more.”
I cannot read these images without observing that it never made sense to me that the forces of evil in the Harry Potter universe were called Death Eaters. It seems to me, eating death is precisely what God promises in Isaiah; isn’t that a good thing? The best possible thing?
Looking at the reading from John’s gospel shows that All Saints Day can only be bitter and sweet. Consider the friendship Jesus had with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Rather than looking at the miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life after four days, I want you to notice the community and how the community acted when Jesus arrived. Mary was weeping, and she had other mourners with her, all weeping. Jesus was deeply moved, empathic. Then Jesus himself wept. If you ever doubt that Jesus was fully human, point to this verse. Jesus cried with other people who were crying because someone they love had died. They were all in this together. That’s what saints do.
Psalm 24 begins memorably:
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world and those who live in it.
For a kid who grew up singing “He’s got the whole world in his hands” at vacation Bible school this is a word we’ve carried with us all our lives. And the readings from Isaiah and Revelation foretell (promise?) a peaceful, happy ending for all people and all peoples.
Today’s readings read in the context of rapid, perhaps unstoppable, global warming, a pandemic that has ground on for more than a year and a half describe something that can only be imagined, and only achieved by the loving, supreme Lord of all.
In the News
I see two news angles for All Saints’ Day. Obviously, one can look at the prominent people (secular saints?) who have died in the past year. A partial list of people who died from Covid-19 or complications therefrom in the past year follows.
Cloris Leachman
Dawn Wells
Charley Pride
John Prine
Colin Powell
Two of the Four Seasons (Tommy DeVito & Joe Long)1
Larry King
Phil Spector
It’s alarming to me how many people in the entertainment field who died from Covid-19 that I have never heard of. The list above contains names recognized by a midwesterner in his mid-50s. Many of the names I simply did not recognize; they are all younger than me. You may want to tailor your list of “saints” to fit your church’s demographic.
All of these people had a significant impact on our lives; we carry their life and work in our memories.
In the same way the members of our congregations who have died in the past year have shaped our life together. They are some of the people who led us in our journey with Christ. We miss their presence, but celebrate the life they lived, and the way their gifts and work contributed to the health of the body of Christ.
The other news angle is COP26, a “climate extravaganza” starting Sunday, October 31 in Glasgow, Scotland. It’s commonly called “The Climate Summit,” but officially this will be the 26th time since 1992 that the Conference of Parties has met. While some of the COPs have been more memorable and noteworthy than others, think Paris 1992 and Kyoto 1997, concerned international leaders have been meeting for nearly 30 years to address the existential crisis that climate change poses.
Perhaps the diplomats, officials, scientists and negotiators in Glasgow can be regarded as saints. Like the Protestant understanding of saints — we are essential to one another’s existence. No individual can hope to solve global warming, it will require people of all nations to pull together with unity and determination.
We are already experiencing the consequences of global warming as storms become more intense, and weather events like droughts are more prolonged and severe. Climatologists tell us that the effects of global warming cannot be reversed and the world will continue to get warmer even if humanity stops burning fossil fuels tomorrow.
At this writing (October 29) President Biden’s budget has not yet been passed, but it appears that legislation intended to address climate change will be included in the bill. More than $550 billion for clean energy tax credits and renewable and advanced technology have so far survived the budget negotiations.
Could we conceive of legislators working to address climate change, income inequality and other pressing issues to be saints? How can we square the dire situations we face as a nation and planet with the promises we read in Isaiah and Revelation? Could it be seen as faithful and responsible to simply sit back and be idle because, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it”? God will take care of this. “Divine intervention — it’s gotten us this far!” would make a dandy bumper sticker.
In the Sermon
Today’s readings tell us two things: God is sovereign and pain is real. While the entire earth belongs to and is shaped by the living God and all people are God’s children, we are also inextricably linked to one another. As we noted and celebrated on World Communion Sunday last month — we are connected with people all over the world, spatially. Global warming and the Covid-19 pandemic show us undeniably that we are all on this planet together.
All Saints Day adds another dimension to our connection: time. We are connected with those who have gone before us and those who will come after us. At the congregational level we can identify the saints, remember them fondly, how they worked to live faith in Christ and pass it on to the next generation.
What we celebrate on All Saints Day can be described in a prayer I use toward the end of funerals and memorial services, “…we thank you, that for her death is passed and pain has ended, and she has entered the joy that you have prepared….” Of course we’re sad as we remember people whom we loved, who helped us grow in faith, but we’re also happy that they are now dwelling completely, wholly, in the joy prepared for them. The joy that awaits us, when even the great cloud of witnesses will be outshone by the eternal eight of the living God.
Joy that we can anticipate, thanks to Isaiah and Revelation. In the meantime, we are here on this beautiful, divine, fragile, troubled planet. We have each other and we need to be saints to one another. Now. Amen.
1 Tommy De Vito died in September of 2020, so he would have been remembered on All Saints’ Day 2020. I include him with Joe Long because their deaths make me wonder which two seasons we’re doing without? If we get to vote I’m going with summer and winter.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Mark 12:38-44
Sitting by the Temple
It’s no accident that Jesus so often teaches in the temple, or near it, using the awe-inspiring building to evoke emotion in his listeners. We’ve all felt the influence of a particular space on our spirits, or on the way we think. A place can have a powerful impact.
“Richard Coyne, a professor of architectural computing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, is more worried about non-spaces — places so bland and formless that they depress our cognitive ability. “Physical places influence our thinking and behavior far more than personality or other factors. This is possible because places offer our minds so much to work with. Coyne says, “A sign saying ‘wait here’ would be superfluous in the vestibule of the cathedral or temple, as the appropriate behavior or action is already inscribed in the architecture and ritual practices of the place. Neither would we require a text saying ‘Think of God,’ or ‘Consider your finitude’ in such places.” (From The Extended Mind, by Annie Murphy Paul.)
Jesus uses the power of the temple to make his point about giving, and faithfulness.
