Should We Give Up Calm Instead Of Chocolate?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
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Object:
This week the lectionary gospel passage features Jesus's celebrated outburst in which he clears out the temple entrepreneurs with a fiery rant: "Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" (John 2:16). In today's supercharged political atmosphere, such a rash statement might have led Jesus' opponents to frame him as a socialist -- but in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin notes that Jesus' fury is directed not at the commercial transactions themselves so much as it is at their exploitative nature. The unethical behavior of those with economic power is an old, old story, of course, yet recent scientific research suggests that wealthy people are more likely to cheat others than those with less money -- and greed and entitlement are the biggest reasons. Mary points out that Jesus' anger is a reaction to seeing temple worshipers systematically taken advantage of, a situation not unlike that facing many homeowners caught up in foreclosure. When faced with a system where the deck is stacked in favor of those holding all the cards, Jesus' righteous indignation is not a temper tantrum but a cri de couer -- and Mary tells us that we ought to react to the injustice in a similar manner. Lent isn't just a time for spiritual introspection, Mary reminds us -- it's also a time to embrace our anger and work to create a better world.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer considers the epistle text and Paul's famous observation that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom." Dean notes that human wisdom usually counsels a safe, practical expedient approach to most problems -- but that God calls us to a radical approach of loving one another... even in a dangerous world where that can seem completely weak and impractical. (But as Paul also tells us, "God's weakness is stronger than human strength.") Dean points out that in a violence-wracked world we often look to human strength for protection but that can lead to chillingly bloodthirsty behavior when we endorse revenge for dealing with our enemies, whether national or personal. Perhaps we shouldn't seek our heroes in human wisdom strength, Dean suggests, but rather in God's weakness and foolishness.
Should We Give Up Calm Instead of Chocolate?
by Mary Austin
John 2:13-22
In the Jerusalem temple, the heart of faith and worship for the people of Israel, Jesus comes to town and finds more greed than God. The story of Jesus driving the money changers away from the temple is often used to justify anger, but Jesus is mad about more than a few doves and a few coins changing hands.
We often think of Lent as a season to cultivate inner tranquility, to develop the habits that will feed the spirit, but Jesus is making a case for cultivating anger as a spiritual discipline too. The same injustices that Jesus saw persist in our world, in more sophisticated forms.
THE WORLD
The Federal Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are both actively investigating the packaging and reselling of home loans. The Justice Department recently subpoenaed eleven banks for records related to mortgage-backed securities, seeking to learn whether these large companies contributed to a climate that drove up housing prices and then fueled foreclosures.
Related to that, five large banks recently agreed to pay $5 billion to address abuses in foreclosures. The New York Times reported that "After months of talks, Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo agreed to pay a total of $5 billion in cash to try to remedy this fiasco. They will also help homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages by reducing the principal on their loans by a combined $17 billion over the next three years. Borrowers who qualify will get $3 billion in refinancing arrangements. Those who were improperly foreclosed on will get a combined $1.5 billion."
The settlement comes because the banks added fees to the bills of already struggling borrowers, forced people to buy added insurance, and in some cases foreclosed on people while they were also working with them on loan modifications. Some banks also foreclosed on active duty military personnel, in direct violation of the law.
The article quotes Paul Diggle, who is a property economist at Capital Economics in London, as saying that erasing debt of $17 billion "is a drop in the ocean, given that close to 11 million borrowers are underwater on their loans to the tune of $700 billion in total." Business reporter Gretchen Morganstern adds, "Doing the math, $17 billion in write-downs would be about 2.4% of the total negative equity weighing down borrowers across the nation now."
Previous efforts to assist borrowers have looked good at the beginning and amounted to very little relief for homeowners. The attorney general of Nevada is currently suing Bank of America, alleging that it raised interest rates when it had agreed to lower them and allowed months to go by instead of granting new loans within 60 days. In Nevada, the article notes, "Under the program, banks must mediate with borrowers who request such help. But two years of statistics, through last September, show 5,771 cases where mediators found that banks had failed to participate in good faith or were not complying with other aspects of the mediation law. That is equivalent to 42% of all the mediations completed in the program."
That's one state out of fifty. If similar things are happening elsewhere, it looks like the system is stacked against the small borrower and the average homeowner.
THE WORD
This story shows up in all four gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke place it near the end of Jesus' life, but John has it near the beginning. This is how Jesus starts off his work in John's gospel — he's saying something here about who he is. And why is he so mad?
The temple was the center of life in ancient Israel. As Harvey Cox describes it, the temple "was the symbolic center of ancient Israel. It was the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol Dome, the Stars and Stripes, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial all rolled into one" (When Jesus Came to Harvard, p. 215). It was the religious hub of the nation, but it also had important secular meaning. Constantly under construction, it was the workplace for hundreds of masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other tradespeople. The scale of it was so immense that one estimate suggests that it employed half of the male population of the city of Jerusalem.
The temple was also a fortress, with walls 90 feet high in some places, and up to 300 feet high in others. Some stones were as long as 35 feet and weighed more than 70 tons (Marcus Borg, Jesus: a New Vision, p. 161ff). The temple was ready for battle. This was the place where faithful Jews came from villages all over Israel to worship and make sacrifices.
When they arrived at the temple, the system was stacked against them. Their coins from Greece and Rome and the provinces had to be changed into special temple money, not defaced by the graven image of any ruler's head. As you can imagine, the exchange rate did not favor the country travelers. Then the travelers had to purchase animals for the sacrifice -- special, blemish-free animals, fortunately available at the temple for the low, low price set by the sellers. You could bring your own animal from home, of course, but then the temple inspectors had to check and make sure it had no blemishes... and if they mysteriously found a mark, you were back to buying an animal from the sellers.
