In this week’s lectionary text from Genesis, God tells Noah that “I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you.” The use of the word “covenant” is crucial -- it indicates a binding and eternal commitment... one which depends on both parties having ultimate trust that the promise will be kept. In other words, credibility is the sine qua non -- the essential ingredient necessary for the covenant to be taken seriously. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Leah Lonsbury notes that God has complete and total credibility -- but as we all know too well, it is wise to be wary of trusting any human being too completely.
We were reminded of that again last week with the saga of NBC Nightly News anchorman Brian Williams, suspended from his position for six months as punishment for embellishing the facts of a 2003 missile attack on a helicopter convoy in Iraq. As Leah points out, traditional mainstream media outlets once held a position of public respect and esteem that resembled a covenant relationship: readers/viewers understood that news reports were accurate, unbiased, and kept us up-to-date on important developments we needed to know to be informed citizens. In recent years, however, many people have begun to question those assumptions as the news landscape has changed; traditional outlets have lost much of their cultural cachet, replaced by partisan news, bloggers, social media, and ostensibly comedic shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report that blend humor with trenchant news analysis. Part of the reason comedians like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have become such important public figures is that they have earned respect and credibility for the penetrating accuracy of their “reports.” Trust is the true coin of the realm -- as the psalmist reminds us in this week’s passage: “O my God, in you I trust... lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.”
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on another aspect of the covenant relationship -- one that’s particularly noteworthy during Lent: God’s forgiveness of our sins, and his promise that there will “never again... be a flood to destroy the earth.” The weight of our sins can be crushing, as the psalmist aptly describes when he implores God to “not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions.” As Mary notes, Lent is not only about penitence -- it’s also about forgiveness... and God’s grace is the ultimate act of what New York Times columnist David Brooks recently termed “rigorous forgiving.” Mary contemplates approaching forgiveness as a Lenten discipline, mirroring that of God -- who doesn’t exclude us from his kingdom for our shortcomings but rather extends to us his tough yet healing love.
What’s Your Good News Source?
by Leah Lonsbury
Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; Mark 1:9-15
It’s been a week of news about the news. On the same evening, Comedy Central announced that Jon Stewart would be leaving The Daily Show while NBC News admitted that anchor Brian Williams had embellished his coverage of the war in Iraq and would be suspended for 6 months without pay.
While the media erupted with criticism of Williams and the damage he had done to their credibility, the fawn-fest began over Stewart’s “insightful, cutting analysis, clever parody, and often hard-hitting interviews with major newsmakers.”
It seems the public’s trust in the person behind the desk has moved from dinnertime to late night, from NBC to Comedy Central. The evening news has been an institution in years past, but a new generation seems to be building its news covenant with a bunch of truth-telling funnymen with a knack for razor-sharp analysis.
Trust and credibility are the building blocks of covenant relationship, and this week’s text from Genesis reveals a God who has no need to embellish the truth and whose credibility stands beyond question. That is reason enough to make us “believe in the good news” again (Mark 1:15).
In the News
Last week we lost NBC anchor Brian Williams (for at least 6 months) due to his own foggy memory, inflated sense of self, and/or penchant for embellishing the truth. We’ve learned that we’re also losing Jon Stewart in his role as the heart of The Daily Show, a position that moved Stewart, whose earlier career included starring as pothead in the movie Half Baked, into the realm of a serious newsman. But our journalistic losses also run much more deeply than who happens to be sitting in what chair behind what news desk this week. As chef, author, and television personality Anthony Bourdain summed it up in a Facebook post: “This is turning out to be an awful, awful week. The Last Real Newsman. David Carr. There will be none like him again.”
David Carr, the New York Times’ analyst and reporter on publishing, television, and social media, collapsed in the Times newsroom last week at the age of 58. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead of unknown causes. In an e-mail to staff members of the paper, Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times, remembered Carr as “the finest media reporter of his generation, a remarkable and funny man who was one of the leaders of our newsroom. He was our biggest champion,” Mr. Baquet added, “and his unending passion for journalism and for truth will be missed by his family at the Times, by his readers around the world, and by people who love journalism.” Long before Carr’s death, fellow journalist Michael Kinsley wrote that “Mr. Carr is widely admired for his reporting, his intelligence, and his Tough Old Coot routine.”
