Taking Vs. Receiving
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
Happiness in today's world is a very fickle thing. We often measure it by our possessions or our power or influence, and even when we get what we want, it is often not enough. We greedily take what we want, rather than gratefully receive what God gives us. In both cases, we may have increase, yet one makes us happy and the other does not. Why? When I examine my life, am I a taker or a receiver? Scott Suskovic has written the main article, with Carlos Wilton providing the response. Illustrations, liturgical aids, and a children's sermon are also provided.
Taking vs. Receiving
Scott Suskovic
Matthew 6:24-34
THE WORLD
There is a study out that reveals our "happiness" meter has not budged much over many decades. In fact, a closer look at the study will reveal that it has actually dipped downward somewhat. How can that be? Perhaps it has to do with two words that we often use interchangeably but the meanings are far from synonymous: take and receive. Sometimes we talk about taking communion. Or should that be receiving communion? Sometimes we talk about receiving our blessings. Or are there those who are most accustomed to taking their blessings? We hear that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Or does that have an even greater punch when we say it is more blessed to give than to take? In Matthew 6, we discover a better understanding of the differences separating those two words. It comes down to grace. Will we be persona grata who receives or persona non grata who takes?
Therein lies the secret to happiness.
THE WORD
My grandfather was born in 1899 in a small town in Austria. He spent time in an orphanage not because his parents were dead but because they couldn't afford to care for him. When his mother died, his father somehow got the money and together, in 1913, came to America without much more than what they could fit in their pockets.
I'm sure that my grandfather broke many modern-day child labor laws as he skipped school and worked in the factories. Over time, however, he managed his own small retail store, get married, and have a couple of children. He was living the American dream until the Depression hit. Somehow they made it through that; the store survived and life continued.
I would never say that Grandpa had earthly abundance but it was always enough. He smoked White Owl cigars (If you don't know White Owls, they are about two steps lower than Swisher Sweets!). He drank the cheapest beer he could find and promised to stop drinking altogether the day he would have to spend a dollar for a bottle of beer. (Quite a risky promise for one with a German/Austrian background!)
When he died, there wasn't much for inheritance. I think he came close to breaking even. There wasn't an earthly abundance but there was always enough. The only request I had for the inheritance was a small, silver cigar lighter he used to light his White Owls.
Now, transport Grandpa to today into one of our typical homes in my congregation.
The house would be about 3,500 square feet. "Why would one small family need so much room?"
There would be two or three cars in the garage. "Why can't you share the cars or take a bike?"
There would be three to five TV's in the house -- even in the bedrooms! "What? Nobody owns that many TV's."
When this family goes on vacation, they fly in an airplane, sometimes traveling to Europe. "When we took a vacation, we pitched a tent by the lake and fished out of the canoe."
Inside the home, near the toilet, is a toilet brush with a signature on it from a strange store called Target. "What? A designer toilet brush from a fancy store?"
Grandpa would think that such a family must be a Rockefeller or a Carnegie. This must be a rich family. He would be shocked to hear that it is the home of the pastor. Do you know what else would astound Grandpa? The happiness meter has remained pretty constant in the US over the past many decades -- in fact, if anything, dipping just a couple of ticks downward. Coming from his background, he would have scratched his bald head and said, "You have no idea how blessed and fortunate you are." He's right. We don't. We seem to worry about what we don't have instead of being grateful for what we do have. Jesus said in Matthew 6: "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Seems to me that there are two responses to this stunning abundance that Grandpa would witness. You can take it or receive it. There's a difference.
Taking it: I earned it, I deserve it, I worked hard for it. It's not that much. Did you see those homes on the seventh fairway? Did you read about the pay of that CEO? Now, that's over the line. That's not me.
We can receive it: Yeah, that is me. I have received much. As much as I would like to take credit for it all, I can't. Much of it is a gift that I receive with gratitude.
See the difference? It's the difference between taking and receiving communion. Taking means getting something that you deserve, something that you earn after going to a couple of classes or being a member of a church. Receiving means coming on your knees, with humility, in great appreciate of the gift that is given.
There is a phrase we can use to describe the taker: persona non grata -- literally, a person without grace. One who receives, on the other hand, would be a persona grata, that is, a person of grace. See the difference?
In Mark 10:13-16, Jesus saw the difference:
And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.
Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child, shall not enter it. To receive like a child means bringing nothing to the table except open hands and two words: "Thank you."
To receive like a child means to be a persona grata -- a person of grace.
CONCLUSION
I am an heir to a great fortune, but not in terms of money. I'm not expecting a whole lot there. I tell my parents to live long and enjoy their own money -- it's okay if you zero out like Grandpa did. Just don't make me kick in at the end. But I have received so much already from them. I am an heir to a great fortune.
