Religion And Politics
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Dear Fellow Preachers,
Unless you have been backpacking in the deepest wilds lately, you know that politics is bigger news than ever, and so do the people in your pews. That makes talking about religion and politics not only appropriate, but helpful. In this issue of The Immediate Word, team member David Leininger addresses this often-knotty subject, using the lectionary texts for August 8 as a basis.
Also included, as usual, are team comments, several illustrations, a complete set of worship resources, and a children's sermon.
Religion and Politics
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Luke 12:32-40; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
by David E. Leininger
Religion and politics. In years past, we were told those were two subjects that were not good for pleasant conversation. In the church, many of us grew up hearing that religion and politics should be kept strictly apart -- "separation of church and state," after all. But in 2004, we are being treated to regular helpings of both from every point on the partisan spectrum. There are regular references to personal faith by candidates on the right and left.
The press has taken note of this phenomenon and has written extensively on the subject. Time magazine did a cover story on "The Faith Factor" (6/21/04) and asked "Just how devout do Americans want their president to be? The answer is proving to be a major reason why the 2004 campaign is so divisive" (26). A recent poll indicates that 59 percent of those who consider themselves "very religious" support President Bush while only 35 percent support Senator Kerry; conversely, of those who are "not religious" 69 percent favor Kerry compared to 22 percent for Bush (The Christian Century, 7/13/04, 5).
Another story in that same issue of Time, "Battling the Bishops," deals with the controversy among American Catholics concerning whether or not Sen. Kerry should be denied the Eucharist because of his pro-choice voting record. A poll of Catholics asking "Do you think the Catholic Church should be trying to influence the positions Catholic politicians take on issues?" found 69 percent saying no while 26 percent said yes. A subsequent question asked "Does an American Archbishop's criticism of Kerry's position on abortion make you less likely to vote for Kerry?": 83% said no, 14% said yes. Even though those responses would weigh heavily against any kind of religious litmus tests, the predicted closeness of this year's election could easily find such tests a determining factor in the final outcome.
President Bush's personal faith has never been a secret. He has declared his convictions openly since the beginning. During the primary campaign debates for the presidency in 2000, he responded to a question concerning which philosopher had had the greatest impact on his life by answering "Jesus Christ." Sen. Kerry until very recently has been more reticent concerning such matters, but lately has become much more outspoken. In his acceptance speech at last week's Democratic Convention in Boston he said:
"Let me say it plainly . . . in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country. These aren't Democratic values. These aren't Republican values. They're American values. We believe in them. They're who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world."
On CBS's Face the Nation program broadcast this past Sunday (8/1/04), Kerry said Bush occasionally has crossed a line between church and state, although he said he doesn't know if it's intentional or inadvertent. "I'm Christian, I'm Catholic, it's important to me," Kerry said. "It has served me through my whole life. But as I said in my speech, I'm not going to say God is on my side and I'm not going to go out and divide people. I want to pray that we are on God's side."
Religion and politics. No doubt we will be treated to more and more of both as we move toward November. But what about this "line between church and state?" How are we as preachers to handle what is becoming a hotter and hotter potato? The easiest response (and probably the safest as well in regard to job security) would be to stay scrupulously away from any political reference at all. According to the Associated Press, there is at least one watchdog group out there going around to churches listening to preaching to see if pastors are adhering to federal tax guidelines restricting political activity by nonprofit groups (John Hanna, "Group Keeping Watch on Pulpit's Political Activities," Associated Press, 7/25/04). Hmm.
With that caveat, I wonder whether keeping religion and politics separate is possible. For that matter, I wonder whether it is desirable. I wonder if it is faithful. The witness of the prophets of old would say no.
Consider this week's lesson from Isaiah (1:1, 10-20). It begins with a superscription that places the prophet in a particular historical context -- Jerusalem "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah"; in other words, throughout most of the second half of the eighth century BCE. Little is known of Isaiah's life, but we can surmise a bit from some of the narratives of his actions. He apparently was a political "insider" with access (if not decisive influence) in the power centers of Judah.
We jump down to verse 10 and the prophet's contemptuous invitation: "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!" Sodom? Gomorrah? Those two cities had been turned to toast long before and were thus names automatically evocative of judgment -- similar to the derisive tone that Americans sometimes use when describing something as a Las Vegas or San Francisco.
Beginning in verse 11, the words of God are quoted directly in a two-part speech, first the negative and then the positive, stating what is rejected and then what is required. The prophet first hears the Lord rejecting various kinds of sacrifices (vv.11-12), then solemn processions ("trample my courts"), then incense (v. 13a) as well as all forms of religious celebration and assembly (v. 13b), including regular and unscheduled services of worship. God says through the prophet, "I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity." Verse 14 reiterates the repudiation of religious festivals: "Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates" -- in other words, "I hate." Perhaps the most radical announcement of all comes in v. 15 with the rejection of prayer itself ("stretch out your hands" refers to the posture of prayer), and the reason for the Lord's refusal to hear makes the ironic rejection in v. 13 plain: "I will not listen; your hands are full of blood." Thus the negative sequence concludes with the vivid image of bloody hands, a metaphor for unspecified acts of violence (Turner, "The Book of Isaiah," New Interpreter's Bible, Abingdon Press). This is the ancient equivalent of a thoroughly modern concern -- don't sow your wild oats for six days, then come in on the seventh and pray for a crop failure.
With vv.16-17 we begin to get positive instructions. "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow." These are more than general instructions. The admonitions about seeking justice mean to care for the powerless members of the society: the oppressed, the orphan, and the widow. This is eminently "political" speech and is certainly of the same genre as preachers today who worry about cashing their tax rebate check while knowing how many millions of American children have no health insurance.
The tone shifts with v. 18. In the wonderful language of the old King James Version in which so many of us and our parishioners were nourished, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." If anyone wonders how political THAT is, simply recall that it was one of the most favorite expressions of one of our generation's most consummate politicians, Lyndon Baines Johnson. God through the prophet is pleading for a turnaround and an outcome other than judgment, then spells out the blessings that come from obedience (v. 19). But if not . . . (v. 20). Well.
Religion and politics, they're as old as the ancient prophets; as modern as tomorrow's newspaper. In my estimation, it is impossible to keep them separate and, frankly, anyone who says so understands neither religion nor politics. Both have to do not only with deeply held convictions but the way we live our lives. In other words, what we believe determines how we behave. For example, if we truly believe that flesh and blood are stronger than iron and steel moving at high speeds, we will not bother to look both ways when walking across the highway. What we believe determines how we behave. Isaiah's message is simply this: Don't you DARE separate religion and politics! Well, now.