* * *
Mark 12:38-44
Money is Like Beer
Ice cream heir John Robbins, son of the Baskin-Robbins founder, was determined not to depend on his father’s money, and to make his own way in the world. He says, taking an unusual stand, “I wanted to discover and live my own values, and I knew that I wasn’t strong enough to do that if I remained tethered, even a little, to my father’s fortune…I also recoiled at the idea of inheriting a life of privilege while so many others had to struggle for their basic livelihood. I didn’t take the steps I did because I thought money is bad. On the contrary, I believe money is good and important. Without it, it’s impossible to thrive in the modern world and difficult even to survive. But money isn’t a god. It’s something to use. Not something to crave or to worship, and certainly not something that should rule our lives.” He notes that research shows money brings happiness as it lifts people out of poverty (perhaps the widow’s situation) and then it doesn’t add much to our life satisfaction.
Like the widow dropping her coins in the box at the temple, he says that more money does not mean more happiness. He adds, “Money, it seems, is a little like beer. Most people like it, but more is not necessarily better. A beer might improve your mood, but drinking 10 beers not only won’t increase your happiness tenfold, it might not increase it at all.”
* * *
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Dating Then and Now
Naomi’s instructions to Ruth give us a glimpse of dating (or seduction) in ancient Israel. Then, as now, meting the right person is complicated. In 2021, with many adults vaccinated, in person dating is returning and no one quite knows what to do. “How to date” was a top Google search recently, and people have questions. “Is the video date still necessary? How do you seem interesting on a first date after being confined to the couch for the past 16 months? Is it okay to ask about someone’s vaccine status?”
Apparently, many people today could use Naomi’s motherly advice. Dating advice comes in forms like “Keep work talk to a minimum” and “find a way to talk about your values.” Logan Ury, the director of relationship science at Hinge, has a motto: “Be interested, not interesting.” Ury says, “A lot of people try to entertain their dates by telling their funniest stories or talking about the cool trips they’ve been on. But good dates are about connecting with another person, not showing off,” Ury writes in her book “How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love.” Ury suggests being an active listener, which can make somebody feel “interesting, desired and appreciated.” How do you do that? Aim for “support” responses, Ury said in an interview, rather than returning the focus of the conversation back to you.”
Where is Naomi when we need her?
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
John 11:32-11
Weeping with Those Who Weep
Jesus weeping is so poignant because he is in the middle of asking where it is that Lazarus is laid, when he sees that Mary is so distraught, that he stops to weep with her. Jesus’ weeping comes from deep soul searching, the Greek word for “disturbed” or “deeply moved” basically means that he looked deeply inside himself and found himself moved to grief, and so, Jesus wept. He stops what he is doing to grieve. Even Jesus had to stop and grieve. He wept with Mary, and then he resumed asking where the body was. Sometimes grief overwhelms our human bodies and we have to stop everything that we are doing and grieve before we can move on to the next thing — and that is ok.
* * *
John 11:32-11
Death Stinks
Do not open the tomb, Jesus, you do not really want to say goodbye to Lazarus. It is already too late — the body has begun to smell. This is a scene that is hard to imagine in modern day Western culture. We are in a culture where death is almost foreign to us. Long ago our parlors — the room in our homes where we personally prepared our family who have died — gave way to living rooms. People die in hospitals, we long for cures and pay hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars for a few more days of existence and tend not to worry about the quality of those days. We live such privileged existence that we can say things like “did they really die of Covid?” or “Is it that bad to be intubated?” And it is hard for us to understand how bad the emergency room crisis are, because they are out of sight and therefore out of mind. But for Jesus, the death is real, and the stench is there. So as the people say, “Jesus, Lazarus is so dead you are going to be able to smell it.” Jesus says, “It’s not about what I need to see, but what you need to.”
* * *
Mark 12:38-44
Widow’s Mite
Studies show time after time that the poorest give the greatest amount of their wealth to help one another. Study after study shows this. Because those who have experienced poverty understand, they get what others are going through. Whenever the rich give money to the poor, it is pennies in the grand scheme of life. But when the widow gives her mite, she is giving her all to God. Jesus is not just telling a pretty moral tale. He is telling the truth — a fact.
My grandfather was poor before the depression — his dad was a traveling salesman and at some point they had to split up the four kids and live with various family members while his dad made a living. By the time the depression hit they were better off. My grandfather was the only one to have a car. His family helped everyone during that time, because they knew what it was like to be down and out. Soon, he joined the church — not because he was big on God, but because that was the entity he saw that was really helping people. Eventually both of his daughters became pastors.
Those who have been poor know — they are the ones who are the most likely to help one another. Thus they are going to give the most.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:
All Saints Day
These illustrations are connected to the overall themes of All Saints Day rather than to a particular text.
Swallowing sorrow forever
Poetry, often a source of comfort and insight in disquieting moments, has become a frequent companion to many persons during the pandemic. The website Poets.org had a thirty percent increase in visits from 2019 to 2020. The Poetry Foundation’s website counted a similar increase for readers seeking Maya Angelou’s classic poem, “Still I Rise.”
The most visited poem at Poets.org was Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem, “Kindness.” The poem captures the interplay between sorrow and kindness, and speaks of the sort of hopefulness offered by Isaiah 25:6-9 and Revelation 21:1-6.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread…
* * *
Seeing a new heaven
Across the world there are an increasing number of memorials to the victims of Covid-19. The ribbons, markers, flags and balloons function to remind us of those who have died while evoking hope, perhaps similar to the way John the Revelator imagines the New Jerusalem providing comfort to those who have endured great tribulation.
In Washington, DC, simple white flags cover 20 acres of the National Mall to honor the more than 740,000 Americans killed by Covid-19. A photographer captured the moment when a six-year old found the flag memorializing her 80-year old grandfather who died despite being fully vaccinated.
* * *
Standing at the place of death
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus (John 11:32-44) offers insights into Jesus’ solidarity with those who suffer. Standing outside of Lazarus’ tomb, fully aware that the processes of decomposition have already begun, Jesus cries out in sadness and anger. In the place of death, God’s glory is fully revealed according to John.
In Bergamo, Italy, a city that bore the brunt of Italy’s deadly encounter with Covid, a memorial has been erected not far from the hospital where so many died. The city in northern Italy has built a grove of oxygen-producing trees not far from the hospital where patients struggled to breathe. Bergamo’s mayor said the point of the memorial was to honor “victims with a work that is alive.” At the height of the pandemic in March 2020, Bergamo’s death rate was more than 568% higher than the previous year.
