Stephen's Stoning As Capital Punishment
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The state of Arkansas’s controversial plan to execute eight death-row inmates within the span of 11 days has brought the ongoing debate over the ethics and efficacy of capital punishment back to the forefront. After a federal court order delayed the executions, the Supreme Court ruled that the executions could go forward -- resulting in four of the sentences being carried out. While a death sentence being assessed by a court after a trial and a conviction is a very different matter from the summary death sentence suffered by Stephen at the hands of an angry mob, team member Beth Herrinton-Hodge wonders in this installment of The Immediate Word if the story of Stephen’s stoning might provide a lens for better understanding the deep emotions and moral challenges posed by state-sanctioned taking of human life, as well as insight into the parallels with of Christian martyrs with innocent prisoners in our justice system.
Team member Dean Feldmeyer shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and Jesus’ assertion that he is the only true messiah. Dean notes that we are surrounded in our world by all manner of false messiahs, promising us a better life and the solution to our problems -- but like pharmaceutical ads that quickly acknowledge side effects, all of them come with the toxic side effects of false promises. Only Jesus, the true messiah, offers us eternal life... though following Jesus occasionally comes with lethal side effects too (see Stephen and many others).
Stephen’s Stoning as Capital Punishment
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Acts 7:55-60
The death penalty, capital punishment, and state executions have filled the news of late. Most recently, we’ve heard of the rush to fulfill court-ordered executions in Arkansas before the drugs used for their execution cocktail expired. These news headlines have brought renewed efforts by many on the side of stopping executions to stand up, speak out, pray, and lament over the practice of capital punishment.
People of faith on both sides of the death penalty debate cite scripture to support their stance. Laws regarding physical injury recorded in Exodus 21:23-25 state that punishment shall be life for life, an eye for an eye, and so on. Yet Jesus speaks in Matthew 5:38-39: “You have heard it said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person... if someone slaps you on the cheek, turn him the other cheek.”
What are we to do when a death penalty is warranted? Or is the death penalty ever warranted? What insights are gained from this week’s text regarding the stoning of Stephen?
In the Scriptures
Biblical chapters about Stephen are found in Acts 6 and 7, though this Sunday’s pericope includes just six verses at the conclusion of chapter 7. In Acts 6:8-15, we find the setup to the stoning scene. A faction in the synagogue argued against Stephen, but they “could not withstand the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke” (v. 10). They stirred up people against Stephen with accusations of blasphemy. They brought him before the council and set up false witnesses against him. The chief priests questioned him, and Stephen responded with a lengthy retort to the false claims leveled against him. His speech fills the bulk of Acts 7.
We come to this week’s text as the chief priests respond to Stephen’s speech. They are enraged. Filled with the Spirit, Stephen looks to heaven, where he sees the “glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right hand” (v. 55). When Stephen tells about his vision, “all rush together against him.” Stephen is dragged outside the city gate and stoned. In the midst of his stoning, Stephen prays to the Lord “Receive my spirit” and “Do not hold their sin against them” (vv. 59-60). Then he dies. The scene recalls words and images of Jesus’ final moments before his death, commending his spirit to God and asking forgiveness for his accusers. Stephen’s destiny is not unlike Christ’s; both endure rejection and death at the hands of the chief priests, elders, and the people who surround them.
Even without much of a trial, the stoning of Stephen is within the Law. Stoning is a method of execution mentioned most frequently in the Torah. It was deemed appropriate punishment for such acts as breaking the sabbath, cursing God, practicing idolatry, and engaging in extramarital sex. In the Mishnah, four methods of execution are named as punishment: stoning, beheading, strangulation, and pouring molten lead down a person’s throat. The later interpretations of the Jewish Talmud place the sentencing of capital punishment solely in God’s hands, rather than leaving such decisions to fallible people. This restriction was put on to prevent the execution of innocent people.
Standing as a witness to Stephen’s stoning is the young Saul, himself a persecutor of Christ-followers. In this scene, Saul merely receives the coats for those who throw the killing stones. In Acts 8:1, Saul takes a more active role with his approval of Stephen’s killing. Stephen’s stoning marks turning points in the evangelistic efforts in Jerusalem and in the severe persecutions of Christ-followers. We know that Saul is involved in these torments. What we later find out about Saul is that in his conversion he is a forgiven man. Saul/Paul’s actions as a persecutor of Christians had lasting effect. In Acts 22:20, Paul refers to his actions around the stoning of Stephen in a speech defending himself and his legitimacy as a follower of Christ.
Stephen’s death sentence and Paul’s complicity in his execution had profound effects on their lives, as well as on the advancement of the gospel in the first century. Where Stephen was the victim of a capital punishment sentence, Saul/Paul was among those who carried out the execution. If we were always to judge Saul/Paul on the things he did to the church, we would miss the positive things Paul did for advancing the church later.
As with Christ’s crucifixion, with Stephen’s death there is possibility of rebirth and renewal. Jesus’ death and resurrection are the mainstays of the gospel. Stephen’s martyrdom serves to spread the gospel. Saul’s conversion embodies God’s power to forgive and renew an avowed sinner. Redemption, the high cost of discipleship, and the promise of second chances weave through the gospel. The stoning of Stephen touches on each of these elements.
In the News
Stephen was a victim of capital punishment. His crime of blasphemy led to his sentence of being stoned to death. Yet the legitimacy of his trial is questionable. The influence of the crowds around Stephen contributed to his death sentence.
According to The Innocence Project, in the United States 349 people have been exonerated by DNA testing -- and in 2016 alone, a total of 166 inmates were exonerated. Their cases have been absolved and they have been cleared of blame. A majority of these cases involved eyewitness misidentification of the accused. Nearly half of the cases included a misapplication of forensics as well as cross-race misidentification. In short, human error accounts for a majority of false convictions and death row sentences.
January 17, 2017 marked the 40th anniversary of the first “modern-era” execution, after courts ruled in favor of the death penalty following a decade-long moratorium. In 40 years, there have been 1,442 other executions. To acknowledge this anniversary, the Abolitionist Action Committee organized a protest rally and march to the steps of the Supreme Court to protest capital punishment in the United States. The group contends that killing to stop killing is wrong. This proclamation, coupled with death row exoneration statistics, supports the conclusion that killing of potential innocents is also wrong.
Capital punishment is legal in most states, but activists and experts say that momentum against it is strong. Despite the high-profile executions in Arkansas -- including the first double-execution in the nation in nearly 17 years -- the use and support of the death penalty in the United States has steeply declined to levels unheard of in decades. The number of annual executions in the U.S. hit a high of 98 in 1999. Last year, the number was 20. The last time it was that low was in 1991, when 14 people were executed. Still, many believe it is far-fetched to expect capital punishment to be banned in the U.S. anytime soon.
Damon Thibodeaux spent 15 years in solitary confinement on death row for a murder he did not commit before he was exonerated by DNA evidence and released in 2012. In an interview with Vice, Thibodeaux reflected on the effect his years on death row had on his life and his faith:
I do believe in God. Being on death row changes you spiritually. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, you become more aware that someone or something else is in control and not you.... The only positive that you can take from an experience like this is that it makes you stronger. It reinforces the fact that you do not have complete control of your life and that you can lose your life and freedom at any time, even though you are innocent.
Do you think these same words could have been said by Stephen? Damon, Paul, and Stephen experienced profound spiritual changes. They encountered challenge in their lives, accompanied by God’s spirit. Stephen beseeches God to forgive his accusers. Paul is forgiven and converted to serving Christ. After years of wasting away on death row, Damon is exonerated and allowed to return to a life of freedom. None of the men escapes suffering; each comes through with hope and a clear conviction that God is present, forgiving and strengthening them through all things.
