The Rules That Rule
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
In this week's lectionary passage from the Hebrew scriptures, Moses concludes a lengthy address to the Israelites by speaking plainly about the wisdom of following God's commandments and the consequences of failing to do so. He tells them, "Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" in the promised land (Deuteronomy 30:19) -- and in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer notes that we face the same imperative today. Modern life imparts us with the ability to make many more choices than was the case for the ancient Israelites -- but that makes it even more important for us to consider the nature of God's rules and how we approach them in our day-to-day existence. All of this week's lectionary texts reinforce the notion that we must choose life as opposed to having obedience imposed upon us (as with the sharia law of Islamic theocracies, for example), and Jesus' seemingly harsh words in the gospel passage underline the necessity of internalizing God's laws so that we can do our best to avoid sin even in our hearts. So, as Dean reminds us, an understanding of God's rules is central to the smooth functioning of both our society and our individual lives. Team member Roger Lovette shares some additional thoughts on the Matthew text and what Jesus is trying to tell us about our relationship with the rules of life. We often think that following God's commandments is sort of a quid pro quo process -- that if we play by the rules, we should be rewarded for our faithfulness. But Roger tells us that what Jesus is saying is that there are rules -- and then there are rules. It's entirely too easy to get caught up in following the letter of the law, and therefore to miss the much more important business of understanding the spiritual laws of the heart -- a point that Jesus was using verbal hyperbole in order to make plain for his listeners.
The Rules that Rule
by Dean Feldmeyer
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:21-37
When John Adams wanted to convince the British people that their government's treatment of the American colonies was counter to British law, he pointed out in his Letters of Novanglus (No. 7) that "the British constitution is much more like a republic than an empire... a government of laws, and not of men." The letter was published in the Boston Gazette in 1774.
In 1803 Chief Justice John Marshall, paraphrasing Adams, used the same phrase to describe the United States in Marbury v. Madison, justifying the doctrine of judicial review: "The government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws and not men."
Simply put, this doctrine holds that under constitutional government everyone -- regardless of their age, race, creed, or station -- is subject to the same rules as everyone else. Only when everyone lives by the same rules can a government be said to be fair.
Robert's Rules of Order provides rules for running and participating in a meeting in a way that ensures "organization, fairness, clarity, civility, and expediency," without which the meeting would in all likelihood explode or deteriorate into a shouting match -- or worse, a riot.
And speaking of riots, we need look only as far as Cairo to see what happens when the rules break down completely. Words like "chaos" and "anarchy" come to mind.
This week the lectionary leads us in an examination of rules -- especially God's rules, our relationship to them, and how they should function in the lives of the people of God.
THE WORLD
Yesterday the words "chaos" and "anarchy" were prominent in the headlines about Egypt. Jordan and Yemen were watching closely, and even starting to make early concessions to keep their countries from dissolving into riots and confusion as well. Today calm seems to have been restored -- not by good intentions and good will, but by the army. Rules of behavior have once again been established, and they are being enforced with concertina wire, guns, and tanks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at a 2-? year high, and even as it begins to creep back up our lawmakers are asking if the rules that governed Wall Street and allowed the crash that we are now living through are adequate for the future. What new rules, if any, should be imposed to ensure that the irresponsibility and abuse that caused the rapid decline do not happen again? And if the market is self-correcting, as we have been told, what can we do to encourage it to self-correct before it causes the massive suffering that the last implosion inflicted?
Turn to the entertainment page, and we see that our celebrities are having trouble living within the rules. Charlie Sheen is heading back to rehab one more time after allegations of cocaine use and sexual excesses; Lindsay Lohan's name has been associated with the theft of some jewelryÖ and we are no longer surprised.
For a lighter example, we have the juxtaposition of the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl (the NFL's annual post-season all-star game) featured the best professional football players in the country playing against each other for bragging rights and a nice paycheck. They were there to have fun, and the rules of the game were honored in name only. Not one yellow flag was thrown by the officials as players grabbed, yanked, pulled, tripped, threw, and harassed each other -- and then laughed it off. But in the Super Bowl the rules were enforced to the letter -- and every alleged infraction was examined from a dozen different angles by instant-replay cameras. If a call was questionable, commentators were certain to argue about it for weeks afterward. The ability and professional qualifications of the officials were as important as the ability and qualifications of the players.
Returning to the front page, the abortion debate in this country is to a great extent about how we view rules and laws. Both sides of the debate want their set of rules regarding abortion to be adopted. One side wants to impose their rules as law and require everyone to obey them. The other side says that they want the rules to be followed voluntarily, by choice.
So we can conclude that rules are important. They govern how we behave and, to a great extent, how we relate to each other. But they are only successful to the degree that we agree to follow them.
THE WORD
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The "D" writer emphasizes the importance of choice where rules are concerned. Just before the people of God enter the promised land they are given a choice to make. God has set before them a set of rules, and it is up to them to decide if they will obey the rules or not. Follow the rules or don't follow them. The choices, and the consequences, are theirs.
If they choose to follow the rules they will have life -- not just breathing in and out, but authentic life, rich life, full life, abundant life. If they choose to ignore the rules they will lose this wonderful, promised land that God has given to them -- and they will perish.
It is not enough that God has chosen them; they must also choose God.
God does not impose God's will on them. They are free to choose. Only in a free choice will their obedience, their faithfulness, be authentic -- and it is that very authenticity that God desires of God's people.
Psalm 119:1-8
The psalmist chooses to be obedient and faithful, to follow God's rules. But he/she subtly reminds God that there is a certain quid pro quo involved in this choice.
I will choose to play by your rules, the psalmist says to God, but I expect to be blessed for doing so. At the very least, I expect that you will "not utterly forsake me," that you will walk with me and accompany me through any difficulty that my obedience to your rules may cause in my life.
Matthew 5:21-37
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds his listeners that being in a personal relationship with God does not exempt us from God's rules. In fact, it inscribes God's rules into our consciousness so that we obey not just the letter but the spirit of the law as well.
Life in the kingdom sets us not above but beyond the law. It writes the law not on tablets of stone but on our hearts, so that every choice we make is made in the spirit of love and charity that Jesus commends to us in the Great Commandment.
Life in the kingdom is, in a sense, tougher because it requires that we lift our gaze out of the law books and into the eyes of our brothers and sisters.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The Indicative
When many of us were kids, the games we played came in boxes rather than on electronic devices. We would break the seal and lift the lid of a new game, remove the pieces, and then go immediately to the little booklet or the back of the lid to find the rules of the game. We understood that until we knew and mastered the rules we could not play the game as it was intended to be played, we could not draw the most fun out of playing it, we could not enjoy it to its full potential.
