Who Gets to Go Home?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For June 26 2022:
Who Gets to Go Home?
by Katy Stenta
Luke 9:51-62
In the Scriptures
Luke begins auspiciously. After his time in the desert, Jesus returns home to preach. However, after doing a bit of preaching in Galilee, where he is well received, he returns to Nazareth to preach the good news to the poor and those who were not in his hometown, or even the temple in which he is preaching, only to be almost thrown off of a cliff (Luke 4:16-30). In the chapter just before this one, Jesus is told that his mother and brothers want to see him (Luke 8:19-22) and Jesus says that his mother and brothers are really the only ones who want to hear the word of God. Nothing more is said about whether he sees them or not. Joseph seems to be dead and gone from the story. Jesus, thus, seems to be rejected by his hometown and at odds somewhat with his family who are not following him around to hear his gospel but only want a personal relationship with him.
Right before this, Jesus is up front about what it is he expects of discipleship. Companionship — they are to go by twos— yet a model in ministry that is almost never followed, as paired leadership is the exception not the norm. Take nothing with you and expect to be homeless. Put yourself wholly upon the mercy of others (Luke 9:3).
When Jesus states these kinds of things I often wonder if these are commands, statements of truth, or guides for survival. Ministry will be better if you have less stuff and more companionship. Tone is so important here, and yet we do not have it.
Jesus seems alone, homeless and lonely.
In the News
The issue of how to deal with those without houses is often framed as, “What would Jesus do?” I have never seen it framed as Jesus, himself, being homeless. Yet, that is not how we approach homelessness. When we consider the foreign refugee, we have certainly forgotten the Hebrew adrift in Egypt. The UK is currently under fire for supporting sending Rwandan asylum seekers back to Rwanda by using a hostel system formerly used to house victims of genocide. Quite a contrast to how Ukrainians are being welcomed around the world.
Meanwhile inflation is hitting low income families hard in the USA. We might want to look an innovative program on homelessness that is being pursued by Houston, where people are opening their own homes to those individuals without houses as we try to deal with homelessness on a more national level.
In the Sermon
Not only is Jesus poignantly homeless in this passage, but he is refused entrance to Samaria, because he is headed toward Jerusalem. The implications being that if he is headed toward the heads of power, Samaria wants nothing to do with him. So, what does Jesus do? He points out privilege and power straight on. With phrases so pointed and sharp, they are hard for us to digest even today, 2,000 years after they have been spoken. When Jesus is turned out of Samaria, he states the fact that he is homeless. He simply says that foxes and birds both have places to snuggle in, but he, the Son of Man, does not. It’s directly after this statement that Jesus invites one to follow him, and that individual says that first he has to bury his father. It makes one wonder if his father has just died, or if he means he needs to wait and take care of his father like a good son, and he will not be free to follow Jesus until his father is gone. But Jesus is blunt — replying, “let the dead bury the dead.”
Another says to Jesus that he will follow him, but first wants the chance to say goodbye to those at home. But Jesus says that no one who looks back after starting to plow is fit for the kingdom of God.
Jesus is essentially saying that once you start ministry, once you are aware of the work that needs to be done, you cannot go back to your previous life. Jesus is pointing to the real work of ministry. One cannot go back because the journey is real, the growth is permanent. There is no returning. To go back is a choice given only to the privileged. To claim that you are only to pursue justice half-heartedly, or only vote when you feel like it, or only care when people are watching or only be Christian on Sunday or to not mask for the sick and vulnerable — then you are not ready to do the work of tending the garden of faith. You cannot only water the plants you remember. You have to do the work all the time. Jesus not only allies himself with the marginal, he lives the life of the homeless. He invites us to journey with those in need fully knowing we cannot go back. Not being able to go back is not the worst thing, because the journey to know Jesus is worth the work, and the marginalized are all beloved human beings worth knowing.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Against the Law
by Mary Austin
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
In some of the most beautiful words in scripture, Paul proclaims to the beleaguered people in Galatia, “For freedom, Christ has set us free.”
Paul writes to shed light on the big picture of faith for the early believers who are struggling with the requirements of faith. Circumcision — yes or no? Does a box need to be checked or not? Who gets into the club?
In this season of larger church meetings, our churches are behaving much like the early believers, divided by belief about who belongs in the church. Lutheran bishop Megan Rohrer lost her job, and will not face disciplinary charges in a stew of accusations of racism, sexism and cultural insensitivity, after Rohrer removed a priest from serving a church. Rohrer is the first openly transgender bishop in the ELCA, the priest in question was Afro-Caribbean, and various Lutheran affinity groups have offered their assessments. There are plenty of missteps to judge, and I wonder how the groups in the church will learn to trust and hear each other again.
In Florida, a Methodist conference voted down a 16-person slate for advancement on the track to becoming ordained elders or deacons because two of the candidates were LGBTQ+. “Clergy session approval is required for those seeking provisional membership, an important step toward ordination and full conference membership. Like some other US annual conferences, the Florida Conference clergy session traditionally votes on a whole group of provisional membership candidates. Florida clergy of different perspectives about LGBTQ inclusion agreed it was the presence of openly gay candidates in this year’s group that caused the session to fall just short of the required 75 percent vote for approval — something that’s usually routine.” All of the candidates had worked hard to prepare for this step, and observers found injustice on all sides in the vote.
Paul might well be talking about church gatherings when he says, “If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
Pope Francis seems to understand this, using a group of recent appointments to reach out in a spirit of inclusion. “Francis’ new cardinals reflect the more positive concerns of his papacy: inclusiveness, immigrants, the environment and combating clericalism.” He elevated bishops who have been ignored or disrespected, and who come from non-traditional areas of the church. Seasoned watchers of the Roman Catholic church see meaning in each appointment, noting that the “choice to deny Milan while making Bishop Oscar Cantoni of Como, Italy, a cardinal was greeted with shock and indignation from Italian news outlets but was understood as a twin expression of concern for migrants and scorn for careerism in the church.”
Perhaps too much freedom isn’t good for us. In a denomination noted for church independence, our Southern Baptist siblings are trying to find their way forward after a blockbuster report on the scope of abuse of women and children in Southern Baptist churches. “The report, made by the third-party investigation firm Guidepost Solutions, found that leaders at the Executive Committee had focused for decades on trying to protect the SBC from liability for abuse in local churches. “In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy — even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation,” investigators wrote.”