The point is not the merit or bane of capital punishment. Sadly for humanity, death penalties have been used as punishment for centuries. The point moves beyond judgment and conviction to the possibility of rebirth and renewal. Death is not the last word for Stephen, Paul, or Damon. Where God is able to show grace and mercy, so are we to receive it. Where God is able to show grace and mercy, so are we to offer it.
SECOND THOUGHTS
If Side Effects Persist...
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 14:1-14
Probably no other biblical scholar has been as deeply committed to the words of John’s gospel as Father Raymond Brown. His magnum opus, a two-volume commentary on the gospel, is both exhaustive and, well, exhausting. That is probably why he boiled down the essence of the two-volume work into a very readable little paperback titled The Community of the Beloved Disciple. In it, he makes some very solid arguments about how we should approach the gospel and how we can gather the wisdom that it offers.
Primarily, Brown says, we must remember that this gospel was written for a specific audience, probably the Christian community in Ephesus, Asia Minor, sometime in the late first or early second century. Ephesus was a big, metropolitan city known for its rich ethnic diversity and robust trade.
The Christian community probably mirrored the city in which it was located: big, noisy, robust, and diverse; no less prone to controversy and conflict than churches today.
Brown reminds us that it is very likely that the writer of the fourth gospel is addressing some of those controversies and conflicts in the book that bears his name.
The Story
If we dig a little beneath the surface of this week’s gospel lesson we discover two distinct issues that likely plagued the Ephesian church, each of which is worthy of a sermon in its own right.
The first issue comes out in verse 6, where Jesus says: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Clearly, there was an issue of authority that was being hotly debated in Ephesus.
In verses 1-5 Jesus seems to be defending diversity within the Christian community: “In my father’s house there are many dwelling places.” The word “house” here, can mean a literal house, like a building we live in, or it can mean a family or tribe. Either way, the metaphor is apropos. Early Christians often worshiped in the homes (houses) of the members. They also often thought of themselves as a family.
So it is possible, according to Jesus, to be a Christian and still identify with your own ethnic heritage. There are many tribes of different nationalities, skin tones, languages, and customs who are all children in the House of YHWH.
Pluralism and heterogeneity are affirmed. The Christian church is a welcoming institution.
But... it is also an institution that has arisen from the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He cannot be left out of the equation, as apparently some were suggesting. In the Christian community, there are no substitutes for Jesus. There are no other messiahs. Jesus is not a messiah; he is themessiah. That is non-negotiable.
The second issue, therefore, is not unlike the first.
It seems reasonable to infer from the text that other possible messiahs were being touted and proffered to the church, and some of those Ephesian Christians were wondering if maybe they should shop around. Was it really possible, they wondered, that other alleged messiahs were more powerful than Jesus? Is it possible that they could teach others how to be as powerful as they were?
Perhaps these searchers were saying, “Let us see what power he has. If he has more power than these other gods that are constantly being placed before us, then we will be his and we will discuss it no further.”
John responds, with Jesus leaving no room for doubt: Jesus makes it clear in this passage that it is through him that both salvation and power come. “No one comes to the Father except through me.... If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
These other false prophets, false gods, false messiahs have no place in the faith community, where Jesus is our only Lord.
The Application
It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to see that we are still wrestling with the same demons as they were in the earliest churches. False messiahs abound.
Political parties or philosophies vie to provide us with all the answers to all our problems. Conservatism, we are constantly told, is the only thing that can, in the long run, succeed. Liberals, on the other hand, insist that liberalism is the only philosophy that actually cares about people.
They all bow down to their own gods, do they not? Here is one called “the free market.” If you serve it well, it will reward you with riches beyond your dreams. It’s natural and reliable; it is based on the laws of nature. You can trust it. Here’s another deity who is called “jobs.” If we sacrifice, bow down, and worship this god he will reward you with prosperity. Right?
And here is a third god called “power,” and the one who rides with him is called “control.” Devote yourself to them and you will get to make all the decisions. You will get to direct the course of not just your own life but the lives of others. Here is the goddess “Eros,” goddess of romantic love. Worship her and you will certainly find that perfect mate, that perfect other who will love you exactly the way you deserve to be loved.
Can you name some others? What might they be?
Is there not a false messiah called “self”? Ayn Rand wrote seductively of her.
Is there not a false god called “wealth” and his brother “success”?
And here is “Mars,” the god of warfare who demands the sacrifice of our children.
Some of the strongest and most evil of all the false gods are in fact only demons who serve another more powerful than they. And the worst part is that they look so innocent, even benign. Their disguises are nearly perfect. Prejudice disguises itself as fairness. Jingoism is disguised as patriotism. Hate and rage disguise themselves as passion and righteous indignation. And prejudice sometimes comes looking for all the world like humor.
Television supplies us with false messiahs aplenty.
I am of that generation that now stays home on Friday nights watching television, and I have come to notice that the TV networks know exactly who it is that is watching on Friday nights. All of the commercials are geared toward or aimed at Baby Boomers: here’s that big, quiet luxury sedan with the smooth ride that you always said you were going to buy. And here’s that diet supplement that will make you strong and healthy.
And if you’ve missed the strong and healthy train, there are other options right around you. Here’s one that smooths wrinkles, here’s one that can fix up your love life, and there’s one that can make you regular, whatever that means.
But watch out for the side effects. Side effects will get you every time.
Don’t you just love those commercials where they tout the wonderful applications of a pill or ointment or cream or potion that will solve all your problems? But then there’s the disclaimer that’s printed so small or rattled off so quickly that you never have the opportunity to really see what you’re agreeing to. May-cause-side-effects, some serious and leading to coughing, sneezing, eyebrow twitching, talking too loud, not talking loud enough, dizziness, nausea, hallucinations, fits of rage and death. If side effects persist, see your doctor immediately.
The gospel writer John makes it clear once again, as he speaks to the church then and now, that all of these are false messiahs. Jesus is not one messiah among many. He is not a messiah. He is THE messiah. Jesus is the solution to our problems and the medicine for our illnesses. The side effects are Good Friday... and Easter.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
John 14:1-14
The Way
In preparing his disciples for life without him, Jesus reminds them that he is, for them, “the way, the truth, and the life.” For all things spiritual, Jesus is the way for us. For more mundane matters, people often turn to advice columnists.
Jesus is the light of the world, but a woman wonders what to do about a boyfriend who won’t change a lightbulb. She writes to Dear Prudence, saying: “I have a great boyfriend who has been living with me in my home. If I ask him to change out a light bulb, for example, he’ll readily agree... and then never do it. I hate to be a nag, but after the second or third weekend of reminding him that he said he would do it, I just end up doing it myself (which I realize teaches him that he really doesn’t have to do it, but it’s dark in that hallway!). However, if it’s a bigger thing that I can’t do myself, I’m kind of stuck.” Dear Prudence brings the clarity, answering: “How many boyfriends does it take to change a light bulb? One, as long as you change boyfriends. There’s something fundamentally off with what you describe. Not just that this slug, who’s presumably taller than you, won’t get the step stool and change the hall light, but because you describe him as a kind of freeloader invading your home.”
Jesus may be too busy to answer the question of what happens to your life if you never find someone to love, but Dear Polly suggests a way to live with the mystery of that question: “Living in the moment and accepting uncertainty is a pretty central challenge for most people.... Being fixated on big uncertainties sometimes points to a more general inability to live in the moment. Being present is a skill. You have to practice it, and it doesn’t come easily for most of us. Meditation, yoga, reading, gardening, all of the above -- don’t write these things off as the totally cliché activities of middle-aged women until you actually try them, and you slow down and work very hard to appreciate just breathing, just being alive.”
