In the opening verses of this week’s Isaiah text, the prophet announces his calling -- saying that “the spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.” While some might think it presumptuous for someone to declare that God has chosen them to fulfill a special role, what Isaiah is really saying is that he has been tapped as God’s intermediary... a spokesperson and representative, if you will, for the Almighty. (And as we see from numerous instances in scripture -- including the grilling John the Baptist faces in this week’s gospel text -- fulfilling that role isn’t always a pleasant experience.) In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer asks the logical question one might pose to Isaiah: What are the qualifications for being a prophet? What credentials do you need? (That’s also the subtext of the questions the priests, Levites, and Pharisees pose to John the Baptist.) Isaiah’s answer, of course, is nothing... except for the fact that God picked him.
As Dean points out, ambassadors fulfill a similar function in the secular world, as spokespersons and representatives for their governments in foreign lands. If they were being completely honest, many of our ambassadorial nominees might echo Isaiah’s response when asked about their qualifications. Yet it’s politically inconvenient to openly admit the obvious -- as happened last week with Colleen Bradley Bell, the United States’ new ambassador to Hungary. Bell, a television soap opera producer who helped raise over $2 million for President Obama’s re-election campaign, drew harsh criticism from some senators at her confirmation hearing over her lack of experience and inability to clearly articulate America’s strategic interest in the country. That’s nothing new, however -- it’s long been bipartisan practice for presidents to award ambassadorial posts in prime locations to top fundraisers (leaving posts in less glamorous hotspots to career diplomats). Nevertheless, the White House press secretary engaged in rather extreme verbal gyrations in an attempt to avoid stating the truth everyone knows: that an ambassadorial nominee often has no qualifications... except for the fact that the president picked him or her.
Dean examines how intermediaries are chosen -- as well as the further implications of Isaiah’s message for us. As Christians, we are also God’s representatives -- and we too have insufficient qualifications... except for the fact that God picked us, and expects us to carry on his work in the world.
Team member Chris Keating shares some additional thoughts on the gospel and epistle passages, using as a springboard the story of a man outed as a bogus Army Ranger by a veteran who saw through the subterfuge. Chris points out that the priests, Levites, and Pharisees were trying to catch John the Baptist in a similar situation as they questioned him about his provenance, but John denies that he is the Messiah or Elijah, and truthfully answers that he’s merely “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ ” John may pass the test of authenticity -- but Jesus warns us on multiple occasions to beware of false prophets, and Paul tells the Thessalonians that rather than “despis[ing] the words of prophets,” they should “test everything; hold fast to what is good; [and] abstain from every form of evil.” As Chris notes, the unmasking of someone impersonating a soldier and falsely wearing a uniform that commands respect (as well as perks and discounts) is a striking modern-day example of the same process we are instructed to apply to those claiming to speak for God.
Powers Plenipotentiary
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Plenipotentiary -- now that is a great word, a huge word full of meaning and power. As an adjective, it means “invested with full authority to transact business on behalf of another person or country.” As a noun, it refers to a person who has such authority.
In politics and foreign affairs, such a person is usually called a diplomat or an ambassador. In theology, a plenipotentiary of God is usually referred to as a prophet.
So, we might well wonder, how does one qualify to become a plenipotentiary? What training does one undertake? What college degrees should one pursue? What languages should one learn to speak?
According to figures compiled by the American Foreign Service Association, recent presidents have given from 27-38 percent of American ambassadorships to political appointees, people who raised or gave large sums of money to the president’s campaign or to whom the president owes a favor for one reason or another. The rest tend to go to seasoned and experienced foreign service officers.
But what qualifies a person to be God’s plenipotentiary? Isaiah says he was “anointed,” and John the Baptizer was “sent” -- but we don’t know what their qualifications were. Does God call those who are prepared, or prepare those who are called?
In the News
The United States’ ambassador to the Netherlands shocked the Dutch when he posed for publicity photographs with a man-sized frog at an amusement park. The ambassador to Italy “raised eyebrows” when he expressed his love for Italy’s “beautiful girls.” The new ambassador to Spain was welcomed at an official event where he spoke not a word of Spanish. And the ambassador to England challenged the stiffness of British upper lips when he flew the Texas state flag over the stately official residence and installed a four-foot-high wooden Hereford cow replica on the lawn.