To that, Paul answers: “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” This is an answer partly about sexual behavior, and an even deeper call to lay down our hunger for power, lies, division, and maintaining the comfort of a few over the safety of all. Paul has instructions for us: If we live by the Spirit, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
He adds, intriguingly, “There is no law against such things.” There is no law that can keep us from being kind to each other. There is no law against patience and forgiveness. The church can make no law against welcome and generosity of spirit. It’s a cautionary tale to church leaders who write policies and enforce rules that keep people out. The Spirit is a determined law breaker.
Who belongs and who doesn’t? We continue to miss Paul’s message, and submit again and again to the yoke of deciding who belongs in the church. Paul answers the question vehemently, on the side of freedom, and lifts the church past the immediate question to a wider view of faith. Think big, he urges. For the amazing freedom to love, welcome and bless each other, Christ has turned us loose in the world.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
The thread that runs through the lectionary readings for this week has to do with doing difficult things. When Elisha asks Elijah for a double portion of his spirit, Elijah tells him that he is asking for a “hard thing.” The psalmist tells us how, in his times of difficulty, he calls upon the Lord and remembers the hard things that YHWH has done. Paul tells the Galatian church that the entire law is summed up in a single commandment, and a difficult one at that, then he lists the behaviors that disciples must abandon and the ones they must adopt (all difficult) if they want to be disciples of Jesus. And, finally, Jesus insists that those who follow him must be prepared to give up their attachments to friends and family — a difficult thing to accept.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Hard stuff
In today’s epistle and gospel readings we are told that discipleship is hard. Here are some other hard things:
Journalist and pop philosopher Sidney J. Harris once said that: “The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts. They are: 1) to return love for hate 2) to include the excluded, and 3) to say, 'I was wrong.'
Political reporter and 60 Minutes correspondent John Dickerson, says, in his book by the same name, that The Hardest Job in the World, is president of the United States.
The web site BibleMoneyMatters.com says that these are the ten toughest jobs in the United States:
Inner-city high school teacher, Police officer, Miner, Air traffic controller, Medical intern, Stock broker, Journalist, Customer service/ complaint department worker, Waitress, Secretary.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Hard sports
In his blog, “Managing by Walking Around” management consultant Johnathan Becher sites a study by ESPN to determine what was the most difficult sport.
The sports network assembled a panel of experts to determine which sport demanded the most from the athletes who compete in it. The experts ranked 60 sports on 10 different skills, including endurance, speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination. Here are the top 10:
10) Soccer; 9) Baseball; 8) Gymnastics; 7) Tennis; 6) Martial Arts; 5) Wrestling; 4) Basketball; 3) Football; 2) Ice Hockey; and, the hardest sport there is, 1) Boxing.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Hardest thing in sports
In the same blog entry, Becher talks about what is the most difficult thing to do in sports.
For decades, most sports analysts and commentators agreed that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Now, this has to be a feat that happens regularly in a given sport and is a regular part of the game. “Maybe it only happens infrequently but it can and does happen. An 80-yard field goal in football doesn’t count because it won’t ever get attempted…Similarly, a full court basket has happened but you wouldn’t consider it a normal part of basketball.”
He goes on:
For decades, most sports analysts have agreed that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. There’s plenty of science that backs up how difficult it is to see a round fastball, react to its trajectory, and make contact with a round bat — all in less than ½ of a second. Even from a surface area perspective, the baseball only takes up less than 2% of the strike zone.
So, hitting a baseball is difficult but not impossible. Over the years, batters are successful 25% of the time.
However, after studying several other sports, Becher has discovered that stopping a penalty kick in soccer might be even harder than hitting a baseball — at least from a percentage standpoint. A study of 138 penalty shots in World Cup Finals games between 1982 and 1994 showed that goalies stopped only 14.5% of the shots. In fact, goalies correctly guessed the direction of the kick only 41% of the time; that’s worse than random. Other studies show the success rate as a little higher (perhaps 18%) but still lower than hitting a baseball.
Does this mean stopping a penalty kick is harder than hitting a baseball? Not conclusively. It’s hard to compare the two events since a hitter comes up to the plate multiple times a game whereas a soccer player might go many months without attempting a penalty shot.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
He ain’t afraid of hard work
The television series, Yellowstone, is a contemporary western set in Montana. Kevin Costner plays the patriarch of the family, John Dutton. John’s youngest son is Kayce. Kayce is married to a native American woman named Monica and they have a son named Tate who is a young teenager.
Early in the series, Kayce and his family live on the Indian reservation where Tate one day discovers a nearly intact, fossilized skeleton of a dinosaur about the size of a horse. He brings Kayce, his dad, to see it and Kayce says that the best thing to do is to rebury it because it’s valuable and, if word gets out, people will come and steal it.
Tate is afraid that if they bury it, it will be lost forever. He wants to dig it up, label each bone, and lock them all in the barn after which they will donate them to the museum on the reservation.
As this discussion is taking place you can see by the expression on Kayce’s face that this is going to be a lot of hard work, perhaps more than Tate realizes and he says so. “Something like that. Gonna take a lot of hard work.”
Tate looks at the fossil. Looks back at his dad. Looks at the fossil again, then back at dad and says, “I ain’t afraid of hard work.” We get one more look at Kayce’s face as he realizes he’s been beaten.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Public speaking is hard
When asked the thing they most fear doing, people most often answer public speaking. In fact, in some cases, people say that they fear public speaking more than they fear dying. But it’s not the speaking they fear, of course, they speak all the time without any anxiety whatsoever. What they fear is failing, being embarrassed, humiliated, and ostracized by the people in front of whom they are speaking.
Most of the popular advice on this subject is bunk. Don’t make eye contact. Picture everyone in your audience as if they were naked. Those kinds of things are worse than worthless. They will distract you from doing what you really need to do to be successful.
I am a professional public speaker (minister) and I have taught public speaking at the high school and college levels and these are my rules for defeating stage fright and making public speaking less difficult.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
The most difficult dishes
Tanya Steel, writing for Epicurious blog, reports that, when the Huffington Post food section asked readers what they perceived to be the most difficult dishes to make their answers, in order of difficulty were 1) Poached eggs 2) polenta 3) béchamel sauce 4) risotto 5) bread.
Steel says that she was surprised because none of those five dishes were multi-step, labor/ingredient intensive dishes. In fact, the first three require only a little bit of finesse, and bread just requires time.
Here’s her list of most difficult dishes. She invites the readers to contribute their tough takes on cooking: 1) Savory souffles 2) Coq au vin 3) Mole 4) Beef Wellington 5) Napoleons 6) Paella 7) Puff pastry 8) Baked Alaska 9) Croissants 10) Sourdough bread.