They surrounded me in God's word at church. They passed down the faith. Because of them, I know Jesus Christ. I am an heir to a great fortune.
I bet most of you are, too. I bet most of you can point to someone else who introduced you to a Savior whom you have received with open hands and the words, "Thank you." I bet because of all that you have received (not taken) you have a better understanding of what it means to be a person of grace.
Now what does that happiness meter look like?
ANOTHER VIEW
Carlos Wilton
"The Lord has comforted his people," declares Isaiah 49:13. Bold words, indeed, to a people still languishing in exile! So certain is the prophet that the people's deliverance is near that he speaks about it as though it is an accomplished fact.
Our English word "comfort" is constructed from the Latin fortis, which means "strong." To comfort others is, literally, to make them strong. It is to build a fort around them, so they may withstand whatever threat may come.
We've pretty much lost that sense of the word, in our culture. "Comfortable" has degenerated into "comfy" -- as in a comfy chair. When we speak of "creature comforts," we usually mean something that makes us softer rather than stronger.
When most of us think of one person comforting another, the picture that typically comes to mind is something like a mother comforting a crying child. "There, there," clucks the mother, hugging the child, whose knee has just been skinned or who has been jolted awake by the noise of a passing thunderstorm. Within those enfolding arms, the child feels safe and secure. Eventually, the crying ceases, the breathing grows more regular, and a feeling of deep peace descends.
There is strength in this picture, to be sure, but the strength belongs entirely to the mother. Isaiah's notion of comfort means more than that. The dispirited exile community needs more than God whispering, "There, there, it will be all right." No, they need relief from their oppression. They need God shouting, "You will be free!" Fortunately, by the providence of God, that relief is on the way in the form of Cyrus, the Persian king, who is preparing to sweep into Babylon and absorb that crumbling empire into his own. Cyrus -- an unwitting agent of God -- will send the Jewish captives home.
Just a few chapters earlier, Second Isaiah began his prophetic proclamation with words of comfort:
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
-- Isaiah 40:1
Those words are comforting, yes, but they also contain the promise of real change. If the prison term is served, if the penalty is paid, then surely something concrete is about to happen: release from bondage.
In the next chapter, Isaiah makes it clear that his kind of comfort is accompanied by renewed strength, as he calls upon the Lord:
Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
-- Isaiah 51:9
"Comfort" calls to mind, also, an old Fanny Crosby gospel hymn: "All The Way My Savior Leads Me"
All the way my Savior leads me --
What Have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
This is the sort of comfort that goes far beyond simply saying "There, there" to a crying child. "Heavenly peace, divinest comfort" gives people of faith the strength to go on.
What, then, are we to say to the tearful Chinese parents, mourning the loss of their only child, crushed in the rubble of a shoddily constructed school? Or, what relief can we offer to the Irawaddy Delta family, whose home was swept away by the storm surge of the Myanmar cyclone? Closer to home, what comfort can we give to the neighbor who has just signed onto a hospice program, or to the family member whose job has disappeared into the black hole of the present economic downturn?
The "heavenly peace, divinest comfort" of which Fanny Crosby sings is more than well-meaning sympathy. The Hebrew prophets knew divine comfort brings with it positive results. Speaking from the Christian standpoint, we can claim the power of a risen Lord, who by the Spirit's power is active in our midst and "doeth all things well."
ILLUSTRATIONS
What is it that gives one a sense of satisfaction in life? Sometimes you have to view life from the end and look backward. Fortunately we can do that in the mind. Try to imagine that you have two opportunities to be known at the end of your life. Would you rather be known as a Donald Trump type or a Mother Teresa type? Depending on your answer, you may have identified the type of living that will give you satisfaction.
* * *
Sometimes it is the focus of our life that shapes our relationship to God. In 2 Chronicles 1:7-12, the story is told that God came to Solomon and said, "Ask what I should give you." This is the ultimate genie-in-the-bottle story. Here is the God of the universe providing the open-ended opportunity to ask for whatever Solomon wanted. What would you ask for if you had that opportunity? Solomon responded in 2 Chronicles 1:10: "Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of yours?" Solomon asked for the wisdom to fulfill the responsibility to which he had been called. It is in such wisdom that one can find happiness in the living of one's life.
* * *
The Contented Fisherman
The rich industrialist from the North was horrified to find the Southern fisherman lying lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe.
"Why aren't you out fishing?" said the industrialist.
"Because I have caught enough fish for the day," said the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch some more?"
"What would I do with it?"