(for Proper 27 | OT 32 | Pentecost 24)
1 Kings 17:8-16
Hunger in 2021
Levels of hunger are soaring across the world as a “toxic cocktail of the climate crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and increasingly severe and protracted conflicts” combine to increase food insufficiency. The 2021 Global Hunger Index points to several areas of concern, including extremely alarming levels of hunger in Somalia, and alarming or serious levels of hunger in 46 nations. The report notes “It is difficult to be optimistic about hunger in 2021,” and goes on to examine several reasons why “progress against hunger shows signs of stalling and even being reversed.”
* * *
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Scholars note that the book of Ruth provides an opportunity to see Israel wrestling with the prevailing views of Deuteronomic theology. In the mind of the Deuteronomist, obedience to God results in blessings, while disobedience leads to destruction. Yet Naomi seems to challenge these views in a number of ways, including her suggestion in 3:1. Emptied and bitter, Naomi wonders if her daughter in law’s security depends on her actions, and not God alone.
Naomi’s questioning of God and tradition resonates with many today. A new survey confirms what many have already experienced: young adults age 13-25 are discovering a “disconnect” between their concerns and ideas and the doctrine of many churches. Like Naomi, they are questioning and speaking out — and wondering if the church is listening. For example, more than 81% of young people surveyed said racial justice is an important issue, yet only 60% think the church cares enough about the issue. Similar gaps exist between beliefs about gender equity and LGBTQ issues. (See Springtide Research Institute for more information.)
* * *
Mark 12:38-44
Empty pockets or empty hearts?
No doubt about it — Jesus’ comments about the poor widow who gave “everything she had” provide an emotional image for our stewardship season preaching. Her devotion, faithfulness, and (some might add) recklessness in giving away all she owned have been the fodder for more than one pledge Sunday sermon. But is it true that rich people actually give less than poor people?
The answer is…it depends. Depending on the data and definitions used, conclusions to that question are mixed. Not surprisingly, people with higher incomes give more to charity, even after adjusting for other demographic variables. The same researchers found that families across all income levels give about 1.4% to 2% of their income. According to the IRS, as incomes rise, so does the percentage of charitable gifts.
But other surveys that measure pro-social behaviors such as generosity, compassion for others, and trust, reveal that lower-economic classes act more generously in various scenarios than those from higher economic groups. One study suggested that lower income individuals may tend to have “higher baseline levels of compassion.” That study concluded, “Having less, then, leads to more. Economic adversity in some may bread pro-social behavior.” (See also “Poor People Really Are more Charitable than the Rich,” by Joe Mellor.)
All of this suggests that we may be missing Jesus’ point. In practical terms, lambasting the rich members of our congregations rarely leads to increased levels of giving. Also, as Andre Resner (The Living Pulpit, April-June 2003, p. 6) points out, calling the woman “the patron saint of stewardship Sunday,” or the exemplar of sacrificial giving forgets Jesus’ desire for justice. Jesus’ words, Resner says, ought to be seen as a lament decrying her lack of power and position. Abused by the religious authorities, the woman gives up all she has, while the leaders have abdicated their responsibility to caring for widows, orphans, and other marginalized groups.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: The earth is God’s and all that is in it.
All: The world is God’s and those who live in it.
One: Who shall ascend the hill of God and stand in the holy place?
All: Those who have pure hearts will receive blessing from God.
One: Lift up your heads, O gates! that the king of glory may come in.
All: Who is this king of glory? The God of hosts is the king of glory.
OR
One: Come to the feast prepared by God for all creation.
All: We come with joy to share together in God’s abundance.
One: God welcomes us all to join together in this banquet.
All: We come to share God’s delights with all God’s people.
One: All creation is God’s and belongs under God’s care.
All: We will offer God’s care to all people and all creation.
Hymns and Songs
I Come with Joy
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELW: 482
W&P: 706
Renw: 195
You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
UMH: 629
PH: 521
CH: 429
ELW: 484
W&P: 705
For All the Saints
UMH: 711
H82: 287
PH: 526
AAHH: 339
NNBH: 301
NCH: 299
CH: 637
LBW: 174
ELW: 422
W&P: 529
AMEC: 476
STLT: 103
Come, We That Love the Lord/Marching to Zion
UMH: 732/733
H82: 392
AAHH: 590
NNBH: 367
NCH: 379/382
CH: 707
ELW: 625
W&P: 67
AMEC: 520
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God
UMH: 712
H82: 293
PH: 364
NCH: 295
Cuando El Pobre (When the Poor Ones)
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELW: 725
W&P: 624
God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens
UMH: 150
H82: 580
PH: 268
NCH: 556
CH: 651
LBW: 463
ELW: 771
W&P: 644
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Now Thank We All Our God
UMH: 102
H82: 396/397
PH: 555
NNBH: 330
NCH: 419
CH: 715
LBW: 533/534
ELW: 839/840
W&P: 14
AMEC: 573
STLT: 32
For the Beauty of the Earth
UMH: 92
H82: 416
PH: 473
NNBH: 8
NCH: 28
CH: 56
LBW: 561
ELW: 879
W&P: 40
AMEC: 578
STLT: 21
Doxology
CCB: 94
For the Gift of Creation
CCB: 67
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 holds all creation in your hand:
Grant us the grace to see your generosity
as you call all people to your great banquet.
Through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you hold all creation I your hand. Out of abundant love you created all that is. As we respond to your invitation to the great banquet help us to echo your invitation to all your children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the smallness of our vision of God’s realm.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Out of abundance and glory you have filled your creation with all that we could possibly need or want. You make the sun to shine on all your people as you send rain upon us all. Your loving kindness is spread throughout all creation. Yet we want to limit your love to us and those like us. We want to allow some in and to hold others out. Forgive us our selfish ways and open our hearts so that they may be like your great heart of love. Amen.
One: God welcomes all to the feast, even us. Rejoice at God’s goodness and share God’s love and bounty with all.
Prayers of the People
Praised and glorious is your name, O God, who creates with such abundant extravagance. You have spread before us a wondrous banquet of beauty and abundance.
(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. Out of abundance and glory you have filled your creation with all that we could possibly need or want. You make the sun to shine on all your people as you send rain upon us all. You loving kindness is spread throughout all creation. Yet we want to limit your love to us and those like us. We want to allow some in and to hold others out. Forgive us our selfish ways and open our hearts so that they may be like your great heart of love.