Interestingly, when I was researching this illustration, I looked up more than a dozen offerings from different chefs and food columnists and Baked Alaska was the only dish to make it to everyone’s list. Looks like I’ll have to give it a try.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
It made baseball difficult for me
“Well,” said the ophthalmologist after examining my eyes. “You have a slight deficit in your depth perception.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked him, more than a little worried.
He smiled. “Oh, at your age I should think it won’t affect your daily living much at all. It’s not bad enough to keep you from driving. Maybe if you were a baseball player or something but, other than that, I don’ think it’ll be a problem.”
And there it was.
I lettered in three sports when I was in high school but that didn’t mean I was actually good at all three of them. In football, started as a lineman on both offense and defense. In track I ran the quarter mile and I was on the mile relay team. In basketball I mostly rode the bench.
Baseball and softball totally eluded me. I was bad at both offense and defense.
It was nearly impossible for me to judge the speed and distance of the ball. Batting was impossible. On defense, I would hear the crack of the bat and I would see the ball flying high up into the sky but I had no idea where it actually was. They tried me in center field and I would be running around trying to get under the ball and it would fall twenty feet behind me or in front of me or, embarrassingly, just over second base. So, because I was big, they tried me at first base and, more often than not, I would end up catching those hard throws to first with my chest or, worse, my face. I just couldn’t tell how near or far the ball was and how fast it was coming.
I always had to work really hard at sports to be any good at all. And I’ve always kind of envied those people who were really good at sports and managed, somehow, to make their successes look easy and effortless.
I think of Michael Jordan seeming to float in air as he drives to the basket or Stephen Curry scoring 40 points in a single game — or Tom Brady effortlessly threading the needle with a pass that would have been impossible for anyone else. Or Rob Gronkowski catching that pass. And then, there’s Joey Votto hitting a fastball.
Oh, to be able to hit a baseball like Joey Votto. Now that would really be something.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Soft heart / hard work
About 6 months ago, my 11-year-old grandson, Caleb, decided that he could not abide the thought of an innocent animal being killed so he could eat meat. So, he announced to his family that he was going to be a vegetarian.
Surprisingly, his mother, father, and brother took the news pretty much in stride. The only limits his parents put on his vegetarian diet was that he could not live on French fries and macaroni and cheese, alone. If he was going to be a vegetarian, he would have to eat some actual, colored vegetables. You know, the green and red and orange kind.
He agreed and it wasn’t all that hard for him because his mom and dad provided him with vegetables that he liked. He has discovered, however, that everyone is not so accommodating. His school cafeteria does offer vegetarian options but they usually amount to things like salad or a veggie plate that includes Brussel sprouts, beets, cauliflower, and stewed tomatoes.
When his Jr. Youth fellowship group had a lock-in at the church and the adult coordinator ordered pizza, she forgot that he was a vegetarian and the only veggie pizza she ordered contained mushrooms and kale, both of which he hates.
When he came home complaining, his parents pointed out that he apparently wanted to save the animals but he wasn’t willing to make any real sacrifices to do so. Oh, he ate alternatives to meat as long as they tasted good and had meaty texture or were things he already liked. But sometimes, doing the right thing meant actually making sacrifices. Like eating vegetables you aren’t crazy about and maybe even don’t like. They also pointed out that the vegetarian thing was his idea. No one was making him do it and he could quit any time.
He allowed that he wanted to keep going and would be willing to make some sacrifices to save the animals. But he also decided to expand the parameters of his vegetarianism to include fish and to start packing his own school lunch. Peanut butter and jelly trumps stewed tomatoes, after all.
I couldn’t agree more.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Living by the spirit
When George Wallace was first inaugurated as governor of Alabama in 1963, he famously pandered to white supremacists by pledging unwavering support of segregation. Standing not far from where Jefferson Davis had once stood, Wallace cried out, “Let us rise to the call of freedom-loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South. In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever.”
Wallace twisted the view of freedom to reflect his own biases, something completely at odds with the notion of freedom espoused by Paul in Galatians. At the time, Wallace’s words were heard as inciting violence and were compared to the hissing of a rattle snake. Years later, however, Wallace sought forgiveness from Black leaders for his hate-filled speech. The late Congressman John Lewis, whose life certainly embodied Paul’s understanding of living by the Spirit, remembered the day Governor Wallace contacted him and asked forgiveness for his racist ways. “He said, ‘John Lewis, will you come and talk with me?’” Lewis recalled in 2013. “And I remember the occasion so well,” Lewis said. “It was like someone confessing to their priest or to their minister. He wanted people to forgive him. He said to me, “I never hated anybody. I never hated any Black people. He said to me, ‘Mr. Lewis, I’m sorry.’ And I said, ‘Well governor, I accept your apology.’”
Alabama Civil Rights Leader James L. Poe, Jr. came to a similar conclusion as Lewis. “Being the type of person I am, out of my heart and soul, I can forgive George Wallace,” Poe told NPR. “Yes. Heaven's sakes, I forgive him,” Poe says. “But forget? No. Never.”
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Loving your neighbor (even the one you can’t stand)
Ebu Patel, an interfaith organizer and former religious advisor to President Obama, recently wrote about the pioneering social justice efforts of Jane Addams, who was a Chicago, Illinois, social worker near the turn of the 20th century and the second woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Patel upholds Addams’ work as a model for approaching issues of justice and diversity today. Coping with a great personal depression, Addams found a purpose in life by alleviating suffering of impoverished women. She founded Hull House in Chicago, which offered assistance to immigrant women and children. “For virtually every problem they discovered in their community,” Patel writes of Addams and other leaders of Hull house, “they modelled a concrete solution.”
As tensions between Chicago’s Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish communities increased, Addams created an interfaith organization centered around “the fellowship of the deed.” Patel’s article quotes from one of Addams’ writings about the importance of remaining in relationship with people who are different from us. “We know instinctively that if we grow contemptuous of our fellows and consciously limit our intercourse to certain kinds of people whom we have previously decided to respect,” wrote Addams, “we not only circumscribe our range of life, but limit the scope of our ethics.”
* * *
Luke 9:51-62
Homeless Jesus
It’s not often that sculptures of Jesus prompt people to call 911. Unless, of course, the bronzes were created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. The artist’s self-acknowledged provocative portrayals of Jesus have sometimes been mistaken as persons in need of emergency assistance.
