Stoning the Scapegoat
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For May 10, 2020:
Stoning the Scapegoat
by Mary Austin
Acts 7:55-60
Angry people, looking for someone to blame in a time of frightening illness, have fastened on a prominent figure who keeps telling them what they don’t want to hear. Science and public opinion differ widely, and people resist any further measures aimed at social distancing. People fix their rage on a prominent doctor. Outrage boils over when he urges officials to adopt and enforce strict measures to keep people apart.
It feels like 2020, but it’s 1919. The feared disease is the world-wide flu, and the much despised doctor is “Dr. Thomas Dyer Tuttle, who became a powerful, if polarizing, figure in the fight against the Spanish flu — not unlike Dr. Anthony Fauci is perceived today, in the battle against Covid-19.” At the time, Dr. Tuttle’s “recommended restrictions included banning dances and other social gatherings, as well as limits on how many people could attend public meetings and how far apart they should sit from one another. Both the city and county voted against those measures. In response, the commissioner sought to get the State Board of Health to enforce its police powers against the county. Instead, he lost his job.”
Dr. Fauci still has his job — as of this writing — and yet the parallels, a hundred years later, are eerie. Stressed and anxious people, feeling out of control and under threat, look for someone to blame. We find the same kind of angry people, in search of a scapegoat, in the Acts story of Stephen’s hastily convened trial, and then his death by a raging mob. The story from Acts, and the stories from the headlines then and now, compel us to think about how we handle anger and fear as people of faith.
In the News
Looking back to 1919, after he was fired in Washington state, Dr. Tuttle moved to Kansas, “where he accepted a position as Epidemiologist for the State Board of Health. In that role, he began to fear another influenza epidemic would appear in the state by the fall of 1919 and minced no words in encouraging the public to follow public health guidelines. “Those who buried their dear ones last winter should certainly lend every effort to prevent others facing a similar loss,” Dr. Tuttle wrote in a Topeka paper on September 11, 1919. He also wrote letters to county health commissioners, urging strict enforcement of quarantines. Though not considered part of the Spanish flu pandemic, Kansas did see a high level of influenza cases in the winter of 1919-20, and Dr. Tuttle did his best to ensure local communities were prepared.”
In his time, Dr. Tuttle remained pessimistic about the country’s ability to take steps to reduce coming infections. “Nearly 80 years after Dr. Tuttle’s death, his legacy in fighting pandemics lives on, which might have come as a surprise to him, given the pessimism he expressed in his lifetime. In 2009, a group of researchers wrote a paper comparing existing CDC guidelines on managing pandemics to those developed during the Spanish flu. The paper noted that of all the recommendations, measures Dr. Tuttle promoted — encouraging the closing of public spaces and social distancing — were still relevant in fighting epidemics today.”
And, still, we resist.
For some Americans who are sick of social distancing, or worried about jobs, businesses and diminished income, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become not only a trusted expert, but also the problem. “Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, has established himself as the authoritative public face of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response. For some, however, he has taken on a different role. In recent weeks, Fauci has emerged as the latest target in the vast web of Covid-19-related conspiracy theories that have been circulating on social media since reports of the coronavirus first began to emerge out of Wuhan, China, in January. Like other coronavirus villains, from the Chinese government to Bill Gates, Fauci has been charged with an array of nefarious activity, all of it implausible and some of it mutually contradictory.” An expert is conspiracy theories, Pia Lamberty, says, “the proliferation of conspiracy theories around the coronavirus ‘is not surprising,’ as ‘conspiracy theories arise especially when people feel that they have no control.’ ” Not only that, but Lamberty said that the kinds of narratives that are currently being spread about the coronavirus (that it is man-made, designed to harm certain groups and benefit those in power) are similar to those that arose in response to previous major disease outbreaks, such as Zika, Ebola and AIDS. In fact, it has been true of epidemics going back at least to the Middle Ages.
The federal government has stepped up security for Dr. Fauci and his family, following death threats. People watch the daily White House briefing to see where he is, and when he was missing for several days, #WheresFauci was a hot topic on Twitter. “Though Fauci has thus far managed to hold on to his position, his public divergence with Trump on a number of points, including the president’s previous pledge to reopen the economy by Easter and his premature endorsement of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, has prompted calls from Trump’s supporters to #FireFauci — the hashtag on a Twitter message Trump himself retweeted, while denying any intention of dismissing the scientist, who has been a leader in public health since his much-praised efforts in the early AIDS epidemic.”
We know what science tells us about how Covid-19 arrived in the United States, and how we can reduce its spread, and yet we look for places to spread blame. The President has blamed the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, China, and the Obama administration (which left office in January of 2017) for the spread of the virus and the lack of testing. Separately, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that its initial test kits didn’t work as designed and that new tests were needed — delaying the government’s ability to detect and contain the spread of the virus.” For some, even masks themselves are the problem.
In an election year, the stakes are high. One analysis piece said, “Here is the crudest of calculations: If Democrats can successfully associate the substantial harm wreaked by Covid-19 with Trump, they win in November. But if Trump and the Republicans can deflect enough blame elsewhere and Trump gets credit for making things less bad than they could have been, Trump will win.” There’s more blame to come, as November gets closer. “Though negative partisanship has been building up now for several election cycles, it thrives on frustration and anger, and 2020 will likely offer plenty.”
Blame is politically profitable, and it also fills a need within our spirits not to have to examine our own part in problems too closely. It distracts us from self-examination on every level, from the lack of eggs in the family fridge (“it wasn’t me. I didn’t use the last one.”) to a failed work project to a pandemic. Blame directs our energy outward instead of inward, and lets us off the hook, free of responsibility.
In the Scriptures
In Jerusalem, the number of believers is increasing. The city is unsettled, as a growing number of people hear the disciples speak and come to the follow the way of Jesus. “The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7) This kind of change is always stressful in a system, whether it’s in ancient Jerusalem, or the choir loft of our congregations, or anywhere in between. Stephen has just been elected to serve the people in need, along with other men, and he’s doing his job with zeal. “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” (6:8) Those who argue with him can “not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.” (6:10)
The people fasten their anger on Stephen, and he is brought to a show trial, with false witnesses, according to the story in Acts. The story evokes for us the trial and death of Jesus.