Recent appointees? Nah. Those were all American representatives chosen by the first President Bush.
And they don’t even include such notable cases as the American ambassador to Finland “who sent out official Christmas cards with him in ‘Magic Mike’ beefcake poses and whose signature accomplishment [was] renovating his own office,” or the ambassador to Kenya who “paralyzed his embassy with personal demands, including internet access in his executive toilet.”
These and volumes of other accounts lead one to wonder how it is that last week the Senate was shocked, shocked to discover that the qualifications of Colleen Bradley Bell -- President Obama’s appointee as ambassador to Hungary -- for the position were not evident. Up to that moment, she had been a producer of television soap operas, namely The Bold and the Beautiful.
Even though Ms. Bell has been under consideration and awaiting confirmation since January, Senator John McCain was so shocked and dismayed to suddenly discover her lack of qualifications that he tried to persuade his colleagues to deny her approval because Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is, according to McCain, a “neo-fascist dictator getting in bed with Vladimir Putin.” His comment failed to persuade the Senate but did enrage Orban, with whom Ms. Bell will now have to “make nice.”
Shock and outrage that some of America’s ambassadors are only marginally qualified for their posts, if at all, should not come as a surprise to anyone whose eyes have been open for, oh, say the past 40 years or so. Even though the 1980 Foreign Service Act states that “contributions to political campaigns should not be a factor in the appointment of an individual as a chief of mission,” it is a rule that has been largely ignored. “Should not be” seems to be the operative phrase.
Historically, about 30 percent of ambassadorial appointments are political gifts -- and those are usually the plum positions in tourist-friendly countries with governments sympathetic to America. For instance, “the last 19 ambassadors to Ireland have all been political appointees.” Tougher posts, where important work is done in delicate situations, are generally given to career foreign service professionals, like the last 21 ambassadors to Lebanon.
All of this consideration -- silly and serious -- leads us to ask: What, exactly, is an ambassador?
Veteran foreign service officer Peter Van Buren -- who spent 24 years in the State Department, including a year in Iraq leading two State Department Provincial Reconstruction Teams -- says this: “The U.S. ambassador is the head of the embassy in a particular country, and serves as the senior representative for the United State there. S/he interacts personally with important leaders of the host country, negotiates on behalf of the U.S., and serves as America’s public face and mascot, appearing in the media, making public appearances, and hosting social events that in some parts of the world are the primary venues for serious business.”
Speaking of serious business, how does one become an ambassador for God and God’s kingdom?
In the Scriptures
This week’s lectionary offerings give us accounts of two of God’s plenipotentiaries, two ambassadors from the Kingdom of God.
The first is Isaiah of Babylon, or Deutero-Isaiah. His ambassadorial appointment ran sometime after 587 BCE, probably in the years around 527. His appointment was in Babylon among the Hebrew exiles living there.
If one was going to be exiled and forced to live away from one’s homeland, Babylon was not a bad place to be exiled to, all things considered. It was the New York City of its day, the center of civilization and the hub of commerce. Exiles were encouraged to assimilate into the Babylonian (Chaldean) culture, to adopt Babylonian customs, politics, lifestyles, philosophies, and religion. The best and brightest were offered free education and given jobs in the royal court (cf. The Book of Daniel). About the only thing the exiles were not allowed to do was to go home.
Jeremiah had already told them, years earlier, to not waste time crying and whining about their misfortune. They were not, he said, to sit around idly waiting to be rescued. Their stay would be a long one, at least two generations: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:5-7).
Now, 70 years into their Babylonian exile, Isaiah has announced that enough is enough. God has decided to end the exile and allow the children of Israel to return to their homeland.
He begins as any ambassador does, by offering his credentials, his bona fides. Simply put, he says that he was anointed by God, hand-selected and commissioned for what he is about to do and say.
Then he gives his job description: to comfort those who mourn and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He’s there to deliver some good news, in other words.
And that good news is?
Reconciliation.
Restoration.
Reconstruction.
God is going to restore his reconciled people to their homelands, and those people are going to reconstruct the ruins. The devastated cities of Judah will be rebuilt, the walls reconstructed, the gates rehung. The temple which was razed will be raised upon Mt. Zion.
And not only will things -- buildings and cities -- be restored, but so shall relationships.