One of Schmalz’ statues was purchased by an Episcopal Church in an upscale neighborhood in North Carolina. It shows Jesus – the one who had nowhere to lay his head – sleeping on a park bench. Huddled under a blanket, the only clue to Jesus’ identity are the scars of crucifixion on his feet. Not long after it was installed, someone called the cops on Jesus. Another neighbor wrote the church a letter, complaining that the statue “creeps him out.”
At another Episcopal church in Bay City, OH, calls to 911 began just minutes after one of Schmalz’ works was installed. News about the Bay City statue went viral, prompting NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” to lampoon the incident on its October 17, 2020 broadcast. Though some churches, like New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, have rejected invitations to install Homeless Jesus, Schmalz’s work did find favor with at least one prominent religious leader. In 2014, Schmalz travelled to the Vatican to personally give “Homeless Jesus” to Pope Francis.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
We have been made whole and holy
Changing old habits is definitely one of the hardest things any person can do. If we want to be more open and affirming people we must first change ourselves. Yearning to become better reflections of the Divine Image and to live more fully into God’s calling should be the underlying factor into how we move forward in this world. Christ has given us the template from which to work. The Spirit guides us with patience, kindness, and faithfulness. What does it mean when God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit welcome ALL but our churches and their members struggle with welcoming others of differing backgrounds?
* * *
Luke 9:51-62
Follow God. Full Stop.
I first encountered the concept of the spoken full stop during the summer of 2019 while studying at Bossey Ecumenical Institute. A fellow student had a peculiar habit of making the declarative statement “Full Stop.” after proposing a point that was not open for discussion. It got to the point where my Presbyterian background and curious nature had me asking my friend why they chose to make declarative statements in lieu of moderated discussion. Their response was eye-opening. They said, “...when you use the word ‘but’ it changes everything.” For them the use of any formulation of the phrase “yes but” nullifies anything and everything that comes before it. Yes but is only an excuse to not bear the full weight of our calling. When we choose to follow God it must be without fear or remorse.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Let us call to mind the deeds of our God.
All: We will remember God’s wonders of old.
One: Let us meditate on all God’s work.
All: We will muse on God’s mighty deeds.
One: Your way, O God, is holy and you are great.
All: Our God is the God who works wonders among the peoples.
OR
One: God comes to freely offer us the divine presence.
All: We are in awe that God would deign to come to us.
One: God is love and true love cannot desert the beloved.
All: We rejoice to be the beloved of our God.
One: God’s love desires to enfold us and to go beyond us.
All: In gratitude we will share God’s love with others.
Hymns and Songs
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
UMH: 57/58/59
H82: 493
PH: 466
AAHH: 184
NNBH: 23
NCH: 42
CH: 5
LBW: 559
ELW: 886
W&P: 96
AMEC: 12
Renew: 32
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELW: 414
W&P: 138
All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELW: 757
Ye Servants of God
UMH: 181
H82: 535
PH: 477
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
Tú Has Venido a la Orilla (Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore)
UMH: 344
PH: 377
CH: 342
W&P: 347
I Surrender All
UMH: 354
AAHH: 396
NNBH: 198
W&P: 474
AMEC: 251
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
UMH: 361
H82: 685
AAHH: 559
NNBH: 254
NCH: 596
CH: 214
LBW: 327
ELW: 523
W&P: 384
AMEC: 328
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELW: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
UMH: 382
AAHH: 449
NNBH: 206
CH: 588
W&P: 486
AMEC: 345
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
May You Run and Not Be Weary
CCB: 99
Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who binds yourself to us in covenant:
Grant us the grace to understand that freedom
does not mean being separate from others
but being able to share ourselves fully;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you offer yourself to us in covenant. As you freely give yourself to us help us to give ourselves to you and to others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our need to put ourselves at the center of everything.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We often find ourselves needing to be at the center of things. We profess we are your beloved children but then we find that we want more acclamation than that. We push ourselves in and in so doing often push others out. Forgive us and re-center us in your love that we may give ourselves as your give yourself. Amen.
One: God freely loves us and freely forgives us. Receive God’s grace and share God’s love with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God of covenant and grace. You come to us and offer your love and your own self to us so freely.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We often find ourselves needing to be at the center of things. We profess we are your beloved children but then we find that we want more acclamation than that. We push ourselves in and in so doing often push others out. Forgive us and re-center us in your love that we may give ourselves as your give yourself.
We thank you for all the way you share yourself and your love with us. All around us nature reveals your loving presence in our world. Though you are far beyond the material world around us, you make yourself present and known to us through the created order. You dwell within your children and share your love through the very human acts of your people.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need this day. We pray for those who find themselves struggling because of what they do not have and those who struggle because of all that they do have. We pray for wisdom and guidance and we make our way together in this world. Help us to follow your Christ so that we may have true freedom.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Cry Out!
by Tom Willadsen
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
Start by telling the kids about times when you cried when you were a child. For me, I cried when I hurt myself, like the time I showed my mom I could ride my bike no handed, but I was wrong.
And when my older brother teased me.
And when I was sad when I broke my Paddle Pool game.
And when I was frustrated because I was trying to find my homework and when I asked my mom where it was, she asked me, “When did you have it last?” (Sometimes she would say, “Last time I saw it was on the down escalator at Sears in Cleveland. Did you look there?”)
Invite them to share things that have made them cry recently.
You might want to volunteer that you still cry sometimes. What makes you cry now? Maybe there are adults who will share what makes them cry. For me, I cry when I’m sad, especially when I miss someone I love who has died.
Read the first two verses of Psalm 77:1-2a (Common English Bible)
I cry out loud to God—
out loud to God so that he can hear me!
During the day when I’m in trouble I look for my Lord
Or
The Message
Psalm 77:1
I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might,
I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.
Remind the kids it’s okay to use their outside voices to yell at God, but to do it outside.
The message today is that it’s all right to be angry, sad and to be hurt. Those things happen to everyone, kids and grownups. And God still loves us when these things happen to us. And God still loves us when we yell at God as loud as we can!
Invite the kids to pray.
God, we are glad that you always listen to us, no matter how we talk to you. Thank you for loving us even when we’re sad, especially when we’re sad. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 26, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 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.
- Who Gets to Go Home? by Katy Stenta based on Luke 9:51-62.
- Second Thoughts: Against the Law by Mary Austin based on Galatians 5:1, 13-25.
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Chris Keating, Quantisha Mason-Doll.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Cry Out! by Tom Willadsen based on Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20.