She adds something that sounds like the way Jesus would say it: “Peace rarely comes from fixating on the future.”
*****
John 14:1-14
The Way Has a Double Life
Jesus tells his friends that he is the Way for them. For people who travel on the highways of Germany, Australia, India, and other countries, the way may hide a secret purpose. Some highways are designed to serve as airstrips in the event of war or the shutdown of an air base. Clues to the second, secret purpose are there, once you know what to look for: “Subtle as they are, the signs are there. The road’s usual gentle curves die away, replaced by dead straight carriageways; the grassy median strip disappears, uncovering a center runway line. And, off to the side, what looks like a large car park is actually an aircraft parking bay.”
These uniquely designed highways are an innovation from the Cold War, where “highway strips took advantage of Germany’s pioneering autobahn network. War planes could be parked in bushes, next to the highway, ready to take off in minutes. In 1984, NATO forces commandeered an entire autobahn, near Ahlhorn in northwest Germany, for 48 hours. A mobile air traffic control tower was wheeled in as Hercules transporters and Tornado jets practiced their landing skills just meters from an overpass.” The Way has a secret life on these highways.
*****
John 14:1-14
Staying Off the Way
The interstate highway system provides a way to get almost everywhere in the United States... except if you live in certain places. Four state capitals are not connected to the system: “You cannot get to Juneau, Alaska; Dover, Delaware; Jefferson City, Missouri; or Pierre, South Dakota on an interstate.”
President Eisenhower is credited with working hard to get the interstate highway system built, as an aid to commerce and safe travel in the U.S. He was inspired by his travels through Europe during World War II. “Eisenhower got the highway bug in his system while rolling along with the U.S. Army toward Berlin on wonderfully wide roads that Adolf Hitler had built. Though Hitler is widely credited as the first freeway builder -- the German autobahns -- this is also wrong. That title belongs to Hitler’s partner in crime, Benito Mussolini. Italy’s 80-mile long autostrada connecting Milan to Verese, designed by Piero Puricelli, was the world’s first limited-access motorway and opened in 1924. This beat Germany’s Köln-Bonn autobahn by five years.”
*****
1 Peter 2:2-10
Chosen to Serve
First Peter says “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The Grove, a Presbyterian church in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently showed that calling in a sign outside the church that proclaimed “We Love Our Muslim Neighbors.”
“Kate Murphy was driving to work in East Charlotte not long ago when she saw a car that looked like it had some words painted on it. She pulled up for a closer look and saw that yes, they were words. But they were more than words. They were anti-Muslim slurs. This was back in February, shortly after the Donald Trump administration had issued its first executive order banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States. That order, you remember, was struck down in court and scorned by many. But plenty of people also thought it was exactly what the country should do. ‘There was so much being said that troubled me,’ said Murphy, who is pastor of The Grove Presbyterian Church.”
After talking with church members, she put up a sign in the church’s front yard. “We love our Muslim neighbors,” it said in large, colorful letters.
As an article in the Charlotte Observer says: “This is a story about the power of words, but it’s also about something more powerful. It’s about gestures. As a pastor, you get to talk about those kinds of things, but usually it’s on Sunday morning, facing your congregation. Murphy thought there was something more her church needed to say. She didn’t want to make a political statement on immigration, and she didn’t want to get tangled in culture wars. But there were some Muslim families who’d taken part in after-school activities at The Grove. She thought of them and others seeing that car with the slurs in the neighborhood.”
The sign started a conversation with the Muslim community nearby. “One Muslim woman took a picture of [the sign] driving by and posted it on Facebook. Another wrote about it on Reddit. Soon, the e-mails began arriving in Murphy’s inbox, first from Charlotte but then from other places. Most were supportive, a few not so much. One of those e-mails came from a mile down the road, at a place called the Charlotte Islamic Academy. A teacher had seen the sign and talked about it with her students. Some of them had seen the sign too. They’d written cards to The Grove in response. The cards arrived a couple of days later. Most were handmade, from students in the 7th through 12th grades. They were heartening and heartbreaking at the same time. They thanked the Grove for having the courage to put up the sign. They talked about how seeing it brought a smile, or tears. One student said he’d made it a screen saver on his computer. ‘Thank you for standing up for us and supporting us, even when most of the world is against us,’ said another. It was, Murphy says, an affirmation that she’d done the right thing. ‘As churches, we really do have the power to do something to change the conversation,’ she says. But she also remembers one other e-mail she received. ‘A sign is easy,’ it said. ‘What we need are relationships.’ About that time, Rose Hamid read about the church sign in a friend’s post on Facebook. ‘Oh, how nice,’ she thought, then had another. Hamid, who’s an active advocate for Muslims in Charlotte, went to The Grove’s website and found that on one Thursday evening a month, the church hosts a community dinner. She called to see if maybe the Muslim community could sponsor the next dinner.”
That dinner would fall on Maundy Thursday.
“Hamid also was told the church would be blending the community dinner and the Maundy Thursday service, and that they had planned to serve the type of food that was served in Middle Eastern countries.” Hamid thought that this was right up her alley. The dinner was planned for everyone to sit at a U-shaped table so they could talk and share the food.
We are a chosen people -- chosen not to the exclusion of others, but chosen to share God’s good news in any way we can, chosen to serve in a broken and hurtful world, and to bring God’s light wherever we can.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Acts 7:55-60
In a Frank & Ernest comic, a lady is at the information counter of a bookstore. She tells Frank, who is behind the counter: “I want to get my husband one of those coloring books for adults. He tends to see things in black and white.”
Application: Before his conversion, Paul could only see religion as black and white -- he could not entertain any new ideas.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
On August 5, 1959, Anuarite Nengapeta took her vows as a nun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She took the new name of Sister Marie-Clementine. During the Simba rebellion, two different rebels tried to force her to marry them. After she refused to break her vows, they first stabbed her and then shot her.
Application: We are to keep our vows to Christ.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
On August 6, 1221, Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order, died. His love for individuals was so sincere that once he offered himself as a slave to a Moor in exchange for the enslaved son of a widow.
Application: Our sacrifice for Christ is to have no limits.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
Jay Dickey recently died. Dickey was a Republican congressman from Arkansas who single-handedly prevented government research into gun safety. With an obscure amendment to a bill in 1996, Dickey removed any funding for gun safety research by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. But in 2012, after the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, he realized he was wrong. Dickey said, “Research could have been continued on gun violence without infringing on the rights of gun owners, in the same fashion that the highway industry continued its research without eliminating automobiles.”
Application: It is often hard for us to see truth.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
The head of USA Swimming, Chuck Wielgus, recently died. His leadership of the organization was marred by a scandal revealing that coaches were molesting underage swimmers of both sexes. Wielgus’ stewardship was questioned because of his slow response to the allegations. When the size of the problem became apparent, Wielgus said of his actions, “I wish my eyes had been more open to the individual stories of the horrors of sexual abuse.”
Application: It is often hard for us to see truth.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
In the movie Risen, released in 2015, a Roman centurion by the name of Clavius (played by Joseph Fiennes) is ordered by Pontius Pilate to discover what happed to the body of Jesus when the tomb is found empty. In the process of his search Clavius, who had been an atheist, becomes a Christian when he realizes the resurrection is not myth but fact. Fiennes considers Risen to be a detective story. He said, “That’s where the detective work comes in. It takes us on this journey through the eyes of a non-believer.”
Application: We need to realize the truth of the resurrection and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
*****
John 14:1-14
In a Ziggy comic, a perplexed Ziggy is looking at a ladder to his left, and a giant wheel to his right. The sign before the ladder reads “Ladder of Success”; the sign before the wheel reads “Hamster Wheel of Just Getting By.”
Application: By understanding that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, we will do more than just get by.