The covenant between God and God’s people will be restored and upgraded to “everlasting” status. And the people’s reputation will be restored; those who were pitied and scorned will be respected, even feared once more.
This is the good news that Isaiah brings to the people.
The other ambassador under consideration this week comes about 700 years later, and his name is John.
Interestingly, he is never referred to as “the Baptist” or “the Baptizer” in the fourth gospel. Here his role is different -- he is a messenger. It says so in verse 7 of the first chapter of the gospel: “He came as a witness to testify...”
His credentials: “sent by God” (v. 6). Plenipotentiary.
But apparently there are skeptics in the crowd, priests and Levites, and later Pharisees, who are not willing to accept his word for it. “Who are you?” they ask. They want the whole resumé, the portfolio as it were.
His answer is as honest as it is simple. He begins by telling them whom he is not: “I’m not the Messiah.”
Yeah, fine, but who are you? Elijah? Or that unnamed prophet who is supposed to precede the messiah? Who?
John’s answer is more theological than descriptive: “I am the one crying in the wilderness,” just as Isaiah described 700 years ago. That explains little and only manages to confuse them even more.
“So why are you baptizing?” Apparently their expectation was that only the messiah would have the authority to offer people “a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). If John is not the messiah, why is he doing what the messiah is supposed to do?
John’s answer is again theological. His baptism is with water; it is physical, temporary. The messiah will baptize permanently, with the Holy Spirit. People who are baptized with water can walk up out of the river and go back to their lives as before. But when you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, while everything may not change it is all transformed.
This is the real baptism, the transforming baptism, the reconciling, restoring, reconstructing baptism that changes our lives forever and sets us on a course for God’s Kingdom.
In the Pulpit
Two questions can be addressed from the pulpit:
1) How do you become an ambassador who speaks for God and God’s Kingdom?
2) How do you know an authentic, credentialed ambassador when you hear one?
You don’t get to be God’s ambassador as a reward for writing a big check or for doing a lot of work on God’s behalf. God doesn’t reward big givers or hard workers with appointments to a cushy job in some tropical, tourist-friendly part of the world.
Just because you made a big contribution doesn’t mean that you get to sit in a comfortable embassy or consulate while other career officials serve as your minions.
No, to speak on God’s behalf you have to be called by God.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that God only calls people who are perfectly qualified. The old saw still applies, that God is just as likely to qualify the called as to call the qualified.
Jeremiah and Samuel were both teenagers when they were called to be a prophet and a judge respectively.
Isaiah was a low-level palace functionary, an apparatchik in the government bureaucracy when he was called to ministry during the king’s funeral.
Elisha was a farmer plowing his father’s field when Elijah found him and called him to be his successor.
Micah was a thief. Amos was a sheep farmer and orchard tender. Saul was a farmer; David was a shepherd; Paul was Pharisee, a leather worker, and a persecutor of Christians.
None of them had what we might call a stellar background for being an ambassador of YHWH!
Our modern Senate would probably not have confirmed any of them for their jobs.
Yet God saw in each of them the spark of something that God could use for God’s purpose. God called them and then qualified them for the task.
We know an authentic prophet, an authentic ambassador of God, by testing not just the person’s credentials but their message and their actions as well.
Do their words mesh with the words of Jesus? Do they teach what he taught?
Is their message one of love?
Is their calling to a ministry of reconciliation, restoration, and reconstruction? Or do they divide people, separate people, deprive people of power and self-determination? Do they build up or tear down? Do they bring peace or conflict, hope or despair, life or death?
None of these alone may prove the authenticity of their message and their ministry, but together they can provide a body of evidence that will confirm or deny that authenticity.
Finally, we can ask: “To whom or what do they point?”
John and Isaiah both point beyond themselves toward something else, someone else more powerful and more important than they are.
This is what authentic prophets, authentic ambassadors do. They are symbols. They point away from themselves and toward that which they represent.
“I am not the messiah,” says John. “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; and I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.”
In this season of anticipation and expectation we are all called, as were John and Isaiah, to that ministry that points away from ourselves and to the one who is coming -- the Messiah, who is Christ the Lord.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Testing... 1... 2... 3...
by Chris Keating
John 1:6-8, 19-28; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
He was dressed for shopping, but soon was dressed down -- and for good reasons.