Who Gets to Go Home?
by Katy Stenta
Luke 9:51-62
In the Scriptures
Luke begins auspiciously. After his time in the desert, Jesus returns home to preach. However, after doing a bit of preaching in Galilee, where he is well received, he returns to Nazareth to preach the good news to the poor and those who were not in his hometown, or even the temple in which he is preaching, only to be almost thrown off of a cliff (Luke 4:16-30). In the chapter just before this one, Jesus is told that his mother and brothers want to see him (Luke 8:19-22) and Jesus says that his mother and brothers are really the only ones who want to hear the word of God. Nothing more is said about whether he sees them or not. Joseph seems to be dead and gone from the story. Jesus, thus, seems to be rejected by his hometown and at odds somewhat with his family who are not following him around to hear his gospel but only want a personal relationship with him.
Right before this, Jesus is up front about what it is he expects of discipleship. Companionship — they are to go by twos— yet a model in ministry that is almost never followed, as paired leadership is the exception not the norm. Take nothing with you and expect to be homeless. Put yourself wholly upon the mercy of others (Luke 9:3).
When Jesus states these kinds of things I often wonder if these are commands, statements of truth, or guides for survival. Ministry will be better if you have less stuff and more companionship. Tone is so important here, and yet we do not have it.
Jesus seems alone, homeless and lonely.
In the News
The issue of how to deal with those without houses is often framed as, “What would Jesus do?” I have never seen it framed as Jesus, himself, being homeless. Yet, that is not how we approach homelessness. When we consider the foreign refugee, we have certainly forgotten the Hebrew adrift in Egypt. The UK is currently under fire for supporting sending Rwandan asylum seekers back to Rwanda by using a hostel system formerly used to house victims of genocide. Quite a contrast to how Ukrainians are being welcomed around the world.
Meanwhile inflation is hitting low income families hard in the USA. We might want to look an innovative program on homelessness that is being pursued by Houston, where people are opening their own homes to those individuals without houses as we try to deal with homelessness on a more national level.
In the Sermon
Not only is Jesus poignantly homeless in this passage, but he is refused entrance to Samaria, because he is headed toward Jerusalem. The implications being that if he is headed toward the heads of power, Samaria wants nothing to do with him. So, what does Jesus do? He points out privilege and power straight on. With phrases so pointed and sharp, they are hard for us to digest even today, 2,000 years after they have been spoken. When Jesus is turned out of Samaria, he states the fact that he is homeless. He simply says that foxes and birds both have places to snuggle in, but he, the Son of Man, does not. It’s directly after this statement that Jesus invites one to follow him, and that individual says that first he has to bury his father. It makes one wonder if his father has just died, or if he means he needs to wait and take care of his father like a good son, and he will not be free to follow Jesus until his father is gone. But Jesus is blunt — replying, “let the dead bury the dead.”
Another says to Jesus that he will follow him, but first wants the chance to say goodbye to those at home. But Jesus says that no one who looks back after starting to plow is fit for the kingdom of God.
Jesus is essentially saying that once you start ministry, once you are aware of the work that needs to be done, you cannot go back to your previous life. Jesus is pointing to the real work of ministry. One cannot go back because the journey is real, the growth is permanent. There is no returning. To go back is a choice given only to the privileged. To claim that you are only to pursue justice half-heartedly, or only vote when you feel like it, or only care when people are watching or only be Christian on Sunday or to not mask for the sick and vulnerable — then you are not ready to do the work of tending the garden of faith. You cannot only water the plants you remember. You have to do the work all the time. Jesus not only allies himself with the marginal, he lives the life of the homeless. He invites us to journey with those in need fully knowing we cannot go back. Not being able to go back is not the worst thing, because the journey to know Jesus is worth the work, and the marginalized are all beloved human beings worth knowing.
SECOND THOUGHTSAgainst the Law
by Mary Austin
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
In some of the most beautiful words in scripture, Paul proclaims to the beleaguered people in Galatia, “For freedom, Christ has set us free.”
Paul writes to shed light on the big picture of faith for the early believers who are struggling with the requirements of faith. Circumcision — yes or no? Does a box need to be checked or not? Who gets into the club?
In this season of larger church meetings, our churches are behaving much like the early believers, divided by belief about who belongs in the church. Lutheran bishop Megan Rohrer lost her job, and will not face disciplinary charges in a stew of accusations of racism, sexism and cultural insensitivity, after Rohrer removed a priest from serving a church. Rohrer is the first openly transgender bishop in the ELCA, the priest in question was Afro-Caribbean, and various Lutheran affinity groups have offered their assessments. There are plenty of missteps to judge, and I wonder how the groups in the church will learn to trust and hear each other again.
In Florida, a Methodist conference voted down a 16-person slate for advancement on the track to becoming ordained elders or deacons because two of the candidates were LGBTQ+. “Clergy session approval is required for those seeking provisional membership, an important step toward ordination and full conference membership. Like some other US annual conferences, the Florida Conference clergy session traditionally votes on a whole group of provisional membership candidates. Florida clergy of different perspectives about LGBTQ inclusion agreed it was the presence of openly gay candidates in this year’s group that caused the session to fall just short of the required 75 percent vote for approval — something that’s usually routine.” All of the candidates had worked hard to prepare for this step, and observers found injustice on all sides in the vote.
Paul might well be talking about church gatherings when he says, “If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
Pope Francis seems to understand this, using a group of recent appointments to reach out in a spirit of inclusion. “Francis’ new cardinals reflect the more positive concerns of his papacy: inclusiveness, immigrants, the environment and combating clericalism.” He elevated bishops who have been ignored or disrespected, and who come from non-traditional areas of the church. Seasoned watchers of the Roman Catholic church see meaning in each appointment, noting that the “choice to deny Milan while making Bishop Oscar Cantoni of Como, Italy, a cardinal was greeted with shock and indignation from Italian news outlets but was understood as a twin expression of concern for migrants and scorn for careerism in the church.”
Perhaps too much freedom isn’t good for us. In a denomination noted for church independence, our Southern Baptist siblings are trying to find their way forward after a blockbuster report on the scope of abuse of women and children in Southern Baptist churches. “The report, made by the third-party investigation firm Guidepost Solutions, found that leaders at the Executive Committee had focused for decades on trying to protect the SBC from liability for abuse in local churches. “In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy — even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation,” investigators wrote.”
To that, Paul answers: “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” This is an answer partly about sexual behavior, and an even deeper call to lay down our hunger for power, lies, division, and maintaining the comfort of a few over the safety of all. Paul has instructions for us: If we live by the Spirit, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
He adds, intriguingly, “There is no law against such things.” There is no law that can keep us from being kind to each other. There is no law against patience and forgiveness. The church can make no law against welcome and generosity of spirit. It’s a cautionary tale to church leaders who write policies and enforce rules that keep people out. The Spirit is a determined law breaker.