*****
John 14:1-14
Arnold Palmer was considered “cool” as he walked the fairway during his prime, constantly hitching up his pants. In fact, it almost became vogue for men to imitate the gesture. When asked about it, Palmer replied that he had no intention of being considered cool. Palmer said he had very narrow hips and his pants were always slipping down.
Application: We need to understand truth not as we imagine it, but for what it really is.
*****
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
In August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina crashed upon the city of New Orleans. Five years later, though many of the buildings and bridges had been rebuilt, the emotional damage remained rampant. Because homes were lost and families were displaced, with many separated one from another, the emotional trauma created by the disaster had not been healed by the year 2010. A study, led by David Abramson of Columbia University, confirmed that the psychological problems the hurricane created had yet to be resolved. The study was focused on the children of the city, those who returned and those who were still displaced. Abramson said, “If children are the bellwethers of recovery, then the social systems supporting affected Gulf Coast populations are still far from having recovered from Hurricane Katrina.” He said, “Children are a bit of canary in a coal mine in that they really represent a failure or a dysfunction of many, many other systems in the community.”
Application: We all need a place of refuge and a place and time for healing.
*****
1 Peter 2:2-10
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a crew member on the space shuttle Challenger. Back in elementary school, she had become excited about space travel as she watched the Mercury space program on television. It was an excitement that was contagious among all her classmates, both boys and girls. She said, “When I was growing up science was cool. So we need to make science cool again.” Ride was particularly concerned about the lack of interest that girls have in science. Middle-school girls want to be popular, and going to an astronomy class is not a peer-enhancing proposition. Further, what young lady wants to aspire to be a scientist when they are depicted, in Ride’s words, as “some geeky-looking guy who looks like Einstein, wears a lab coat and pocket protector.” In order to change the image of scientists from being geeky to being normal and family-centered individuals who pursue a career of exciting adventures and discoveries, she started the Sally Ride Science Academy. The academy shares with teachers methods to present math and science in creative, innovative, and exciting ways. In this way science can become, in Ride’s words, more “real and relevant” to the students.
Application: We are to understand the necessity to learn and grow in the Christian faith.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: In you, O God, we seek refuge; do not let us be put to shame.
People: In your righteousness deliver us.
Leader: Incline your ear to us; rescue us speedily.
People: Be our rock of refuge and our strong fortress.
Leader: Let your face shine upon your servants.
People: Save us in your steadfast love.
OR
Leader: Sing praises to the God who created us in the divine image.
People: We lift our hearts and voices to our creator God.
Leader: Rejoice in all the potential that God has placed within us.
People: We rejoice in the bounty of God’s gifts to us all.
Leader: Remember that all God’s children are thus blessed.
People: We will treat each one as God’s special gift to creation.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Amazing Grace”
found in:
UMH: 378
H82: 671
PH: 280
AAHH: 271, 272
NNBH: 161, 163
NCH: 547, 548
CH: 546
LBW: 448
ELA: 779
W&P: 422
AMEC: 226
STLT: 205, 206
Renew: 189
“Rock of Ages”
found in:
UMH: 361
H82: 685
AAHH: 559
NNBH: 254
NCH: 596
CH: 214
LBW: 327
ELA: 623
W&P: 384
AMEC: 328
“There Is a Balm in Gilead”
found in:
UMH: 375
H82: 676
PH: 394
AAHH: 524
NNBH: 489
NCH: 553
CH: 501
ELA: 614
W&P: 631
AMEC: 425
“This Is a Day of New Beginnings”
found in:
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”
found in:
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 65
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELA: 631
W&P: 358
AMEC: 455
Renew: 196
“O God of Every Nation”
found in:
UMH: 435
H82: 607
PH: 289
CH: 680
LBW: 416
ELA: 713
W&P: 626
“Holy Spirit, Truth Divine”
found in:
UMH: 465
PH: 321
NCH: 63
CH: 257
LBW: 398
“Something Beautiful”
found in:
CCB: 84
“O How He Loves You and Me”
found in:
CCB: 38
Renew: 27
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
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who looks at stones and sees a great building: Grant us the grace to look at one another’s potential instead of looking at the failures that have been; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise and worship you, O God, for you look deep into the stone quarry and see the buildings that can be. You look at your children in all their failures and see their potential. Grant us the grace to see as you see and to celebrate the potential of all your children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways we look at people’s failures as the ultimate definition of who they are.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at others and see their worst failures, and we think that is what defines them as people. Yet we look at our failures and are quick to see the good things we do that offset the evil. We see ourselves as those who are being redeemed and getting better, while we hold out no hope for the reclamation of others. We feel we have moral superiority to pronounce others worthy of death for their deeds, while we claim divine forgiveness. Heal us and fill us with the compassion that sees the child of God within all your creatures. Amen.
Leader: God, our Creator, sees the good within in us and invites us to experience divine grace and forgiveness both in receiving it and offering it to others. The two cannot be separated.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for you have created us in your image and filled us with your Spirit. You have endowed us with potential beyond our comprehension.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at others and see their worst failures, and we think that is what defines them as people. Yet we look at our failures and are quick to see the good things we do that offset the evil. We see ourselves as those who are being redeemed and getting better, while we hold out no hope for the reclamation of others. We feel we have moral superiority to pronounce others worthy of death for their deeds, while we claim divine forgiveness. Heal us and fill us with the compassion that sees the child of God within all your creatures.
We give you thanks for all the gifts you have given us. We thank you for your grace that forgives and renews us so that we can be your redeemed and renewed people.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have been labeled as worthless because of what they have done. Help them to find redemption in you and in our actions towards them.
(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
Talk to the children about if they ever do something that gets them in trouble. Maybe they end up in time-out or grounded or sitting in a corner or have some privilege suspended. What happens the next day? Does the punishment continue? What about the next week? The next month? It usually ends, doesn’t it? Just like our parents don’t treat us like we are always bad just because we acted up once or twice, God doesn’t either. God forgives us and helps us to be better.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Where Is Your Cornerstone?
by Chris Keating
1 Peter 2:2-10
Gather ahead of time:
* a wooden block stacking game (like Jenga)
* a picture of your church cornerstone (if you have one); an alternative could be to take a picture of a prominent corner point of the church’s exterior.
* smooth river rocks to give to each child (optional)
Few pastors are going to be able to bypass Mother’s Day themes for children’s sermons this week. Obviously, the story of Stephen’s execution is hardly a moment worthy of a greeting card. But while it will be hard for children (and even adults) to fully grasp the story of the stoning of Stephen, there are connections in the various texts that are worthy of exploring.
Begin your preparation by carefully reading the texts. Note how this week’s texts refer to stones and rocks (Acts, Psalm 31, 1 Peter 2), and reflect on the meaning of these references. Stones are weapons, but they are also resources. First Peter picks up on this theme in describing the church as “living stones” which form a spiritual house.
As the children gather, greet them and introduce the idea of a “cornerstone.” Cornerstones are critical parts of a foundation. All of the other bricks will be set in place according to this stone. If your church has a ceremonial cornerstone, this would be a good time to talk about it. Gather any information about the cornerstone, and as you show the children a picture, describe the importance and function of cornerstones in construction.
Arrange the Jenga game blocks on the floor as you talk. Ask the kids if they have played this game before, and then invite them to start building a block tower. Have some fun illustrating the importance of the tower’s foundation -- it provides stability, it allows you to build up, and makes everything secure. Once you take the foundation away, everything can fall apart!
Peter reminds us that Christ is our foundation, and that we are “living stones” who are being built into a building that reflects God’s love, mercy, and healing desire for the world. The church is made up of many living stones who are built around Jesus -- our mothers, for example, or the “mothers of the church,” or those women and men who teach Sunday school (if you are recognizing Sunday school teachers this week, here is a perfect tie-in!).