We thank you for all the signs of your loving care within creation. The earth produces abundantly and provides for all your creatures. You have given us your own Spirit to dwell among and within us so that we can always share in your loving presence. You sent your own Son to lead us into your loving realm.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who have been denied the abundance of creation and dwell in poverty and want. We pray for those who find themselves in places of violence and danger. We pray for those who find it difficult to believe in a caring God of love because of the circumstances of their lives.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the 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
Small Gestures — Great Rewards
by Quantisha Mason-Doll
Mark 12:38-44
Object: One penny
One penny, even though it does not seem like much, can do amazing things when it comes from your heart. In our story today Jesus teaches his followers and us that when a person gives, and gives freely, it means more to God than any big gesture. Do you know what that means?
It means that God loves when we try our best and give our all. It means that even the littlest of children can make big changes in the world. Jesus also warns us that if we only care about ourselves and not others we are not living into our faith and what God has called us to do.
So remember be like this penny, because it is the little gestures that makes the Lord happier.
Prayer:
Loving God, we thank you for loving us.
Help us to see the little things in the world and guide us to be better people.
We pray in your Son’s name.
Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 7, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 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.
- Our Super Powers (Proper 27) by Dean Feldmeyer — We 21st century Americans have super powers. So, why aren’t we using them?
- We Are Connected (All Saints Day) by Tom Willadsen — Like the Protestant understanding of saints — we are essential to one another’s existence.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Chris Keating, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Small Gestures — Great Rewards by Quantisha Mason-Doll.
Our Super Powersby Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 12:38-44
In the 2017 movie “Justice League,” there is an early scene where Bruce Wayne (Batman) is assembling people with superpowers, or what he calls “special abilities,” to join together to fight a yet unknown evil that he believes will devastate the world.
The third person he goes to is Barry Allen (The Flash), who is an easy recruit because he is kind of nerdy and is desperate for friends.
As they walk to Wayne’s car, The Flash explains his hyper-speed abilities and why they require him to consume massive amounts of calories every day. Then, having shared and explained his superpower, he asks Wayne, “So, what are your superpowers again?”
Batman turns to him and says, completely deadpan: “I’m rich.”
In the Bible
In this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus makes much the same observation, not about himself but about the scribes. They, too, have superpowers.
Their wealth. Their erudition. Their social standing. All of these gave them power but they refused to use these powers for good. Instead, they used them as means of accumulating greater wealth and power. Often this was done through the practice of usury, making loans to the poor at extremely high and unpayable interest rates and then confiscating the property of those who couldn’t repay the debt.
So reprehensible was this practice in first-century Judaism that the most common Hebrew word for usury had the same meaning as “snakebite.” And yet, here are the leaders of the religious community, practicing it with impunity because their ostentatious displays of religiosity and their lavish contributions to the religious establishment have placed them beyond criticism.
They wear the right clothes, say the right phrases, raise their hands during the prayers, clap to the contemporary praise songs, smile brightly, and sit in the front pews so everyone can see them doing it. When the offering plate comes around, they like to place a large bill right there on the top, face up, so everyone can see how much they gave. And everyone does see and admire them for their generosity.
But Jesus points out, while what they give is a large amount, it is a pittance compared to how much they keep for themselves. Their gifts don’t represent any kind of personal sacrifice. Their offerings come from their excess.
On the other hand, there is a poor widow whose gift represents all that she has. But because it’s a small amount it goes unnoticed and unremarked by the church.
So, Jesus’ ethical/moral judgement of the two givers in this story is based not on how much they give but on how much they keep for themselves.
In the News
They are calling it the “Billionaires Tax.”
Here, according to CBS News, is what it is and how it would work:
Democrats are considering a new tax on billionaires that would help fund their proposed multi-trillion-dollar social spending package. As proposed, it would impact only those taxpayers with more than $1 billion in assets, or those with incomes of more than $100 million for three consecutive years. That’s about 700-800 of the wealthiest people in America.
Says Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon: "We expect that these billionaires, and there's something like less than 800, who made close to $2 trillion during the pandemic, would pay a tax, their fair share, every year just like nurses and firefighters.”
Under current law, people who own stocks pay taxes on the value of the stocks only when they sell them and realize a gain on their investment. Under the Billionaires Tax, billionaires would pay taxes on the increased value of the stocks, or other assets, every year that the value increases.
So, for instance, let’s say you are one of those 700 billionaires and you bought $1 million worth of stock in the ABC Company and, over the course of the year, the stock increased in value to $1.5 million. Under the Billionaires Tax, at the end of the year, you would have to pay income tax (about 20%) on the $500,000 increase.
Chuck Marr, a tax expert with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, made this comment about the proposed tax: "When Jeff Bezos' stock holdings grow by $10 billion & he has an $80,000 salary, he should be taxed as a person with $10 billion in income, not like a middle-class wage-earner…A billionaire's tax makes sense — it's just basic Econ 101 & Accounting 101."
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation says that the billionaire's tax could raise $200 billion to $250 billion of revenue over a decade.
What do billionaires say? Tesla founder Elon Musk — the world's richest person, with an estimated wealth of $288 billion — uses a version of the “slippery slope” or “camel’s nose” argument. He wants us to believe that “if they can do it to me, they’ll eventually do it to you.”
If the behavior of these ultra-wealthy billionaires for the past few months is any indicator, their response is more and greater than Elon Musk’s feeble camel’s nose. In order to keep from paying what is being called their “fair share” in taxes, dollars that would help to feed the poor, the elderly, the sick and injured, the orphaned and the oppressed, and rebuild our country’s infrastructure, they have chosen to hide their assets in offshore accounts some of which were exposed in the Pandora Papers.
Or, they use their money to build rocket ships and shoot themselves and their friends into the lower reaches of outer space. Or, they use their income to simply create more and greater income, the accumulation of which gives them more power to influence politicians and write laws that favor them and their companies.
Of course, the argument can be made, in their defense, that these billionaires give away millions of dollars to charities every year.
However, Fox Business reports that according to University of California Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman, the richest Americans actually donate very little of their fortune each year. Zucman pulled data from Forbes’ ranking of billionaires, and its recently released list of the 50 Americans who donated the most money to charitable causes in 2018.
Even though the top philanthropists in the country are among the richest Americans, the amount they give annually accounts for a tiny percentage of their overall fortune, according to Zucman.