This is the scene that Jesus finds -- and he's outraged at the pattern of exploitation and injustice. The temple is not just a place where the poor get ripped off... but the center of a whole system that divides people up and separates most people from God. As Marcus Borg says, this system "created a world with sharp social boundaries between pure and impure, righteous and sinner, whole and not whole, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile" (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, p. 53).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Systems that oppress the poor and marginal people of the world are nothing new. We see them around us in the mortgage mess and in predatory lending practices. We see them in health insurance systems that force the poor into the emergency room, where health care is expensive and often too little, too late. We see them in higher auto insurance rates for people with poor credit, and higher loan rates for people of color. We see them in persistent pay discrimination for women and people of color. We see them in our own search for cheaper goods, which means we buy things made by people who make less money, often working in unsafe or grueling conditions. Nike and Apple have come under scrutiny recently for labor practices at their manufacturing plants in Vietnam and China, and Victoria's Secret was found to be using child labor in Mali. The Slavery Footprint invites people to take a survey about how many workers contribute to the goods they regularly use.
Jesus' anger is a call for us to look to our world for the same unjust practices and systems. His anger is in proportion to the size of the corruption -- tremendous injustice, tremendous anger. In our attempt to cultivate tranquility, we may be ignoring similar injustices around us. Lent is about retreats and Bible studies, certainly, and looking at the spiritual habits that connect or divide us from God, but Jesus points us -- as always -- to a bigger picture.
Lent also gives us an opportunity to see where we contribute to injustice, to look at what we buy and eat, where we live and save our money, and see how it contributes to just commerce or to injustice. Churches, who buy lots of coffee, have been leaders in the fair trade coffee movement. Mainline denominations have partnered with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group supporting people who work in Florida's agriculture industry, to engage large-scale food buyers to commit to fair labor practices. Since May 2008, as part of the Campaign for Fair Food, the group has made agreements with Burger King, Whole Foods, Subway, Bon Appétit Co., Compass Group, Aramark, Sodexo, and Trader Joe's (according to the group's website), seeking fair wages for the people who harvest the food. Now the group is shifting its attention to the supermarket industry, saying on its website: "It is now time for Kroger, Ahold (parent company of Stop & Shop and Giant), and Publix to step up and help us build a world where workers in Florida's fields can enjoy a fair wage and dignified working conditions."
The Jerusalem temple is gone, just as Jesus predicted, but its abusive practices continue in different forms. Jesus invites us into a Lenten practice of seeing the world as he did and working for justice in his name.
SECOND THOUGHTS
An Impractical Religion
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
"Kill them." Late-night talk show hosts are calling those two words "The Gingrich Doctrine."
At a South Carolina debate about foreign policy, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was roundly and loudly booed when he suggested that, in the matter of Pakistani sovereignty, the U.S. should apply the golden rule and treat them as we would wish to be treated.
When the same question was put to Newt Gingrich, he responded by channeling Andrew Jackson, who "had a pretty clear-cut idea about America's enemies: Kill them." And for those two words, he received a standing ovation.
Never mind that it wasn't Andrew Jackson but Stonewall Jackson who said it. And never mind that when Stonewall Jackson said it he was referring to killing Americans -- Union soldiers, to be sure, but Americans. ("Kill them, sir. Kill them all.") As one who claims to be a historian, we might expect Mr. Gingrich to know which Jackson said what.
As one who claims to be a Christian, we might wonder if he has given even a moment's thought to what Jesus said about how we are to relate to our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
But it's the standing ovation that really gives us pause.
On September 12 of last year on a CNN broadcast of a Republican debate, news anchor Wolf Blitzer asked Ron Paul what he would do about a middle-aged man who showed up at the emergency room with no insurance: "Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?"
To his credit, Ron Paul immediately responded "No!" But he was drowned out by the cheering of the crowd shouting "Yeah!"
Google the word "hero" and see what comes up from news sources. The vast majority of "hero" references will be about people who carry guns. They are soldiers and cops mostly, and the hero reference will usually have to do with a sacrifice they have made or a risk they have taken -- sacrifices and risks for which we are indeed grateful.
One wonders if there are other heroes out there as well, heroes who don't carry guns, who aren't trained and prepared to kill people. One searches nearly in vain for a hero reference that has to do with healing, reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace.
We are a culture that is more and more steeped in violence, not just the fantasy kind that shows up on television and the recreational kind that happens on the gridiron, but the deadly kind that begins on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq and oozes back into the basketball courts of our playgrounds and the halls of our schools.
We are, sadly, no longer surprised when a high school student in Ohio decides that if "kill them" is an acceptable policy for dealing with national enemies, then it must also be an acceptable policy for dealing with personal ones.
If "let them die" is an acceptable way of dealing with people who put a strain on our healthcare resources, then why can't it be equally acceptable as a way of dealing with people who put a strain on our personal resources?
If you can be a hero for killing troublesome people in Afghanistan and Iraq, why can't you also be a hero for killing troublesome people in Ohio?
None of us is really shocked or surprised or even troubled when a politician misquotes a historical figure for his own purposes or says something outrageous to whip up an audience. We have come to expect it. We write it off as part of the price we pay for our freedom of speech.
More troubling is the response of the crowd who so enthusiastically rises to their feet at the mention of killing people, who enthusiastically affirm the notion of letting uninsured people die, who have no heroes but those who are armed.
How many of them, one wonders, call themselves Christian? How many affirm Jesus Christ as Lord?
Oh, but wait, they say. Jesus was not talking about national foreign policy when he said to love your enemies. He was talking about personal ethics and personal relationships. Using the golden rule as a matter of foreign policy would be completely impractical. And besides, we don't have the right to force our Christian ethics on others living in this country who would be made vulnerable by such a course.
Paul, of course, would beg to differ, as he did with the Christian folk of Corinth.
First, he would remind us that practicality is usually just another word for that which is easy and expedient. It's about what works in the short term, what inexpensively meets the immediate need. In choosing the cross, Jesus did not take the practical, expedient, cheap, or easy course. He took the loving course, the "weak" course, the "foolish" course.
Then Paul would remind us that Jesus was not put to death by the state for championing a new personal ethic. He was executed for treason and sedition for advocating an alternative kingdom to that of Caesar, a kingdom that demands total loyalty and commitment from those who chose to live within its walls.
Finally, he would remind us that this alternative kingdom is still available -- but only to those with the discernment to realize that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength" -- for the Christ we proclaim is "Christ crucified."