Stephen’s defense against the charges is to call people to account for generations of failure in following God. He recounts Israel’s history with God, and then winds up with an accusation. Or is it an observation? Either way, it would be hard to hear, and even the most non-anxious person might hear it defensively. “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.” (7:51-53)
The enraged crowd rushes forward, drags Stephen away and stones him. Just like his trial, the pattern of his death follows the pattern of Jesus’ death. “While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.”
In the Sermon
We’re all anxious right now. We struggle to manage our anxiety with working more, exercise, drinking more, online yoga…and rage. The people who are reacting to Dr. Fauci, blaming him for the bad news he’s delivering, are frightened about their health, their jobs, paying the mortgage and the rent, and worried about how long our isolation will go on. In addition, for people with your children at home, the stress of being with kids all day could unhinge anyone. The people reacting to Stephen are facing fears about their faith, and how it’s changing as they watch. The sermon might explore how we manage fear as people of faith, so we turn toward God instead of turning on each other.
Stephen doesn’t help his own cause, we have to say, with his long, judgy speech. The book of Acts uses his speech to tell a story about this new faith in Jesus, and how it grows out of the faith of Israel. Still, Stephen isn’t winning any friends for himself. The sermon might look at when we should speak, and when we can keep quiet.
Or the sermon might look at the plight of people who are in danger in this time. Stephen is in real danger, and so are many other people right now. People who are quarantined with abusive partners are in physical danger. Domestic violence is spiking. “Mounting data suggests that domestic abuse is acting like an opportunistic infection, flourishing in the conditions created by the pandemic.” People in 12-step programs are in danger of relapse, without the structure of meetings and programs for support in their sobriety. Abused children are spending more time at home, with greater potential for harm. “The American system of catching child abuse relies on kids venturing outside their homes. Year after year, most referrals to child protective services come from professionals — police officers, lawyers, doctors, anyone who comes into contact with a child as part of their job. But no group reports more than educators, who were responsible for 21% of the 4.3 million referrals made in 2018, according to federal data.” Without the intervention of teachers, children are in more danger. In addition, “the few reports getting through to hotlines often come from victims themselves, if they are old enough to call or text. In March, for the first time ever, half of the visitors to the National Sexual Assault Hotline were minors. Among those who called with concerns related to the pandemic, 79 percent said they were living with their perpetrator.” The sermon might look at the violence Stephen faces, and the parallels with people who are in danger now.
Wherever your sermons plans take you this week, may God’s grace go with you.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Way, The Truth, The Grief
by Chris Keating
John 14:1-14
As you stare into the nonblinking eye of your web camera this Sunday, ask yourself a question: is Jesus speaking to me?
Some fifty days or so into our Covid-19 confinements, and our hearts are indeed troubled. Whether or not your community is easing social-distancing restrictions, the truth of the matter is that our hearts remain troubled. We are troubled by the uncertainty that hangs in the air, troubled by anxieties about church finances, troubled by providing pastoral care while also mastering the finer points of uploading content to YouTube.
We are troubled by the theology of those who insist on their “right” to hold in person worship during an unprecedented pandemic. We are troubled by the grief of telling a family they cannot hold a funeral for their grandfather. We are troubled by the President’s astounding ability to cumulatively talk for nearly 13 hours in his press briefings while only using four and a half minutes of those hours to express condolences to victims of this horrid virus.
Yes, Jesus, our hearts are troubled. Really troubled.
These verses, so often read at funerals, are replete with challenges this Eastertide. Preachers who have turned frequently to John 14 to comfort the grieving may need to have their own hearts healed. Even more than that, the text is veritable briar patch of sticky theological questions: “Is Jesus the only way to salvation? Will I really get anything I want if ask for it in prayer? Can we really see God?”
The words of John 14 may confound us more than they comfort. Jesus’ lengthy farewell homily seems to pose more questions than it answers — which, of course, is the very nature of grief.
The evening is saturated with anticipatory grief, that sense of gut-wrenching foreboding doom. Jesus has washed their feet, Judas has been excused, and the shadows are falling. Jesus tells them, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” That is not completely accurate, as Thomas is quick to point out. “How can we know the way?” Thomas pleads. He’s not doubting; he’s grieving.
Thomas’ voice is expressing what so many of us have been seeing in the faces of friends and colleagues. In our Zoom meetings and teleconferences, it may be hard to notice the catch in the voice of a friend. We may not sense the trouble in another’s heart, but it is there. Late last month the Harvard Business Review, not especially known for chronicling emotions, said it this way: “That discomfort you’re feeling is grief.”
Listen for the tones of grief in Thomas’ question. Naming his sadness offers an opportunity to understand the promise of consolation that Jesus is offering, and makes these words especially consoling in our current experience.
Thomas thinks the way forward will be geographical (see John, Westminster Bible Commentary, by Gail R. O’Day and Susan Hylen), but Jesus is headed in a different direction. He is not offering a set of steps or how-to manual. This is not the “as scene on TV” version of the gospel, nor is it a self-help plan of salvation. Instead, he is revealing himself as the way to God. His return makes it possible for the disciples to share the same intimate and abiding relationship that Jesus shares with God.
The promise is inclusive. It anticipates the time when the entire world — that world so dearly loved by God — will abide with God in lasting communion. Grief will be transformed, and believers will do even greater works than Jesus has done. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the truth made available to all the world, including those who are bereaved, isolated, and worrying.
That is the good news of John’s Gospel, and it could be our good news as well.
Too often, however, we misread verse six (“I am the way, the truth, and the life”) as a statement of exclusion. We see it as Jesus’ judgment, and interpret it as a sign of Christian superiority. John, however, was not concerned about whether Hindus or Muslims could be saved. John speaks to a bruised and battered sect of Christians and reminds them of the comforting promise of their baptismal identities.