As an option, pass around small smooth stones as you conclude the children’s time that the children can take home as a reminder of how God is present in their lives.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 14, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 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 shares some additional thoughts on the gospel text and Jesus’ assertion that he is the only true messiah. Dean notes that we are surrounded in our world by all manner of false messiahs, promising us a better life and the solution to our problems -- but like pharmaceutical ads that quickly acknowledge side effects, all of them come with the toxic side effects of false promises. Only Jesus, the true messiah, offers us eternal life... though following Jesus occasionally comes with lethal side effects too (see Stephen and many others).
Stephen’s Stoning as Capital Punishment
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Acts 7:55-60
The death penalty, capital punishment, and state executions have filled the news of late. Most recently, we’ve heard of the rush to fulfill court-ordered executions in Arkansas before the drugs used for their execution cocktail expired. These news headlines have brought renewed efforts by many on the side of stopping executions to stand up, speak out, pray, and lament over the practice of capital punishment.
People of faith on both sides of the death penalty debate cite scripture to support their stance. Laws regarding physical injury recorded in Exodus 21:23-25 state that punishment shall be life for life, an eye for an eye, and so on. Yet Jesus speaks in Matthew 5:38-39: “You have heard it said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person... if someone slaps you on the cheek, turn him the other cheek.”
What are we to do when a death penalty is warranted? Or is the death penalty ever warranted? What insights are gained from this week’s text regarding the stoning of Stephen?
In the Scriptures
Biblical chapters about Stephen are found in Acts 6 and 7, though this Sunday’s pericope includes just six verses at the conclusion of chapter 7. In Acts 6:8-15, we find the setup to the stoning scene. A faction in the synagogue argued against Stephen, but they “could not withstand the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke” (v. 10). They stirred up people against Stephen with accusations of blasphemy. They brought him before the council and set up false witnesses against him. The chief priests questioned him, and Stephen responded with a lengthy retort to the false claims leveled against him. His speech fills the bulk of Acts 7.
We come to this week’s text as the chief priests respond to Stephen’s speech. They are enraged. Filled with the Spirit, Stephen looks to heaven, where he sees the “glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right hand” (v. 55). When Stephen tells about his vision, “all rush together against him.” Stephen is dragged outside the city gate and stoned. In the midst of his stoning, Stephen prays to the Lord “Receive my spirit” and “Do not hold their sin against them” (vv. 59-60). Then he dies. The scene recalls words and images of Jesus’ final moments before his death, commending his spirit to God and asking forgiveness for his accusers. Stephen’s destiny is not unlike Christ’s; both endure rejection and death at the hands of the chief priests, elders, and the people who surround them.
Even without much of a trial, the stoning of Stephen is within the Law. Stoning is a method of execution mentioned most frequently in the Torah. It was deemed appropriate punishment for such acts as breaking the sabbath, cursing God, practicing idolatry, and engaging in extramarital sex. In the Mishnah, four methods of execution are named as punishment: stoning, beheading, strangulation, and pouring molten lead down a person’s throat. The later interpretations of the Jewish Talmud place the sentencing of capital punishment solely in God’s hands, rather than leaving such decisions to fallible people. This restriction was put on to prevent the execution of innocent people.
Standing as a witness to Stephen’s stoning is the young Saul, himself a persecutor of Christ-followers. In this scene, Saul merely receives the coats for those who throw the killing stones. In Acts 8:1, Saul takes a more active role with his approval of Stephen’s killing. Stephen’s stoning marks turning points in the evangelistic efforts in Jerusalem and in the severe persecutions of Christ-followers. We know that Saul is involved in these torments. What we later find out about Saul is that in his conversion he is a forgiven man. Saul/Paul’s actions as a persecutor of Christians had lasting effect. In Acts 22:20, Paul refers to his actions around the stoning of Stephen in a speech defending himself and his legitimacy as a follower of Christ.
Stephen’s death sentence and Paul’s complicity in his execution had profound effects on their lives, as well as on the advancement of the gospel in the first century. Where Stephen was the victim of a capital punishment sentence, Saul/Paul was among those who carried out the execution. If we were always to judge Saul/Paul on the things he did to the church, we would miss the positive things Paul did for advancing the church later.
As with Christ’s crucifixion, with Stephen’s death there is possibility of rebirth and renewal. Jesus’ death and resurrection are the mainstays of the gospel. Stephen’s martyrdom serves to spread the gospel. Saul’s conversion embodies God’s power to forgive and renew an avowed sinner. Redemption, the high cost of discipleship, and the promise of second chances weave through the gospel. The stoning of Stephen touches on each of these elements.
In the News
Stephen was a victim of capital punishment. His crime of blasphemy led to his sentence of being stoned to death. Yet the legitimacy of his trial is questionable. The influence of the crowds around Stephen contributed to his death sentence.
According to The Innocence Project, in the United States 349 people have been exonerated by DNA testing -- and in 2016 alone, a total of 166 inmates were exonerated. Their cases have been absolved and they have been cleared of blame. A majority of these cases involved eyewitness misidentification of the accused. Nearly half of the cases included a misapplication of forensics as well as cross-race misidentification. In short, human error accounts for a majority of false convictions and death row sentences.
January 17, 2017 marked the 40th anniversary of the first “modern-era” execution, after courts ruled in favor of the death penalty following a decade-long moratorium. In 40 years, there have been 1,442 other executions. To acknowledge this anniversary, the Abolitionist Action Committee organized a protest rally and march to the steps of the Supreme Court to protest capital punishment in the United States. The group contends that killing to stop killing is wrong. This proclamation, coupled with death row exoneration statistics, supports the conclusion that killing of potential innocents is also wrong.
Capital punishment is legal in most states, but activists and experts say that momentum against it is strong. Despite the high-profile executions in Arkansas -- including the first double-execution in the nation in nearly 17 years -- the use and support of the death penalty in the United States has steeply declined to levels unheard of in decades. The number of annual executions in the U.S. hit a high of 98 in 1999. Last year, the number was 20. The last time it was that low was in 1991, when 14 people were executed. Still, many believe it is far-fetched to expect capital punishment to be banned in the U.S. anytime soon.
Damon Thibodeaux spent 15 years in solitary confinement on death row for a murder he did not commit before he was exonerated by DNA evidence and released in 2012. In an interview with Vice, Thibodeaux reflected on the effect his years on death row had on his life and his faith:
I do believe in God. Being on death row changes you spiritually. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, you become more aware that someone or something else is in control and not you.... The only positive that you can take from an experience like this is that it makes you stronger. It reinforces the fact that you do not have complete control of your life and that you can lose your life and freedom at any time, even though you are innocent.
Do you think these same words could have been said by Stephen? Damon, Paul, and Stephen experienced profound spiritual changes. They encountered challenge in their lives, accompanied by God’s spirit. Stephen beseeches God to forgive his accusers. Paul is forgiven and converted to serving Christ. After years of wasting away on death row, Damon is exonerated and allowed to return to a life of freedom. None of the men escapes suffering; each comes through with hope and a clear conviction that God is present, forgiving and strengthening them through all things.
The point is not the merit or bane of capital punishment. Sadly for humanity, death penalties have been used as punishment for centuries. The point moves beyond judgment and conviction to the possibility of rebirth and renewal. Death is not the last word for Stephen, Paul, or Damon. Where God is able to show grace and mercy, so are we to receive it. Where God is able to show grace and mercy, so are we to offer it.
SECOND THOUGHTS
If Side Effects Persist...