ILLUSTRATIONS
The temple of Jesus' day was riddled with injustice. Pilgrims -- diaspora Jews -- came there from all around the Roman world. Some of them had saved for years to make the journey. When these travelers arrived at the temple, they were required to pay a temple tax and it was no minor admission charge. Biblical scholar William Barclay suggests the tax amounted to about two days' wages for a laborer.
The big problem was not so much the high amount as that many of the pilgrims' money was no good. Most of them carried either Roman denarii or Greek drachmas: coins with emperors and gods engraved upon them. But the temple authorities would only accept the coins of Israel, which did not display potentially idolatrous images. That's where the moneychangers came in. With so many pilgrims arriving from so many places, there was quite a market in currency speculation. The moneychangers had a monopoly, so their commissions were impossibly high. (Barclay estimates as high as 50%!)
There's one other thing that religious pilgrims to Jerusalem needed besides Judean currency to pay the temple tax. They also needed an animal to sacrifice. Well, those thoughtful temple merchants remembered that too. Located conveniently nearby in the court of the Gentiles were live-animal stalls. The prices were several times higher than the market stalls in town, but these were special animals -- guaranteed by the merchants to be clean and without blemish, just as the law required.
If any pilgrims happen to bring animals from outside with them, they first had to stop at the booth of one of the temple inspectors, who looked the beast over for defects. The inspectors were meticulous in their examination of any animal not purchased from one of the official dealers -- so it was rare that one of those animals passed inspection.
It was a monstrously unfair system, designed for the benefit of a favored few who profited at the expense of the faithful. No wonder Jesus got angry. He wasn't upset because of the close proximity of commercial activity to a place of worship, as though money itself were evil. No, Jesus' rampage through the temple was righteous anger -- the emotion true prophets are supposed to feel when confronted with injustice.
* * *
As long as we look for some kind of pay for what we do, as long as we want to get something from God in some kind of exchange, we are like the merchants. If you want to be rid of the commercial spirit, then by all means do all you can in the way of good works, but do so solely for the praise of God. Live as if you did not exist. Expect and ask nothing in return. Then the merchant inside you will be driven out of the temple God has made. Then God alone dwells there. See! This is how the temple is cleared: when a person thinks only of God and honors him alone. Only such a person is free and genuine.
-- Meister Eckhart, from Meister Eckhart: A Modern Translation (HarperCollins, 1972)
* * *
Kang Yu Wei, the Chinese thinker and moralist of a former generation, after a careful study of the gospels, was asked what in his opinion was of the most striking quality in the character of Jesus.
Somewhat surprisingly he answered, "His courage." By this he meant how Jesus fearlessly faced the hatred of so many of his countrymen, the hostility of the jealous Pharisees, and the reverses of his mission that would likely end in his death. It was said of Robert Browning that he was "a knight of the Holy Spirit who went about the world looking into the dark corners and challenging everything evil to give up its secret." And in view of Jesus' cleansing of the temple, Emerson remarked: "Every courageous act measures itself by its contempt of what some regard as acceptable and good."
* * *
One summer Saturday morning in 1864, six-year-old Theodore Roosevelt was playing tag with a group of other children in a New York City park across the street from the church where the Roosevelt family worshiped. Noticing that the church's huge wooden doors were open, the curious child was drawn to the building. Greeting him at the door was the sexton, who invited the lad for a tour. Suddenly Roosevelt balked, exclaiming, "I know what you've got in there!" The sexton tried to assure the little one that everything in the church could be seen and touched. But young Roosevelt remained adamant in his refusal to enter; he turned, leaped down the church steps, and ran home to his mother.
Greeting his mother, young Teddy talked about the friendly sexton and his own fear of entering the church. Concerned, his mother cautiously prodded her son to explain. Eventually Teddy admitted that he did not enter the building because he was afraid the "zeal" would attack him. Teddy emphasized, "Last Sunday I heard the minister read from the Bible about the zeal, and it made me afraid." The child was unable to elaborate. Puzzled, Mrs. Roosevelt went to her concordance and read each passage that mentioned the word "zeal." Quickly she found the verse that disturbed her son; it was Psalm 69:9: "For the zeal of this house hath eaten me up."
Many of us are afraid of zeal, of being excited and enthusiastic. We are cautious, hesitant, and almost apologetic. We are reluctant to venture forth with new ideas and we are unwilling to share our beliefs. We are stymied by the smallest obstacle placed in our path.
We must guard ourselves against such behavior, and instead vigorously confront the challenges of life. John writes, quoting Psalm 69: we must continue to have "zeal" for the God that consumes us.
* * *
The human eye is a very sensitive instrument. Made up of delicate parts, everything has to work correctly in order for the eye to focus clearly. Unfortunately, once in a while the eye is bothered by something. A small speck of dust or hair and the well-functioning eye changes into an angry organ. The eyelid starts blinking. Tear ducts begin to pour water into the eyeball. If the pain is severe enough, the person's hands come to the eye to rub the invader away. The well-functioning eye, often taken for granted, becomes the focus of existence for a minute, until the invader is removed. Then cleansed, it can resume normal function.
* * *
Imagine entering a room full of strangers whose central focus is a guillotine, a hangman's noose, or a firing squad. We would be frightened and astounded, making a quick exit to summon the police. A cross represents the Roman Empire's hideous instrument of torture used for painful public executions to punish capital crimes.
Today we have decorated and stylized the cross to the place where we can avoid remembering its original purpose. Ornately ornamented with stones and precious metals, we wear crosses as jewelry and even display them in our homes. Crosses are the focal point in our houses of worship, reminding us of the Son of God being lifted up on the cross of Calvary.
God's actions have taken a means of cruel death and made it into a thing of beauty. If God can transform a cross into strength, wisdom, morality, and life; just imagine what God can do with us.
* * *
The only food that never spoils is honey. It is the only food whose shelf life is forever.
When the Psalmist says that God's word is "sweeter than honey," it means that God's word will everlastingly nourish our life.
* * *
Of the Ten Commandments, it's the last one -- "you shall not covet your neighbor" -- that seems to get the least publicity. This is probably because that commandment is not as dramatic as stealing, murder, and adultery. Yet, is not the desire to have or be something we are not the one of the ten that affects us the most? Advertising certainly directs our thoughts in this direction. But it also reflects on so many other things, like the idealization of celebrities.