When the late great theologian Shirley Guthrie looked at these words, he saw in them an opportunity to hear for the church to proclaim the good news in new ways. “What if we heard it first of all,” wrote Guthrie, “as an invitation to ask afresh who (Jesus) is and what he says and does, not to congratulate ourselves on what we are and what we have to say and do?”
Guthrie added, “I believe then we would be in a position to discover an understanding of Christian faith and life that is uniquely and faithfully Christian and at the same time open to a genuinely productive and mutually corrective conversation with fellow Christians who are different from us as well as with followers of other religious traditions — just because we believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.” (See Shirley Guthrie, Jr. Always Being Reformed, 2nd edition, 2008, Westminster John Knox Press, p. 68.)
In her book Holy Envy, Barbara Brown Taylor recounts a humorous story told by New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine, who is Jewish. Whenever Levine is asked to provide an interpretation of John 14:6, says Brown, she tells a story of imagining herself in line at the pearly gates of heaven. As she awaits her opportunity to be admitted, someone cuts in front of her and says, “Hey, Peter, I don’t think she’s supposed to be here.” Meanwhile, says Levine, Jesus sticks his head around the gates and says, “Peter, it’s fine. I know her, and she’s okay with me.”
As Taylor notes, “If there is no other way to God, there is no other gatekeeper. Jesus alone is the arbiter of salvation in his name.” (Holy Envy, HarperOne, 2019, p. 153.)
That is the discovery the disciples make during Jesus’ longwinded farewell address. He is guiding them through their grief so that they may discover what it means for them to know him as the way, the truth, the life. It is a discovery that will heal their bereaved and broken hearts, and perhaps ours as well.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:
John 14:1-14
Defending “the Doubter”
Thomas has not gotten a fair shake through the centuries. After Judas, Thomas is the apostle held in lowest esteem. This goes back to his not being present with the other disciples in the evening of the resurrection when Jesus appeared to the other ten disciples. (Judas was dead and hadn’t been replaced.) Jesus appears to the ten and they’re thrilled; Christ is risen! Thomas missed this particular meeting and said he needed to see Christ’s wounds with his own eyes before believing that Christ is risen. Harry Truman used to say, “I’m from Missouri; you have to show me.” No one called him “Doubting Harry;” “Ooh, the injustice,” this Thomas seethes! A week later, Jesus appears to the eleven and shows his wounds to Thomas. True to his word, Thomas believes. Seeing is believing; Thomas sees and Thomas believes. Then Jesus reaches out from the pages of John’s gospel and blesses everyone who has not seen and believes. Friends, that would be all of us! This blessing is extended because Thomas spoke honestly and from his own integrity needed to see for himself. How would the gospel story be told if John 1:41-43 went like this, “We have found the Messiah!” “Excellent, I can cross that off my bucket list! Thanks, Simon!”? Faith requires our engagement, our appropriating the stories of scripture into our own lives, on our terms. No one’s a Christian by proxy.
Thomas only appears in lists of disciples in the synoptic gospels. In John he makes three appearances; I’ve covered his last appearance above.
In John 11, after Jesus and the disciples had fled Judea and then heard that Lazarus had died, Thomas said, “Let us also go that we may die with him.” It’s not clear who “him’s” antecedent is, most likely it is Jesus and Thomas is expressing his willingness to accompany Jesus back to this dangerous territory as Jesus returns to his friend, whose death later causes Jesus to cry. Here is a brave, determined, resolute disciple, not a doubter.
In today’s lesson Jesus is speaking to his disciples having just washed their feet. He’s preparing them in this private setting for his death and “departure.” Jesus is talking in circles, signs and metaphors. It’s late and they’ve all had at least three glasses of wine. Thomas raises his hand and says, “We don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” Thomas is no doubter here. He is the conscientious student who wants the teacher to be clear about what he’s saying. Every teacher knows that when one student asks a question there are at least four others who either are too timid to ask or too lost to put into words the question that will help them understand. Thomas is that brave, trailblazing student.
And, in response, Jesus gives a concise, memorable, clear answer. “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
* * *
John 14:1-14
Philip
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, is from Bethsaida. Like Thomas, Philip is only given something like a personality in John’s gospel; he’s just a name on a list in the synoptic Gospels. He is shown as pragmatic in his response of “Come and see!” to Nathanael. Again, in chapter six he’s the one who points out how expensive it would be to cater a meal for all the people who’ve been listening to Jesus.
In John 12, it is Philip whom the Greeks approached to get acquainted with Jesus. Perhaps he was of a higher social class than the others from Bethsaida.
When we get to John 14, we see another side of Philip; he’s kinda dense. “Show us the Father…” But remember, he’s been up a long time, just had a big meal and at least three glasses of wine.
* * *
1 Peter 2:2-10
Peter gets another shot at redemption
Remember just a few weeks ago, Peter denied Jesus three times. He’d been the first to identify Jesus as the Christ, and he got turned to stone by a new nickname. At the end of John’s gospel, when Jesus whipped up some breakfast on shore while his old posse had returned to their former jobs, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Peter was a little insulted, but there was a nice symmetry — Peter denied Jesus three times, then affirmed his love for Jesus three times.
A generation later Peter’s gotten some education and refers to the work of the prophet Hosea, and the redemption Hosea hinted at. Hosea was commanded by the Lord to live out, in his own personal life, the infidelity of Israel and foreshadow its eventual fate. The three infant children of the prophet’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer must bear the names that speak of the greatest horror imaginable. The destruction of the covenant and relationship between God and the chosen people.
Hosea was instructed to name his second child Lo-ruhamah, which means “not pitied,” and his third child Lo-ammi, which means “not my people.” Now, Peter informs the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Asia, Cappadocia and Bithynia that those two curses have been undone by the death and resurrection of Christ.
* * *
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Today’s psalm is a mash up of three laments concluded with a prayer of thanksgiving. Scholars contend that vv. 1-8 are the first lament and vv. 13-18 are the third.
It is helpful and revealing to know that v. 5 “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” were the dying words of Martin Luther, John Knox and John Hus.