"You could earn more money," was the reply. "With that you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough to buy nylon nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to own two boats... maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you would be a rich man like me."
"What would I do then?"
"Then you could really enjoy life."
"What do you think I am doing right now?"
Which would you rather have: a fortune or a capacity for enjoyment?
-- Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird (New York: Image Books, 1984), pp. 132-133
* * *
When I was in the hospital, the one person whose presence I welcomed was a woman who came to sweep the floors with a large push broom. She was the only one who didn't stick things in, take things out, or ask stupid questions. For a few minutes each night, this immense Jamaican woman rested her broom against the wall and sank her body into the turquoise plastic chair in my room. All I heard was the sound of her breath in and out, in and out. It was comforting in a strange and simple way. My own breathing calmed. Of the fifty or so people that made contact with me in any given day, she was the only one who wasn't trying to change me.
One night she reached out and put her hand on the top of my shoulder. I'm not usually comfortable with casual touch, but her hand felt so natural being there. It happened to be one of the few places in my body that didn't hurt. I could have sworn she was saying two words with each breath, one on the inhale, one on the exhale: "As... Is... As... Is..."
On her next visit, she looked at me. No evaluation, no trying to figure me out. She just looked and saw me. Then she said simply, "You're more than the sickness in that body." I was pretty doped up, so I wasn't sure I understood her; but my mind was just too thick to ask questions.
I kept mumbling those words to myself throughout the following day, "I'm more than the sickness in this body. I'm more than the suffering in this body." I remember her voice clearly. It was rich, deep, full, like maple syrup in the spring...
-- Dawna Markova, No Enemies Within: A Creative Process for Discovering What's Right About What's Wrong (Newburyport, Massachusetts: Conari Press, 1994)
* * *
What are children taught, from the earliest age, to do in a time of trouble? Dial 911. Someone on the other end of the telephone line, we assure them, is standing by, ready to help.
It's been pointed out that God has a 911 number. It's Psalm 91:1: "You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty...."
The psalmist continues, "... will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.' For he will deliver you...."
Now that's comfort!
* * *
I believe in God. Not that cosmic, intangible spirit-in-the-sky that Mama told me as a little boy "always was and always will be." But the God who embraced me when Daddy disappeared from our lives -- from my life at age four -- the night police led him away from our front door, down the stairs in handcuffs.
The God who warmed me when we could see our breath inside our freezing apartment, where the gas was disconnected in the dead of another wind-whipped Chicago winter, and there was no food, little hope, and no hot water.
The God who held my hand when I witnessed boys in my 'hood swallowed by the elements, by death and by hopelessness; who claimed me when I felt like "no-man's son," amid the absence of any man to wrap his arms around me and tell me, "everything's going to be okay," to speak proudly of me, to call me son.
I believe in God, God the Father, embodied in his Son Jesus Christ. The God who allowed me to feel His presence -- whether by the warmth that filled my belly like hot chocolate on a cold afternoon, or that voice, whenever I found myself in the tempest of life's storms, telling me (even when I was told I was "nothing") that I was something, that I was His, and that even amid the desertion of the man who gave me his name and DNA and little else, I might find in Him sustenance....
-- John W. Fountain, "The God Who Embraced Me," monologue recorded for NPR's All Things Considered, November 28, 2005
* * *
Sometimes the shock hits not one person but a community, a whole nation even, a shock so great that... it does turn thoughts to God. That happened to the United States on September 11, 2001. As a side effect, an act of monstrous evil exposed the shallowness of an entire society. Professional sports ground to a halt, television comedians went off the air, as did all commercials. In a flash we saw the comparative meaninglessness of much of our lives. That three thousand people could go to work as part of their daily routine and never come home made us all aware of our fragile mortality. Married couples canceled divorce plans; mothers and fathers trimmed work hours to spend more time with their children. We found a new kind of hero: firefighters and police officers who, contra the principles of sociobiology, gave their lives for people they never knew.
Over the next months, The New York Times ran a separate article commemorating every single person who died, not just the famous or the newsworthy, as if every person killed on that day had a life of value and meaning, a life that mattered. And for a time attendance at churches swelled. The shock conveyed good and evil, death and life, meaning and absurdity in such stark terms that we turned for answers to the people -- pastors, priests, rabbis -- who have always wanted us not to build our houses, let alone our skyscrapers, on shifting sand.
What Americans learned on that day, and learning still, is that sophisticated moderns have not renounced transcendence but rather replaced it with weak substitutes. Unlike past generations, many are unsure about God and an invisible world. Even so, we feel the longings for something more.