A Pennsylvania man was caught on camera impersonating an Army Ranger while shopping on Black Friday. The man was strolling through a crowded mall when Ryan Berk, a former infantryman and Purple Heart recipient, noticed something amiss about the man’s uniform. Berk called the man over and began quizzing him about his attire.
Pretty soon things just didn’t make sense.
It didn’t take long for Berk to realize that the man -- later identified as Sean Yetman of Bucks County, Pennsylvania -- wasn’t a real ranger. His answers weren’t adding up, and his uniform was improper. His boots weren’t laced, his jacket was missing a combat patch, and the United States flag was improperly placed. In addition, Yetman sported three Combat Infantry badges when only one would be customarily awarded.
Enraged by the man’s actions, Berk continued recording the encounter with Yetman. The brief clip shows Berk pointing out the obvious uniform mistakes. Berk’s voice rises with passion as he reminds Yetman of the sacrifices made by soldiers killed in action. When Yetman’s responses don’t quite hang together, within a few minutes he’s exposed as a fake.
Who are you, anyway? What sort of person pretends to be someone else?
That question was likely on the mind of the two million or more viewers who have watched the encounter. It’s viral evidence of false testimony. Along with many other similar encounters, Berk’s quizzing of Yetman is part of a growing number of videotaped “stolen valor” incidents. In 2013, Congress made it illegal to fraudulently claim to have received military decorations in order to receive certain tangible benefits. Despite the outcry, it’s unclear whether posing as a Ranger will land Yetman in legal trouble.
But in 2003, Yetman was arrested for impersonating a Philadelphia policeman. Police stopped Yetman during a routine traffic stop and noticed he was wearing a police coat and badge. The items had been owned by a deceased police officer.
For now, anyone with access to the internet can witness his transgressions, along with the accounts of several other military imposters.
And with those sent to interrogate John the Baptist, we too may well be asking: “Who are you, really?” It’s a question worth probing.
Despite being Jesus’ big cousin, John’s appearances in Christmas pageants are few and far between. Joseph is easy to cast, and you can almost always rope in a few bigger boys to play the mysterious-looking kings. Casting John, however, is more of a challenge. And as we read this text, we understand the dilemma. John’s identity seems rather elusive.
Faithful acts of discernment, however, may be exactly what the church is called to do this Advent.
Notice that in John’s gospel the authorities call out John the Baptist because he is acting without authority. He has no rank, no ribbons, and no certified credentials. But that is just part of the problem. Lacking official denominational endorsement relegates John to the margins of the Advent story. He is indeed a voice crying out in the wilderness -- a paradoxical proclaimer of God’s salvation. His sudden intrusion on the religious landscape is a bit troubling.
The leaders challenge John, calling him out. They run through their checklist:
“Are you the Messiah?”
“Not a chance.”
“Elijah?”
“Hardly.” (You can almost hear the smirk in John’s voice.)
“The prophet?”
“Boys, this is getting old. I told you once, I told you twice. Not the Messiah, not Elijah, not the prophet. Nada.”
So... who are you?
The gospel prologue has wound itself from the heights of the cosmos down to the muddy waters of human sinfulness. Now comes the moment for the Baptizer to give his testimony. The officials press the matter, and demand that he reveal his identity. They are also testing the waters, so to speak, probing to discover John’s authority.
Unlike the Army imposter, John doesn’t claim to be anyone. Instead, he is only a witness. John does not claim to be anything more than a voice preparing a way in the wilderness. John is doing exactly what God has called him to do -- pointing gladly, joyfully, and eagerly to the light that is coming. He calls the religious authorities to continue discerning what God is doing in the world. He points not to his own credentials, but to the “one who is coming after me.”
As our congregations struggle to rethink their identity in an ever-shifting religious context, perhaps John’s voice needs to be heard. John could prompt us into a season of discernment, where we look into the crowd for the “one whom you do not know” (John 1:26). What is God doing in our midst this Advent?
Standing at the microphone, with the religious leaders waiting for his testimony, John tries out the sound system. “Testing... 1... 2... 3... Is anyone listening?”