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 14:1-14
Probably no other biblical scholar has been as deeply committed to the words of John’s gospel as Father Raymond Brown. His magnum opus, a two-volume commentary on the gospel, is both exhaustive and, well, exhausting. That is probably why he boiled down the essence of the two-volume work into a very readable little paperback titled The Community of the Beloved Disciple. In it, he makes some very solid arguments about how we should approach the gospel and how we can gather the wisdom that it offers.
Primarily, Brown says, we must remember that this gospel was written for a specific audience, probably the Christian community in Ephesus, Asia Minor, sometime in the late first or early second century. Ephesus was a big, metropolitan city known for its rich ethnic diversity and robust trade.
The Christian community probably mirrored the city in which it was located: big, noisy, robust, and diverse; no less prone to controversy and conflict than churches today.
Brown reminds us that it is very likely that the writer of the fourth gospel is addressing some of those controversies and conflicts in the book that bears his name.
The Story
If we dig a little beneath the surface of this week’s gospel lesson we discover two distinct issues that likely plagued the Ephesian church, each of which is worthy of a sermon in its own right.
The first issue comes out in verse 6, where Jesus says: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Clearly, there was an issue of authority that was being hotly debated in Ephesus.
In verses 1-5 Jesus seems to be defending diversity within the Christian community: “In my father’s house there are many dwelling places.” The word “house” here, can mean a literal house, like a building we live in, or it can mean a family or tribe. Either way, the metaphor is apropos. Early Christians often worshiped in the homes (houses) of the members. They also often thought of themselves as a family.
So it is possible, according to Jesus, to be a Christian and still identify with your own ethnic heritage. There are many tribes of different nationalities, skin tones, languages, and customs who are all children in the House of YHWH.
Pluralism and heterogeneity are affirmed. The Christian church is a welcoming institution.
But... it is also an institution that has arisen from the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He cannot be left out of the equation, as apparently some were suggesting. In the Christian community, there are no substitutes for Jesus. There are no other messiahs. Jesus is not a messiah; he is themessiah. That is non-negotiable.
The second issue, therefore, is not unlike the first.
It seems reasonable to infer from the text that other possible messiahs were being touted and proffered to the church, and some of those Ephesian Christians were wondering if maybe they should shop around. Was it really possible, they wondered, that other alleged messiahs were more powerful than Jesus? Is it possible that they could teach others how to be as powerful as they were?
Perhaps these searchers were saying, “Let us see what power he has. If he has more power than these other gods that are constantly being placed before us, then we will be his and we will discuss it no further.”
John responds, with Jesus leaving no room for doubt: Jesus makes it clear in this passage that it is through him that both salvation and power come. “No one comes to the Father except through me.... If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
These other false prophets, false gods, false messiahs have no place in the faith community, where Jesus is our only Lord.
The Application
It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to see that we are still wrestling with the same demons as they were in the earliest churches. False messiahs abound.
Political parties or philosophies vie to provide us with all the answers to all our problems. Conservatism, we are constantly told, is the only thing that can, in the long run, succeed. Liberals, on the other hand, insist that liberalism is the only philosophy that actually cares about people.
They all bow down to their own gods, do they not? Here is one called “the free market.” If you serve it well, it will reward you with riches beyond your dreams. It’s natural and reliable; it is based on the laws of nature. You can trust it. Here’s another deity who is called “jobs.” If we sacrifice, bow down, and worship this god he will reward you with prosperity. Right?
And here is a third god called “power,” and the one who rides with him is called “control.” Devote yourself to them and you will get to make all the decisions. You will get to direct the course of not just your own life but the lives of others. Here is the goddess “Eros,” goddess of romantic love. Worship her and you will certainly find that perfect mate, that perfect other who will love you exactly the way you deserve to be loved.
Can you name some others? What might they be?
Is there not a false messiah called “self”? Ayn Rand wrote seductively of her.
Is there not a false god called “wealth” and his brother “success”?
And here is “Mars,” the god of warfare who demands the sacrifice of our children.
Some of the strongest and most evil of all the false gods are in fact only demons who serve another more powerful than they. And the worst part is that they look so innocent, even benign. Their disguises are nearly perfect. Prejudice disguises itself as fairness. Jingoism is disguised as patriotism. Hate and rage disguise themselves as passion and righteous indignation. And prejudice sometimes comes looking for all the world like humor.
Television supplies us with false messiahs aplenty.
I am of that generation that now stays home on Friday nights watching television, and I have come to notice that the TV networks know exactly who it is that is watching on Friday nights. All of the commercials are geared toward or aimed at Baby Boomers: here’s that big, quiet luxury sedan with the smooth ride that you always said you were going to buy. And here’s that diet supplement that will make you strong and healthy.
And if you’ve missed the strong and healthy train, there are other options right around you. Here’s one that smooths wrinkles, here’s one that can fix up your love life, and there’s one that can make you regular, whatever that means.
But watch out for the side effects. Side effects will get you every time.
Don’t you just love those commercials where they tout the wonderful applications of a pill or ointment or cream or potion that will solve all your problems? But then there’s the disclaimer that’s printed so small or rattled off so quickly that you never have the opportunity to really see what you’re agreeing to. May-cause-side-effects, some serious and leading to coughing, sneezing, eyebrow twitching, talking too loud, not talking loud enough, dizziness, nausea, hallucinations, fits of rage and death. If side effects persist, see your doctor immediately.
The gospel writer John makes it clear once again, as he speaks to the church then and now, that all of these are false messiahs. Jesus is not one messiah among many. He is not a messiah. He is THE messiah. Jesus is the solution to our problems and the medicine for our illnesses. The side effects are Good Friday... and Easter.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
John 14:1-14
The Way
In preparing his disciples for life without him, Jesus reminds them that he is, for them, “the way, the truth, and the life.” For all things spiritual, Jesus is the way for us. For more mundane matters, people often turn to advice columnists.
Jesus is the light of the world, but a woman wonders what to do about a boyfriend who won’t change a lightbulb. She writes to Dear Prudence, saying: “I have a great boyfriend who has been living with me in my home. If I ask him to change out a light bulb, for example, he’ll readily agree... and then never do it. I hate to be a nag, but after the second or third weekend of reminding him that he said he would do it, I just end up doing it myself (which I realize teaches him that he really doesn’t have to do it, but it’s dark in that hallway!). However, if it’s a bigger thing that I can’t do myself, I’m kind of stuck.” Dear Prudence brings the clarity, answering: “How many boyfriends does it take to change a light bulb? One, as long as you change boyfriends. There’s something fundamentally off with what you describe. Not just that this slug, who’s presumably taller than you, won’t get the step stool and change the hall light, but because you describe him as a kind of freeloader invading your home.”
Jesus may be too busy to answer the question of what happens to your life if you never find someone to love, but Dear Polly suggests a way to live with the mystery of that question: “Living in the moment and accepting uncertainty is a pretty central challenge for most people.... Being fixated on big uncertainties sometimes points to a more general inability to live in the moment. Being present is a skill. You have to practice it, and it doesn’t come easily for most of us. Meditation, yoga, reading, gardening, all of the above -- don’t write these things off as the totally cliché activities of middle-aged women until you actually try them, and you slow down and work very hard to appreciate just breathing, just being alive.”
She adds something that sounds like the way Jesus would say it: “Peace rarely comes from fixating on the future.”
*****
John 14:1-14
The Way Has a Double Life
Jesus tells his friends that he is the Way for them. For people who travel on the highways of Germany, Australia, India, and other countries, the way may hide a secret purpose. Some highways are designed to serve as airstrips in the event of war or the shutdown of an air base. Clues to the second, secret purpose are there, once you know what to look for: “Subtle as they are, the signs are there. The road’s usual gentle curves die away, replaced by dead straight carriageways; the grassy median strip disappears, uncovering a center runway line. And, off to the side, what looks like a large car park is actually an aircraft parking bay.”