Jennifer Aniston is 43, but she looks 20. As she joked about her beauty routine in a recent interview with Conan O'Brien, the company TotalBeauty.com decided for a lark to determine how much it cost for Jen to look 20 years younger. In a very detailed audit that included specific beauty products and the services of beauty specialists, the results were rather revealing.
Her skin care comes at a cost of $1,186.95 a month. One day at the salon will cost $920, before tips. Her makeup and makeup artist have a cost of $4,402. Eyebrows are another $120. The list continues and is very inclusive. If one foregoes the cost of plastic surgery, Jennifer Aniston's beauty routine costs $141,037.97 a year.
The article compiling all of this information concluded with these words of advice: "So the next time you're sighing over a photo of Aniston's face/legs/butt/whatever, consider that with the money she spends to look beautiful for a year, you could purchase a home in the Midwest, send a kid to college for (almost) four years, buy six Honda Accords, or even fly from Los Angeles to New York -- in first class -- 44 times! Kinda puts things in perspective, right? But then again, who needs six Honda Accords? I'll take Jen's face and body any day."
* * *
The Ten Commandments place before us the rules that must be followed to live in harmony with God and with others. Jesus was able to condense these to two, but the meaning was not lost. Rules are important, for they are an expression of what is important to us.
Ozzie Guillen is the manager of the Miami Marlins, and he has only one rule for his players: everybody better be at the top step of the dugout for "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song lasts from 90 seconds to two minutes, and everyone can remain standing still for that length of time. That's the single rule Guillen has for the Marlins.
Guillen said: "A lot of people have been killed trying to make this country free for us. You should be there for at least two minutes. Respect that, especially if you come from another country." Guillen, a naturalized American citizen originally from Venezuela, realizes the symbolism of the National Anthem, a baseball tradition that was started in 1942 during the Second World War.
Let us follow those rules that honor God, country, and others.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God;
People: and the firmament proclaims God's handiwork.
Leader: The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
People: the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes.
Leader: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
People: be acceptable to you, O God, my rock and my redeemer.
OR
Leader: Come and hear the wisdom of God.
People: We come seeking wisdom that leads to life.
Leader: Turn away from the wisdom of mortals; it is foolishness.
People: We have discovered that we have no true wisdom.
Leader: God's foolishness is greater than any of our wisdom.
People: Our best wisdom is but foolishness to God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Be Thou My Vision"
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
Renew: 151
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELW: 836
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
Renew: 46
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"
found in:
UMH: 139
H82: 390
AAHH: 117
NNBH: 2
NCH: 22
CH: 25
ELW: 858/859
Renew: 57
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
found in:
UMH: 400
H82: 686
PH: 356
AAHH: 175
NNBH: 166
NCH: 459
CH: 16
LBW: 499
ELW: 807
"Seek Ye First"
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
CCB: 76
"Cuando El Pobre" ("When the Poor Ones")
found in:
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELW: 725
"God of Grace and God of Glory"
found in:
UMH: 577
H82: 594/595
PH: 420
NCH: 436
CH: 464
LBW: 415
ELW: 705
Renew: 301
"More Precious than Silver"
found in:
CCB: 25
"Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Give us the humility to look to you for wisdom and to turn aside from the foolishness of people; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, who are wisdom. You have created us and all that is, and you know all things in heaven and on earth. Help us to listen to you instead of the numerous voices that assail us day by day. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to turn from our foolishness to God's wisdom.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have created us and hold all knowledge and wisdom, yet we constantly turn from your wisdom and seek the foolishness of mortals. Forgive us and inspire us with your Spirit to seek your wisdom always. Amen.
Leader: God's foolishness is better than our wisdom. And God's wisdom is beyond understanding. God knows forgiveness and love are the greatest powers. Receive God's grace with joy.
Prayer for Illumination
Send, O God, the light of your Spirit upon us, so that as the gospel is read and proclaimed we may be able to discern your wisdom from the foolishness of those like us. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and glorify you, O God of wisdom, for you know all secrets in heaven and on earth. Your wisdom is complete and true.
(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 created us and hold all knowledge and wisdom, yet we constantly turn from your wisdom and seek the foolishness of mortals. Forgive us and inspire us with your Spirit to seek your wisdom always.
We give you thanks that you have shared your wisdom with your people throughout the ages. You have been the one who has given us direction and guidance so that we could find our way to life, abundant and joyful.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need and especially for those of us who have lost our way because we listen to what seemed like wisdom but is really foolishness. Help us to speak words of wisdom to those around us so that they may find their way to your life as well.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Take a puzzle that is not terribly difficult to work if you know the secret and show it to the children. Ask if they can solve it. When they have difficulty, try it yourself and tell them that you don't know the answer either. Suggest to them that maybe you should get the assistance of someone who knows about this puzzle. Have someone who can work the puzzle come up and show the children how to do it. Then you do it. You might let the children then try if you think they will be able to do it. Then talk about how if we want to know about something we should find out from someone who knows about it. If we want to know about life, we should ask the one who created life: God.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Take These Things Out!
John 2:13-22
Do you ever get angry? (let the children answer) What makes you angry? (let them answer) Everyone gets angry about something from time to time. When I get angry I usually make a face like this. (make an "angry" expression) Let's see if you can make an angry face. (have everyone make an angry face)
I want to tell you a story about a time when even Jesus became angry. Before I tell you about Jesus' anger I'd like you to pretend for a minute with me. Let's pretend that you came to church one morning and you hoped things would be really quiet. You wanted things quiet because you wanted to pray.
Imagine your surprise when you opened the door and you found many things going on here in the sanctuary. In that corner (point to a corner) there were people selling cattle. In that corner (point to another corner) there were people selling sheep. In that corner (point to another corner) there were people at a table making change so that others could buy these animals. Can you imagine how loud it would be with all that going on?