-- Philip Yancey, Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing? (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2003)
* * *
Jane Kenyon's poem, "Let Evening Come," is worth quoting in a sermon on God's comfort. In it, the poet gradually relinquishes all the tools and experiences of the day, before concluding with this stanza:
Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.
The full poem is available here:
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1066.html
* * *
Most disconcerting, happiness seems to have little relation to economic achievement, which we have historically understood as the driver of well-being. A notorious study in 1974 found that despite some 30 years worth of stellar economic growth, Americans were no happier than they were at the end of World War II. A more recent study found that life satisfaction in China declined between 1994 and 2007, a period in which average real incomes grew by 250 percent.
Happiness, it appears, adapts. It's true that the rich are happier, on average, than the poor. But while money boosts happiness, the effect doesn't last. We just become envious of a new, richer set of people than before. Satisfaction soon settles back to its prior level, as we adapt to changed circumstances and set our expectations to a higher level.
-- Eduardo Porter, "All They Are Saying Is Give Happiness a Chance," New York Times, November 12, 2007
WORSHIP RESOURCE
Call To Worship
Leader: When our hearts are so heavy
it seems we cannot carry them through the day,
People: God will give us compassion through our friends
so we do not bear the load alone.
Leader: When our words are so inadequate
it seems we cannot speak them,
People: God will give us hope
so we can break forth in songs of joy.
Leader: When we have so lost our way
we stumble in the shadows of life,
People: God will give us light,
so we can find the living waters.
Prayer Of The Day
To those who hunger and thirst
in the loneliness of life,
you nourish them with compassion;
to those who huddle
in the shadows of unhappiness,
you bring the light of joy.
You love us like a mother, Holy God.
To those held captive
by the stress of daily living,
you whisper, "Let go; cling to me."
To those who wonder each morning
what they should wear to school,
you hand a bouquet of daisies.
You watch over us like a father, Jesus of our Hearts.
For those who stumble through life,
you fill in the potholes of their worries;
for all those forgotten
by all rushing by them,
you tattoo our faces on your palms,
so you will see us
every time you pray for us.
Like our parents,
you remember us, Spirit of Joy.
God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as we have been taught,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
Called to be servants and stewards of mysteries, we worry more about how others will judge our hairstyles or choice of shows. Let us go to God's store, where we will find grace and mercy, before wasting our blessings on the trinkets of the world.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
You tell us not to worry, Mothering God,
but we cannot seem to help ourselves.
With refrigerators full of food,
we still make grocery lists;
with closets so full we cannot shut the doors,
we run and buy new outfits;
for a simple invitation to "Follow me,"
we form committees to help us decide.
We lift our hearts to you, Tender God, so you would fill them with your mercy and hope. May we continue to seek your kingdom in every moment to come, hoping and trusting in the peace and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: Like a nursing child fed by its mother, God's mercy calms and quiets us, so we can receive all that God wants to give to us.
People: We welcome all that God gives to us, and will share these gifts with everyone we meet. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Don't Worry
Object: several dress shirts, pants, coats, shoes, socks, ties
Matthew 6:24-34
Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?" (v. 31)
Good morning, boys and girls. Boys, how many shirts do you have? (let them answer) Girls, how many dresses do you have? (let them answer) Do you have just one or do you have a lot? (let them answer) If you just have one shirt or dress then you don't have to choose your favorite one, but if you have several then you have to make a choice.
I have a friend who worries all of the time. Sometimes he worries about the clothes he is going to wear. It takes him hours to dress. (show the items as you mention them) First, he looks at all of his shirts and then chooses the one he is going to wear. He does the same thing with his pants and his coats. The big question is the kind of necktie that he is going to wear that will go perfectly with his shirt, pants, coat, and shoes. It is such a decision. He worries so much about it that he gets a headache once in a while.
This is a problem. But Jesus said it should not be a big problem. What do you think the canary says in the morning? Do you think he says, "I am a yellow canary but maybe I should be a red one today or a blue one when I fly around this afternoon"? A yellow canary is a beautiful bird and I don't want it to change colors and look like a cardinal or a bluebird. God gave the yellow canary just the perfect kind of dress and the canary doesn't worry about it.
The canary also doesn't worry about what it is going to eat. God takes care of the canary's food. God also takes care of what the canary is going to drink. Jesus said that this is God's plan and it is a good one. If clothes are a big problem and it causes us to worry then we should have fewer clothes to choose from. The same thing is true about our food. God has given us tomatoes, corn, peas, carrots, lettuce, beans, apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, and hundreds of other kinds of food. There are plenty of different things to eat, so don't worry about it.