So saying, I offer a word to the wise. We who serve America's churches are ministering to a deeply divided constituency. First and foremost, we are pastors to ALL the people, not just those with whom we share political persuasions. Never flinch from holding feet to the fire in defense of justice issues -- the witness of the prophets gives us wonderful warrant for that. And yes, I realize that virtually every hot-button social issue that we face today could be characterized by someone as a "justice" issue. But the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Be careful. And may God bless you as you go about your task.
Team Comments
Carter Shelley responds: David, I appreciate your recognition that our nation and its citizens always have had an uneasy and uncertain sense of how a nation founded "under God" can keep church and state separate. In 2004, it seems more true than ever that many American Christians don't want church and state to operate separately; what we want is for our particular understanding of Christianity to be the primary determinant of government legislation. Moreover, it's slippery ground on which we seek to trod. As the Old Testament prophets proved time and time again, it's when God's people think they are being most faithful that they turn out to be the most faithless.
We ministers walk a fine line when we feel compelled by circumstance and scripture to become prophetic in our preaching. Not only do we have to humbly second-guess our own motives and biases -- moreover, we can't help but be aware that such prophecies rarely result in massive repentance, conversions, or salary increases. The Gospel is not an empty promise, but it becomes hollow if we fail to embody it in our lives as well as in the words we preach.
It's also sobering to realize how small a percentage of the Temple priests, scribes, Pharisees, or American clergy have stepped forward as God's prophets at times of great political and social injustice. At times when our Christian call has seemed clearest, many of us remained mute: disenfranchisement for all English citizens who did not own property, slavery in America, women's suffrage, and civil rights for all American citizens.
The history of biblical prophetic careers is not exactly one of "onward and upward" from modest beginnings as "a dresser of sycamore trees" to right-hand man or woman of the King of Israel. Moses lost clout as soon as his back was turned. Queen Jezebel sought Elijah's head, preferably on a spit. God expected Hosea to integrate unsavory aspects of God's word into Hosea's "home life." Isaiah prophesied to people who will not hear, not understand, and not care, while Jeremiah was reduced to recording regular confessions and fears before being hauled off to Egypt for having been a little too accurate in his gloomy predictions.
Nor have the primary issues of faithfulness and apostasy changed much since the 4th century C.E. The central word of God hasn't changed much. It's interesting to note that acts each of us can perform, regardless of the level of involvement or non-involvement of our national government, embody almost every tenet of righteous behavior outlined by Isaiah or radicalized by our Savior. In verse 17 Isaiah enjoins the people of Judah to "learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow" -- all central tenets of Christian action today. Jesus' words in Luke offer complementary, albeit more radical injunctions. "Sell your possessions and give alms, purses don't wear out for treasures in heaven, be dressed for action, be alert for your master's coming, and be ready for the Son of Man's unexpected hour of return."
At those times when God's Word speaks to us clearly and explicitly, there are things we can learn from the Old Testament prophets that can bolster us and keep God's message true: 1) Repetition is necessary. Don't expect people to hear something the first time you say it. 2) Threats come from God and not from the prophet or preacher. Our function is to persuade people to repent and return to God, not "get even." 3) Expect God to be more gracious than we are (see final verses in Isaiah 1:10-20). Jonah, who had no aspirations whatsoever to go warn the Ninevites, baldly states that he does not want to prophesy to them because he knows what a softie God is, and because God will always choose forgiveness over fire and brimstone when given the chance. 4) God's prophets and preachers are called upon to prophesy not in order to condemn, but in order to redeem. God always prefers loving to punishing.
On Religion, Rhetoric and Politics: One of sad realities of our verbose modern society is the lack of value most of us place upon the spoken word. Assaulted by it on television, the radio, the internet, at the office, the beauty parlor, and in church, we do not hold speech and language in high regard. It's just "rhetoric," we say.
In ancient Greece, rhetoric was understood as a skill and a craft. Then, as now, it was also recognized as the art of persuasion through the use of words. Rhetoric used to be one of the most hallowed and respected disciplines. For both Socrates and Plato, the pursuit of truth was the purpose of rhetoric. Rhetoric was central to the exploration and discovery of truth through discourse. How ironic that in our day and age rhetoric is most often understood to mean exactly the opposite.
Because we associate it so closely with politics and used-car salesmen, most 21st century Americans think of rhetoric as empty or flowery words that mean nothing. "Talk is cheap," we say. Rhetoric is understood as words that are full of empty promises: "Your money back, guaranteed." "Till death do us part. . ." "I'll still respect you in the morning." "The check is in the mail."
Interestingly, some of this suspicion of rhetoric began with the early centuries of Christianity, in a time when one of the most gifted rhetoricians of the Roman Empire was converted to Christianity. As a classically trained rhetorician, Augustine was suspicious of Christianity's crude writing style. Christians, on the other hand, were suspicious of rhetoric's ability to deceive. Plato found truth in dialectic exchange. Augustine shifts the source of truth to the Word of God, with rhetoric becoming the vehicle for communicating divine truth. Thus, it's no accident that Augustine used Book IV of his work On Christian Doctrine to teach homiletics. The sermon became a new rhetorical genre. The sermon's source material was the Bible. Its audience became the congregation, composed of both the faithful and the convertible. As with the message of the prophets. the sermon's goal was to inspire obedience to God's will. The sermon's other function was to develop mature believers. Not much has changed from then to now. It still requires study, discipline, rhetorical skill, and moral courage to preach God's Word.
Roger Lovette responds: This week's texts all seem to focus on God. Isaiah 1 -- As Israel was facing the Exile the prophet began his first verse with a vision. This is continued in Isaiah 6.1 when he saw the Lord God high and lifted up. This call of God becomes the framework of all he will say. The whole focus of Isaiah, especially chapters 40 forward, is on God, not the sorry predicament that God's people found themselves in. The justice which he proclaims in 1:17 and he returns to again and again flows out of a solid vision of God.
Psalm 50 focuses on God. It is not anthropology, sociology, psychology -- we deal here with theology. The other "ologies" are not discounted -- but theos is the word here. Sometimes we earthbound creatures forget this other quality. One danger, of course, is pie in the sky; the other danger is being so tied to the news and today's headlines we have no focus and are immobilized or overwhelmed. Hasn't every age had to deal with this problem?
Hebrews 11 gives us the great roll call of faith. The heart of it all was a faith in God. Looking for a far better country. And many of them found it because their gaze was higher than just the things around them.