When we teach someone to play a game -- be it football, basketball, euchre, canasta, or Chutes and Ladders -- we know that we cannot teach them strategies and tactics until we have first taught them the rules.
The rules tell us how we relate to the game and to the people who are playing the game with us. They tell us how we should approach the action that is the playing of the game. And they make it possible for us to play the game authentically so that we draw the most enjoyment out of it.
This sermon might effectively begin with an examination of rules and how they operate in our lives, starting with the light and humorous and moving to the more serious and compelling. Sometimes they seem silly (some OSHA rules, for instance) or frustratingly complex (the IRS code), but generally they are responsible for keeping our lives safe, orderly, efficient, and effective (i.e. traffic laws). But whether we are talking about the rules to Scrabble or the Ten Commandments, rules are only as effective as our commitment to them, our willingness to be obedient.
God, through the prophets and through Jesus Christ, has given us rules for playing the very difficult and complicated game of life. They are rarely simple and often difficult to follow, but the promise that comes with them is a rich, full, authentic, abundant life.
The Imperative
God does not impose God's will or rules upon us. We are free to choose. The choice of following God's rules and commandments, of being faithful to God's will for us as it is given to us through the prophets and Jesus Christ, is also the choice of life abundant, life lived on the eternal plane: "Choose life so that you and your descendants may live."
SECOND THOUGHTS
There Are Rules, and There Are Rules
by Roger Lovette
Matthew 5:21-39
In a week where much of the nation is still digging out from snow and ice and many are recovering from the Super Bowl, we turn our attention to the lectionary passages for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. It would be hard to find a more pertinent subject than the thread that runs through all these scripture texts. The emphasis is on rules and ethics -- the dos and don'ts of our lives. The problem is that many liberals and conservatives are suspicious of too many rules. But what all our texts seem to say this week is that there are rules, and there are rules.
Remember the comic strip Peanuts and Charlie Brown? Charlie Brown sheds some light on our subject of rules. Charlie Brown and his sidekick Peppermint Patty were seated under a tree when she asks with a sigh: "Do you know any good rules for living, Chuck?" Charlie proceeds to give this advice: "Keep the ball low; don't leave your crayons in the sun; use dental floss every day; don't spill the shoe polish. Always knock before entering; don't let the ants get in the sugar; always get your first serve in." Mystified, Patty asks: "Will those rules give me a better life, Chuck?" Good question.
The rules we live by ought to give us a better life. Jesus horrified many of the religious leaders of his day by saying that the rules they were following did not go far enough. His enemies charged him with destroying the rules of Torah that went all the way back to the beginning of their faith journey. But they misunderstood what Jesus meant. He simply said you've got to stretch the understanding of your rules if you are to find an abundant life. There are rules, and there are rules.
It's no wonder that modern secular prophets like Christopher Hitchens want to do away with all religions and its restrictions. But what he fails to understand is the same mistake the Pharisees made: there are rules, and there are rules. Most of us would agree with many of Hitchens' complaints, for so many of the rules in religion seem either irrelevant or destructive. In a time of great suffering and international upheaval, Hitchens poses a good question: Who cares about rules?
But Jesus said that rules alone would not give the community a better life. He did not abandon the rules of the Torah -- but he stretched them in ways that would help bring new life.
Jesus tackled murder, adultery, divorce, and oath-taking. He began by saying: "You have heard that it has been said: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery,' " etc. But he then strongly added, "But I say unto you..." and he gave them a new understanding of rules.
It was no wonder many of the scribes and Pharisees were wrapped in self-righteousness. Who among them had committed murder or found themselves in an adulterous relationship? They knew the consequences of those actions. Most had no trouble with the divorce issue or oath-taking. But Jesus pulled the self-righteous cloaks from their shoulders by asking: Maybe not murder -- but what about anger and insults and calling people fools and never letting a good grudge go? Maybe not adultery -- but he asked have you ever lusted? They grew quiet. Maybe not divorce -- but what of the trivial reasons you men have for divorcing your wives? Maybe not swearing falsely -- but Jesus asked what about swearing at all? What about speaking out of both sides of your mouth so that your response is more a word game than the simpler truth? Jesus' challenge here takes all of us in. Last week Newsweek magazine emblazoned these words on its cover: "Rage Goes Viral." Anger and its sidekicks like hatred and violence had to be dealt with. Any applications in today's world?
Jesus told them it was a matter of the heart. There were rules, and there were rules. And even after all these years, his words speak to our condition. Real faith is not following the book and keeping records -- but it starts inside like anger does, and lust, and divorce over trivial matters, and figuring out how to win the argument instead of just letting your yes be yes and your no, no.
With the divorce rate over 50% what word is there nestled in this passage about divorce? Certainly not "no divorce." Certainly not the trivial reasons that people shed this primary of all relationships. No. Jesus would say that divorce is a very serious business. But it begins with the heart and relationship and trust and forgiveness and commitment.
When someone asked a little boy about rules in his family, he said, "There are ten kids in our house -- you gotta have rules." And the boy was right. We cannot escape rules any more than we can escape red lights or income taxes. Yet what does it mean to understand that there are rules, and there are rules?
What kind of church would we have today if Jesus' words were followed? Paul told Corinth that they had missed the boat with all their quarreling and fussiness. Not a murderer in the house. Ask your folk to put down the Jesus rules beside their lives -- in church and out. This might help us deal with some of the hurting problems that cripple our lives and our nation and the world. Maybe the Epiphany light really does shine when we stretch the rules until they change our lives and those around us.
Another approach to this text might be to lift out Jesus' words about forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-26). Your gift on the altar won't really count, our Lord said, unless you have first reconciled with your enemy. A church with a bare-bones budget might not want to hear these words -- but think of the power in a community that follows Jesus' words on forgiveness. Remember the book Amish Grace? Its subtitle is: "How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy." After one of the Amish children was murdered and the killer was murdered, the Amish folk reached out to the grieving family that lost their daughter and they also reached out to the widow of the man that had murdered the little girl. Bill Moyers wrote of that book: "This is a story our polarized country needs to hear. It is still grace that saves."
Another springboard might be the film Invictus (or the outstanding ESPN documentary The 16th Man), which tells the wonderful story of how Nelson Mandala, after being incarcerated for 27 years, became the leader of his South African people. Mandela refused to punish those white folk that had kept him in jail so long -- and he used South Africa's hosting of the Rugby World Cup as an opportunity to begin a process of reconciliation toward healing a divided nation. It is an incredible story that will lift your heart and spirit ñ and the message is not far from Jesus' words on forgiveness.