Who belongs and who doesn’t? We continue to miss Paul’s message, and submit again and again to the yoke of deciding who belongs in the church. Paul answers the question vehemently, on the side of freedom, and lifts the church past the immediate question to a wider view of faith. Think big, he urges. For the amazing freedom to love, welcome and bless each other, Christ has turned us loose in the world.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:The thread that runs through the lectionary readings for this week has to do with doing difficult things. When Elisha asks Elijah for a double portion of his spirit, Elijah tells him that he is asking for a “hard thing.” The psalmist tells us how, in his times of difficulty, he calls upon the Lord and remembers the hard things that YHWH has done. Paul tells the Galatian church that the entire law is summed up in a single commandment, and a difficult one at that, then he lists the behaviors that disciples must abandon and the ones they must adopt (all difficult) if they want to be disciples of Jesus. And, finally, Jesus insists that those who follow him must be prepared to give up their attachments to friends and family — a difficult thing to accept.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Hard stuff
In today’s epistle and gospel readings we are told that discipleship is hard. Here are some other hard things:
Journalist and pop philosopher Sidney J. Harris once said that: “The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts. They are: 1) to return love for hate 2) to include the excluded, and 3) to say, 'I was wrong.'
Political reporter and 60 Minutes correspondent John Dickerson, says, in his book by the same name, that The Hardest Job in the World, is president of the United States.
The web site BibleMoneyMatters.com says that these are the ten toughest jobs in the United States:
Inner-city high school teacher, Police officer, Miner, Air traffic controller, Medical intern, Stock broker, Journalist, Customer service/ complaint department worker, Waitress, Secretary.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Hard sports
In his blog, “Managing by Walking Around” management consultant Johnathan Becher sites a study by ESPN to determine what was the most difficult sport.
The sports network assembled a panel of experts to determine which sport demanded the most from the athletes who compete in it. The experts ranked 60 sports on 10 different skills, including endurance, speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination. Here are the top 10:
10) Soccer; 9) Baseball; 8) Gymnastics; 7) Tennis; 6) Martial Arts; 5) Wrestling; 4) Basketball; 3) Football; 2) Ice Hockey; and, the hardest sport there is, 1) Boxing.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Hardest thing in sports
In the same blog entry, Becher talks about what is the most difficult thing to do in sports.
For decades, most sports analysts and commentators agreed that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Now, this has to be a feat that happens regularly in a given sport and is a regular part of the game. “Maybe it only happens infrequently but it can and does happen. An 80-yard field goal in football doesn’t count because it won’t ever get attempted…Similarly, a full court basket has happened but you wouldn’t consider it a normal part of basketball.”
He goes on:
For decades, most sports analysts have agreed that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. There’s plenty of science that backs up how difficult it is to see a round fastball, react to its trajectory, and make contact with a round bat — all in less than ½ of a second. Even from a surface area perspective, the baseball only takes up less than 2% of the strike zone.
So, hitting a baseball is difficult but not impossible. Over the years, batters are successful 25% of the time.
However, after studying several other sports, Becher has discovered that stopping a penalty kick in soccer might be even harder than hitting a baseball — at least from a percentage standpoint. A study of 138 penalty shots in World Cup Finals games between 1982 and 1994 showed that goalies stopped only 14.5% of the shots. In fact, goalies correctly guessed the direction of the kick only 41% of the time; that’s worse than random. Other studies show the success rate as a little higher (perhaps 18%) but still lower than hitting a baseball.
Does this mean stopping a penalty kick is harder than hitting a baseball? Not conclusively. It’s hard to compare the two events since a hitter comes up to the plate multiple times a game whereas a soccer player might go many months without attempting a penalty shot.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
He ain’t afraid of hard work
The television series, Yellowstone, is a contemporary western set in Montana. Kevin Costner plays the patriarch of the family, John Dutton. John’s youngest son is Kayce. Kayce is married to a native American woman named Monica and they have a son named Tate who is a young teenager.
Early in the series, Kayce and his family live on the Indian reservation where Tate one day discovers a nearly intact, fossilized skeleton of a dinosaur about the size of a horse. He brings Kayce, his dad, to see it and Kayce says that the best thing to do is to rebury it because it’s valuable and, if word gets out, people will come and steal it.
Tate is afraid that if they bury it, it will be lost forever. He wants to dig it up, label each bone, and lock them all in the barn after which they will donate them to the museum on the reservation.
As this discussion is taking place you can see by the expression on Kayce’s face that this is going to be a lot of hard work, perhaps more than Tate realizes and he says so. “Something like that. Gonna take a lot of hard work.”
Tate looks at the fossil. Looks back at his dad. Looks at the fossil again, then back at dad and says, “I ain’t afraid of hard work.” We get one more look at Kayce’s face as he realizes he’s been beaten.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Public speaking is hard
When asked the thing they most fear doing, people most often answer public speaking. In fact, in some cases, people say that they fear public speaking more than they fear dying. But it’s not the speaking they fear, of course, they speak all the time without any anxiety whatsoever. What they fear is failing, being embarrassed, humiliated, and ostracized by the people in front of whom they are speaking.
Most of the popular advice on this subject is bunk. Don’t make eye contact. Picture everyone in your audience as if they were naked. Those kinds of things are worse than worthless. They will distract you from doing what you really need to do to be successful.
I am a professional public speaker (minister) and I have taught public speaking at the high school and college levels and these are my rules for defeating stage fright and making public speaking less difficult.
- Be prepared — Know what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. This means planning and practicing until you know the speech backward and forward.
- Care about your subject. It’s hard to feel confident if you don’t really care about your topic. If you’re just going through the motions to satisfy the assignment it will show in your presentation and your confidence will suffer. Talk about something you’re passionate about.
- Care about your audience. Forget about yourself. If you can get yourself to care about your audience more than you care about yourself then you will be able to take the risks that you have to take to be a successful speaker.
- Take a cleansing breath and a sip of water before you begin speaking. Dry mouth, difficulty breathing, and trembling hands are self-perpetuating problems for a speaker. They cause the difficulty they represent. So, address them before you begin with a sip of water and a deep breath. Your audience won’t mind.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
The most difficult dishes
Tanya Steel, writing for Epicurious blog, reports that, when the Huffington Post food section asked readers what they perceived to be the most difficult dishes to make their answers, in order of difficulty were 1) Poached eggs 2) polenta 3) béchamel sauce 4) risotto 5) bread.