In Luke 12: 32-40 we are told to live life as if we were not afraid. This tom-tom beat "Do not be afraid" runs like a thread through the whole Bible. Why? Because we have a different treasure. Our hearts are centered in something beyond ourselves. I remember that at the sad memorial service after the Oklahoma City bombing someone sang a Christian contemporary song: "Be not afraid." It brought enormous comfort to not only the grievers, but to all who heard it. God does God's best work when times are hard.
Barbara Johnson writes in her book: "A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out. A subjective person came along and said, 'I feel for you down there.' An objective person came along and said, 'It's logical that someone would fall down there.' A Pharisee said, 'Only bad people fall into a pit.' A mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit. A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on his pit. A fundamentalist said, 'You deserve your pit.' An IRS man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit. A self-pitying person said, 'You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit.' A charismatic said, 'Just confess that you're not in a pit.' An optimist said, 'Things could be worse.' A pessimist said, 'Things will get worse.' Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit!"
Related Illustrations
"The gospel is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart, that when he looks in the mirror all in a lather what he sees is at least eight parts chicken, phony, slob" (7).
For the preacher "to tell the truth in love means to tell it with concern not only for the people it is being told to. . . The preacher must always try to feel what it is like to live inside the skins of the people he is preaching to, to hear the truth as they hear it" (8).
"A particular truth can be stated in words. . .But truth itself is another matter . . . The task of the preacher is to hold up life to us, by whatever gifts he or she has of imagination, eloquence, simple candor, to create images of life through which we can somehow see into the wordless truth of our lives" (17).
--Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale, Harper and Row, 1977
***
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me."
***
On Religious imagery and metaphors at the Democratic Convention
Preacher in chief . . . Faith and values have become buzzwords of the Kerry-Edwards campaign as of late, but until about 10 pm on Monday night, you didn't hear a peep about them. Not from Gore -- whose lone foray into religion-speak in 2000 was to comment somewhat stiffly that he often asks himself, "What Would Jesus Do?" Not from the myriad of small-potato speakers. And, surprisingly, not from Jimmy Carter, who has committed much of his post-presidency attention to faith-based initiatives like Habitat for Humanity.
And then Rev. David Alston, Baptist minister and former crewmate of John Kerry, took the stage. In the middle of a moving testimonial about Kerry's wartime service, Alston stepped it up a notch, referring to the Senator as a man "who has always had the courage to speak truth to power," quoting from my favorite Psalm (27 -- "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear"), and declaring that "Almighty God gave us a brave and decisive leader named John Kerry." With every religious reference, the crowd roared a little more.
Sure, you say, but black preachers are adept at energizing audiences -- why is this anything special? I'm not sure if I can articulate it, but there was a shift in the type of energy in the room when Alston hit those key notes, the emotion seemed to swell in a way that it did not throughout the rest of his remarks. I note this not by way of arguing that all Democrats should start praising the Almighty in their speeches but to point out that what is often characterized as a mostly secular crowd -- Democratic delegates -- was not only open to a bit of religion-speak but seemed to respond positively to it.
Hillary Clinton -- who has been working behind-the-scenes in the Senate for the past year to convince her colleagues to "take back" the concepts of religion and values and morality from Republicans -- gave a fairly dry speech that failed to touch on any of those issues. Her only ad lib of the night, however, was to praise the "witnessing" of Rev. Alston.
The star of the night, Bill Clinton, proved once again that he can match the Republican strategy of using religious code words and phrases to reach out to moderate people of faith and then do them one better by using the tactic not to pander to those same listeners, but instead to challenge them to reflect on which set of political ideals best matches their religious principles.
Early in his speech, Clinton made a broad generalization -- "all Americans honor freedom and faith and family" -- that's not entirely true (some 10 to 15 percent of Americans describe themselves as not religious), but that set the tone for his speech, which was really an appeal to those voters in the middle. You're not a bad person if you supported Bush before, he told them. We're not splitting the country into good voters and bad voters. It's not that Democrats love the poor and Republicans hate them. It's a question of how best to go about helping the poor, how best to go about being a good global neighbor, how best to act as stewards for the environment. He made very clear what some would prefer to gloss over for simplicity's sake: This election does not boil down to a choice between a party of values and a party of none. It is a choice about which values voters align themselves with.
What were the religious code words and phrases that framed Clinton speech? There were three separate ideas:
"Send Me" Clinton began with this passage: "During the Vietnam War, many young men -- including the current president, the vice president, and me -- could have gone to Vietnam but didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it, too. Instead, he said, 'send me.' " He continued on, outlining Kerry's lifetime of public service by noting that every time his country has asked something of him, John Kerry has replied, "Send me." It was a nice little phrase for the audience to yell back at Clinton, but it comes from the prophet Isaiah (6:8) -- "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' "
Using the Talents In a short section promoting John Edwards, Clinton described the vice presidential nominee as a man "who has used his talents to improve the lives of people." That's a reference to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) and a subtle dig at Bush, a man who has been given much and of whom nothing much has been expected. In the parable, the servant who uses his talents is praised by God ("Well done, my good and faithful servant"), but the one who hides his talents away for himself is shamed.
A Time to Choose This last was Clinton's most subtle use of religious rhetoric, echoing Ecclesiastes 3, which begins "There is a time for everything" and then lists choices in pairs. For the most part, the poet begins with more destructive choices -- "a time to tear" or "a time for war" -- and ends with hopeful ones -- "a time to mend" or "a time for peace." There is time to disagree, Clinton said, and we've tried it your way, but now it's time to come together.
--Amy Sullivan, editor of the Washington Monthly, in a post (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_07/004390.php) to the "Political Animal" weblog at the Washington Monthly's website (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/)
Worship Resources
by George Reed
Opening Music
n.b. All copyright information is given from the first cited place where found. Some copyright information may differ in other sources due to adaptations, etc.
Hymns
"If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee"
WORDS: George Neumark, 1657; translation by Catherine Winkworth, 1863
MUSIC: George Neumark, 1657
© public domain
as found in: UMH 142; Hymnal '82 635; LBOW 453; TPH 282; TNCH 410; CH 565
"O God in Heaven"
WORDS: Elena G. Maquiso, 1961; translation by D. T. Miles, 1964
MUSIC: Elena G. Maquiso, 1961; harmonization by Charles H. Webb, 1987
translation by permission of Christian Conference of Asia;
music © 1962 Silliman University Music Foundation, Inc; harmonization © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
as found in: UMH 119; TNCH 279
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past"
WORDS: Isaac Watts, 1719
MUSIC: attributed to William Croft, 1708; harmonization by W. H. Monk, 1861
© public domain
as found in: UMH 117; Hymnal '82 680; LBOW 320; AAHH 170; TNNBH 46; TNCH 25; CH 67
Songs
"From the Rising of the Sun"
WORDS: anonymous; MUSIC: anonymous
© public domain
as found in: CCB # 4
"As We Gather"
WORDS & MUSIC: Mike Faky and Tom Coomes
© 1981 Coomesietunes
as found in: CCB # 12
Call to Worship
Leader: Come into the presence of the One.