ILLUSTRATIONS
No one really knows when it began, and we have only a slight understanding of its history -- but about 110 years ago, around the year 1900, George Casey, a deacon with the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Northeast Washington DC, began gathering church members from around the city for a weekly prayer vigil. We do know that it began on a Saturday, for it was originally called "the Saturday night host." It was guided by the Bible verse from James 5:16 -- "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed."
The prayer vigil has continued uninterrupted to this very day. It now meets on Friday evenings, and the name has been changed to "Prayer Union". With a change of meeting day and name, the purpose has remained the same -- a devotion to keep prayer alive. The Prayer Union is not confined to the churches the group rotates among, because during the week they pray at funerals, in hospitals, and anyplace where they are made aware of a spiritual need. Howard Green, who drives five hours from North Carolina to participate, sums up the feeling of the group when he says, "Our purpose is to keep prayer alive."
Moses asks us to "choose life" by "obeying the commandments of God." One commandment, or at least an expectation, is that we are a people of prayer. If all Christians would engage in some form of "prayer union," then the life-giving kingdom of God would certainly be manifested on earth.
* * *
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an article titled "Praying favorites? Religious leaders say it's OK to pray for your team" on the Sunday of Super Bowl LXV, when the Steelers were challenging the Packers for the coveted ring. The article opened with the story that you could purchase black and gold rosary beads, called "Steelers rosaries," from a Bloomfield store administered by Sister Madalyn Schleifer. Bishop David Zubrik, the overseer of the Pittsburgh Catholic diocese, gave his blessing to pray for the Steelers to win and ask that the Packers' kicker miss. According to the bishop, these are acceptable prayers as long as you don't pray for someone to get hurt. Protestants joined the quasi-religious devotion of worshiping the Steelers as well. Rev. Randall Bush, pastor of the second most majestic cathedral in Pittsburgh, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, substituted a black stole adorned in gold (the colors of the home team) for the usual green vestment worn for Epiphany. Rev. Bush also wrote a congregational prayer, based on the acrostic style of Psalm 119, where the first letter of each lined spelled "GO STEELERS." Not only is this religious adoration an ecumenical affair, it is also an interfaith ordeal. Rabbi Yaacov Rosenstein was asked if it was "silly" to pray for a Steeler victory. The rabbi replied that since God cares about you, God cares about your team. Not to be left out of the euphoria, the Hindus have a half-hour ritual prayer to win session just prior to the opening kickoff. When every clergyperson is pressed to justify these religious rituals, they maintain it is a spiritual means to bring unity to an ethnically and religious diverse city. This is a questionable response at best, while clutching black and gold rosary beads as one recites a mantra for the black and gold team.
Paul wrote of his discouragement with the immaturity of the Christians who attended the church in Corinth. He expressed it in these words: "I fed you with milk, not solid food." One wonders if the religious leaders of Pittsburgh are still not on the breast. A green vestment is a testimony that we are to be the light of justice and bring forth gifts to the downtrodden and needy. A black and gold stole or rosary means one is preoccupied with a multimillion dollar business that masks itself as being a sport. The combined salaries of everyone who walked across the field at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, could feed the children of Darfur for a lifetime and provide enough HIV serum in South Africa to end the epidemic. But then, what fun would that be? It may be "GO STEELERS" for today, but hopefully until the first Sunday in February 2012 it will be "GO GOD!"
* * *
Larry Taunton, the executive director of Fixed Point Foundation, thought he had a great idea until the FOX network nixed it. Taunton wanted to air a non-evasive religious commercial during Super Bowl LXV. Sorry, but FOX won't promote religion. It will advertise beer and cars, all promoted by seductive women -- but not religion.
Taunton got his idea by watching last year's Super Bowl. He said, "Corporate America uses its creativity and millions of dollars to come up with 30-second blasts to get you to buy a beer or Coke or tennis ball. Last year, as I began to reflect on this, I thought, 'If I had 30 seconds to speak to a billion people, what would I say?' " Fixed Point Foundation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, promotes debate between atheists and believers. Realizing that the most often seen religious banner at games has on it "John 3:16," and that some players print "John 3:16" in greasepaint on their faces, Taunton thought it would be an appropriate message for a televised commercial since fans and viewing audiences are accustomed to seeing John 3:16 at games. In defense of his intentions, Taunton said, "We're not even forcing Christianity on the sport. We're just springboarding off a current message that's there. You see it all the time, so what does it mean?" So, in a very benign commercial he filmed a football party with enthusiastic viewers celebrating a touchdown. When the player stands in the end zone, two young men see "John 3:16" painted on his face. Confused, each asks the other what it means. Not knowing, one man opens his cell phone and says, "I'll look it up." Then the blackened television screen displays "Lookup3:16.com -- A Message of Hope." When you go to that website the Bible verse -- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" -- floats over the stadium.
The Psalmist says, "Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord." One cannot walk with the Lord until one knows the Lord. And the foundation of Christianity is that true happiness in knowing Jesus, which means understanding the meaning of John 3:16. FOX probably knows that beer cannot make you happy, but it does cause you to temporarily forget your woes. As for the seductive women and Mercedes, they are something we can only lust after from afar. FOX may have closed the door on John 3:16, but the doors of the church are always open to receiving those who would like to understand.
* * *
Some of the problems inherent in our legal system came into the national spotlight a few years ago when a jury in Albuquerque, New Mexico, awarded $2.9 million to a woman who spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself and was burned. Although an appeal later reduced the amount of the award, many people were left wondering about the seemingly skewed incentives in our courts, as we appear to be a nation that rewards people for being careless or foolish. In this week's gospel text, Jesus takes away our ability to find the loopholes in God's law. He tells us to obey not only the letter of the law, but also the spirit in which it was intended.
* * *
We all should have been more critical of Frank Sinatra crooning, "I'll do it my way," for it has become abundantly clear that we in America are paying a high price for our insistence upon personal rights without regard to ethical and moral considerations. Over and over again we hear quoted the complaints of the people who were subjects of the sociological study Habits of the Heart. These people indicated that their lives were empty in spite of the fact that they had enjoyed the freedom of pursuing their personal ambitions.
Allan Bloom's study about the failure of American education insists that we have educated people without teaching them how to live and to be concerned about others. We have trained people in individualism. The American electorate has finally become aware of the fact that candidates for public office can no longer insist on doing their own thing. Public officials have to know that they live in glass houses -- and that their behavior is under the scrutiny of the public eye.
* * *
There is an old story about Leonardo da Vinci. During the time when Leonardo was working on his famous painting "The Last Supper," he became angry with an acquaintance of his. The two men had words and parted on very bad terms. Leonardo returned to the church on who wall he was painting the fresco.