He’s not an imposter. He’s not pretending to be someone else. He is pointing to where God can be found. The Baptist’s presence creates a bit of drama, of course. His wild getup and strange diet attract attention. But here in Advent, John functions as more than a cameo emcee introducing the Messiah. He is an important witness for the church, and his ministry is one we may be called to undertake. He points out where God is already busy in the world. His baptism is one of preparation.
In some ways, John acts more like the one who is calling out the bad behavior -- naming the imposters and revealing the fakers. In conjunction with the Thessalonians text, John’s testimony seems to be one that tests everything, holds fast to the good, and abstains from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). He calls the faithful to acts of discernment, to lives of faithfulness surrounded by the peace of God.
Testing... 1... 2... 3... Is anyone listening?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
USA Today recently had an article on a ministry called Code.7370, which teaches prisoners at California’s San Quentin prison how to write computer software, like engineers are doing in Silicon Valley just a few miles from the penitentiary. Started by the husband-and-wife team of Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti, the program’s name comes from the Standard Industrial Classification Code for computer programming. It’s an ambitious project -- many of the inmates have never seen a smartphone or even a computer, so the class sessions often begin with simple instructions on how to use a mouse to navigate the computer screen. But after six months of intense training, the inmates are equipped with skills that will allow them to secure entry-level jobs as software engineers.
Application: It is our calling not only to proclaim the Good News of release to the captives, but also to facilitate their release into a new life.
*****
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Marion Barry, who served four terms as the mayor of Washington, DC, recently died. When not serving as mayor, Barry represented Ward 8 on the district’s City Council, whose constituents were the most impoverished in the city. Barry had a checkered past -- he’s most remembered for a 1990 FBI sting operation that caught him on tape smoking crack cocaine, making him an enduring punch line for comedians. Though the arrest seemingly ended his career, after serving six months in a federal penitentiary Barry was able to win election as DC mayor for a fourth term, beating his opponent by ten percentage points. This gave him the unofficial title of “mayor for life.”
Application: Though Marion Barry engaged in activities that repeatedly broke the law, he was always the voice of the voiceless from Ward 8. His willingness to speak for the disenfranchised from society should not be overshadowed by his other activities. We must realize that all of us, like Isaiah and later John the Baptist, are not perfect individuals; yet our voices can still be heard, proclaiming that the oppressed are to be liberated.
*****
John 1:6-8, 19-28
On this day 34 years ago, my daughter Julie was born. Then, as today, it was on the Sabbath. I was living in rural Pennsylvania at the time, and being true to December the roads were impassable because of snow that kept falling throughout the night. With a 5:30 a.m. birth, making it to the pulpit was not even a consideration. Yet, despite my sense of self-importance, I knew the congregation could manage for a single Sunday with my unexpected absence. I was fortunate to have two retired ministers in the congregation, both of whom had previously pastored the church where they now worshiped -- and they, as well as I, could proclaim the Good News of the Lord from the pulpit. And so they did on that snowy day of December 14th in 1980.
Application: We need to be aware of the many voices in the wilderness that are empowered to preach the Good News. (Note: This first-person story can be personalized by introducing it by saying a “pastor that I know shared with me...”)
*****
John 1:6-8, 19-28
A group of journalists are petitioning the Columbia University committee that administers the Pulitzer Prizes to give a posthumous award to war correspondent Ed Kennedy. In 1945, when the Germans surrendered unconditionally to the American and British forces at a schoolhouse in Reims, France, Kennedy and 16 other journalists were quickly assembled to report the event. After the signing ceremony the correspondents were asked to withhold the story for several hours, so that Stalin could make a public display in Berlin of a German surrender to the Russians. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Harry Truman then decided to extend the embargo on the story to 36 hours, allowing Stalin more time to facilitate a second surrender. Kennedy, however, considered the news of the end of World War II in Europe too big and too important to withhold from the public -- so he broke the story early. Because of his act of breaking the military-imposed censorship, his employer (the Associated Press) dismissed Kennedy. Kennedy, in his defense, said: “The absurdity of attempting to bottle up news of such magnitude was too apparent.” In 2012 the AP apologized to Kennedy, calling his report “perhaps the biggest scoop in its history.”
Application: We have the biggest story in the history of humanity to tell, and we cannot remain silent.