Another journalism great of incredible intelligence and admirable integrity was also lost last week. Bob Simon, 60 Minutes correspondent and a “giant of broadcast journalism,” was killed when a car he was riding in hit another car and crashed into traffic barriers. Simon survived 47 years as a reporter in some of the world’s most tense conflicts and volatile regions, and was even imprisoned and tortured by Iraqi troops in 1991. Simon earned more than 40 major awards for his work at CBS, including 27 Emmys. He was a Fulbright and Woodrow Wilson scholar. 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager said in a statement: “Bob was a reporter’s reporter. He was driven by a natural curiosity that took him all over the world covering every kind of story imaginable. There is no one else like Bob Simon.”
These are profound losses of journalistic greats whose bodies of work make the antics of Brian Williams seem all the more ridiculous and misguided... until they are explained and perhaps even defended by one of those said greats. David Carr’s piece for the New York Times on the day before his death was about Williams’ current debacle. He wrote:
As the evening news anchor, Mr. Williams possesses a rare combination of fame and trust, with each feeding off the other. But fame is slippery, morphing into infamy very quickly, as Mr. Williams discovered in four days of sustained pounding. Everyone loves a story about seeing the mighty fall, even if they are as fundamentally likeable as Mr. Williams.... We want our anchors to be both good at reading the news and also pretending to be in the middle of it. That’s why, when the forces of man or Mother Nature whip up chaos, both broadcast and cable news outlets are compelled to ship the whole heaving apparatus to far-flung parts of the globe, with an anchor as the flag bearer. We want our anchors to be everywhere, to be impossibly famous, globe-trotting, hilarious, down-to-earth, and above all, trustworthy. It’s a job description that no one can match.
The Times’ Maureen Dowd agrees. She writes that the internet and social media (the conduit through which Williams’ downfall was initiated) have already dismantled the importance and influence of the news greats:
Although there was much chatter about the “revered” anchor and the “moral authority” of the networks, does anyone really feel that way anymore? Frothy morning shows long ago became the more important anchoring real estate, garnering more revenue and subsidizing the news division. One anchor exerted moral authority once and that was Walter Cronkite, because he risked his career to go on TV and tell the truth about the fact that we were losing the Vietnam War.
Dowd traces the reverse evolution of the news at the same time that late-night comedy news shows were growing in credibility and in garnering the public’s trust:
As the late-night comic anchors got more pointed and edgy with the news, the real anchors mimicked YouTube. Williams did a piece on his daughter Allison’s casting in an NBC production of Peter Pan.... As the performers -- Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Bill Maher -- were doing more serious stuff, the supposedly serious guys were doing more performing. The anchors pack their Hermès ties and tight t-shirts and fly off to hot spots for the performance aspect, because the exotic and dangerous backdrops confer the romance of Hemingway covering the Spanish Civil War.
And suddenly, traditional media outlets that once held the public’s respect (based on a covenant of trust that the media would deliver accurate and unbiased news the public needs to know) were on the outs with their viewers and readers. Today, consumers of media are more likely to question the assumptions that formed their former “covenant” with traditional media sources as awareness grows about who and what is driving the news. Jon Stewart tapped into this as he covered the Williams scandal and the media’s criticism of their NBC peer. “Finally, somebody is being held to account for misleading America about the Iraq War,” said Stewart.
Stewart then pointedly noted that things might have unfolded very differently if the same people who were so outraged by Williams’ embellishments had been equally as concerned about accuracy and credibility regarding the information they reported at the outset of the Iraq war. The whole piece is a brilliant example of the kind of sharp and revealing late-night reporting that is causing growing momentum around the suggestion that Williams and Stewart simply change positions.
Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post wrote of this idea:
It wasn’t long before the murmurs started -- through Twitter, through Facebook, through the nether reaches of the internet. They called for something that at first seemed totally insane but, as it sank in, began to make sense: Jon Stewart, now as much a newsman as a comedian, and Brian Williams, now as much a comedian as a newsman, should just switch chairs. Let that marinate for a moment.
Popular Twitter handle @TheTweetOfGod jumped on the Williams/Stewart swap proposal as well when he tweeted to his 1.8 million followers, “Jon Stewart leaving. Brian Williams looking for work. It’s almost TOO obvious, isn’t it.”
Time on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart launched comedian Larry Wilmore into his anchor spot on The Nightly Show, during which Wilmore always plays a round of “Keep It 100” (as in 100% truthful) with his panelists. Wilmore asks the panelists questions, and they have to answer as truthfully as possible. Squirming often ensues. If the audience (and Wilmore) believes the answer, the panelist receives a “Keep It 100” card. If not, the panelist gets a “weak tea” teabag from Wilmore. Wilmore has even gotten into the act by soliciting nightly questions from his viewers, which he then answers “Keep It 100” style, with no advance screening or consideration.