People: We come with all our differences.
Leader: Come into the presence of the Unity.
People: We come with all our divisions.
Leader: Come into the presence of Love.
People: We come to love and be loved.
Collect/Opening Prayer
O God who is called I am who I am: Grant to us, your children, the grace to speak and act with integrity reflecting who we truly are; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
In our worship, O God, we praise you and adore you. In our daily lives we act as your children sharing love and grace to others on occasion. At other times we talk a good game but we act as children of perdition, spreading hate, anger, and mistrust. Help us in this time of worship to so open our lives to your Spirit that not just our words but our actions may reflect our status as your children. Amen.
Response Music
Hymns
"Dear Jesus, in Whose life I See"
WORDS: John Hunter, 1889
MUSIC: Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774; adapted from Metrical Psalter, 1855
© public domain
as found in: UMH 468
"O Young and Fearless Prophet"
WORDS: S. Ralph Harlow, 1931
MUSIC: John B. Dykes, 1872
© public domain
as found in: UMH 444; CH 669
"My Soul Gives Glory to My God"
WORDS: Miriam Therese Winter, 1987
MUSIC: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813; harmonization by Charles H. Webb, 1988
words © 1978, 1987 Medical Mission Sisters; harmonization © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
as found in: UMH 198; LBOW 180 (option though not the same hymn); TNCH 119; CH 130
"Tell Out, My Soul"
WORDS: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1961
MUSIC: Walter Greatorex, 1919
words © 1962 Hope Publishing Co.; music Oxford University Press
as found in: UMH 200; Hymnal '82 437, 438
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"
WORDS: James Montgomery, 1821
MUSIC: Gesangbuch der H. W. K Hofkapelle, 1784, alt.; adapted and harmonized by W. H. Monk, 1868
© public domain
as found in: UMH 203; Hymnal '82 616; LBOW 87; AAHH 187; TNNBH; TNCH 104; CH 140
"Let There Be Light"
WORDS: Frances W. Davis
MUSIC: Robert J. B. Fleming, 1967
© Music by permission of Mrs. Robert J. B. Fleming
as found in: UMH 440; TNNBH 450
Songs
"Shine, Jesus, Shine"
WORDS & MUSIC: Graham Kendrick
© 1987 Make Way Music
as found in: CCB # 81
"They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love"
WORDS & MUSIC: Peter Scholtes
© 1966 F. E. L. Publications
as found in: CCB # 78
"Open Our Eyes, Lord"
WORDS: stanza 1 by Bob Cull; stanza 2 anonymous; MUSIC: Bob Cull
© 1976 Maranatha! Music
as found in: CCB # 77
Prayers of Confession/Pardon
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who is and was and is to come, the Unchangeable, and we are aware that we are finite and fickle, changing with the wind. Let us confess to God our lack of integrity and ask for God's Spirit to ground us on the Rock of our Salvation.
People: We confess to you, O God, the waywardness of our hearts and minds. We talk about our faith and our care for our brothers and sisters, but we act for our own self-interest. We talk about care for the poor and downtrodden, but we make excuses for why it is their own fault and we spend our resources on luxury items for ourselves. We talk about taking up our cross, but the best we can manage is to wear a gold one around our necks. Forgive us, and by the power of your Spirit make our lives solid in you. Amen.
Leader: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Miriam, Ruth, and Esther; the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow grants you forgiveness and invites you into the integrity that is life in the Spirit.
General Prayers, Litanies, etc.
We worship you, Solid Rock, for you are the sure place to which we can always flee. Your steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
We confess that we are changeable and fickle. We speak a good faith but live it sporadically. We want to follow Jesus but we end up following our own self-interests. Forgive us and renew us by the constant presence of your Spirit.
We thank you, O God, for all the blessings we receive from you. You send the rain on the just and the unjust, the sun to shine of the good and the bad. The earth produces abundantly and your Spirit never fails us.
(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)
We know that all creation has not yet entered fully into your reign. We lift up to you those broken areas of creation and ask that our prayers, our spirits, and our love might join yours in bringing wholeness and grace.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father...."
Hymnal & Songbook Abbreviations:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition
A Children's Sermon
by Wesley T. Runk
What Is Your Treasure?
Luke 12:32-40
Text: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (v. 34)
Objects: a pocket knife, a baseball glove, and a doll
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have a treasure? (let them answer) Very good, a lot of you have some treasure. What kind of treasure do you have? (let them answer) I brought along some things that I thought might be a treasure to you. A treasure is something very important to you, something that is worth almost more than anything you can think of, when you think of things that you want or have.
When I was a boy, I always thought that my baseball glove was the most important treasure that I had, and I would not have given it up for anything. My brother always wanted a pocket knife that he could carry with him. When he was old enough to have a knife, he got one, and he still carries it with him today. My sister was not too interested in ball gloves and pocket knives, but she loved her doll. That was really "it" for her, and she would take the doll with her wherever she went, even to bed when she went to sleep at night. She loved that doll with all of her heart, just like my brother loved his knife and I loved my ball glove.
Jesus knew how people love things, and he thought that this was all right, even good, as long as we remember what love is really meant to be. Jesus told us that we should not love gloves, knives, money, dolls, gold, cars, or anything more than we love people, and especially God. Loving our treasure can be wrong if we love it more than we love God and people. When we love our things more than we love God and people, it makes us greedy and unkind. Nothing is as important as God, and we should love him the most. Next to God is our love for each other, and when we share our love with each other instead of loving things, then we are also doing right. But if we love money or whatever is special to us, we end up trying to hurt others so that we can have more things. If we try to keep things such as food and clothes to ourselves, even when others need them, then we have wars or fights. But when you love God, it means that you want to share things that you have. You may even share your most important treasure, even if it is your ball glove or your knife or your doll.
When you learn to share your treasure at your age, you will then be ready to share your money, your food, and whatever else is important to you when you grow older.
* * *
The Immediate Word, August 8, 2004, issue.