For instance, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who was worth a staggering $160 billion in 2018 (prior to his divorce), gave about $131 million to charity last year — a mere 0.1 percent of his total fortune. A 6 percent tax on those worth more than $1 billion, Bezos would have paid about $9.5 billion in taxes in 2018.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, worth $88 billion in 2018, gave $3.4 billion to charity, or roughly 3.9 percent of his fortune. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, worth $97 billion, gave away $2.5 billion, or 2.6 percent of his fortune, according to the data. Mark Zuckerberg, worth $61 billion, donated $410 million, or 0.7 percent.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the 10th richest American, had $51.8 billion and gave about 1.5 percent of his fortune — or $767 million — to charity in 2018.
The bare fact is that, if wealth is a super power, many of the wealthiest people in America are hiding theirs under a bushel of foreign banks and extravagant toys when they could be using it to help the poor, the sick, the injured, the abandoned and the hopeless.
If, as Jesus suggests, we are judged not by how much we give but by how much we keep for ourselves, then there’s going to be a long line of billionaires waiting at the pearly gates with “some ’splaining to do.”
But what of us? What are we doing with our wealth?
In the Sermon
Me? What do you mean, me? I’m not rich!
Well, yeah, we kinda are.
According to Rakesh Kochhar, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, 56% of Americans are high-income by world standards.
On a global scale, the vast majority of Americans are either upper-middle income or high income. And many Americans who are classified as “poor” by the US government would be middle income globally.
Financially speaking, the US stands well above the rest of the world. More than half (56%) of Americans were high income by the global standard, living on more than $50 per day in 2011, the latest year that could be analyzed with the available data. Another 32% were upper-middle income. In other words, almost 9-in-10 Americans had a standard of living that was above the global middle-income standard. Only 7% of people in the US were middle income, 3% were low income and 2% were poor.
This is not to say that the US does not struggle with issues of income inequality and poverty. But given the much higher standard of living in the US, what is considered poor here is a level of income still not available to most people globally.
In 2011, the official poverty line in the US was $23,021 for a family of four, or $15.77 per day per person, considerably higher than that $10 per day standard for “middle income” globally.
The Pew study concludes that the majority of Americans are part of the global high-income population that resides almost exclusively in Europe and North America. These two regions account for 87% of the global high-income population.
But forget about cash. Let’s talk life style.
Economist and historian Robert Heilbroner reportedly said that for a typical American family to live like 2/3 of the rest of the world, they would have to give up the luxuries of furniture, appliances, clothes, food, water, electricity, media, literacy, government services, and nearly all of their money.
In her “More Than a Mission Trip” Blog, Victoria Skyvalidas uses Heilbroner’s observation to springboard into a discussion of what she considers the “four main simple things that most Americans take for granted.” They are:
- Fresh water available 24 hours a day — Instead of plumbing and running water, East Africans have to go to the village well every day. The women and children as young as five years old carry buckets on their heads; or else men rig up several jerry cans to their bikes
- Unlimited electrical power — The homes where she stayed in both Kenya and Uganda were without electricity, so they relied on headlamps, lanterns, and candles. They used a generator to power the village internet place.
- Telephones that work — Where there is no electricity there are no telephones. Even cellular phones rarely work in the bush.
- Paved roads and sidewalks — Rarely do we have to share unpaved, pothole dotted roads with donkey carts, farm animals, bicycles and scooters, and, of course, people on foot.
We can save the planet by limiting emissions created by fossil fuels.
Or, we can shoot each other into space, build mansions, sail in yachts, adorn ourselves with gold and precious stones, and make a show of being religious.
The decision is ours. But as we decide, let us also remember the lesson of this gospel text: God judges our so-called generosity not by how much we give, but by how much we keep for ourselves.
We Are Connectedby Tom Willadsen
Isaiah 25:6-9, Revelation 21:1-6a, John 11:32-44, Psalm 24
Perhaps the diplomats, officials, scientists and negotiators in Glasgow can be regarded as saints. Like the Protestant understanding of saints — we are essential to one another’s existence. No individual can hope to solve global warming, it will require people of all nations to pull together with unity and determination.
In the Bible
Protestants do not recognize individual saints. For us, saints are always a community. Always. Other names for saints could be “believers” or “church members.” Everyone who is in Christ is a saint; we’re all saints. We just do not use the term often. If someone were to ask me how many saints there are in the church I serve, I would probably think it’s a trick question. But if I were to answer honestly, with biblical accuracy, I would say, “all of them.”
“Saints” appears a few times in the psalms, but is most conspicuous in Paul’s correspondence to the first Christian churches. Paul always sends greetings to the saints in other communities, asking to be remembered to the saints in the communities where he has made friends and started churches. Here’s the part of All Saints Day that Protestants should own: the word appears in the Bible, so we ought to take it seriously. Every place it appears in the Bible, it is plural. (The only exception is when Paul conveys greetings “to every saint in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:21, NRSV)
The passage from Isaiah describes a time of universal abundance, a feast for all peoples. Note that peoples is plural; all nations are on the mountain with God, enjoying rich food and well-aged wine. That means that nations that have been at war will sit down together. The disgrace of all nations will be erased. The Lord of hosts “will swallow up death forever.”
Both the readings from Revelation and Isaiah promise that the Lord will wipe away every tear. Revelation is a little more specific, indicating that “mourning and crying and pain will be no more.”
I cannot read these images without observing that it never made sense to me that the forces of evil in the Harry Potter universe were called Death Eaters. It seems to me, eating death is precisely what God promises in Isaiah; isn’t that a good thing? The best possible thing?
Looking at the reading from John’s gospel shows that All Saints Day can only be bitter and sweet. Consider the friendship Jesus had with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Rather than looking at the miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life after four days, I want you to notice the community and how the community acted when Jesus arrived. Mary was weeping, and she had other mourners with her, all weeping. Jesus was deeply moved, empathic. Then Jesus himself wept. If you ever doubt that Jesus was fully human, point to this verse. Jesus cried with other people who were crying because someone they love had died. They were all in this together. That’s what saints do.
Psalm 24 begins memorably:
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world and those who live in it.
For a kid who grew up singing “He’s got the whole world in his hands” at vacation Bible school this is a word we’ve carried with us all our lives. And the readings from Isaiah and Revelation foretell (promise?) a peaceful, happy ending for all people and all peoples.
Today’s readings read in the context of rapid, perhaps unstoppable, global warming, a pandemic that has ground on for more than a year and a half describe something that can only be imagined, and only achieved by the loving, supreme Lord of all.