By “keeping it 100” in a variety of ways, these late-night comedians are building a relationship of trust -- one that is waning more and more quickly for the blow-dried stud muffins of the nightly news. Credibility and trust no longer sit with the “white male clones” behind the major network news desks. The delivery end of the news covenant seems to have changed hands, and they’re no longer highly manicured and neatly folded on the network anchor’s desk.
In the Scriptures
The first three weeks of Lent fill us with stories of covenant -- God’s covenant with Noah, God’s covenant with Abraham, and God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai. Cameron B.R. Howard of Luther Seminary writes for workingpreacher.org that covenant stories, while different from each other, “taken together... testify to God’s ongoing desire to be in relationship with humanity.”
Howard notes that in the ancient Near East, covenants were legal documents that cemented a relationship of mutual obligation -- and yet, the covenant God makes with Noah is clearly one-sided. God takes on all the obligations and offers a covenant without condition: “God reaches out to the world, and God does all the heavy lifting.”
God is less like a conquering ruler, then, and much more like a tenacious parent -- offering love again and again, despite having to carry the far heavier end of the bargain. In the covenant with Noah, God promises to be in constructive relationship (no more floods) with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature for all future generations. And here’s my rainbow to remind you, says God (vv. 12-13), and in case you weren’t paying attention four verses ago, here it is again (vv. 16-17). A case can be made for later editing or literary device when it comes to this repetition, or one can choose to interpret it as a sign of God’s zealous intention to be widely, brazenly, vulnerably, and even repetitively generous.
These one-sided, repeated promises and several other details of the Noahic covenant sketch out a God who seems very different than the God we think we meet in much of the Hebrew scriptures. In a far cry from the omni-everything “Unmoved Mover” that Aristotle describes, the flood story introduces us to a God who regrets (Genesis 6:6), grieves (6:6), and remembers (8:1). In a move that seems very much like God writing on God’s hand, setting a reminder on God’s iPhone, or entering an alert to go off in God’s Google calendar, God puts the bow in the air to remind God of this covenant and its ensuing promises (9:15). Here, long before Jesus, we experience the incarnational God who has always hungered after a relationship with and been moved by the suffering of humanity. Howard recalls Abraham Joshua Heschel’s concept of “The Most Moved Mover” and applies it to the God we meet in the Noahic covenant.
In the psalm for this week, we hear the reasons why humanity should trust and reciprocate in rainbow fashion. God has been and is trustworthy (vv. 2, 6), steadfast in love and forgiveness (v. 6), and righteous and patient enough to lead even sinful wanderers on a similar path (vv. 8-9). God is faithful and merciful enough, sings the psalmist, to be offered my very soul. May God remake it and lead me in God’s ways.
In our passage from Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ ways and upcoming ministry are affirmed by a voice from heaven blessing and affirming him in his baptism (v. 11). Jesus’ ways of incarnational love and faithfulness please God and communicate how God wants to be in covenant relationship with humanity. Even in the wilderness (vv. 12-13), even in the face of danger from human forces (v. 14), Jesus chooses to go into the thick of human life and all its struggle, threat, and resistance to speak a word of loving relationship. The kin-dom is here. The time is now, he says. Turn your lives toward God’s love, let its Good News change everything.
In the Sermon
This week, the preacher might consider...
* calling the congregation to remember the covenant promises it makes that shape its common life. What are the unconditional promises we make to one another, like around baptism? What less formal unconditional covenants do we form as we attempt to be the Body together? God makes the Noahic promises, expecting nothing in return. What promises do we make that we intend to be unconditional -- but then end up expecting “repayment” for when we hold up our end of the bargain? How does this play out in the life of the church?
* how we do or do not honor God’s covenant with “every living creature.” How can the Lenten call to repentance call us to change the ways we treat the world, which God honors with unconditional promises of protection? Beyond simply protecting the natural world God loves, what could this kind of repentance do to create justice for God’s most vulnerable people?
* how we need to “keep it 100.” About what are we not telling the whole truth? Who or what does that affect? What impact does it have on us as individuals? As a church community? As the Body?
* how in this era of mainstream denominational decline the church is more “blow-dried stud muffin” than straight-shooting humorist.