These uniquely designed highways are an innovation from the Cold War, where “highway strips took advantage of Germany’s pioneering autobahn network. War planes could be parked in bushes, next to the highway, ready to take off in minutes. In 1984, NATO forces commandeered an entire autobahn, near Ahlhorn in northwest Germany, for 48 hours. A mobile air traffic control tower was wheeled in as Hercules transporters and Tornado jets practiced their landing skills just meters from an overpass.” The Way has a secret life on these highways.
*****
John 14:1-14
Staying Off the Way
The interstate highway system provides a way to get almost everywhere in the United States... except if you live in certain places. Four state capitals are not connected to the system: “You cannot get to Juneau, Alaska; Dover, Delaware; Jefferson City, Missouri; or Pierre, South Dakota on an interstate.”
President Eisenhower is credited with working hard to get the interstate highway system built, as an aid to commerce and safe travel in the U.S. He was inspired by his travels through Europe during World War II. “Eisenhower got the highway bug in his system while rolling along with the U.S. Army toward Berlin on wonderfully wide roads that Adolf Hitler had built. Though Hitler is widely credited as the first freeway builder -- the German autobahns -- this is also wrong. That title belongs to Hitler’s partner in crime, Benito Mussolini. Italy’s 80-mile long autostrada connecting Milan to Verese, designed by Piero Puricelli, was the world’s first limited-access motorway and opened in 1924. This beat Germany’s Köln-Bonn autobahn by five years.”
*****
1 Peter 2:2-10
Chosen to Serve
First Peter says “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The Grove, a Presbyterian church in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently showed that calling in a sign outside the church that proclaimed “We Love Our Muslim Neighbors.”
“Kate Murphy was driving to work in East Charlotte not long ago when she saw a car that looked like it had some words painted on it. She pulled up for a closer look and saw that yes, they were words. But they were more than words. They were anti-Muslim slurs. This was back in February, shortly after the Donald Trump administration had issued its first executive order banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States. That order, you remember, was struck down in court and scorned by many. But plenty of people also thought it was exactly what the country should do. ‘There was so much being said that troubled me,’ said Murphy, who is pastor of The Grove Presbyterian Church.”
After talking with church members, she put up a sign in the church’s front yard. “We love our Muslim neighbors,” it said in large, colorful letters.
As an article in the Charlotte Observer says: “This is a story about the power of words, but it’s also about something more powerful. It’s about gestures. As a pastor, you get to talk about those kinds of things, but usually it’s on Sunday morning, facing your congregation. Murphy thought there was something more her church needed to say. She didn’t want to make a political statement on immigration, and she didn’t want to get tangled in culture wars. But there were some Muslim families who’d taken part in after-school activities at The Grove. She thought of them and others seeing that car with the slurs in the neighborhood.”
The sign started a conversation with the Muslim community nearby. “One Muslim woman took a picture of [the sign] driving by and posted it on Facebook. Another wrote about it on Reddit. Soon, the e-mails began arriving in Murphy’s inbox, first from Charlotte but then from other places. Most were supportive, a few not so much. One of those e-mails came from a mile down the road, at a place called the Charlotte Islamic Academy. A teacher had seen the sign and talked about it with her students. Some of them had seen the sign too. They’d written cards to The Grove in response. The cards arrived a couple of days later. Most were handmade, from students in the 7th through 12th grades. They were heartening and heartbreaking at the same time. They thanked the Grove for having the courage to put up the sign. They talked about how seeing it brought a smile, or tears. One student said he’d made it a screen saver on his computer. ‘Thank you for standing up for us and supporting us, even when most of the world is against us,’ said another. It was, Murphy says, an affirmation that she’d done the right thing. ‘As churches, we really do have the power to do something to change the conversation,’ she says. But she also remembers one other e-mail she received. ‘A sign is easy,’ it said. ‘What we need are relationships.’ About that time, Rose Hamid read about the church sign in a friend’s post on Facebook. ‘Oh, how nice,’ she thought, then had another. Hamid, who’s an active advocate for Muslims in Charlotte, went to The Grove’s website and found that on one Thursday evening a month, the church hosts a community dinner. She called to see if maybe the Muslim community could sponsor the next dinner.”
That dinner would fall on Maundy Thursday.
“Hamid also was told the church would be blending the community dinner and the Maundy Thursday service, and that they had planned to serve the type of food that was served in Middle Eastern countries.” Hamid thought that this was right up her alley. The dinner was planned for everyone to sit at a U-shaped table so they could talk and share the food.
We are a chosen people -- chosen not to the exclusion of others, but chosen to share God’s good news in any way we can, chosen to serve in a broken and hurtful world, and to bring God’s light wherever we can.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Acts 7:55-60
In a Frank & Ernest comic, a lady is at the information counter of a bookstore. She tells Frank, who is behind the counter: “I want to get my husband one of those coloring books for adults. He tends to see things in black and white.”
Application: Before his conversion, Paul could only see religion as black and white -- he could not entertain any new ideas.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
On August 5, 1959, Anuarite Nengapeta took her vows as a nun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She took the new name of Sister Marie-Clementine. During the Simba rebellion, two different rebels tried to force her to marry them. After she refused to break her vows, they first stabbed her and then shot her.
Application: We are to keep our vows to Christ.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
On August 6, 1221, Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order, died. His love for individuals was so sincere that once he offered himself as a slave to a Moor in exchange for the enslaved son of a widow.
Application: Our sacrifice for Christ is to have no limits.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
Jay Dickey recently died. Dickey was a Republican congressman from Arkansas who single-handedly prevented government research into gun safety. With an obscure amendment to a bill in 1996, Dickey removed any funding for gun safety research by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. But in 2012, after the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, he realized he was wrong. Dickey said, “Research could have been continued on gun violence without infringing on the rights of gun owners, in the same fashion that the highway industry continued its research without eliminating automobiles.”
Application: It is often hard for us to see truth.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
The head of USA Swimming, Chuck Wielgus, recently died. His leadership of the organization was marred by a scandal revealing that coaches were molesting underage swimmers of both sexes. Wielgus’ stewardship was questioned because of his slow response to the allegations. When the size of the problem became apparent, Wielgus said of his actions, “I wish my eyes had been more open to the individual stories of the horrors of sexual abuse.”
Application: It is often hard for us to see truth.
*****
Acts 7:55-60
In the movie Risen, released in 2015, a Roman centurion by the name of Clavius (played by Joseph Fiennes) is ordered by Pontius Pilate to discover what happed to the body of Jesus when the tomb is found empty. In the process of his search Clavius, who had been an atheist, becomes a Christian when he realizes the resurrection is not myth but fact. Fiennes considers Risen to be a detective story. He said, “That’s where the detective work comes in. It takes us on this journey through the eyes of a non-believer.”
Application: We need to realize the truth of the resurrection and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
*****
John 14:1-14
In a Ziggy comic, a perplexed Ziggy is looking at a ladder to his left, and a giant wheel to his right. The sign before the ladder reads “Ladder of Success”; the sign before the wheel reads “Hamster Wheel of Just Getting By.”
Application: By understanding that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, we will do more than just get by.
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John 14:1-14
Arnold Palmer was considered “cool” as he walked the fairway during his prime, constantly hitching up his pants. In fact, it almost became vogue for men to imitate the gesture. When asked about it, Palmer replied that he had no intention of being considered cool. Palmer said he had very narrow hips and his pants were always slipping down.
Application: We need to understand truth not as we imagine it, but for what it really is.