Copyright 2004 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
Unless you have been backpacking in the deepest wilds lately, you know that politics is bigger news than ever, and so do the people in your pews. That makes talking about religion and politics not only appropriate, but helpful. In this issue of The Immediate Word, team member David Leininger addresses this often-knotty subject, using the lectionary texts for August 8 as a basis.
Also included, as usual, are team comments, several illustrations, a complete set of worship resources, and a children's sermon.
Religion and Politics
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Luke 12:32-40; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
by David E. Leininger
Religion and politics. In years past, we were told those were two subjects that were not good for pleasant conversation. In the church, many of us grew up hearing that religion and politics should be kept strictly apart -- "separation of church and state," after all. But in 2004, we are being treated to regular helpings of both from every point on the partisan spectrum. There are regular references to personal faith by candidates on the right and left.
The press has taken note of this phenomenon and has written extensively on the subject. Time magazine did a cover story on "The Faith Factor" (6/21/04) and asked "Just how devout do Americans want their president to be? The answer is proving to be a major reason why the 2004 campaign is so divisive" (26). A recent poll indicates that 59 percent of those who consider themselves "very religious" support President Bush while only 35 percent support Senator Kerry; conversely, of those who are "not religious" 69 percent favor Kerry compared to 22 percent for Bush (The Christian Century, 7/13/04, 5).
Another story in that same issue of Time, "Battling the Bishops," deals with the controversy among American Catholics concerning whether or not Sen. Kerry should be denied the Eucharist because of his pro-choice voting record. A poll of Catholics asking "Do you think the Catholic Church should be trying to influence the positions Catholic politicians take on issues?" found 69 percent saying no while 26 percent said yes. A subsequent question asked "Does an American Archbishop's criticism of Kerry's position on abortion make you less likely to vote for Kerry?": 83% said no, 14% said yes. Even though those responses would weigh heavily against any kind of religious litmus tests, the predicted closeness of this year's election could easily find such tests a determining factor in the final outcome.
President Bush's personal faith has never been a secret. He has declared his convictions openly since the beginning. During the primary campaign debates for the presidency in 2000, he responded to a question concerning which philosopher had had the greatest impact on his life by answering "Jesus Christ." Sen. Kerry until very recently has been more reticent concerning such matters, but lately has become much more outspoken. In his acceptance speech at last week's Democratic Convention in Boston he said:
"Let me say it plainly . . . in this campaign, we welcome people of faith. America is not us and them. I think of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. I don't want to claim that God is on our side. As Abraham Lincoln told us, I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side. And whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country. These aren't Democratic values. These aren't Republican values. They're American values. We believe in them. They're who we are. And if we honor them, if we believe in ourselves, we can build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world."
On CBS's Face the Nation program broadcast this past Sunday (8/1/04), Kerry said Bush occasionally has crossed a line between church and state, although he said he doesn't know if it's intentional or inadvertent. "I'm Christian, I'm Catholic, it's important to me," Kerry said. "It has served me through my whole life. But as I said in my speech, I'm not going to say God is on my side and I'm not going to go out and divide people. I want to pray that we are on God's side."
Religion and politics. No doubt we will be treated to more and more of both as we move toward November. But what about this "line between church and state?" How are we as preachers to handle what is becoming a hotter and hotter potato? The easiest response (and probably the safest as well in regard to job security) would be to stay scrupulously away from any political reference at all. According to the Associated Press, there is at least one watchdog group out there going around to churches listening to preaching to see if pastors are adhering to federal tax guidelines restricting political activity by nonprofit groups (John Hanna, "Group Keeping Watch on Pulpit's Political Activities," Associated Press, 7/25/04). Hmm.
With that caveat, I wonder whether keeping religion and politics separate is possible. For that matter, I wonder whether it is desirable. I wonder if it is faithful. The witness of the prophets of old would say no.
Consider this week's lesson from Isaiah (1:1, 10-20). It begins with a superscription that places the prophet in a particular historical context -- Jerusalem "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah"; in other words, throughout most of the second half of the eighth century BCE. Little is known of Isaiah's life, but we can surmise a bit from some of the narratives of his actions. He apparently was a political "insider" with access (if not decisive influence) in the power centers of Judah.
We jump down to verse 10 and the prophet's contemptuous invitation: "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!" Sodom? Gomorrah? Those two cities had been turned to toast long before and were thus names automatically evocative of judgment -- similar to the derisive tone that Americans sometimes use when describing something as a Las Vegas or San Francisco.
Beginning in verse 11, the words of God are quoted directly in a two-part speech, first the negative and then the positive, stating what is rejected and then what is required. The prophet first hears the Lord rejecting various kinds of sacrifices (vv.11-12), then solemn processions ("trample my courts"), then incense (v. 13a) as well as all forms of religious celebration and assembly (v. 13b), including regular and unscheduled services of worship. God says through the prophet, "I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity." Verse 14 reiterates the repudiation of religious festivals: "Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates" -- in other words, "I hate." Perhaps the most radical announcement of all comes in v. 15 with the rejection of prayer itself ("stretch out your hands" refers to the posture of prayer), and the reason for the Lord's refusal to hear makes the ironic rejection in v. 13 plain: "I will not listen; your hands are full of blood." Thus the negative sequence concludes with the vivid image of bloody hands, a metaphor for unspecified acts of violence (Turner, "The Book of Isaiah," New Interpreter's Bible, Abingdon Press). This is the ancient equivalent of a thoroughly modern concern -- don't sow your wild oats for six days, then come in on the seventh and pray for a crop failure.
With vv.16-17 we begin to get positive instructions. "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow." These are more than general instructions. The admonitions about seeking justice mean to care for the powerless members of the society: the oppressed, the orphan, and the widow. This is eminently "political" speech and is certainly of the same genre as preachers today who worry about cashing their tax rebate check while knowing how many millions of American children have no health insurance.
The tone shifts with v. 18. In the wonderful language of the old King James Version in which so many of us and our parishioners were nourished, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." If anyone wonders how political THAT is, simply recall that it was one of the most favorite expressions of one of our generation's most consummate politicians, Lyndon Baines Johnson. God through the prophet is pleading for a turnaround and an outcome other than judgment, then spells out the blessings that come from obedience (v. 19). But if not . . . (v. 20). Well.
Religion and politics, they're as old as the ancient prophets; as modern as tomorrow's newspaper. In my estimation, it is impossible to keep them separate and, frankly, anyone who says so understands neither religion nor politics. Both have to do not only with deeply held convictions but the way we live our lives. In other words, what we believe determines how we behave. For example, if we truly believe that flesh and blood are stronger than iron and steel moving at high speeds, we will not bother to look both ways when walking across the highway. What we believe determines how we behave. Isaiah's message is simply this: Don't you DARE separate religion and politics! Well, now.