* how the covenants we make with God and one another become incarnational. How do we live out the promises we make? How do we find our way out of the wilderness to share the Good News? How do we pray with the psalmist, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths”? How does that prayer manifest itself in our living?
SECOND THOUGHTS
A Rigorous Lent
by Mary Austin
Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10
The season of Lent calls us to turn back to God, to draw our attention inward and outward toward the holy. We are invited into particular disciplines of giving up and taking up, all in the hope of renewing our focus on God. Lent is a penitential season, which also makes it a season focused on forgiveness. We expect that our repentance will be met by God’s grace -- that our turn toward God won’t fall into silence. The twin of repentance is forgiveness, and the lectionary texts for the First Sunday in Lent give us a course in forgiveness.
Our need for forgiveness is always in front of us. The psalmist begins with an exclamation of trust in God, reminding God of mercies past. We can never expect forgiveness, but the writer trusts in a gracious hearing. “O my God, in you I trust,” the writer says, adding “Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” We dare to ask for God’s forgiveness.
The Genesis story gives us God’s word to Noah and his family after the devastation of the flood. After all of the death, all of the grief, all of the destruction, God takes the initiative and promises that this will never happen again. The God who was angry enough to destroy life on the earth is now the first one to renew the divine bond with humankind. The end of the story -- and the beginning of a new one -- is God’s word of healing.
As people of faith, we count on God’s forgiveness. It sustains us, and is part of the foundation of our faith. We are called to live in a delicate balance -- we are assured of our forgiveness, but can never take it for granted. Once we have received it, it’s clear that this is a gift we’re not to hoard but to give away. Forgiveness is clearly work, an effort of spirit and will. What if the work of forgiving became our Lenten discipline? Might it grow beyond the calendar days of Lent?
The psalmist prays, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” As we follow the way of Jesus, especially in Lent, one of those paths is forgiveness. Lent invites us to know our own deep need for forgiveness, and the other side of that is giving it, as we’re moved to, to other people. As we know, this must be work that each of us takes up, not that can be demanded of us. Some of us have more to forgive than others -- violence, abuse, and betrayal all require more work than a stolen parking place or a careless word. Wayne Muller has written: “To let go of the ones who hurt us is to let go of our identity as the one who was hurt, the one who was violated, the one who was broken. It often feels like the bad guys are getting off scot-free while we are left holding the bag of pain. But forgiveness is not just for them.... Forgiveness... allows us to be set free from the endless cycle of pain, anger, and recrimination that keeps us imprisoned in our own suffering” (The Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood, pg. 10). Forgiveness makes room for something new to happen.
Wesley J. Smith writes movingly about the Orthodox Church’s beginning of Easter, called Forgiveness Sunday. The service makes clear the need that everyone has for forgiveness -- and makes plain the capacity to grant it. As Smith describes it: “The forgiveness service begins as any other vespers, but it soon changes with different hymns and more mournful prayers. In the midst of the service, Lent begins as the choir cries out in earnest supplication:
Turn not away thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
Attend to my soul, and deliver it.
From the ends of the earth I cried unto thee.
I shall be protected under the cover of thy wings.
I will praise thy name forever.
As they mournfully sing, the altar cloth is changed to Lenten purple and the priest changes into dark vestments to symbolize mourning.”
The service ends with people entering into a ritual of forgiveness: “At the service’s end, our first Lenten act is to ask from and offer forgiveness to everyone present -- not collectively, but individually from person, to person, to person. This is one of the most powerful moments of the church year. One by one, each parishioner bows or prostrates, first before the priest, and then each other, asking, ‘Forgive me, a sinner.’ Each responds with a bow or prostration, asking also for forgiveness and assuring, ‘God forgives.’ Each then exchanges the kiss of peace.”
As Lent begins, each person in worship announces to others the dramatic power of forgiveness. As Smith observes, “The service is a healing balm. It is hard to bear grudges when all have shared such an intimate mutual humbling. Indeed, Forgiveness Vespers is emotionally intense; tears often flow and hugs of true reconciliation are common.”
And when we leave the church and return to everyday life, what then? David Brooks wrote recently for the New York Times about the difficult work of human forgiveness. His column focused on news anchor Brian Williams, but also has wider resonance. Brooks observes that our response to public figures in trouble is a barbaric piling-on, adding: “but I do think we’d all be better off if we reacted to these sorts of scandals in a different way. The civic fabric would be stronger if, instead of trying to sever relationships with those who have done wrong, we tried to repair them, if we tried forgiveness instead of exiling.” Brooks advocates for what he calls “rigorous forgiveness, which balances accountability with compassion.”