It was no use -- Leonardo found he could paint nothing he was happy with. It just so happened that he had reached the point in the project where he was doing the face of Jesus. Time and again he tried to render a passable likeness of the Lord, but he was unable to do so.
Finally the great artist realized that he had work to do -- but it was not in the church he had been commissioned to decorate. Leonardo put down his brushes and palette, and he sought out the man who had been the subject of his wrath. He asked the man's forgiveness. The man accepted Leonardo's apology, and offered an apology of his own.
It was only then that Leonardo was able to return to the church and finish painting the face of Jesus.
* * *
Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.
-- Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (HarperOne, 1993)
* * *
There is a Zen parable about a wise man who was tutor to the emperor's sons. This teacher observed that the oldest boy was prone to outbursts of anger. One day, as the boy was in the midst of a tantrum, he dragged the child over to a beehive and thrust the prince's hand into it until he had been stung.
The prince was so taken aback that anyone -- even his teacher -- would treat him this way that he immediately stopped his raging. Looking down at the swelling spot on the back of his hand, he cried out, "I am going to tell my father!"
The teacher replied: "When you tell your father, tell him this: look at the bee."
Together they studied the bee that had fallen to the ground, its entrails torn out along with the stinger. They watched it until it died.
"That is the price of anger," said the teacher.
That night the boy did tell his father, the emperor. His response was to give the teacher a gold piece. When that boy became emperor years later, he had already become known for his quiet, deliberate judgment and his resistance to being provoked.
* * *
Jigsaw puzzles can be fun and provide entertainment for hours on end. The lesson they teach is that it takes many parts to present a finished picture. Each one of the dozens of jigsaw parts must be in its rightful place in order to make the picture complete -- and when parts are lost it is a catastrophe, for the picture cannot be brought to completion. In our epistle passage Paul points to the interrelatedness of many contributors, or individual functions produced by various people, and he says all are needed to build a complete church. While the work of each Christian is important, only when it is connected with the work of others can it count for good. So when people in the church at Corinth were taking sides and causing divisions within the church, Paul points out how the contribution of many was what moved the church forward -- so they were not to say "I am Paul's follower" or "I am a follower of Apollos." Like the parts of a jigsaw puzzle, the work of all was important and needed. One person's work must be joined to the work of another to build the complete church. But there was a final lesson. After Paul had done the work of planting a congregation, and Apollos had followed with his nurturing of it, it was, as Paul rightly points out, the blessing of Christ upon their united human efforts that produced the completed picture of a church.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are those whose way is blameless;
People: Happy are those who walk in God's way.
Leader: Happy are those who seek God with their whole heart.
People: May our ways be steadfast in keeping God's way.
Leader: Let us praise God with upright hearts.
People: Let us learn and observe God's way.
OR
Leader: God offers us the opportunity to choose our way in life.
People: God sets before us the way of life and the way of death.
Leader: God desires that we choose the way of life.
People: God invites but does not force us to choose God's way.
Leader: The way of God is life and light and abundant living.
People: Let us choose the way of God, the way of life.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
Renew: 46
"How Like a Gentle Spirit"
found in:
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
"He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought"
found in:
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
"If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee"
found in:
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
NCH: 410
LBW: 453
"Lead Me, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 473
AAHH: 145
NNBH: 341
CH: 593
Renew: 175
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand"
found in:
UMH: 474
PH: 404
AAHH: 471
NCH: 472
CH: 628
"Seek Ye First"
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
CCB: 76
"Shine, Jesus, Shine"
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
"All I Need Is You"
found in:
CCB: 100
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created us for a full life lived in you: Grant us the wisdom to choose your ways, that we may know life that is abundant and joyful through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come into your presence, O God, to learn from you the way that leads to life eternal and abundant. Help us so to hear and apply your words to us today that we may clearly see the path to life and avoid the path that leads to death. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our tragic choices that lead us to adversity and death.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have set before us the way to life and prosperity, and we have chosen to follow the path that leads to death and adversity. We see the glittering lights of the world with its wealth and fame, and we think that is what we need. We see your way of service and caring and want to leave that path to others. Yet we know that only in your path will we find the way to an abundant, joyful life. Forgive us our foolishness and empower us with your Spirit that we might follow our Savior Jesus into service and life eternal. Amen.
Leader: The God who created us desires nothing for us but life that is full, abundant, and eternal. The love and grace of God brings us forgiveness and reveals the path to life.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, for you have not only created us but you have also made us to live joyfully and abundantly in this world and in the world to come.
(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. You have set before us the way to life and prosperity, and we have chosen to follow the path that leads to death and adversity. We see the glittering lights of the world with its wealth and fame, and we think that is what we need. We see your way of service and caring and want to leave that path to others. Yet we know that only in your path will we find the way to an abundant, joyful life. Forgive us our foolishness and empower us with your Spirit that we might follow our Savior Jesus into service and life eternal.
We thank you for the blessings you have bestowed on us. We thank you for the scriptures that show us your way. We give you thanks for the personal witness of those who follow your path, as they have shared with us the good news about the path of life you have set before us. We thank you for those who have had the courage to confront us when they have seen us taking the wrong road.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray to you for one another in our need and for all, anywhere, who are on the road that leads to adversity and death. As you move among them and invite them to choose a better path, help us to share with those around us the joy of following Jesus.
(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.
Visuals
Maps, globes, star charts, GPS, etc. -- things that we use to find our way.
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell the children that you have hidden a treasure for them. Give them directions to follow that take them to a place in the sanctuary where the treasure is NOT hidden. Ask them if they see it. When the respond that they don't, tell them you don't understand because you put it (wherever you have hidden it). Tell them they have to be able to find it because the map gave these directions. What could be wrong? If they don't supply the answer that the map is for going to some other place than where you have hidden the treasure, suddenly "discover" that you have the wrong map. Take out another one and give directions to where you actually hid the treasure. Talk to the children about how many people will tell us how to live and what we need to know -- but Jesus, the Bible, parents, church, etc. can truly tell us the ways of God which lead to life.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Loving Others More Than Money
Matthew 5:21-37
Object: an offering envelope
Good morning, boys and girls! Money is important. How many of you like to get money? (let the children answer) We like money because then we can get things we want. You can buy toys, clothes, and many things. Money is nice, and money is important.
We depend upon money here at the church to pay the electric bill, the water bill, and keep up repairs. Money pays for the pastor, organist, and many other things. Without money, we could not meet in this building the way we do, and neither could we do the things we do. Money is important!
But there are things that are much more important than money. What kind of things do you think might be more important than money? (let them answer) There are many things more important than money.