* * *
Acts 7:55-60
This passage comes at the end of Stephen’s provocative, inflammatory speech before the Council. This intra-Jewish disagreement can be used as a modern justification for anti-Semitism, like so many passages in John’s gospel. It is worth noting, however, in the current climate where foreign people are so distrusted, that very few of the events that Stephen mentions in his sermon took place in Judah or Israel. Most of the history he recounts occurs prior to reaching the Promised Land. The analogy between the Temple and the Promised Land is a strong one, but Stephen’s message to Council argues for the insignificance of place when it comes to following the living God.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: In you, O God, we seek refuge; let us ever be put to shame.
People: Incline your ear and rescue us speedily.
Leader: Be a rock of refuge and a strong fortress to save us.
People: You are indeed our rock and our fortress.
Leader: Let your face shine upon your servants.
People: Save us in your steadfast love.
OR
Leader: Come, all you children of God, to worship and praise.
People: We come as God’s family to adore God’s name.
Leader: All of us come in need of grace and forgiveness.
People: We come seeking and granting grace.
Leader: We are God’s creatures and God’s subjects.
People: In humility we offer ourselves to God’s reign.
Hymns and Songs:
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
How Great Thou Art
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELW: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
UMH: 139
H82: 390
AAHH: 117
NNBH: 2
NCH: 22
CH: 25
ELW: 858/859
AMEC: 3
STLT: 278
Renew: 57
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
UMH: 154/155
H82: 450/451
PH: 142/143
AAHH: 292/293/294
NNBH: 3/5
NCH: 304
CH: 91/92
LBW: 328/329
ELW: 634
W&P: 100/106
AMEC: 4/5/6
Renew: 45
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
UMH: 158
PH: 150
CH: 90
W&P: 87
Renew: 50
I Need Thee Every Hour
UMH: 397
AAHH: 451
NNBH: 303
NCH: 517
CH: 578
W&P: 476
AMEC: 327
I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 429
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Jesu, Jesu
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELW: 708
W&P: 273
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Give Thanks
CCB: 92
Renew: 266
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
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
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 claims all creation as your own:
Grant us the grace to see everyone as your child
so that we may honor you by respecting them;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the creator who claims all as your realm. There is no one who you see as outside of your grace and love. Help us to truly honor you as creator by reaching out in love and grace to all your children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our blaming others while giving ourselves a pass.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look around us and see others as being somehow less than ourselves. When things go wrong we are quick to look for someone else to blame and slow to look at ourselves and our own actions. We want forgiveness and compassion for ourselves but we withhold it from others. Forgive us and renew us in your love that we may be compassionate as you are compassionate. Amen.
Leader: God is full of mercy and grace for all, even us. Receive God’s love and share it with others this week.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, our creator and redeemer.
(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 around us and see others as being somehow less than ourselves. When things go wrong we are quick to look for someone else to blame and slow to look at ourselves and our own actions. We want forgiveness and compassion for ourselves but we withhold it from others. Forgive us and renew us in your love that we may be compassionate as you are compassionate.
We thank you for all the ways in which you offer us grace and mercy. We thank you for making us in your image and claiming us as your own.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children everywhere. We pray for justice and mercy to flow abundantly and we ask that it begin in us. We pray all who are suffering from illness and injury and those who are caring for them. We pray for all who are struggling with the pandemic and especially for those who are placed in dangerous situations as they serve the rest of us.
(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 Our Father 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
You can Google ‘Bill Keane not me’ to access images from his cartoons.
In these cartoons the children are quick to say ‘not me’ did whatever it is that wasn’t good. None of us like to be blamed for something even when we know we did it. It makes us uncomfortable and unhappy. But blaming someone else doesn’t help it only makes it worse. When we do something that isn’t right, it helps when we are honest and confess. It keeps things from getting worse and opens the way for forgiveness and setting things right.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Sticks & Stones…& Words
by Dean Feldmeyer
Acts 7: 55-60
This children’s message is targeted especially to those who are doing tele-worship services. It can, of course, be easily adapted for in-person use.
You will need: A shallow box or basket with a 2-3 rocks and 2-3 sticks. Rocks and sticks should be of a size to be easily seen on camera and heavy enough to be dangerous if used as weapons. Also, a few sheets of paper or cardstock with hurtful words printed on them in large letters: FAT, STUPID, UGLY, etc.
Say
Good morning.
This morning we heard the story of Stephen, a Christian man who was murdered because of his faith in Jesus. Those people in the story didn’t want to hear about Jesus because Jesus talked about changing the way they thought and spoke and acted and they didn’t want to change. So, when Stephen talked about Jesus, the people became angry and they threw rocks at him until he died.
Boy, I’m glad we don’t do that anymore, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be awful if every time we said something that someone disagreed with, they threw rocks at us?
So, we don’t throw rocks anymore, do we?
But sometimes we throw words, don’t we? When someone says something we disagree with, sometimes we throw mean, hurtful words at them. And words can hurt, too.
(Hold up box/basket of sticks and stones so it can be seen.)
You know, my grandma knew that, sometimes, people would say hurtful things to me so she gave me a little rhyme to say and remember: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
Except, I learned that there are some words that can hurt, right? (Hold up words on cards as you read them then put them, one by one, in the basket/box with the sticks and stones.)
Words like: Fat and stupid and ugly and dumb. Those kinds of words hurt just as much as sticks and stones. They may not break your bones, but they can break your heart, can’t they?
So, one thing we learn from the story of Stephen is that no matter what we throw — sticks, stones, words — it’s never alright to hurt people. Because we are Christians. We follow Jesus and Jesus taught us to love one another.
(End with a prayer asking God for strength to remember that words can be just as hurtful as stones and to help us love one another.) Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 10, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
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- Stoning the Scapegoat by Mary Austin — Blame the messenger. Blame the victim. Blame the bats. Blame the masks. Finding a scapegoat is a time-honored tradition in human history. How can we do better?
- Second Thoughts: The Way, The Truth, The Grief by Chris Keating — Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life — even for hearts troubled by Covid-19.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen.
- Worship resources by George Reed that focus on scapegoating; arrogance, humility, and abundance.