So saying, I offer a word to the wise. We who serve America's churches are ministering to a deeply divided constituency. First and foremost, we are pastors to ALL the people, not just those with whom we share political persuasions. Never flinch from holding feet to the fire in defense of justice issues -- the witness of the prophets gives us wonderful warrant for that. And yes, I realize that virtually every hot-button social issue that we face today could be characterized by someone as a "justice" issue. But the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Be careful. And may God bless you as you go about your task.
Team Comments
Carter Shelley responds: David, I appreciate your recognition that our nation and its citizens always have had an uneasy and uncertain sense of how a nation founded "under God" can keep church and state separate. In 2004, it seems more true than ever that many American Christians don't want church and state to operate separately; what we want is for our particular understanding of Christianity to be the primary determinant of government legislation. Moreover, it's slippery ground on which we seek to trod. As the Old Testament prophets proved time and time again, it's when God's people think they are being most faithful that they turn out to be the most faithless.
We ministers walk a fine line when we feel compelled by circumstance and scripture to become prophetic in our preaching. Not only do we have to humbly second-guess our own motives and biases -- moreover, we can't help but be aware that such prophecies rarely result in massive repentance, conversions, or salary increases. The Gospel is not an empty promise, but it becomes hollow if we fail to embody it in our lives as well as in the words we preach.
It's also sobering to realize how small a percentage of the Temple priests, scribes, Pharisees, or American clergy have stepped forward as God's prophets at times of great political and social injustice. At times when our Christian call has seemed clearest, many of us remained mute: disenfranchisement for all English citizens who did not own property, slavery in America, women's suffrage, and civil rights for all American citizens.
The history of biblical prophetic careers is not exactly one of "onward and upward" from modest beginnings as "a dresser of sycamore trees" to right-hand man or woman of the King of Israel. Moses lost clout as soon as his back was turned. Queen Jezebel sought Elijah's head, preferably on a spit. God expected Hosea to integrate unsavory aspects of God's word into Hosea's "home life." Isaiah prophesied to people who will not hear, not understand, and not care, while Jeremiah was reduced to recording regular confessions and fears before being hauled off to Egypt for having been a little too accurate in his gloomy predictions.
Nor have the primary issues of faithfulness and apostasy changed much since the 4th century C.E. The central word of God hasn't changed much. It's interesting to note that acts each of us can perform, regardless of the level of involvement or non-involvement of our national government, embody almost every tenet of righteous behavior outlined by Isaiah or radicalized by our Savior. In verse 17 Isaiah enjoins the people of Judah to "learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow" -- all central tenets of Christian action today. Jesus' words in Luke offer complementary, albeit more radical injunctions. "Sell your possessions and give alms, purses don't wear out for treasures in heaven, be dressed for action, be alert for your master's coming, and be ready for the Son of Man's unexpected hour of return."
At those times when God's Word speaks to us clearly and explicitly, there are things we can learn from the Old Testament prophets that can bolster us and keep God's message true: 1) Repetition is necessary. Don't expect people to hear something the first time you say it. 2) Threats come from God and not from the prophet or preacher. Our function is to persuade people to repent and return to God, not "get even." 3) Expect God to be more gracious than we are (see final verses in Isaiah 1:10-20). Jonah, who had no aspirations whatsoever to go warn the Ninevites, baldly states that he does not want to prophesy to them because he knows what a softie God is, and because God will always choose forgiveness over fire and brimstone when given the chance. 4) God's prophets and preachers are called upon to prophesy not in order to condemn, but in order to redeem. God always prefers loving to punishing.
On Religion, Rhetoric and Politics: One of sad realities of our verbose modern society is the lack of value most of us place upon the spoken word. Assaulted by it on television, the radio, the internet, at the office, the beauty parlor, and in church, we do not hold speech and language in high regard. It's just "rhetoric," we say.
In ancient Greece, rhetoric was understood as a skill and a craft. Then, as now, it was also recognized as the art of persuasion through the use of words. Rhetoric used to be one of the most hallowed and respected disciplines. For both Socrates and Plato, the pursuit of truth was the purpose of rhetoric. Rhetoric was central to the exploration and discovery of truth through discourse. How ironic that in our day and age rhetoric is most often understood to mean exactly the opposite.
Because we associate it so closely with politics and used-car salesmen, most 21st century Americans think of rhetoric as empty or flowery words that mean nothing. "Talk is cheap," we say. Rhetoric is understood as words that are full of empty promises: "Your money back, guaranteed." "Till death do us part. . ." "I'll still respect you in the morning." "The check is in the mail."
Interestingly, some of this suspicion of rhetoric began with the early centuries of Christianity, in a time when one of the most gifted rhetoricians of the Roman Empire was converted to Christianity. As a classically trained rhetorician, Augustine was suspicious of Christianity's crude writing style. Christians, on the other hand, were suspicious of rhetoric's ability to deceive. Plato found truth in dialectic exchange. Augustine shifts the source of truth to the Word of God, with rhetoric becoming the vehicle for communicating divine truth. Thus, it's no accident that Augustine used Book IV of his work On Christian Doctrine to teach homiletics. The sermon became a new rhetorical genre. The sermon's source material was the Bible. Its audience became the congregation, composed of both the faithful and the convertible. As with the message of the prophets. the sermon's goal was to inspire obedience to God's will. The sermon's other function was to develop mature believers. Not much has changed from then to now. It still requires study, discipline, rhetorical skill, and moral courage to preach God's Word.
Roger Lovette responds: This week's texts all seem to focus on God. Isaiah 1 -- As Israel was facing the Exile the prophet began his first verse with a vision. This is continued in Isaiah 6.1 when he saw the Lord God high and lifted up. This call of God becomes the framework of all he will say. The whole focus of Isaiah, especially chapters 40 forward, is on God, not the sorry predicament that God's people found themselves in. The justice which he proclaims in 1:17 and he returns to again and again flows out of a solid vision of God.
Psalm 50 focuses on God. It is not anthropology, sociology, psychology -- we deal here with theology. The other "ologies" are not discounted -- but theos is the word here. Sometimes we earthbound creatures forget this other quality. One danger, of course, is pie in the sky; the other danger is being so tied to the news and today's headlines we have no focus and are immobilized or overwhelmed. Hasn't every age had to deal with this problem?
Hebrews 11 gives us the great roll call of faith. The heart of it all was a faith in God. Looking for a far better country. And many of them found it because their gaze was higher than just the things around them.