*****
John 1:6-8, 19-28
During the last two Christmas seasons, Kmart has been promoting its exclusive Joe Boxer line of underwear and pajamas with commercials that are risqué enough to go viral on the internet. Last year began the fad with six men shaking their hips in boxer shorts to “Jingle Bells.” This year they have five men playing the same tune of “Jingle Bells,” using their pot bellies as drums. To promote the pajama line, Kmart has five pregnant women dancing to the song “Santa Baby.” Allison Cohen, an ad consultant, said that this year’s advertisements may not be as effective “because the initial surprise is gone.”
Application: We have Good News to share, and we do not have to resort to gimmicks to make our message heard.
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From team member Mary Austin:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Rebuilding
The prophet Isaiah promises that the people of God “shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities.” Ben Guss writes for Yes magazine about an Arab-Jewish partnership group called Ta’ayush, which works to rebuild homes demolished to make way for settlements. Jewish and Palestinian volunteers work together to rebuild the damaged or destroyed home -- and in the process also build connections. As Guss writes: “One Israeli volunteer acknowledged to me that he knows the actual physical work they do is not high-quality. They are not trained construction workers. Yet his contribution’s true value is not the physical labor alone. Its value lies in demonstrating to the Palestinian villagers -- as well as to the soldiers, settlers, and the Israeli government -- that what is happening to these villagers matters to Israelis and to the world.”
As the homes are constructed, rebuilding happens on many levels -- literal, and communal.
*****
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Liberty to the Captives
Isaiah announces that the Spirit of the Lord is upon the prophet, allowing him to announce good news to all who need it -- part of which is liberty for the captives.
In our world, the Innocence Project uses DNA evidence to release innocent people from prison. According to their statistics, there have been 321 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.
* The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. Exonerations have been won in 38 states; since 2000, there have been 254 exonerations.
* 20 of the 321 people exonerated through DNA served time on death row. Another 16 were charged with capital crimes but not sentenced to death.
* The average length of time served by exonerees is 13.5 years. The total number of years served is approximately 4,337.
* The average age of exonerees at the time of their wrongful convictions was 27.
* The racial breakdown of the 321 exonerees: 202 African-Americans; 95 Caucasians; 22 Latinos; 2 Asian-Americans.
* The true suspects and/or perpetrators have been identified in 158 of the DNA exoneration cases.
* Since 1989, there have been tens of thousands of cases where prime suspects were identified and pursued -- until DNA testing (prior to conviction) proved that they were wrongly accused.
*****
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Comfort for Those Who Mourn
Isaiah promises that the fullness of God’s presence means comfort for all who mourn, and that comfort often comes in unexpected ways. For Richard Nares, it came through his car: “Nares faced a parent’s worst fear when his son Emilio was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998 and died from the disease two years later.... After his son died, he returned to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and asked staff how he could help others. Their answer: transportation.” Realizing that some people couldn’t afford the bus or lived far away, he started by driving children to chemotherapy in his own car. He came to know more families, and realized that “[f]or some children, the caustic chemotherapy treatments leave their immune systems so weak that they are unable to ride germ-ridden public transportation. Many parents do not have the liberty to take unpaid time from work. Some single-parent families are forced to choose between sending their sick child on a bus to chemotherapy alone or leaving their siblings unsupervised.”
Nares realized that he wanted to do more: “With the help of nurses and social workers, he started the Emilio Nares Foundation to expand his work into a formal program, named Ride With Emilio. Now, the Emilio Nares Foundation gives 2,500 free rides to children and families a year to several hospitals in Southern California. The foundation also provides support to families by providing bilingual patient advocacy, and even bereavement and burial support.... Although he may be a hero, Richard also benefits from his work. Helping others brings him closer to his son. ‘He really is the force,’ Nares said. ‘Even though he’s been passed away almost 13 years, it’s still like he’s with me. Like he’s still on my shoulder or still pulling my ear like he used to.’ ”
Comfort for our seasons of mourning comes in unusual ways.
*****
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Can There Be Too Much Light?
John’s gospel proclaims that John the Baptist “himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” People are drawn to light, but scientists say that we may now have too much light in our lives. National Geographic has reported that our longing for light is so strong that we have done our best to make night like daytime. As Verlyn Klinkenborg writes in the article:
Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and radically alters the light levels -- and light rhythms -- to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life -- migration, reproduction, feeding -- is affected.