Steel says that she was surprised because none of those five dishes were multi-step, labor/ingredient intensive dishes. In fact, the first three require only a little bit of finesse, and bread just requires time.
Here’s her list of most difficult dishes. She invites the readers to contribute their tough takes on cooking: 1) Savory souffles 2) Coq au vin 3) Mole 4) Beef Wellington 5) Napoleons 6) Paella 7) Puff pastry 8) Baked Alaska 9) Croissants 10) Sourdough bread.
Interestingly, when I was researching this illustration, I looked up more than a dozen offerings from different chefs and food columnists and Baked Alaska was the only dish to make it to everyone’s list. Looks like I’ll have to give it a try.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
It made baseball difficult for me
“Well,” said the ophthalmologist after examining my eyes. “You have a slight deficit in your depth perception.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked him, more than a little worried.
He smiled. “Oh, at your age I should think it won’t affect your daily living much at all. It’s not bad enough to keep you from driving. Maybe if you were a baseball player or something but, other than that, I don’ think it’ll be a problem.”
And there it was.
I lettered in three sports when I was in high school but that didn’t mean I was actually good at all three of them. In football, started as a lineman on both offense and defense. In track I ran the quarter mile and I was on the mile relay team. In basketball I mostly rode the bench.
Baseball and softball totally eluded me. I was bad at both offense and defense.
It was nearly impossible for me to judge the speed and distance of the ball. Batting was impossible. On defense, I would hear the crack of the bat and I would see the ball flying high up into the sky but I had no idea where it actually was. They tried me in center field and I would be running around trying to get under the ball and it would fall twenty feet behind me or in front of me or, embarrassingly, just over second base. So, because I was big, they tried me at first base and, more often than not, I would end up catching those hard throws to first with my chest or, worse, my face. I just couldn’t tell how near or far the ball was and how fast it was coming.
I always had to work really hard at sports to be any good at all. And I’ve always kind of envied those people who were really good at sports and managed, somehow, to make their successes look easy and effortless.
I think of Michael Jordan seeming to float in air as he drives to the basket or Stephen Curry scoring 40 points in a single game — or Tom Brady effortlessly threading the needle with a pass that would have been impossible for anyone else. Or Rob Gronkowski catching that pass. And then, there’s Joey Votto hitting a fastball.
Oh, to be able to hit a baseball like Joey Votto. Now that would really be something.
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62
Soft heart / hard work
About 6 months ago, my 11-year-old grandson, Caleb, decided that he could not abide the thought of an innocent animal being killed so he could eat meat. So, he announced to his family that he was going to be a vegetarian.
Surprisingly, his mother, father, and brother took the news pretty much in stride. The only limits his parents put on his vegetarian diet was that he could not live on French fries and macaroni and cheese, alone. If he was going to be a vegetarian, he would have to eat some actual, colored vegetables. You know, the green and red and orange kind.
He agreed and it wasn’t all that hard for him because his mom and dad provided him with vegetables that he liked. He has discovered, however, that everyone is not so accommodating. His school cafeteria does offer vegetarian options but they usually amount to things like salad or a veggie plate that includes Brussel sprouts, beets, cauliflower, and stewed tomatoes.
When his Jr. Youth fellowship group had a lock-in at the church and the adult coordinator ordered pizza, she forgot that he was a vegetarian and the only veggie pizza she ordered contained mushrooms and kale, both of which he hates.
When he came home complaining, his parents pointed out that he apparently wanted to save the animals but he wasn’t willing to make any real sacrifices to do so. Oh, he ate alternatives to meat as long as they tasted good and had meaty texture or were things he already liked. But sometimes, doing the right thing meant actually making sacrifices. Like eating vegetables you aren’t crazy about and maybe even don’t like. They also pointed out that the vegetarian thing was his idea. No one was making him do it and he could quit any time.
He allowed that he wanted to keep going and would be willing to make some sacrifices to save the animals. But he also decided to expand the parameters of his vegetarianism to include fish and to start packing his own school lunch. Peanut butter and jelly trumps stewed tomatoes, after all.
I couldn’t agree more.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Living by the spirit
When George Wallace was first inaugurated as governor of Alabama in 1963, he famously pandered to white supremacists by pledging unwavering support of segregation. Standing not far from where Jefferson Davis had once stood, Wallace cried out, “Let us rise to the call of freedom-loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South. In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever.”
Wallace twisted the view of freedom to reflect his own biases, something completely at odds with the notion of freedom espoused by Paul in Galatians. At the time, Wallace’s words were heard as inciting violence and were compared to the hissing of a rattle snake. Years later, however, Wallace sought forgiveness from Black leaders for his hate-filled speech. The late Congressman John Lewis, whose life certainly embodied Paul’s understanding of living by the Spirit, remembered the day Governor Wallace contacted him and asked forgiveness for his racist ways. “He said, ‘John Lewis, will you come and talk with me?’” Lewis recalled in 2013. “And I remember the occasion so well,” Lewis said. “It was like someone confessing to their priest or to their minister. He wanted people to forgive him. He said to me, “I never hated anybody. I never hated any Black people. He said to me, ‘Mr. Lewis, I’m sorry.’ And I said, ‘Well governor, I accept your apology.’”
Alabama Civil Rights Leader James L. Poe, Jr. came to a similar conclusion as Lewis. “Being the type of person I am, out of my heart and soul, I can forgive George Wallace,” Poe told NPR. “Yes. Heaven's sakes, I forgive him,” Poe says. “But forget? No. Never.”
* * *
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Loving your neighbor (even the one you can’t stand)
Ebu Patel, an interfaith organizer and former religious advisor to President Obama, recently wrote about the pioneering social justice efforts of Jane Addams, who was a Chicago, Illinois, social worker near the turn of the 20th century and the second woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Patel upholds Addams’ work as a model for approaching issues of justice and diversity today. Coping with a great personal depression, Addams found a purpose in life by alleviating suffering of impoverished women. She founded Hull House in Chicago, which offered assistance to immigrant women and children. “For virtually every problem they discovered in their community,” Patel writes of Addams and other leaders of Hull house, “they modelled a concrete solution.”
As tensions between Chicago’s Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish communities increased, Addams created an interfaith organization centered around “the fellowship of the deed.” Patel’s article quotes from one of Addams’ writings about the importance of remaining in relationship with people who are different from us. “We know instinctively that if we grow contemptuous of our fellows and consciously limit our intercourse to certain kinds of people whom we have previously decided to respect,” wrote Addams, “we not only circumscribe our range of life, but limit the scope of our ethics.”