In Luke 12: 32-40 we are told to live life as if we were not afraid. This tom-tom beat "Do not be afraid" runs like a thread through the whole Bible. Why? Because we have a different treasure. Our hearts are centered in something beyond ourselves. I remember that at the sad memorial service after the Oklahoma City bombing someone sang a Christian contemporary song: "Be not afraid." It brought enormous comfort to not only the grievers, but to all who heard it. God does God's best work when times are hard.
Barbara Johnson writes in her book: "A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out. A subjective person came along and said, 'I feel for you down there.' An objective person came along and said, 'It's logical that someone would fall down there.' A Pharisee said, 'Only bad people fall into a pit.' A mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit. A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on his pit. A fundamentalist said, 'You deserve your pit.' An IRS man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit. A self-pitying person said, 'You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit.' A charismatic said, 'Just confess that you're not in a pit.' An optimist said, 'Things could be worse.' A pessimist said, 'Things will get worse.' Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit!"
Related Illustrations
"The gospel is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart, that when he looks in the mirror all in a lather what he sees is at least eight parts chicken, phony, slob" (7).
For the preacher "to tell the truth in love means to tell it with concern not only for the people it is being told to. . . The preacher must always try to feel what it is like to live inside the skins of the people he is preaching to, to hear the truth as they hear it" (8).
"A particular truth can be stated in words. . .But truth itself is another matter . . . The task of the preacher is to hold up life to us, by whatever gifts he or she has of imagination, eloquence, simple candor, to create images of life through which we can somehow see into the wordless truth of our lives" (17).
--Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale, Harper and Row, 1977
***
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me."
***
On Religious imagery and metaphors at the Democratic Convention
Preacher in chief . . . Faith and values have become buzzwords of the Kerry-Edwards campaign as of late, but until about 10 pm on Monday night, you didn't hear a peep about them. Not from Gore -- whose lone foray into religion-speak in 2000 was to comment somewhat stiffly that he often asks himself, "What Would Jesus Do?" Not from the myriad of small-potato speakers. And, surprisingly, not from Jimmy Carter, who has committed much of his post-presidency attention to faith-based initiatives like Habitat for Humanity.
And then Rev. David Alston, Baptist minister and former crewmate of John Kerry, took the stage. In the middle of a moving testimonial about Kerry's wartime service, Alston stepped it up a notch, referring to the Senator as a man "who has always had the courage to speak truth to power," quoting from my favorite Psalm (27 -- "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear"), and declaring that "Almighty God gave us a brave and decisive leader named John Kerry." With every religious reference, the crowd roared a little more.
Sure, you say, but black preachers are adept at energizing audiences -- why is this anything special? I'm not sure if I can articulate it, but there was a shift in the type of energy in the room when Alston hit those key notes, the emotion seemed to swell in a way that it did not throughout the rest of his remarks. I note this not by way of arguing that all Democrats should start praising the Almighty in their speeches but to point out that what is often characterized as a mostly secular crowd -- Democratic delegates -- was not only open to a bit of religion-speak but seemed to respond positively to it.
Hillary Clinton -- who has been working behind-the-scenes in the Senate for the past year to convince her colleagues to "take back" the concepts of religion and values and morality from Republicans -- gave a fairly dry speech that failed to touch on any of those issues. Her only ad lib of the night, however, was to praise the "witnessing" of Rev. Alston.
The star of the night, Bill Clinton, proved once again that he can match the Republican strategy of using religious code words and phrases to reach out to moderate people of faith and then do them one better by using the tactic not to pander to those same listeners, but instead to challenge them to reflect on which set of political ideals best matches their religious principles.
Early in his speech, Clinton made a broad generalization -- "all Americans honor freedom and faith and family" -- that's not entirely true (some 10 to 15 percent of Americans describe themselves as not religious), but that set the tone for his speech, which was really an appeal to those voters in the middle. You're not a bad person if you supported Bush before, he told them. We're not splitting the country into good voters and bad voters. It's not that Democrats love the poor and Republicans hate them. It's a question of how best to go about helping the poor, how best to go about being a good global neighbor, how best to act as stewards for the environment. He made very clear what some would prefer to gloss over for simplicity's sake: This election does not boil down to a choice between a party of values and a party of none. It is a choice about which values voters align themselves with.
What were the religious code words and phrases that framed Clinton speech? There were three separate ideas:
"Send Me" Clinton began with this passage: "During the Vietnam War, many young men -- including the current president, the vice president, and me -- could have gone to Vietnam but didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it, too. Instead, he said, 'send me.' " He continued on, outlining Kerry's lifetime of public service by noting that every time his country has asked something of him, John Kerry has replied, "Send me." It was a nice little phrase for the audience to yell back at Clinton, but it comes from the prophet Isaiah (6:8) -- "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' "
Using the Talents In a short section promoting John Edwards, Clinton described the vice presidential nominee as a man "who has used his talents to improve the lives of people." That's a reference to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) and a subtle dig at Bush, a man who has been given much and of whom nothing much has been expected. In the parable, the servant who uses his talents is praised by God ("Well done, my good and faithful servant"), but the one who hides his talents away for himself is shamed.
A Time to Choose This last was Clinton's most subtle use of religious rhetoric, echoing Ecclesiastes 3, which begins "There is a time for everything" and then lists choices in pairs. For the most part, the poet begins with more destructive choices -- "a time to tear" or "a time for war" -- and ends with hopeful ones -- "a time to mend" or "a time for peace." There is time to disagree, Clinton said, and we've tried it your way, but now it's time to come together.
--Amy Sullivan, editor of the Washington Monthly, in a post (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_07/004390.php) to the "Political Animal" weblog at the Washington Monthly's website (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/)
Worship Resources
by George Reed
Opening Music
n.b. All copyright information is given from the first cited place where found. Some copyright information may differ in other sources due to adaptations, etc.
Hymns
"If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee"
WORDS: George Neumark, 1657; translation by Catherine Winkworth, 1863
MUSIC: George Neumark, 1657
© public domain
as found in: UMH 142; Hymnal '82 635; LBOW 453; TPH 282; TNCH 410; CH 565
"O God in Heaven"
WORDS: Elena G. Maquiso, 1961; translation by D. T. Miles, 1964
MUSIC: Elena G. Maquiso, 1961; harmonization by Charles H. Webb, 1987
translation by permission of Christian Conference of Asia;
music © 1962 Silliman University Music Foundation, Inc; harmonization © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
as found in: UMH 119; TNCH 279
"O God, Our Help in Ages Past"
WORDS: Isaac Watts, 1719
MUSIC: attributed to William Croft, 1708; harmonization by W. H. Monk, 1861
© public domain
as found in: UMH 117; Hymnal '82 680; LBOW 320; AAHH 170; TNNBH 46; TNCH 25; CH 67
Songs
"From the Rising of the Sun"
WORDS: anonymous; MUSIC: anonymous
© public domain
as found in: CCB # 4
"As We Gather"
WORDS & MUSIC: Mike Faky and Tom Coomes
© 1981 Coomesietunes
as found in: CCB # 12
Call to Worship
Leader: Come into the presence of the One.