- Children’s sermon: Sticks & Stones…& Words by Dean Feldmeyer — One thing we learn from the story of Stephen is that no matter what we throw — sticks, stones, words — it’s never alright to hurt people.
Stoning the Scapegoatby Mary Austin
Acts 7:55-60
Angry people, looking for someone to blame in a time of frightening illness, have fastened on a prominent figure who keeps telling them what they don’t want to hear. Science and public opinion differ widely, and people resist any further measures aimed at social distancing. People fix their rage on a prominent doctor. Outrage boils over when he urges officials to adopt and enforce strict measures to keep people apart.
It feels like 2020, but it’s 1919. The feared disease is the world-wide flu, and the much despised doctor is “Dr. Thomas Dyer Tuttle, who became a powerful, if polarizing, figure in the fight against the Spanish flu — not unlike Dr. Anthony Fauci is perceived today, in the battle against Covid-19.” At the time, Dr. Tuttle’s “recommended restrictions included banning dances and other social gatherings, as well as limits on how many people could attend public meetings and how far apart they should sit from one another. Both the city and county voted against those measures. In response, the commissioner sought to get the State Board of Health to enforce its police powers against the county. Instead, he lost his job.”
Dr. Fauci still has his job — as of this writing — and yet the parallels, a hundred years later, are eerie. Stressed and anxious people, feeling out of control and under threat, look for someone to blame. We find the same kind of angry people, in search of a scapegoat, in the Acts story of Stephen’s hastily convened trial, and then his death by a raging mob. The story from Acts, and the stories from the headlines then and now, compel us to think about how we handle anger and fear as people of faith.
In the News
Looking back to 1919, after he was fired in Washington state, Dr. Tuttle moved to Kansas, “where he accepted a position as Epidemiologist for the State Board of Health. In that role, he began to fear another influenza epidemic would appear in the state by the fall of 1919 and minced no words in encouraging the public to follow public health guidelines. “Those who buried their dear ones last winter should certainly lend every effort to prevent others facing a similar loss,” Dr. Tuttle wrote in a Topeka paper on September 11, 1919. He also wrote letters to county health commissioners, urging strict enforcement of quarantines. Though not considered part of the Spanish flu pandemic, Kansas did see a high level of influenza cases in the winter of 1919-20, and Dr. Tuttle did his best to ensure local communities were prepared.”
In his time, Dr. Tuttle remained pessimistic about the country’s ability to take steps to reduce coming infections. “Nearly 80 years after Dr. Tuttle’s death, his legacy in fighting pandemics lives on, which might have come as a surprise to him, given the pessimism he expressed in his lifetime. In 2009, a group of researchers wrote a paper comparing existing CDC guidelines on managing pandemics to those developed during the Spanish flu. The paper noted that of all the recommendations, measures Dr. Tuttle promoted — encouraging the closing of public spaces and social distancing — were still relevant in fighting epidemics today.”
And, still, we resist.
For some Americans who are sick of social distancing, or worried about jobs, businesses and diminished income, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become not only a trusted expert, but also the problem. “Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, has established himself as the authoritative public face of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response. For some, however, he has taken on a different role. In recent weeks, Fauci has emerged as the latest target in the vast web of Covid-19-related conspiracy theories that have been circulating on social media since reports of the coronavirus first began to emerge out of Wuhan, China, in January. Like other coronavirus villains, from the Chinese government to Bill Gates, Fauci has been charged with an array of nefarious activity, all of it implausible and some of it mutually contradictory.” An expert is conspiracy theories, Pia Lamberty, says, “the proliferation of conspiracy theories around the coronavirus ‘is not surprising,’ as ‘conspiracy theories arise especially when people feel that they have no control.’ ” Not only that, but Lamberty said that the kinds of narratives that are currently being spread about the coronavirus (that it is man-made, designed to harm certain groups and benefit those in power) are similar to those that arose in response to previous major disease outbreaks, such as Zika, Ebola and AIDS. In fact, it has been true of epidemics going back at least to the Middle Ages.
The federal government has stepped up security for Dr. Fauci and his family, following death threats. People watch the daily White House briefing to see where he is, and when he was missing for several days, #WheresFauci was a hot topic on Twitter. “Though Fauci has thus far managed to hold on to his position, his public divergence with Trump on a number of points, including the president’s previous pledge to reopen the economy by Easter and his premature endorsement of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, has prompted calls from Trump’s supporters to #FireFauci — the hashtag on a Twitter message Trump himself retweeted, while denying any intention of dismissing the scientist, who has been a leader in public health since his much-praised efforts in the early AIDS epidemic.”
We know what science tells us about how Covid-19 arrived in the United States, and how we can reduce its spread, and yet we look for places to spread blame. The President has blamed the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, China, and the Obama administration (which left office in January of 2017) for the spread of the virus and the lack of testing. Separately, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that its initial test kits didn’t work as designed and that new tests were needed — delaying the government’s ability to detect and contain the spread of the virus.” For some, even masks themselves are the problem.
In an election year, the stakes are high. One analysis piece said, “Here is the crudest of calculations: If Democrats can successfully associate the substantial harm wreaked by Covid-19 with Trump, they win in November. But if Trump and the Republicans can deflect enough blame elsewhere and Trump gets credit for making things less bad than they could have been, Trump will win.” There’s more blame to come, as November gets closer. “Though negative partisanship has been building up now for several election cycles, it thrives on frustration and anger, and 2020 will likely offer plenty.”
Blame is politically profitable, and it also fills a need within our spirits not to have to examine our own part in problems too closely. It distracts us from self-examination on every level, from the lack of eggs in the family fridge (“it wasn’t me. I didn’t use the last one.”) to a failed work project to a pandemic. Blame directs our energy outward instead of inward, and lets us off the hook, free of responsibility.
In the Scriptures
In Jerusalem, the number of believers is increasing. The city is unsettled, as a growing number of people hear the disciples speak and come to the follow the way of Jesus. “The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7) This kind of change is always stressful in a system, whether it’s in ancient Jerusalem, or the choir loft of our congregations, or anywhere in between. Stephen has just been elected to serve the people in need, along with other men, and he’s doing his job with zeal. “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” (6:8) Those who argue with him can “not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.” (6:10)
The people fasten their anger on Stephen, and he is brought to a show trial, with false witnesses, according to the story in Acts. The story evokes for us the trial and death of Jesus.