What does worry do? It makes us grumpy, mean, angry, tired, and afraid. God did not make us to be like that. God made us to love the world we live in and to enjoy it like the birds of the air. Be happy, don't worry. We thank God for the choices that God gives us. Instead of worrying, let us find someone to share with and make that person as happy as we are happy. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 25, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
Taking vs. Receiving
Scott Suskovic
Matthew 6:24-34
THE WORLD
There is a study out that reveals our "happiness" meter has not budged much over many decades. In fact, a closer look at the study will reveal that it has actually dipped downward somewhat. How can that be? Perhaps it has to do with two words that we often use interchangeably but the meanings are far from synonymous: take and receive. Sometimes we talk about taking communion. Or should that be receiving communion? Sometimes we talk about receiving our blessings. Or are there those who are most accustomed to taking their blessings? We hear that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Or does that have an even greater punch when we say it is more blessed to give than to take? In Matthew 6, we discover a better understanding of the differences separating those two words. It comes down to grace. Will we be persona grata who receives or persona non grata who takes?
Therein lies the secret to happiness.
THE WORD
My grandfather was born in 1899 in a small town in Austria. He spent time in an orphanage not because his parents were dead but because they couldn't afford to care for him. When his mother died, his father somehow got the money and together, in 1913, came to America without much more than what they could fit in their pockets.
I'm sure that my grandfather broke many modern-day child labor laws as he skipped school and worked in the factories. Over time, however, he managed his own small retail store, get married, and have a couple of children. He was living the American dream until the Depression hit. Somehow they made it through that; the store survived and life continued.
I would never say that Grandpa had earthly abundance but it was always enough. He smoked White Owl cigars (If you don't know White Owls, they are about two steps lower than Swisher Sweets!). He drank the cheapest beer he could find and promised to stop drinking altogether the day he would have to spend a dollar for a bottle of beer. (Quite a risky promise for one with a German/Austrian background!)
When he died, there wasn't much for inheritance. I think he came close to breaking even. There wasn't an earthly abundance but there was always enough. The only request I had for the inheritance was a small, silver cigar lighter he used to light his White Owls.
Now, transport Grandpa to today into one of our typical homes in my congregation.
The house would be about 3,500 square feet. "Why would one small family need so much room?"
There would be two or three cars in the garage. "Why can't you share the cars or take a bike?"
There would be three to five TV's in the house -- even in the bedrooms! "What? Nobody owns that many TV's."
When this family goes on vacation, they fly in an airplane, sometimes traveling to Europe. "When we took a vacation, we pitched a tent by the lake and fished out of the canoe."
Inside the home, near the toilet, is a toilet brush with a signature on it from a strange store called Target. "What? A designer toilet brush from a fancy store?"
Grandpa would think that such a family must be a Rockefeller or a Carnegie. This must be a rich family. He would be shocked to hear that it is the home of the pastor. Do you know what else would astound Grandpa? The happiness meter has remained pretty constant in the US over the past many decades -- in fact, if anything, dipping just a couple of ticks downward. Coming from his background, he would have scratched his bald head and said, "You have no idea how blessed and fortunate you are." He's right. We don't. We seem to worry about what we don't have instead of being grateful for what we do have. Jesus said in Matthew 6: "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Seems to me that there are two responses to this stunning abundance that Grandpa would witness. You can take it or receive it. There's a difference.
Taking it: I earned it, I deserve it, I worked hard for it. It's not that much. Did you see those homes on the seventh fairway? Did you read about the pay of that CEO? Now, that's over the line. That's not me.
We can receive it: Yeah, that is me. I have received much. As much as I would like to take credit for it all, I can't. Much of it is a gift that I receive with gratitude.
See the difference? It's the difference between taking and receiving communion. Taking means getting something that you deserve, something that you earn after going to a couple of classes or being a member of a church. Receiving means coming on your knees, with humility, in great appreciate of the gift that is given.
There is a phrase we can use to describe the taker: persona non grata -- literally, a person without grace. One who receives, on the other hand, would be a persona grata, that is, a person of grace. See the difference?
In Mark 10:13-16, Jesus saw the difference:
And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.
Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child, shall not enter it. To receive like a child means bringing nothing to the table except open hands and two words: "Thank you."
To receive like a child means to be a persona grata -- a person of grace.
CONCLUSION
I am an heir to a great fortune, but not in terms of money. I'm not expecting a whole lot there. I tell my parents to live long and enjoy their own money -- it's okay if you zero out like Grandpa did. Just don't make me kick in at the end. But I have received so much already from them. I am an heir to a great fortune.
They surrounded me in God's word at church. They passed down the faith. Because of them, I know Jesus Christ. I am an heir to a great fortune.