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Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
In August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina crashed upon the city of New Orleans. Five years later, though many of the buildings and bridges had been rebuilt, the emotional damage remained rampant. Because homes were lost and families were displaced, with many separated one from another, the emotional trauma created by the disaster had not been healed by the year 2010. A study, led by David Abramson of Columbia University, confirmed that the psychological problems the hurricane created had yet to be resolved. The study was focused on the children of the city, those who returned and those who were still displaced. Abramson said, “If children are the bellwethers of recovery, then the social systems supporting affected Gulf Coast populations are still far from having recovered from Hurricane Katrina.” He said, “Children are a bit of canary in a coal mine in that they really represent a failure or a dysfunction of many, many other systems in the community.”
Application: We all need a place of refuge and a place and time for healing.
*****
1 Peter 2:2-10
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a crew member on the space shuttle Challenger. Back in elementary school, she had become excited about space travel as she watched the Mercury space program on television. It was an excitement that was contagious among all her classmates, both boys and girls. She said, “When I was growing up science was cool. So we need to make science cool again.” Ride was particularly concerned about the lack of interest that girls have in science. Middle-school girls want to be popular, and going to an astronomy class is not a peer-enhancing proposition. Further, what young lady wants to aspire to be a scientist when they are depicted, in Ride’s words, as “some geeky-looking guy who looks like Einstein, wears a lab coat and pocket protector.” In order to change the image of scientists from being geeky to being normal and family-centered individuals who pursue a career of exciting adventures and discoveries, she started the Sally Ride Science Academy. The academy shares with teachers methods to present math and science in creative, innovative, and exciting ways. In this way science can become, in Ride’s words, more “real and relevant” to the students.
Application: We are to understand the necessity to learn and grow in the Christian faith.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: In you, O God, we seek refuge; do not let us be put to shame.
People: In your righteousness deliver us.
Leader: Incline your ear to us; rescue us speedily.
People: Be our rock of refuge and our strong fortress.
Leader: Let your face shine upon your servants.
People: Save us in your steadfast love.
OR
Leader: Sing praises to the God who created us in the divine image.
People: We lift our hearts and voices to our creator God.
Leader: Rejoice in all the potential that God has placed within us.
People: We rejoice in the bounty of God’s gifts to us all.
Leader: Remember that all God’s children are thus blessed.
People: We will treat each one as God’s special gift to creation.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Amazing Grace”
found in:
UMH: 378
H82: 671
PH: 280
AAHH: 271, 272
NNBH: 161, 163
NCH: 547, 548
CH: 546
LBW: 448
ELA: 779
W&P: 422
AMEC: 226
STLT: 205, 206
Renew: 189
“Rock of Ages”
found in:
UMH: 361
H82: 685
AAHH: 559
NNBH: 254
NCH: 596
CH: 214
LBW: 327
ELA: 623
W&P: 384
AMEC: 328
“There Is a Balm in Gilead”
found in:
UMH: 375
H82: 676
PH: 394
AAHH: 524
NNBH: 489
NCH: 553
CH: 501
ELA: 614
W&P: 631
AMEC: 425
“This Is a Day of New Beginnings”
found in:
UMH: 383
NCH: 417
CH: 518
W&P: 355
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”
found in:
UMH: 384
H82: 657
PH: 376
AAHH: 440
NNBH: 65
NCH: 43
CH: 517
LBW: 315
ELA: 631
W&P: 358
AMEC: 455
Renew: 196
“O God of Every Nation”
found in:
UMH: 435
H82: 607
PH: 289
CH: 680
LBW: 416
ELA: 713
W&P: 626
“Holy Spirit, Truth Divine”
found in:
UMH: 465
PH: 321
NCH: 63
CH: 257
LBW: 398
“Something Beautiful”
found in:
CCB: 84
“O How He Loves You and Me”
found in:
CCB: 38
Renew: 27
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
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who looks at stones and sees a great building: Grant us the grace to look at one another’s potential instead of looking at the failures that have been; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise and worship you, O God, for you look deep into the stone quarry and see the buildings that can be. You look at your children in all their failures and see their potential. Grant us the grace to see as you see and to celebrate the potential of all your children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the ways we look at people’s failures as the ultimate definition of who they are.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at others and see their worst failures, and we think that is what defines them as people. Yet we look at our failures and are quick to see the good things we do that offset the evil. We see ourselves as those who are being redeemed and getting better, while we hold out no hope for the reclamation of others. We feel we have moral superiority to pronounce others worthy of death for their deeds, while we claim divine forgiveness. Heal us and fill us with the compassion that sees the child of God within all your creatures. Amen.
Leader: God, our Creator, sees the good within in us and invites us to experience divine grace and forgiveness both in receiving it and offering it to others. The two cannot be separated.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for you have created us in your image and filled us with your Spirit. You have endowed us with potential beyond our comprehension.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look at others and see their worst failures, and we think that is what defines them as people. Yet we look at our failures and are quick to see the good things we do that offset the evil. We see ourselves as those who are being redeemed and getting better, while we hold out no hope for the reclamation of others. We feel we have moral superiority to pronounce others worthy of death for their deeds, while we claim divine forgiveness. Heal us and fill us with the compassion that sees the child of God within all your creatures.
We give you thanks for all the gifts you have given us. We thank you for your grace that forgives and renews us so that we can be your redeemed and renewed people.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have been labeled as worthless because of what they have done. Help them to find redemption in you and in our actions towards them.
(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
Talk to the children about if they ever do something that gets them in trouble. Maybe they end up in time-out or grounded or sitting in a corner or have some privilege suspended. What happens the next day? Does the punishment continue? What about the next week? The next month? It usually ends, doesn’t it? Just like our parents don’t treat us like we are always bad just because we acted up once or twice, God doesn’t either. God forgives us and helps us to be better.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Where Is Your Cornerstone?
by Chris Keating
1 Peter 2:2-10
Gather ahead of time:
* a wooden block stacking game (like Jenga)
* a picture of your church cornerstone (if you have one); an alternative could be to take a picture of a prominent corner point of the church’s exterior.
* smooth river rocks to give to each child (optional)
Few pastors are going to be able to bypass Mother’s Day themes for children’s sermons this week. Obviously, the story of Stephen’s execution is hardly a moment worthy of a greeting card. But while it will be hard for children (and even adults) to fully grasp the story of the stoning of Stephen, there are connections in the various texts that are worthy of exploring.
Begin your preparation by carefully reading the texts. Note how this week’s texts refer to stones and rocks (Acts, Psalm 31, 1 Peter 2), and reflect on the meaning of these references. Stones are weapons, but they are also resources. First Peter picks up on this theme in describing the church as “living stones” which form a spiritual house.
As the children gather, greet them and introduce the idea of a “cornerstone.” Cornerstones are critical parts of a foundation. All of the other bricks will be set in place according to this stone. If your church has a ceremonial cornerstone, this would be a good time to talk about it. Gather any information about the cornerstone, and as you show the children a picture, describe the importance and function of cornerstones in construction.
Arrange the Jenga game blocks on the floor as you talk. Ask the kids if they have played this game before, and then invite them to start building a block tower. Have some fun illustrating the importance of the tower’s foundation -- it provides stability, it allows you to build up, and makes everything secure. Once you take the foundation away, everything can fall apart!
Peter reminds us that Christ is our foundation, and that we are “living stones” who are being built into a building that reflects God’s love, mercy, and healing desire for the world. The church is made up of many living stones who are built around Jesus -- our mothers, for example, or the “mothers of the church,” or those women and men who teach Sunday school (if you are recognizing Sunday school teachers this week, here is a perfect tie-in!).
As an option, pass around small smooth stones as you conclude the children’s time that the children can take home as a reminder of how God is present in their lives.
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The Immediate Word, May 14, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 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.