Stephen’s defense against the charges is to call people to account for generations of failure in following God. He recounts Israel’s history with God, and then winds up with an accusation. Or is it an observation? Either way, it would be hard to hear, and even the most non-anxious person might hear it defensively. “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.” (7:51-53)
The enraged crowd rushes forward, drags Stephen away and stones him. Just like his trial, the pattern of his death follows the pattern of Jesus’ death. “While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.”
In the Sermon
We’re all anxious right now. We struggle to manage our anxiety with working more, exercise, drinking more, online yoga…and rage. The people who are reacting to Dr. Fauci, blaming him for the bad news he’s delivering, are frightened about their health, their jobs, paying the mortgage and the rent, and worried about how long our isolation will go on. In addition, for people with your children at home, the stress of being with kids all day could unhinge anyone. The people reacting to Stephen are facing fears about their faith, and how it’s changing as they watch. The sermon might explore how we manage fear as people of faith, so we turn toward God instead of turning on each other.
Stephen doesn’t help his own cause, we have to say, with his long, judgy speech. The book of Acts uses his speech to tell a story about this new faith in Jesus, and how it grows out of the faith of Israel. Still, Stephen isn’t winning any friends for himself. The sermon might look at when we should speak, and when we can keep quiet.
Or the sermon might look at the plight of people who are in danger in this time. Stephen is in real danger, and so are many other people right now. People who are quarantined with abusive partners are in physical danger. Domestic violence is spiking. “Mounting data suggests that domestic abuse is acting like an opportunistic infection, flourishing in the conditions created by the pandemic.” People in 12-step programs are in danger of relapse, without the structure of meetings and programs for support in their sobriety. Abused children are spending more time at home, with greater potential for harm. “The American system of catching child abuse relies on kids venturing outside their homes. Year after year, most referrals to child protective services come from professionals — police officers, lawyers, doctors, anyone who comes into contact with a child as part of their job. But no group reports more than educators, who were responsible for 21% of the 4.3 million referrals made in 2018, according to federal data.” Without the intervention of teachers, children are in more danger. In addition, “the few reports getting through to hotlines often come from victims themselves, if they are old enough to call or text. In March, for the first time ever, half of the visitors to the National Sexual Assault Hotline were minors. Among those who called with concerns related to the pandemic, 79 percent said they were living with their perpetrator.” The sermon might look at the violence Stephen faces, and the parallels with people who are in danger now.
Wherever your sermons plans take you this week, may God’s grace go with you.
SECOND THOUGHTSThe Way, The Truth, The Grief
by Chris Keating
John 14:1-14
As you stare into the nonblinking eye of your web camera this Sunday, ask yourself a question: is Jesus speaking to me?
Some fifty days or so into our Covid-19 confinements, and our hearts are indeed troubled. Whether or not your community is easing social-distancing restrictions, the truth of the matter is that our hearts remain troubled. We are troubled by the uncertainty that hangs in the air, troubled by anxieties about church finances, troubled by providing pastoral care while also mastering the finer points of uploading content to YouTube.
We are troubled by the theology of those who insist on their “right” to hold in person worship during an unprecedented pandemic. We are troubled by the grief of telling a family they cannot hold a funeral for their grandfather. We are troubled by the President’s astounding ability to cumulatively talk for nearly 13 hours in his press briefings while only using four and a half minutes of those hours to express condolences to victims of this horrid virus.
Yes, Jesus, our hearts are troubled. Really troubled.
These verses, so often read at funerals, are replete with challenges this Eastertide. Preachers who have turned frequently to John 14 to comfort the grieving may need to have their own hearts healed. Even more than that, the text is veritable briar patch of sticky theological questions: “Is Jesus the only way to salvation? Will I really get anything I want if ask for it in prayer? Can we really see God?”
The words of John 14 may confound us more than they comfort. Jesus’ lengthy farewell homily seems to pose more questions than it answers — which, of course, is the very nature of grief.
The evening is saturated with anticipatory grief, that sense of gut-wrenching foreboding doom. Jesus has washed their feet, Judas has been excused, and the shadows are falling. Jesus tells them, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” That is not completely accurate, as Thomas is quick to point out. “How can we know the way?” Thomas pleads. He’s not doubting; he’s grieving.
Thomas’ voice is expressing what so many of us have been seeing in the faces of friends and colleagues. In our Zoom meetings and teleconferences, it may be hard to notice the catch in the voice of a friend. We may not sense the trouble in another’s heart, but it is there. Late last month the Harvard Business Review, not especially known for chronicling emotions, said it this way: “That discomfort you’re feeling is grief.”
Listen for the tones of grief in Thomas’ question. Naming his sadness offers an opportunity to understand the promise of consolation that Jesus is offering, and makes these words especially consoling in our current experience.
Thomas thinks the way forward will be geographical (see John, Westminster Bible Commentary, by Gail R. O’Day and Susan Hylen), but Jesus is headed in a different direction. He is not offering a set of steps or how-to manual. This is not the “as scene on TV” version of the gospel, nor is it a self-help plan of salvation. Instead, he is revealing himself as the way to God. His return makes it possible for the disciples to share the same intimate and abiding relationship that Jesus shares with God.
The promise is inclusive. It anticipates the time when the entire world — that world so dearly loved by God — will abide with God in lasting communion. Grief will be transformed, and believers will do even greater works than Jesus has done. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the truth made available to all the world, including those who are bereaved, isolated, and worrying.
That is the good news of John’s Gospel, and it could be our good news as well.
Too often, however, we misread verse six (“I am the way, the truth, and the life”) as a statement of exclusion. We see it as Jesus’ judgment, and interpret it as a sign of Christian superiority. John, however, was not concerned about whether Hindus or Muslims could be saved. John speaks to a bruised and battered sect of Christians and reminds them of the comforting promise of their baptismal identities.