I bet most of you are, too. I bet most of you can point to someone else who introduced you to a Savior whom you have received with open hands and the words, "Thank you." I bet because of all that you have received (not taken) you have a better understanding of what it means to be a person of grace.
Now what does that happiness meter look like?
ANOTHER VIEW
Carlos Wilton
"The Lord has comforted his people," declares Isaiah 49:13. Bold words, indeed, to a people still languishing in exile! So certain is the prophet that the people's deliverance is near that he speaks about it as though it is an accomplished fact.
Our English word "comfort" is constructed from the Latin fortis, which means "strong." To comfort others is, literally, to make them strong. It is to build a fort around them, so they may withstand whatever threat may come.
We've pretty much lost that sense of the word, in our culture. "Comfortable" has degenerated into "comfy" -- as in a comfy chair. When we speak of "creature comforts," we usually mean something that makes us softer rather than stronger.
When most of us think of one person comforting another, the picture that typically comes to mind is something like a mother comforting a crying child. "There, there," clucks the mother, hugging the child, whose knee has just been skinned or who has been jolted awake by the noise of a passing thunderstorm. Within those enfolding arms, the child feels safe and secure. Eventually, the crying ceases, the breathing grows more regular, and a feeling of deep peace descends.
There is strength in this picture, to be sure, but the strength belongs entirely to the mother. Isaiah's notion of comfort means more than that. The dispirited exile community needs more than God whispering, "There, there, it will be all right." No, they need relief from their oppression. They need God shouting, "You will be free!" Fortunately, by the providence of God, that relief is on the way in the form of Cyrus, the Persian king, who is preparing to sweep into Babylon and absorb that crumbling empire into his own. Cyrus -- an unwitting agent of God -- will send the Jewish captives home.
Just a few chapters earlier, Second Isaiah began his prophetic proclamation with words of comfort:
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
-- Isaiah 40:1
Those words are comforting, yes, but they also contain the promise of real change. If the prison term is served, if the penalty is paid, then surely something concrete is about to happen: release from bondage.
In the next chapter, Isaiah makes it clear that his kind of comfort is accompanied by renewed strength, as he calls upon the Lord:
Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
-- Isaiah 51:9
"Comfort" calls to mind, also, an old Fanny Crosby gospel hymn: "All The Way My Savior Leads Me"
All the way my Savior leads me --
What Have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
This is the sort of comfort that goes far beyond simply saying "There, there" to a crying child. "Heavenly peace, divinest comfort" gives people of faith the strength to go on.
What, then, are we to say to the tearful Chinese parents, mourning the loss of their only child, crushed in the rubble of a shoddily constructed school? Or, what relief can we offer to the Irawaddy Delta family, whose home was swept away by the storm surge of the Myanmar cyclone? Closer to home, what comfort can we give to the neighbor who has just signed onto a hospice program, or to the family member whose job has disappeared into the black hole of the present economic downturn?
The "heavenly peace, divinest comfort" of which Fanny Crosby sings is more than well-meaning sympathy. The Hebrew prophets knew divine comfort brings with it positive results. Speaking from the Christian standpoint, we can claim the power of a risen Lord, who by the Spirit's power is active in our midst and "doeth all things well."
ILLUSTRATIONS
What is it that gives one a sense of satisfaction in life? Sometimes you have to view life from the end and look backward. Fortunately we can do that in the mind. Try to imagine that you have two opportunities to be known at the end of your life. Would you rather be known as a Donald Trump type or a Mother Teresa type? Depending on your answer, you may have identified the type of living that will give you satisfaction.
* * *
Sometimes it is the focus of our life that shapes our relationship to God. In 2 Chronicles 1:7-12, the story is told that God came to Solomon and said, "Ask what I should give you." This is the ultimate genie-in-the-bottle story. Here is the God of the universe providing the open-ended opportunity to ask for whatever Solomon wanted. What would you ask for if you had that opportunity? Solomon responded in 2 Chronicles 1:10: "Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of yours?" Solomon asked for the wisdom to fulfill the responsibility to which he had been called. It is in such wisdom that one can find happiness in the living of one's life.
* * *
The Contented Fisherman
The rich industrialist from the North was horrified to find the Southern fisherman lying lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe.
"Why aren't you out fishing?" said the industrialist.
"Because I have caught enough fish for the day," said the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch some more?"
"What would I do with it?"
"You could earn more money," was the reply. "With that you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough to buy nylon nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to own two boats... maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you would be a rich man like me."
"What would I do then?"
"Then you could really enjoy life."
"What do you think I am doing right now?"
Which would you rather have: a fortune or a capacity for enjoyment?
-- Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird (New York: Image Books, 1984), pp. 132-133
* * *
When I was in the hospital, the one person whose presence I welcomed was a woman who came to sweep the floors with a large push broom. She was the only one who didn't stick things in, take things out, or ask stupid questions. For a few minutes each night, this immense Jamaican woman rested her broom against the wall and sank her body into the turquoise plastic chair in my room. All I heard was the sound of her breath in and out, in and out. It was comforting in a strange and simple way. My own breathing calmed. Of the fifty or so people that made contact with me in any given day, she was the only one who wasn't trying to change me.
One night she reached out and put her hand on the top of my shoulder. I'm not usually comfortable with casual touch, but her hand felt so natural being there. It happened to be one of the few places in my body that didn't hurt. I could have sworn she was saying two words with each breath, one on the inhale, one on the exhale: "As... Is... As... Is..."
On her next visit, she looked at me. No evaluation, no trying to figure me out. She just looked and saw me. Then she said simply, "You're more than the sickness in that body." I was pretty doped up, so I wasn't sure I understood her; but my mind was just too thick to ask questions.
I kept mumbling those words to myself throughout the following day, "I'm more than the sickness in this body. I'm more than the suffering in this body." I remember her voice clearly. It was rich, deep, full, like maple syrup in the spring...
-- Dawna Markova, No Enemies Within: A Creative Process for Discovering What's Right About What's Wrong (Newburyport, Massachusetts: Conari Press, 1994)
* * *
What are children taught, from the earliest age, to do in a time of trouble? Dial 911. Someone on the other end of the telephone line, we assure them, is standing by, ready to help.
It's been pointed out that God has a 911 number. It's Psalm 91:1: "You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty...."
The psalmist continues, "... will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.' For he will deliver you...."
Now that's comfort!
* * *
I believe in God. Not that cosmic, intangible spirit-in-the-sky that Mama told me as a little boy "always was and always will be." But the God who embraced me when Daddy disappeared from our lives -- from my life at age four -- the night police led him away from our front door, down the stairs in handcuffs.
The God who warmed me when we could see our breath inside our freezing apartment, where the gas was disconnected in the dead of another wind-whipped Chicago winter, and there was no food, little hope, and no hot water.
The God who held my hand when I witnessed boys in my 'hood swallowed by the elements, by death and by hopelessness; who claimed me when I felt like "no-man's son," amid the absence of any man to wrap his arms around me and tell me, "everything's going to be okay," to speak proudly of me, to call me son.
I believe in God, God the Father, embodied in his Son Jesus Christ. The God who allowed me to feel His presence -- whether by the warmth that filled my belly like hot chocolate on a cold afternoon, or that voice, whenever I found myself in the tempest of life's storms, telling me (even when I was told I was "nothing") that I was something, that I was His, and that even amid the desertion of the man who gave me his name and DNA and little else, I might find in Him sustenance....
-- John W. Fountain, "The God Who Embraced Me," monologue recorded for NPR's All Things Considered, November 28, 2005
* * *
Sometimes the shock hits not one person but a community, a whole nation even, a shock so great that... it does turn thoughts to God. That happened to the United States on September 11, 2001. As a side effect, an act of monstrous evil exposed the shallowness of an entire society. Professional sports ground to a halt, television comedians went off the air, as did all commercials. In a flash we saw the comparative meaninglessness of much of our lives. That three thousand people could go to work as part of their daily routine and never come home made us all aware of our fragile mortality. Married couples canceled divorce plans; mothers and fathers trimmed work hours to spend more time with their children. We found a new kind of hero: firefighters and police officers who, contra the principles of sociobiology, gave their lives for people they never knew.
Over the next months, The New York Times ran a separate article commemorating every single person who died, not just the famous or the newsworthy, as if every person killed on that day had a life of value and meaning, a life that mattered. And for a time attendance at churches swelled. The shock conveyed good and evil, death and life, meaning and absurdity in such stark terms that we turned for answers to the people -- pastors, priests, rabbis -- who have always wanted us not to build our houses, let alone our skyscrapers, on shifting sand.
What Americans learned on that day, and learning still, is that sophisticated moderns have not renounced transcendence but rather replaced it with weak substitutes. Unlike past generations, many are unsure about God and an invisible world. Even so, we feel the longings for something more.
-- Philip Yancey, Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing? (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2003)
* * *
Jane Kenyon's poem, "Let Evening Come," is worth quoting in a sermon on God's comfort. In it, the poet gradually relinquishes all the tools and experiences of the day, before concluding with this stanza:
Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.