* * *
Luke 9:51-62
Homeless Jesus
It’s not often that sculptures of Jesus prompt people to call 911. Unless, of course, the bronzes were created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. The artist’s self-acknowledged provocative portrayals of Jesus have sometimes been mistaken as persons in need of emergency assistance.
One of Schmalz’ statues was purchased by an Episcopal Church in an upscale neighborhood in North Carolina. It shows Jesus – the one who had nowhere to lay his head – sleeping on a park bench. Huddled under a blanket, the only clue to Jesus’ identity are the scars of crucifixion on his feet. Not long after it was installed, someone called the cops on Jesus. Another neighbor wrote the church a letter, complaining that the statue “creeps him out.”
At another Episcopal church in Bay City, OH, calls to 911 began just minutes after one of Schmalz’ works was installed. News about the Bay City statue went viral, prompting NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” to lampoon the incident on its October 17, 2020 broadcast. Though some churches, like New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, have rejected invitations to install Homeless Jesus, Schmalz’s work did find favor with at least one prominent religious leader. In 2014, Schmalz travelled to the Vatican to personally give “Homeless Jesus” to Pope Francis.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:Galatians 5:1, 13-25
We have been made whole and holy
Changing old habits is definitely one of the hardest things any person can do. If we want to be more open and affirming people we must first change ourselves. Yearning to become better reflections of the Divine Image and to live more fully into God’s calling should be the underlying factor into how we move forward in this world. Christ has given us the template from which to work. The Spirit guides us with patience, kindness, and faithfulness. What does it mean when God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit welcome ALL but our churches and their members struggle with welcoming others of differing backgrounds?
* * *
Luke 9:51-62
Follow God. Full Stop.
I first encountered the concept of the spoken full stop during the summer of 2019 while studying at Bossey Ecumenical Institute. A fellow student had a peculiar habit of making the declarative statement “Full Stop.” after proposing a point that was not open for discussion. It got to the point where my Presbyterian background and curious nature had me asking my friend why they chose to make declarative statements in lieu of moderated discussion. Their response was eye-opening. They said, “...when you use the word ‘but’ it changes everything.” For them the use of any formulation of the phrase “yes but” nullifies anything and everything that comes before it. Yes but is only an excuse to not bear the full weight of our calling. When we choose to follow God it must be without fear or remorse.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Let us call to mind the deeds of our God.
All: We will remember God’s wonders of old.
One: Let us meditate on all God’s work.
All: We will muse on God’s mighty deeds.
One: Your way, O God, is holy and you are great.
All: Our God is the God who works wonders among the peoples.
OR
One: God comes to freely offer us the divine presence.
All: We are in awe that God would deign to come to us.
One: God is love and true love cannot desert the beloved.
All: We rejoice to be the beloved of our God.
One: God’s love desires to enfold us and to go beyond us.
All: In gratitude we will share God’s love with others.
Hymns and Songs
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
UMH: 57/58/59
H82: 493
PH: 466
AAHH: 184
NNBH: 23
NCH: 42
CH: 5
LBW: 559
ELW: 886
W&P: 96
AMEC: 12
Renew: 32
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELW: 414
W&P: 138
All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELW: 757
Ye Servants of God
UMH: 181
H82: 535
PH: 477
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
Tú Has Venido a la Orilla (Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore)
UMH: 344
PH: 377
CH: 342
W&P: 347
I Surrender All
UMH: 354
AAHH: 396
NNBH: 198
W&P: 474
AMEC: 251
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
UMH: 361
H82: 685
AAHH: 559
NNBH: 254
NCH: 596
CH: 214
LBW: 327
ELW: 523
W&P: 384
AMEC: 328
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELW: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
UMH: 382
AAHH: 449
NNBH: 206
CH: 588
W&P: 486
AMEC: 345
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
May You Run and Not Be Weary
CCB: 99
Refiner’s Fire
CCB: 79
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who binds yourself to us in covenant:
Grant us the grace to understand that freedom
does not mean being separate from others
but being able to share ourselves fully;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you offer yourself to us in covenant. As you freely give yourself to us help us to give ourselves to you and to others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our need to put ourselves at the center of everything.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We often find ourselves needing to be at the center of things. We profess we are your beloved children but then we find that we want more acclamation than that. We push ourselves in and in so doing often push others out. Forgive us and re-center us in your love that we may give ourselves as your give yourself. Amen.
One: God freely loves us and freely forgives us. Receive God’s grace and share God’s love with others.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God of covenant and grace. You come to us and offer your love and your own self to us so freely.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We often find ourselves needing to be at the center of things. We profess we are your beloved children but then we find that we want more acclamation than that. We push ourselves in and in so doing often push others out. Forgive us and re-center us in your love that we may give ourselves as your give yourself.
We thank you for all the way you share yourself and your love with us. All around us nature reveals your loving presence in our world. Though you are far beyond the material world around us, you make yourself present and known to us through the created order. You dwell within your children and share your love through the very human acts of your people.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need this day. We pray for those who find themselves struggling because of what they do not have and those who struggle because of all that they do have. We pray for wisdom and guidance and we make our way together in this world. Help us to follow your Christ so that we may have true freedom.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONCry Out!
by Tom Willadsen
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
Start by telling the kids about times when you cried when you were a child. For me, I cried when I hurt myself, like the time I showed my mom I could ride my bike no handed, but I was wrong.
And when my older brother teased me.
And when I was sad when I broke my Paddle Pool game.
And when I was frustrated because I was trying to find my homework and when I asked my mom where it was, she asked me, “When did you have it last?” (Sometimes she would say, “Last time I saw it was on the down escalator at Sears in Cleveland. Did you look there?”)
Invite them to share things that have made them cry recently.
You might want to volunteer that you still cry sometimes. What makes you cry now? Maybe there are adults who will share what makes them cry. For me, I cry when I’m sad, especially when I miss someone I love who has died.
Read the first two verses of Psalm 77:1-2a (Common English Bible)
I cry out loud to God—
out loud to God so that he can hear me!
During the day when I’m in trouble I look for my Lord
Or
The Message
Psalm 77:1
I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might,
I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.
Remind the kids it’s okay to use their outside voices to yell at God, but to do it outside.
The message today is that it’s all right to be angry, sad and to be hurt. Those things happen to everyone, kids and grownups. And God still loves us when these things happen to us. And God still loves us when we yell at God as loud as we can!
Invite the kids to pray.
God, we are glad that you always listen to us, no matter how we talk to you. Thank you for loving us even when we’re sad, especially when we’re sad. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, June 26, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 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.