He sees four processes at work in the work of forgiveness. First is “Pre-emptive mercy. Martin Luther King Jr. argued that forgiveness isn’t an act; it’s an attitude.... In this view, the forgiving person makes the first move, even before the offender has asked. She resists the natural urge for vengeance. Instead, she creates a welcoming context in which the offender can confess.” Second is “Judgment. A wrong is an occasion to re-evaluate. What is the character of the person in question? Should a period of stupidity eclipse a record of decency?” Each kind of sin requires its own kind of penance. Third, Brooks says, is “Confession and Penitence. At some point the offender has to get out in front of the process, being more self-critical than anyone else around him. He has to probe down to the root of his error, offer a confession more complete than expected. He has to put public reputation and career on the back burner and come up with a course that will move him toward his own emotional and spiritual recovery, to become strongest in the weakest places.” And finally there is “Reconciliation and re-trust. After judgments have been made and penitence performed, both the offender and offended bend toward each other. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, trust doesn’t have to be immediate, but the wrong act is no longer a barrier to a relationship. The offender endures his season of shame and is better for it. The offended are free from mean emotions like vengeance and are uplifted when they offer kindness. The social fabric is repaired. Community solidarity is strengthened by the reunion.”
Brooks poses the question that our faith also asks: “But the larger question is how we build community in the face of scandal. Do we exile the offender or heal the relationship? Would you rather become the sort of person who excludes, or one who offers tough but healing love?” Brooks’ column highlights that forgiveness happens between individuals, but also on a communal level. An attitude of judgment poisons relationships at every level, and it’s especially easy with public figures and people we don’t know well. Or, as the psalmist proclaims, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.... All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.”
One of the readers who commented on the column spoke of a deep longing for this kind of forgiveness that travels between people. She wrote: “The line by Martin Luther King ‘the wrong act is no longer a barrier to a relationship’ resonates with me. Can you imagine a world (politics, economics, health care) where individuals face consequences for wrong actions, but relationships are NOT broken? We sever ties too quickly. We disconnect from people and groups because the barrier has been raised. We continue to live in our narrow silos. We are all injured in some small way by the wrong action of others. Transparent communication admitting our mistakes would help. We must move in the direction of healing ourselves and others.”
That kind of forgiveness, given and received, heals the connections between us. Even knowing that it’s available allows us to let down our guard and move toward greater emotional and spiritual honesty.
So -- instead of giving up candy or beer for Lent, how about the spiritual challenge of forgiveness? Instead of taking up contemplative prayer or almsgiving, what about taking up the daily work of living as people who are determined to forgive? Could Lent be calling us to this kind of attitude of grace, following the God who extends such grace to us?
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 9:8-17
Not the Way It Was...
At the height of the Vietnam war, CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite was considered to be the most trusted person in America. With his signature sign-off “And that’s the way it is,” Cronkite set the bar for trust in journalism. As historian Douglas Brinkley noted this week, Cronkite “gained credibility by dialing back his valor.”
In contrast, Brinkley says that NBC anchor Brian Williams may have bitten off more than he could chew when it comes to self-aggrandizing comments about what happened in the Iraq war. Still, in keeping with Genesis’ themes of redemption and promises, Brinkley argues that Williams deserves another chance:
He needs to stay off the comedy shows for a while and to stop talking about himself. There is a Japanese adage that the nail that stands the tallest gets hammered down. Williams’ hazing has made him right-sized. But enough is enough. The public needs hard-working newsmen like Williams as a matter of trust, of public good. If Cronkite were placed under the same digital media microscope, he’d look smaller than we remembered. The public shouldn’t lose faith in Williams as a journalist, but it is all right for us to shout loudly in his ears, “It’s not about you!”
*****
Genesis 9:8-17
Keeping Promises
God makes a covenant with creation in Genesis, promising to Noah and all creation that “I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” The bow in the clouds functions as a safety net of sorts -- a reminder of God’s mercy and faithfulness. The promise God makes is a promise offered to all, regardless of circumstances.
Many Americans are looking for something similar, yet are having problems discovering reminders of their government’s signs of mercy and faithfulness. While assistance to “the working poor” or to the disabled or elderly has grown steadily since 1983, a new study notes that those numbers look quite different for those who are at the very bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
Robert Moffitt, an economist from Johns Hopkins University, notes that “there’s been this emphasis on rewarding workers and people like the elderly or disabled who are considered ‘the deserving poor.’ If you’re not working, the interpretation is that you’re not trying.”