People: We come with all our differences.
Leader: Come into the presence of the Unity.
People: We come with all our divisions.
Leader: Come into the presence of Love.
People: We come to love and be loved.
Collect/Opening Prayer
O God who is called I am who I am: Grant to us, your children, the grace to speak and act with integrity reflecting who we truly are; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
In our worship, O God, we praise you and adore you. In our daily lives we act as your children sharing love and grace to others on occasion. At other times we talk a good game but we act as children of perdition, spreading hate, anger, and mistrust. Help us in this time of worship to so open our lives to your Spirit that not just our words but our actions may reflect our status as your children. Amen.
Response Music
Hymns
"Dear Jesus, in Whose life I See"
WORDS: John Hunter, 1889
MUSIC: Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774; adapted from Metrical Psalter, 1855
© public domain
as found in: UMH 468
"O Young and Fearless Prophet"
WORDS: S. Ralph Harlow, 1931
MUSIC: John B. Dykes, 1872
© public domain
as found in: UMH 444; CH 669
"My Soul Gives Glory to My God"
WORDS: Miriam Therese Winter, 1987
MUSIC: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813; harmonization by Charles H. Webb, 1988
words © 1978, 1987 Medical Mission Sisters; harmonization © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
as found in: UMH 198; LBOW 180 (option though not the same hymn); TNCH 119; CH 130
"Tell Out, My Soul"
WORDS: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1961
MUSIC: Walter Greatorex, 1919
words © 1962 Hope Publishing Co.; music Oxford University Press
as found in: UMH 200; Hymnal '82 437, 438
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"
WORDS: James Montgomery, 1821
MUSIC: Gesangbuch der H. W. K Hofkapelle, 1784, alt.; adapted and harmonized by W. H. Monk, 1868
© public domain
as found in: UMH 203; Hymnal '82 616; LBOW 87; AAHH 187; TNNBH; TNCH 104; CH 140
"Let There Be Light"
WORDS: Frances W. Davis
MUSIC: Robert J. B. Fleming, 1967
© Music by permission of Mrs. Robert J. B. Fleming
as found in: UMH 440; TNNBH 450
Songs
"Shine, Jesus, Shine"
WORDS & MUSIC: Graham Kendrick
© 1987 Make Way Music
as found in: CCB # 81
"They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love"
WORDS & MUSIC: Peter Scholtes
© 1966 F. E. L. Publications
as found in: CCB # 78
"Open Our Eyes, Lord"
WORDS: stanza 1 by Bob Cull; stanza 2 anonymous; MUSIC: Bob Cull
© 1976 Maranatha! Music
as found in: CCB # 77
Prayers of Confession/Pardon
Leader: We come into the presence of the One who is and was and is to come, the Unchangeable, and we are aware that we are finite and fickle, changing with the wind. Let us confess to God our lack of integrity and ask for God's Spirit to ground us on the Rock of our Salvation.
People: We confess to you, O God, the waywardness of our hearts and minds. We talk about our faith and our care for our brothers and sisters, but we act for our own self-interest. We talk about care for the poor and downtrodden, but we make excuses for why it is their own fault and we spend our resources on luxury items for ourselves. We talk about taking up our cross, but the best we can manage is to wear a gold one around our necks. Forgive us, and by the power of your Spirit make our lives solid in you. Amen.
Leader: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Miriam, Ruth, and Esther; the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow grants you forgiveness and invites you into the integrity that is life in the Spirit.
General Prayers, Litanies, etc.
We worship you, Solid Rock, for you are the sure place to which we can always flee. Your steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
We confess that we are changeable and fickle. We speak a good faith but live it sporadically. We want to follow Jesus but we end up following our own self-interests. Forgive us and renew us by the constant presence of your Spirit.
We thank you, O God, for all the blessings we receive from you. You send the rain on the just and the unjust, the sun to shine of the good and the bad. The earth produces abundantly and your Spirit never fails us.
(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)
We know that all creation has not yet entered fully into your reign. We lift up to you those broken areas of creation and ask that our prayers, our spirits, and our love might join yours in bringing wholeness and grace.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father...."
Hymnal & Songbook Abbreviations:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition
A Children's Sermon
by Wesley T. Runk
What Is Your Treasure?
Luke 12:32-40
Text: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (v. 34)
Objects: a pocket knife, a baseball glove, and a doll
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have a treasure? (let them answer) Very good, a lot of you have some treasure. What kind of treasure do you have? (let them answer) I brought along some things that I thought might be a treasure to you. A treasure is something very important to you, something that is worth almost more than anything you can think of, when you think of things that you want or have.
When I was a boy, I always thought that my baseball glove was the most important treasure that I had, and I would not have given it up for anything. My brother always wanted a pocket knife that he could carry with him. When he was old enough to have a knife, he got one, and he still carries it with him today. My sister was not too interested in ball gloves and pocket knives, but she loved her doll. That was really "it" for her, and she would take the doll with her wherever she went, even to bed when she went to sleep at night. She loved that doll with all of her heart, just like my brother loved his knife and I loved my ball glove.
Jesus knew how people love things, and he thought that this was all right, even good, as long as we remember what love is really meant to be. Jesus told us that we should not love gloves, knives, money, dolls, gold, cars, or anything more than we love people, and especially God. Loving our treasure can be wrong if we love it more than we love God and people. When we love our things more than we love God and people, it makes us greedy and unkind. Nothing is as important as God, and we should love him the most. Next to God is our love for each other, and when we share our love with each other instead of loving things, then we are also doing right. But if we love money or whatever is special to us, we end up trying to hurt others so that we can have more things. If we try to keep things such as food and clothes to ourselves, even when others need them, then we have wars or fights. But when you love God, it means that you want to share things that you have. You may even share your most important treasure, even if it is your ball glove or your knife or your doll.
When you learn to share your treasure at your age, you will then be ready to share your money, your food, and whatever else is important to you when you grow older.
* * *
The Immediate Word, August 8, 2004, issue.
Copyright 2004 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 permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