It is natural for us to get angry at others from time to time. When we are very angry, it is easy to hurt others. God does not want anybody hurt. God wants us to get along with each other and treat each other kindly. God does not even want our money if we hurt others or refuse to treat each other with love and respect.
As important as it is that I give my money to God through the church (hold up your offering envelope), it is more important to God that we love and forgive one another and not do hurtful things to others. That is why we spend so much time talking about love. Once Jesus told his disciples that if you come with your offering to God and remember that you feel badly about another, it would be better to go and make peace with the person who angers you. After we love one another, then we give our offering to God.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the many things that are more important than money. Thank you for each other and the love we share as a congregation. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, February 13, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
The Rules that Rule
by Dean Feldmeyer
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:21-37
When John Adams wanted to convince the British people that their government's treatment of the American colonies was counter to British law, he pointed out in his Letters of Novanglus (No. 7) that "the British constitution is much more like a republic than an empire... a government of laws, and not of men." The letter was published in the Boston Gazette in 1774.
In 1803 Chief Justice John Marshall, paraphrasing Adams, used the same phrase to describe the United States in Marbury v. Madison, justifying the doctrine of judicial review: "The government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws and not men."
Simply put, this doctrine holds that under constitutional government everyone -- regardless of their age, race, creed, or station -- is subject to the same rules as everyone else. Only when everyone lives by the same rules can a government be said to be fair.
Robert's Rules of Order provides rules for running and participating in a meeting in a way that ensures "organization, fairness, clarity, civility, and expediency," without which the meeting would in all likelihood explode or deteriorate into a shouting match -- or worse, a riot.
And speaking of riots, we need look only as far as Cairo to see what happens when the rules break down completely. Words like "chaos" and "anarchy" come to mind.
This week the lectionary leads us in an examination of rules -- especially God's rules, our relationship to them, and how they should function in the lives of the people of God.
THE WORLD
Yesterday the words "chaos" and "anarchy" were prominent in the headlines about Egypt. Jordan and Yemen were watching closely, and even starting to make early concessions to keep their countries from dissolving into riots and confusion as well. Today calm seems to have been restored -- not by good intentions and good will, but by the army. Rules of behavior have once again been established, and they are being enforced with concertina wire, guns, and tanks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at a 2-? year high, and even as it begins to creep back up our lawmakers are asking if the rules that governed Wall Street and allowed the crash that we are now living through are adequate for the future. What new rules, if any, should be imposed to ensure that the irresponsibility and abuse that caused the rapid decline do not happen again? And if the market is self-correcting, as we have been told, what can we do to encourage it to self-correct before it causes the massive suffering that the last implosion inflicted?
Turn to the entertainment page, and we see that our celebrities are having trouble living within the rules. Charlie Sheen is heading back to rehab one more time after allegations of cocaine use and sexual excesses; Lindsay Lohan's name has been associated with the theft of some jewelryÖ and we are no longer surprised.
For a lighter example, we have the juxtaposition of the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl (the NFL's annual post-season all-star game) featured the best professional football players in the country playing against each other for bragging rights and a nice paycheck. They were there to have fun, and the rules of the game were honored in name only. Not one yellow flag was thrown by the officials as players grabbed, yanked, pulled, tripped, threw, and harassed each other -- and then laughed it off. But in the Super Bowl the rules were enforced to the letter -- and every alleged infraction was examined from a dozen different angles by instant-replay cameras. If a call was questionable, commentators were certain to argue about it for weeks afterward. The ability and professional qualifications of the officials were as important as the ability and qualifications of the players.
Returning to the front page, the abortion debate in this country is to a great extent about how we view rules and laws. Both sides of the debate want their set of rules regarding abortion to be adopted. One side wants to impose their rules as law and require everyone to obey them. The other side says that they want the rules to be followed voluntarily, by choice.
So we can conclude that rules are important. They govern how we behave and, to a great extent, how we relate to each other. But they are only successful to the degree that we agree to follow them.
THE WORD
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The "D" writer emphasizes the importance of choice where rules are concerned. Just before the people of God enter the promised land they are given a choice to make. God has set before them a set of rules, and it is up to them to decide if they will obey the rules or not. Follow the rules or don't follow them. The choices, and the consequences, are theirs.
If they choose to follow the rules they will have life -- not just breathing in and out, but authentic life, rich life, full life, abundant life. If they choose to ignore the rules they will lose this wonderful, promised land that God has given to them -- and they will perish.
It is not enough that God has chosen them; they must also choose God.
God does not impose God's will on them. They are free to choose. Only in a free choice will their obedience, their faithfulness, be authentic -- and it is that very authenticity that God desires of God's people.
Psalm 119:1-8
The psalmist chooses to be obedient and faithful, to follow God's rules. But he/she subtly reminds God that there is a certain quid pro quo involved in this choice.
I will choose to play by your rules, the psalmist says to God, but I expect to be blessed for doing so. At the very least, I expect that you will "not utterly forsake me," that you will walk with me and accompany me through any difficulty that my obedience to your rules may cause in my life.
Matthew 5:21-37
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds his listeners that being in a personal relationship with God does not exempt us from God's rules. In fact, it inscribes God's rules into our consciousness so that we obey not just the letter but the spirit of the law as well.
Life in the kingdom sets us not above but beyond the law. It writes the law not on tablets of stone but on our hearts, so that every choice we make is made in the spirit of love and charity that Jesus commends to us in the Great Commandment.
Life in the kingdom is, in a sense, tougher because it requires that we lift our gaze out of the law books and into the eyes of our brothers and sisters.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
The Indicative
When many of us were kids, the games we played came in boxes rather than on electronic devices. We would break the seal and lift the lid of a new game, remove the pieces, and then go immediately to the little booklet or the back of the lid to find the rules of the game. We understood that until we knew and mastered the rules we could not play the game as it was intended to be played, we could not draw the most fun out of playing it, we could not enjoy it to its full potential.
When we teach someone to play a game -- be it football, basketball, euchre, canasta, or Chutes and Ladders -- we know that we cannot teach them strategies and tactics until we have first taught them the rules.
The rules tell us how we relate to the game and to the people who are playing the game with us. They tell us how we should approach the action that is the playing of the game. And they make it possible for us to play the game authentically so that we draw the most enjoyment out of it.
This sermon might effectively begin with an examination of rules and how they operate in our lives, starting with the light and humorous and moving to the more serious and compelling. Sometimes they seem silly (some OSHA rules, for instance) or frustratingly complex (the IRS code), but generally they are responsible for keeping our lives safe, orderly, efficient, and effective (i.e. traffic laws). But whether we are talking about the rules to Scrabble or the Ten Commandments, rules are only as effective as our commitment to them, our willingness to be obedient.