In the News
I see two news angles for All Saints’ Day. Obviously, one can look at the prominent people (secular saints?) who have died in the past year. A partial list of people who died from Covid-19 or complications therefrom in the past year follows.
Cloris Leachman
Dawn Wells
Charley Pride
John Prine
Colin Powell
Two of the Four Seasons (Tommy DeVito & Joe Long)1
Larry King
Phil Spector
It’s alarming to me how many people in the entertainment field who died from Covid-19 that I have never heard of. The list above contains names recognized by a midwesterner in his mid-50s. Many of the names I simply did not recognize; they are all younger than me. You may want to tailor your list of “saints” to fit your church’s demographic.
All of these people had a significant impact on our lives; we carry their life and work in our memories.
In the same way the members of our congregations who have died in the past year have shaped our life together. They are some of the people who led us in our journey with Christ. We miss their presence, but celebrate the life they lived, and the way their gifts and work contributed to the health of the body of Christ.
The other news angle is COP26, a “climate extravaganza” starting Sunday, October 31 in Glasgow, Scotland. It’s commonly called “The Climate Summit,” but officially this will be the 26th time since 1992 that the Conference of Parties has met. While some of the COPs have been more memorable and noteworthy than others, think Paris 1992 and Kyoto 1997, concerned international leaders have been meeting for nearly 30 years to address the existential crisis that climate change poses.
Perhaps the diplomats, officials, scientists and negotiators in Glasgow can be regarded as saints. Like the Protestant understanding of saints — we are essential to one another’s existence. No individual can hope to solve global warming, it will require people of all nations to pull together with unity and determination.
We are already experiencing the consequences of global warming as storms become more intense, and weather events like droughts are more prolonged and severe. Climatologists tell us that the effects of global warming cannot be reversed and the world will continue to get warmer even if humanity stops burning fossil fuels tomorrow.
At this writing (October 29) President Biden’s budget has not yet been passed, but it appears that legislation intended to address climate change will be included in the bill. More than $550 billion for clean energy tax credits and renewable and advanced technology have so far survived the budget negotiations.
Could we conceive of legislators working to address climate change, income inequality and other pressing issues to be saints? How can we square the dire situations we face as a nation and planet with the promises we read in Isaiah and Revelation? Could it be seen as faithful and responsible to simply sit back and be idle because, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it”? God will take care of this. “Divine intervention — it’s gotten us this far!” would make a dandy bumper sticker.
In the Sermon
Today’s readings tell us two things: God is sovereign and pain is real. While the entire earth belongs to and is shaped by the living God and all people are God’s children, we are also inextricably linked to one another. As we noted and celebrated on World Communion Sunday last month — we are connected with people all over the world, spatially. Global warming and the Covid-19 pandemic show us undeniably that we are all on this planet together.
All Saints Day adds another dimension to our connection: time. We are connected with those who have gone before us and those who will come after us. At the congregational level we can identify the saints, remember them fondly, how they worked to live faith in Christ and pass it on to the next generation.
What we celebrate on All Saints Day can be described in a prayer I use toward the end of funerals and memorial services, “…we thank you, that for her death is passed and pain has ended, and she has entered the joy that you have prepared….” Of course we’re sad as we remember people whom we loved, who helped us grow in faith, but we’re also happy that they are now dwelling completely, wholly, in the joy prepared for them. The joy that awaits us, when even the great cloud of witnesses will be outshone by the eternal eight of the living God.
Joy that we can anticipate, thanks to Isaiah and Revelation. In the meantime, we are here on this beautiful, divine, fragile, troubled planet. We have each other and we need to be saints to one another. Now. Amen.
1 Tommy De Vito died in September of 2020, so he would have been remembered on All Saints’ Day 2020. I include him with Joe Long because their deaths make me wonder which two seasons we’re doing without? If we get to vote I’m going with summer and winter.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Mark 12:38-44
Sitting by the Temple
It’s no accident that Jesus so often teaches in the temple, or near it, using the awe-inspiring building to evoke emotion in his listeners. We’ve all felt the influence of a particular space on our spirits, or on the way we think. A place can have a powerful impact.
“Richard Coyne, a professor of architectural computing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, is more worried about non-spaces — places so bland and formless that they depress our cognitive ability. “Physical places influence our thinking and behavior far more than personality or other factors. This is possible because places offer our minds so much to work with. Coyne says, “A sign saying ‘wait here’ would be superfluous in the vestibule of the cathedral or temple, as the appropriate behavior or action is already inscribed in the architecture and ritual practices of the place. Neither would we require a text saying ‘Think of God,’ or ‘Consider your finitude’ in such places.” (From The Extended Mind, by Annie Murphy Paul.)
Jesus uses the power of the temple to make his point about giving, and faithfulness.
* * *
Mark 12:38-44
Money is Like Beer
Ice cream heir John Robbins, son of the Baskin-Robbins founder, was determined not to depend on his father’s money, and to make his own way in the world. He says, taking an unusual stand, “I wanted to discover and live my own values, and I knew that I wasn’t strong enough to do that if I remained tethered, even a little, to my father’s fortune…I also recoiled at the idea of inheriting a life of privilege while so many others had to struggle for their basic livelihood. I didn’t take the steps I did because I thought money is bad. On the contrary, I believe money is good and important. Without it, it’s impossible to thrive in the modern world and difficult even to survive. But money isn’t a god. It’s something to use. Not something to crave or to worship, and certainly not something that should rule our lives.” He notes that research shows money brings happiness as it lifts people out of poverty (perhaps the widow’s situation) and then it doesn’t add much to our life satisfaction.
Like the widow dropping her coins in the box at the temple, he says that more money does not mean more happiness. He adds, “Money, it seems, is a little like beer. Most people like it, but more is not necessarily better. A beer might improve your mood, but drinking 10 beers not only won’t increase your happiness tenfold, it might not increase it at all.”
* * *
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Dating Then and Now
Naomi’s instructions to Ruth give us a glimpse of dating (or seduction) in ancient Israel. Then, as now, meting the right person is complicated. In 2021, with many adults vaccinated, in person dating is returning and no one quite knows what to do. “How to date” was a top Google search recently, and people have questions. “Is the video date still necessary? How do you seem interesting on a first date after being confined to the couch for the past 16 months? Is it okay to ask about someone’s vaccine status?”