This really happened to Jesus. He came to his temple and found all these things going on. This was going on because people needed to buy animals to use for sacrifices. If they didn't bring their animals with them, they had to buy them at the temple. All this noise and selling of animals in God's house made Jesus angry. He became so angry he made a whip and drove all these people out of the temple. He overturned the tables of the people with money. He told the people to stop doing all this. "Take these things out of here!" he cried. "Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" Can you make the angry face that Jesus probably made as he said these things? (make an angry face)
Jesus did this for a reason. He chased these people from the temple to show people who he was. He was God's Son. Remember that our church is God's house. Jesus saw people doing things that didn't belong in God's house. That made him angry. Sometimes we see things we don't like, and that makes us angry also. The next time you come to church remember, it is God's house.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 11, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 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.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer considers the epistle text and Paul's famous observation that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom." Dean notes that human wisdom usually counsels a safe, practical expedient approach to most problems -- but that God calls us to a radical approach of loving one another... even in a dangerous world where that can seem completely weak and impractical. (But as Paul also tells us, "God's weakness is stronger than human strength.") Dean points out that in a violence-wracked world we often look to human strength for protection but that can lead to chillingly bloodthirsty behavior when we endorse revenge for dealing with our enemies, whether national or personal. Perhaps we shouldn't seek our heroes in human wisdom strength, Dean suggests, but rather in God's weakness and foolishness.
Should We Give Up Calm Instead of Chocolate?
by Mary Austin
John 2:13-22
In the Jerusalem temple, the heart of faith and worship for the people of Israel, Jesus comes to town and finds more greed than God. The story of Jesus driving the money changers away from the temple is often used to justify anger, but Jesus is mad about more than a few doves and a few coins changing hands.
We often think of Lent as a season to cultivate inner tranquility, to develop the habits that will feed the spirit, but Jesus is making a case for cultivating anger as a spiritual discipline too. The same injustices that Jesus saw persist in our world, in more sophisticated forms.
THE WORLD
The Federal Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are both actively investigating the packaging and reselling of home loans. The Justice Department recently subpoenaed eleven banks for records related to mortgage-backed securities, seeking to learn whether these large companies contributed to a climate that drove up housing prices and then fueled foreclosures.
Related to that, five large banks recently agreed to pay $5 billion to address abuses in foreclosures. The New York Times reported that "After months of talks, Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo agreed to pay a total of $5 billion in cash to try to remedy this fiasco. They will also help homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages by reducing the principal on their loans by a combined $17 billion over the next three years. Borrowers who qualify will get $3 billion in refinancing arrangements. Those who were improperly foreclosed on will get a combined $1.5 billion."
The settlement comes because the banks added fees to the bills of already struggling borrowers, forced people to buy added insurance, and in some cases foreclosed on people while they were also working with them on loan modifications. Some banks also foreclosed on active duty military personnel, in direct violation of the law.
The article quotes Paul Diggle, who is a property economist at Capital Economics in London, as saying that erasing debt of $17 billion "is a drop in the ocean, given that close to 11 million borrowers are underwater on their loans to the tune of $700 billion in total." Business reporter Gretchen Morganstern adds, "Doing the math, $17 billion in write-downs would be about 2.4% of the total negative equity weighing down borrowers across the nation now."
Previous efforts to assist borrowers have looked good at the beginning and amounted to very little relief for homeowners. The attorney general of Nevada is currently suing Bank of America, alleging that it raised interest rates when it had agreed to lower them and allowed months to go by instead of granting new loans within 60 days. In Nevada, the article notes, "Under the program, banks must mediate with borrowers who request such help. But two years of statistics, through last September, show 5,771 cases where mediators found that banks had failed to participate in good faith or were not complying with other aspects of the mediation law. That is equivalent to 42% of all the mediations completed in the program."
That's one state out of fifty. If similar things are happening elsewhere, it looks like the system is stacked against the small borrower and the average homeowner.
THE WORD
This story shows up in all four gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke place it near the end of Jesus' life, but John has it near the beginning. This is how Jesus starts off his work in John's gospel — he's saying something here about who he is. And why is he so mad?
The temple was the center of life in ancient Israel. As Harvey Cox describes it, the temple "was the symbolic center of ancient Israel. It was the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol Dome, the Stars and Stripes, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial all rolled into one" (When Jesus Came to Harvard, p. 215). It was the religious hub of the nation, but it also had important secular meaning. Constantly under construction, it was the workplace for hundreds of masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other tradespeople. The scale of it was so immense that one estimate suggests that it employed half of the male population of the city of Jerusalem.
The temple was also a fortress, with walls 90 feet high in some places, and up to 300 feet high in others. Some stones were as long as 35 feet and weighed more than 70 tons (Marcus Borg, Jesus: a New Vision, p. 161ff). The temple was ready for battle. This was the place where faithful Jews came from villages all over Israel to worship and make sacrifices.
When they arrived at the temple, the system was stacked against them. Their coins from Greece and Rome and the provinces had to be changed into special temple money, not defaced by the graven image of any ruler's head. As you can imagine, the exchange rate did not favor the country travelers. Then the travelers had to purchase animals for the sacrifice -- special, blemish-free animals, fortunately available at the temple for the low, low price set by the sellers. You could bring your own animal from home, of course, but then the temple inspectors had to check and make sure it had no blemishes... and if they mysteriously found a mark, you were back to buying an animal from the sellers.
This is the scene that Jesus finds -- and he's outraged at the pattern of exploitation and injustice. The temple is not just a place where the poor get ripped off... but the center of a whole system that divides people up and separates most people from God. As Marcus Borg says, this system "created a world with sharp social boundaries between pure and impure, righteous and sinner, whole and not whole, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile" (Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, p. 53).
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Systems that oppress the poor and marginal people of the world are nothing new. We see them around us in the mortgage mess and in predatory lending practices. We see them in health insurance systems that force the poor into the emergency room, where health care is expensive and often too little, too late. We see them in higher auto insurance rates for people with poor credit, and higher loan rates for people of color. We see them in persistent pay discrimination for women and people of color. We see them in our own search for cheaper goods, which means we buy things made by people who make less money, often working in unsafe or grueling conditions. Nike and Apple have come under scrutiny recently for labor practices at their manufacturing plants in Vietnam and China, and Victoria's Secret was found to be using child labor in Mali. The Slavery Footprint invites people to take a survey about how many workers contribute to the goods they regularly use.