When the late great theologian Shirley Guthrie looked at these words, he saw in them an opportunity to hear for the church to proclaim the good news in new ways. “What if we heard it first of all,” wrote Guthrie, “as an invitation to ask afresh who (Jesus) is and what he says and does, not to congratulate ourselves on what we are and what we have to say and do?”
Guthrie added, “I believe then we would be in a position to discover an understanding of Christian faith and life that is uniquely and faithfully Christian and at the same time open to a genuinely productive and mutually corrective conversation with fellow Christians who are different from us as well as with followers of other religious traditions — just because we believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.” (See Shirley Guthrie, Jr. Always Being Reformed, 2nd edition, 2008, Westminster John Knox Press, p. 68.)
In her book Holy Envy, Barbara Brown Taylor recounts a humorous story told by New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine, who is Jewish. Whenever Levine is asked to provide an interpretation of John 14:6, says Brown, she tells a story of imagining herself in line at the pearly gates of heaven. As she awaits her opportunity to be admitted, someone cuts in front of her and says, “Hey, Peter, I don’t think she’s supposed to be here.” Meanwhile, says Levine, Jesus sticks his head around the gates and says, “Peter, it’s fine. I know her, and she’s okay with me.”
As Taylor notes, “If there is no other way to God, there is no other gatekeeper. Jesus alone is the arbiter of salvation in his name.” (Holy Envy, HarperOne, 2019, p. 153.)
That is the discovery the disciples make during Jesus’ longwinded farewell address. He is guiding them through their grief so that they may discover what it means for them to know him as the way, the truth, the life. It is a discovery that will heal their bereaved and broken hearts, and perhaps ours as well.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:John 14:1-14
Defending “the Doubter”
Thomas has not gotten a fair shake through the centuries. After Judas, Thomas is the apostle held in lowest esteem. This goes back to his not being present with the other disciples in the evening of the resurrection when Jesus appeared to the other ten disciples. (Judas was dead and hadn’t been replaced.) Jesus appears to the ten and they’re thrilled; Christ is risen! Thomas missed this particular meeting and said he needed to see Christ’s wounds with his own eyes before believing that Christ is risen. Harry Truman used to say, “I’m from Missouri; you have to show me.” No one called him “Doubting Harry;” “Ooh, the injustice,” this Thomas seethes! A week later, Jesus appears to the eleven and shows his wounds to Thomas. True to his word, Thomas believes. Seeing is believing; Thomas sees and Thomas believes. Then Jesus reaches out from the pages of John’s gospel and blesses everyone who has not seen and believes. Friends, that would be all of us! This blessing is extended because Thomas spoke honestly and from his own integrity needed to see for himself. How would the gospel story be told if John 1:41-43 went like this, “We have found the Messiah!” “Excellent, I can cross that off my bucket list! Thanks, Simon!”? Faith requires our engagement, our appropriating the stories of scripture into our own lives, on our terms. No one’s a Christian by proxy.
Thomas only appears in lists of disciples in the synoptic gospels. In John he makes three appearances; I’ve covered his last appearance above.
In John 11, after Jesus and the disciples had fled Judea and then heard that Lazarus had died, Thomas said, “Let us also go that we may die with him.” It’s not clear who “him’s” antecedent is, most likely it is Jesus and Thomas is expressing his willingness to accompany Jesus back to this dangerous territory as Jesus returns to his friend, whose death later causes Jesus to cry. Here is a brave, determined, resolute disciple, not a doubter.
In today’s lesson Jesus is speaking to his disciples having just washed their feet. He’s preparing them in this private setting for his death and “departure.” Jesus is talking in circles, signs and metaphors. It’s late and they’ve all had at least three glasses of wine. Thomas raises his hand and says, “We don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” Thomas is no doubter here. He is the conscientious student who wants the teacher to be clear about what he’s saying. Every teacher knows that when one student asks a question there are at least four others who either are too timid to ask or too lost to put into words the question that will help them understand. Thomas is that brave, trailblazing student.
And, in response, Jesus gives a concise, memorable, clear answer. “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
* * *
John 14:1-14
Philip
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, is from Bethsaida. Like Thomas, Philip is only given something like a personality in John’s gospel; he’s just a name on a list in the synoptic Gospels. He is shown as pragmatic in his response of “Come and see!” to Nathanael. Again, in chapter six he’s the one who points out how expensive it would be to cater a meal for all the people who’ve been listening to Jesus.
In John 12, it is Philip whom the Greeks approached to get acquainted with Jesus. Perhaps he was of a higher social class than the others from Bethsaida.
When we get to John 14, we see another side of Philip; he’s kinda dense. “Show us the Father…” But remember, he’s been up a long time, just had a big meal and at least three glasses of wine.
* * *
1 Peter 2:2-10
Peter gets another shot at redemption
Remember just a few weeks ago, Peter denied Jesus three times. He’d been the first to identify Jesus as the Christ, and he got turned to stone by a new nickname. At the end of John’s gospel, when Jesus whipped up some breakfast on shore while his old posse had returned to their former jobs, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Peter was a little insulted, but there was a nice symmetry — Peter denied Jesus three times, then affirmed his love for Jesus three times.
A generation later Peter’s gotten some education and refers to the work of the prophet Hosea, and the redemption Hosea hinted at. Hosea was commanded by the Lord to live out, in his own personal life, the infidelity of Israel and foreshadow its eventual fate. The three infant children of the prophet’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer must bear the names that speak of the greatest horror imaginable. The destruction of the covenant and relationship between God and the chosen people.
Hosea was instructed to name his second child Lo-ruhamah, which means “not pitied,” and his third child Lo-ammi, which means “not my people.” Now, Peter informs the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Asia, Cappadocia and Bithynia that those two curses have been undone by the death and resurrection of Christ.
* * *
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Today’s psalm is a mash up of three laments concluded with a prayer of thanksgiving. Scholars contend that vv. 1-8 are the first lament and vv. 13-18 are the third.
It is helpful and revealing to know that v. 5 “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” were the dying words of Martin Luther, John Knox and John Hus.