For most of human history, the phrase “light pollution” would have made no sense. Imagine walking toward London on a moonlit night around 1800, when it was Earth’s most populous city. Nearly a million people lived there, making do, as they always had, with candles and rushlights and torches and lanterns. Only a few houses were lit by gas, and there would be no public gaslights in the streets or squares for another seven years. From a few miles away, you would have been as likely to smell London as to see its dim collective glow.
Now most of humanity lives under intersecting domes of reflected, refracted light, of scattering rays from overlit cities and suburbs, from light-flooded highways and factories.
Oddly, as much as we love light, we also need the darkness: “Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself. The regular oscillation of waking and sleep in our lives -- one of our circadian rhythms -- is nothing less than a biological expression of the regular oscillation of light on Earth. So fundamental are these rhythms to our being that altering them is like altering gravity.” Our craving for light can never be fully satisfied with bulbs and lamps, but only with the deeper and stronger Light of the World.
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From team member Leah Lonsbury:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Who is to say that a football player can’t be a prophet? When five of the St. Louis Rams ran on field with their hands raised in a show of support for the protestors in Ferguson, Missouri, the St. Louis Police Officers Association (SLPOA) seemed to think it knew who could and couldn’t speak prophetically or “testify to the light.” According to them, this was an act of disrespect, even “hypocritical” in light of the Rams’ calls for added protection by police forces during the protests.
One of the five players involved in the “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture thought differently. In reaction to the SLPOA’s call for censure and a public apology, Rams tight end Jared Cook said: “I just think there has to be a change. No matter what happened on that day, no matter how the whole situation went down, there has to be a change.”
Gestures like this are popping up all over professional sports as well as many other public spaces. A growing number of NBA players have begun warming up for games in “I can’t breathe” t-shirts meant to show support for those who disagree with the non-indictment of the New York City officer involved in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. When basketball megastar Lebron James was asked about his t-shirt, he said: “As a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another no matter what race you are. But it’s more of a shoutout to the family more than anything because they’re the ones who should be getting the energy and effort.”
Our reading from John’s gospel gives us some guidelines that might provide guidance in ascertaining these professional athletes’ prophet credentials.
* Does what they do and say testify to the light?
* Does it “make straight the way of the Lord”?
* Does it point to the unknown one to whom all honor is due?
Our passage from 1 Thessalonians has its own guidelines as well.
* Does the person in question attempt to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances”?
* Does she or he maintain instead of quench the Spirit?
* Has he or she been tested?
We can use these questions to discern a prophetic spirit, but ultimately it’s God who calls and leads the prophet. Basketball players, football players -- who knows? Maybe even you and me!
*****
Luke 1:46b-55; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Have you seen the latest “Keep the Christ in Christmas” meme being passed around social media? It might not be what you’re expecting. See it here.
It has also inspired a t-shirt.
The t-shirt’s instructions to “feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, welcome immigrants, forgive others, embrace outsiders, share with those in need, advocate for the marginalized, confront those abusing power, and value others’ religions” start to sound like the turning things upside-down that Mary is describing in her song in Luke.
*****
Luke 1:46b-55; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Pope Francis is quickly becoming known as a rather unorthodox pope, and he says we can blame his topsy-turvy ways on God:
God is good to me, he has bestowed on me a healthy dose of unawareness. I just do what I have to do. From the start I said to myself, “Jorge, don’t change, just keep on being yourself, because to change at your age would be to make a fool of yourself.”
That true self seems to be found in Francis’ penchant for the poor and his insistence on not shying away from difficult topics. He, like Mary (Luke 1:46b-55), would not be afraid to scatter the proud, show strength, bring down the powerful, lift up the lowly, fill the hungry with good things, and send the rich away hungry.
Pope Francis has been tested (John 1:6-8, 19-28), but the pope results are coming out differently this time around. Wonder what the writer of John’s gospel would have to say about that?
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: When God restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
People: Our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.
Leader: God has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
People: Restore our fortunes, O God, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
Leader: May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
People: Those who go out weeping shall come home with shouts of joy.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God of all creation!
People: We come in awe to offer our praises.
Leader: Come and learn what God is doing in our world.
People: We come to learn about God and God’s work.
Leader: Come and be empowered to share God’s love with everyone.