The full poem is available here:
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1066.html
* * *
Most disconcerting, happiness seems to have little relation to economic achievement, which we have historically understood as the driver of well-being. A notorious study in 1974 found that despite some 30 years worth of stellar economic growth, Americans were no happier than they were at the end of World War II. A more recent study found that life satisfaction in China declined between 1994 and 2007, a period in which average real incomes grew by 250 percent.
Happiness, it appears, adapts. It's true that the rich are happier, on average, than the poor. But while money boosts happiness, the effect doesn't last. We just become envious of a new, richer set of people than before. Satisfaction soon settles back to its prior level, as we adapt to changed circumstances and set our expectations to a higher level.
-- Eduardo Porter, "All They Are Saying Is Give Happiness a Chance," New York Times, November 12, 2007
WORSHIP RESOURCE
Call To Worship
Leader: When our hearts are so heavy
it seems we cannot carry them through the day,
People: God will give us compassion through our friends
so we do not bear the load alone.
Leader: When our words are so inadequate
it seems we cannot speak them,
People: God will give us hope
so we can break forth in songs of joy.
Leader: When we have so lost our way
we stumble in the shadows of life,
People: God will give us light,
so we can find the living waters.
Prayer Of The Day
To those who hunger and thirst
in the loneliness of life,
you nourish them with compassion;
to those who huddle
in the shadows of unhappiness,
you bring the light of joy.
You love us like a mother, Holy God.
To those held captive
by the stress of daily living,
you whisper, "Let go; cling to me."
To those who wonder each morning
what they should wear to school,
you hand a bouquet of daisies.
You watch over us like a father, Jesus of our Hearts.
For those who stumble through life,
you fill in the potholes of their worries;
for all those forgotten
by all rushing by them,
you tattoo our faces on your palms,
so you will see us
every time you pray for us.
Like our parents,
you remember us, Spirit of Joy.
God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as we have been taught,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
Called to be servants and stewards of mysteries, we worry more about how others will judge our hairstyles or choice of shows. Let us go to God's store, where we will find grace and mercy, before wasting our blessings on the trinkets of the world.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
You tell us not to worry, Mothering God,
but we cannot seem to help ourselves.
With refrigerators full of food,
we still make grocery lists;
with closets so full we cannot shut the doors,
we run and buy new outfits;
for a simple invitation to "Follow me,"
we form committees to help us decide.
We lift our hearts to you, Tender God, so you would fill them with your mercy and hope. May we continue to seek your kingdom in every moment to come, hoping and trusting in the peace and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: Like a nursing child fed by its mother, God's mercy calms and quiets us, so we can receive all that God wants to give to us.
People: We welcome all that God gives to us, and will share these gifts with everyone we meet. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Don't Worry
Object: several dress shirts, pants, coats, shoes, socks, ties
Matthew 6:24-34
Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?" (v. 31)
Good morning, boys and girls. Boys, how many shirts do you have? (let them answer) Girls, how many dresses do you have? (let them answer) Do you have just one or do you have a lot? (let them answer) If you just have one shirt or dress then you don't have to choose your favorite one, but if you have several then you have to make a choice.
I have a friend who worries all of the time. Sometimes he worries about the clothes he is going to wear. It takes him hours to dress. (show the items as you mention them) First, he looks at all of his shirts and then chooses the one he is going to wear. He does the same thing with his pants and his coats. The big question is the kind of necktie that he is going to wear that will go perfectly with his shirt, pants, coat, and shoes. It is such a decision. He worries so much about it that he gets a headache once in a while.
This is a problem. But Jesus said it should not be a big problem. What do you think the canary says in the morning? Do you think he says, "I am a yellow canary but maybe I should be a red one today or a blue one when I fly around this afternoon"? A yellow canary is a beautiful bird and I don't want it to change colors and look like a cardinal or a bluebird. God gave the yellow canary just the perfect kind of dress and the canary doesn't worry about it.
The canary also doesn't worry about what it is going to eat. God takes care of the canary's food. God also takes care of what the canary is going to drink. Jesus said that this is God's plan and it is a good one. If clothes are a big problem and it causes us to worry then we should have fewer clothes to choose from. The same thing is true about our food. God has given us tomatoes, corn, peas, carrots, lettuce, beans, apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, and hundreds of other kinds of food. There are plenty of different things to eat, so don't worry about it.
What does worry do? It makes us grumpy, mean, angry, tired, and afraid. God did not make us to be like that. God made us to love the world we live in and to enjoy it like the birds of the air. Be happy, don't worry. We thank God for the choices that God gives us. Instead of worrying, let us find someone to share with and make that person as happy as we are happy. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 25, 2008, issue.
Copyright 2008 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