Moffitt says that he doesn’t wish to take help away from the working poor, but instead points out that there is a large group of impoverished people who do not get any help at all -- including persons who want to work but who can’t find anyone to hire them. His research is a reminder that our notions of who deserves help and who doesn’t deserve help are continuing to evolve.
*****
Psalm 25:1-10
#DoNotLetMeBePutToShame
A couple of years ago, a public relations professional named Justine Sacco was making the long trip to South Africa from New York City. Passing the time, Sacco posted snarky jokes and comments to her Twitter account.
That was a big mistake.
Jon Ronson explores Sacco’s mistake, and the outcry which followed, in a recent New York Times magazine story. Sacco tweeted what she saw as an insignificant joke about AIDS and race. She turned off her phone, unaware that her words were spreading wildly across the world. In a nutshell, her thoughtless words ended her career and strained relationships with friends and family.
While not arguing that Sacco’s choice of words was appropriate, Ronson explores the ever-expanding world of internet shaming. Ronson spent two years collecting information from persons who had been subject to public shaming. They were, he writes:
...everyday people pilloried brutally, most often for posting some poorly considered joke on social media. Whenever possible, I have met them in person, to truly grasp the emotional toll at the other end of our screens. The people I met were mostly unemployed, fired for their transgressions, and they seemed broken somehow ? deeply confused and traumatized.
His piece includes an interesting historical review of public shaming laws in the United States, and offers insights into the psalmist’s pleas: “Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous” and “Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!”
*****
Mark 1:9-15
What Are the Neighbors Giving Up for Lent?
The Lenten journey begins by following Jesus’ path of fasting and testing in the wilderness. But do you ever wonder what others are giving up for Lent? Thankfully, there’s an app for that!
To be more precise, there’s a website for that. OpenBible.info has recently posted its compilation of what Twitter users are pledging to give up for Lent. So far, chocolate, alcohol, and social networking lead the pack. Further down on the list is something called “hot cheetos.” Is that really a thing? Surprisingly, giving up church ranks higher than strip clubs, breathing, or celibacy. No further comments needed.
***************
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Credible Fonts
When you are trying to communicate in print, you want to use a font that doesn’t detract from your credibility, one that backs you up and makes your work professional and believable.
According to Studio Kayama, a website which specializes in technical illustrations as well as charts and graphs, here are the five worst fonts -- ones that “suck the professionalism out of your scientific research”:
1. Comic Sans
2. Zapfino
3. Curlz
4. Papyrus
5. Impact
The five best fonts for looking professional and communicating professionally are:
1. Arial
2. Helvetica
3. Baskerville
4. Carlson
5. Garamond
*****
Words That Can Hurt Your Credibility Without You Ever Realizing It
Sarah Schmalbruch, writing for Business Insider, says that most people don’t realize how they sound to others. The words you choose could hurt your credibility without you even knowing it. An obvious one is “like,” but there are less obvious words and phrases that might be tripping you up. Schmalbruch spoke with Carmen Fought, a professor of linguistics at Pitzer College, and Deborah Tannen, author of Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work and a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, to find out which words undermine your credibility, why we use them, and how we can stop.
She starts with hedges: “sort of,” “kind of,” “pretty much,” and “maybe.” These, says Tannen, are the words you use when you don’t want to say something outright. Using hedges may make you seem less confident, which can be especially detrimental at work. “We don’t want someone working for our company who is so insecure and who won’t be able to make decisions because they’re paralyzed with self-doubt,” says Fought.
A second group of words is intensifiers: “really,” “definitely,” “absolutely,” and “totally.” Overusing these can have the opposite effect of intensifying. “It weakens your credibility in some ways because if you have to tell us how really, really, really great this trip was, maybe it wasn’t that great,” Fought says. They can also make a speaker seem overly dramatic. “You run into the risk of seeming to be so over-the-top that you lose credibility for another reason,” says Tannen. “You seem to be exaggerating; you seem hysterical.”
The third group is fillers: “like,” “um,” “er,” and “ah.” Fought refers to these words -- or sounds -- as “discourse markers.” “It’s a little word that we use to buy time or space, and it’s really common,” she says. Tannen says fillers are automatic in our speech and are present in every language. “We all have automatic ticks when we speak,” she says. “There’s an impulse to put something in that space when you stop [talking].”