Jesus' anger is a call for us to look to our world for the same unjust practices and systems. His anger is in proportion to the size of the corruption -- tremendous injustice, tremendous anger. In our attempt to cultivate tranquility, we may be ignoring similar injustices around us. Lent is about retreats and Bible studies, certainly, and looking at the spiritual habits that connect or divide us from God, but Jesus points us -- as always -- to a bigger picture.
Lent also gives us an opportunity to see where we contribute to injustice, to look at what we buy and eat, where we live and save our money, and see how it contributes to just commerce or to injustice. Churches, who buy lots of coffee, have been leaders in the fair trade coffee movement. Mainline denominations have partnered with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group supporting people who work in Florida's agriculture industry, to engage large-scale food buyers to commit to fair labor practices. Since May 2008, as part of the Campaign for Fair Food, the group has made agreements with Burger King, Whole Foods, Subway, Bon Appétit Co., Compass Group, Aramark, Sodexo, and Trader Joe's (according to the group's website), seeking fair wages for the people who harvest the food. Now the group is shifting its attention to the supermarket industry, saying on its website: "It is now time for Kroger, Ahold (parent company of Stop & Shop and Giant), and Publix to step up and help us build a world where workers in Florida's fields can enjoy a fair wage and dignified working conditions."
The Jerusalem temple is gone, just as Jesus predicted, but its abusive practices continue in different forms. Jesus invites us into a Lenten practice of seeing the world as he did and working for justice in his name.
SECOND THOUGHTS
An Impractical Religion
by Dean Feldmeyer
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
"Kill them." Late-night talk show hosts are calling those two words "The Gingrich Doctrine."
At a South Carolina debate about foreign policy, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was roundly and loudly booed when he suggested that, in the matter of Pakistani sovereignty, the U.S. should apply the golden rule and treat them as we would wish to be treated.
When the same question was put to Newt Gingrich, he responded by channeling Andrew Jackson, who "had a pretty clear-cut idea about America's enemies: Kill them." And for those two words, he received a standing ovation.
Never mind that it wasn't Andrew Jackson but Stonewall Jackson who said it. And never mind that when Stonewall Jackson said it he was referring to killing Americans -- Union soldiers, to be sure, but Americans. ("Kill them, sir. Kill them all.") As one who claims to be a historian, we might expect Mr. Gingrich to know which Jackson said what.
As one who claims to be a Christian, we might wonder if he has given even a moment's thought to what Jesus said about how we are to relate to our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
But it's the standing ovation that really gives us pause.
On September 12 of last year on a CNN broadcast of a Republican debate, news anchor Wolf Blitzer asked Ron Paul what he would do about a middle-aged man who showed up at the emergency room with no insurance: "Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?"
To his credit, Ron Paul immediately responded "No!" But he was drowned out by the cheering of the crowd shouting "Yeah!"
Google the word "hero" and see what comes up from news sources. The vast majority of "hero" references will be about people who carry guns. They are soldiers and cops mostly, and the hero reference will usually have to do with a sacrifice they have made or a risk they have taken -- sacrifices and risks for which we are indeed grateful.
One wonders if there are other heroes out there as well, heroes who don't carry guns, who aren't trained and prepared to kill people. One searches nearly in vain for a hero reference that has to do with healing, reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace.
We are a culture that is more and more steeped in violence, not just the fantasy kind that shows up on television and the recreational kind that happens on the gridiron, but the deadly kind that begins on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq and oozes back into the basketball courts of our playgrounds and the halls of our schools.
We are, sadly, no longer surprised when a high school student in Ohio decides that if "kill them" is an acceptable policy for dealing with national enemies, then it must also be an acceptable policy for dealing with personal ones.
If "let them die" is an acceptable way of dealing with people who put a strain on our healthcare resources, then why can't it be equally acceptable as a way of dealing with people who put a strain on our personal resources?
If you can be a hero for killing troublesome people in Afghanistan and Iraq, why can't you also be a hero for killing troublesome people in Ohio?
None of us is really shocked or surprised or even troubled when a politician misquotes a historical figure for his own purposes or says something outrageous to whip up an audience. We have come to expect it. We write it off as part of the price we pay for our freedom of speech.
More troubling is the response of the crowd who so enthusiastically rises to their feet at the mention of killing people, who enthusiastically affirm the notion of letting uninsured people die, who have no heroes but those who are armed.
How many of them, one wonders, call themselves Christian? How many affirm Jesus Christ as Lord?
Oh, but wait, they say. Jesus was not talking about national foreign policy when he said to love your enemies. He was talking about personal ethics and personal relationships. Using the golden rule as a matter of foreign policy would be completely impractical. And besides, we don't have the right to force our Christian ethics on others living in this country who would be made vulnerable by such a course.
Paul, of course, would beg to differ, as he did with the Christian folk of Corinth.
First, he would remind us that practicality is usually just another word for that which is easy and expedient. It's about what works in the short term, what inexpensively meets the immediate need. In choosing the cross, Jesus did not take the practical, expedient, cheap, or easy course. He took the loving course, the "weak" course, the "foolish" course.
Then Paul would remind us that Jesus was not put to death by the state for championing a new personal ethic. He was executed for treason and sedition for advocating an alternative kingdom to that of Caesar, a kingdom that demands total loyalty and commitment from those who chose to live within its walls.
Finally, he would remind us that this alternative kingdom is still available -- but only to those with the discernment to realize that "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength" -- for the Christ we proclaim is "Christ crucified."
ILLUSTRATIONS
The temple of Jesus' day was riddled with injustice. Pilgrims -- diaspora Jews -- came there from all around the Roman world. Some of them had saved for years to make the journey. When these travelers arrived at the temple, they were required to pay a temple tax and it was no minor admission charge. Biblical scholar William Barclay suggests the tax amounted to about two days' wages for a laborer.
The big problem was not so much the high amount as that many of the pilgrims' money was no good. Most of them carried either Roman denarii or Greek drachmas: coins with emperors and gods engraved upon them. But the temple authorities would only accept the coins of Israel, which did not display potentially idolatrous images. That's where the moneychangers came in. With so many pilgrims arriving from so many places, there was quite a market in currency speculation. The moneychangers had a monopoly, so their commissions were impossibly high. (Barclay estimates as high as 50%!)