Apparently, many people today could use Naomi’s motherly advice. Dating advice comes in forms like “Keep work talk to a minimum” and “find a way to talk about your values.” Logan Ury, the director of relationship science at Hinge, has a motto: “Be interested, not interesting.” Ury says, “A lot of people try to entertain their dates by telling their funniest stories or talking about the cool trips they’ve been on. But good dates are about connecting with another person, not showing off,” Ury writes in her book “How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love.” Ury suggests being an active listener, which can make somebody feel “interesting, desired and appreciated.” How do you do that? Aim for “support” responses, Ury said in an interview, rather than returning the focus of the conversation back to you.”
Where is Naomi when we need her?
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:John 11:32-11
Weeping with Those Who Weep
Jesus weeping is so poignant because he is in the middle of asking where it is that Lazarus is laid, when he sees that Mary is so distraught, that he stops to weep with her. Jesus’ weeping comes from deep soul searching, the Greek word for “disturbed” or “deeply moved” basically means that he looked deeply inside himself and found himself moved to grief, and so, Jesus wept. He stops what he is doing to grieve. Even Jesus had to stop and grieve. He wept with Mary, and then he resumed asking where the body was. Sometimes grief overwhelms our human bodies and we have to stop everything that we are doing and grieve before we can move on to the next thing — and that is ok.
* * *
John 11:32-11
Death Stinks
Do not open the tomb, Jesus, you do not really want to say goodbye to Lazarus. It is already too late — the body has begun to smell. This is a scene that is hard to imagine in modern day Western culture. We are in a culture where death is almost foreign to us. Long ago our parlors — the room in our homes where we personally prepared our family who have died — gave way to living rooms. People die in hospitals, we long for cures and pay hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars for a few more days of existence and tend not to worry about the quality of those days. We live such privileged existence that we can say things like “did they really die of Covid?” or “Is it that bad to be intubated?” And it is hard for us to understand how bad the emergency room crisis are, because they are out of sight and therefore out of mind. But for Jesus, the death is real, and the stench is there. So as the people say, “Jesus, Lazarus is so dead you are going to be able to smell it.” Jesus says, “It’s not about what I need to see, but what you need to.”
* * *
Mark 12:38-44
Widow’s Mite
Studies show time after time that the poorest give the greatest amount of their wealth to help one another. Study after study shows this. Because those who have experienced poverty understand, they get what others are going through. Whenever the rich give money to the poor, it is pennies in the grand scheme of life. But when the widow gives her mite, she is giving her all to God. Jesus is not just telling a pretty moral tale. He is telling the truth — a fact.
My grandfather was poor before the depression — his dad was a traveling salesman and at some point they had to split up the four kids and live with various family members while his dad made a living. By the time the depression hit they were better off. My grandfather was the only one to have a car. His family helped everyone during that time, because they knew what it was like to be down and out. Soon, he joined the church — not because he was big on God, but because that was the entity he saw that was really helping people. Eventually both of his daughters became pastors.
Those who have been poor know — they are the ones who are the most likely to help one another. Thus they are going to give the most.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:All Saints Day
These illustrations are connected to the overall themes of All Saints Day rather than to a particular text.
Swallowing sorrow forever
Poetry, often a source of comfort and insight in disquieting moments, has become a frequent companion to many persons during the pandemic. The website Poets.org had a thirty percent increase in visits from 2019 to 2020. The Poetry Foundation’s website counted a similar increase for readers seeking Maya Angelou’s classic poem, “Still I Rise.”
The most visited poem at Poets.org was Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem, “Kindness.” The poem captures the interplay between sorrow and kindness, and speaks of the sort of hopefulness offered by Isaiah 25:6-9 and Revelation 21:1-6.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread…
* * *
Seeing a new heaven
Across the world there are an increasing number of memorials to the victims of Covid-19. The ribbons, markers, flags and balloons function to remind us of those who have died while evoking hope, perhaps similar to the way John the Revelator imagines the New Jerusalem providing comfort to those who have endured great tribulation.
In Washington, DC, simple white flags cover 20 acres of the National Mall to honor the more than 740,000 Americans killed by Covid-19. A photographer captured the moment when a six-year old found the flag memorializing her 80-year old grandfather who died despite being fully vaccinated.
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Standing at the place of death
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus (John 11:32-44) offers insights into Jesus’ solidarity with those who suffer. Standing outside of Lazarus’ tomb, fully aware that the processes of decomposition have already begun, Jesus cries out in sadness and anger. In the place of death, God’s glory is fully revealed according to John.
In Bergamo, Italy, a city that bore the brunt of Italy’s deadly encounter with Covid, a memorial has been erected not far from the hospital where so many died. The city in northern Italy has built a grove of oxygen-producing trees not far from the hospital where patients struggled to breathe. Bergamo’s mayor said the point of the memorial was to honor “victims with a work that is alive.” At the height of the pandemic in March 2020, Bergamo’s death rate was more than 568% higher than the previous year.
(for Proper 27 | OT 32 | Pentecost 24)
1 Kings 17:8-16
Hunger in 2021
Levels of hunger are soaring across the world as a “toxic cocktail of the climate crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and increasingly severe and protracted conflicts” combine to increase food insufficiency. The 2021 Global Hunger Index points to several areas of concern, including extremely alarming levels of hunger in Somalia, and alarming or serious levels of hunger in 46 nations. The report notes “It is difficult to be optimistic about hunger in 2021,” and goes on to examine several reasons why “progress against hunger shows signs of stalling and even being reversed.”
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Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Scholars note that the book of Ruth provides an opportunity to see Israel wrestling with the prevailing views of Deuteronomic theology. In the mind of the Deuteronomist, obedience to God results in blessings, while disobedience leads to destruction. Yet Naomi seems to challenge these views in a number of ways, including her suggestion in 3:1. Emptied and bitter, Naomi wonders if her daughter in law’s security depends on her actions, and not God alone.
Naomi’s questioning of God and tradition resonates with many today. A new survey confirms what many have already experienced: young adults age 13-25 are discovering a “disconnect” between their concerns and ideas and the doctrine of many churches. Like Naomi, they are questioning and speaking out — and wondering if the church is listening. For example, more than 81% of young people surveyed said racial justice is an important issue, yet only 60% think the church cares enough about the issue. Similar gaps exist between beliefs about gender equity and LGBTQ issues. (See Springtide Research Institute for more information.)