And finally there are apologizers like “sorry.” If you’re starting a majority of your sentences with “sorry,” you may want to put an end to that habit. According to Fought, constantly saying “sorry” can cause employers to question your abilities. “You don’t want someone who is so overly apologetic for everything that you feel like they’re not going to take ownership of their ideas,” she says.
*****
Second Chances
According to their website, the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition is a partnership of over 50 organizations that advocate for fair and responsible laws, policies, and practices which allow those who have committed crimes to redeem themselves, fully support themselves and their families, and contribute to their communities to their full potential.
Last year they celebrated when Minnesota governor Mark Dayton signed a juvenile and criminal records expungement bill into law. Designed to help individuals rebuild their lives after contact with the criminal justice system, the legislation will provide thousands of Minnesotans with meaningful second chances. After recent Minnesota Supreme Court decisions, many criminal and juvenile records were prohibited from expungement, indefinitely impairing access to basic needs such as employment and housing.
Criminal records, argues the coalition, have potentially devastating consequences for family formation, social cohesion, and life prospects. By providing reasonable and meaningful relief from these records, thousands of Minnesotans will have better opportunities for employment, housing, and education.
*****
Wrong Way Riegels
On New Year’s Day 1929, Georgia Tech played the University of California in the Rose Bowl. In that game Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California -- and somehow he became confused and ran 65 yards in the wrong direction. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, caught up to him and tackled Riegels just before he scored for the opposing team. When California attempted to punt, Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety just as the first half ended.
Members of the team recalled that as they entered the locker room and sat down on the benches and on the floor, Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner, put his face in his hands, and wept.
Usually coaches have a great deal to say to their teams at half time, but that day coach Clarence “Nibs” Price was quiet. When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before play was to resume, coach Price looked at the team and said simply: “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”
The players got up and started out -- all but Riegels. He did not budge. “Coach,” he said, “I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you, I’ve ruined the University of California, I’ve ruined myself. I couldn’t face that crowd in the stadium to save my life.”
Coach Price said, “Roy... the game is only half over.”
California lost the game, but what the Georgia Tech team later remembered was that they had never seen a football player play as hard and as well as Roy Riegels did that day.
*****
Thomas Edison and the Second Light Bulb
Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a “light bulb,” and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. But because he was watching his hands and not his feet, he tripped on the top stair of the staircase and dropped the bulb -- which shattered.
It took the entire team of men 24 more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one. He made it up the stairs without mishap.
-- from James Newton, Uncommon Friends: Life with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh, pg. 22
*****
Second-Chance Humor from Sports Illustrated
A college football coach was faced with the possibility that his star player might be declared academically ineligible, so he pleaded with the math professor not to flunk the kid.
“Tell you what, coach,” said the professor, “I’ll ask him a question in your presence. If he gets it right, I’ll pass him.” The athlete was called in, and the prof asked, “What’s two and two?”
“Four,” replied the player.
Frantically the coach cried, “Give him another chance! Give him another chance!”
*****
From the Mistakes of Others
It is said that a sculptor’s apprentice had ruined a huge piece of beautiful Carrara marble and it was left in the courtyard of a cathedral in Florence, Italy, for almost 100 years. Artisans thought it was beyond repair. But in 1505, a young sculptor by the name of Michelangelo was asked if he thought anything could be done with “The Giant.” He measured the block and carefully noted the imperfections caused by the bungling workman of an earlier day. To his mind came the image of the young shepherd boy David. So he carefully made a sketch of that biblical character as he envisioned him. For three years Michelangelo worked steadily, his chisel skillfully shaping the marble. Finally, when one of his students was allowed to view the towering figure -- 18 feet high and weighing 9 tons -- he exclaimed, “Master, it lacks only one thing, and that is speech!”
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: The mighty one, our God, speaks and summons the earth.
People: God summons the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Leader: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
People: Our God comes and does not keep silence.
Leader: God calls to the heavens above and to the earth:
People: Gather to me my faithful ones, for I am their judge.
OR
Leader: Our God who is faithful calls us to worship.
People: We come to sing praises to our steadfast God.
Leader: God invites us to join in an eternal covenant.
People: With trembling we offer ourselves into covenant with God.
Leader: God calls us to faithfulness with one another.