There's one other thing that religious pilgrims to Jerusalem needed besides Judean currency to pay the temple tax. They also needed an animal to sacrifice. Well, those thoughtful temple merchants remembered that too. Located conveniently nearby in the court of the Gentiles were live-animal stalls. The prices were several times higher than the market stalls in town, but these were special animals -- guaranteed by the merchants to be clean and without blemish, just as the law required.
If any pilgrims happen to bring animals from outside with them, they first had to stop at the booth of one of the temple inspectors, who looked the beast over for defects. The inspectors were meticulous in their examination of any animal not purchased from one of the official dealers -- so it was rare that one of those animals passed inspection.
It was a monstrously unfair system, designed for the benefit of a favored few who profited at the expense of the faithful. No wonder Jesus got angry. He wasn't upset because of the close proximity of commercial activity to a place of worship, as though money itself were evil. No, Jesus' rampage through the temple was righteous anger -- the emotion true prophets are supposed to feel when confronted with injustice.
* * *
As long as we look for some kind of pay for what we do, as long as we want to get something from God in some kind of exchange, we are like the merchants. If you want to be rid of the commercial spirit, then by all means do all you can in the way of good works, but do so solely for the praise of God. Live as if you did not exist. Expect and ask nothing in return. Then the merchant inside you will be driven out of the temple God has made. Then God alone dwells there. See! This is how the temple is cleared: when a person thinks only of God and honors him alone. Only such a person is free and genuine.
-- Meister Eckhart, from Meister Eckhart: A Modern Translation (HarperCollins, 1972)
* * *
Kang Yu Wei, the Chinese thinker and moralist of a former generation, after a careful study of the gospels, was asked what in his opinion was of the most striking quality in the character of Jesus.
Somewhat surprisingly he answered, "His courage." By this he meant how Jesus fearlessly faced the hatred of so many of his countrymen, the hostility of the jealous Pharisees, and the reverses of his mission that would likely end in his death. It was said of Robert Browning that he was "a knight of the Holy Spirit who went about the world looking into the dark corners and challenging everything evil to give up its secret." And in view of Jesus' cleansing of the temple, Emerson remarked: "Every courageous act measures itself by its contempt of what some regard as acceptable and good."
* * *
One summer Saturday morning in 1864, six-year-old Theodore Roosevelt was playing tag with a group of other children in a New York City park across the street from the church where the Roosevelt family worshiped. Noticing that the church's huge wooden doors were open, the curious child was drawn to the building. Greeting him at the door was the sexton, who invited the lad for a tour. Suddenly Roosevelt balked, exclaiming, "I know what you've got in there!" The sexton tried to assure the little one that everything in the church could be seen and touched. But young Roosevelt remained adamant in his refusal to enter; he turned, leaped down the church steps, and ran home to his mother.
Greeting his mother, young Teddy talked about the friendly sexton and his own fear of entering the church. Concerned, his mother cautiously prodded her son to explain. Eventually Teddy admitted that he did not enter the building because he was afraid the "zeal" would attack him. Teddy emphasized, "Last Sunday I heard the minister read from the Bible about the zeal, and it made me afraid." The child was unable to elaborate. Puzzled, Mrs. Roosevelt went to her concordance and read each passage that mentioned the word "zeal." Quickly she found the verse that disturbed her son; it was Psalm 69:9: "For the zeal of this house hath eaten me up."
Many of us are afraid of zeal, of being excited and enthusiastic. We are cautious, hesitant, and almost apologetic. We are reluctant to venture forth with new ideas and we are unwilling to share our beliefs. We are stymied by the smallest obstacle placed in our path.
We must guard ourselves against such behavior, and instead vigorously confront the challenges of life. John writes, quoting Psalm 69: we must continue to have "zeal" for the God that consumes us.
* * *
The human eye is a very sensitive instrument. Made up of delicate parts, everything has to work correctly in order for the eye to focus clearly. Unfortunately, once in a while the eye is bothered by something. A small speck of dust or hair and the well-functioning eye changes into an angry organ. The eyelid starts blinking. Tear ducts begin to pour water into the eyeball. If the pain is severe enough, the person's hands come to the eye to rub the invader away. The well-functioning eye, often taken for granted, becomes the focus of existence for a minute, until the invader is removed. Then cleansed, it can resume normal function.
* * *
Imagine entering a room full of strangers whose central focus is a guillotine, a hangman's noose, or a firing squad. We would be frightened and astounded, making a quick exit to summon the police. A cross represents the Roman Empire's hideous instrument of torture used for painful public executions to punish capital crimes.
Today we have decorated and stylized the cross to the place where we can avoid remembering its original purpose. Ornately ornamented with stones and precious metals, we wear crosses as jewelry and even display them in our homes. Crosses are the focal point in our houses of worship, reminding us of the Son of God being lifted up on the cross of Calvary.
God's actions have taken a means of cruel death and made it into a thing of beauty. If God can transform a cross into strength, wisdom, morality, and life; just imagine what God can do with us.
* * *
The only food that never spoils is honey. It is the only food whose shelf life is forever.
When the Psalmist says that God's word is "sweeter than honey," it means that God's word will everlastingly nourish our life.
* * *
Of the Ten Commandments, it's the last one -- "you shall not covet your neighbor" -- that seems to get the least publicity. This is probably because that commandment is not as dramatic as stealing, murder, and adultery. Yet, is not the desire to have or be something we are not the one of the ten that affects us the most? Advertising certainly directs our thoughts in this direction. But it also reflects on so many other things, like the idealization of celebrities.
Jennifer Aniston is 43, but she looks 20. As she joked about her beauty routine in a recent interview with Conan O'Brien, the company TotalBeauty.com decided for a lark to determine how much it cost for Jen to look 20 years younger. In a very detailed audit that included specific beauty products and the services of beauty specialists, the results were rather revealing.
Her skin care comes at a cost of $1,186.95 a month. One day at the salon will cost $920, before tips. Her makeup and makeup artist have a cost of $4,402. Eyebrows are another $120. The list continues and is very inclusive. If one foregoes the cost of plastic surgery, Jennifer Aniston's beauty routine costs $141,037.97 a year.