God, through the prophets and through Jesus Christ, has given us rules for playing the very difficult and complicated game of life. They are rarely simple and often difficult to follow, but the promise that comes with them is a rich, full, authentic, abundant life.
The Imperative
God does not impose God's will or rules upon us. We are free to choose. The choice of following God's rules and commandments, of being faithful to God's will for us as it is given to us through the prophets and Jesus Christ, is also the choice of life abundant, life lived on the eternal plane: "Choose life so that you and your descendants may live."
SECOND THOUGHTS
There Are Rules, and There Are Rules
by Roger Lovette
Matthew 5:21-39
In a week where much of the nation is still digging out from snow and ice and many are recovering from the Super Bowl, we turn our attention to the lectionary passages for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. It would be hard to find a more pertinent subject than the thread that runs through all these scripture texts. The emphasis is on rules and ethics -- the dos and don'ts of our lives. The problem is that many liberals and conservatives are suspicious of too many rules. But what all our texts seem to say this week is that there are rules, and there are rules.
Remember the comic strip Peanuts and Charlie Brown? Charlie Brown sheds some light on our subject of rules. Charlie Brown and his sidekick Peppermint Patty were seated under a tree when she asks with a sigh: "Do you know any good rules for living, Chuck?" Charlie proceeds to give this advice: "Keep the ball low; don't leave your crayons in the sun; use dental floss every day; don't spill the shoe polish. Always knock before entering; don't let the ants get in the sugar; always get your first serve in." Mystified, Patty asks: "Will those rules give me a better life, Chuck?" Good question.
The rules we live by ought to give us a better life. Jesus horrified many of the religious leaders of his day by saying that the rules they were following did not go far enough. His enemies charged him with destroying the rules of Torah that went all the way back to the beginning of their faith journey. But they misunderstood what Jesus meant. He simply said you've got to stretch the understanding of your rules if you are to find an abundant life. There are rules, and there are rules.
It's no wonder that modern secular prophets like Christopher Hitchens want to do away with all religions and its restrictions. But what he fails to understand is the same mistake the Pharisees made: there are rules, and there are rules. Most of us would agree with many of Hitchens' complaints, for so many of the rules in religion seem either irrelevant or destructive. In a time of great suffering and international upheaval, Hitchens poses a good question: Who cares about rules?
But Jesus said that rules alone would not give the community a better life. He did not abandon the rules of the Torah -- but he stretched them in ways that would help bring new life.
Jesus tackled murder, adultery, divorce, and oath-taking. He began by saying: "You have heard that it has been said: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery,' " etc. But he then strongly added, "But I say unto you..." and he gave them a new understanding of rules.
It was no wonder many of the scribes and Pharisees were wrapped in self-righteousness. Who among them had committed murder or found themselves in an adulterous relationship? They knew the consequences of those actions. Most had no trouble with the divorce issue or oath-taking. But Jesus pulled the self-righteous cloaks from their shoulders by asking: Maybe not murder -- but what about anger and insults and calling people fools and never letting a good grudge go? Maybe not adultery -- but he asked have you ever lusted? They grew quiet. Maybe not divorce -- but what of the trivial reasons you men have for divorcing your wives? Maybe not swearing falsely -- but Jesus asked what about swearing at all? What about speaking out of both sides of your mouth so that your response is more a word game than the simpler truth? Jesus' challenge here takes all of us in. Last week Newsweek magazine emblazoned these words on its cover: "Rage Goes Viral." Anger and its sidekicks like hatred and violence had to be dealt with. Any applications in today's world?
Jesus told them it was a matter of the heart. There were rules, and there were rules. And even after all these years, his words speak to our condition. Real faith is not following the book and keeping records -- but it starts inside like anger does, and lust, and divorce over trivial matters, and figuring out how to win the argument instead of just letting your yes be yes and your no, no.
With the divorce rate over 50% what word is there nestled in this passage about divorce? Certainly not "no divorce." Certainly not the trivial reasons that people shed this primary of all relationships. No. Jesus would say that divorce is a very serious business. But it begins with the heart and relationship and trust and forgiveness and commitment.
When someone asked a little boy about rules in his family, he said, "There are ten kids in our house -- you gotta have rules." And the boy was right. We cannot escape rules any more than we can escape red lights or income taxes. Yet what does it mean to understand that there are rules, and there are rules?
What kind of church would we have today if Jesus' words were followed? Paul told Corinth that they had missed the boat with all their quarreling and fussiness. Not a murderer in the house. Ask your folk to put down the Jesus rules beside their lives -- in church and out. This might help us deal with some of the hurting problems that cripple our lives and our nation and the world. Maybe the Epiphany light really does shine when we stretch the rules until they change our lives and those around us.
Another approach to this text might be to lift out Jesus' words about forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-26). Your gift on the altar won't really count, our Lord said, unless you have first reconciled with your enemy. A church with a bare-bones budget might not want to hear these words -- but think of the power in a community that follows Jesus' words on forgiveness. Remember the book Amish Grace? Its subtitle is: "How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy." After one of the Amish children was murdered and the killer was murdered, the Amish folk reached out to the grieving family that lost their daughter and they also reached out to the widow of the man that had murdered the little girl. Bill Moyers wrote of that book: "This is a story our polarized country needs to hear. It is still grace that saves."
Another springboard might be the film Invictus (or the outstanding ESPN documentary The 16th Man), which tells the wonderful story of how Nelson Mandala, after being incarcerated for 27 years, became the leader of his South African people. Mandela refused to punish those white folk that had kept him in jail so long -- and he used South Africa's hosting of the Rugby World Cup as an opportunity to begin a process of reconciliation toward healing a divided nation. It is an incredible story that will lift your heart and spirit ñ and the message is not far from Jesus' words on forgiveness.
ILLUSTRATIONS
No one really knows when it began, and we have only a slight understanding of its history -- but about 110 years ago, around the year 1900, George Casey, a deacon with the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Northeast Washington DC, began gathering church members from around the city for a weekly prayer vigil. We do know that it began on a Saturday, for it was originally called "the Saturday night host." It was guided by the Bible verse from James 5:16 -- "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed."
The prayer vigil has continued uninterrupted to this very day. It now meets on Friday evenings, and the name has been changed to "Prayer Union". With a change of meeting day and name, the purpose has remained the same -- a devotion to keep prayer alive. The Prayer Union is not confined to the churches the group rotates among, because during the week they pray at funerals, in hospitals, and anyplace where they are made aware of a spiritual need. Howard Green, who drives five hours from North Carolina to participate, sums up the feeling of the group when he says, "Our purpose is to keep prayer alive."