People: With God’s help we will treat others with fairness and faithfulness.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Great Is Your Faithfulness”
found in:
UMH: 140
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELA: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
“Trust and Obey”
found in:
UMH: 467
AAHH: 380
NNBH: 322
CH: 556
W&P: 443
AMEC: 377
“All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded”
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
LBW: 757
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
found in:
UMH: 117
H82: 680
AAHH: 170
NNBH: 46
NCH: 25
CH: 67
LBW: 320
ELA: 632
W&P: 84
AMEC: 61
STLT: 281
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
found in:
UMH: 110
H82: 687, 688
PH: 260
AAHH: 124
NNBH: 439, 440
NCH: 65
CH: 228, 229
LBW: 503, 504, 505
ELA: 588
W&P: 54
AMEC: 200
“Standing on the Promises”
found in:
UMH: 374
AAHH: 373
NNBH: 257
CH: 552
AMEC: 424
“Jesus Calls Us”
found in:
UMH: 398
H82: 549, 550
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171, 172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELA: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”
found in:
UMH: 452
H82: 691
PH: 383
AAHH: 456
NNBH: 273
CH: 576
LBW: 479
ELA: 759
W&P: 419
AMEC: 415
“All I Need Is You”
found in:
CCB: 100
“He Is Lord”
found in:
CCB: 82
Renew: 29
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is completely trustworthy and true: Grant us the grace to place our faith completely in you and to act as your true children by being faithful in all that we do; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to praise you, O God, and to lift your name on high. We celebrate your faithfulness and your constancy. We come also to be fed by your presence, so that by the power of your Spirit we too might be faithful in all our relationships. May our faithfulness be a sign to others that you are a faithful God. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to trust God and reflect God’s faithfulness.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have been faithful in all your dealings with us, and yet we fail to trust you completely. We think that we must use others and be deceitful in our dealings with them in order to get ahead. We forget that reflecting your faithfulness is the highest goal we can achieve. Help us to place our trust in you so that we might be trustworthy people. Amen.
Leader: God is faithful and always welcomes us into relationships built on trust and truth. Be filled with God’s love and live honestly with your neighbors.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for your faithfulness. You are the rock upon which we may build our lives.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You have been faithful in all your dealings with us, and yet we fail to trust you completely. We think that we must use others and be deceitful in our dealings with them in order to get ahead. We forget that reflecting your faithfulness is the highest goal we can achieve. Help us to place our trust in you so that we might be trustworthy people.
We thank you for all the ways in which you have stood by us, even when we have been faithless in our relationship with you. We thank you for sending those into our lives who have reflected your faithfulness in their dealings with us. Most of all we thank you for Jesus, who has shown us how to live faithfully in your grace and love.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for one another in our needs, and especially for those who have been treated unfairly. We know the harm that does and how it makes it even more difficult for them to trust you. Help us to be your presence and bring your faithfulness to life for them.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Ask the children if anyone has ever promised them something and then did not do what they had promised. It is disappointing when that occurs. Sometimes things happen and a person can’t keep their promises, but no one likes it when someone promises things and then repeatedly breaks their promise. God is the true one who always keeps promises.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Opened Eyes
by Elaine M. Ward
Psalm 25:2
Once upon a time a grandfather gave his granddaughter a gift -- not a pony nor a puppy nor a pretty dress, but a cup with dirt in it. He filled Dinah’s toy teapot with water and said, “Every day pour a bit of water in the dirt in the cup.”
So Dinah did. It didn’t make any sense pouring water into the dirt every day, but Dinah loved her grandfather so she did what he said. But soon she forgot. Sometimes she would have to get up out of her warm covers at night and cross the cold floor in her bare feet to water the dirt with her toy teapot.
Dinah asked her grandfather, “Is it time to stop?”
He replied, “No.” By the fourth week Dinah tried to give the cup back to her grandfather, but he said, “Be faithful.”
The next morning when Dinah woke up, something was different. There was something green in her cup. Was it magic? Dinah went closer and saw two tiny green leaves coming up out of the dirt. Day by day they grew. She could hardly wait to tell Grandpa. When Grandpa came, she cried, “Look! Look what grew!”
But Grandpa knew. He said, “Life is hidden in the most surprising places.”
“And Grandpa, all it needed was water.”
Grandpa took Dinah on his lap. “No, Dinah, all it needed was trust and patience.”
Talk together: Show a cup of dirt and ask “What do you think is in here? What might happen? Why?” Is it hard to wait? To trust?
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, February 22, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 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.