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Mark 12:38-44
Empty pockets or empty hearts?
No doubt about it — Jesus’ comments about the poor widow who gave “everything she had” provide an emotional image for our stewardship season preaching. Her devotion, faithfulness, and (some might add) recklessness in giving away all she owned have been the fodder for more than one pledge Sunday sermon. But is it true that rich people actually give less than poor people?
The answer is…it depends. Depending on the data and definitions used, conclusions to that question are mixed. Not surprisingly, people with higher incomes give more to charity, even after adjusting for other demographic variables. The same researchers found that families across all income levels give about 1.4% to 2% of their income. According to the IRS, as incomes rise, so does the percentage of charitable gifts.
But other surveys that measure pro-social behaviors such as generosity, compassion for others, and trust, reveal that lower-economic classes act more generously in various scenarios than those from higher economic groups. One study suggested that lower income individuals may tend to have “higher baseline levels of compassion.” That study concluded, “Having less, then, leads to more. Economic adversity in some may bread pro-social behavior.” (See also “Poor People Really Are more Charitable than the Rich,” by Joe Mellor.)
All of this suggests that we may be missing Jesus’ point. In practical terms, lambasting the rich members of our congregations rarely leads to increased levels of giving. Also, as Andre Resner (The Living Pulpit, April-June 2003, p. 6) points out, calling the woman “the patron saint of stewardship Sunday,” or the exemplar of sacrificial giving forgets Jesus’ desire for justice. Jesus’ words, Resner says, ought to be seen as a lament decrying her lack of power and position. Abused by the religious authorities, the woman gives up all she has, while the leaders have abdicated their responsibility to caring for widows, orphans, and other marginalized groups.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: The earth is God’s and all that is in it.
All: The world is God’s and those who live in it.
One: Who shall ascend the hill of God and stand in the holy place?
All: Those who have pure hearts will receive blessing from God.
One: Lift up your heads, O gates! that the king of glory may come in.
All: Who is this king of glory? The God of hosts is the king of glory.
OR
One: Come to the feast prepared by God for all creation.
All: We come with joy to share together in God’s abundance.
One: God welcomes us all to join together in this banquet.
All: We come to share God’s delights with all God’s people.
One: All creation is God’s and belongs under God’s care.
All: We will offer God’s care to all people and all creation.
Hymns and Songs
I Come with Joy
UMH: 617
H82: 304
PH: 507
NCH: 349
CH: 420
ELW: 482
W&P: 706
Renw: 195
You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
UMH: 629
PH: 521
CH: 429
ELW: 484
W&P: 705
For All the Saints
UMH: 711
H82: 287
PH: 526
AAHH: 339
NNBH: 301
NCH: 299
CH: 637
LBW: 174
ELW: 422
W&P: 529
AMEC: 476
STLT: 103
Come, We That Love the Lord/Marching to Zion
UMH: 732/733
H82: 392
AAHH: 590
NNBH: 367
NCH: 379/382
CH: 707
ELW: 625
W&P: 67
AMEC: 520
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God
UMH: 712
H82: 293
PH: 364
NCH: 295
Cuando El Pobre (When the Poor Ones)
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELW: 725
W&P: 624
God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens
UMH: 150
H82: 580
PH: 268
NCH: 556
CH: 651
LBW: 463
ELW: 771
W&P: 644
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Now Thank We All Our God
UMH: 102
H82: 396/397
PH: 555
NNBH: 330
NCH: 419
CH: 715
LBW: 533/534
ELW: 839/840
W&P: 14
AMEC: 573
STLT: 32
For the Beauty of the Earth
UMH: 92
H82: 416
PH: 473
NNBH: 8
NCH: 28
CH: 56
LBW: 561
ELW: 879
W&P: 40
AMEC: 578
STLT: 21
Doxology
CCB: 94
For the Gift of Creation
CCB: 67
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 holds all creation in your hand:
Grant us the grace to see your generosity
as you call all people to your great banquet.
Through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you hold all creation I your hand. Out of abundant love you created all that is. As we respond to your invitation to the great banquet help us to echo your invitation to all your children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the smallness of our vision of God’s realm.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Out of abundance and glory you have filled your creation with all that we could possibly need or want. You make the sun to shine on all your people as you send rain upon us all. Your loving kindness is spread throughout all creation. Yet we want to limit your love to us and those like us. We want to allow some in and to hold others out. Forgive us our selfish ways and open our hearts so that they may be like your great heart of love. Amen.
One: God welcomes all to the feast, even us. Rejoice at God’s goodness and share God’s love and bounty with all.
Prayers of the People
Praised and glorious is your name, O God, who creates with such abundant extravagance. You have spread before us a wondrous banquet of beauty and abundance.
(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. Out of abundance and glory you have filled your creation with all that we could possibly need or want. You make the sun to shine on all your people as you send rain upon us all. You loving kindness is spread throughout all creation. Yet we want to limit your love to us and those like us. We want to allow some in and to hold others out. Forgive us our selfish ways and open our hearts so that they may be like your great heart of love.
We thank you for all the signs of your loving care within creation. The earth produces abundantly and provides for all your creatures. You have given us your own Spirit to dwell among and within us so that we can always share in your loving presence. You sent your own Son to lead us into your loving realm.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need. We pray for those who have been denied the abundance of creation and dwell in poverty and want. We pray for those who find themselves in places of violence and danger. We pray for those who find it difficult to believe in a caring God of love because of the circumstances of their lives.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the 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.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONSmall Gestures — Great Rewards
by Quantisha Mason-Doll
Mark 12:38-44
Object: One penny
One penny, even though it does not seem like much, can do amazing things when it comes from your heart. In our story today Jesus teaches his followers and us that when a person gives, and gives freely, it means more to God than any big gesture. Do you know what that means?
It means that God loves when we try our best and give our all. It means that even the littlest of children can make big changes in the world. Jesus also warns us that if we only care about ourselves and not others we are not living into our faith and what God has called us to do.
So remember be like this penny, because it is the little gestures that makes the Lord happier.
Prayer:
Loving God, we thank you for loving us.
Help us to see the little things in the world and guide us to be better people.
We pray in your Son’s name.
Amen.
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The Immediate Word, November 7, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 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.