Moses asks us to "choose life" by "obeying the commandments of God." One commandment, or at least an expectation, is that we are a people of prayer. If all Christians would engage in some form of "prayer union," then the life-giving kingdom of God would certainly be manifested on earth.
* * *
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an article titled "Praying favorites? Religious leaders say it's OK to pray for your team" on the Sunday of Super Bowl LXV, when the Steelers were challenging the Packers for the coveted ring. The article opened with the story that you could purchase black and gold rosary beads, called "Steelers rosaries," from a Bloomfield store administered by Sister Madalyn Schleifer. Bishop David Zubrik, the overseer of the Pittsburgh Catholic diocese, gave his blessing to pray for the Steelers to win and ask that the Packers' kicker miss. According to the bishop, these are acceptable prayers as long as you don't pray for someone to get hurt. Protestants joined the quasi-religious devotion of worshiping the Steelers as well. Rev. Randall Bush, pastor of the second most majestic cathedral in Pittsburgh, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, substituted a black stole adorned in gold (the colors of the home team) for the usual green vestment worn for Epiphany. Rev. Bush also wrote a congregational prayer, based on the acrostic style of Psalm 119, where the first letter of each lined spelled "GO STEELERS." Not only is this religious adoration an ecumenical affair, it is also an interfaith ordeal. Rabbi Yaacov Rosenstein was asked if it was "silly" to pray for a Steeler victory. The rabbi replied that since God cares about you, God cares about your team. Not to be left out of the euphoria, the Hindus have a half-hour ritual prayer to win session just prior to the opening kickoff. When every clergyperson is pressed to justify these religious rituals, they maintain it is a spiritual means to bring unity to an ethnically and religious diverse city. This is a questionable response at best, while clutching black and gold rosary beads as one recites a mantra for the black and gold team.
Paul wrote of his discouragement with the immaturity of the Christians who attended the church in Corinth. He expressed it in these words: "I fed you with milk, not solid food." One wonders if the religious leaders of Pittsburgh are still not on the breast. A green vestment is a testimony that we are to be the light of justice and bring forth gifts to the downtrodden and needy. A black and gold stole or rosary means one is preoccupied with a multimillion dollar business that masks itself as being a sport. The combined salaries of everyone who walked across the field at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, could feed the children of Darfur for a lifetime and provide enough HIV serum in South Africa to end the epidemic. But then, what fun would that be? It may be "GO STEELERS" for today, but hopefully until the first Sunday in February 2012 it will be "GO GOD!"
* * *
Larry Taunton, the executive director of Fixed Point Foundation, thought he had a great idea until the FOX network nixed it. Taunton wanted to air a non-evasive religious commercial during Super Bowl LXV. Sorry, but FOX won't promote religion. It will advertise beer and cars, all promoted by seductive women -- but not religion.
Taunton got his idea by watching last year's Super Bowl. He said, "Corporate America uses its creativity and millions of dollars to come up with 30-second blasts to get you to buy a beer or Coke or tennis ball. Last year, as I began to reflect on this, I thought, 'If I had 30 seconds to speak to a billion people, what would I say?' " Fixed Point Foundation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, promotes debate between atheists and believers. Realizing that the most often seen religious banner at games has on it "John 3:16," and that some players print "John 3:16" in greasepaint on their faces, Taunton thought it would be an appropriate message for a televised commercial since fans and viewing audiences are accustomed to seeing John 3:16 at games. In defense of his intentions, Taunton said, "We're not even forcing Christianity on the sport. We're just springboarding off a current message that's there. You see it all the time, so what does it mean?" So, in a very benign commercial he filmed a football party with enthusiastic viewers celebrating a touchdown. When the player stands in the end zone, two young men see "John 3:16" painted on his face. Confused, each asks the other what it means. Not knowing, one man opens his cell phone and says, "I'll look it up." Then the blackened television screen displays "Lookup3:16.com -- A Message of Hope." When you go to that website the Bible verse -- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" -- floats over the stadium.
The Psalmist says, "Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord." One cannot walk with the Lord until one knows the Lord. And the foundation of Christianity is that true happiness in knowing Jesus, which means understanding the meaning of John 3:16. FOX probably knows that beer cannot make you happy, but it does cause you to temporarily forget your woes. As for the seductive women and Mercedes, they are something we can only lust after from afar. FOX may have closed the door on John 3:16, but the doors of the church are always open to receiving those who would like to understand.
* * *
Some of the problems inherent in our legal system came into the national spotlight a few years ago when a jury in Albuquerque, New Mexico, awarded $2.9 million to a woman who spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself and was burned. Although an appeal later reduced the amount of the award, many people were left wondering about the seemingly skewed incentives in our courts, as we appear to be a nation that rewards people for being careless or foolish. In this week's gospel text, Jesus takes away our ability to find the loopholes in God's law. He tells us to obey not only the letter of the law, but also the spirit in which it was intended.
* * *
We all should have been more critical of Frank Sinatra crooning, "I'll do it my way," for it has become abundantly clear that we in America are paying a high price for our insistence upon personal rights without regard to ethical and moral considerations. Over and over again we hear quoted the complaints of the people who were subjects of the sociological study Habits of the Heart. These people indicated that their lives were empty in spite of the fact that they had enjoyed the freedom of pursuing their personal ambitions.
Allan Bloom's study about the failure of American education insists that we have educated people without teaching them how to live and to be concerned about others. We have trained people in individualism. The American electorate has finally become aware of the fact that candidates for public office can no longer insist on doing their own thing. Public officials have to know that they live in glass houses -- and that their behavior is under the scrutiny of the public eye.
* * *
There is an old story about Leonardo da Vinci. During the time when Leonardo was working on his famous painting "The Last Supper," he became angry with an acquaintance of his. The two men had words and parted on very bad terms. Leonardo returned to the church on who wall he was painting the fresco.
It was no use -- Leonardo found he could paint nothing he was happy with. It just so happened that he had reached the point in the project where he was doing the face of Jesus. Time and again he tried to render a passable likeness of the Lord, but he was unable to do so.
Finally the great artist realized that he had work to do -- but it was not in the church he had been commissioned to decorate. Leonardo put down his brushes and palette, and he sought out the man who had been the subject of his wrath. He asked the man's forgiveness. The man accepted Leonardo's apology, and offered an apology of his own.
It was only then that Leonardo was able to return to the church and finish painting the face of Jesus.
* * *
Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.
-- Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (HarperOne, 1993)
* * *
There is a Zen parable about a wise man who was tutor to the emperor's sons. This teacher observed that the oldest boy was prone to outbursts of anger. One day, as the boy was in the midst of a tantrum, he dragged the child over to a beehive and thrust the prince's hand into it until he had been stung.