The article compiling all of this information concluded with these words of advice: "So the next time you're sighing over a photo of Aniston's face/legs/butt/whatever, consider that with the money she spends to look beautiful for a year, you could purchase a home in the Midwest, send a kid to college for (almost) four years, buy six Honda Accords, or even fly from Los Angeles to New York -- in first class -- 44 times! Kinda puts things in perspective, right? But then again, who needs six Honda Accords? I'll take Jen's face and body any day."
* * *
The Ten Commandments place before us the rules that must be followed to live in harmony with God and with others. Jesus was able to condense these to two, but the meaning was not lost. Rules are important, for they are an expression of what is important to us.
Ozzie Guillen is the manager of the Miami Marlins, and he has only one rule for his players: everybody better be at the top step of the dugout for "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song lasts from 90 seconds to two minutes, and everyone can remain standing still for that length of time. That's the single rule Guillen has for the Marlins.
Guillen said: "A lot of people have been killed trying to make this country free for us. You should be there for at least two minutes. Respect that, especially if you come from another country." Guillen, a naturalized American citizen originally from Venezuela, realizes the symbolism of the National Anthem, a baseball tradition that was started in 1942 during the Second World War.
Let us follow those rules that honor God, country, and others.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God;
People: and the firmament proclaims God's handiwork.
Leader: The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
People: the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes.
Leader: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
People: be acceptable to you, O God, my rock and my redeemer.
OR
Leader: Come and hear the wisdom of God.
People: We come seeking wisdom that leads to life.
Leader: Turn away from the wisdom of mortals; it is foolishness.
People: We have discovered that we have no true wisdom.
Leader: God's foolishness is greater than any of our wisdom.
People: Our best wisdom is but foolishness to God.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Be Thou My Vision"
found in:
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
Renew: 151
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"
found in:
UMH: 89
H82: 376
PH: 464
AAHH: 120
NNBH: 40
NCH: 4
CH: 2
LBW: 551
ELW: 836
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
Renew: 46
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"
found in:
UMH: 139
H82: 390
AAHH: 117
NNBH: 2
NCH: 22
CH: 25
ELW: 858/859
Renew: 57
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
found in:
UMH: 400
H82: 686
PH: 356
AAHH: 175
NNBH: 166
NCH: 459
CH: 16
LBW: 499
ELW: 807
"Seek Ye First"
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
CCB: 76
"Cuando El Pobre" ("When the Poor Ones")
found in:
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELW: 725
"God of Grace and God of Glory"
found in:
UMH: 577
H82: 594/595
PH: 420
NCH: 436
CH: 464
LBW: 415
ELW: 705
Renew: 301
"More Precious than Silver"
found in:
CCB: 25
"Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord"
found in:
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Give us the humility to look to you for wisdom and to turn aside from the foolishness of people; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, who are wisdom. You have created us and all that is, and you know all things in heaven and on earth. Help us to listen to you instead of the numerous voices that assail us day by day. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to turn from our foolishness to God's wisdom.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have created us and hold all knowledge and wisdom, yet we constantly turn from your wisdom and seek the foolishness of mortals. Forgive us and inspire us with your Spirit to seek your wisdom always. Amen.
Leader: God's foolishness is better than our wisdom. And God's wisdom is beyond understanding. God knows forgiveness and love are the greatest powers. Receive God's grace with joy.
Prayer for Illumination
Send, O God, the light of your Spirit upon us, so that as the gospel is read and proclaimed we may be able to discern your wisdom from the foolishness of those like us. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and glorify you, O God of wisdom, for you know all secrets in heaven and on earth. Your wisdom is complete and true.
(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 created us and hold all knowledge and wisdom, yet we constantly turn from your wisdom and seek the foolishness of mortals. Forgive us and inspire us with your Spirit to seek your wisdom always.
We give you thanks that you have shared your wisdom with your people throughout the ages. You have been the one who has given us direction and guidance so that we could find our way to life, abundant and joyful.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our need and especially for those of us who have lost our way because we listen to what seemed like wisdom but is really foolishness. Help us to speak words of wisdom to those around us so that they may find their way to your life as well.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
Take a puzzle that is not terribly difficult to work if you know the secret and show it to the children. Ask if they can solve it. When they have difficulty, try it yourself and tell them that you don't know the answer either. Suggest to them that maybe you should get the assistance of someone who knows about this puzzle. Have someone who can work the puzzle come up and show the children how to do it. Then you do it. You might let the children then try if you think they will be able to do it. Then talk about how if we want to know about something we should find out from someone who knows about it. If we want to know about life, we should ask the one who created life: God.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Take These Things Out!
John 2:13-22
Do you ever get angry? (let the children answer) What makes you angry? (let them answer) Everyone gets angry about something from time to time. When I get angry I usually make a face like this. (make an "angry" expression) Let's see if you can make an angry face. (have everyone make an angry face)
I want to tell you a story about a time when even Jesus became angry. Before I tell you about Jesus' anger I'd like you to pretend for a minute with me. Let's pretend that you came to church one morning and you hoped things would be really quiet. You wanted things quiet because you wanted to pray.
Imagine your surprise when you opened the door and you found many things going on here in the sanctuary. In that corner (point to a corner) there were people selling cattle. In that corner (point to another corner) there were people selling sheep. In that corner (point to another corner) there were people at a table making change so that others could buy these animals. Can you imagine how loud it would be with all that going on?
This really happened to Jesus. He came to his temple and found all these things going on. This was going on because people needed to buy animals to use for sacrifices. If they didn't bring their animals with them, they had to buy them at the temple. All this noise and selling of animals in God's house made Jesus angry. He became so angry he made a whip and drove all these people out of the temple. He overturned the tables of the people with money. He told the people to stop doing all this. "Take these things out of here!" he cried. "Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" Can you make the angry face that Jesus probably made as he said these things? (make an angry face)
Jesus did this for a reason. He chased these people from the temple to show people who he was. He was God's Son. Remember that our church is God's house. Jesus saw people doing things that didn't belong in God's house. That made him angry. Sometimes we see things we don't like, and that makes us angry also. The next time you come to church remember, it is God's house.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 11, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 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.