People: We open our lives to God’s Spirit that we may be God’s ambassadors.
Advent Candle Lighting
Leader: We light this candle, listening for God to call us.
People: We wait for the one who calls us to service.
Leader: We wait that we may go out to serve.
People: We wait, knowing that God will work through us.
Leader: We wait in anticipation of God’s new world.
People: O come, O come, Emmanuel.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“There’s a Spirit in the Air”
found in:
UMH: 192
PH: 433
NCH: 294
CH: 257
W&P: 133
“Ye Who Claim the Faith of Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 197
H82: 268, 269
“Here I Am, Lord”
found in:
UMH: 593
PH: 525
AAHH: 567
CH: 452
ELA: 574
W&P: 559
“Lord, Speak to Me”
found in:
UMH: 463
PH: 426
NCH: 531
ELA: 676
W&P: 597
“Make Me a Captive, Lord”
found in:
UMH: 421
PH: 379
“Blessed Be the God of Israel”
found in:
UMH: 209
H82: 444
CH: 135
ELA: 250, 552
W&P: 158
“Savior of the Nations, Come”
found in:
UMH: 214
PH: 14
LBW: 28
ELA: 263
W&P: 168
“Lord, You Give the Great Commission”
found in:
UMH: 584
H82: 528
PH: 429
CH: 459
ELA: 579
W&P: 592
“We Are His Hands”
found in:
CCB: 85
“Shine, Jesus, Shine”
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who calls mere mortals to speak and act for you: Grant us the grace to listen for your call so that we may know your desire for us as we offer your salvation to the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you deign to speak through mere mortals. As we offer you our worship, help us to listen carefully for you calling us. Assist us to hear your message of salvation for us and for those we are called to serve. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to listen for your calling us to be your messengers.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have tuned our ears to hear those voices that offer us wealth and power, but we have not taken the time to listen for your voice. We know you are calling us. You are calling us to yourself and you are calling us to be your messengers. We know that you have words that the world needs to hear and deeds that the world needs to see. We also know they will only come from you through us. Forgive our selfish ways, and help us to listen more carefully for your call. Amen.
Leader: God is calling so that we and all creation might be saved. Receive God’s grace and God’s call.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
Praise and glory to you, O God, who comes among us and calls us to join you in the salvation of all creation.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have tuned our ears to hear those voices that offer us wealth and power, but we have not taken the time to listen for your voice. We know you are calling us. You are calling us to yourself and you are calling us to be your messengers. We know that you have words that the world needs to hear and deeds that the world needs to see. We also know they will only come from you through us. Forgive our selfish ways, and help us to listen more carefully for your call.
We give you thanks for the privilege of speaking in your name, O God. You have honored us by placing your Spirit within us and commissioning us to speak and act on your behalf.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need, and especially for those who need to hear and see your love made manifest. Help us to faithfully represent you.
(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
As children we may get to say whether or not we like something that is served for dinner; but legally we cannot speak for ourselves -- a parent or other adult must do that. However, we are all invited to speak for God. All of us can share God’s love with others in the words we say and the way we act.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Sent on a Mission
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Object: some candy bars
In today’s gospel, we read about a man named John who was sent on a mission by God. John was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus to come to the people in Israel. Do you think John took that assignment seriously? (Let the children answer.) Yes, I’m sure he did. He did exactly what God told him to do, because he knew it was important.
Would one of you like to volunteer for a mission that I want to send you on? (Let them answer, and pick someone if nobody volunteers.)
Okay, here’s your mission. Do you see these candy bars? (Show the candy.) I want each of you to have one of these, but first we need to get some money to pay for them. Your mission is to go out there in the congregation and collect a dollar to pay for this candy. If you can do this in one minute, everyone will get a candy bar. If you fail, nobody will get one. (Send the child out to find the dollar. Somebody will quickly give them a dollar.)
You did it! You accomplished the mission I sent you on, so you all get rewarded. Now, that mission wasn’t nearly as important as the one John had, but the end result was the same. Because John was able to accomplish the mission that God sent him on, the entire world was rewarded by the ministry of Jesus.
Let’s thank God for the ministry of John the Baptist.
Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven: We thank You so much for sending John the Baptist on his mission to prepare the way for Jesus. Help us to be like him and do what You ask us to do. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, December 14, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 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.