The prince was so taken aback that anyone -- even his teacher -- would treat him this way that he immediately stopped his raging. Looking down at the swelling spot on the back of his hand, he cried out, "I am going to tell my father!"
The teacher replied: "When you tell your father, tell him this: look at the bee."
Together they studied the bee that had fallen to the ground, its entrails torn out along with the stinger. They watched it until it died.
"That is the price of anger," said the teacher.
That night the boy did tell his father, the emperor. His response was to give the teacher a gold piece. When that boy became emperor years later, he had already become known for his quiet, deliberate judgment and his resistance to being provoked.
* * *
Jigsaw puzzles can be fun and provide entertainment for hours on end. The lesson they teach is that it takes many parts to present a finished picture. Each one of the dozens of jigsaw parts must be in its rightful place in order to make the picture complete -- and when parts are lost it is a catastrophe, for the picture cannot be brought to completion. In our epistle passage Paul points to the interrelatedness of many contributors, or individual functions produced by various people, and he says all are needed to build a complete church. While the work of each Christian is important, only when it is connected with the work of others can it count for good. So when people in the church at Corinth were taking sides and causing divisions within the church, Paul points out how the contribution of many was what moved the church forward -- so they were not to say "I am Paul's follower" or "I am a follower of Apollos." Like the parts of a jigsaw puzzle, the work of all was important and needed. One person's work must be joined to the work of another to build the complete church. But there was a final lesson. After Paul had done the work of planting a congregation, and Apollos had followed with his nurturing of it, it was, as Paul rightly points out, the blessing of Christ upon their united human efforts that produced the completed picture of a church.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are those whose way is blameless;
People: Happy are those who walk in God's way.
Leader: Happy are those who seek God with their whole heart.
People: May our ways be steadfast in keeping God's way.
Leader: Let us praise God with upright hearts.
People: Let us learn and observe God's way.
OR
Leader: God offers us the opportunity to choose our way in life.
People: God sets before us the way of life and the way of death.
Leader: God desires that we choose the way of life.
People: God invites but does not force us to choose God's way.
Leader: The way of God is life and light and abundant living.
People: Let us choose the way of God, the way of life.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
Renew: 46
"How Like a Gentle Spirit"
found in:
UMH: 115
NCH: 443
CH: 69
"He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought"
found in:
UMH: 128
AAHH: 142
NNBH: 235
CH: 545
LBW: 501
"If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee"
found in:
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
NCH: 410
LBW: 453
"Lead Me, Lord"
found in:
UMH: 473
AAHH: 145
NNBH: 341
CH: 593
Renew: 175
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand"
found in:
UMH: 474
PH: 404
AAHH: 471
NCH: 472
CH: 628
"Seek Ye First"
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
CCB: 76
"Shine, Jesus, Shine"
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
"All I Need Is You"
found in:
CCB: 100
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created us for a full life lived in you: Grant us the wisdom to choose your ways, that we may know life that is abundant and joyful through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come into your presence, O God, to learn from you the way that leads to life eternal and abundant. Help us so to hear and apply your words to us today that we may clearly see the path to life and avoid the path that leads to death. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our tragic choices that lead us to adversity and death.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have set before us the way to life and prosperity, and we have chosen to follow the path that leads to death and adversity. We see the glittering lights of the world with its wealth and fame, and we think that is what we need. We see your way of service and caring and want to leave that path to others. Yet we know that only in your path will we find the way to an abundant, joyful life. Forgive us our foolishness and empower us with your Spirit that we might follow our Savior Jesus into service and life eternal. Amen.
Leader: The God who created us desires nothing for us but life that is full, abundant, and eternal. The love and grace of God brings us forgiveness and reveals the path to life.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, for you have not only created us but you have also made us to live joyfully and abundantly in this world and in the world to come.
(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. You have set before us the way to life and prosperity, and we have chosen to follow the path that leads to death and adversity. We see the glittering lights of the world with its wealth and fame, and we think that is what we need. We see your way of service and caring and want to leave that path to others. Yet we know that only in your path will we find the way to an abundant, joyful life. Forgive us our foolishness and empower us with your Spirit that we might follow our Savior Jesus into service and life eternal.
We thank you for the blessings you have bestowed on us. We thank you for the scriptures that show us your way. We give you thanks for the personal witness of those who follow your path, as they have shared with us the good news about the path of life you have set before us. We thank you for those who have had the courage to confront us when they have seen us taking the wrong road.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray to you for one another in our need and for all, anywhere, who are on the road that leads to adversity and death. As you move among them and invite them to choose a better path, help us to share with those around us the joy of following Jesus.
(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.
Visuals
Maps, globes, star charts, GPS, etc. -- things that we use to find our way.
Children's Sermon Starter
Tell the children that you have hidden a treasure for them. Give them directions to follow that take them to a place in the sanctuary where the treasure is NOT hidden. Ask them if they see it. When the respond that they don't, tell them you don't understand because you put it (wherever you have hidden it). Tell them they have to be able to find it because the map gave these directions. What could be wrong? If they don't supply the answer that the map is for going to some other place than where you have hidden the treasure, suddenly "discover" that you have the wrong map. Take out another one and give directions to where you actually hid the treasure. Talk to the children about how many people will tell us how to live and what we need to know -- but Jesus, the Bible, parents, church, etc. can truly tell us the ways of God which lead to life.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Loving Others More Than Money
Matthew 5:21-37
Object: an offering envelope
Good morning, boys and girls! Money is important. How many of you like to get money? (let the children answer) We like money because then we can get things we want. You can buy toys, clothes, and many things. Money is nice, and money is important.
We depend upon money here at the church to pay the electric bill, the water bill, and keep up repairs. Money pays for the pastor, organist, and many other things. Without money, we could not meet in this building the way we do, and neither could we do the things we do. Money is important!
But there are things that are much more important than money. What kind of things do you think might be more important than money? (let them answer) There are many things more important than money.
It is natural for us to get angry at others from time to time. When we are very angry, it is easy to hurt others. God does not want anybody hurt. God wants us to get along with each other and treat each other kindly. God does not even want our money if we hurt others or refuse to treat each other with love and respect.
As important as it is that I give my money to God through the church (hold up your offering envelope), it is more important to God that we love and forgive one another and not do hurtful things to others. That is why we spend so much time talking about love. Once Jesus told his disciples that if you come with your offering to God and remember that you feel badly about another, it would be better to go and make peace with the person who angers you. After we love one another, then we give our offering to God.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the many things that are more important than money. Thank you for each other and the love we share as a congregation. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, February 13, 2011, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