* * *
Acts 7:55-60
This passage comes at the end of Stephen’s provocative, inflammatory speech before the Council. This intra-Jewish disagreement can be used as a modern justification for anti-Semitism, like so many passages in John’s gospel. It is worth noting, however, in the current climate where foreign people are so distrusted, that very few of the events that Stephen mentions in his sermon took place in Judah or Israel. Most of the history he recounts occurs prior to reaching the Promised Land. The analogy between the Temple and the Promised Land is a strong one, but Stephen’s message to Council argues for the insignificance of place when it comes to following the living God.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship:
Leader: In you, O God, we seek refuge; let us ever be put to shame.
People: Incline your ear and rescue us speedily.
Leader: Be a rock of refuge and a strong fortress to save us.
People: You are indeed our rock and our fortress.
Leader: Let your face shine upon your servants.
People: Save us in your steadfast love.
OR
Leader: Come, all you children of God, to worship and praise.
People: We come as God’s family to adore God’s name.
Leader: All of us come in need of grace and forgiveness.
People: We come seeking and granting grace.
Leader: We are God’s creatures and God’s subjects.
People: In humility we offer ourselves to God’s reign.
Hymns and Songs:
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELW: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
How Great Thou Art
UMH: 77
PH: 467
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELW: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
UMH: 127
H82: 690
PH: 281
AAHH: 138/139/140
NNBH: 232
NCH: 18/19
CH: 622
LBW: 343
ELW: 618
W&P: 501
AMEC: 52/53/65
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
UMH: 139
H82: 390
AAHH: 117
NNBH: 2
NCH: 22
CH: 25
ELW: 858/859
AMEC: 3
STLT: 278
Renew: 57
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
UMH: 154/155
H82: 450/451
PH: 142/143
AAHH: 292/293/294
NNBH: 3/5
NCH: 304
CH: 91/92
LBW: 328/329
ELW: 634
W&P: 100/106
AMEC: 4/5/6
Renew: 45
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
UMH: 158
PH: 150
CH: 90
W&P: 87
Renew: 50
I Need Thee Every Hour
UMH: 397
AAHH: 451
NNBH: 303
NCH: 517
CH: 578
W&P: 476
AMEC: 327
I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 429
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Jesu, Jesu
UMH: 432
H82: 602
PH: 367
NCH: 498
CH: 600
ELW: 708
W&P: 273
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Give Thanks
CCB: 92
Renew: 266
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
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
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 claims all creation as your own:
Grant us the grace to see everyone as your child
so that we may honor you by respecting them;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the creator who claims all as your realm. There is no one who you see as outside of your grace and love. Help us to truly honor you as creator by reaching out in love and grace to all your children. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our blaming others while giving ourselves a pass.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We look around us and see others as being somehow less than ourselves. When things go wrong we are quick to look for someone else to blame and slow to look at ourselves and our own actions. We want forgiveness and compassion for ourselves but we withhold it from others. Forgive us and renew us in your love that we may be compassionate as you are compassionate. Amen.
Leader: God is full of mercy and grace for all, even us. Receive God’s love and share it with others this week.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, our creator and redeemer.
(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 around us and see others as being somehow less than ourselves. When things go wrong we are quick to look for someone else to blame and slow to look at ourselves and our own actions. We want forgiveness and compassion for ourselves but we withhold it from others. Forgive us and renew us in your love that we may be compassionate as you are compassionate.
We thank you for all the ways in which you offer us grace and mercy. We thank you for making us in your image and claiming us as your own.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children everywhere. We pray for justice and mercy to flow abundantly and we ask that it begin in us. We pray all who are suffering from illness and injury and those who are caring for them. We pray for all who are struggling with the pandemic and especially for those who are placed in dangerous situations as they serve the rest of us.
(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 Our Father 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
You can Google ‘Bill Keane not me’ to access images from his cartoons.
In these cartoons the children are quick to say ‘not me’ did whatever it is that wasn’t good. None of us like to be blamed for something even when we know we did it. It makes us uncomfortable and unhappy. But blaming someone else doesn’t help it only makes it worse. When we do something that isn’t right, it helps when we are honest and confess. It keeps things from getting worse and opens the way for forgiveness and setting things right.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONSticks & Stones…& Words
by Dean Feldmeyer
Acts 7: 55-60
This children’s message is targeted especially to those who are doing tele-worship services. It can, of course, be easily adapted for in-person use.
You will need: A shallow box or basket with a 2-3 rocks and 2-3 sticks. Rocks and sticks should be of a size to be easily seen on camera and heavy enough to be dangerous if used as weapons. Also, a few sheets of paper or cardstock with hurtful words printed on them in large letters: FAT, STUPID, UGLY, etc.
Say
Good morning.
This morning we heard the story of Stephen, a Christian man who was murdered because of his faith in Jesus. Those people in the story didn’t want to hear about Jesus because Jesus talked about changing the way they thought and spoke and acted and they didn’t want to change. So, when Stephen talked about Jesus, the people became angry and they threw rocks at him until he died.
Boy, I’m glad we don’t do that anymore, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be awful if every time we said something that someone disagreed with, they threw rocks at us?
So, we don’t throw rocks anymore, do we?
But sometimes we throw words, don’t we? When someone says something we disagree with, sometimes we throw mean, hurtful words at them. And words can hurt, too.
(Hold up box/basket of sticks and stones so it can be seen.)
You know, my grandma knew that, sometimes, people would say hurtful things to me so she gave me a little rhyme to say and remember: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
Except, I learned that there are some words that can hurt, right? (Hold up words on cards as you read them then put them, one by one, in the basket/box with the sticks and stones.)
Words like: Fat and stupid and ugly and dumb. Those kinds of words hurt just as much as sticks and stones. They may not break your bones, but they can break your heart, can’t they?
So, one thing we learn from the story of Stephen is that no matter what we throw — sticks, stones, words — it’s never alright to hurt people. Because we are Christians. We follow Jesus and Jesus taught us to love one another.
(End with a prayer asking God for strength to remember that words can be just as hurtful as stones and to help us love one another.) Amen.
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The Immediate Word, May 10, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 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.
